Media of the Week - The Deathly Hallows...Literally

Pin It

I will never forget – well over a dozen years ago – when I bought the first Harry Potter book and read it.

At first it felt like a story fit for the name of Roald Dahl…for the first twenty or thirty pages, but then it quickly changed into something else: something I’d never read before.

I. loved. it.

I enjoyed this then little-known story so much that I bought copies for my sister and brother for Christmas that year; you’d never seen such disappointed looks on both their faces – which they both quickly tried to mask behind the obligatory, “Oh, this is great” and “Hey, I can’t wait to read this.”

In reality they both wanted to throw the book in my face and scream something like, “A children’s book? It’s Christmas and you go out and buy me a CHILDREN’S book? What in the heck kind of lame sauce brother are you anyway giving out a stupid gift like this at Christmas?”

Oh, how after reading they soon ate their words.

It ended up being one of the greatest gifts of all time.

Strange little friend, that thing called perspective…

I can remember a year or three later, my brother and I were reading the next few publications of the books during our college years in our apartment, each of us reading a different story and yet having some amazing discussions about the plot lines, characters, and our varied epiphanies about the people in them.

Boy, those were the good old days.

Which now brings me to the end of an era, a period of life where – like the final book of a few years ago – the final movie is now upon us.

The proverbial closing of yet another chapter in my life.

Has Harry Potter affected me?

To be honest, I find it hard to think of a world without Harry, Hermione, and Ron in it. A world without Hogwarts. A world without Dumbledore. A world without even Voldemort existing somewhere inside of it.

Has J.K. Rowling affected my life? Just like a horcrux.


By the way, it appears that Mindy and Justin were the two winners of the contest; now if they'd both send me an email letting me know the print they'd like, that would be great. Thanks everybody else for taking part in the contest.

Since Mindy's chosen post was the closest to the top, she is dubbed the first place winner and will therefore get two prints.

P.S. Tell you what, just because I'm cool like this...the first person's post to show up in the widget before midnight on Friday will be our third place winner (since we still haven't had one). Be sure to make a comment on the 'contest' post and let me know if yours shows up first. If it is when I check, you'll be our third winner.

Yeah, you're welcome...so now you better go and remind your friends to check your favorite post out.

And just because it made me laugh:

Weekly Kodachrome - Eleven Messages

Pin It

We drove the dusty road that snaked through the boulder-strewn canyons, descending slowly toward the river bottom. The clouds of dust kicked up behind us caught in the sun’s light and billowed like plumes of effervescent smoke as the magenta and amber mesas rolled past us like watchful sentinels.

We stopped at the end of the rocky path and tumbled from our vehicles; as the six o’clock hour drew even nearer, we took our colored orbs and began to write our messages, some of them short, and others a bit longer…each of us clutching the ends of the strings.

As we released the smooth threads, the balloons, which had been struggling to be set free, raced toward the azure skies above. We stood and watched them as they climbed higher and higher, our smallest watchers convinced that they were all racing to reach Heaven first.

It wasn’t long before our rainbow of messages arose amongst the scattered billows and cerulean sky while we – still anchored to the earth – watched until they disappeared.

<center><a href="http://teachinfourth.blogspot.com/search/label/Weekly%20Kodachrome/" target="_blank"><img alt="Adventures & Misadventures of Daily Living" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi0e1GL4TLj1n6H-veDNFvj6gHUt_9-X1MWA6Qo-0zyEHW2dGTMl4JeI8v_q4AdNQxb8FADxYjLPhQnxl1rEPTU9B2N1_m9vVei9Ea8PXDRASzVKotvo4jseesUFUvqazg0pxtTAN75ao/s800/Weekly%252520Kodachrome.png"/></a></center>

Did you take a photo in the past seven days that made you smile? Please feel free to include a link to the image in the comments section if you did.

Two years, and I Write...

Pin It

The hard sound of guitar and rough vocals flooded over me again and again as I drove the vast expanse of miles—the mileage that swept beneath my tires, though storms and rain; ominous cloudbursts similar to those of two years ago.

As the miles of road blew past, my mind careened over the past two years of my esoteric life: the alterations, the battles, the good as well as the bad times…all of those infinitesimal moments that have brought me to the here and now.

I slipped in and out the present as the mesas and sandstone cliffs—veiled in grey storm clouds—peeked from the heights above me as the arroyos, now flooded with overflow, ran freely through sand washes and open landscape toward the rising Swell off to the west, rising up like tidal wave of stone from the desert.

And again and again the melody thundered from the speakers, the words were pouring through my mind; it was if I were hearing them for the very first time:



It’s been years since they told her about it,
The darkness her body possessed…

It’s a blur since they told me about it,
How the darkness had taken its toll,
And they cut into my skin and they cut into my body
But they will never get a piece of my soul.
And now I’m still learning the lesson,
To awake when I hear the call,
And if you ask me why I am still running,
I tell you I run for us all.

I run for hope
I run to feel
I run for the truth
For all that is real
I run for your mother, your sister, your wife
I run for you, and me, my friend
I run for life.

