the laanba blog

Theft of Swords

The last time I remember looking Goodreads did not have a generic html review option.  You could export your review to Wordpress and Tumblr I think, but not Typepad and no generic option.  In fact I submitted it as a support ticket as a suggestion.  I'm going to pretend I am the reason they have it today.  I wrote a review of this book (something I don't normally do) and saw the blog html on the side.  So yay!  I guess that means I will be writing more reviews.

Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm a slow reader. It isn't often I read a book in 2 days, but that is exactly what happened with Theft of Swords. I stumbled across it on Amazon purely by happenstance and I'm so glad I bought it. It isn't high fantasy or deep thought provoking fantasy and most definitely not the grim fantasy that is in fashion. It is just pure fun with two main characters that have quickly moved towards the top of my "people I would like to hang out with" list. I love the banter (man I love witty dialogue...), the story and even though I could sometimes see plot points coming from a mile away it didn't bother me. Instead of saying "that was obvious" I instead was saying "I knew it!" and couldn't wait to see how the other characters reacted.

I have always been drawn to these kind of light reads starting with my first foray into fantasy with the Myth Adventures and carrying into The Belgariad and Harry Potter. I am glad to find this type of fun read out there because it is few and far between.  People always try to point me to satires but they just aren't the same for me.  A good story, with fun and smart characters that sweeps me away is always a pleasure.   I need to slow down though because there are only two more books and it will be over far too soon.

HB to WAM

Happy Birthday to the greatest of them all.  His music is so popular it is almost cliche, but he was my first love in classical and will always be my favorite. 

10,000

I bought a pedometer (a new gadget, yay!) I haven't really been walking like I want to but I bought one anyway.  I want to be able to track my walks (when I actually do them) and the popular Run Keeper app wasn't working for me.  It would track my walk sort of but it massively overinflated the distance I traveled.  I guess the GPS had a hard time tracking me.

I decided to instead track my steps with a pedometer.  The number that is all over the internet is that you are supposed to walk 10,000 steps a day.  Today was my first day with the pedometer and I clocked in 5910.  That is actually better than I thought it ws going to be.  I really thought it would be 2 or 3,000.  Being a music teacher helps since I am constantly on my feet.  And now I have a goal in front of me.  Get to 10,000.  I'm going to get there a little at a time.  Goal #1 is to get to 6,000 on a consistent basis.  That should be easy.  Or easier on weekedays that is.  

Walk, walk, walk.

Peterson

I pay my respects here every time I am in Glenwood. When I met Martha Peterson she was the co-chair of the GHPA walking tours. She was always so nice to me and encouraging of my photography at Glenwood.

She worked with me the first time I brought photographers for a meet-up there and she would always stop and talk to me if I ran into her while shooting there. Martha is the reason that my photo is on the Glenwood Cemetery website, something I am very proud of. She was a wonderful lady.

You can see more photos from this roll of film (yes film!) here in the photoblog cemetery gallery (the first 7). 

Favorites of 2011

The fact that this year end round up is 3 weeks late is a perfect metaphor for my photography in 2011.  I would think about subjects and have grand plans for photo projects, but in the end I just kind of wandered through the year without much direction.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I feel a lot more relaxed about my photography than I have in a long time.  I don't feel like I need to "keep up with the joneses" because I have accepted that I am just not going to be one of those star photographers or photobloggers. 2011 was a lot more about getting back to me.  

The biggest sign of that was the change from Photine back to laanba on my photoblog, personal blog, Twitter account and just about anywhere I am online.  When I took on the name Photine it was an effort to try to have a brand, to set my photography apart from myself as its own entity and give it its own life.  In the end it never really set well with me even though I went down that road for years.  I feel much more myself now that I'm back to laanba (the first two letters of my first, middle and last name and the first handle I went by in my early social media days).  Laanba is me and my photos are an extension of me.  Nothing grandiose or earth shattering.  Just me. 

This is my 6th photo round up (!!!).  Every time I put these together and look at my work from past years I always feel like my best work was years ago, but time passes and I grow to appreciate my collection over time.  I am sure it will be the same for my 2011 choices.   I went through all the photos posted to my photoblog in the calendar year of 2011, picked my favorites and elminated until I was down to 10.  Clicking on the photo will take you to the individual entry.  Photos are presented in the order they appeared on the photoblog. 

Year in Review: 2006,  2007,  2008, 2009, 2010

1.) A Southern Fall

This is the only photo that is from 2010 and it was taken in late December of that year.  I'm not completely sure why it made it into the favorites list.  I kept trying to eliminate it and it kept coming back.  It feels personal to me in part because I actually have my hand in the photo and I remember the moment when I took it: pulling over to a colorful area, finding a leaf to photograph and then trying to balance and focus the camera (a manual film camera) and frame the shot.  

2.) Mural Tomatoes

This was one of my failed projects for 2011.  I had plans on focusing on a new color each month and over the course of the year creating a portfolio of color shots.  I failed pretty spectacularly.  For example when I was looking for red, I would instead would find great yellow or green subjects, but since it wasn't what I was looking for I didn't take the shot.  I still like the idea of a color project and may bring it back in a revised form.  Thankfully I did get some shots I liked while struggling through and this is one of them.  This is a close up of a mural that was in downtown Houston.  The mural was covered up in the middle of last year because the wall it was on had to be repaired.  

