Virtual Brush Box

Notes for volume 5.3 of Chewing Magazine

Texture Meals, The Newest Food Trend – lead story, get with A about photos

Tobacco, Khat, Betel Nut, & Coca, A History of Masticated Drugs – check wording on legal disclaimer

Sharks & Snakes, Teeth Without Chewing

Cookies, Taste vs Chompability – finalize with test kitchen.

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Afterword

My entry for the Press 53: Free Monthly 53-Word Story Contest. The September prompt was “Write a 53-word story about chewing.”

When entering a contest, one ought to pay attention to secondary clues. For example, this is a poetry magazine. I tried to aim for an entry that was less cleverness, more art. Meh. At least I came up with something different than science fiction.

September prompt, long version:

If there is a break in your friendly, familiar conversation, you might come up with a riddle for your audience to think on, or perhaps share some interesting trivia. For example, September 1st is Rocky Marciano’s birthday and he was known to gnaw on a lot of steaks, he just never swallowed one. 

Press 53: 53-Word Story Contest, downloaded 1 September 2023

Links

“Bill Watterson says in The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book that the magazine is based on his experiences with cycling magazines.” Calvin and Hobbes Fandom: Chewing Magazine

Last month [Searching for 53]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Daily Mail: AI-powered traffic lights that hold drivers on red for up to 20 seconds longer to delay their arrival in air pollution hotspots will be trialled in Britain this year, Pinkstone, 2020.

~~~

Highway 280
Inverness (Birmingham) AL, USA
October 2023

Technical Details

Traffic lights. f/13.0, 1/640 sec., 66.0 mm, ISO 400. Manual & auto-focus.

Post production. Resize, border, and watermark.

What I Learned

It’s all well & good to take pictures of pretty things. Even if the photographic technique is average, the subject is still pretty. How to get interesting shots from the less scenic parts of life? Not gory events. They have their own drama. How to enliven the mundane?

I started with traffic. Perhaps a photographer would be assigned to cover a story on local road conditions. Or contracted to create visuals for a DOT annual report. Or as a personal challenge to take a compelling photo.

I ended up with more question than answers.

Access. City streets. Easy. Stand on the corner. For me, too far away. Ex-urbes are closer but less activity or street furniture. The best option for me was a large suburban intersection of two divided roads with multiple lanes. These are NOT places for pedestrians. No crosswalks. No crossing lights. No one expecting a person on foot.

In this case, I used Google Earth to find a parking lot with a close, clear view of an intersection. There was a better, i.e. more interesting, intersection further down but no way to approach safely.

Official assistance would not help here. Let’s say you are doing that DOT assignment. Any attempt to give the photographer protected space – a parked truck, cones – would affect traffic flow, and change the thing being photographed.

Equipment. Wide angle to get the whole picture but also zoom to get close. I will assume that a lens that can do both is trop cher. A remote-activated camera? Drone?

Time of day. Depends on the point being made. Empty – or as empty as it gets – in the wee small hours? The crowds at rush hour? Rivers of lights at night?

Shutter speed. How to convey flow? If you stop the action, it looks like a traffic jam.

Anonymity. How to achieve? Is it desirable? If the objective is traffic in general rather than a specific location, it makes sense to limit the lettering. Obviously, locations can be identified by other means, but road signs in the photograph would draw the eye.

For a first attempt, I went with metonymy.

Previous [Son of the Return To Beeswax Creek, Photography]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. A dog podcast, The Bitey End of the Dog. Hat tip to Amy, the blog’s Canine Advisor.

~~~

Everyone’s fine.

I skipped a dog post last month. Jasmine took a turn and I wasn’t sure what to say. With older dogs, you never know. A blip could mean any day now. Could mean six months from now.

So far, so good.

Her wonky back end got wonkier. Antibiotics took care of the leaking. More work by the minions is taking care of the mechanical issues.

She was having trouble getting out in the morning without widdling the length of the hall, although no trouble staying dry all night. So now the two of us make a palanquin out of a blanket or towel and carry her out. Duchess quite approves of this method of travel. The rest of the day, she gets around with the sling for her hind end.

It’s not clear if she actually needs more help or she just likes more help. Jas has never seen a reason to do something when she has minions to do it for her.

Rose continues to be a weird little dog. You’re giving me a treat!? Oh no! Run awayyy!

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Is anyone else worn out? Yesterday, I had plans to run a pile of errands after the dentist. Ha! Bought a snack and went home. One task per day is about my limit these days. Can’t decide if it’s me or the state of the world. Of course, why not both?

~~~

What it says on the box.

Mornings are chilly.

Rodney is going for walks.

Despite being a heat-loving horse, Rodney is keeping with the program.

Gotta count the wins where you can get them.

Inspiration. ‘Fraidy Cat Eventing: wednesday wins.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Given recent events, the news machine has been cranked up to high. Remember to ask, cui bono?

~~~

Milton would like it to be known that he is a driving horse, thank you very much.

He will tolerate the occasional ride, emphasis on occasional.

The recent bout of riding went on far too long. Days and days and days! Perhaps even as long as a week! Horrors!

Milton is all for having a job. Let the world bask in his wonderfulness. He prefers pushing to carrying.

From time to time a team walk will be permitted. Extended stretches of riding will be met with ears and heels.

Milton has spoken. That is all. Please resume your normal minion routine.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. cw unhappy life events. House Digest: What It Means To Put A White Pumpkin On Your Porch, Ammons, Oct. 7, 2023.

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A while back, I was in Kentucky to escort Milton home. [Logistics: Shipping]

While there, I went to watch the horse show in Louisville. [Spotted on the Green Shavings]

One of the show vendors was selling a bag of 50 (!!) double ended-snaps. That’s a lot of snaps! It was a good deal per unit, but that many units multiplied out to a wad of cash. I think it may have been $75 for the bag. Snaps were going for about $2 then. I figured it would appeal to some of the megabarns at the show.

Later, I told my husband about it.

H: Did you buy a bag?
Me: No.
H: Why not?
Me: Uhhh …

Now, whenever I buy more double-ended snaps, which I did recently, I have two questions:

1) Why did I not buy that bag of snaps? Why?!?!?

2) Where do they all go?!?

Onwards!
Katherine

Art of the outside world. An art retreat to be enjoyed through various media. Giverny: Claude Monet’s Home, text & photos. Fondation Monet: visite-virtuelle, self-guided tour of the house by drone. Fondation Monet: home, clicking on the bridge & waterlily in the upper left gives a video tour of the grounds. Hat tip to A for suggesting Monet.

~~~

[Fractal Alphabet]

Onwards!
Katherine