Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Art In Bloom


There is an annual late winter event at the art museum called Art In Bloom. Master flower arrangers make creations inspired by individual works throughout the galleries. There are usually a couple in the contemporary wing that are particularly interesting. I'm not sure, though, if the softness and hardness here make a good match.          

Monday, March 6, 2017

Madeleine Monday - Guest Photographer


Mrs. C and daughter Emily took Madeleine to the butterfly house and carousel in a suburban park yesterday. (I had to go to work.) Emily is a pretty good shooter herself. The tyke had a good time but she's usually up for anything..          


Sunday, March 5, 2017

Here Comes The King


That is the name of the song that is played whenever the Budweiser Clydesale horses are out on the march because Bud styles itself the King of Beers. Personally, I think the monarchy has been deposed but that's another matter.

You find these mammoths at many major events. I'm sure they will be in the St. Patrick;s Day parade next weekend. The team is a fixture at opening day of the baseball season, not far away, where they trot around the dirt track that surrounds the playing field. Be assured that the product they represent will be for sale everywhere you look.       

Saturday, March 4, 2017

Euphemisn


There are an awful lot of brands of vodka in this country. Some promote themselves as premium products and charge enormous prices. I'm not a vodka drinker and I can't tell the difference among them.

The brands need some marketing hook to distinguish themselves. There is a brand I see a lot these days called Tito's Handmade Vodka. Handmade? Wouldn't a still work better? The brand shown here goes a step further. I don't know if other English-speaking countries use the expression but everyone here knows it. (Almost.) Change the EN to ING. Leave only a single F. Then think about a rather rude word that is a substitute for a much more rude word. Get it?

This was on a float in the Mardi Gras parade.                

Friday, March 3, 2017

Okay, We Get It


Repetition does hammer the point home. Good idea to stay out of the way. 

Thursday, March 2, 2017

I Thought This Was Supposed to Be Fun


Seems like there used to be more fun in the Mardi Gras parade. Maybe it's because I'm writing this on Ash Wednesday, but these people look way too serious. The two on the bottom don't even want to be identified.       


Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Born In The USA, Or Elsewhere


Faces in the crowd at the Mardi Gras parade. It was so packed it was hard to shoot individuals or small groups of people. At one point I set myself up in the shadows under a viaduct, looking at the streams of people walking from downtown into the Soulard district, like the photography advice sites say, waiting for people to come to me. Sorta worked. It was a lot easier to shoot up to people on the floats. 

I'm not a pop music fan but some of it leaks through to me. The song mentioned in the caption is well known. People sometimes chant it. I've given it a try only once. We once found ourselves on Myajima Island off the southern coast of Japan. The whole island is a Buddhist temple and Shinto shrine. Our group leader took us to a tiny bar, not even a sign outside. There was karaoke, of course. The patrons were mostly Japanese with some Brits and a few Swedes. We were the only Americans. To be brief, after rather too much sake the karaoke songbook was passed to me. I called up Springsteen's Born In The USA, singing a bit too loudly and with unreliable pitch. The other patrons, as Queen Victoria once said, were not amused.