photos

A Pastafarian walks into the DMV…

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

I have a birthday coming up which means my driver’s license is about to expire. I tried to renew it online this morning, but was told I didn’t qualify. This means two things:
(1) I have to go wait in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles and (2) I have to get a new photo taken.

I’m not a photogenic person, however, my current driver’s license photo is pretty good. By that, I mean I don’t wince every time I take it out of my wallet. From my perspective, that’s the definition of “keeper.” That past success should make me optimistic of getting another non-wince-inducing photo, right? Wrong.

  • Colorado no longer issues colored driver’s licenses; they are now grayscale.
  • Colorado no longer allows people who wear glasses every single moment of their waking lives to wear those glasses in their photos.
  • Colorado no longer allows people to smile in their photos.

No color. No glasses. No smiles.

Gee, I can’t wait to see what my new driver’s license photo looks like. Except, I already know what it’ll look like: as drab and unlike the real me as my passport photo which is also No Color, No Glasses, No Smile.

I am so angry right now. Not because I’m vain (I am), but because we’ve become a fear-based society that’s given up our civil liberties in the name of increased security. I don’t know about you, but facial recognition software doesn’t make me feel any more secure. The surveillance state doesn’t make me feel more secure.

I’m debating whether to show up at the DMV wearing my colander:

                                   Tracy in March 2012                                  All hail the Flying Spaghetti Monster!

Other Pastafarians have taken a stand with their driver’s license photos, and maybe I should do the same. The shiny metal would certainly brighten up what will otherwise be a dreary photo.

Gloom, begone!

/ Tracy Abell / 3 Comments

Today we woke to a gray blanket of fog which has mostly dissipated,
revealing an iron- gray sky.
The sun is nowhere to be seen. The mood is pure gloom.

Except out my kitchen window.

I’m grateful for those tenacious maple leaves.

Birthday Cousins

/ Tracy Abell

Born on the same day, five years apart.

♫   May you smile into the camera
And squint against the sun
May you stay forever fun
Forever fun, forever fun   ♫
May you stay forever fun.

Happy happy birthday to two of my favorite people on the planet!

Channeling my inner squirrel

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

This guy was at the feeder that hangs right outside our living room window.  When I sat to watch him liberate shelled peanuts from the cylinder, he immediately copped an attitude. He was furious that I was interfering with his efforts, and most certainly the chatter aimed at me was profane.

This squirrel’s head about popped off.

I admired him so much. Check out his body language. At first glance, you’d think the guy was chill, focused and absolutely motionless. Except. Note the blurred tail.

That is my goal for today as I tackle my revisions: to work with intense focus while also keeping in constant motion.

Profile in courage

/ Tracy Abell

The feeder was full first thing this morning. We had Blue Jays, American Magpies, and a Northern Flicker or two trying to get at the peanuts. However, this scrub jay fussed at them and mostly kept everyone away.

Then, after all that effort, this jay would fly from the feeder to the nearby shrubs to hide the peanuts. I mean, no subterfuge whatsoever. A direct line from feeder to shrubs. I waited for the others to start raiding the peanut cache, but I never saw anyone try it.

Perhaps the other birds took note for later in the season when they’ll need food. If so, I envy them their memories. I had trouble locating my coffee cup this morning.

My knight in white satin

/ Tracy Abell

I was just getting ready for bed when I realized:
(1) I’d neglected to blog today and
(2) it’s National Cat Day.

So, here’s Marcel from two years ago:

I can’t imagine life without the lovable drooler.

I am me and you are you

/ Tracy Abell / 3 Comments

The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you.
Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision.
So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.
~ Neil Gaiman

Started my day with some hoop dancing, and now it’s off to write.
Today feels like a wonderful day to be me.

Thanks for reading this. Now go be you.

Twofer Tuesday: rebel hikers edition

/ Tracy Abell / 6 Comments

When Zebu was a high school senior, he brought home a paper outlining the “rules” for senior photos. In addition to sensible guidelines such as “Do not wear sunglasses,” and “No props such as guns or weapons or other offensive material,” was “Students’ heads should not be pressed between two trees.”

October 13, 2017

Ever since reading that, we take every opportunity to photograph ourselves with heads wedged between two trees. Granted, Emma and  I are nowhere near wedged in this photo, but it’s the thought that counts.

Zebu would approve.

Forest for the trees

/ Tracy Abell

Revision is all about keeping in mind the big picture and the many, many details that go into creating that big picture. Because a novel is kinda like a forest, which is nothing without its trees.

Hike in Staunton State Park, Oct 13, 2017