Sunday Funnies

Saturday's birding -- not much action

After work today, I went to Scotia Barrens IBA in search of some late-to-rise warblers. Sadly, I found/heard none, but I did get mobbed by Purple Finches (one of my former nemeses!) and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. I even managed to get photos:
This male Purple Finch was surrounded by about 9 females. What a male:female ratio that guy's enjoying!

These were EVERYWHERE. Now that I recognize their little squeaky noises, I see them all the time! But a decent addition to my lifebirds photo file.

Here's another common bird that had somehow eluded my lens:There were Gray Catbirds like this one everywhere this morning too.

Highlights included hearing a Wild Turkey gobble way in the distance and a Ruffed Grouse drumming. However, soon after I'd heard the drumming a couple of times, I heard a really loud gunshot. I didn't hear the drumming again. I'm hoping that's just a coincidence.

Also had a low flyover by this fisherman:
That might be the best photo I have of an Osprey. Sweet!

I also got another life-flower: Trailing Arbutus, a plant that is getting more and more rare in PA according to my Guide to Common Pennsylvania Wildlowers (Carol A. Sanderson). Here's the flower:

Another one that I THINK is Plantain-leaved Pussytoe but I'm not sure:Any input?

I haven't even talked much about my ever-growing yard list of birds, which AB is helping with. She's getting really good at IDing new birds at the feeders! Today I had two singing Yellow Warblers; I had a Yellow-rumped Warbler a few days ago. I also had a Purple Finch -- none of these birds came to the feeder; they remained in the trees at the back of the yard by the stream. Still, yard-birds!

Speaking of feeders, I made some nyjer finch feeders myself today!I had looked at our local birdseed store, Wiscoy, but theirs were really expensive, and the ones at Lowe's were kinda crappy. So it occurred to me, while looking at my many water bottles bouncing around the floorboard on the passenger side of my car, that I could make a feeder! So far, the American Goldfinches are NOT amused. They kept swooping in and hitting the brakes HARD when they saw that something was just not right! I know birds don't deal well with change, so I'm trying to be patient. I did see one brave little guy on the feeder early in the evening, and I think he was getting some seed out of it. I'm pretty sure the holes are big enough, but perhaps they're not? Or perhaps I'm just being impatient and they just need to get used to the new look.

Dioses del metal (Parte 31): Christoph Schneider

Una semana más me dispongo a repasar la biografía de alguno de los que para mí son los Dioses del metal. Hoy es el turno del batería de Rammstein Christoph Schneider.
Christoph Schneider "Doom" nació el 11 de mayo de 1966 en Berlín Este, República Democrática Alemana. Su padre era músico y el era el mayor de 7 hermanos. Su primer contacto con la música fue con 14 años, cuando su hermano Stephan le regaló una batería hecha por él mismo. A los 16 dejaría sus estudios para trabajar como asistente de telecomunicaciones, instalando teléfonos. Con este empleo pudo ir ahorrando para poder comprar una batería de verdad, no muy buena, ya que se rompía constantemente pero tenía un amigo que se la reparaba. A los 18 años Schneider hizo el servicio militar de la RDA. Con casi 20 años dejó su puesto de trabajo para intentar entrar en la Universidad, quería estudiar música. A pesar de 2 intentos no lo consiguió.
Con 24 años tocó en Die Firma pero no empezaría a resaltar hasta que en 1994 formaba Rammstein con sus compañeros de piso Richard Kruspe y Oliver Riedel. Tras incorporar a Till Lindemann y ganar un concurso de maquetas, grabarían su primera demo de 4 temas como Rammstein.
Musicalmente se trata de un batería que no busca complicaciones, por lo que es raro verle cometer errores. Es una de las partes fundamentales de Rammstein.
En el apartado de curiosidades se puede destacar que no le gusta que le llamen por su nombre de pila, prefiere ser llamado Schneider o "Doom", apodo que le pusieron por la dureza con la que golpea la batería. Es una persona desconfiada, obstinada y también muy cabezota. A pesar de su gran altura, 1,87, es el 3º miembro más alto de Rammstein, superado por Lorenz y Ollie.
Schneider grabó un total de 6 discos de estudio con Rammstein.
Os dejo un vídeo del directo "Live Aus Berlin" en donde sólo enfocan a Schneider en la canción "Tier":

Currently lusting....... {Celebrity series}

So I decided to put some fashion focus on celebrities in this post. Here are some celeb styles I'm drooling over!

Loving Vanessa's jumpsuit!

Zoe Saldana in Dolce and Gabana

Miranda Kerr

Lauren Conrad

Nicole Richie

Alessia Ambrosio

I would love to have Jessica's Prada bag!

