#131/365 Went over to the in-laws today for mother's day sporting the d40. I was going to take this shot for pretty pink tuesday, but since tuesday is actually another special day, this now becomes Pretty Pink Monday. And yes, that is the color of their house...its called "desert rose" if anyone of you to paint your house that color. Happy Pretty Pink Monday!

 

Extra Pink

...(to read more, please visit my blog)

 

My blog.

 

My gallery.

This was Noelle, my beautiful Christmas kitty. Noelle adopted me right before Christmas in the late 1980's. i took her home to get her out of the rain one night, and ended up keeping her. She found me, and would only come to me out of all the other people who were around the pizzeria where I worked and saw her for the first time. She was with me for many years. I believe she died in January of 2002. Though I didn't know how old she was when I took her in, the vet guessed between 1-2 years. She was about 17 or so when she passed, maybe 18. I still miss her! I used to call her "Jelly Belly", and I swear, she seemed to get mad at me every time I said it! She was a smart little thing.

 

When I got into photography, it was really because of Noelle. I have only really grainy, bad quality photos of her, and only a small handful of them. The one thing about Noelle that was striking, aside from her adorable, Persian-like face, was that she had the most gorgeous green eyes you ever saw, and they were so big in relation to her tiny face! I don't have one single good shot of those beautiful eyes, and it just kills me. After I got Squeegee and Barrymore, I realized the same would happen with them if I didn't start taking better shots! I bought my first little point and shoot digital in about 2006, and took hundreds of shots of the boys! So, when they both passed, I still can look into their eyes and it's almost like having them there. I really wish I had that with Noelle. She was such a good girl!

 

I always felt that we were Christmas presents to each other. Noelle made it no secret that I was her person, and would get downright huffy if I didn't pay homage to her! My only real Christmas kitty is now a memory, and though I tried to salvage her photo, it doesn't do her any justice. I am so glad that all future pets will be "imortalized" a lot better!

 

Sorry for the crummy quality, Folks. It means just as much to me as if it were a good shot, but I know it does nothing for you! If nothing else, appreciate that you, too, can do much better with the photos of your loved ones and pets now, too. These memories are too precious to be archived with the awful cameras of the past. Even my worst P&S digital would do better than this 35mm did. Fortunately, no one can take Noelle's memory from me. She is as beautiful in it as she should be in this pic....

Edited with the NEW Sunset's Fringe of Gold Lightroom Preset Collection.

 

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Copyright Susan Ogden

 

It starts...the watching and waiting on intense storms, hurricanes forming off the coast of Africa, which may or may not be making their way to disrupt the serenity of this ribbon of sand in autumn.

 

Florence. Making up her mind which way to go...who to torment and disrupt or devastate. I am prepared to stay if she is a Cat 1 or even Cat 2, because more often than not it is worse inland where all the water is blown west up the rivers and inlets and sounds into the wetlands, and towns and over the roads...after talking to many people that stay, they say that just hunkering down and having water and basic staples, and waiting it out is sometimes the best case scenario.

 

I am not panicking ...I am making a plan ahead of time and stocking up. I am more worried about wind than water, but I will take my car to my daughter’s ...she is atop a high spot on the island, unless it is coming in hotter than a Cat2...and then I suppose I will be packing clothes...booking a hotel inland and gathering up my mom...Bubba the Beach Cat, my Hermit Crabs (yet to be named) and a couple books, my camera and computer and heading out. At least I finally got my NC license and will be able to get back on the island as soon as first responders give the ok.!

 

Everyone ...please get ready to blow huge huffy breaths at Florence and send her back out over my ocean, should she make a poor choice of landfall here! Thanks!!

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Fits Charles Creature Cabinet hedgehog baby faeires Hoglet, Holly, and Huffy plus blossom faeries So, Po, and Pin-Da

Thank You so very much fer da 4.2 million views

 

self–absorbed

: only caring about and interested in yourself

absorbed in one's own thoughts, activities, or interests

egoistic (also egoistical), egomaniacal, egotistic (or egotistical), narcissistic, self-absorbed, self-centered, self-concerned, self-infatuated, self-interested, self-involved, selfish, self-loving, self-obsessed, self-oriented, self-preoccupied, self-regarding, self-seeking, self-serving, solipsistic

 

narcissism

egoism, egocentrism

self love of or sexual desire for one's own body

egocentricity, egocentrism, egomania, egotism, egoism, navel-gazing, self-centeredness, self-concern, self-interest, self-involvement, selfishness, selfness, self-preoccupation, self-regard

 

egotism

excessive use of the first person singular personal pronoun

b : the practice of talking about oneself too much

 

an exaggerated sense of self-importance : conceit

amour propre, bighead, complacency, conceit, conceitedness, ego, egotism, complacence, pomposity, pompousness, pride, pridefulness, self-admiration, self-assumption, self-conceit, self-congratulation, self-esteem, self-glory, self-importance, self-love, self-opinion, self-satisfaction, smugness, swelled head, swellheadedness, vaingloriousness, vainglory, vainness, vanity

 

self-admiration

pompous

excessively elevated or ornate

 

having or exhibiting self-importance : arrogant

relating to or suggestive of pomp or splendor : magnificent

assumptive, bumptious, cavalier, chesty, haughty, highfalutin (also hifalutin), high-and-mighty, high-handed, high-hat, huffish, huffy, imperious, important, lofty, lordly, masterful, overweening, peremptory, arrogant, presuming, presumptuous, pretentious, self-asserting, self-assertive, sniffy, stiff-necked, supercilious, superior, toplofty (also toploftical), uppish, uppity

 

pretentious

making usually unjustified or excessive claims (as of value or standing)

b : expressive of affected, unwarranted, or exaggerated importance, worth, or stature

making demands on one's skill, ability, or means

affected, high-minded, la-di-da (also la-de-da or lah-de-dah or lah-dee-dah or lah-di-dah), ostentatious, snippy

 

grandiose

characterized by affectation of grandeur or splendor or by absurd exaggeration

impressive because of uncommon largeness, scope, effect, or grandeur

august, baronial, epic, gallant, glorious, grand, heroic (also heroical), Homeric, imperial, imposing, magnific, magnificent, majestic, massive, monumental, noble, proud, regal, royal, splendid, stately

