Thursday, 30 May 2013
The new signs
When out on a walk this afternoon I encountered this new sign:
The bridleway signs have been there for years, but the sign with the motorcycle and the car is new, installed in the last week. After doing a little research, I discovered that it means "no motor vehicles". I think the new sign is necessary because people have taken motorbikes and four-wheelers down the bridleway when it's supposed to be for walking and horses only; the motor vehicles a mess of the path, especially when the it's muddy. There was a sign st the other entrance to the bridleway, too.
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Rotting petals
As quick follow-up to my recent post on our cherry blossom, I photographed the blossom again, in it's present state; it now consists of rotting petals:
The blossom was good while it lasted. I'm hoping the delayed spring will produce some more flowers! Sorry for the lower-quality pictures; I shot these through a window because of the rain.
As a side question, does anyone else think that the base of the cherry tree's trunk resembles an elephant's foot?
As a side question, does anyone else think that the base of the cherry tree's trunk resembles an elephant's foot?
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
"Girl Next Door" - Saving Jane
I remember the song "Girl Next Door" by Saving Jane, an Ohio band fronted by Marti Dodson. I enjoyed the song and have the album, also named Girl Next Door, where it comes from. "Girl Next Door" is Saving Jane's biggest hit and was popular in 2005/2006.
I am unsure what Saving Jane's exact status is now: they supposedly disbanded, with some of the members, including Dodson, forming Union Rose; however, Dodson is also a part of another musical project called Sailor Sky (site plays music). I would like to see another song by Dodson become a hit, regardless of which banner she releases it under; I'm fond of her voice.
I am unsure what Saving Jane's exact status is now: they supposedly disbanded, with some of the members, including Dodson, forming Union Rose; however, Dodson is also a part of another musical project called Sailor Sky (site plays music). I would like to see another song by Dodson become a hit, regardless of which banner she releases it under; I'm fond of her voice.
Monday, 27 May 2013
The "friend zone"
We've all heard that story[1]: a guy meets a woman, they get along, he wants to be more than friends and he asks her out. To his surprise, she says no and he wonders, after being so amazing to her, what he did to be put in her "friend zone", a place where he cannot advance beyond being a friend of hers other than a "good friend", a "great friend" or perhaps, depending on how wonderful a friend he is to her, even "best friend"...but all hope is lost...why bother being friends?
Many men fear the strange yet fearsome friend zone, believing that if one woman puts him there, then word will spread throughout all womankind that this man is an inhabitant of the friend zone and should be avoided at all costs — at least for relationships, anyway. Except...
It's nonsense: the aforementioned hypothetical man never did anything to be put in the woman's "friend zone" because the friend zone does not exist. Why, you ask, do I believe this?
Well, it's because I think that a woman not being attracted to a particular man is no different from a man not being attracted to a particular woman; when a man doesn't have any attraction to a woman, do we usually say that he "friend zoned" her? Almost never, because we know that a man might have several reasons for having no romantic interest in a woman. If a woman simply does not have any romantic feelings for a man then in most circumstances there is little that the man can do about it; he might not meet her physical tastes, his personality might not be one that she would consider relationship material or she thinks they have too different/too similar interests. There wasn't some evil place the woman put him in to taunt him and no woman ever woke up one day thinking, "Hmm...I'm going to add him to my friend zone!".
The friend zone mentality assumes that men must treat every woman as a potential relationship, regardless of her opinions, feelings or even suitability for a relationship; thus, it considers male-female friendships to be wrong and that any man who is "just friends" with a woman is a failure with women. It propagates the myth that a man must make a move on a woman upon or soon after meeting her, otherwise he will become one of her friends and there will be no chance of a relationship; it also dismisses the possibility that a man and a woman can develop a relationship with each other after being friends for months or even years.
