Category Archives: art

Weekly Photo Challenge: Let There Be Light- Singapore

Posted on by
Reply

Here are some photos I took the last time I was in Singapore. The first 3 are at Clarke Quay. It’s a nice area near the Singapore River with lots of bars and restaurants. The kids love to play in the fountains all lit up in different colors. It’s really quite beautiful at night. The next 2 are from the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Chinatown. The last one is of the Singapore River near Clarke Quay. I took all these photos with a point and shoot camera. I usually only have a pocket camera with me when I’m working. I had just got off the ship and stayed a few days to sight-see before I had to go home.

These are for the Weekly Photo Challenge, this weeks theme is ‘Light’. I thought some of the other people who posted had some really nice shots. If you want to see them, or enter the Challenge, here’s the link

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/photo-challenge-lights/#more-61860

Your Thanksgiving Turkey in 6 Eye-Popping Charts

Posted on by
Reply

Your Thanksgiving Turkey in 6 Eye-Popping Charts | Mother Jones.

In honor of todays holiday here in America, I’m passing on this post of interesting information about your Thanksgiving turkey.

Enjoy. 🙂

A Word A Week Challenge: Lines (natural)

Posted on by
Reply

Here are some photos for the Word a Week Challenge, if you want to see some of what others have done, or enter something yourself, here’s the link…

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/11/19/a-word-a-week-challenge-lines/

A Word A Week Challenge: Lines (man made)

Posted on by
Reply
haul in those lines!

haul in those lines!

boats! all in a line ;-)

boats! all in a line 😉

lines on a boat

lines on the way to the beach

lines on the way to the beach

beautiful lines on a car!

beautiful lines on a car!

building with lines

city sky lines

city sky lines

Here are some photos for the Word a Week Challenge, if you want to see some of what others have done, or enter something yourself, here’s the link…

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/11/19/a-word-a-week-challenge-lines/

Best Autumn Photographs from the Last Ten Years of Photo Contests

Posted on by
Reply

Best Autumn Photographs from the Last Ten Years of Photo Contests| Smithsonian Magazine.

These are some really beautiful photographs. I wouldn’t expect any less from the Smithsonian. Hard to compare between them and National Geographic. I try to look and learn something about what makes a good photo, at the same time just enjoying the beauty. 🙂

A New App Turns Fractals Into Ornate Art

Posted on by
Reply

A New App Turns Fractals Into Ornate Art | Collage of Arts and Sciences.

As a person who appreciates art and a person who’s interested in math, I just LOVE the intersection of both subjects. Fractals are really beautiful examples of both art and mathematics!

You can see examples of fractals in all kinds of places in nature. Tree branches and roots are one. A river delta is another. Spiral shells like a nautilus or conch is another (see my earlier post (http://captjillsjourneys.wordpress.com/2013/09/08/beautiful-spiral-shell/) or the others in that series (corals, sea urchin).

I remember playing with creating very simple basic drawings of fractal equations when I was in jr high school. I would have loved to have been able to continue on with it in later classes, but we had to move on to other things.

I think spending more time on this kind of thing in earlier years in school might help show kids that math is actually a really interesting and useful subject and IS really something we can use in the real world. Its not just something we have to get through in school and will never see again.

I do have to admit, I have personally never used calculus since I got out of school, but if I wanted to, I’m sure I could find a use for it. I’m just busy with other things. 😉

I could definitely find ways to use this app with the fractals, even if just to look at the beauty of it and enjoy it every day. 🙂

I don’t know if this Frax app is free or not, but even if it costs a little bit, it might be worth it. I haven’t had the chance to try it yet since I’ve been offshore since I’ve found out about it. I hope I can try it when I get home. 🙂

This Year’s Best Photographs Taken Through the Lens of a Microscope

Posted on by
Reply

This Year’s Best Photographs Taken Through the Lens of a Microscope | Smithsonian Magazine.

These are just some absolutely stunning photographs. These are some of the top 20 entered into the Nikons annual Small World Competition. These are the winners from 2013. I’ll be looking forward to this for 2014!

If You Like Your Health Care Plan, You Can Keep It

Posted on by
Reply

cartoonF1108

Are You on a Government Watch List?

