Why Wait

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.

Anne Frank

Photo: "World of Imagination" by gilad

For the Kewl Girls

These artworks ar by Julian Beever - he draws them in chalk on footpaths around the world. Some of them are you to 40' tall (about 12 metres) just so when you look at them at the right angle you get the three-d effect.

There is some info on Julian and good links on wiki.

btw - in the picture with the frog, the baby is real lol

Free to Be Me

The most important thing is to be whatever you are without shame.

Rod Steiger

Art: "Elemental Earth" by alexiuss

It is a Matter of Perspective

It is undeniable that Jackson influenced the birth and development of the music video. Some may say he was an influence to the overall music industry.

But keep things in perspective. This man was not a saint - and I am not talking about his money situation, Bubbles, sleeping in hypabaric chambers, the skin lightening, the allegations of being anti-Semetic or periodic drug problems.

As stated on the ABC, Jackson was "widely suspected of being a paedophile" and at the very least was 'troubled' in this regard. And lets not forget the "baby over the balcony" (as well as other bizarre appearances by his children with their masks and the like).

So remember him for his music if you must but I ask you to also remember this - next time there is a suspected paedophile in your street, or your neighborhood, would you be so forgiving, so excusing as the world appears to be for Jackson.

Remember Jackson but don't forget the children.

Photo: "Headstone" by j-e-t-h-r-o

Choose To Be

Happiness, that grand mistress of ceremonies in the dance of life, impels us through all its mazes and emandering, but leads none of us by the same route.

Charles Caleb Colton

Art:" Wandering Soul" by roadioarts

Miss Kylie Rulez!!

Miss Kylie treated us on Monday with her perfect vanilla and passionfruit slice. This time I remembered to take a photo before I tucked in :-)

If you want a little slice of heaven, then this is definitely it - creamy custard, tart and flavorful icing, flaky biscuits.

And apologies I am posting this on Friday - I kept forgetting to bring the camera home lol

Photo Challenge - Bush

Pick Me

The world's a stage and I want the brightest spot.

David Lee Roth

Photo: "In the spotlight" by ixian

Photo Challenge Updates

Yah, it is that time of the week, Wacky Wednesday, Hump Day or Photo Challenge Theme Day - whichever way you look at it, it's all good :-)

It is so fabulous to have so many people playing at the moment- Mr Linky appears to be available again so I will include it on Friday in my post. For newbies, can you come and just click the Mr Linky button and add your address so that we don't miss out on anyone :-) I will also put the address of regular contributors in a box on the right hand side of the blog (it will be there Friday morning) for even easier access.

So, to the themes .....

The Friday (Friday 26 June): Bush

Friday July 3: Finery

Friday 10 July: Juxtaposition (which will also add to the Kewl's girls dictionary skills)

Happy clicking

The Little Light of Mine ...

You can't have a light without having a dark to stick it in.

Arlo Guthrie

Photo: "sunray1" by chriskaula

God and Gardening

GOD:

Frank, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there on the planet? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colours by now. But, all I see are these green rectangles.

ST. FRANCIS:

It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers "weeds" and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

GOD:

Grass? But, it's so boring. It's not colourful. It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees; only grubs and sod worms. It's sensitive to temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?

ST. FRANCIS:

Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

GOD:

The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy.

ST. FRANCIS:

Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it - sometimes twice a week.

GOD:

They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay?

ST. FRANCIS:

Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.

GOD:

They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

ST. FRANCIS:

No, Sir, just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.

GOD:

Now, let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow. And, when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?

ST. FRANCIS:

Yes, Sir.

GOD:

These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work.

ST. FRANCIS:

You aren't going to believe this, Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it, so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

GOD:

What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn, they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. It's a natural cycle of life.

ST. FRANCIS:

You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.

GOD:

No! What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter to keep the soil moist and loose?

ST. FRANCIS:

After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.

GOD:

And where do they get this mulch?

ST. FRANCIS:

They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.

GOD:

Enough! I don't want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?

ST. CATHERINE:

"Dumb and Dumber", Lord. It's a story about....

GOD:

Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

Courtesy of Janet via email

Photo: "Gardening" by adiastock

Knock, Knock

Perserverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Art: "The Princess Ballerina" by nine9nine9

Guess Where?

Yes they are the sand dunes in Forvie, Scotland (north of Aberdeen). Now I have to be honest and confess I never considered that Scotland would have sand dunes - rocky beaches, maybe limestone cliffs but not sand dunes. The dunes take up some hundreds of acres and are the fourth largest (and least affected by human contact) dune complex in Britain. There is a fabulous array of bird and plant life. There are ruins from when people inhabited the area in the Middle Ages.

And how did I find this out - podding through the night of course - this show was from Clare Balding's "Ramblings" program on BBC's Radio 4. It isn't available for download anymore but I would be happy to send you a copy if you are interested :-)

Photo 1 from Scottish Geology

Photo 2 from geograph

Deep and Wide

You can't do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth.

Evan Esar

Art: "Life Wide Open" by Paulette Insall

Political Times

In Australia we are having something of a political scandal (boringly titled "ute-gate") about whether the Prime Minister called for special treatment for a businessman friend of his. The blustering has got to the point that there are now cries for the resignation of the Prime Minister and Treasurer or the Opposition Leader. Ho hum!

In Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi spends more time in prison. In Iran, the demonstrators are still on the streets despite the very real risk to their lives. We haven't heard from Tibet in the headlines lately but I don't that as a sign that all is well. And lets not forget the atrocities that are continuing in Palestine, North Korea and Zimbabwe.

It makes me so mad that we (the Australians who are interested enough to follow this story) are getting so fluffed up by something so ridiculous when there are REAL problems in the world.

And then I think that maybe this is what democracy is all about - the fight against corruption (real or perceived), the ability to try and bring down a government without a revolution, the ability to have ongoing debates about the merits of the Prime Minister's culpability (if any) in the newspapers, the ability for the population to know that any of this is happening in the first place, the ability of myself to write this post.

It has got me thinking ....

Photo: "Democracy" by jaderrrxO

More Kewl

For the Kewl Girls

It doesn't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep.

Cowboy Proverb

Very Kewl

I Am Woman

According to an ad on tv, 63% of women don't have fireworks (keeping in mind younger readers) during love-making. Obviously it then goes on to recommend their product.

What I ask is this, if two-thirds of the population give the same answer, doesn't that make them the majority and therefore the norm? Yes there are layers about ability of partners, and our own psychological issues, the ability to ask for what we want etc, but if 66% are not experiencing fireworks, then why should this be medicalized, why should we feel "bad" or that we are doing something "wrong". And this has nothing to do with me, too crippled at the moment to do anything, it is about the ongoing marketing campaigns to make women feel like we are wrong, or deformed, or lesser in some way.

Aaaargh, womanhood and the perception of men (and women's magazines) of what it should be, and how we should be. Let us be!

Photo: "Ambares Fireworks" by kil1k

Sieze the Day

We only have this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand ... and melting like a snowflake. Let us use it before it is too late.

Marie Beyon Ray

Art: "Spelling" by tralalalla