The Grilled Cheese Principle

I came upon this theory one day in 2008 while visiting my mother, and father, who was still alive at that time.  But, he doesn't figure in this posit, so I don't associate him with it.  My mother, on the other hand, unwittingly is the source of it.  She asked me if I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich.  I am not overly fond of grilled cheese sandwiches, and I almost never make them for myself, but I told her that yes, I would like her to make me a grilled cheese sandwich.
It was delicious, and completely unremarkable.  Made with plain white Italian bread and individually wrapped Kraft American cheese slices, served with a pickle on the side, it was not an overly fancy gourmet dish, just a regular grilled cheese, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  That's when it occurred to me:  A grilled cheese sandwich made by somebody else tastes inherently better than one that I make for myself.  Thus was born the theory of The Grilled Cheese Principle, which is applied to any food being tastier when prepared by someone other than you.

All Of The Fuss Over The Goldfinch

Goldfinch filching seeds from a dwarf sunflower, Pittsburgh, PA, July 2014

Early this summer I bought and immediately read Donna Tartt's novel, "The Goldfinch".  At the time someone asked me what I thought of it and I said that the first third of the book is as good as anything that has ever been written, by anyone, anywhere.  I still stand by that statement.  Of course, this means that the last two-thirds of the book is something other than that, and it is.  The writing is still compelling, but since the character of Theo, from whom the reader gets the story, becomes something of a boozy drug addict, this is the lens through which we have to navigate his world.  Tartt does a brilliant job of rendering the self destructive tendencies and half lies and full out lies that junkies tell themselves and everybody else.  So what's the problem here?  My problem is solely my problem and that is that I want to be able to like Theo more than I do by the end of the book.  I felt such empathy for him at the beginning of the book, but that got taken from me as I continued reading.  I wanted so much for him to be a hero, to somehow triumph, to be magical.  But instead he was just a person, not so different from anyone else, slogging through their existence.  Life happens all around him, sometimes to him directly, other times tangentially.  Theo and his narrative do go off the rails by the end of the book, but I think that at this point that had to happen.  Everything was leading to this fevered climax, and fate would not be denied.
There are more opinions on this book than any other I've seen in a long, long time.  I would recommend it, if for no other reason so that you can either say it's brilliant!  Or like Dorothy Parker*, you chuck it across the room.
*Dorothy Parker is dead and, to the best of my knowledge, has not read or reviewed "The Goldfinch".

Sex On The Beach

Horseshoe Crabs Mating, Prime Hook Beach, DE, 2014

Horseshoe crabs are often referred to as 'living fossils', having emerged during the Paleozoic Era, 540 million years ago.  Not many creatures survive eon after eon, so there's got to be something advantageous about their method of reproduction.  The male, who is smaller than the female (common among arthropods), mounts the female and she digs a hole in the sand where she deposits several thousand eggs at a time, and then he releases his sperm over them.  While shore birds consume many of the eggs, enough survive to continue the species.

The Shadow Of Ourselves

Stained Glass Window, Columbus, OH, 2014

I have been repurposing old windows as picture frames for my work.  It's been a sucessful enterprise as they all sold so far. 
Earlier this summer one of my neighbors had a somewhat large eight panel window, that wasn't too heavy to hang as 'art' on a wall, set out for the trash.  I, of course, brought that treasure home to live with me, and after cleaning it up, I've been looking at it for the last several weeks trying to figure out what to put in those eight panels.  I placed this print in it and Caty made up my mind for me.  This is it!  A series on stained glass windows that I've shot over the last 12 years or so.  It's quite striking, and I hope that it's a hit at the gallery!

Trestle Over Allegheny River

Trestle Over the Allegheny River at Natrona Heights, PA, 2014

We floated so lazily beneath the expanse that it seemed to move more than we did.

Down A Creek With A Paddle

Kayakers on a swollen Slippery Rock Creek at the covered bridge, McConnells Mill State Park, PA, August 2014

Despite the lush green foliage and colorful wetland wildflowers, this photograph makes the strongest statement in the washed out black and white tones of an infrared film effect.  It is a scenic shot in only the strictest of definitions, and is primarily meant to serve as a fleeting moment captured, one soon to pass as the kayakers paddle out of view, on a creek that is itself ever changing.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron, Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Delaware, 2014

The way that the Great Blue Heron holds position, motionless, waiting for a fish, crab, turtle, rat, etc. to swim by, is the essence of patience.  I possess no such quality, and after taking this picture resumed my hike.