3 Ring Binder

Where I rocked that bikini like nobody's business. 

Ready for Takeoff A Mid-Air Scare Experiencing Some Turbulence Cruising Altitude Preparing to Land A Ruff Landing (All photos found on BuzzFeed .) And here’s what happens when they don’t wear their seatbelts. (via NoodleFood )

In the midst of this pile of purebred poo, I realized that there is one thing that makes me stop and smell the daisies:  a really good photograph of a dog . . . being a dog, a rascal, a family pet, a loyal companion. If you can manage to get the owner(s) in there without ruining the image, so much the better – it’s just much harder to accomplish. I am very impressed with the work of this one Montana photographer, Lauren Grabelle . I don’t recall how I found her, but her work is really fun to review. Check it out – if you love dogs, I don’t see how you could be disappointed. Another terrific photographer, Illona Haus , of Scruffy Dog Photography provides a little background to go with her clients’ fabulous photo sessions on her blog . I've always been a sucker for dog stories. My daughters and I recently spent an icy afternoon scrolling and ooh ing and  aww ing through the images from these two photographers. Some might balk at the expense of a professional ...

I am more than happy to admit that my life is like ... Today, we should all be happy.  Today is Tax Freedom Day in Massachusetts - a calculation of the day upon which the average citizen of Massachusestts, if he works at the same rate for the entire year, will have been able to meet his tax obligations to federal, state, and local governments for that year beginning January 1.      If you're a Survivor and just Can't Hold Back, I have a little test for you.  How many essentially 80s allusions can you find in this video?  Grease ( Bad Sandy - yes, I know it was the 70s), Risky Business (making out in the train), LoverBoy (red leather pants - c'mon - no one does those like Mike Reno), Flashdance (dance moves and clothing), Yellow Pumps - 'nuff said. The nun doesn't count - she's timeless. And in case you missed it last night, here's Sue Sylvester's Vogue  from Glee!

What are hanger loops?  Those little straps we’re supposed to use to hang up dresses! You know they're insidious when even the photographers for Saks let this little hanger loop sneak through.

Despite Hermione's confusion between a bucket and a pot, I think this picture of my little self-sacrificing friend begs for a clever caption.  Suggestions requested.

Until ten days ago – the day, to the best of my recollection, in which I lost my five-year-old point-and-shoot Sony Cyber-shot with its rechargeable AA batteries – I hadn’t realized how dependent I had become on my camera’s ability to record anything I found visually interesting, anywhere, anytime I felt like it.   Oh, how I have since suffered its loss!   Just today, for example, I wanted to record the three inches of snow/slush combo filling my driveway, the snorting, running, sleeping dog, the molasses design in the baked beans (blech), and the court surrounding the girl who announced, “But Mom, I’m God” – each a little vignette that together make up the visual fabric of my day – nay, my life. Sadly, today, there are no crystals, no snores, no artistic-outlet -starved husband, and no game playing children to put into my external hard drive of memories, and none to share. At first refusing to acknowledge that I actually lost my camera, I borrowed my daughter’s for our recen...

I saw this a while back on one of Beth 's friend's blogs but I just thought of it again this morning and wanted to share it. It's kind of magical.

What do the murder of a wife’s lover, Philip Glass, and The Matrix have in common? Eadweard Muybridge . Mr. Muybridge (1830 – 1904) is an interesting man who made great strides in stop-action photography and the study of animal locomotion in the late 19th century. He was a commercial photographer who is credited with providing proof for a bet made by Leland Stanford, then Governor of California and race horse owner, that during a gallop, horses actually have all four feet off of the ground at one point. In order to get this photographic evidence, Muybridge eventually developed the multiple-camera technique which predated celluloid filmstrips, but is actually still used in multiple angle shots used to slow down the action (a process now called “bullet time” – think The Matrix ). Perhaps you’ve seen this famous series of photographs and the proof they provide for “unsupported transit”. Perhaps you were lucky enough to have a zoetrope top when you were little. Or perhaps, in researching...