Posted on by
Reply
  • I’m sure I’m on at least one. 😉

Maritime Monday for September 30th, 2013: Movies About Sailors Part 5; Sailor’s Luck

Posted on by
1

Maritime Monday for September 30th, 2013: Movies About Sailors Part 5; Sailor’s Luck | gCaptain

Yeah, I know I’m late. 😉 I’ve been so busy, I’m falling WAY behind in my emails, etc. I had hoped to be able to catch up a little bit this weekend but STILL just SO busy. I’ve only got a couple of days before I have to go back offshore and not sure what kind of access I’ll have to the internet, so trying to post a few now to keep my loyal followers happy. 😉

Here’s another from Monkey Fists’ great series on Maritime Movies. Movies About Sailors Part 5: Sailor’s Luck looks like another great batch of movies to while away a lazy afternoon.

I haven’t seen ANY of these movies which seems like something I’ll need to fix one of these days. Some of them look pretty good. I would like to watch the Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea starring Kris Kristofferson and the Sand Pebbles starring Steve McQueen (he got an Academy Award nomination for this role).

Some of the other movies look pretty good too, like Sinbad the Sailor with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Anthony Quinn and Maureen O’Hara. Should Sailors Marry? starring Clyde Cook looks interesting. Of course Sex and the Single Sailor would be high on the list. 😉

I hope Monkey Fist continues to come out with these great posts of maritime related movies. I’m saving them so if I ever do get some time to just relax one of these days, I’ll be able to just look back at my old posts and find the perfect one for my mood. Adventure, romance, comedy, drama, its all there. I hope some of you will get a chance to watch soon. I think it’ll be a while for me. Enjoy! 🙂

The Enchanting Sea Monsters on Medieval Maps

Posted on by
Reply

The Enchanting Sea Monsters on Medieval Maps | Collage of Arts and Sciences.

Another good one from the Smithsonian this morning. I always thought those old charts were so cool. I really loved the drawings.

Those people really had some great imaginations! 🙂

Photography 101: A Primer on Color Photography, Part II

Posted on by
Reply

This is a continuation from the last post. This one is on hue, saturation, lightness and contrast. She uses some fantastic photos to illustrate. 🙂

Photography 101: A Primer on Color Photography, Part I

Posted on by
Reply

I thought this was a very good post, lots of good information on how different lighting effects your photography. She uses beautiful photos to illustrate. 🙂

This Is Mars in Extremely High Resolution

Posted on by
Reply

This Is Mars in Extremely High Resolution | Collage of Arts and Sciences.

Another good article from the Smithsonian this morning. This one is about Mars. The article shows a dozen or so beautiful black and white photographs of Mars. They were taken over the years by various spacecraft. That in itself is pretty fantastic.

Now, a French photographer, editor, designer- Xavier Barral is putting together a book. Called This is Mars, it will showcase about 150 of these gorgeous pictures. I’ll have to look for it at the library. 🙂

This Alkaline African Lake Turns Animals into Stone

Posted on by
Reply

This Alkaline African Lake Turns Animals into Stone | Collage of Arts and Sciences.

This is an interesting article (with lots of cool photos) of a deadly lake in Africa. I’ve never been to Africa but I would love to go. I always thought about taking a safari or climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, I didn’t know anything about this lake. It sounds like an interesting place. Just seeing pictures stirs up my wanderlust. 🙂

Utne Monthly Music Sampler

Posted on by
Reply

Utne Monthly Music Sampler.

I really love Utne Reader. Their reviews are one of my favorite parts of the magazine. Now that I get their emails, I can even check the music out right away online. 🙂

This time, they have 10 different artists to investigate. I haven’t had time yet to listen to any of them. I don’t want to hold you all back from some good stuff tho! 😉

Enjoy!! Let me know if you liked it, which songs, which artists? 🙂

A Word a Week Challenge- Arch

Posted on by
Reply

I finally got off the ship (DB-50) in Singapore and stayed over a couple of weeks. I wandered around and found this art museum. It had a lot of interesting things and the buildings were very interesting in themselves. It used to be a school (if I remember right) 🙂

Arches, Singapore Art Museum

 

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/a-word-a-week-challenge-arch/

A Word a Week Challenge- Arch

Posted on by
Reply

Singapore Art Museum

I finally got off the ship (DB-50) in Singapore and stayed over a couple of weeks. I wandered around and found this art museum. It had a lot of interesting things and the buildings were very interesting in themselves. It used to be a school (if I remember right).