Often when a woman says that she doesn't want to advance to a relationship she says it's because she values the friendship; on some occasions, she says this to preserve the man's feelings, but on others she says it because she honestly believes that the friendship is valuable and does not want to ruin it! This is still not placing a man in any sort of friend zone and it isn't usually a vindictive act; either someone is into you or they're not (although, as I said above, sometimes the feelings can change, which is further evidence that there's not some anti-relationship zone you can be placed in to on a whim with no hope of redemption).
I'm still unsure about the origins and intentions of the friend zone. Is it designed to shame women for picking and choosing men when men already do that to women, or is it to instill fear into men that if they don't act in a certain way they will forever be condemned to only being friends with women? Perhaps it's both.
Regardless, I don't think that men should worry about the mythical yet menacing friend zone. There are billions of people in the world and thousands in our neighbourhoods: all because one woman doesn't want a relationship with a particular man doesn't mean that every other woman will share her opinion; women's tastes in men are as diverse as men's tastes in women. I am optimistic; there is someone for everyone.
Even if the friend zone did exist, there is nothing wrong with being someone's friend rather than a potential relationship partner. Besides, a good friend can help you find someone with whom you have a mutual romantic interest!
What is your opinion of the friend zone?
[1] This post covers the heterosexual man perspective, as the term "friend zone" is usually applied to them more than any other group. I have yet to hear it used in the context of gays and lesbians.
Many men fear the strange yet fearsome friend zone, believing that if one woman puts him there, then word will spread throughout all womankind that this man is an inhabitant of the friend zone and should be avoided at all costs — at least for relationships, anyway. Except...
It's nonsense: the aforementioned hypothetical man never did anything to be put in the woman's "friend zone" because the friend zone does not exist. Why, you ask, do I believe this?
Well, it's because I think that a woman not being attracted to a particular man is no different from a man not being attracted to a particular woman; when a man doesn't have any attraction to a woman, do we usually say that he "friend zoned" her? Almost never, because we know that a man might have several reasons for having no romantic interest in a woman. If a woman simply does not have any romantic feelings for a man then in most circumstances there is little that the man can do about it; he might not meet her physical tastes, his personality might not be one that she would consider relationship material or she thinks they have too different/too similar interests. There wasn't some evil place the woman put him in to taunt him and no woman ever woke up one day thinking, "Hmm...I'm going to add him to my friend zone!".
The friend zone mentality assumes that men must treat every woman as a potential relationship, regardless of her opinions, feelings or even suitability for a relationship; thus, it considers male-female friendships to be wrong and that any man who is "just friends" with a woman is a failure with women. It propagates the myth that a man must make a move on a woman upon or soon after meeting her, otherwise he will become one of her friends and there will be no chance of a relationship; it also dismisses the possibility that a man and a woman can develop a relationship with each other after being friends for months or even years.
Often when a woman says that she doesn't want to advance to a relationship she says it's because she values the friendship; on some occasions, she says this to preserve the man's feelings, but on others she says it because she honestly believes that the friendship is valuable and does not want to ruin it! This is still not placing a man in any sort of friend zone and it isn't usually a vindictive act; either someone is into you or they're not (although, as I said above, sometimes the feelings can change, which is further evidence that there's not some anti-relationship zone you can be placed in to on a whim with no hope of redemption).
I'm still unsure about the origins and intentions of the friend zone. Is it designed to shame women for picking and choosing men when men already do that to women, or is it to instill fear into men that if they don't act in a certain way they will forever be condemned to only being friends with women? Perhaps it's both.
Regardless, I don't think that men should worry about the mythical yet menacing friend zone. There are billions of people in the world and thousands in our neighbourhoods: all because one woman doesn't want a relationship with a particular man doesn't mean that every other woman will share her opinion; women's tastes in men are as diverse as men's tastes in women. I am optimistic; there is someone for everyone.
Even if the friend zone did exist, there is nothing wrong with being someone's friend rather than a potential relationship partner. Besides, a good friend can help you find someone with whom you have a mutual romantic interest!
