April 22, 2010

Photo 'a Go Go!: 2+ Weeks into my 365project...




It's been just a little over 2 weeks, already, since I started taking photos for my 365project, and I've only flaked on 2 of the days in all that time! I was feeling a bit like a failure at first for skipping days, but then I started seeing that a lot of other people doing the project also miss days, occasionally. The way I know this is because there's a neat calendar view feature you can access from everyone's photo page that displays a calendar with thumbnail-sized photos shown for each day that one was taken. So once I saw that I wasn't the only one with blank days, I felt much better. And if you're at all like me, it's not that easy to take a good photo that you're proud of every single day. Then again, (make sure you're sitting down for this one, folks) some people have said that I tend to be a perfectionist... But even that aspect aside, I'm simply not always in the mood, or I may not have the creative mojo flowing for some reason. Know what I mean? The last thing I'd want to do is snap off some dumb, random shot just so I could upload a photo for that day! Bottom line, though, is that I see no reason why I can't make up for the days I miss. I think that as long as I take and upload 365 days worth of photos it'll be okay if those days aren't all consecutively connected. It just might end up taking a lot more than a year to finish. And if that's not okay, or it's against the rules, well... then I'm changing the rules, right here and right now, for Anthony's 365project!

Wanna see some of the latest installments "hanging" in my gallery? Go ahead, take a look. I'd love to know what you think of them... (I decided that it was probably best to only display a week's worth of photographs at a time, so as to NOT exhaust your interest or patience!)





That's our Matt!

Right there, blowing into a toy crocodile's
head and making its "eyes" float, is my
good friend Matt. He's almost never too
self-conscious to do something silly, if it'll
make us laugh! I have certainly had some
of the best times hanging out with that guy.






A love creation

As I wandered around the house looking
for an interesting Show & Tell item to
photograph, I looked inside our "cabinet
of curiosities" and spotted this old collage
box which I assembled and gave to my
husband as a birthday gift many years ago.
In fact, I think it was actually about 16 or
17 years ago!

I can still remember how much fun I had
searching through antique shops, looking
for just the right cigar box and ALL of the
neat trinkets to place on top of it. I've made
several interesting things for my husband,
in the past, but haven't created any NEW
gifts in a verry long time. Hmm, his birthday
IS coming up fairly soon...






Skelebunny

Imagine our surprise when my
husband and I stepped out into the
garden patio, today, only to find
one of Tommy's fictional comic book
characters just sitting nonchalantly
in a small, fancy chair. We couldn't
believe our eyes! All this time
Tommy thought that he had
completely made up everything
about the Skelebunnies and their
well-intentioned, immoral exploits.

Have they really existed all along,
or is Tommy's imagination so
powerful that it brought them to life?
The little guy wouldn't tell us, as he
evidently doesn't talk to humans. He
did pose for my picture, though!






"I was almost beginning to
think I'd lost my marbles!"

A glass jar is a very good place to keep
your marbles, as it is very pleasing to
the eye. And you'll always know where
to find them, should you start to feel

as though they are "missing"...






Happy toy

I think most anyone who was a child
growing up in the late '60s thru the '70s
would recognize this familiar, iconic face
as that of the cheerily colorful Fisher-Price
Chatter Phone. Definitely one of my uber
favorite childhood toys!

It had a pull-string so it could be dragged
along behind you. And whenever you did,
its big blue eyes would roll up & down in
tandem with the clickety, clackety chattering
sound made when its little blue wheels
turned. Of course, it also had a rotary dial
that triggered a bell inside whenever your
wee fingers spun it 'round.

I would love it if I could pick up the bright
orange receiver and call my 5-year-old self,
way back in 1975. I'd want to tell him that
everything is going to be okay, that HE is
going to be okay, no matter how bad things get...






Fun, old books

Something else that I like collecting is vintage
children's books. I find them to be fun, colorful
and charming. However, I do not buy them for
storytelling. The two ways in which I do use
them are:

[1.] As pop-culture reference material.

[2.] As a vintage illustration/image archive that
I can cut 'n paste from while working on collage
art. Well, technically, I scan & print out whichever
book page has the image I like, and then THAT is
what gets cut up. I don't want to damage these
beautiful, old books any more than they already
have been!

The bookshelves have slowly been filling up over
the years, so what you see here is just a fraction
of my total vintage and pop culture book collection.






Monochromatic Solitaire

I enjoy ALL kinds of board games, especially
ones that are this attractive and well-made.
My preference, of course, is to play games with
other opponents, but this beautiful wood and
stone marble (Is "stone marble" redundant?)
edition of Solitaire makes those times I have
no one to play games with MUCH more enjoyable!



Thank you for visiting our 'Gallery of Fine Art Photography' tent, here at the one and only Pop Circus. Please, come again!


~All photos by Anthony (aka Antvision). Except top 'Photo 'a Go Go!' background dancers, I found them in a dark alley behind Google Images. They work really cheap!

April 16, 2010

It's official... I'm a total Gleek, now!




On the off-chance that you don't already know what a "Gleek" is, allow me to enlighten you. A "Gleek" is a devoted fan of Fox's hugely popular hit t.v. show, 'Glee'. If you haven't ever watched it (a whole episode, not just a clip), you're missing out on something pretty special! I'd consider any show special if it lifted your spirits and kept you feeling happy for an entire episode, but no others come to mind. It's just such a perfect mix of drama, humor and showbiz that you really would have to watch an entire episode to get an accurate feel for the magic that's going on here.