 

arrogant

exaggerating or disposed to exaggerate one's own worth or importance often by an overbearing manner

showing an offensive attitude of superiority : proceeding from or characterized by arrogance

assumptive, bumptious, cavalier, chesty, haughty, highfalutin (also hifalutin), high-and-mighty, high-handed, high-hat, huffish, huffy, imperious, important, lofty, lordly, masterful, overweening, peremptory, presuming, presumptuous, pretentious, self-asserting, self-assertive, sniffy, stiff-necked, supercilious, superior, toplofty (also toploftical), uppish, uppity

 

proud, arrogant, haughty, lordly, insolent, overbearing, supercilious, disdainful mean showing scorn for inferiors. proud may suggest an assumed superiority or loftiness arrogant implies a claiming for oneself of more consideration or importance than is warranted haughty suggests a consciousness of superior birth or position lordly implies pomposity or an arrogant display of power insolent implies contemptuous haughtiness overbearing suggests a tyrannical manner or an intolerable insolence supercilious implies a cool, patronizing haughtiness disdainful suggests a more active and openly scornful superciliousness

 

pompous

excessively elevated or ornate

having or exhibiting self-importance : arrogant

 

vanity

: the quality of people who have too much pride in their own appearance, abilities, achievements, etc. : the quality of being vain

something (such as a belief or a way of behaving) which shows that you have too much pride in yourself, your social status, etc.

something that is vain, empty, or valueless

 

the quality or fact of being vain

 

inflated pride in oneself or one's appearance : conceit

complacence

self intoxicated

The professional Photographer who goes out on the Whale watching boat every trip was as excited as I was to get this shot! Seeing 2 Whales breach at the same time, within your frame, is a once in a lifetime shot, and he has only captured this a few times in the last few years, and never so spectacularly!. I was feeling very smug also, because the captain saw me get my camera out ,as we settled down on the boat to look for whales, and came over and told me, rather patronisingly, that it would really be better if I just enjoyed the experience and then paid the photographer $20 to email me his 6 best shots, because his would probably be better! I told him, rather huffily, that I was a photographer too, and capturing the whales myself was very important to me. When i got this, I compared mine to his , and mine , here, was just as good!

That is why I have chosen this Humpback shot for Hump day, as every time I look at it I smile!

Happy Hump day!

All rights reserved. Please do not use this or any of my images in anyway without my written permission.

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So to explain this best, there is a small story running through my head about what I'm calling The Beacons (Or something like it.) This set was in fact inspired by a dream I had where Carol Ferris was nearing the end of her life, facing a cancer/incurable disease (So in a similar fashion to Pa Kent's heart attack, Hal Jordan could do nothing to save her).

 

So, due to the over bearing emotions flooding him, he finds that he's losing touch with his power ring. Due to this, leads him to request from The Guardians a temporary leave of absence.

Naturally, The Guardians say no, but work with him anyway. They assign him to the edge of know spacial territory, as a temporary fill-in for the previous GL on duty.

 

Now in my mind, The Beacons, act as a exploration unit for the Green Lantern Corps. There are a bunch of these scattered around the universe, but they always travel in groups of three. (They're like, sentient explorer robot... spaceships... that The Corps protects)

 

Anyway, so Jordan, while spaceship babysitting, discovers something he had never expected to find.

 

A Blue Lantern!

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Okay, before we get all huffy-puffy about how this isn't cannon to any GL story, I know that. :P

 

This was just a lot of heavy inspiration from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and a bit from Green Lantern: The Animated Series. And yes, it did come to me in parts as a dream (Woah, trippy)

 

P.S. I'm a terrible writer so if you have any questions, or found something that didn't make sense, you're welcome to ask

  

I'm very proud of this set for a multitude of reasons. One being the fact, that I've been shooting GL for nearly as long as The Flash. (I know right?) but I've never been 100% happy with them though, and up to this point, it had never quite made the Andrew Cookston quota that I strive for. (Realistic Lighting/Editing balance)

 

The second item of importance is Saint Walker from greenpeatoys! He's a wonderful minifig that has been hiding in my sorting system for some time now, so I'm quite glad I can finally showcase him here.

 

And lastly (that's a word right? Lastly :P) I've tried something which I've never tried before. Force perspective building! If any of you have been following me for long enough will notice, I don't build all that often, so it always makes me nervous how these things will come across, so let me know what you guys think of that as well.

 

Anyway, that was a lot of typing, I'm gonna go now *phew*

:P

mmmm..... am I allowed to feel buyers remorse?

Now before anyone gets all huffy and puffy I am not, I repeat, I am not slagging off this purchase, I am simply explaining that it's not for me.

So it begins....

Chapter four maddness was in full swing when I spied the o.o yuki gacha, a mesh head for 100l's? WHY NOT!

((though you also have to buy the hud for an additional 100l's))

But for the low low price of 200l's i had a head, accompanying skin, and all the alphas and appliers I needed.

Normally I try before i buy.

This time I did not..... because im stupid....and the gacha savages were in full flight :)

As soon as I put it on I recoiled. Physically recoiled. NOT because it was bad.... but... but...

that level of cutsie is the anti-christ of my personality.

Now I will say that whilst this is a beautiful product the adjusting did take time, the alpha lines for the neck a particular pain to navigate ;/ the stretching of the head is tedious and it took another 20mins to get freaking eyeballs to sit right. Once It was fitted I "manned up" and thought, "lilly. You bought it. Wear It, Take Pics And DO NOT COMPLAIN" i spent an eternity going through my inventory looking for anything cutsie. ((THANK GOD AND THANK YOU to BABYDOLL, those bubblegum wedges saved the day! Group Gift, Free to Join!))

And here is the result...

Isn't she cute? (i want to punch her in the face)

Isn't she innocent? (I want to tell her santa isn't real)

Later tonight ill need to set fire to something or maybe kick a pixel cat to feel like me again.

Beautiful Product.

