Cee’s series featuring other challenges this week has the theme Which Way. This challenge includes streets, walkways, waterways – any “way” on which people travel.
Winter, spring, summer or fall – there’s always something interesting to experience on roads and sidewalks in every season.
The theme of Cee;s Fun Foto Challenge this week is books and paper. When I looked up my photos in this category, I found memorabilia (personal and historical), such as the following:
At the Overlord Museum at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France
I don’t think this display is really made of paper, but it’s meant to look like the pages of a book. This display describing the history of the hotel and the findings of Howard Cater was in the lobby of the Sofitel Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor, Egypt.
In our local newspaper, The Daily Herald, there is a column on Sunday that I enjoy reading called “Grammar Moses.” Jim Baumann, Mr. Grammar Moses himself, writes about grammar and spelling gaffes, mistakes, and clarification of usage of particular words or phrases sent in by readers. How often have we all seen a sign like this one?
Cards Against Humanity is a sort of nasty card game that is also hilarious (if you like this sort of thing), which I’d never heard of before until our son-in-law introduced it to us. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, seek out this game if you are not prepared for truly sick and twisted humor! Every once in a while, I get in the mood for it, and then I ask my son-in-law if we can play it next time we go over to their house…
Books and coloring books were my solace and salvation during the pandemic quarantine, in the spring of last year.
I did some original artwork during those months too.
Lens-Artists’ topic this week is interesting architecture.
Dipping into my archives, five years ago this month, we were in Brazil. These photos are of the new museum Museu do Amanha (Museum of Tomorrow) in Rio de Janeiro. Designed by the renowned Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava, this science museum is very interesting, with many interactive exhibits that pose questions about our planet’s future.
The city of Sao Paulo has a variety of interesting architectural structures, dating from colonial times to futuristic modern buildings. The first images were taken along Avenida Paulista, which is closed to vehicle traffic on Sundays, so that pedestrians and bicyclists can enjoy the many interesting places along this avenue in the downtown area. First are several modern buildings and facades, followed by details of a Victorian era house called Casa das Rosas because of its rose gardens in front. The Instituto Tomie Ohtake complex is another example of modern architecture. Finally, in central Sao Paulo is the cathedral, built in neo-Gothic style topped by a Renaissance type dome. Downtown Sao Paulo is a good place to see Portuguese colonial style buildings, such as the Anchieta History Museum (closed the day we were there!). Farther out from the city center is Luz Railway Station, a hub of subway lines crisscrossing the city, as well as trains for travel outside the city. It was built to serve the British-owned Sao Paulo Railway and was built with influences of classic late-Victorian architectural style. Its most iconic feature is its clock tower. We took a subway line back to our Airbnb from Luz after visiting the Pinacoteca, one of Brazil’s most important art museums.
We also visited the capital city of the state of Parana, Curitiba, where we stayed with good friends. One of the most interesting structures is the ultra-modern Museu Oscar Niemeyer (MON) named for the architect who designed it. Its 17 thousand square meters of art exhibit space is now the largest in Latin America.
The topic for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is twisted & squiggly shapes. Many are found in nature, such as twisted trees…
…and saguaro cacti, which can be quite humorous to look at!
Artists have used the patterns and fractals found in nature since ancient times, such as
petroglyphs
and modern sculptures,
and a swirled “mane” on a Chinese lion statue.
And here’s one more…try to guess what it is!
These photos are from past challenges (mostly photos I DIDN’T use), squares and others, for Becky’s October Squares and Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – straight lines.
I’m finally jumping in to Becky’s October square challenge: Squares of the Past!
When I do an ongoing challenge, I create a folder especially for that challenge, and often the pictures I add never “make the cut.” So I’m going to begin with the Squares in those folders which I didn’t include originally.
These “bright squares” were all taken at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington in September of 2019.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this past week has been about circles and wheels. Here is my contribution.
Pumpkins are not necessarily round, but their shape is generally thought of as spherical – some are and some aren’t! I just liked this display of pumpkins outside a Mariano’s supermarket.
Wheels:
And a pinwheel!
Circular centers of flowers
Ice on a circular pot…
…and decorative bowls.
Lens-Artists’ Photo Challenge #163 invites us to share photos of our walking trails and discoveries!
We used to hike much more than we do now. Even so, when we are traveling and there is an opportunity to take a walking tour, we take advantage of it! Also, we go on day trips in the Chicago area, to a variety of places to find something artistic or unusual.
On our first day in Tanzania, we spent the morning on a genuine hike! This ficus tree captured my interest.
On that same hike, our guide stopped to pick up something off the ground – a giraffe turd! Holding it in his open palm, he told us it was the turd of a male giraffe, because of its somewhat football shape. Female giraffe turds are flat on each end! Several of our group of hikers crowded around to get a close-up of this unusual find! The guide patiently waited, while with his other hand he looked at something on his cellphone!
Where there is giraffe poop, you can be sure there are giraffes nearby! This one walked nonchalantly away from us – since it was also a male giraffe, I wonder if his was the deposit we had been examining!
Later during that trip, on the day we arrived at Serengeti National Park, another hike had been arranged! I love to walk because that is when I see the small things that would be missed on a bike or traveling in a vehicle! I took photos of these three small things on that hike.
Most of my walks are short treks either around campus or somewhere else in town. On campus one day, which happened to be my birthday, Dale and I were taking our usual walk around campus, when we came upon two other residents who were walking their dogs and had stopped to chat (while social distancing!). It’s common for residents to greet each other or chat on these walks, but before long, someone says, “Well, I need to keep walking” and they go their separate ways.
During the pandemic, we’ve taken day trips to far-flung suburbs and nature reserves.
Some of my favorite walks are in sculpture parks! Our walk at Morton Arboretum, which happened to be on my birthday this year, was in search of a new installation of sculptures by a South African artist.
Cee is featuring songs as inspiration for photography for her Fun Foto Challenge. And this week it’s one of my most favorite songs, Here Comes the Sun!
It’s been a long cold lonely winter
Here comes the sun
That ice is slowly melting
The smiles returning to the faces
For Becky’s July #TreeSquares challenge, I continue featuring trees in Tanzania, with things hanging from their branches.
I don’t know, or don’t remember (if I was told at the time) the name of this tree, but was fascinated by the strange pods or fruits hanging from it.
On the other hand, we saw many acacia trees with these tightly woven birds’ nests hanging from them.
These nests are made by the male weaver. He attracts a mate by having woven the best nest in the neighborhood!
When the weavers’ nests are abandoned, they hang bedraggled from the tree.
Wanderlust & Wonderment 