Hi there. This post is posted in the far off future (and the not-to-distant-past) in order for folks who have come to my journal to let me know that they've been here. I realized that there are a number of people who have recently added me to their f-list with whom I am not familiar.

If you haven't already, please read my Profile Page to find out a little more about me. I like to think I'm interesting enough for people to want to know me, but I am not so arrogant to think everyone wants to do so, nor do I expect it of them. If you think you to know more about me, then I invite you to add me to your f-list and leave a introduction here.

( Continue Reading... )

I updated my WyldFire Studios blog with the latest information about my photo shoot with The Kitchen Courtesan. Who knew that photography could be sooo tasty!!

If you're ever in need of dessert, I highly recommend the KitchenCourtesan.com for their selection.

The Lemon Scones:

Fricking brilliant! Why didn't I ever think of doing double duty?!?!

(from kfringe. Found on CraigsList:

( Job Summary )

Listen and support another mad evil scientist trying to take over the world...

http://worlddominationtoys.com/drsteel/audio_exp.html

Please check out didjiman's post on the Official Photos. They are s l o w l y trickling online. Most likely, these will be the 'official' photos taken at the various masquerades. The other 20,000 images (candids and other snapshots submitted to the Photo Dept) still needs to be sorted, culled, and uploaded.

http://didjiman.livejournal.com/353185.html

I just got to watch either mama or daddy falcon rip into a rodent of some sort to feed their three chicks. It was much too cool for words. I was spell bound watching them do it. And s/he fed each of the chicks pretty much equally while taking chunks out for her/him self in between.

Now, why can't we do that for human babies (minus the regurgatation bit) ?

They are SOO cute. I absolutely adore falcons. :-D

Falcon Cam

Last year, the Washington Post staged a small event.

They took one of the world's best classical violinists, Joshua Bell, who sells cheap seats @ $100 and has played for heads of state, and stuck him in the Metro subway station to play some of the best classical music in the world on his $3.5 million Strad violin.

Did anyone stop to listen? Or heck, just to listen?

Out of the time he played, only a small handful of people stopped. And (what amuses me the most) besides the few people who stopped to listen (mostly people who like classical or were formerly trained), that 100% of the CHILDREN who passed, tried to stop before being dragged away by their parent. No other demographic did. It kinda tells you that children have a good sense about the little things in the world.

from the very long article:
---------------------------------------------

"What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare."
-- from "Leisure," by W.H. Davies

In his 2003 book, Timeless Beauty: In the Arts and Everyday Life, British author John Lane writes about the loss of the appreciation for beauty in the modern world. The experiment at L'Enfant Plaza may be symptomatic of that, he said -- not because people didn't have the capacity to understand beauty, but because it was irrelevant to them.

"This is about having the wrong priorities," Lane said.

If we can't take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on Earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that -- then what else are we missing?"

--------------------------------------------

So, my friends, take some time to smell the roses and give a little bit of thought and a listen to the buskers playing their music. You never know when you've got the world's best musician playing, or if some magical creature is there playing for you to listen. There are lot of little things that are out there that we just don't pay attention to which we *should* be paying attention.

Oy, you out there, if you like Celtic music and are out on the East Coast-ish area, you might want to check out Tempest's Tour dates starting April 2008. And go see them, because I can't get fiddle lessons while they are touring, so you might as well enjoy their music.

And while you're at it, you might want to buy Michael's (my fiddle instructor's) solo album, Fiddler's Creed.

Why? Coz I think he's really good, and I'd like to have him have a good tour. Professional musicians tend to get cranky otherwise.

Plus I'm a firm believer in having happy instructors....it comes from knowing what happens when I get a cranky coach...a Really Really HARD fencing lesson. (We knew he was cranky when he'd wear one of his 'special shirts'; the one said, "this is going to hurt you more than me" or "Let the flogging continue until morale improves." Then it was a trying to convince the other students that THEY should take the first lesson.....)

Having a little bit of faith and just believing in the possibilities can open up the world..

-----------------------------------------
Celebrate What's Right with the World

In this 22-minute short film, "Celebrate What's Right With The World", Dewitt Jones (world-class photojournalist for the National Geographic) asks: "Do we choose to see possibilities? Do we really believe they're there?"

He assures us that there is always more than one right answer. Celebrating what's right with the world helps us recognize the possibilities and find solutions for the challenges before us.

This inspirational, best-selling film utilizes stunning photography and powerful dialogue to help viewers approach their lives with celebration, confidence and grace.

“As I celebrated what was right with the world, I began to build a vision of possibility, not scarcity. Possibility... always another right answer.” - Dewitt Jones

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(Edited: Fixed link)

For my history & language buff friends, and those just interested in the Anglo-Saxon language...

Anglo-Saxon Aloud
A daily reading of the entire Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records,which includes all poems written in Old English. By Michael D. C. Drout, Prentice Associate Professor of English at Wheaton College, Norton, MA.

(In addition to the Beowulf manuscript, there are poems about Christ, and my favorite...some magic "charms" for various things, such as keeping bees at the hive, curing a certain disease, etc)

Thanks to yendi for the link.

Two photos of the most important method of transportation in Venice.