I just fucking hate myself in it :)

Huffy Holiday Mugs II

 

Includes:

Unisex Bento Accessory

Texture HUD With Four Metals + Four Colors/Sayings

MyStory RP Scripts

Fulfills Thirst + Energy Needs

 

Available at the Mainstore discounted to 50L for Fifty Linden Black Friday!

Not to mention the dreaded non-motorized rotary lawn mower I used to cut the grass with. This was quite a large lawn!

 

Across Merwin Avenue from the Long Island Sound shoreline, this was the world I grew up in.

These are the creations of “The Flower Bike Man”. His real name is Warren Gregory, aged 49. With a voice like Jeff Bridges, and a warm hippie vibe, Warren hails from Florida. The beauty all started after his wife lost her bike at Central station when they were living here 15 years ago. Thus, he began his journey with one simple bouquet to help distinguish his wife’s bike from the others. When they moved back to Florida, his wife, Michelle who has very bad epilepsy, found that one street in Florida gave her confusion when she suffered from a memory lapse. He decided to take a bike and matched the colors of the flowers to the house on that street, and from that point on, she no longer had issues recognizing that street.

 

flowers bike amsterdam

 

He and his wife moved back to Amsterdam about a year ago, taking 12 of his 250 bikes with him via plane and shipping container across the ocean. Included in his collection are his Raleigh, Huffy, and Madwagon-combo-trailer. Thus far he has had 10 bikes given to him in Amsterdam, otherwise, he uses abandoned bikes to make his art. Many of these bikes were decorated before he arrived in the Netherlands soil, but he has added some flourishes since. He has, unfortunately, had many thefts of his decorations. He isn’t sure why people do it but has also experienced a positive result of such vandalism. A traveling American family saw Warren’s “Packer’s” (an American football team) and learned about the vandalism. Feeling Wisconsin pride and generosity the family started a Go-Fund me page and raised 600$ to help reimburse his losses.

  

His bikes have since come to represent something much more than love and happiness, sometimes intentional and sometimes not. He laughs and says, “It’s just a bike”.

 

Overall, his message comes as light out of darkness, his own traumatic experiences led him to escape back to Amsterdam. Here, he feels safe to share his story alongside his positive message. He witnessed police brutality and has since been a victim of it due to this officer trying to cover his own tracks. The story as Warren tells it is such:

 

He witnessed an Officer Roque grab a woman, hit her in the face and put her head down. This officer proceeded to rape this woman. This woman and Warren later chatted, and she warned Warren that this officer “will bury you”. The town paid for a lawyer for Warren, but it wasn’t enough. The police reported five new false charges, which is in his case against Tarpon Springs. Before the case was even filed, he said “[the police officer] offered me 200,000”.

 

flowers bike amsterdam

 

This woman, unfortunately, has since overdosed. Thus, her testimony is no longer possible in a court of law. However, these false charges are still on his records. He’s been attacked, as has his epileptic wife. She still suffers from brain damage from these incidents. They fled to the Netherlands and created the Instagram account to try and keep his safety, by “creating this entity to protect myself.”

  

He maintains such inspirational hope after all these incidents, continuing to create bikes to see people smile. “That’s how I know the energy works so much because it came from such dark energy.” People call him an artist and often insist on paying him for his work. Ultimately, he hangs on to the original reason for creating his bikes: his wife. He doesn’t mind the title, as so much positive energy has come from his creations. His intention has never been to sell, though he has gotten some free dinners and occasionally some pocket change for his bikes. He has made a bike for the Fietstallen in the North, as well as the Pizza Bakers there. He says, “for me, seeing the bike I created is enough”.

  

Canon FS100 camcorder mounted via a camera bracket I purchased many years ago. Next trip to the bikepath, I'll hit the record button and see what results. UPDATE: Video is posted at: folkblogger.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/getting-some-exercis...

Hedgehog Faerie kindergarten @charlescreaturecabinet [HOGLET, HOLLY + HUFFY] Hedgehog Faerie Baby 45mm Micro BJD ~TONIGHT at 10pm CET

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CCC TRIPLETS hoglet holly huffy | 45mm Micro BJD | HAPPYNOSE Hedgeling Faerie | Ball-Jointed Doll | lil' pOtbellie

~rose quartz pink /w pink faceup painting Glow-in-the-Dark white

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All outfits hand micro knits @argenTTo | Etsy

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Photo: @charlescreaturecabinet | NL

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BJD Sculpt ™️ Copyright ©️ 2008 | Charles Grimberg-Stephan | Charles' Creature Cabinet | All Rights Reserved.

He really wasn’t getting huffy, but he wasn’t too sure about the intensions of the clown in the canoe and was prepared to set sail the minute anything got awkward. This American White Pelican stuck around a bit longer than most of them do. Photo taken on Horsepen Bayou.

 

DSC_8182uls

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Mr. Trump is a little huffy for the reason that Greenland is not for sale and has therefore canceled his visit to Denmark that should have taken place in 2 weeks. In the same moment he also declined the invitation from the Danish Queen Margrethe 2.

  

American Tune

 

Many's the time I've been mistaken

And many times confused

Yes, and often felt forsaken

And certainly misused

But I'm all right, I'm all right

I'm just weary to my bones

Still, you don't expect to be

Bright and bon vivant

So far away from home, so far away from home

 

And I don't know a soul who's not been battered

I don't have a friend who feels at ease

I don't know a dream that's not been shattered

or driven to its knees

But it's all right, it's all right

We've lived so well so long

Still, when I think of the road

we're traveling on

I wonder what went wrong

I can't help it, I wonder what went wrong

 

And I dreamed I was dying

And I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly

And looking back down at me

Smiled reassuringly

And I dreamed I was flying

And high up above my eyes could clearly see

The Statue of Liberty

Sailing away to sea

And I dreamed I was flying

 

We come on the ship they call the Mayflower

We come on the ship that sailed the moon

We come in the age's most uncertain hour

and sing an American tune

But it's all right, it's all right

You can't be forever blessed

Still, tomorrow's going to be another working day

And I'm trying to get some rest

That's all I'm trying to get some rest

 

