10 years ago

 

10 years ago my life was so different! I lived here, I had a car, my fave cat, my instruments in my house, and still, I was unhappy at my job.

Now I have ditched that job, about to start a new one, just hoping my arms won't be too sore to play music again. I am getting old and less ambitious. I need to sign up for soc.sec. but it isn't enough to live on and must keep working anyhow. Everything has become more difficult to get done.

22 years ago today, my Mother passed away. It will always be a difficult memory to be reminded of. That little piece of visible beach on the right of this pic reminds me of where she used to sit reading by the 6th St steps when she would visit her Girl Scout leader friend, Marsha who summered here. So many times she surprised me visiting, and I would find here there when I walked the beach.

One time she showed up driving a rented classic '68 Jaguar, one thing on her bucket list. She hung out with another old family friend, and ate lunch at the place I hung out in '80, working and playing guitar with my friends. It was strange to me when she discovered why I wanted to be here. Now I am glad for those memories.

I have been busier on my other blog, ExitStageRight2 .

Oct 18 2018 pics

 

These four years ago fun designs were made from a photo I took of a bench. I altered the color pallet, cropped, used a mirror filter, cropped, over and over until too fuzzy to use. I came up with so many surprises I enjoy seeing in nifty colors. I miss getting to make these original images from ordinary objects this way. The photo, presets, and method of cropping are original.

I like these from old ESR , about the same time as now that year, before the pandemic, before I had no where to plug in my ancient computer, before I suddenly could no longer see what I was doing, before my eyes were fixed. 

And no, I still haven't found lost memory sticks from last summer! I actually lost my new stick and card reader from the library bag again moved once more to pack for a Maine trip. I seem to have a repeat type of pre-occupied memory fault when preparing to travel... Ugh! 

On my new Canon digital cam there are tons of incredible images to transfer and use, from the Columbus Day leaf-peeping trip in Northern New England I just got back from. I get the feeling it would be ten times easier to buy new ones then search through the bag pile in here, due to the trip bags taking up too much space. Plus searching spreads the mess out instead of cleaning it. 

Priorities are wanting me to do everything else like errands and laundry instead of art stuff. But ultimately, not "wasting time" doing fun stuff is not good for my attitude either. I am getting sick of the inconveniences getting in the way of making the most of what I can do. Trying to live in my current crowded situation, with all I use in this one small room. 

I would like space for the computer stuff on a desk, instead of going to the library to transfer stuff, and be able to print.  My printers and desk are in storage, along with most of my instruments for music. It is not possible to be spontaneous this way, and that is how creativity happens more often.

The Blogger pic set-up thing in the editor won't let me choose placement of which one with text how I want it. So even this post is crappy design placement, due to new tech for me. The following pics were selected in the order to post them, but we're placed in reversed order by editor. Then, it won't let me wrap the text around the images, or put it in between images, because I am working on my cell phone now...

I wanted pic then text then pic and text, but won't let me do it my way.

Even being able to see this tiny stuff isn't helping me ... Do it how I think it should be!

Here's the pic I wanted on the top, it magically deleted  before I did the text. Makes being a designer depressing...

Also getting things left aligned is very difficult, always defaults to center. A big no-no in design school. The way this is set up takes hours!

I like how this pink/purple / orange /shape looks like a surprised face on a pointy head with arms thrown up (blue hands).

ESR2 here

ESR2

 Exit Stage Right 2 has begun on a secure url as a place to put old pics from ESR as I find them.

Maybe the new themes will allow the link on your sidebar or Roller Blog widgets  if not the old url , allowing a better navigation from yours to here.

ExitStageRight2 (snaggedt2.blogspot.com)

Maybe I will find time collect old poems and accompanying poems on a new url as well.

Meanwhile, finding motivation to keep blog writing and searching is a challenge.

Super Duper

First, I was exposed to Superman stories through the old DC comic books my brothers left in the attic, and the old black & white TV show starring George Reeves. 

Christopher Reeves flew over for 4 films which I watched on VHS before released to TV. My parents loved those movies with Margo Kidder as Lois.

