I had a very busy day on Friday (did work for two clients and I cooked), so I didn’t have time to put up my weekly review. So why not put it up on Saturday night? Enjoy.
Three Thursdays at Three Libraries in Central New Jersey
Eva Abreu Presents, Adam Wolf (at laptop) and Jessica Levin (standing)
Last night was the “inaugural” presentation of our Social Media Networking Talks with Eva Abreu as our “Social Media Tour Guide.” Annie Boccio talked about the many friends she has made via social networking. We had a presentation by Paul Grzella about Getting Published in Daily and Weekly Newspapers and MyCentralJersey.com. I presented “Twitter, Blogs and Websites” — more about my presentation in a separate post. Adam Wolf showed ways to target audiences in Facebook; he used his wife’s business, Places Everyone, as an example of how one can attract attention to your site using Twitter and other social media. Jessica Levin taught us how celebrities used traditional media like television and magazines to brand themselves; one can now use social media as a way to brand one’s business or organization.
Thank you to Graham Gudgin for his important role in arranging last night’s talk at the Edison Public Library.
One woman asked a question about poor spellers. Can one advertise one’s business via social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs) and misspell words? If it’s a small business, what do you do? Suggestions?
I was about to go to sleep for the night when I decided to click on Google Reader and visit Robin’s blog. What? Mary has a new meme? I must check this out! It’s called Window Views. This is my first entry.
Two points to anyone who can tell me the name of the street in Jerusalem where this photo was taken. Five points if you can name the building (I can’t do either, but I’m guessing both are important- busy street, U.S. related building).
I am going to challenge myself and hopefully you to take a look at nature. What is going on in your area? Is it spring in your part of the world or are you heading into cold weather. Take a little walk….. look at something you might never had paid attention to..a flower…a plant..an animal…What changes are taking place?..Is your garden starting to come to life again?..Step outside and close your eyes. What do you hear? …take a deep breath…What do you smell?
I’d really like to know how my blogger friends feel about what they observe in nature. Post a photo..a poem..artwork or a even few words about what you see and how it made you feel…
Focusing on trees that are changing in the spring, here’s a photo of a cherry blossom on my neighbor’s tree. I love the green, yellow and blue that I achieved in the background of this photo.
Another photo of a cherry blossom is presented.
My little bald cypress tree is growing and thriving. The leaves are now green, but last fall they had a bright orange brown hue (bald cypress is the tree in foreground):
You may recall that I initially thought this tree in Donaldson Park was a red bud tree, but in fact it was identified as a red maple. The photo above shows a red bud tree that is growing in front of my neighbor’s home.
The red bud tree looks so pretty in the spring; I think the red is of a purplish shade.
Some birds have built a nest in our air-conditioner. We don’t know why or how they fit in that tiny space, but we sometimes hear them tweeting in there during the day. My neighbor thinks they are sparrows.
A photo meme is about sharing: you put up your photos on your blog, then you put the link on the photo meme blog. Most important, you visit as many other players as you can and comment on their blogs. If you just add your own link but don’t visit and comment, you are missing out on the best part of a photo meme.
Hosted by Mary, all you need to do is post a photo with a little bit of red or a lot of red. Some tell great stories or add descriptions to go with their red photo(s). Others let the photo speak.
If you want to pick a photography meme in which you will learn a variety of photo editing techniques, this is the one to try. Everyone posts a photo in sepia, the tan brownish color that was sometimes used in old photographs. You can achieve sepia toning either by setting your camera to a sepia setting or you can use a photo editor like Photoshop to get good results. I haven’t participated in a while, but my favorite sepia post was of my daughter’s ballet class. You’ll see how I left in some of the color.
Photographers who don’t play any other memes often play this one. A theme is set each Thursday for the next week. At right are the pottery bowls I photographed for the last time I played this meme. I remarked how much I have learned in the past year about photography from playing all these different memes.
A photo meme with photos of sunrises, sunsets, blue skies, gray skies, pink skies, dark skies and any other kind of sky posted by bloggers all over the planet: you might also learn about clouds, weather and hydrology, too.