Paul Simon

self–absorbed

: only caring about and interested in yourself

absorbed in one's own thoughts, activities,image or interests

egoistic (also egoistical), egomaniacal, egotistic (or egotistical), narcissistic, self-absorbed, self-centered, self-concerned, self-infatuated, self-interested, self-involved, selfish, self-loving, self-obsessed, self-oriented, self-preoccupied, self-regarding, self-seeking, self-serving, solipsistic

 

narcissism

egoism, egocentrism

 

: love of or sexual desire for one's own body

egocentricity, egocentrism, egomania, egotism, egoism, navel-gazing, self-centeredness, self-concern, self-interest, self-involvement, selfishness, selfness, self-preoccupation, self-regard

 

egotism

excessive use of the first person singular personal pronoun

b : the practice of talking about oneself too much

 

: an exaggerated sense of self-importance : conceit

amour propre, bighead, complacency, conceit, conceitedness, ego, egotism, complacence, pomposity, pompousness, pride, pridefulness, self-admiration, self-assumption, self-conceit, self-congratulation, self-esteem, self-glory, self-importance, self-love, self-opinion, self-satisfaction, smugness, swelled head, swellheadedness, vaingloriousness, vainglory, vainness, vanity

 

self-admiration

pompous

excessively elevated or ornate

 

: having or exhibiting self-importance : arrogant

 

: relating to or suggestive of pomp or splendor : magnificent

assumptive, bumptious, cavalier, chesty, haughty, highfalutin (also hifalutin), high-and-mighty, high-handed, high-hat, huffish, huffy, imperious, important, lofty, lordly, masterful, overweening, peremptory, arrogant, presuming, presumptuous, pretentious, self-asserting, self-assertive, sniffy, stiff-necked, supercilious, superior, toplofty (also toploftical), uppish, uppity

 

pretentious

making usually unjustified or excessive claims (as of value or standing)

b : expressive of affected, unwarranted, or exaggerated importance, worth, or stature

 

: making demands on one's skill, ability, or means

affected, high-minded, la-di-da (also la-de-da or lah-de-dah or lah-dee-dah or lah-di-dah), ostentatious, snippy

 

grandiose

characterized by affectation of grandeur or splendor or by absurd exaggeration

 

: impressive because of uncommon largeness, scope, effect, or grandeur

august, baronial, epic, gallant, glorious, grand, heroic (also heroical), Homeric, imperial, imposing, magnific, magnificent, majestic, massive, monumental, noble, proud, regal, royal, splendid, stately

 

arrogant

exaggerating or disposed to exaggerate one's own worth or importance often by an overbearing manner

 

: showing an offensive attitude of superiority : proceeding from or characterized by arrogance

assumptive, bumptious, cavalier, chesty, haughty, highfalutin (also hifalutin), high-and-mighty, high-handed, high-hat, huffish, huffy, imperious, important, lofty, lordly, masterful, overweening, peremptory, presuming, presumptuous, pretentious, self-asserting, self-assertive, sniffy, stiff-necked, supercilious, superior, toplofty (also toploftical), uppish, uppity

 

proud, arrogant, haughty, lordly, insolent, overbearing, supercilious, disdainful mean showing scorn for inferiors. proud may suggest an assumed superiority or loftiness arrogant implies a claiming for oneself of more consideration or importance than is warranted haughty suggests a consciousness of superior birth or position lordly implies pomposity or an arrogant display of power insolent implies contemptuous haughtiness overbearing suggests a tyrannical manner or an intolerable insolence supercilious implies a cool, patronizing haughtiness disdainful suggests a more active and openly scornful superciliousness

 

pompous

excessively elevated or ornate

 

: having or exhibiting self-importance : arrogant

 

vanity

: the quality of people who have too much pride in their own appearance, abilities, achievements, etc. : the quality of being vain

 

: something (such as a belief or a way of behaving) which shows that you have too much pride in yourself, your social status, etc.

something that is vain, empty, or valueless

 

: the quality or fact of being vain

 

: inflated pride in oneself or one's appearance : conceit

complacence

At the Grapevine Rec Center

Old Town ( Puran Dhaka ). Bangladesh.

monica-aguinaga.com

 

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Davis- " Yea baby I can take you places you've never been before. Cmon sexy lets do this!"

 

Raquelle-" OMG are you serious?! Please! Call me when you upgrade from a huffy to Hummer!"

was in a check-out line behind two young girls whose mom was buying them each a huffy bike (fully assembled-- smart mom). noticed the accessory on the handlebars-- a cup/water bottle holder and the flat skinnier holder is for your cellphone-- it even has a "gripper" tab inside to hold it more securely!!

CMWD_yellow

Taken back in January of 2006, two months after the October 9, 2005 catastrophic flood in Alstead. Here's a Huffy Bicycle beside a shed, looking like it's not going to see any use until after the snow melts. We were returning from a camera club function near Lebanon, New Hampshire and decided to pass through Alstead to see how the town was recovering. Parts of the town were still a mess and we decided we would NOT photograph any of the damage caused by this deadly weather event. Seeing the destruction was enough.

 

This was taken with my old Kodak P850 point & shoot camera, a great little 5 MP camera having a 12x image stabilizing zoom lens. Any bad images I got with it were NOT the fault of the camera. Last week after going through some images taken with it years ago, I brought it "out of hibernation", charged up its battery and did some macro shooting in my back yard. It still functions 100% as new. Except for the white lettering around a function button having worn off, it looks new too. I like using my older cameras that are "sleeping" in the back of my cabinet. They're too good to just have sitting around taking up space.

 

100-0063H

A cropped image taken originally with an Kodak Instamatic 104 loaded up with a cartridge of 126 Verichrome Pan film.

 

This house still survives, but the tree fell during a hurricane in August 1976. Both sides of the home are now surrounded by brand new houses just feet away. That's typical of how this neighborhood has gone from semi-rural to totally suburban over the past several decades.

...is for Ashcan collection

There is barely any color left in this 56 year-old 3.5x5 inch photograph of me and my brother.

 

Original Photo

 

Photos of that era had a tendency to start fading after a few years. Our Dad snapped this shot but I can't remember what type of camera or film he used, probably Kodak or Polaroid. A few years ago my brother scanned this photo and produced a digital image which I tweaked using photo editing software to bring that moment back to life. A little bit of color is all you need if your editing software offers a large "color saturation" adjustment.