What is your opinion of the friend zone?
[1] This post covers the heterosexual man perspective, as the term "friend zone" is usually applied to them more than any other group. I have yet to hear it used in the context of gays and lesbians.
Sunday, 26 May 2013
The terrapin
Remember the lilypad pond from three weeks ag? I wrote about the terrapins who inhabit the pond and how I wasn't able to get a picture of any of them. My brother went to the pond this afternoon and took these excellent pictures of a terrapin:
These were taken with my main camera, which I had given my brother permission to use; however, these are his pictures and he gave me permission to use them here.
My parents and I were impressed with my brother's photographing of the terrapin! The exact species is a red-eared slider, a type of semi-aquatic turtle; the red stripes behind this terrapin's ears are not easy to see in these pictures. My brother said that the terrapin watched him for the duration of his visit to the lilypad pond, although it was still content to sunbathe.
My parents and I were impressed with my brother's photographing of the terrapin! The exact species is a red-eared slider, a type of semi-aquatic turtle; the red stripes behind this terrapin's ears are not easy to see in these pictures. My brother said that the terrapin watched him for the duration of his visit to the lilypad pond, although it was still content to sunbathe.
Saturday, 25 May 2013
The final answer to "Who's On Heart" 2013
After nearly six months, the third and final name in the "Who's On Heart" competition for 2013 has been identified. At 4:00 yesterday, a lady named Kerri guessed Belinda Carlisle; she won £125,000 for her guess. Congratulations, Kerri!
As for the voice order in the sound clips themselves, Belinda Carlisle said "Who's", David Duchovny said "on" and Jamie Bell said "heart". Heart has not yet posted the full clips where the celebrities said their respective words in context but I will keep an eye out for them and update this post accordingly.
Jo Brand was guessed an astounding 45 times during this competition; an excess of people thought that Duchovny's "on" sounded like Brand. Carlisle has been the subject of one of my previous posts.
I expect that Heart will start the competition again next year. Until then, that's "Who's On Heart" concluded!
As for the voice order in the sound clips themselves, Belinda Carlisle said "Who's", David Duchovny said "on" and Jamie Bell said "heart". Heart has not yet posted the full clips where the celebrities said their respective words in context but I will keep an eye out for them and update this post accordingly.
Jo Brand was guessed an astounding 45 times during this competition; an excess of people thought that Duchovny's "on" sounded like Brand. Carlisle has been the subject of one of my previous posts.
I expect that Heart will start the competition again next year. Until then, that's "Who's On Heart" concluded!
Friday, 24 May 2013
Two years
Air Nice-to-Livelands is officially two years old! Since I started my blog I've written over 700 posts, attracted over 30,000 views and have made a few friends. My blogging has helped me continue to improve my writing skills, which I feel are stronger than they were two years ago; I've even gone back and fixed the writing in a few of them, without changing their message. In all, my blog has been a net positive.
My plans for my blog? To continue! I love writing and being able to create; I have no intention of giving up. Once again, thank you to all my readers, my fellow bloggers and my friends: I appreciate you reading what I have to say. Now, on to another year!
My plans for my blog? To continue! I love writing and being able to create; I have no intention of giving up. Once again, thank you to all my readers, my fellow bloggers and my friends: I appreciate you reading what I have to say. Now, on to another year!
Thursday, 23 May 2013
Cherry blossom on the tree
As promised in yesterday's post, here are some pictures of the blossom on the cherry tree:
I'm glad I took these pictures when I did: despite what I said yesterday about most of the blossom still being up on the tree, today's hail knocked off half.
Wednesday, 22 May 2013
Cherry-blossomed ground
While many of the trees and flowers have had difficulty blooming because of the continued cold weather, our cherry tree has managed to buck the trend. Here are some pictures of its blossom on the ground; it's reminiscent of rose petals thrown at a wedding:
Tomorrow, I'll post some pictures of the blossom on the tree; despite how much of the blossom has fallen, much of it is still up on the branches.