( Photos Behind the Cut )

©Copyright 2008 Jade Falcon & WyldFire Studios. All Rights Reserved. If you should so take these images without written permission, may the copyright gods curse you including, but not limited to, having your hair fall out, suffer from incontinence, and be riddled with sexual impotence. Have a nice day.

I uploaded two of my 5-star photos from the Montana shoot over at Etsy and my favorite of the maschera photos of this year. Take a gander.

Etsy Buy Handmade WyldFireStudios

I opened up an Etsy store to see how it would fare; at $0.20 per piece, it's not a bad investment.

I've placed my "Visions of Red" print up there as a 12 x 16 print. I'll be putting more up tonite, most likely.

So, buy my prints! :-)
Or pass on the link to other interested folks. :-)

For those who are not particularly of the St. Valentine Day sort.

brought to you by your ever grumpy, ever-so-lovable, kfringe

---

A Late Decree

WHEREAS, the Feast of St. Valentine has repeatedly proven offensive or inconvenient to the majority of the American People;

WHEREAS, the Feast of St. Valentine has been demonstrably debased by unseemly commercialism and rapacious greed;

WHEREAS, all attempts to celebrate the Feast of St. Valentine in the common way debase the true arts of love;

WHEREAS, the above factors in combination have continued to cause strife, discomfort and misery in the Greater Portion of the American People;

WHEREAS, the activities surrounding the Feast of St. Valentine debase and shame the American People;

AND WHEREAS, a more appropriate and honorable claim to that day exists;

NOW, THEREFORE, we decree that the celebration of the Feast of St. Valentine be hereby ABOLISHED;

AND WE FURTHER ORDER that the Fourteenth Day of February each year be rededicated to the celebration of the birth of Joshua, Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, who, by the grace of God, ruled his people wisely and well for more than twenty years.

---

Now, go forth and celebrate the day as you see fit.

The Onion, it rocks....

(ganked from cissa)

Red, especially deep dark burgandy/purple reds (anything really the colour of blood) happens to be my favorite colour. So, it's really no surprise that I find this to be one of my favorites out of the whole set.

I saw her from afar posing for some other photographers and I just had to go over to get her picture. She came a little later in the day after most of the photographers & other maschera had wandered off. I was glad to have seen her.

The detail work on her costume was absolutely stunning: burgandy embroidery on burgandy taffeta, the crinkling of the petticoat with just a touch of blue fringe, the matching fabric fan, and just a few large sequined flowers to give it a little pop. Overall, it was probably one of the best made outfits of any of the maschera present.

( Visions of Red )

And, as with all my other photographs posted, they are for sale as various sized prints. I can offer up discounts to anyone wanting copies of different prints.

©Copyright 2008 Jade Falcon & WyldFire Studios. All Rights Reserved. If you should so take these images without written permission, may the copyright gods curse you including, but not limited to, having your hair fall out, suffer from incontinence, and be riddled with sexual impotence. Have a nice day.

Everyone knows that photography is all about using light. If you do a literal translation, it is writing with light. Having good lighting can help make or break a photo. In some instances, if the lighting is really good, you can't even tell that it's being lit.

Or you can use it in the composition of your photo.

( Orange Rose )

©Copyright 2008 Jade Falcon & WyldFire Studios. All Rights Reserved. If you should so take these images without written permission, may the copyright gods curse you including, but not limited to, having your hair fall out, suffer from incontinence, and be riddled with sexual impotence. Have a nice day.

A lot of the maschera models have little props that they often us in addition to their masks and costumes. These often compromise of little things, such as mirrors, dolls, staves, hand-bag, or some hand-held trinket that complements their costume.

Just as with any costumer, some props become integral to the costume, some are merely something to hold, and for others, it's just an accessory that could be left behind. Some models use their accessories well, some don't know what to do with theirs, and some use them badly.

Regardless of their use, they often add a touch of something to the overall photo instead of just having a masked costume.
( Photos behind the cut )

This post is especially for karisu_sama. :-)
The following is a very very brief and summarized of mask types.

( A VERY BRIEF summary of masks types )

( Forget history! Show me pictures! )

©Copyright 2008 Jade Falcon & WyldFire Studios. All Rights Reserved. If you should so take these images without written permission, may the copyright gods curse you including, but not limited to, having your hair fall out, suffer from incontinence, and be riddled with sexual impotence. Have a nice day.

I'm rather pleased with this one. I kept waiting for the maschera to lower the second mask just "so" before I fired off the shutter in a series of shots. (I had to keep the lens up waiting for the shot, and considering how HEAVY the lens I was carrying, about 3.5 lbs or 1.6 kgs, for the length of time I'm surprised my arms didn't fall off!)

I like the idea of masks wearing masks. It's somewhat allegoric for all the layers of masks individuals will often present to the outside world. Is the face presented the true one? Or just another mask? Are they taking off or putting on yet another one?

The (once) colorful background is desaturated to sepia in order to not compete with masks, which are both originally black and/or white. I brought back the burgandy colour of the costume.

( Photo behind the cut )

And, as with all my other photographs posted, they are for sale as various size prints. I can offer up discounts to anyone wanting copies of different prints.

©Copyright 2008 Jade Falcon & WyldFire Studios. All Rights Reserved. If you should so take these images without written permission, may the copyright gods curse you including, but not limited to, having your hair fall out, suffer from incontinence, and be riddled with sexual impotence. Have a nice day.