Apurv and 'The Dew'

And now here we are planning our own adventure, the long way up Britain, and I can't wait to get my wheels rolling on this long and winding road to freedom/exhaustion/and huge bowls of porridge! x



This is me cruising the Japanese streets local stylie!!!!

My favorite thing about macro is the beauty to be found in the tiniest, most unlikely places.   I do my best to capture that.

Victory Seeds, a family run seed business that turned out to be in our area. I sent the order and the next day the seeds were in our mailbox. I love that the seeds are packaged in a small zip-lock bag inside of the paper packets, any seeds left over are carefully sealed and stored for next year. There was also an information sheet on how to properly store the seeds over time. We're very pleased to have found this great seed company. All you who love gardening, take some time to browse their site.

For the past week or so I've gotten into a rhythm of working in the garden or yard at least an hour every day but Sunday. It's been good to putter around watering, pulling weeds, mowing, even tackling the blackberry brambles that threaten to overtake home and shop. (Seriously)

Sugar pea tendrils reaching for the light.

Dew crowned Brussel sprout leaf.

Tomato Leaves

Rippening Montmorency Pie Cherries under the waning moon.

A slow deep watering Saturday morning before the thermometer reached 100 degrees, now every thing is rapidly growing.

मालती की बेलें औराक़ पे हर्फ़ों की दीवार से लिपटीं
ख़ुशबू-ए-मिज़ाज रखके यह मेरी आँखों में सिमटीं

रोज़ रात शबनम में भीग जाती हैं सारी ख़ाहिशें जब
उड़ चलती है फ़ाख़्ता-ए-मन पुराने शहर की तरफ़

लफ़्ज़ों की मौज ने ली अँगड़ाई रिश्तों के बदन पे
मानूस चेहरों के चराग़ जल उठे ताक-ए-ज़हन पे

इन दिनों उड़ता फिरा हूँ मैं आँधी की तरह आवारा
लूटने के लिए वो पुराने मौसम पतंगों वाले दोबारा

"Maybe that's why God made us kids first and built us close to the ground, because He knows you got to fall down a lot and bleed a lot before you learn that one simple lesson. You pay for what you get, you own what you pay for... and sooner or later whatever you own comes back home to you."  -  Ben Hanscom in Stephen King's IT.

"It's probably wrong to believe there can be any limit to the horror which the human mind can experience. On the contrary, it seems that some exponential effect begins to obtain as deeper and deeper darkness falls - as little as one may like to support the idea that when the nightmare grows black enough, horror spawns horror, one coincidental evil begets other, often more deliberate evils, until finally blackness seems to cover everything. And the most terrifying question of all may be just how much horror the human mind can stand and still maintain a wakeful, staring, unrelenting sanity.

What you buy is what you own, and sooner or later what you own will come back to you"

The crown of the purple coneflower bejeweled in dew drops…

© 2008 D L Ennis, All rights reserved.

NOTE: Permission for the use of my images is granted for personal websites and blogs but is to include a link back to this site and proper credit given to me, D L Ennis. Link to be used...(Visual Thoughts http://dlennis.wordpress.com/)

NOTE: Commercial use, and the creation of prints, must be purchased! For more information you can contact me here.

I don’t know what shrub this flower grows on but I found it very beautiful and this morning it was doused in dew…

© 2008 D L Ennis, All rights reserved.

NOTE: Permission for the use of my images is granted for personal websites and blogs but is to include a link back to this site and proper credit given to me, D L Ennis. Link to be used...(Visual Thoughts http://dlennis.wordpress.com/)

NOTE: Commercial use, and the creation of prints, must be purchased! For more information you can contact me here.

I heard a few months back that Mountain Dew was coming out with a couple of new flavors.  I was underwhelmed by this news.  I’ve always hated Mountain Dew, every since I was a young boy.  I found the flavor disgusting and way, way too syrupy and sweet.  I did have a brief love affair with Code Red, but the operative word in that sentence is “brief.”  Yet, when I went into my local gas station today and saw two of the three new flavors looking longingly at me from the cooler, I couldn’t resist their siren song.

I feel that with my recent post critiquing the new Sierra Mist Undercover, I have established myself as the premiere “limited time only” soda review blogger on the scene.  I intend to defend this position, and I’m going to start now, with a review of the new Mountain Dew flavor: Revolution.

Revolution claims to be “Dew infused with wild berry fruit flavor and ginseng.”  First of all, “infused” seems like a very grandiose verb to use here.  Second, am I the only one who has no goddamn idea what ginseng brings to the table?  I have no idea what ginseng tastes like, drinking some certainly didn’t make me feel better, so what’s it for?  Bullshit.  I think it’s like taurine in the energy drinks: everyone knows that caffeine and amphetamines make energy drinks work, taurine is retarded, ubiquitous parsley.

The thing that sets these Mountain Dew varieties apart from the Livewires and the Baja Blasts of the world is that these flavors were “created by dew drinkers.”  This begs the question: aren’t there people whose job it is to create soda flavors?  If not, how did Livewire or Code Red get created?  If so, what were these fucking people doing this time?  They just get to let the consumers do the work for them?  What a gig. 

If I were a betting man (and I am), I would bet (and I do) that the fan creation part of this equation is that some Dew-loving tard called into the Dew Corporate Office and said “durrr…y’alls should make some dew with, uh, a berry flavor.”  What I can’t imagine is Mountain Dew letting some of their big fans into the lab, giving them some white coats and some beakers, and setting them loose.  I guess I can't imagine Mountain Dew having labs.

Regardless of how it came into being, it’s my obligation to tell you that it never should have been made.  The only thing I can compare the flavor of this shit to is liquid gummi worms.  This stuff is very bad.  I can’t say enough bad things about Mountain Dew Revolution.  I’d rather drink boiling hot smegma.  I'd rather drink NyQuil.  Actually, I kind of like NyQuil.  Bad example.

Join me tomorrow for my review of another Mountain Dew trial flavor: Supernova.  I can’t fucking wait.

You see, in general I don't like Mountain Dew.  At all.  It just doesn't taste right to me.  I also never cared for many of Mountain Dew's secondary flavors, such as Code Red or Livewire.  There are two that I do like, however.  The first is Baja Blast, a tropical tasting variant that one can purchase exclusively at Taco Bells.  The second is (or rather was) Game Fuel, a delicious soda that might have been the pinnacle of all refreshing beverages (for me anyway) had not it only been meant to be a limited release to help promote Halo 3.  Alas, the strawberry/orange flavor and its gummy-bear aftertaste seems to have faded into oblivion.

As you can see from the above examples, I seem to only like Mountain Dew if its release is limited in some fashion.  Well, the geniuses in charge of this kind of thing have done it yet again: they've crafted three new flavors of Mountain Dew, each one a liquid blessing.  And they released them along with the promise to eliminate two of the flavors depending on the popular vote of Dew drinkers.  It seems that once again I've been doomed to lose something that might actually make me a regular Mountain Dew fan.

As this is a review blog instead of a journal blog, I'll stop boring you with my fruitless quest to find soft drink satisfaction and give you the facts about the drinks.

A Quick Rundown

Just to make sure we're on the same page (if you're like me, you're relatively vague on all things Dew), here are the basic facts.  To begin with, each new Dew (named Supernova, Voltage and Revolution respectively) has flavorful leanings towards the fruity (a big plus for me) with some ginseng added.  Ginseng's the current trend in hip herbs to be put in drinks, and the taste isn't an unpleasant one (I've heard it might be good for you as well, but not enough to make up for the fact that you're drinking soda instead of water.)  The three flavors are also visually interesting, but to be honest I doubt that most people care what color a soda is (I really think Supernova's purple and Voltage's dark blue are neat to look at, though.  For completeness sake, I'll mention that Revolution is also blue, but a lighter shade.)

Supernova

Supernova comes to you with a "Blast of Strawberry Melon Flavor and Ginseng."  While the English Major and Botanist in me quietly look the other way to pretend that they didn't hear the phrase "Strawberry Melon" I have to say that this is the most unique taste of the three.  The strawberry flavoring is very strong, pretty much overpowering the melon entirely (though admittedly, the strawberry tastes off, in a good way, so perhaps the melon is there, just not detectable as such.)  The aftertaste really lets the flavor sink in, so it's a good thing that I enjoyed it otherwise I'd have to rinse my mouth out after every sip (though if I didn't like it I don't know why a second sip would be necessary.)  As a final note, I think this one has the coolest name of the three.

Voltage

Voltage, a drink that the bottle says is "Charged with Raspberry Citrus Flavor and Ginseng," might be my favorite of the bunch based purely on nostalgia.  You see, of all the drinks this is the one that reminds me most of Game Fuel, and I do so long to see that drink back on the shelves some day.  It doesn't leave a strong aftertaste like Supernova, though it's not without one (that's the time when you most notice the Ginseng, so if you don't like Ginseng this might not be the flavor for you.)

Revolution

The third contender has been "Infused with Wild Berry Fruit Flavor and Ginseng" according to the bottle, and that's probably it's selling point.  The berries stand alone (no help from melons or citrus fruits this time around) and it's hard to determine if that makes it more or less noticeable.  Unlike the other drinks, there's nothing I can point to and say "a person might not like this," but at the same time I couldn't say, "a person would certainly like that."  It's name doesn't even strike me as that interesting, to be honest.  Ironically, this all might make it stand out for some (the berry taste really is very good, much better than most companies that try wild-berry flavored sodas.)  More of an aftertaste than Voltage, but less of one than Supernova.

The Verdict?

Honestly, it's a tough call for me.  My opinion has been changing a lot about them as I try them, and like I said they're each very good in my opinion.  Supernova, despite how much it stands out, seems stuck in second place in my mind while Revolution and Voltage keep moving between first and third.  At the moment Revolution is my favorite (despite it's name) but I might switch back to Voltage before I cast my vote.

Ultimately, we're going to be losing two good flavors, and that's the biggest problem with the whole scenario.  If Mountain Dew knew what it was doing, it would have brought back some old flavors like Pitch Black and Game Fuel to let us vote for them as well, though I wouldn't expect them to do that (and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Game Fuel had some bizarre contractual deal with Microsoft that forbids it from coming back to the market for a certain amount of time or something.)

Anyway, the choice is in our hands now.  Whether you like Mountain Dew or not, I recommend that you give each of these drinks a try, and cast a vote if one of them sticks out for you.  After all, it's rare for a company to give such big decisions to the public, and I for one would like to see it happen more often, even if it is just a cheesey marketing ploy.

Pink petals unfurling, yielding to the morning mist,
In muddied banks of the river, sun-kissed.
Breaking her morning slumber,for today's tryst
the lotus rose, to meet Him, the one she missed.

"O my dearest, I sit here with thoughts of you,
Amongst cows grazing and peacock hue,
Keeping my mind off, it has no clue,
Cursed Divnity, Duty I have as due"
Sighing inwards his eyes knew,
I am a living shadow, a truth untrue.

He arrived sooner than ever, new,
Giving her hopes He would leave her never, He knew.
Helpless He vanished into the rising sun, He flew,
They touched, yet untouched they were, He was the morning dew.

and a Sunday morning dew,

laying on my back thinking

of the last time I was thinking of you

mmm Mountain Dew
It's not really like I'm a dew fanboi or anything, but it's really the only carbonated drink that doesn't give me raging heartburn.... go figure?!?!

You might have noticed 3 new Mountian Dews out there in stores, Voltage, Supernova, and Revolution. Well Pepsi started this campaign a long time ago where people did little games and eventually created their own Dews. In about 61 days the voting will be over and only 1 Dew will stay around.

I would encourage every soda drinker out there to try them and vote on Dewmocracy which one is their favorite. I have obviously voted for Voltage because it taste great, but that is my own opinion.

So get out there and vote people!

I actually stole borrowed this idea from a different picture I came across on the net and decided to try it for myself. My image was taken at the Portland Rose Garden. Then I just imported the image into Photoshop and converted it to black and white. After that it was just a matter of individually selecting each dew drop and colorizing it. It took a little bit of time but the effect was worth it I think.

-paulternate

Mini-Awesomeness Blog:
I know you will all thank me for this later because it is the most beautiful thing to happen to mankind since the freakin' wheel. I present to you: www.sidereel.com. It's a site that has pretty much every TV show ever made, all available for you to watch on demand, whenever you choose.

خستگی قطره و رها کردن خود ؛ همان لحظه جدایی ....

همه تعابیری از چیزیست که میبینید . شما چه تعبیری دارید ؟

ادامه تصاویر را ببینید .....

camera: Sony H9

Focal Length : 8mm

F-Number: F/4

Exposure Time:1/125s

ISO: 100

by:amir hossein

]]> http://wanderandscrawl.wordpress.com/?p=173 Sun, 25 May 2008 07:03:40 +0000 wanderandscrawl http://wanderandscrawl.wordpress.com/?p=173

Photo by Alexis McCallister

Morning dew sparkles, caught frozen, melting. I inhale the scent of winter fading, ocean warming, rock waking, buds lifting their heads.

It was a long sleep. I wonder if their dreams mirrored mine. Dreams follow me wherever I go, and I have gone farther than the borders drawn on the newest maps. I have walked and flown and ridden and run, and always the dreams are there.

Now I come to the last hope, the clearing at the end of the path, the true end of everything where sea swallows the land and sky rolls on forever.

Companions have come and gone, and I am alone. I walked the last mile, eyes widening with every step, knowing I was close, so close.

My dreams chatter of departure, distress, determination. I see a face again and again, skin dark, eyes darker, hair so black it's almost blue. She knows I'm watching, whispers in my ear, In day you remember me, at night you embrace me, in dreams you are me. I watch her return to her people; a leader both admired and feared. They are leaving, always leaving, piling into carts or trains or ships or gliders. I follow, but I am always too late. Years too late. Memories of the dark-skinned woman remain only in the mouths of the old men rocking on their porches, or the old women crouched down by the river watching the children play.

I learn the woman's name, Jasana. My name, though I have been called Ana as long as I can remember. I learn that she carried with her a weapon, a magical device, a devious machine. The words are always different, but the awe is the same. Whatever its function, the object was small and shiny metal, twisted with lengths of wire and sparks of fire. And in every place Jasana stopped, one woman or man or child came to the call of this machine, and left his or her family behind. Like me, I wondered, only I came late. And I had never caught even the tiniest glimpse of a machine in my nightly dreams. I see only her face, hear only her words. You are me.

Here I am at the end of the world, and my latest dream reaches for my fingertips. Dew-speckled grass, Jasana's feet pressing imprints into the frost. There is a footprint right here, I see it with my waking eyes.

Then she is here, stepping from behind a rock, her cloak cinched tight around her waist though the morning is warm.

I don't know what to say.

"Hello," she says. Her voice rasps, and I notice the wrinkles around her mouth and eyes. She is always young in my dreams. I must be awake. She never speaks to me, never says anything except those same cryptic words.

"Jasana?" I ask.

"It is I, or perhaps I should say, it is you."

"Why?"

"Come." She walks behind the rock again, and I follow her down, into a crevice cutting through walls of vertical stone. The sea pours in, lapping angrily at the mouth of this sheltered area. Resting on a ledge far from the danger of tides is a small metal object.

I keep my hands safely behind my back. I will not touch it.

"I am old, Jasana," she says to me, using my full name, our name. "You have come more quickly than expected, but I have very little time."

She is alone, and I wonder where her people have gone. From the age shrinking her skin, I know she must have waited here for decades. For me?

"You are the daughter of my heart, not of my body. The Unwind chose you, and I saw you every night as I slept. I saw your birth, your first steps, your first kiss. I spoke to you, screamed to you, sang to you, but all you ever heard was one phrase, a poem I learned from my own mother-of-my-heart."

"I left my family," I tell her, knowing I would never have chosen this small, harsh woman. Knowing I never would have left my real mother, my real home, if the dreams hadn't started aching, tearing, wrenching my insides. It was all Jasana's fault.

"I know. So did I. I left more families than I can count."

"You tear families apart. With that... thing." I try to speak carefully, but the old woman flinches, hurt by the hatred in my voice.

"I do not do the tearing. They come willingly. Look." She lifts the object, and a breeze whirrs through its twisted wires. It sings. Rage and anger and frustration melt away. I awake, was the whole journey a dream? Have I always lived here, by this ocean, with this woman?

"Mother?" I say to her.

"Daughter," she replies, and steps forward to embrace me. I step back. Wait.

This is the dream, this song, this lifting, arching, beautiful feeling. It can't be real.

I back up until the ocean lifts around my ankles. The chill washes the hoax from my eyes.

"Where are you going?" The old woman cries, cradling the singing thing in her arms.

"That is your child, not me," I reply. "I want no part of it."

The rocks are steep, but my hands are rough and my arms strong. I climb up and away, and Jasana does not try to follow. I can hear her weeping, talking to the thing like a baby.

I run until I cannot hear her voice, until the roar of the ocean fades and I can no longer smell salt on the breeze.

I sleep by the side of the path, and the night is dark and calm.

No dreams.

Weekly Theme: Objects

Date Taken: 2007

Location: Local Farm

Equipment Used: Panasonic DMC-LZ2

Additional Information: N/A

Weekly Theme: Plant Life

Date Taken: 2007

Location: Beside my mailbox

Equipment Used: Panasonic DMC-LZ2

Additional Information: N/A

Weekly Theme: Plant Life

Date Taken: 2007

Location: A walk down the street from me.

Equipment Used: Panasonic DMC-LZ2 SD

Additional Information: N/A