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Romanthony
I recently learnt about the death of Romanthony (Anthony Moore). Romanthony is not a name you would recognize if you are not a fan of house music, but if you have ever heard Daft Punk's "One More Time" then you would have heard his vocals; to be fair, I did not know prior to his death that Romanthony sang "One More Time", and bear in mind that I wrote a short article on the track in June of last year and consider it to be one of my favorite dance songs. He died on the seventh of May but it's only been reported in the last couple of days.
"One More Time" was Daft Punk's most successful single until "Get Lucky" came out this year. While it's great that Daft Punk have a new hit after their long absence, it's a shame that the singer of their former biggest hit died around the same time the new song rose to prominence. From what I've read, his presence will be missed in the music world, especially in house.
Besides writing this post, I can only wish Romanthony's family the best.
"One More Time" was Daft Punk's most successful single until "Get Lucky" came out this year. While it's great that Daft Punk have a new hit after their long absence, it's a shame that the singer of their former biggest hit died around the same time the new song rose to prominence. From what I've read, his presence will be missed in the music world, especially in house.
Besides writing this post, I can only wish Romanthony's family the best.
Romanthony
c. 1967 - May 7, 2013
Monday, 20 May 2013
Texas German
Sometime in the past couple of years, I heard about the existence of the Texas German culture and dialect. It's not something I know much about and it's not a topic that's widely covered in the news; I was surprised when it received a mention on the BBC:
I think it's sad that this small corner of Germany in Texas is on its way to extinction. The culture managed to endure anti-German sentiment in the two worlds wars but is almost certain to not survive the modern era. I'm glad there is a project to try to preserve its history because I think it's a loss when cultures disappear, even the obscure, regionalized ones such as Texas German; they make the world a more interesting place to live.
I think it's sad that this small corner of Germany in Texas is on its way to extinction. The culture managed to endure anti-German sentiment in the two worlds wars but is almost certain to not survive the modern era. I'm glad there is a project to try to preserve its history because I think it's a loss when cultures disappear, even the obscure, regionalized ones such as Texas German; they make the world a more interesting place to live.
Sunday, 19 May 2013
More hungry bulls
I recently photographed some more hungry bulls, similar to what I did for this post and picture; these two bulls were after food:
The black bull did not appreciate my photography and lack of food for him and his fellow bull: after I took this image, he turned around, lifted his tail and...well, I think it's obvious! Needless to say, I only photographed the white bull after that; I have no interest in shooting bovine rears. Here is the white bull again:
At least somebody was willing to pose for the camera!
Saturday, 18 May 2013
Asking for someone's wifi password
Time for another one of my phone rants; I've seen this image float about the Internet a few times recently:
I also found this article by Rebecca Showerman, which contained a (small) poll regarding how people feel about asking someone in their home for their wifi password. While Showerman herself stated that her answer would be "within 5 minutes", my answer to that poll would be "Other - I will tell you in the comments".
Nine times out of ten, I do not ask for someone's wifi password. Why? Because the reason I visit someone's house is to see people, not to play around on the Internet with my phone, which I can do at home. Messing around with my phone in another person's home is an unsociable activity and, in my opinion, is an excellent method to prevent being invited back. In the event I do have to use the Internet, my mobile data is sufficient. Besides, whenever someone comes to visit me I don't occupy myself with my computer or phone, so why should I do it elsewhere?
Another reason I don't usually ask for the password is because I consider other people's Internet — both the password and the use of the Internet itself — to be private. To be fair, the password privacy concern can be rectified by allowing the other person to connect my device to their network themselves.
