Your Laugh for the Day

I've just run across a New York Times article featuring The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (No Tiptoeing Through the Tulips), which has apparently been around for a few years now. However did I miss a thing like that?

The article says that the group makes people smile. I can vouch for that. When you've finished this one, you want to click on the related videos for The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly and Smells Like Teen Spirit. Seriously.

Monochrome Weekly: Beans a la Georgia

Found these lascivious ladies in the bean patch. I'll bet the next time you have green beans, you're going to remember this post.
;-)







See more of the world in black and white: Visit Monochrome Weekly.

Your Photo on a Hallmark Card

I'm kind of a sucker for greeting cards. (I know, I know. Don't start.) In shuffling through the selection at the supermarket yesterday, I discovered a whole section of Hallmarks created by ordinary folks like us, winners of a contest of some sort. And I thought to myself, "Self, we could do that. And so could a lot of our buddies in those photo memes."

Soon as I had the frozen stuff stashed in the fridge, I stopped by at Hallmark.com and checked it out. Hallmark is running a series of contests for people to send in cards of their own creation. The next one up is Mothers Day, cards to make a mom laugh. Submissions will be accepted October 5-18. November is birthday cards for women, and January is freestyle birthday cards.

If you win, you get $250 and they sell your card online with your byline on it. If your card is really good, they'll sell it in stores and give you another $250. Granted, that's probably scraping the bottom of the scale for people who do this professionally. But hey. I'm not proud. I'd do it just for the ego boost.

The link is here: Hallmarkcontests.com. Just in case you're interested. Click around in there -- even if the whole greeting card idea makes you gag, there are some great pointers for making your content work for a wide audience.

Monochrome Weekly: Diamond Necklace

I nearly stepped on this web before noticing it. I had no tripod with me, and by the time I returned with one about an hour later, I couldn't find it again. The shot could be sharper and the background could be fuzzier, but I still like it.

For more black and white photos, check out the meme at The Monochrome Weekly.

Shadow Shots: Hopper

For more shadows, click the logo to visit Harriet's place:

Rainbow's End

I've just heard that the kids' show Reading Rainbow has been canceled. I couldn't believe my ears. How did we lose an iconic program that inspired the joy of reading in two generations of children?

According to the story at NPR.org, nobody would fund it. What? NOBODY would fund Reading Rainbow? No parent group, no charitable foundation, no publishing houses? I find that impossible to believe.

Apparently, as part of the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind program, the emphasis is now to be on the mechanics of reading; teaching phonics is the primary goal. That's important, sure. But what good are tools without a vision of what you can do with them?

Not every kid has somebody reading to them at home. Not every kid gets to browse at the library. Without shows like Reading Rainbow, those kids are definitely going to be left behind.

Ruby Tuesday: Pretty Pink Whatsits

These little blossoms are an eigth of an inch long and grow along a willowy stem about two feet tall. No clue what they are, but I love the way the pistils end in two tiny curls.

For more Ruby Tuesday finds check out Mary's place, The Work of the Poet.

Monochrome Weekly: Feed Me

An escapee from Little Shop of Horrors?

The similarities in the shapes of living things are remarkable. Claws, fangs, horns ... the spiky things on this seedpod. Scary.

For more photos in black and white, check out the meme at The Monochrome Weekly.