 

I remember how dry and crispy the grass was on that day. It must have been late summer. I know it was hot. The shrubs had a perfume and I recall the faint odor of freshly painted shutters on the windows. Mom and Dad were proud of our place and kept it spic n span.

 

Mom kept a watchful eye on newspaper ads. Occasionally, Sears or Montgomery Ward would offer a 2 for 1 deal on boys clothing. Mom and Dad taught us what it meant to be frugal and thrifty. Dad's DIY burr haircuts and home maintenance projects showed us how to save money. I still cut my own hair. It ain't pretty but it feels good when I think of the money I've saved over the years.

 

We received those bikes (Huffy Cheater Slick) the previous Christmas and spent the summer of '69 polishing our fenders with Dad's Turtle Wax. I used my allowance to purchase a speedometer for my bike at the local Western Auto store and I'm not exactly sure why 😜 since I never reached more than 20 mph. I guess I thought it was cool. Back then, our world consisted of a few blocks within our neighborhood in Lexington, Kentucky. We would meet with our friends and see who could lock their brakes and lay down the longest skid-mark, or ride down to Southland Shopping Center to get an ice-cream cone, a comic book and some bubble gum.

 

I never watched CBS News-man Walter Cronkite (or Waller Crank-Tight as Dad called him) who appeared each evening on 1 of our 4 TV channels, but I remember watching Neil Armstrong plant his feet on the Moon.

 

Years later, I discovered how many headlines made history that year, how time has changed the world, and how some things never change.

 

Space

Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins performed the first successful manned moon landing and Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. The Mariner 6 Mars probe was launched from the United States and Soviet space probes Venera 5 & 6 arrived in Venus' atmosphere and were able to transmit information about the planet for 50 minutes before the Soviets lost contact.

 

Project Blue Book, the United States Air Force’s investigation into unidentified flying objects known as UFOs, officially came to an end on December 17.

 

Music

The Woodstock Festival was held near White Lake, New York, attracting 350,000 music fans. Woodstock featured some of the top rock musicians of the era including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, Joe Cocker, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. In England, the Isle of Wight Festival attracted an audience of approximately 150,000 to watch 26 performers including Bob Dylan, The Who, Blonde On Blonde, Joe Cocker, The Moody Blues and Free. A free concert organized by the Rolling Stones was held at Altamont Speedway in Livermore, California with problems caused by the use of Hells Angels as Bouncers resulting in a number of deaths.

 

The Beatles released their Abbey Road album and gave their last public performance from the roof of Apple Records in London. John Lennon and Yoko Ono were married at Gibraltar, and had their honeymoon "Bed-In" for peace in Amsterdam. The John Lennon Album "Two Virgins" featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the nude were confiscated at Newark Airport. Brian Jones, former Rolling Stones Guitarist drowned after a drinking and drug binge.

 

Led Zeppelin released Led Zeppelin II to critical acclaim, Pink Floyd released their Ummagumma album, The Rolling Stones released their Let It Bleed album and The Who released their Tommy album featuring the hit classic Pinball Wizard. Elvis Presley scored his final number one hit with the song Suspicious Minds.

 

Popular Songs: The Rolling Stones -- " Honky Tonk Woman ", The Beatles -- " Get Back" and "Come Together ", Johnny Cash -- "Daddy Sang Bass", Zager and Evans -- "In The Year 2525", The Archies -- "Sugar Sugar" and The Fifth Dimension -- "Aquarius".

 

Politicians

Richard Nixon was sworn in as the 37th U.S. president and Golda Meir became the first female prime minister of Israel. Moammar Gadhafi, a military captain at the time, deposed King Idris and assumed control of Libya. Charles de Gaulle Resigned as French President. Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower died after a long illness at the age of 79 and Ho Chi Minh, the president of North Vietnam also died at the age of 79.

 

US Senator Edward M. Kennedy drove off a bridge into a tidal pond after leaving a party on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, killing passenger Mary Jo Kopechne who was trapped inside the vehicle. Kennedy did not report the accident for nine or ten hours.

 

Sea

Robin Knox-Johnston became the first person to sail around the world solo without stopping. Donald Crowhurst's sailing trimaran Teignmouth Electron was found drifting and unoccupied in mid-Atlantic; it was presumed that Crowhurst committed suicide (or fell overboard) at sea earlier in the month having falsified his progress in the solo Sunday Times Golden Globe Race.

 

John Fairfax landed in Hollywood Beach, Florida near Miami and became the first person to row across an ocean solo. The SS United States, the last active United States Lines passenger ship, was withdrawn from service and the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 was entered into service.

 

The Australian light aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne sliced the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half killing 82 of her crew.

 

Flight

The Boeing 747 "jumbo jet" was flown for the first time, taking off from the Boeing airfield at Everett, Washington. The 747 also made its first passenger flight carrying 191 people, most of them reporters and photographers, from Seattle to New York City.

 

In Toulouse, France, The Concorde made its first successful flight with a maximum cruising speed of 2,179 km (1,354 miles) per hour, more than twice the speed of sound and The Hawker Siddeley Harrier known as the "Jump Jet" was entered into service with the Royal Air Force.

 

Despite temperatures of -43C at altitudes of 29,000 ft. 22-year-old Cuban refugee Armando Socarras Ramirez survived in the wheel well of a DC-8 from Havana, Cuba, to Madrid, Spain, wearing only light clothing.

 

Medicine

On 4 April 1969, Domingo Liotta and Denton A. Cooley replaced a dying man's heart with a mechanical heart inside the chest at The Texas Heart Institute in Houston as a bridge for a transplant. The man woke up and began to recover. After 64 hours, the pneumatic-powered artificial heart was removed and replaced with a donor heart.

 

A teenager known as 'Robert R.' died in St. Louis, Missouri, of a baffling medical condition. In 1984 Robert R's condition was identified as the earliest confirmed case of HIV/AIDS in North America.