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/a-word-a-week-challenge-arch/

A Word a Week Challenge- Arch

Posted on by
Reply

Paris Las Vegas

Another one from Las Vegas. I was there for the Freedom Fest a couple of years ago. I had to miss it this year since I couldn’t get off work. 🙁

Here’s a link to the original post…http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/a-word-a-week-challenge-arch/

Maritime Monday for September 23rd, 2013: Movies About Sailors, Part IV

Posted on by
Reply

Maritime Monday for September 23rd, 2013: Movies About Sailors, Part IV; The Navy Comes Through | gCaptain ⚓ Maritime & Offshore News.

Part IV of Monkey Fists great series on maritime movies, this one has a lot of Navy related movies.

Everything from comedies like McHale’s Navy (Ernest Borgnine, Tim Conway) and The Navigator (Buster Keaton) and musicals like On the Town (Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra) to drama and suspense (Riddle of the Sands based on the novel by Erskine Childers). There’s bound to be something for everyone.

There’s almost two dozen movies to choose from. Take a break and check it out. 😉

Aerial Views of Our Water World

Posted on by
Reply

Aerial Views of Our Water World | Collage of Arts and Sciences.

Smithsonian reports on the latest project from photographer Edward Burtynsky. His focus has always been to capture the impact humans have on the landscape. “Nature transformed by industry” is how he puts it.

I remember reading about one of his earlier projects on the subject of Oil and I thought he did some fantastic work. His photographs of a ‘dirty’ subject were really beautiful. This project on Water is even more exciting. His work is simply stunning!

Burtynsky spent the time from 2007-2013 traveling around the world to investigate the way water is used, how it (or lack of it) effects the land, effects our lives, how we deal with it, how it deals with us. Now, he is coming out with a triple header.

He will be releasing a new documentary film, a book and multiple exhibitions, all on the theme of water.

Watermark, his 92 minute long documentary will premier at the Toronto International Film Festival and continue showing in theaters across Canada afterwards (and hopefully worldwide).

His book, Burtynsky- Water, will feature over 100 of his photographs.

His large scale photographs will be making the rounds of a number of exhibition spaces around the country. In New York at the Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery and the Howard Greenburg Gallery (September 19- November 2), the show will move on from there.

It will be in New Orleans at the Contemporary Arts Center from October 5- January 19). I’ll be in town for the Workboat Show and will be sure to see it then. I can’t wait to feast my eyes. 😉

Here’s a peek. Enjoy 🙂

 

Sonic Bloom! A New Solar-Powered Sculpture

Posted on by
Reply

Sonic Bloom! A New Solar-Powered Sculpture | Collage of Arts and Sciences.

An interesting and beautiful sculpture using solar power. Check it out. 🙂

What Happens When You Freeze Flowers and Shoot Them With a Gun?

Posted on by
Reply

What Happens When You Freeze Flowers and Shoot Them With a Gun? | Collage of Arts and Sciences.

What a cool (pun intended) project! 😉

Martin Klimas, a German photographer, got the idea to freeze flowers with liquid nitrogen and then take their pictures as he blows them up.

Some of these pictures are just fantastic!

I wouldn’t want to be the one cleaning up after tho. 😉

Maritime Monday for September 16th, 2013: Movies About Sailors, Part III

Posted on by
Reply

Maritime Monday for September 16th, 2013: Movies About Sailors, Part III; Man the Laff Boats! | gCaptain

Here’s part III in Monkey Fists’ series for gcaptain on movies about sailors. This one looks especially good cause there are so many comedies. I LOVE comedies! Especially ‘stupid’ funny, like the Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello, the Marx Brothers, “I Love Lucy”, etc.

There are a couple of movies by Abbott and Costello and Laurel and Hardy, and even a little history on Popeye at the end. Its not all about the comedy tho, there are some pretty interesting other films in this one too. Try “John Paul Jones” starring Robert Stack, “The Lady from Shanghai” starring Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, “The Last Detail” with Jack Nicholson.

It looks like a lot of really good choices this week. Good way to spend a rainy day, Maritime Monday Movies. 😉

Zombies, Celebrity Sideboobs, and Smart Social Commentary = Web Gold

Posted on by
Reply

Zombies, Celebrity Sideboobs, and Smart Social Commentary = Web Gold | Mother Jones.

Just found out about this in an email from Mother Jones. 🙂 I used to get Cracked sometimes when I was a kid. I much preferred Mad magazine, but would read Cracked if it was around. I didn’t know it was on the web, never thought to check.

Here it is…www.cracked.com. It looks like its grown up a bit but still looks to be very entertaining. In the MJ interview, they mention they are now ‘one of the webs most popular humor destinations.’