As for when I would ask, the most likely occasion would be if I wanted to show my friend something on the Internet, I had to use my phone to do it and needed something faster than mobile data. Another would be if an urgent need to use the Internet arose and it again required my phone. I also agree with the last sentence of Showerman's post, "Does it depend on who you are visiting?": for example, if I'm visiting someone with interests in phones/mobile Internet, that could influence me to ask if I think it would be useful. In addition, I'm happy to connect to someone's network if they make an offer.
I'm curious, how do you feel about asking someone, in their own home, for access to their Internet, in particular via your phone and needing to use their password? How about if it's the other way around? Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I want to state that I would not demand someone leave my house for wanting to use the Internet!
Note: the above image is not mine; the credit goes to http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/MjAxMi05OWNlNWUyNDc5NzMwNzJj
Nine times out of ten, I do not ask for someone's wifi password. Why? Because the reason I visit someone's house is to see people, not to play around on the Internet with my phone, which I can do at home. Messing around with my phone in another person's home is an unsociable activity and, in my opinion, is an excellent method to prevent being invited back. In the event I do have to use the Internet, my mobile data is sufficient. Besides, whenever someone comes to visit me I don't occupy myself with my computer or phone, so why should I do it elsewhere?
Another reason I don't usually ask for the password is because I consider other people's Internet — both the password and the use of the Internet itself — to be private. To be fair, the password privacy concern can be rectified by allowing the other person to connect my device to their network themselves.
As for when I would ask, the most likely occasion would be if I wanted to show my friend something on the Internet, I had to use my phone to do it and needed something faster than mobile data. Another would be if an urgent need to use the Internet arose and it again required my phone. I also agree with the last sentence of Showerman's post, "Does it depend on who you are visiting?": for example, if I'm visiting someone with interests in phones/mobile Internet, that could influence me to ask if I think it would be useful. In addition, I'm happy to connect to someone's network if they make an offer.
I'm curious, how do you feel about asking someone, in their own home, for access to their Internet, in particular via your phone and needing to use their password? How about if it's the other way around? Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I want to state that I would not demand someone leave my house for wanting to use the Internet!
Note: the above image is not mine; the credit goes to http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/MjAxMi05OWNlNWUyNDc5NzMwNzJj
Friday, 17 May 2013
"Final Warning" - Skylar Grey
I have written two previous articles on Skylar Grey/Holly Brook: one in October 2011 and the other in October 2012. In the first post, I wrote about her then-new single "Invisible" and her upcoming second album, which was expected to be titled Invinsible; in the 2012 post, I mainly wrote about Fort Minor but I also expressed some disappointment that her second album had still not been released.
I now have updated information about Grey's new music. Her next single, "Final Warning", was released on April 16 and its video was released on May 13. Invinsible has been renamed to Don't Look Down and is expected to come out on July 9; however, I would not be surprised if the date is pushed back again, but this time I'm hoping it'll be the real McCoy. After all, it's been over seven years since Like Blood Like Honey was released.
For now, we can enjoy "Final Warning":
I now have updated information about Grey's new music. Her next single, "Final Warning", was released on April 16 and its video was released on May 13. Invinsible has been renamed to Don't Look Down and is expected to come out on July 9; however, I would not be surprised if the date is pushed back again, but this time I'm hoping it'll be the real McCoy. After all, it's been over seven years since Like Blood Like Honey was released.
For now, we can enjoy "Final Warning":
Thursday, 16 May 2013
The dandelion in the backyard
I photographed this dandelion, which is in our backyard:
This isn't a good quality image as the flower is blurred from the focus being on the grass and the stem, but I was pleased with the next shot:
I was delighted that this picture and the others taken from a similar angle had turned out perfect!
My inspiration for photographing this dandelion — especially in the style of the second image — came from the Samsung Galaxy S III dandelion. In fact, I'm now using one of my dandelion pictures as the image for the lockscreen on my phone.
My inspiration for photographing this dandelion — especially in the style of the second image — came from the Samsung Galaxy S III dandelion. In fact, I'm now using one of my dandelion pictures as the image for the lockscreen on my phone.
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