Unabashed

Just some amazing animal photography I’ve collected around the web over the past few months:

Electron microscope image of a fly’s foot. Found on Dark Roasted Blend. What amazing detail; what an amazing adaptation…

A sunburst orange dragonfly (links to full-sized image):

This one, also from Dark Roasted Blend, is especially for Matt Staggs (links to full-sized image):

Here’s a beautiful brown pelican shot (links to full-sized image):

A pair of owls:

Herons (click for full-size image):

Frigate bird (click for full-size):

Hawk (click for full-size):

A turtle:

Elephants, then wolves, then I’m done (oh yeah, click for full-sized image):

What an amazing world we live in. I’ve got an idea, let’s save it!

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: amazing, animal, dragon, dragonfly, elephant, fly, hawk, moth, octopi, octopus, owl, pelican, photography, sea, turtle, wolf, wolves

The Constant Siege has a lovely observation about spirituality that I wish I’d written myself:

It’s the ozone smell of the desert after a summer rainstorm, or the damp magnolia fertility in the air of a New Orleans night. It’s old Puerto Rican men playing dominoes on the sidewalk in Brooklyn, spilled out of their apartments, our public space blended with their private, their women dancing to boombox salsa, their children running for ices, far off police sirens singing chorus.

It’s the atoms in my blood and heart and brain. Atoms that have existed since the dawn of time, and will continue until it never ends. Atoms that have been in the heart of stars, and traveled in comets, and lay in the cold grey dust of the moon. Atoms that have fed great sequoias, and the earthworms underneath them. Atoms that have been breathed by kings and paupers, philosophers and madmen. Atoms that I’m carrying right now, on brief loan, my contribution to their life, and theirs to mine. Pure eternal energy, great and small. It’s being old when young, and young when old, knowing I will die soon, but I’ll never really die.

written by Matt Mitchell

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: Alabama

NASA pic culled from Brent_Zupp:

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: Earth, Mars, moon

Wow. Even though you’ve probably seen this a hundred times already, this is one of those pics that I have no choice but to post and link. This is space porn at its finest. From NASA and the Mars Rover:

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: Mars, Rover, Sunset

Excellent horror photography by Joshua Hoffine (discovered via Skullring.org). Get some.

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: horror, photography

Can you guess what’s happening in this picture? I just found it on Flickr, link through to see the photographer and the answer…

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: Flickr, iditarod, portland, urban

Yesterday was a marathon 18-hour workday for me that didn’t end until 2:15 when I finally laid my head down thankfully in bed. The whole day was rainy, with gray skies and lovely soft rain pattering down, and I was out in it for a lot of the day. But then, an hour before sunset, the skies…did this…and I was fortunate enough to see it, standing on a little hilltop in Patton Chapel, Hoover, Alabama. Those clouds were roiling, moving, and I stared at it in awe for several minutes before I finally thought to get my little digital camera. I wish I could have had a better place to take the picture, without all those power lines spoiling the view, but the pic does little justice for the immensity of this sky and the brilliant blue backdrop above the red-hued clouds anyway. For the moments that I stood there staring, well, it doesn’t get much better than that. Click the image for a full-sized image.

written by Matt Mitchell

I’m usually not very good at playing the ‘picture caption’ game, but they always make me laugh. I’m a fan of icanhazcheezburger?, but I’ve never submitted to them, and I don’t think they would appreciate my humor. If you can come up with a better caption for this, feel free, otherwise, please to simply enjoy:

This image is from Reuters. Photoshopped version is on my flickr site.

written by Matt Mitchell

Some pics for today.

written by Matt Mitchell

A few years ago I was in Savannah, GA–absolutely wonderful town–and my wife and I had supper at the Pirate’s House Restaurant. It was rumored that it was the preferred supper location for Clint Eastwood when he was in town shooting “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” which was good enough for me. It was to be our last dinner before we came home; we’d already eaten at a few other great restaurants, including the Pink House (but this story isn’t about the Pink House, it’s about the Pirate’s House).

Now, Savannah’s a town that has a reputation as a place with a lot of supernatural activity, and I’d already had a couple of minor events on this trip that had given me a heightened awareness of all things spooky. Supposedly the building in which the restaurant resides is an authentic Savannah original, and has been there for nearly three-hundred years. It’s a scant block off the Savannah River, and if you believe the stories there was a tunnel that exited beneath the building and emerged over by the river, which was how pirates carried their pressed men back to the ship once they were inebriated or clubbed over the head.

As my wife and I sat down to dinner, I noticed a doorway that was closed partway down a hallway. There are like fifteen rooms in the building, and each one has been modeled into its own dining area, different in some ways from all the others. I asked a waitress about that door, because I was in an exploratory mood, and she said she would let me peek if I wanted. She disappeared, returned with a key and opened the door. I looked in and saw a staircase leading down. A very, very old staircase leading down into an ‘unimproved’ portion of the building. It looked like an old crypt. It was obviously not something the management would likely care for their customers to see. Before the girl could say a word I darted down the stairs and just below the floor joists got a decent look by way of the single light bulb which looked like it’d been there since about 1946 at the room. I flashed a few pictures, none of which came out very well, but then I got spooked out and ran back up the stairs before she had the chance to turn wicked and lock me down there.

I don’t know if there was a tunnel leading out of that room, but it was authentically spooky, and I highly recommend it if you’re ever in Savannah. It was dusty, the walls were old brick, and best of all it gave me such a thrill of spookiness that I’ll remember it forever.

Anyway, the picture above I found via riotclitshave, and as soon as I saw it I remembered that creepy room underneath the Pirate’s House. When I went down those stairs and took those pictures of my own, this was what I expected to see when they developed. Sadly, the camera I had at the time was one of those disposable kinds, so the pictures turned out horribly grainy and virtually worthless.

written by Matt Mitchell

I’ve spent time in a lot of different places. I lived in Jacksonville, Florida for a few years and enjoyed my time there. I liked Pensacola, too. I’ve lived in or near Birmingham most of my life, though, and though it’s got some good points it’s not what I would call a “Great Place to Live.” According to CNNMoney.com, Trussville, which is a suburb of B’ham, is one of the top 100 (no. 56). My boss lives in Trussville. I’m very familiar with the area, though, and I wouldn’t rank it as high as Helena, which is near where I live (picture is of a small dam in the town of Helena).

There are a few places that I’ve never visited that have always seemed like they would be great places to live: Asheville, NC and Austin, TX. I don’t know why they seem so appealing to me, but whenever I read or hear anything about them it only intensifies my belief. I’ve seen Austin City Limits on PBS, which is a great show, and Asheville has the Biltmore Mansion. I read an article about Asheville in Adventure Magazine that called Asheville the “Boulder of the East,” I suppose in reference to Boulder’s rep as an adventure/outdoors-enthusiast destination. The article made Asheville’s cred rise significantly for me.

Other places that I’ve heard are good places to live: Chattanooga (actually, I wouldn’t have believed this, having been there a few times, but apparently Chattanooga has gone through a revitalization over the past ten years), Boulder, Scottsdale, Boise… To me, the qualifications for a Great Place to Live include plenty of restaurants, theaters, and bars. There’s got to be some outdoors activities–hiking, biking, climbing, camping, fishing, etc. There’s got to be some scenery of some kind: a rolling river, a beach, mountains, something. Smaller is better, but it’s got to be near somewhere big.

Where do you live? Do you know of any Great Places to Live? What makes them great?

Sometimes I drive this route to work instead of taking the interstate, just for the view. This area is called Bluff Park on Shades Crest.

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: Alabama, Arizona, Asheville, Austin, Boise, Chattanooga, Helena, Idaho, Scottsdale, Texas, Trussville

Cameraphone pic:
Going on a picnic today with the family, so very little writing will get done-if any. Had to work all day yesterday and Friday night, too, but that’s what I get for picking my field. Every now and then I has ta works da weekendz. As a fortunate byproduct, I was able to read the last 100 pgs of “The Sparrow” by Mary Doria Russell. Very Good Book.

My son watches this PBS show called Big Big World and it has a very cool theme song.

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: mary doria russell, the sparrow

Back around 1988 I bought a copy of a comic called Lone Wolf and Cub. I liked it, but it wasn’t something that jumped out and said YOUMUSTBUYALLOFME! so I bought couple more and that was it. I still have the ones I bought. Anyway, my wife, knowing that I am very interested in Japanese culture, especially in the fuedal (Edo) era, found the first and second issues of the graphic novels and bought them for me. I’m now up to ten, and I could spit in my own face for being foolish enough not to see right away how incredible this series is. I’ve never been much interested in Manga–the big eyes and spiky hair do nothing for me–but this artwork is sublime. The format is perfect; it’s a 4×6″ book, so it fits right in my pocket, unlike most graphic novels today that are bigger and bulky and might draw second looks from disaproving corporate managers that own my Lease On Life. If I’m not mistaken there are 32 of these books. I will soon own them all. You should too. I know all the Cool Kids already have them all and I’m just joining the party late, so excuse me if you’ve heard this already.

P.S. Sleep has been a problem lately due to corporate cutbacks, but I’ve survived the ice age, in case you were wondering. Today they let me know that I get to keep my own job. The sun will rise on another day, after all. This pic was taken with my cameraphone off my back porch a few early mornings ago…

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: cub, lone wolf, manga

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: cylon