I’ll be checking up on them for sure. I really like their agenda, ‘train yourself to question everything.’ Yeah, definitely my kind of people there. 😉

Man and the Sea: A Longreads Digest

Posted on by
Reply

Man and the Sea: A Longreads Digest | Mother Jones.

Here’s a nice little listing of interesting ‘sea stories’ from Mother Jones. The link is to a page with blurbs from a few (5) different articles. All previously published in places as diverse as the New York Times (A Son of the Bayou, Torn Over the Shrimping Life) to Popular Science (The Quest to Uncover the Secret Life of Sharks).

I think my favorite would have to be “A Sea Story” by William Langewiesche (The Atlantic). Its the story of the sinking of the ferry Estonia where over 850 people died in one of the deadliest maritime disasters of the century. I remember watching a movie, something in a safety class I think. This one would really be worth reading, lessons learned and all that…

Utne Monthly Music Sampler

Posted on by
Reply

Utne Monthly Music Sampler.

OK, Here’s the monthly music sampler from Utne Reader. I can’t even listen to them out here since my computer is screwed up and the internet is too slow for stuff like that. No music, no videos for me til I get off here…

There’s a good selection to check out this month. They have a great variety in this one. Everything from American folk, blues, punk to Indian folk, classical, Bollywood. I would like to listen to some of this stuff, especially the albums by “Over the Rhine” and “Zachary Cale”, but those guys the  “Jaipur Kawa Brass Band” sound super interesting and I think I might like “Rusty Belle” too.

People into more classical or traditional music might like to try out the selections from Carol Kleyn, a harpist who sings about Silkies, and Van-Anh Vanessa Vo, who plays Vietnamese instruments and sings in a mix of old and new .

Check it out. Let me know which ones you like and why. I’ll be happy to try your recommendations 😉

Lecture Series | Mariners’ Museum

Posted on by
Reply

Lecture Series | Mariners’ Museum.

I only just found out about this lecture series when I read the link on my earlier post on The Project. It will be part of this Lecture Series. It sounds like a pretty cool thing to do if you’re in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.

Each lecture has a presentation by the author and a Q & A session afterwards. They have them almost monthly and they pick some good ones. The Project about pirates sounds great. They have one on sea monsters coming up Oct 10 that sounds good too.  🙂

Check the link for more information. The website for the museum is www.marinersmuseum.org . Its FREE! 🙂

The Project: Award Winning Documentary on Somali Pirates

Posted on by
Reply

http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/Emmywinning-Filmmaker-Screens-Documentary-on-Somalian-Pirate-Hunters-2013-09-11/

Here’s a new movie coming out that looks pretty interesting. Called ‘The Project’, and directed by Emmy-award winners Shawn Efran and Adam Ciralsky. Hopefully it will bring some attention to a serious issue the worlds seafarers have to deal with.

If you happen to live in the Hampton Roads area (VA), it’s going to be shown for FREE. At the Mariners Museum (www.marinersmuseum.org). Thursday, Sept 19, 7:00 pm, followed by a Q & A session.

If I was home, I would definitely like to go see this. Pirates are a serious issue to all mariners. We may or may not know where we’re going. We’re not allowed to have any sort of protection against these thugs. Our companies expect us to run and hide in a ‘citadel’ onboard til the pirates decide to just leave. Yeah, riiiight, that works SO well…

There are thousands of seafarers injured and traumatized for life because of this. It seems it’s only when an American vessel gets attacked that there is even any publicity.

Pirate attacks happen almost daily on both the East and West Coasts of Africa. There are also attacks in the Malacca Straits, in the South China Sea, all over India and Pakistan, and yes, they still have pirates in the Caribbean  🙁

Too bad they’re not really at all like Johnny Depp.

Music Review: Neko Case – The Worse Things Get …

Posted on by
Reply

Music Review: Neko Case – The Worse Things Get ….

This was in my email recently. I love that magazine Utne Reader. They always have such interesting stuff. They even send me email updates  a couple of times a week. They do great film, music, art, book reviews. I might subscribe to them just for that. They also have really good writing and very different viewpoints from some of the other magazines I get. Pretty much totally opposite from Reason magazine for instance (which I also love- “free minds and free markets”). You won’t find much of the stuff they print in the mainstream magazines like Time either. They used to call themselves “the best of the alternative press”, now they say “cure ignorance”. I love it 🙂