 

Doctors at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, made medical history on April 22nd, when they performed the first human eye transplant on 54-year-old John Madden. Because the donor eye had not been preserved enough to keep it viable, the procedure failed to restore Madden's sight.

 

Weather

During the last week of February a snowstorm hit the Northeastern U.S. region. The storm had a Regional Snowfall Index (RSI) of 34.03 making it a Category 5 storm. Mt. Washington in New Hampshire had over 8 feet of snow during the storm. On February 25 alone, Mt. Washington had over 4 feet of snow: 49.3 inches, which is still the one-day record.

 

Category 5 Hurricane Camille, the most powerful tropical cyclonic system at landfall in history, hit the Mississippi coast, killing 248 people and left $1.5 billion dollars in damage (1969 dollars).

 

Crime

Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin were shot at Blue Rock Springs Park in Vellejo, California. They were the second (known) victims of the Zodiac Killer. Mageau survived the attack but Ferrin was pronounced dead-on-arrival at Richmond Medical Center. Two months later, The Zodiac Killer stabbed Bryan Hartnell and Cecilia Shepard at Lake Berryessa. Hartnell survived but Shepard died. During the following month, The Zodiac Killer shot and killed taxi driver Paul Stine in the Presidio Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, marking the infamous serial killer's last known slaying.

 

Members of the Manson Family invaded the home of actress Sharon Tate and her husband Roman Polanski in Los Angeles. The followers killed Tate (who was 8.5 months pregnant), and her friends: Folgers coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, and Hollywood hairstylist Jay Sebring. Also killed was Steven Parent, leaving from a visit to the Polanskis' caretaker. More than 100 stab wounds were found on the victims, except for Parent, who had been shot almost as soon as the Manson Family entered the property. The following day the Manson Family killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, a wealthy Los Angeles businessman and his wife.

 

Police raid Stonewall Inn on June 28th a gay club located in New York City ending The Stonewall Riot.

 

In a Los Angeles court, Sirhan Sirhan admitted that he killed presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. In Memphis, Tennessee, James Earl Ray pled guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. (he later retracted his guilty plea). The trial began of the "Chicago Seven" accused of inciting a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

 

Boxing champion Muhammad Ali was convicted of evading the draft after he refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army. Arrest warrants were issued by a Florida court for Jim Morrison on charges of indecent exposure during a Doors concert.

 

The Unexplained

Six-year-old Dennis Martin disappeared while camping in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Dennis was last seen by his father going behind a bush to hide, intending to surprise the adults with the other children. After not seeing him for about five minutes and when the other children had returned to the campsite, his father became concerned and began searching for him. His father ran down the trail for nearly two miles, until he was sure he could not have gotten any farther. After several hours, they sought help from National Park Service rangers. The search effort was the most extensive in the park's history, involving approximately 1,400 searchers and a 56-square-mile (150 km2) area. Dennis was never found.

 

While campaigning in Leary, GA, future president Jimmy Carter and several other guests at a Lion's Club Meeting witnessed an Unidentified Flying Object. Carter later filed the incident with the International UFO Bureau and in 1977 he became the first U.S. President with an official record of a UFO sighting.

 

Business

The first automatic teller machine (ATM) in the United States was installed in Rockville Centre, New York. Samsung Electronics was founded in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Donald and Doris Fisher opened the first Gap store on Ocean Avenue in San Francisco and Wal-Mart incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

 

New Products

Seiko Astron - world’s first commercial quartz wristwatch

Capri-Sun, juice concentrate drink

Charms Blow Pops

Fla-Vor-Ice popsicles

Kelloggs Frosted Mini Wheats

Funyuns Onion Flavored Rings by Frito-Lay

Gain detergent by Proctor & Gamble

Hawaiian Tropic Suntan Lotion

Manwich canned sloppy joe sauce by ConAgra and Hunts

Nerf Brand Toys by Parker Brothers

Nutter Butter Peanut Butter Cookies

Orville Redenbacher's Popcorn by Chester Inc.

Tic Tac mints by Ferrero

 

Restaurants

Dave Thomas opened his first Wendy's restaurant in a former steakhouse in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Captain D's was founded as "Mr. D's Seafood and Hamburgers" by Ray Danner with its first location opening in Donelson, Tennessee. The Long John Silver's restaurant chain opened its first store on Southland Drive in Lexington, Kentucky (I was there) and Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips was founded by S. Robert Davis and Dave Thomas with its first location in Columbus, Ohio.

 

Dan W. Evins opened the first Cracker Barrel Old Country Store on Highway 109 in Lebanon, TN. By 1977 he had opened 13 stores from Kentucky to Georgia. In 2020 there were 664 stores in 45 states.

 

Sports

San Francisco Giant Willie Mays became the first major league baseball player since Babe Ruth to hit 600 career home runs. The New York Mets defeated the Baltimore Orioles four games to one in one of the greatest World Series upsets in baseball history. The Montreal Expos became the first Major League Baseball team to be founded outside the U.S., Mickey Mantle retired from baseball and professional footballer Pelé scored his 1,000th goal.

 

Mario Andretti won the Indy 500, the only victory in the "Great American Race" for the legendary Andretti family as a driver.

 

War

The Battle of Dong Ap Bia, also known as Hamburger Hill, began on May 10th. Although the heavily fortified Hill 937 was of little strategic value, U.S. command ordered its capture by a frontal assault, only to abandon it soon thereafter. U.S. losses during the ten-day battle totaled 72 killed and 372 wounded.

 

Persons who were born during the years from 1944 to 1951, and who celebrated their birthdays on September 14, marked the occasion without being aware that their birthday would be the first date selected in the new U.S. draft lottery on December 1.

 

Independent investigative journalist Seymour Hersh broke the My Lai Massacre story, the mass murder of unarmed South Vietnamese civilians by U.S. troops in the Sơn Tịnh District of South Vietnam.

 

Negotiators from the Soviet Union and the United States met in Helsinki, to begin the SALT I negotiations aimed at limiting the number of strategic weapons on both sides.

 

250,000 people marched on Washington in protest of the Vietnam War and the very first U.S. troop withdrawals were made from Vietnam.

