My Daily Banana

Samstag, 19. Juli 2014

My Daily Banana

Photo of the Day:

Old love never rusts; I couldn't decide which one I preferred so I uploaded both

Event of the Day:

19th July 1983

Michael W. Vannier published the first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head from single slices of a CT in St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Birthday of the Day:

19th July 1947

Brian May

Astrophysicist and lead guitarist of the group Queen

Died on this Day:

19th July 1973

Clarence White

The co lead guitarist with Roger McGuinn of the Byrds.

He was hit by the car of a drunken driver while loading equipment into his car after a gig in Palmdale, California; he died at the age of twenty-nine years.

Thoughts:

Yesterday I wrote under a photo this caption, "Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose".

That got me thinking: What's the meaning of this line from Gertrude Stein's poem "Sacred Emily"? I came up with two versions:

The girl named Rose is as beautiful as a rose; that she be compared to a rose and a rose is as beautiful as a rose

my second version, quite simple really:

Rose arose (as in rising) and a rose arose (also as in rising)

My preference is the first version; the good old Gertrude liked to play with the English language. I invested some time and read all nine A4 sides of the poem and couldn't help laughing reading some of her rhymes; that do not rhyme.

Try this verse, I wonder if you understand it; I don't, but then it's art and art is made to appease and not to be understood:

Happy happy happy.
All the, chose.
Is a necessity.
Necessity.
Happy happy happy all the.
Happy happy happy all the.
Necessity.
Remain seated.
Come on come on come on on.
All the close.
Remain seated.
Happy.
All the.
Necessity.
Remain seated.
All the, close.

A plastic door, it looks good from a distance

This one looks good close up

This one as well

The first black bramble
oh deear summer is coming to an end

The rose hips are reddening

Bird food

and one last flower for today

Das war's, tschuß bis morgen!

Freitag, 18. Juli 2014

My Daily Banana

Photo of the Day:

Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose
(Quotation from the Sacred Emily, a poem written by Gertrude Stein in 1913
Here you can read the poem Sacred Emily
Anyone who reads the poem from the beginning to the end in one go will earn my respect)

Event of the Day:

18th July 1968

Intel is founded in Mountain View, California

Birthday of the Day:

18th July 1895

George "Machine Gun" Kelly

An American gangster born in Memphis, Tennessee

I only know him from a James Taylor song "Machine Gun Kelly" written by Danny "Kooch" Kortchmar

A beautiful song for a rough and reckless robber, kidnapper and bootlegger

Died on this Day:

18th July 1954

George Francis Barns Jr. aka Machine Gun Kelly

He died from a heart attack while serving a jail sentence in Leavenworth Prisson, on his birthday

Thoughts:

Today I was in a moody! Nothing was right, I got up had a shower and had to lie down again 'cause I was so tired; well it didn't brighten my day up.

My poor colleagues; it's Thursday which meant we had our Lunchtime gymnastics and they wanted photos to be taken for the Bilfinger magazine. (Information; the firm for which I work belongs to the Bilfinger Group.) I wasn't in the mood for this and told them so; only a few weeks ago I wrote about our gymnastic group in my blog and for this purpose I had taken loads of photos.

They weren't good enough, ok, so I let them use my camera to take some photos themselves. These were so miserable, that I took it in my hand and shot some photos myself.

Have a look and judge yourself which are more interesting, I won't tell which photos I took; I'll just number them:

001

002

003

004

005

Enough of this niggly mood,
I will leave you,
but beware I shall be returning tomorrow

Donnerstag, 17. Juli 2014

My Daily Banana

Photo of the Day:

Sylvia, her daughter Leanne and grandsons
two lovely and lively lads

Event of the Day:

17th July 1938

Douglas Corrigan set off from Brooklyn, New York on a flight to Long Beach, California and landed in Baldonnel Aerodrome, County Dublin, Ireland. He was then nicknamed "Wrong Way' Corrigan"; the name is still commonly used for a person who goes the wrong way.

Birthday of the Day:

17th July 1951

Sylvia Davies (maiden name Martin)

Sylvia and hubby Frazer
Greetings and have a good day

My sister was born in Celle, Germany, (bloody Kraut:-)

Have a nice day Sylvie, I'm thinking of you xxx

17th July 1954

Angela Merkel

The German Premier Minister (another Kraut)

Happy Birthday Angelika, keep the good work going; you may not be a sight for sorry eyes, but your work and character are top!

Died on this Day:

17th July 1959

Billie Holiday

Jazz and blues singer/songwriter, she died at fourty-four, as a result of alcohol and drug abuse she died of liver cirrhosis. Here you can hear her singing "Lady Sings the Blues"

Thoughts:

Today I took a photo of a rose (well that's something new). When I opened the photo on my computer I was absolutely dissatisfied with it; the rose had water spots on it, so I thought why not play with it and see what I can make out of it; well here's the result:

the original photo

the first spots are removed

the scars of the spots are softened

Now I started on the ratty petals

Soften the jagged edges

and cut the flower out of the photo

now it can be set into any other photo

See what is possible in just a short time

Don't believe any photo, it could be faked!

See you all tomorrow; Bye!

Mittwoch, 16. Juli 2014

My Daily Banana

Giant Rhubarb (Gunnera manicata):

The plant doesn't seem to be growing anymore,
some of the leaves are wilting and have holes from the wind and weather

Event of the Day:

16th July 1867

Joseph Monier patents reinforced concrete

The woven steel wires/bands that are used to reinforce the concrete are called "Monier Eisen" in Germany

Joseph Monier

His patent for reinforced concrete

Birthday of today:

16th July 1977

Bryan Budd

Bryan Budd RIP.

British soldier born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and died in Afghanistan in 2006. He died saving his troop from certain death by the Taliban; for this brave feat he received posthumously the Victorian Cross. So young, what a waste!

Died on this Day:

16th July 1557

Anne of Cleves

the fourth wife of King Henry VIII, died at the age of forty-one.

I wonder if proprietors and their guests of the Ann of Cleves Inn in Melton Mowbray will all wear black armbands to pay their respect?

Thoughts:

Today I had two strolls; one at lunchtime, half an hour out of the office, it's a good method to charge the batteries up. As usual I walked along the path next to the railway lines; it's nice and quiet there, no traffic and not many people. That's what I need the most when I've been toiling in the office. Isn't it funny how telephone calls get on your wick when you're not the one on the strip?

Some weeks ago our safety and health relations officer retired and the new head of the department is in stationed in our sister firm in Neustadt; that's seven hundred kilometres to the south of Germany. Because of this situation he only comes to Flensburg every other week and he is in continuous telephone contact with the safety officer in Flensburg.

A quiet path next to the railway line from Flensburg to Denmark

the brambles are ripening

they look like cocktail cherries, but I wouldn't try eating them

The acorns are forming

The end of the path,
after that I have to walk another kilometre next to the road

My second stroll was after work, when I got home. Heike was out with her friend having a chinwag (when women get together I don't want to be around). Anyway I had to go to the DHL post-box and collect a parcel; my two books had arrived from Amazon England. I flipped through one of them while having a cuppa; it was good that I was inside at the time because it started chucking it down That lasted half an hour, just right for a cuppa and the book.