3.) Forbidden Gardens

This photo subject is also now gone.  This scene is from the Forbidden Gardens museum that was located in Katy, TX.  It had a model of the Forbidden City as well as this replica of the TerraCotta Army of Emperor Qin.  The museum closed because a highway will soon be coming through its location.  The pieces of the museum were dismantled and sold off to the public.  Weeks after the museum closed I saw a guy selling some of these figures on the side of the road in my neighborhood.  A sad end to such a unique space.  As for this photo I think the black and white is what draws me into this photo.  I am very big in the color camp but I can see why people love black and white.

4.) The Rodeo

There are some recurring subjects on my photoblog and the Houston Live Stock Show and Rodeo Carnival is one of them.  Even though I have a signature photo that is of this exact same subject, I love this one too.  I love the lights and the colors of the carnival rides and I love being there when the sky changes from afternoon to dusk to evening.  I will never tire of it.  

5.) 10

Another rodeo photo.  I love the warm light and the clouds and the instant I framed it the number 10 popped into my head.  I am terrible at naming photos so I revel in the few instances when I am creative. 

6.) On Watch

This sculpture is between my apartment and downtown Houston.  I remember going out to photograph the area.  It had been a long time since I had gone to get photos at a location just because and not because it was an assignment for my photo group or a festival or event I was attending.  I miss the days of just wandering around a location with my camera for no other reason than to wander and photograph and I hope to do more of it this year. 

7.) Have a Seat

My first steps into Carribbean Waters.  A beautiful hour spent at a private bay near the city of Portobelo Panama.  It was sunny and warm, but not hot, there was a perfect breeze, the water was as warm as a bath and the sound of the waves and the smell of the salt air made this one of the best hours of my life and definitely of 2011.

8.) Peanuts

One of those happy accidents that happens when you put a film camera into the hands of an amateur like me.  This was taken with an Olympus XA2 and I love it.  I have so much fun with film. 

9.) September 11th

I wanted to mark the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on my photoblog so I went out in search of US flags.  I didn't feel particularly inspired while taking the photo but this one came to life for me while I was editing it in Lightroom.  My favorite part of this photo is the flag flying on top of city hall.  It wasn't a particularly windy day so capturing the flag in motion was luck.  Happy to have luck on my side at times.

10.) Goodtime Gal

Another recurring theme on my photoblog is airshow photos.  I love the airshow a great deal but usually my airshow photos do not include people.  When I walked around the corner of this plane and saw this guy sitting in this pose, with that uniform on, I just knew exactly what I wanted this photo to look like.  I only use Lightroom on my photos but I got it pretty close to what I wanted and this has immediately become one of my favorites.

So that's it for 2011.  An interesting, if not focused, year.  Onward 2012!

The Holidays

I took this while listening to family arguing in the adjoining room.  Ah, the holidays.  

Peachy Keen, Jelly Bean

How are my goals going?  Just peachy keen!  Can't you tell by the amount of blogging I'm doing here?  Maybe you need a sarcasm sign.

I've fallen down on almost everything.  Work is kicking my butt (you hear that a lot around here don't you.)  But strangely I don't really feel bad about it.  I think this weekend I'm going to be able to get back on track for some things and hopefully next week will be better.  The thing is I am going to keep trying and keep working at them.  I have the goals posted on my refrigerator so I'll see them and remember and any step I make towards doing them will be a good step.

But I will say I'm about to axe one completely.  I haven't been able to bring myself to buy one of those glossy women's magazines.  They feel so completely fake and shallow.  I'm going to have to think of another way to get some fashion ideas (thanks to those who have already thrown some out in the comments).  I'm kind of glad that those magazines give me the willies.  I don't want to be THAT woman.  
P.S.  Here is my other favorite "sarcasm" moment from The Big Bang Theory.  Gosh I love that show.  

Reading Time

I've read all day and I feel guilty about it.  Probably because I let so much other stuff go like laundry, grocery shopping, taking the trash out or cleaning.  All things that needed to be done and all things I have ignored the last week and especially today when I had the time.  

Instead I've indulged in a book and I'm scheming for ways to have more reading time during the work week.  I could use this last hour and a half before bed time to at least make a half hearted attempt on these chores, but I doubt it will get done.  I love the idea of being a reader and spending my free time reading but it is such a different lifestyle than what I do now (internet/TV) that it feels weird.  

But that was one of my goals right, to disconnect from screens?  So I have to figure out how to do it without letting my world fall apart around me and without feeling guilty for ignoring my internet and TV.  

Bad Girl

I've really slid backwards today on my resolutions.... er... goals.  Didn't cook, didn't walk and I've been aimlessly clicking around for the last 30 minutes or so.  Sigh.  One step forward, two steps back.

But hey, at least I wrote a blog post about it.  

Pie

I made pie.  Sticking with my goal** of baking twice a month I made this Tollhouse Pie.  It wasn't bad although in my head I was making a brownie pie which this is not.  I was proud of myself for making it and I even looked forward to the process which is a big hurdle for me.  Now let's see if I can keep it up.

**Decided to call all those "resolutions" goals instead.  I have one resolution and that is STOP BEING LAZY.  All the other steps are goals to help me achieve my resolution.  Works for me.