It is now night...two years ago today though.

I moved out to the front porch and sat in the near silence as the night enveloped the neighborhood. A few crickets chirped off in the empty lot as a few stars peered through the clouds overhead. From somewhere up the street a dog barks and reminds me of where I am.

Why, two years later am I still writing about her?

To sort of quote Melissa Etheridge:

I write for hope.
I write to feel.
I write for the truth.
For all that is real.
I write for your mother, your sister, your wife.
I write for you, and me, my friend
I write for life.

In my head, the song still plays; the hard sound of guitar and rough vocals floods over me as I gaze at the heavens. And still, another year of journeying storms and sunny skies await yet in the wings.

The Game/Contest

Pin It

Do you remember going to the carnival when you were a kid? You know, the one that set up in the parking lot of the shopping center, mall, or out at the fairgrounds?

I sure do.

I remember looking wide-eyed at the bright lights and twirling rides, the music that would play, the smells permeating the air, and the chance to win prizes.

I remember one game in particular; it was a game where you’d try to get your rocket/racecar/horse/or whatever object it was to the top of a track or pole before your friends by shooting water onto a target.

Do you remember this particular, little carny game?

Well, guess what? At midnight tonight we’re going to start our own little carnivicular contest where it’s you against all of your friends…and some people you probably don’t even know.

How does it work? Well, do you see on the sidebar to the left? Well, more specifically the widget that says, “The Top 10 Post Viewed Over the Last 30 Days”?

Well, starting at midnight, we’re going to wreak havoc with it.

Seriously.

We’re going to play a little game that requires just a little bit of effort on your part.

I’m not sure exactly how that widget works, but from what I understand, it ‘reads’ the hits on specific pages on this blog over a 30 day period, and figures out which pages have been viewed directly the most—meaning that have been directly clicked on—for the past 30 days. People may peruse this blog, but unless you click directly on a post’s link, it won’t be ‘counted.’

Does this make sense?

So, here’s the contest.

In the next 24 hours, in the comments section, give the URL and name of your favorite post from this blog (the post you want to “race” to the top of the widget). Whichever three posts are at the top of the widget one week from today, July 14th at 7 A.M (Mountain Time) will be the winners.

But wait, Teachinfourth, if this is a race, then what do the three winners get as a prize? After all, you said there would be prizes…

Ah, such a good question.

The three winners will get to pick any matted photo from either my photography website or this blog—any size they want (up to 8x12)—which will then be sent to them via US mail. The person in the top spot gets to pick two images (photos of people are not eligible to be selected unless I get the ‘okay’ from said individuals OR unless YOU are the said individual).

You know, shots like these, these, or these...just as a few samples.

Any hints for winning Teach?

Well, I don’t know about ‘hints’, but I do know this: the Happy TeachinFOURTH of July 2011 post rocketed straight to the top in less than 24 hours because two or three people put it on Facebook once or twice and/or on Twitter. It was also added to blogs as a link as well. I’ve never seen a post jump so quickly to the top as I saw that one do.

Also, the more people who go to your post, the more likely you’ll stay in the lead. If your friends click on the main banner they won’t be voting for anyone, just if they click on individual post names—in other words, don’t freak out if they look at anything else on this blog.

So ask a few friends to put your entry on their Facebook page, tweet about it, or whatever it is you like to do...dig it? The more individuals that hit that page, the greater your chances of staying in the lead.

Anything else we should know?

Well, you can enter the contest as late as you want, but the sooner you do, and the quicker you start, the better your chances should be. From what I understand of the widget (which isn’t a lot) it calculates the hits over 30 days, so the more hits you have over each of the 5 and-a-bit-more-days of the contest, the greater your chances are of being in the top three slots.

Oh, one last thing…all the current ‘entries’ in the widget are off limits and cannot be used as entries. So any of these that you see below cannot be used as yours. I’ll post an image of what these are below. Also, look at the comments and make sure that nobody else has picked a particular post – it’s first come, first choice in this regard. Pick a good post, not a lame one (like there are lame posts here…).

Comment moderation has been turned off until 12:00 tonight so you can make your selections and will know right off who has what. At 12:00 moderation goes on once-again.

Good luck.

P.S. Be sure to let me know your ‘racehorse’ in the comments section and please don’t start the race until midnight. Remember, you can pick a post and start the race as late as you’d like, but your chances are probably better earlier in…all posts that show up in the widget before midnight are automatically exempt from being chosen in this contest.

In a nutshell:

1. Pick your favorite post from this blog.
2. Let me know in the comments which post it is.
3. Advertise that post on Facebook, Blogger, Twitter, or wherever else you want to.
4. If your 'faved' post from this blog is in the top 3 slots on the side widget by the deadline (July 14th at 7:00 am) you win a print from this blog, or my photography website.
5. This post doesn't count as a winner - I see it's already on the widget.

Oh, and I posted over at Four Perspectives today.

Top image garnered from: http://sanatogapost.com

To Blog Me is to Like Me

Pin It Did you know that you could like this blog? Yeah, I figured that you already did because - most likely - you’re pretty savvy like that AND you’re on Facebook, too. But did you also know that you could like Backroads Photography?

