Pottermania!

I don’t know about you, but I’m a big fan of the boy wizard with a lightning scar on his forehead — Harry Potter. For quite a while, I used Potterisms on my blog sidebars. So Archives was Into the pensive, Categories was as Portkeys…you get the drift, right?

With the first installment of the last Harry Potter book in theaters, and with my love for cats, I thought I’d pull on my surfing boots and trek across the net for a few funny Potter images.

This first one captures Pottermania pretty well…

…although of course, a lot of people over 40 would also, I suspect, see that kitty as Harry! 😉

Now, when I read, I tend to get lost in the book. But when I read the HP series, I want to do what this kitty is doing…

…and I’m pretty sure this kitty sums up the husband’s emotions pretty well 😉

Of all the minor charectors in the book, Dobby was one of the cutest. My heart just went out to this wee lil house elf who was always looking out for Harry.

By the way, I really didn’t like the Frodo-like depiction of Dobby in the movies — in my imagination he was just so much cuter!

And would you believe just how cute these little kitties are? They just make me go awww…

While we’re on the subject of Harry Potter, any of you seen the latest movie?

I thought it was pretty good, though a bit slow…maybe because they’re splitting the book into two movies. The pace picked up in the second half of the film, which makes me think the second part is going to be breathtakingly quick!

Your take?

Friday Frame #7: Body art

The petals and stems are actual human figures – mind boggling, eh?

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If you have any artwork or photography to share, please leave a comment, a link back to your blog and your e-mail address, and I’ll feature it on an upcoming Friday Frame!

i carry your heart with me – e.e. cummings

i carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

— e.e. cummings

I do not love – Pablo Neruda

I do not love

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms,
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers.
Thanks to your love a certain fragrance,
risen darkly from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride,
so I love you because I know no other way than this:
where “I” does not exist, nor “you,”
So close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
So close that your eyes close and I fall asleep.

Pablo-Neruda-signature

Friday Frame #6: Happy Diwali!

Wish you all a very Happy Diwali! May this festival of lights brighten your life, filling it with love, joy and abundance.

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If you have any artwork or photography to share, please leave a comment, a link back to your blog and your e-mail address, and I’ll feature it on an upcoming Friday Frame!

Halloween 2010: Heidi Klum's alien transformer avatar

It’s fun to see how celebrities dress up on Halloween. My absolute favorite celebrity costume this year was, yet again, that worn by Heidi Klum!

Dressed as an alien transformer in an armor made of red and purple plastic, with a flowing fuschia wig and two rows of sharply pointed false teeth, this gorgeous model transformed herself into an Alien Autobot.

Husband Seal, in a hugely muscular metallic silver suit, came dressed as the Silver Surfer.

This couple sure knows how to live it up and celeberate in style!

Be sure to check out Heidi Klum’s Kali avatar from Halloween’08 as well.

A few other notable mentions from this year:


Kim Kardish as Little Red Riding Hood	Kyle MacLachlan as Maitre d'(eath)	Busy Philipps as Tinkerbell

What did you dress up as this Halloween?

2 blogs, 1 girl, and limited time – help!

I’ve been wondering about something since a while now – I maintain two blogs – this here, my personal blog, and my photoblog, Shutterbug. The photoblog has a niche – photography and art – which I keep hearing is really important to building a successful blog. My personal blog is, well, personal! I write about a whole lot of stuff, though there are some dominant themes – traveling, book reviews, spirituality and even photography. So, there is a definite overlap between the two blogs.

Then there’s the question of time. I work full time, so there’s a limited amount of time that I can spend on my building and promoting my blog. I’ve devoted most of my energies to building this blog up, and my photoblog is suffering as a result. It’s got a few readers and subscribers, but if you look at the stats, they aren’t too impressive.

I started it because I wanted to have a “portfolio” of my photographs. It was a very vague notion in my head, and I started it on a whim. (I had thought of quitting work and applying for a course in photography, but then dropped the idea as being rather impractical.)

Image by silgeo via Flickr

I can very easily merge the two blogs by changing the Friday Frame feature to a weekly one instead of doing it twice a month – that’s the frequency at which I post on my photoblog anyway.

What I’m wondering is:

Should I merge the two blogs
Maintain both blogs
Post the same picture both here and on my photoblog every Friday?

I don’t see the point in the last option, except to have it as a portfolio if I ever need or want one, as a place to chart my own progress maybe. But it’s so hard to ignore the stats! And I am so confused!

So, what do you think? Which of those three options should I chose? Or do you have another suggestion? I need ideas and help here, please!

Friday Frame #5: Desert dance

Click to view Salamah.y's photostream

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If you have any artwork or photography to share, please leave a comment, a link back to your blog and your e-mail address, and I’ll feature it on an upcoming Friday Frame!

Phenomenal Woman – Maya Angelou

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

– Maya Angelou

This poem has traveled all over with me – tacked to the bulletin board above my study desk, taped to the wall at the appartment I rented while working in Mumbai, on my office desk, in my closet…so how could it not be on my blog?

Got a poem that’s traveled with you everywhere? Tell me about it in the comments!

Friday Frame #4: It's raining men!

From ξωαŋ ThΦt's photostream. Click on the image to go to his photostream.

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If you have any artwork or photography to share, please leave a comment, a link back to your blog and your e-mail address, and I’ll feature it on an upcoming Friday Frame!