The next Super guy, Henry Cavill, was brought to my attention by a co-worker who was getting Blockbuster bluerays on subscription and giving me the regular dvds. Henry did a bang up job as the Man of Steel in these more modern films, all seen on dvd and now playing on TNT as I am writing. Crossover films with Batman and Wonder Woman are faves too (Batman vs Superman, Justice League).

 I never did see Superman Returns, much of Smallville, and zero of Superman and Lois. 

The past few weeks I rented the SYFY dvds for a prequel series, Krypton. It takes place 200 years before Superman is born on the planet he was sent from.

I had never heard of it, but saw it at the library and knew I was interested.

It aired in 2018 and '19, only 2 seasons, and I lament, left the story continuation incomplete. 

The plot was very twisty, and included characters Adam Strange and General Zod going back in time to Krypton, Adam wanting to be sure Superman was sent to Earth, and Zod to prevent Krypton's impending doom. Without giving too much away here...

Other villains are mixed in to confuse the story of Kal El's grandfather, Seg El and Great-grandfather, Val El, making lovely plot chaos in the works.  Leaders are overthrown, Law keepers, Sagitari,  turned into rebels, and multible war conflicts arise.

Other alien races come after the characters and planet too. Most notably, "Brainiac," the collector of worlds, posing as a religious leader, then becoming a parasite, who proves indestructible. 

There is so much killing and gorey stuff  going on in this story, it is amazing there are any Kryptonians left!

I would really like to see the part about how Krypton got to its breaking point, and if that happens or not as affected by the time tampering. Also, Cor El, (later Jor-El), the infant is taken off-world by Brainiac, and the story stops right where the Mother character is tracking him down.

FireFly finished its series story up with the movie "Serenity", when producers were finally convinced it would be a hit due to the huge, loyal audience base. 

I haven't heard about any fans rallying to get back to the Krypton Series. What a shame. Maybe there is a way to find relevant comic book continuation to figure out where the story goes, but much was invented for the series. 

You would think with generations of Superman theme media fans, there would be more interest in the story they were doing. But the plot was too complex perhaps for fans  to follow. 

Meanwhile, I'll just have to guess on the possibilities, until the rest can be visualized, maybe someday... Or be lost forever in the planet of Cancelled without Conclusion Stories.

911 21 Years Later

On the NECN news yesterday a guy did a piece on how most asked millennials now don't even remember what we are supposed to never forget. Sad...

My generation, part of the Boomers, never forgets about JFK, Elvis, John Lennon, or the Challenger events... Somehow, living through experiencing that news trauma engrains indelibly on our soul a gut-wrenching loss feeling easy to conjure back upon hearing the subject again. 

911 was the biggest one day loss of life between 4 crash sites and impacting 5 locations (including Boston , where the planes took off), ever before in the USA due to a co-ordinated attack by terrorists. 

Agencies and US citizens had become very complacent in freely flying about the country. If something needed to be stopped, no one realized the extent of the damage that could possibly be inflicted with how things were done then.

Certain places and groups will forever be dedicated to remembering the lost souls. 

I will always pay tribute to them, lives blotted out early, disrupting family and friends of the 2,996 people who paid for that complacency. 

I fear many of the young here have again become complacent about being careful with so many lives. 

They worry more about an unbalanced person attacking with a gun at school, or public places, shootings that now are almost daily happenings all around the country. Someone has a bad day and takes it out on those around them, then suicides them self.

The young brush it off, it didn't happen to them. If they didn't know someone affected, why get worried or upset about it? Don't get your knickers in a twist.

We seem to be living in a culture of beautiful funerals, where it is now normal for this to be expected.

Living through the 911 tragedy in 2001 affected every single witness, whether there or on TV. Some more than others. 

I heard how my old classmate, who was a NY police officer, attended HUNDREDS of funerals for the fallen first responders. Some people I know lost friends they grew up with. My sister's bbf lost a son to cancer he got from volunteering to clean up ground zero. Losses were not contained just to immediate victims.

 Many lives were changed forever, physically and internally. It affected me. I had not been paying attention to news at all. After the event, I spent 3 days straight watching news reports to ingest what happened while I was at work that day. It woke me up. Pay attention!

Always think of how things can be safer. Question actions of authorities. Improve what can be. Somehow... Remain free.