Jientje of Heaven is in Belgium plays this meme. Savor over her latest weekly winners.
How can you learn by playing photo memes? Many of the participants are excellent photographers. If you see a photo you like, feel free to ask a question in your comment. On some of these memes, such as Sepia Scenes, photographic tips are often given. Some photo bloggers post camera information on their posts or on the sidebar of their blog. Again, show interest and ask questions. People love flattery!
Warning: these photo memes are addictive. Be prepared to want to participate often. And enjoy the new friends you gather as you click and post.
My daughter and I visited the circus in New York City last week. Here are four photos (of the 108 photos I took that day) that have some red. All can be enlarged by clicking. What is this person doing with his body?
My favorite part of the whole Barnum and Bailey Ringling Brothers Circus was the elephants.
These acrobats had dim lighting, but the reds attracted my eye.
One can understand why they call this the Greatest Show on Earth. Everywhere you look on stage, there is some action. One act is starting when the previous finishes its presentation. The dancers with the swinging skirts were marvelous.
For more posts with a lot or a little red, visit Ruby Tuesday:
Bake the squash in the oven for at least an hour or until tender. Cut it in half. Take out the seeds. Scoop pieces of the squash to mix with the stuffing (I didn’t do this, but I wish I did). Saute the onion until translucent. Add chopped mushroom and celery; continue cooking until soft. Mix in matza, thyme and bits of squash. Stuff it in the squash. At this point, you can bake it in the oven. However, what I did was put it on the warming tray for 3 hours. Serves two.
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In other news, please enjoy this week’s edition of Haveil Havalim, brought to you by the Real Shaliach. Mother in Israel will be hosting the Kosher Cooking Carnival on her blog this coming Wednesday, April 22. That is why I am taking out the time late on Sunday night to type all this up instead of relaxing downstairs with my husband. When I hit Publish, that’s where I am headed. Have a good night!
Blogger vs. WordPress.com: A comprehensive look at the two free blogging platforms (the chart is a bit difficult to read, but information is good. I like the factors in the left column; may use some of these for a WordPress vs. Drupal post)
Note: I use a wordpress.org installation on my own website, so that is different than using those free systems that are hosting on someone else’s website
There is a custom called gebrochts, in which some Ashkenazi Jews do not eat soaked matza during Pesach. This means not eating matzo balls on Pesach, for example. Custom stringencies vary; for example, some families do not eat cream cheese on matzah. Mrs. S. posts about eating gebrochts the week after Pesach; sounds like this is her own innovation and a good way to use up the leftover matzah.
Rick Black, a friend, local Highland Park resident and award-winning poet, emailed me that his brother is the creator of the Jewish Writing Project. I guess the creativity gene runs in his family.
Here is an event that is going on in Highland Park: a Found Objects Art Show (click to enlarge). What is a Found Object Art Show? I’m not quite sure, but Pino’s is right in the center of Highland Park, so I think I should be able to attend and find out. Rick Black of www.turtlelightpress.com sent me this poster. The poster is by Bill Bonner.
Yesterday my daughter and I (and her friend and her friend’s sister and her friend’s mom, who arranged the whole trip) went to New York City. When you are six years old, this is a real adventure. I enjoy when my daughter is inspired, awed, and thrilled with a trip. The top photo was taken outside Macy’s; to me, it says “Spring in New York City.”
Our first stop after riding a double-decker New Jersey transit car (we rode on the top level) and venturing through Penn Station, a sight in itself if you don’t have to go there every day was Macy’s, for the Macy’s Flower Show. As you may be able to see above, the flowers were situated above the stations that sell jewelry. Tours were going round every half hour explaining the different flowers on display. My daughter took a photo of one of the three flowered flamingos (I’ll save that photo for a future post, as it needs a bit of Photoshop work to cut off someone’s head that shouldn’t have been in the composition). I didn’t care for the noise inside Macy’s, but I did enjoy when the perfume ladies gave their scented cards to my curious and inquisitive daughter (she learn to ask for a card with a perfume scent after the first two were handed to her).
Here is a hint of the Barnum Bailey Circus at Madison Square Garden; more about the circus in a future post (or two or three).