Loving Blake Lively's Brian Atwood shoes!

Blake Lively

Two fashion forward celebs, one dress

                           Diane Kruger                                                          Kate Bosworth

Emma Watson for Burberry

Kiera Knightly

Gwen Stefani

Kim Kardashian

Photos via Thevoguediaries, google images, and other sites

Color, turquoise AND sparkle shorts! Amazing!

Shantel VanSanten

Camilla Belle

Stay Tuned!

XOXO!

Contented

I'm breaking all of my blogging rules on this post. I try to maintain a professional non-personal veneer. But - cute girls in Easter outfits. Abigail is almost seven and Maklyla is twoish - three in August.

You can tell they are cousins, and Abby is the leader - maybe even downright bossy. However, Makyla trundles along behind her.

And now - drumroll - an original poem inspired by Easter Sunday:

Contented

she followed her older cousin

six year old wise leader knew to

dash, grab, fill her basket

younger two year old stumbled

on unmown grass

plastic eggs beckoned

chubby fingers clutched a purple sphere

she waved it, delighted

something rattled

pried open to behold a penny

enraptured, she stood

filmy cloud of white dress

billowed, blonde hair windblown

studied her find, ignored entreaties to

seek more

satisfied with her prizes

Joanne Faries

Sylosis - After Lifeless Years

Hoy os muestro un vídeo del grupo de Reading, Sylosis.
La canción escogida es "After Lifeless Years" con el anterior vocalista.
Los británicos hacen una mezcla de metalcore con Death metal con bastante buen resultado. Personalmente prefería al anterior vocalista, el actual es Josh Middleton, también guitarrista principal. Se trata sin duda de un grupo de jóvenes talentosos que poco a poco van encontrando su lugar aunque todavía les queda muchísimo camino por delante.
Aquí os dejo el vídeo de "After Lifeless Years":

Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay

Synopsis From Back Cover:

When Nina Revskaya puts her remarkable jewelry collection up for auction, the former Bolshoi Ballet star finds herself overwhelmed by memories of her homeland, and of the events, both glorious and heartbreaking, that changed her life half a century earlier. It was in Russia that she discovered the magic of dance and fell in love, and where, faced with Stalinist aggression, a terrible discovery incited a deadly act of betrayal—and an ingenious escape to the West.

Nina has kept her secrets for half a lifetime. But now Drew Brooks, an inquisitive associate at a Boston auction house, and Grigori Solodin, a professor who believes Nina’s jewels hold the key to unlocking his past, begin to unravel her story—setting in motion a series of revelations that will have life-altering consequences for them all.

When I first started this book I was expecting to read just another typical blend of historical and modern day fiction.  The second part I normally don't have a problem with, it's the first part that has been rather hit or miss for me.  There is just something about the genre that for whatever reason I normally don't connect with.   There have been a few exceptions to that, but they have been few and far in between.  Luckily, this was one of those exceptions.  Actually, the historical flashbacks actually felt more real to me than the modern storyline.

There was something so breathtakingly beautiful about Nina's story in a Russia ruled by Stalin.  From the time she was a child she was taught to believe one thing about her country and the life she would live.  What she didn't know, and what she wouldn't know for years to come, was the truth.  That her life and those of her friends were in constant danger unless they toed the party line. 

Her life in the ballet and with her husband, the poet Viktor Elsin, is told through flashbacks as she is preparing to auction off her jewelery collection.  She is forced, almost against her will, to relive certain moments of her life that are both joyous and painful.  For years she has tried so hard to hide from a perceived betrayal that has been eating at her since it first entered her head.  She slowly comes to the realization that secrets destroy on their own.  That once you hold something inside for so long, it becomes more painful than the initial hurt.

There was nothing about this book I didn't like.  The characters were vivid and seemed to be almost real, despite my knowing this was fiction.  I actually wanted to google Nina Revskaya and see if I could find any videos of her dancing across the stage.  I wanted to read the poems of Viktor Elsin and find the emotion in them.  The settings were almost tactile in the realness.  I could smell the dressing room as Nina and her friends would get ready to dance as if their lives depended on it.  I could hear the music as she dances across the stage.  Everything was real and assaulted my senses in ways that many books are never able to do.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this one.  Please visit the tour page to read other opinions on it.

