Anyone Can

Anyone can have a website.  Anyone can creat a blog.

Just look at this guy: Brianstalin, Past Life Research (including some very UN-researched connections between JFK and Russian royals and Abraham Lincoln reincarnating as Leonard Nimoy).

And The Watcherflies, which explains the 13 Illuminati Satanic Bloodlines.  Of course it does.

So don't believe everything you read.  Don't use faulty resources.

What's in a word?

We think we know what we're writing.  We think we know what we're reading.  But what if the word we use really means something else?


I am reading Robert K. Massie's Catherine the Great right now.  First, let me tell you that it is masterfully written.  The prose is interesting, the facts well-researched.  He follows a chronological order in laying out the chapters, but throws unexpected and interesting facts in places that catch you off-guard and, at times, make you laugh.  I highly recommend it.

Ivan (IV) the Terrible

I digress.  While reading this book, I was moved to search online for pictures of Empress Elizabeth I (Catherine's mother-in-law--and if you think you mother-in-law is terrible, you never stepped in Catherin's shoes).  One link lead to another, as they usually do, and I began reading about Ivan the Terrible.  This paragraph struck me as interesting:

The English word terrible is usually used to translate the Russian word grozny in Ivan's nickname, but the modern English usage of terrible, with a pejorative connotation of bad or evil, does not precisely represent the intended meaning. The meaning of grozny is closer to the original usage of terrible—inspiring fear or terror, dangerous (as in Old English in one's danger), formidable or threatening. Other translations were suggested, such as Ivan the Fearsome or Ivan the Formidable.

It's not a major difference.  He's either 'terrible' because he did terrible things, or 'terrible' because he was feared for doing terrible, or at least oppressive, things.  But still, it made me think.

Do you think about the words you write?  The words you read?  Do you ponder over their meaning and strain over picking the appropriate verbage?  If not, should you?

(For those interested, I came across some very ornate 'dolls,' for lack of a better word, fashioned after historical figures.  Here is the link for Catherine the Great's.)

My Super Hero Kids

My son, the Super Hero, saves Yodicity!

Become a Superhero onwww.hellokids.com, site for kids of coloring page.

And, my Super Hero daughter, too!

Become a Superhero onwww.hellokids.com, site for kids of coloring page.

Cute, right?

Nature is Art

Art abounds...Not really, but I have a new project I'm undertaking.

For a long time, as long as I can remember, I've always turned my camera on nature and snapped away. Am I any good? I don't know. But I think I have an eye for framing a shot. I spend a lot of time outdoors with my family, and it doesn't take much to just turn a little bit and click a few of a beautiful view or a vibrant tree.

Now I'm sharing those pics on Etsy, and you can order any that interest you. I am offering them

as prints (basic sizes starting at 5x7) and wrapped on canvas. The prices range from a low $8 for a digital copy, to upwards of $100 for a large canvas for your wall.

Even if you aren't interested in bring my view of nature into your home or office, pass the link along to those you think might be. I'd appreciate it. The more art out there, the more beautiful the world becomes.

Thank you, friends!

My photography Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheNaturePhotog
My Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThePhotog