Virgin de Guadalupe

On December 12, 1531, The Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego, a Indigenous peasant who was praying to God for the health of his uncle.  The Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego at Mount Tepeyac--in present day Mexico City.

The Virgin of Guadalupe directed Juan Diego to deliver a message to the Bishop in Mexico City instructing him to build a temple for her.  When he presented this to the Bishop, Juan Diego was turned away. 

Juan Diego returned to Mount Tepeyac and was given red roses to take to the Bishop as proof that he was visited by the Virgin of Guadalupe.  Juan Diego did what he was told.  As he presented the roses to the Bishop, the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared on Juan Diego's shirt.

Sources: http://laprensa-sandiego.org

Visit my blog at http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/.

Finding 26 Doors

Several days ago, we visited the 26 Doors Shopping Center in North Central Austin.  Actually, we found this shopping center by accident.  We were looking for a place to eat lunch and I suggested Waterloo Ice House, which is located on 38th Street. 

As we were looking for a parking space, my wife noticed Santa Rita Cantina, a Tex-Mex restuarant, and suggested we go there instead.

Good things she suggested Tex-Mex too.  It was the first time I have every noticed the shopping center, and after lunch, we strolled around admiring the sculptures, fountain, and stores. 

With the crisp air, it seemed as if we were in a different state.  I even mentioned to my wife that the shopping center kind of reminded me of Estes Park in Colorado.

Below are pictures I took on our 26 Doors stroll.

Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall

Music Appreciation (A Retrospect)

Released in the United States 31 years ago on December 8, 1979, Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall received several recognition and named one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Times. However, the song and music video was and still is controversial.

The song and music video is a protest to the authoritative management of Pink's (the boy in the video) private school. Of course, after watching this video, many kids saw this as a protest to education in general.

I heard this song when I was about four or five years old. I recall my dad obtaining the album somehow and playing it during a party hosted at our home. My guess is that one of his students or friends brought the album to the house or something.

I remember waking up scared and crying to my dad begging to turn it off. He did and I returned to sleep. I think the kid's chorus creeped me out. In fact, I had the same reaction when I first saw the music video. I think I watched it one late night on MTV and quickly turning it off. As a matter of fact, I had nightmares of being on a conveyor belt and falling before waking up in a cold sweat.

It was probably not until I was in my late teens when I was able to watch and understand Pink Floyd's The Wall.


via mongchilde

Source: Wikipedia.

To view the video, please visit my blog at http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/.

Baluarte River Bridge

The Mexican federal government is spending approximately 18 million pesos (US$1.2 billion) to build a tollway from Durango to Mazatlan. 

Once completed, the new highway will be approximately 230 km (143 miles) in distance and will save travelers about 4 hours in travel time--currently, it takes travelers 6 to 8 hours through rugged terrain. 

The new tollway will consist of 55 miles of 63 tunnels, viaducts, and 115 impressive bridges, such as Puente Baluarte, which will be the highest in North America.  The bridge span 1,280 feet above the Baluarte River.

Below is a video of the project presented in Spanish.  Enjoy.

Sources: PM Network September 2010; Wikipedia

Visit my blog at http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/ to view photos and videos.

Kitchen Philosophy

From the Last artist died today album, UK artist and musician Dean Omori's Kitchen Philosophytouches on politics, religion, and society with strong lyrics such as "Where's the love of a good man, What were the crimes you saw, Shoot em in the back if they don't follow orders, Shoot em in the front if they obey your law."

Enjoy the video.



You can see more of his work on his website, http://www.deanomori.com/.

To view the video, visit my website at http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/.

Harry Belafonte - Day O

Music Appreciation (A Retrospect)

Day O, or The Banana Boat Song, is a traditional Jamaican folk song about dock workers working at night loading bananas onto ships before daylight. The song was made popular by Harry Belafonte in the 1950s.

The calypso song regained popularity in the 1980s with the movie Beetlejuice.

Where I was in 1988? I was about 12 or 13 when the movie came out. I recall going to the movie theater with friends to watch it.  Soon after the movie, I remember going to Wal-Mart and purchasing the soundtrack.

via berjudit

Source: Wikipedia

Thanksgiving Wreaths

I found myself starting my blog with "my wife" did such and such.  Perhaps I should change it a bit, huh? 

My wife After several weeks in Honolulu, Hawaii, the one I committed my life to came home and decided to make our home more festive--you know, more season-related.  Her first night back home she wanted to visit Michaels, the crafts store.  Don't get me wrong, I love that store.   In fact, if we were both retired and had a good amount of money, my wife and I could make a living making crafts.

This blog, however, isn't about the future and crafts.  It's about my wife's nature to make her nest look welcoming. 

When I met my wife, I fell in love with her personality.  She loved making things perfect.  And to me everything she made was that.  Since we were dating, she made life festive to the season even if we had no money.  She made the occasion, period. 

So it comes to no surprise that she wanted to make wreaths for Thanksgiving.

Below are what she created for our indoor closet door and outside front door.