 

Hollywood

Several blockbuster and now classic films were released in 1969. 20th Century Fox released Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Katharine Ross. Columbia Pictures released Easy Rider starring Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson. Paramount Pictures released True Grit starring John Wayne, Glen Campbell and Kim Darby. Midnight Cowboy starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight was released and won three Academy Awards.

 

Other notable film releases of 1969: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Funny Girl, The Love Bug, Hello Dolly!, Where Eagles Dare, and Paint Your Wagon.

 

At 24 years old, a young and nude Helen Mirren established her first major film role in Age of Consent starring James Mason and directed by Michael Powell.

 

Best known for her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, American actress and singer Judy Garland died while in London of an accidental barbiturate overdose less than 2 weeks after her 47th birthday.

 

Television

The first episode of Hee Haw aired on the CBS network with guest stars Loretta Lynn and Charlie Pride. Scooby-Doo also aired its first episode on the CBS network. The Brady Bunch was broadcast for the first time on ABC. Monty Python's Flying Circus first aired on BBC One and Sesame Street aired its first episode on the NET network. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) was established and The Galloping Gourmet with host Graham Kerr debuted in the U.S.

 

NBC aired the last episode of the original Star Trek series "Turnabout Intruder" Starring Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and Majel Barret (Nurse Chapel) the only actors to appear in both the series finale and the first pilot Star Trek: The Cage (1966).

 

Technology

The first message was sent over ARPANET, the forerunner of the internet and the first ARPANET link was established (the progenitor of the global Internet).

 

The Microprocessor ( a miniature set of integrated circuits ) was invented opening the door for the computer revolution that followed.

 

UNIX was developed by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs.

 

Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith developed the charge-coupled device (CCD) while working at Bell Laboratories, producing the world's first solid-state video camera just a year later.

 

Cars

Pontiac Firebird Trans Am the epitome of the American muscle car was introduced. Chevrolet produced 3,675 Pace Car Edition Camaro Z11's and Ford offered the new Capri in everything from the basic 1.3-litre to the meaty 3.0-litre V6.

 

The Plymouth Road Runner captured the spotlight as Motor Trend's Car of The Year. Engine options included the standard 383 and optional 426 Hemi with the mid-year introduction of the 440 A12 Six Pack performance option.

 

U.S. Cost of Living 1969 vs 2023 (updated 5/21/2023)

yearly income 1969: $9,400 (2023 dollars: $77,700)

yearly income 2023: $53,490

new house 1969: $25,600 (2023 dollars: $211,610)

new house 2023: $436,800

new car 1969: $3,400 (2023 dollars: $28,104)

new car 2023: $47,000

1 gallon of gas 1969: 35 cents (2023 dollars: $2.89)

1 gallon of gas 2023: $3.54

1 loaf of white bread 1969: 23 cents (2023 dollars: $1.90)

1 loaf of white bread 2023: $2.50

Sigh, the white and brown bags of garbage have been there at least nine days. On the bright side there is a little leftover snow and an abandoned Huffy bicycle.

Ashcan Collection

A bicycle recently fished from the waters of the La Crosse River in La Crosse, Wisconsin. It's weird how all the spokes are missing from the front wheel.

huffy cat is huffy

mmmm..... am I allowed to feel buyers remorse?

Now before anyone gets all huffy and puffy I am not, I repeat, I am not slagging off this purchase, I am simply explaining that it's not for me.

So it begins....

Chapter four maddness was in full swing when I spied the o.o yuki gacha, a mesh head for 100l's? WHY NOT!

((though you also have to buy the hud for an additional 100l's))

But for the low low price of 200l's i had a head, accompanying skin, and all the alphas and appliers I needed.

Normally I try before i buy.

This time I did not..... because im stupid....and the gacha savages were in full flight :)

As soon as I put it on I recoiled. Physically recoiled. NOT because it was bad.... but... but...

that level of cutsie is the anti-christ of my personality.

Now I will say that whilst this is a beautiful product the adjusting did take time, the alpha lines for the neck a particular pain to navigate ;/ the stretching of the head is tedious and it took another 20mins to get freaking eyeballs to sit right. Once It was fitted I "manned up" and thought, "lilly. You bought it. Wear It, Take Pics And DO NOT COMPLAIN" i spent an eternity going through my inventory looking for anything cutsie. ((THANK GOD AND THANK YOU to BABYDOLL, those bubblegum wedges saved the day! Group Gift, Free to Join!))

And here is the result...

Isn't she cute? (i want to punch her in the face)

Isn't she innocent? (I want to tell her santa isn't real)

Later tonight ill need to set fire to something or maybe kick a pixel cat to feel like me again.

Beautiful Product.

I just fucking hate myself in it :)

10355 S Kedzie Ave, Chicago.

No, Daisy wasn't being huffy with me. (That would be a very bad idea...) It was just a bit chilly out there, and I think she was ready to take the party indoors for a while. 😘

Spotted at Espanola Way.

 

www.monica-aguinaga.com

 

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[LAST] Chance ‍♀️👶 [FINAL] days to Pre-Order !! @charlescreaturecabinet Hedgehog-faerie-baby [triplets] Hedgelings ~Happynose 45mm Micro BJD ~Don't MISS these lilliputian cuties!

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CCC HUFFY, HOGLET, HOLLY | 45mm Micro BJD | HAPPYNOSE Hedgeling Faerie | Ball-Jointed Doll | lil' pOtbellie ~rose quartz pink /w pink faceup painting Glow-in-the-Dark resin

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/w poseable ears (stringed), tiny joined tail, clear tiny wings

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Sylvanian Families

: Baby Hedgehog Hideout

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Hand micro knits hedgeling hats dresses @argenTTo | Etsy

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~Meanwhile at the Sylvanian Families Baby Hedgehog Hideout~

Photo: @charlescreaturecabinet | NL

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BJD Sculpt ™️ Copyright ©️ 2008 | Charles Grimberg-Stephan | Charles' Creature Cabinet | All Rights Reserved.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Mi Galeria en B&N www.flickr.com/photos/samycollazo

Mi Nueva galeria www.flickr.com/photos/scollazo/

Kodak Ultramax 400

Yashica Electro 35 GSN

Yashica Color DX 45mm F:1.7

Lightroom 3

Epson Perfection V500 Scanner

Here's another Earth Day post I meant to make last week and am just now getting to, featuring a picture Robin took of me a couple of years ago at Lake Powell. Only about 15 pictures from this trip survived the Great Hard Drive Collapse of '21, so I have to use what's left sparingly. This one's worth it, though. Big things are happening at Lake Powell.

