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Last year I was there and posted about it, but this year I missed it. May Day in Minneapolis is always on the first Sunday in May. It starts in January, with workshops at the Heart of the Beast puppet theatre, and it reaches a climax as the bands, the bicycles, the mothers and toddlers and fathers and teenagers, the giant puppets and heartfelt messages of peace, wind their way through the Phillips and Powderhorn neighbourhoods, and it culminates with a powerful, tribal ceremony of calling the sun back from the clutches of winter, enacted in canoes on Powderhorn Lake. I found a great photo set of 2008 pics by RJ Toad on flickr.
I got an e-mail tonight from the editor of the Schmap online travel guides saying that a photo of mine found on Flickr had been shortlisted to be used in their upcoming Atlanta guide. I thought it would be the one above, but it was not, it was this one of the foyer of Mary Mac's Tea Room, which is also a pretty good picture if I do say so myself. But this other one, which is Lucky Street, downtown Atlanta, on a sunny April afternoon, is one of my favourites ever, and makes me feel all gooey and nostalgic and homesick - for Atlanta of all places! which I haven't counted as home for decades! Funny thing, nostalgia.
I am being a little bit lazy this week with the WWW, in that I am showing a website that I am already very familiar with, as it is "owned" by my daughter. The featured website is one of the thousands of CafePress.com online stores selling T-shirts, posters, caps, tiles and other paraphernalia with graphics supplied by the seller and items manufactured by a mysterious "stuff" factory somewhere. CafePress is a great boon to any artist, graphic designer or fund-raiser but it can also be used for family reunions, community events or just plain vanity (get T-shirts that say "The world revolves around your name here", for instance.) The specific one is the Aimee Danger store, featuring the unique and haunting photographic imagery of Aimee Danger. If CafePress had a wish list, most of these items would be on mine.
 A new book produced by graphic designer and long-time friend of Muhammad Ali, George Lois, Ali Rap , is a collection of "quotable moments" and iconic images of "The Greatest". Lois is also well-known for his infamous Esquire magazine cover of Ali as St. Sebastian (left). The history behind the picture is fascinating.
So, here are some pictures of Barcelona, mainly architecture and people-watching scenes:
 This post is a little late in coming. I got back from my weekend Sunday night, intending to post right away, with some nice pictures. But I have a "new" laptop and thus I had a few technical glitches (or maybe just senior moments - DH, don't say a word!) And I had a terrible Monday night experience courtesy of Central Trains and Midland Mainline, although I forgive Midland Mainline because they apologised and sent me home in a taxi. (Other than that little bit, I don't want to talk about it.)
So, the Dru Yoga Centre near Bangor in Wales, is very lovely. Pure air and water, vegetarian foods, gentle vibes, warm and cosy "chalets". I particularly enjoyed the walk through the rolling countryside to a nearby bubbling stream (or small river). The yoga was OK too, although I only attended half the sessions; after all, I was there to relax. There will be a link for all the pictures soon.
I have put the pictures on my website, but they are, like before, not especially user friendly. This link will get you the index, and clicking on the individual names will display the pictures in full size, one at a time. I am going to also put them on a photoblog in a bit; Carey is using a thing called TextAmerica (this is his blog and this is Alix's) so, although I don't like the chauvinistic name, if it proves easy to use I will set it up there. More on that later. I am off to an event of some kind in Cropston with my yoga teacher. I don't know what to expect, so more on that later, too.
I have been meaning to do a little personal blogging in there amongst the commentary and "reportage" but every time I come to my computer meaning to do it, I end up playing solitaire or some other variety of time-wasting. I think I am just too mentally depleted by my job. Or something. I have a lot of interesting little stories saved up - DH and I had a night on the tiles about a month ago and I really meant to post something about that. And various other things. I had a big payout on an investment of sorts and have a few thou to reinvest or spend. That's not something I am used to. So I did something quite uncharacteristic and bought myself a lovely toy. DH and I went out yesterday to look at printers, clothing, sofas and coffee makers. We have two hideous, ancient, falling-apart suites, one that he had before I came here - many years before - and another almost as old that we got from his parents. The coffee pot was because our cheap filter-drip machine died a few weeks back. It already had an annoying crack in the plastic housing, and then someone dropped the carafe on the floor and shattered it. So we have been discussing getting a real, serious espresso machine. The printer was something DH thought we could use - a colour laser printer. And clothes - well, why not?
OK, I am not even going to try to make this story short; I'm just going to ramble. We went to our nearest suburban-sprawl retail multiplex (Fosse Park). We started with the furniture stores. We found a small sofa we liked and decided to go home with the measurements, look around the lounge, mentally rearranging it, and make the decision from home. That took a while. Then we went to look for printers at a PC World. We didn't plan to buy anything there, just look at printers. While DH was looking at printers, I wandered over to the digital camera counter. I have been thinking of taking an adult ed course in digital photography. So the guy at the counter was showing me these cameras and he put one in my hand that I just totally fell in love with. The thought inserted itself as I looked at it and felt it in my hand - "object of desire". I am not usually subject to longings for material things, except a few specific things, like gloves, and bookplates, and really elegant pens. This was sort of like that, a fetishy feeling, but it was all about the evident quality of the thing. Reader, I bought it. And I still love it the next day. This is the one. The review really doesn't do it justice. That little thing on the front that says Cybershot on it is slid upwards to cover the lens. This turns the camera off, and sliding it back down turns it on. The viewscreen is almost the whole back of the unit, except for a tiny little control panel. It has a docking station for uploading your pictures or viewing your pictures or recharging the battery. Here's a picture of our back garden, which I have named "Suburban Sky" (the picture, not our back garden), that I took with it. So, we also bought an espresso maker and a coffee maker. The espresso maker is this one. Yeah, not usually thought of as an upscale brand, but this is a serious piece of kitchen kit and surprisingly high quality. Been trying it out - DH has been trying it out all day! He's going to be a right mess about 2 am tomorrow. We couldn't find any clothes I liked. And we ordered two two-seater sofas, a chair and a footstool when we got back home. I'm all shopped out for the moment.
 Here's the picture everyone's blogging about. And the latest story about it is that the young woman who took the picture has been fired by Maytag Aircraft, a company based in Kuwait and performing cargo services on contract to the US military. American Samizdat's Dr. Menlo has the story, including the weasel-y explanation of why it is against government policy to allow the media to show pictures like this.
Click on the pic to see another one (then use the "back" button on your browser.)
I found this blog called Sensitive Light when following a random link over at The Truth Laid Bear which was titled "Barwell Carnival". Barwell just happens to be the name of a small village adjacent to the town of Hinckley where I live. And it turns out it was THAT Barwell. There are photos also of deer at Bradgate Country Park, which is very near here.
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