Aviso à população - 81ª Feira do Livro de Lisboa

Se ainda não tinham ouvido, ficam a saber que começou hoje, pelas 12h30, a 81ª edição Feira do Livro de Lisboa, no Parque Eduardo VII, que decorrerá até 15 de Maio às 23h30. (mais informações, nos link).

http://www.feiradolivrodelisboa.pt/index.php 

http://www.presenca.pt/feiralivrolisboa11/?&obs_adv_oid=22420478&linkWindow=_self 

Nuevo disco Red Hot Chili Peppers 2011

Chad Smith, batería del grupo californiano de rock Red Hot Chili Peppers ha anunciado la fecha en la que será publicado su nuevo álbum.
En una reciente entrevista, Chad ha afirmado que Red Hot sacará este nuevo trabajo la última semana de agosto. Parece que finalmente se va a retrasar aún más de lo esperado. También ha comentado que a pesar del cambio de guitarrista, Josh Klinghoffer sustituye a John Frusciante, el sonido del nuevo álbum es fresco, pero sigue sonando como Red Hot.
También se sabe que además de este CD, RHCP publicarán un DVD en directo.

Outfit {Maxi Stripes}

Here was yesterdays outfit. During the summer I tend to live in maxi dresses. I have always loved them. They are just effortlessly chic and SUPER comfy! Lately though I have enjoyed layering loose sweaters on top of them to give alittle warmth on the slightly cooler Spring days. But come summer, this little gem with be fully exposed in all her glory!

Jazz Hands! Not sure what was going on here...

Hat - Forever21

Sweater - Forever21

Maxi Dress - Anthropologie

Belt - Linea Pelle

Bag - Misako (Spain)

Sandals - Steve Madden

All Jewelry - Vintage

Stay Tuned!

XOXO

Favorite Fictional Character --- Auntie Mame Dennis (Back Pain Repost)

Right now I'm sitting at the computer and not loving the experience.  I lifted some boxes yesterday, apparently the wrong way, and my lower back has been annoying me ever since.  Because of that I'm not in the mood to sit down and write out a FFC.  Instead I will repost one I've previously done on my second favorite fictional character of all time, Auntie Mame.

I first met and fell in love with Auntie Mame in high school. I was home from school (don't remember why) and happened to turn on A&E. I didn't turn it off for the rest of the day. They were running a movie marathon of "Auntie Mame" starring Rosalind Russell and I was hooked. I must have watched it 3 times that day. My mom by the way thought I was completely crazy but let me do it anyway.

Now this post isn't about the movie or the book. It's about why I loved this character when I first met her and why I still do to this day. It's about the way Auntie Mame connected with a part of me that was craving something I didn't even know I was missing.

This was the mother I always wished I had. I envied little Patrick with a vengeance. Why should he get the perfect (in my view) mother when I didn't get one. I just didn't think it was very fair. Now I didn't give a second thought to the fact that Mame was only getting custody of Patrick because his father (her brother) had just died. Who cared about the reason? I was green with envy.

Mame was the ideal liberal, free thinking woman of her day. She believed in experimental education, couldn't stand snobbery, and was so shockingly outspoken it took your breath away. Even when she lost all her money and lost Patrick to a boarding school all in the same day she rose to the challenge and rebuilt her life anew. She was brazenly resilient and I admired her for it. She never stayed down and never let those around her fall down.

Here was an individual who took control. A woman who wouldn't let someone else dictate to her the way she should live her life. A loving mother who cared for her charge and made sure he grew up to be a man any mother would be proud of. A woman who took in a single, pregnant women in a time when the idea was scandalous.

I could go on and on about parties, fox hunting while wearing boots that don't fit, jingle bell bracelets, world travels, and writing books. There was so much to this woman that I still am amazed every time I watch the movie, read the book (Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis), or even watch the musical with Lucille Ball as Mame.

She has been my inspiration in so many things. In the movie she says "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death." I believe that's true and I never want to be one of those "suckers". For that is what Auntie Mame Dennis did. She Lived, Lived, Lived.

Nuevo batería de Dream Theater

Dream Theater ha revelado la identidad de los 7 finalistas que aspiran a reemplazar a Mike Portnoy en la batería del grupo de metal progresivo.
Han estado haciendo audiciones a 7 baterías, cuyos nombres se desconocían hasta ahora. La banda ha dado los nombres de los candidatos, que son:
- Aquiles Priester (Angra, Paul Di´Anno)
- Peter Wildoer (Darkane)
- Virgil Donati (Planet X, Seven the Hardway)
- Derek Roddy (Hate Eternal, Nile, Today is the Day)
- Mike Mangini (Steve Vai, Extreme, Annihilator)
- Thomas Lang (John Wetton, Robert Fripp, Glenn Hughes)
- Marco Minneman (Kreator, Necrophagist, Ephel Duath, Joe Satriani)
Se rumorea que éste último es el favorito para entrar a formar parte del grupo de Long Island. Seguiré atento a las novedades relacionadas con este tema para informaros.