Well, if you didn’t know this before, then I just wanted to let you know now…after all, we’re probably friends in the real world and that’s what friends do; and really when you think about it, why shouldn't you like me in the cyberworld as well?

Okay, now go and share this juicy little tidbit with each and every one of your other friends, because these are delicious, just like your favorite something-or-other slathered in butter and cream, and then baked into golden perfection.

I should probably mention that I'm needy, too...but only because we're friends; just don't tell anybody else, okay?

By the way, comments are off for this post...you know, just if you were wondering...

Weekly Kodachrome - The Red Balloon

Pin It

I took part in a relatively unplanned photography session the other day. As kind of a last minute thought, I took along a few balloons – after all, balloons always lend a sense of excitement and fun, don't they? I gave one of these balloons to the middle boy of the family, whom I’ll simply dub as ‘D’ for the sake of this post.

As he walked away with this red balloon in hand, I was suddenly struck with the remembrance of my own days of elementary school, when my teacher would show us movies from time to time. For some reason or other she’d gotten the movie, The Red Balloon. It is a story – told mostly without dialogue – about a boy named Pascal and a balloon he rescues one day.

The movie focuses on the friendship forged between this young boy and a red balloon. I was so impacted by this film that I remember wanting a red balloon of my own after seeing it.

Fast-forward to a dozen years later when I’d be teaching a summer camp of energetic seven and eight year-old kids, and talking with them about the importance of good friends and being kind to those who were different. I remember each of them wanting – after seeing the movie – a red balloon of their very own. Having already thought of this, I went into the back room of the center and brought out the dozen red helium balloons, which I tied to each of their back jeans belt loops, stressing the importance of friendship and kindness. Then, for the remainder of the day, each and every child had a red balloon of their own which followed them everywhere they went.

It was amazing to see how differently they acted.

It's amazing to see how something as simple as a red balloon can change someone's behavior.

<center><a href="http://teachinfourth.blogspot.com/search/label/Weekly%20Kodachrome/" target="_blank"><img alt="Adventures & Misadventures of Daily Living" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi0e1GL4TLj1n6H-veDNFvj6gHUt_9-X1MWA6Qo-0zyEHW2dGTMl4JeI8v_q4AdNQxb8FADxYjLPhQnxl1rEPTU9B2N1_m9vVei9Ea8PXDRASzVKotvo4jseesUFUvqazg0pxtTAN75ao/s800/Weekly%252520Kodachrome.png"/></a></center>

Did you take a photo in the past seven days that made you smile? Please feel free to include a link to the image in the comments section if you did.

Oh, and just if you were interested, you can view the original Albert Lamorisse film, The Red Balloon, HERE or a trailer for the 2007 remake (which I just discovered existed, watched most of, and didn't like nearly as much), The Flight of the Red Balloon, by Hou Hsiao Hsien HERE. From the trailer you will be able to link to the full film if you're interested in watching it.

Happy TeachinFOURTH of July 2011

Pin It

i heart faces

When I was a kid the Fourth of July was all about Fireworks.

It was about school being out and the long, lazy days of summer stretching out before me; it was about trips to the river with inner tubes in the back of the station wagon and cousins coming to visit for days on end.

The Fourth of July was about family reunions and camping out in the backyard in tents. It was about roasting hot dogs over campfires in the early evening as the smoke from the bonfire drifted lazily through the yard. It was burning marshmallow torches and running through the forest and screaming like banshees. It was a time of night games and insect bites. It was watching shooting stars and making wishes that never quite seemed to come true.

The Fourth of July was standing in front of the makeshift roadside stands with a few dollars I’d been saving for months on end clutched in hand. It was gazing at the rows of brightly packaged pyrotechnics arranged before me, just waiting their time to set the skies ablaze.

The Fourth of July was about blowing up cowpies with my longtime friend, Jess. This was—by far—one of the greatest and little-known pastimes of all. We’d see how close we could get to the bovine pastries and still not get nailed by the flying shrapnel when the crater was blown from the varied meadow muffins we encountered. The fresher the better, and juicy was all about the splatter.

If Jess was icked more then I…well, then life was good.

The Fourth of July was homemade popsicles and sitting the front slab, with the sticky stuff running down your chin and forearms. It was all about sunburns and snickering with friends at those crazy Laffy Taffy jokes until our sides ached.

That was the Fourth of July when I was a child.

But now that I’m older, I realize that the Fourth of July is so much more.

The fourth of July is about freedom. It’s about sacrifice. It’s about the men and women who fought for the rights we have today. It’s about the day we celebrate our independence from England. It’s the day we commemorate the nation we live in and love.

The Fourth of July is all of these things; it is the celebration of the past and the present…and one day it will be the celebration of the future, wherein it will become many more things as well…



Happy TeachinFOURTH of July to you…

You might also want to try Sweet Shot Tuesdays, Show off Your Shot, Your Sunday Best, This or That Thursday, and Community Global for other great photo memes.