Up until last Tuesday's Season 2 opener, I had only seen a handful of episodes from Season 1. I enjoyed them, but was only on-the-fence about the show, at best. I think it was because I had an issue with its lack of reality when it came to the Glee Club's musical numbers. Some might even say they're a bit over-the-top! And it's completely obvious that everyone is lip syncing. But then it donned on me... The way 'Glee' was doing it, was the same way those old MGM musicals of the '40s & '50s were done! Don't know why I didn't realize that sooner? Besides, the creators of 'Glee' would never be accused of trying to portray any sense of reality! It's just a whole lotta fun and fantasy which happens to take place in a high school that has exceptionally talented students in their Glee Club.







Now that I view the show with this entirely new perspective, I'm absolutely loving it! I had already enjoyed the humor - Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester, the nasty cheerleading coach who's hell-bent for Glee Club annihilation, is so priceless! She plays that character like it was invented just for her. Maybe it was, I don't know. The soap opera style of drama also really hooks you, if you like that sort of thing. And, yes, I most certainly do! Then, of course, the musical performances are the biggest highlight of every episode. Mr. Scheuster, or Will (played by Matthew Morrison), usually picks a specific theme for his club of showbiz kids to tailor their musical numbers to. For example, on last Tuesday's show, Mr. Scheuster announced that the new theme was "Hello", adding that they could select any songs they wanted for their numbers as long as those songs had the word "Hello" in the title. I was a bit surprised at how many other tunes there are, aside from Lionel Richie's obvious hit. See, look at that, the show can even be educational for some folks!

Well, I really don't want to bore you with my take on every character in 'Glee'. Just know that I consider every one of them to be another good reason for watching this awesome show!







P.S. - B.T.W. here's a little F.Y.I. just in case you're interested: Next week's show (Tuesday, April 20th) is going to be the eagerly awaited 'Power of Madonna' episode which will feature nothing but Madonna songs! I'm sooo there, you guys!


~All photos via Google Images~

April 8, 2010

Photo 'a Go Go!: My 365project



This should be a bit challenging, and a lotta fun!

A friend of mine suggested that I try the 365project because she had already been participating and was totally loving it. What is it, you say? Why, it's a year-long project/journey in which you photograph something with a digital camera EVERY DAY that's special, interesting, or even just plain ordinary. What you shoot is entirely up to you, and that's what I find especially appealing about it. You're really only limited by your own creativity and imagination! If this seems at all like something you'd want to do, go ahead and click on the link to find out more about it.

I just started the project Tuesday, April 6th, so I've only taken and uploaded 2 pictures. Here, check 'em out...






[Day 1] Glass Paperweight

Behold the beauty of glass!

This is just one of many glass paperweights in my personal
collection. I've always been fascinated with glass in its many
forms, from rough wave-beaten chunks of beach glass to
elegant cathedral stained glass windows. But I'm especially
drawn to handblown glass with its shiny bubbles and magical
swirls of color inside!







[Day 2] Office Toys

It's 'Take Our Toys to Work day'...
Every day!


If you know me, you know that I really like toys. For whatever
reason, I never outgrew them. Just having toys around makes
me happy, even if I'm not playing with any. And the more
colorful they are, the better! This is a shot of the computer on
my desk where I work daily. If I didn't have these little guys
giving their cheerful support every day, I'd surely stress out!




I have every intention of remaining committed to this project, I do not want to lose motivation and give up! I will see this through to [Day 365]! I feel like I'm off to a pretty good start, but this is only the first week. Check back in about a month, and see how well I'm doing then... Yikes, what have I gotten myself into?!


~All photos by Anthony (AKA antvision)~

April 1, 2010

"No, duh!" - Ricky Martin officially declares that he is a gay man, after all.




Finally, after dancing around the subject for waaay too long, 38-year-old Puerto Rican singer/actor, Ricky Martin, released an official statement on his own website confirming what many of us had suspected all along. Here is just a portion of what it said:


"These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn’t even know existed.

What will happen from now on? It doesn’t matter. I can only focus on what’s happening to me in this moment. The word 'happiness' takes on a new meaning for me as of today. It has been a very intense process. Every word that I write in this letter is born out of love, acceptance, detachment and real contentment. Writing this is a solid step towards my inner peace and vital part of my evolution.

I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am."



Alright, I have just one question.

Did Mr. Martin really think that people still believed he was heterosexual after seeing the way he "shook his bon-bon", back in the late '90s?? No straight guy I've ever known could move the way Ricky can! That's for damn sure! Aaand I think most ladies, along with plenty of men, would also agree that he's real "easy on the eyes". So... Hello?! Everybody knows that a guy who's that attractive, and can dance that well, must be gay! It's just a basic law of nature, or something.

I do think it's absolutely wonderful that he has decided to finally be true to himself, living openly, honestly and without any sense of shame. It will be the best, healthiest way for Ricky to raise his adopted twin boys, and I know that he will find his life to be much richer and more fulfilling than before.

But, come on... This recent announcement certainly ain't news!






"Oh, shake your bon-bon, shake your bon-bon,
shake your bon-bon!"






(Sorry, I can't come up with anything
clever to say about this one. I'm a bit
distracted by the view...)






"Hey, you guys! Look what I just found
washing up on shore... Do you think I
could keep 'em?"

Ricky with his two twin sons, Matteo (L) and
Valentino (R), strolling along the beach in Miami.





~All photos via Google Images~
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