 

For those unfamiliar with American geography, Lake Powell is a big reservoir on the Colorado River straddling the border between Utah and Arizona, backed up behind a dam named after Glen Canyon that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation finished in 1966. It's one of two big reservoirs at opposite ends of the Grand Canyon, and the Feds operate both reservoirs as a pair to put Colorado River water to use across the desert Southwest. Some of this water gets sent to the states of Arizona or California to mostly be distributed to farmers growing things in places where they shouldn't, or to developers building suburban sprawl they really ought to rethink. Some tiny portion gets sucked out of the bottom of Lake Mead to keep Las Vegas alive. Some of it is used to spin turbines inside the dams, generating clean-in-theory electricity for Las Vegas or Los Angeles or Phoenix or a million-someodd people spread out all across four really big states.

 

In recent years as the region's been plagued by the worst drought this piece of planet has seen since years only had three digits. the water here has mostly been traded between the two reservoirs in a hydrological shell game as the engineers try to avoid triggering economy-killing shortage restrictions. But as I'm sure the Ancestral Puebloans learned way back in the 9th century, you can only ignore a massive drought for so long, and the water engineers juggling Lake Mead and Lake Powell have hit their limits. As I type this, the surface elevation of Lake Powell is sitting at 3,522 feet above sea level. That's as low as it's been since 1969 when they were first filling the thing up, 178 feet below full pool and 90 feet below its level on the day two-and-a-half years ago when Robin took this picture. Every day as the drought persists and people keep drawing out water to feed alfalfa baking in fields at 104°F, more and more of Lake Powell goes back to being Glen Canyon.

 

And now we're at the point where the consequences of drought and overuse are starting to come in great waves all at once. A couple of weeks ago, Robin sent me a High Country News article laying out the problem. The intakes for the flow to the Glen Canyon Dam's hydroelectric turbines sit at 3,490 feet, or just 32 feet below the level of Lake Powell today. The shape of Lake Powell, backed up as it is through a series of deep and narrow canyons, means it can lose 32 feet in a matter of weeks, if the weather goes a certain kind of wrong. The engineers have released as much water as they can from dams upstream, and last winter's weak snow pack isn't promising much relief in the near term. They could try to slow the flow down though the dam to hold back as much water as they can, but any water they keep in Powell won't flow downstream to Mead, and Lake Mead's level has already triggered one round of never-seen-before cuts in water allocations. The engineers and politicians and Arizona farmers would all like to avoid letting Mead fall another five feet and triggering round two, so the guys at Lake Powell are caught. In all likelihood, barring a miraculous opening of the skies that relieves this everlasting drought, Lake Powell will in the very near term drop past the level at which the Glen Canyon turbines can generate power.

 

And what does that mean?

 

In the good old days of the 1990s, before the drought when Lake Powell and Lake Mead were both full to the brim, the turbines at Glen Canyon could generate about 7,000 gigawatts per year, enough electricity to power 600,000 homes. As Lake Powell's level has fallen, so has its potential energy, and these days it can only manage about half that much power. Which is still enough for the federal government's Western Area Power Administration to sell to utility companies all across the Southwest. Many of these utilities use Lake Powell power to balance electrical load when demand spikes, or when weather dampens the production from renewable generators like wind or solar. If Lake Powell generation suddenly dries up, these utilities have to get their power from someplace else ... quickly. But there aren't really a lot of spare power plants floating around out there these days, as demand continues to skyrocket, and we work to move away from fossil fuels while, at the same time, shutting down nuclear plants. Whatever these utilities do, they'll be paying more for whatever electricity they get, which means their customers will also pay more. People in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Pheonix ... all across the region will see spikes in their electrical bills.

 

One more extreme example of those about to be affected is Navajo nation, which occupies a big patch of land adjacent to Lake Powell. According to the High Country News article, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority could see the bill for the power they buy jump by about $1.3 million per year. That's a lot to ask from one of the most poverty-stricken populations there is in these United States. So how might the Navajo respond? You might remember if you were following me when I took this trip that the federal government was at that very moment shutting down a big coal power plant operating on Navajo land just out of view to the left of this image, using coal they mined about a hundred miles south of here on Black Mesa. The Navajo tried to buy that plant when the feds shut it down, but they couldn't get a deal together before the feds demolished it. But they could build another coal plant to replace it. They might use Black Mesa coal to cover the loss of hydroelectric power as Lake Powell dries up. They might pump more carbon into the atmosphere, keeping the chain in motion that reinforces the drought and accelerates the problem all the more.

 

And this is where people who like to confuse science with politics get huffy, saying things like "This isn't humans' fault! Droughts have always happened! There was one just 1,200 years ago, and you didn't have any coal plants lying around back then!" And this does lead a person to wonder how big a part humans really do play in what's happening at Lake Powell. I mean, there's only ever been a Lake Powell because of humans, of course. And a big part of the problem with the lake now is that so many people are taking water from it that it wouldn't be able to keep up even without a drought. But there is a drought, and human-induced climate change is making that drought far worse than it would have been without us. According a bunch of articles on the internet -- here's one example, but most of the major news outlets mentioned this -- researchers from UCLA and Columbia University in New York published a paper last February in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change that said just how much of this drought is humanity's fault. Their answer: 42%. Yes, there'd probably still be a drought in the West right now even if we hadn't been pumping carbon into the air like mad for the last couple of centuries. But human-induced climate change has amplified that drought, making it 42% worse than it would have been otherwise. That's what pushed this from run-of-the mill dry weather into a once-in-a-millennium Apocalypse. And that's why you can see less and less water from the place where I was standing in this picture.

I approached this guy as he was receiving the affections of the female on the left. He was not pleased.