China News

It's hardly the fifth month of 2012, things, big things, explosive, political, things, have been erupting in China. Two of them dropped, free-fall style, smack dab in the middle of the already tricky chessboard of the Sino-U.S. diplomacy. This is the latest one bursting on scene just last week, starring (read the story, you'll see why I use this word) this man:

Mr. Chen Guangcheng

The incident was preceded by this, other, explosion, on a scale hasn't been seen in decades, the ramifications of which no one can see the end of, starring this man, and his powerful, glamorous wife and son:

the formerly extremely-powerful,  Mr. Bo Xilai

Mr. Bo and his wife and son, portrait of a Chinese, Communist aristocracy

A Perfect Photo

KDM's daughter-in-law, Mandy took this photo of her daughter Kyleigh petting a calf (you can't see the calf, just the hair on its neck). I like it so much I'm using it on my desktop. It's a perfect picture. The dramatic light-dark contrast is balanced by the subtle contrast of textures: Kyleigh's skin, her wind-blown hair, her sweatshirt, the weaves in her sweater, the hair on the calf's neck. I also adore the non-symmetrical, but stable division between the fence as horizontal and Kyleigh as the vertical. The simplicity of this under-pattern makes the fuzzy, soft, flowing movement of the textures ever more enjoyable:

Not Your Port Religion

Spotted at The Anchoress; I'm glad for the quotation marks around the word "happy." Yeah, it's not THAT kind of "happy." Hehe.

Why Our Dogs Don't Eat Carrots

We had house guests during Spring Break, who boarded with us for two nights while en route relocating to the Southwest. Along with the four humans were two full-sized dogs who had lived indoor suburbia life with a penchant for healthy food. I was floored to be told that they liked vegetables such as the carrots I was peeling for dinner, and almost passed out when they gently took the carrots from my hand and consumed them with apparent regularity and delight. My guest assured me that all dogs like carrots and took some to our dogs to prove the point. With a straightforwardness characteristic of country dogs, all four turned away from the orange sticks of goodness and health. My guest was baffled at such indifference and rejection to healthy life style. What you see in these photos may be an explanation. I would be remiss if I neglected to point out that these scenes are by no means rare occurrences here on the farm. What's rare was my quickness in responding with a camera: 

What's on My Mind

Traveling
Traveling
Traveling