Friday, January 27, 2012

It Is Elementary...

..That I do not like to have my picture taken. For this reason I have always been the person working the camera, so I won't be caught by surprise. Also my weights yo-yos and illness didn't always lend to great pictures plus I have had silver hair since my son was born 24 years ago. It was hard to be grey when all my friends were still blond. So for years I colored my hair to just about every shade of blond and light brunette that Loriel every made.

Alas, soon the hair color no longer worked, not even when done professionally and I decided to bite the bullet and be the first of my 'crowd' to let it go natural. Of course, my helpful Hubby promised to straighten up his own mess, starting that if I looked my age he would act his. Well the hair is silver but some days, HH is more trouble than my son who is 23 and Hyper Active!.

However a new picture was needed as an author's photo for the new book, CATALYST: Guardian Rising so with much apprehension I contacted a few photographers whose numbers I obtained from our local barter collective. One called me right back, Gina C Photography. It took a week from session to final edit and she was a delight to work with.

So the end result if on its way to the publisher and can also be found on my facebook page. Personally for a 49 year old who works outside most of the year I think I look awesome. And for the first time in a while, I kinda feel awesome too.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Rain, Sunshine, Warm and Cold - Welcome to Georgia

Having lived in Georgia a majority of my life, I am never surprised by the weather. There is no true 'normal' when it comes to our weather, especially at this time of year. One day it is raining and 65 degrees and the breeze is from the South. Then the wind will blow harder from the North followed closed by sunshine and freezing temps. Take this pattern and repeat for three months and you have Georgia in the winter.

The only good part of winter here? It brings about a glorious spring. When the dogwoods pop out and the azaleas bloom and the breeze from the South bring a hint of warmer days to come there is not a place in the world I would rather be then here. Living for a while in South Florida, I grew inured to the blooming of flowers and the leaves on the trees. Then we were transferred to Atlanta.

We arrived here in the heart of summer, July I believe it was, so the heat and humidity were familiar. Then came fall and the glorious colors I had never experienced before. The crispness in the air and the smell of campfires competed with deep blue sky and a touch of chill in the air from the north. The winds began to blow again, removing the last of the now brown leaves from their perches and reminding us that winter would soon be here again.

Don't get me wrong. I love the beach. I love the touch of a tropical sun on my skin. But I love the change of seasons too, especially the way my city changes along with the seasons. I lived here and there and I've visited around and about but when push comes to shove, North Georgia is my home. Always.

Friday, January 13, 2012

I Think This is a Recycled Year

2012 is already under way and it seems to me this is like another year already past. I just can't remember which one. As I grow older it feels more and more that nothing original happens anymore. Just the same stupid stuff happening in new random order.

Take for example the presidential primaries for this election. Not one of the candidates in the Republican party is trying to say anything new. In fact, they don't really say anything about anything except to flame whoever is in first place, dragging up decades old dramas and skeletons which may or may not affect that candidate's judgment or ability to be President. Helpful? Not at all. Tiring? You have no idea.

While I am grateful for our democratic process, I came across an article the other day stating that only millionaires can afford the run for public office. Which begs the argument, how can any of these politicians say they represent the majority when the majority of the population are not the rich? Who do they really represent?

Wouldn't it be nice if we could design a robot as a candidate? Then we could program them with our values, our ideas for improving government and the economy. They would be impossible to bribe - what could you tempt them with? Of course, a large EMP bomb would take out all the robots and leave us leaderless, but that might be an improvement over the past few years? We wouldn't have the sex scandals but we would be vulnerable to all the robots banding together to wipe out humanity.

'Sigh'. There is no perfect system of government. There is no perfect politician. There is only the process we are currently wading through. Come summer 2012, the Democratic Party will again present Barack Obama as their offering to the public. Who knows who the Republicans will settle upon. And there are Libertarian and Green Party entries in most states as well. And not a one of them really is in step with "We the People".

This is just like any other year. Except different. But similar. Oh, you know what I mean.