hope floats

Today, while reading the blogs that I subscribe to, I found out about this website in the Comments section.

I think givesmehope.com is a fairly new site-- started just this year-- but already it has 67 pages of stuff like this:

Steve Jobs, please be my friend!

Almost unbelievable! But so touching.

Warms the heart.

Some entries are in picture form.

Close to home.

Has anything happened to you lately that gave you hope?

simple pleasures

Yesterday was a Sunday. We made a conscious decision to really feel the "Sunday-ness" of this Sunday. We took a long walk along the beach, just meandering along and stopping whenever we felt like it.

We walked around and saw:

Close up:

We went here for brunch:

We ate this:

The design of the ceiling is nice:

Bunny Rabbit tried on my giant sunglasses:

Another sign:

Close up:

Before we went home, we bought some hot dogs here:

The color of the day was orange. I didn't want this Sunday to end.

intermission

I have not blogged lately. I'm trying to figure out why.

Is it because nothing's happening so there's nothing to write about? Or is it because nothing GOOD is happening so there's nothing I WANT to write about?

Yez, I think that's it... Gad knows a lot of stuff's been happening in the Philippines, and mostly not so good. But to write about current events would mean changing the direction or theme of this blog. Put the words "Philippines", "government" and "current events" in the same paragraph, and one can't help but say something negative.

I want this to be a happy blog. So... while I'm trying to determine what's what in this online journal, let's enjoy the sunrise.

Early morning, about to take the ferry to the mainland.

more really big stuff

Now these are just plain creepy.

From outer space? It's a coconut crab.

Body-building pooch? It has some kind of disorder that caused muscle over-development.

Is that even real? It's raised for food.

This last one doesn't really qualify as "big stuff", but it deserves the "Creepiest" award.


If I did this to any of my dogs, they would commit suicide.

All images borrowed from Cracked.com.

really big stuff

While browsing through Cracked.com, I found these pictures that are part amusing, part disturbing.

Amusing because, well, they're funny. Disturbing because, no, they have NOT been Photoshopped.




But this one takes the cake. At first, you think, OK, it's a picture of a ship and a picture of a village.


And then you realize that it's one photograph and that the humongous ship is about to crush those people.

All images borrowed from Cracked.com.

hide and seek

Don't get too excited. I did NOT buy an underwater housing for my Lumix LX3. These pictures were taken with my trusty (and cheap) Canon Powershot SD750.

Juvenile frogfish: The gummy bear of the sea.

Don't step on the stingray!

This shrimp is only about 2cm long.

The SD750 is so great. Should I start bringing it with me everywhere, like my Lumix and Vivitar Ultra Wide? It's ridiculous-- having three cameras in my handbag all the time... or is it?

once on this island

Once upon a time, on an island with the best beach in the world, there was a little beach resort. It was one of the first on this island, and had a die-hard following of returning guests, friends and relatives.


Even when all the other newer resorts were building with concrete, this place maintained the native cottage look...


With lots of space to run around.


The rooms were all homey and some say, haunted.


The whole place felt like our private oasis/ playground. Lorenzo Main Resort, Boracay Island. Closed forever in the year 2005.


But New Wave Divers lives on.

go team!

It turns out that I've been using the beta version of Picasa. I just recently downloaded a new version, and there are some things that are new... or maybe I didn't notice them before.

For example:


When I highlighted this picture, this popped out of nowhere:

Histogram and Camera Information--
Panasonic DMC-LX3
1/3 s
Focal length: 5.1mm
f/2.8
ISO: 800
35mm equivalent: 24mm

I don't know what it all means, but it looks kind of important.

megalomania

This is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.



When I feel a bit down, I watch this video and pretend that they are cheering for me. Or even better, I pretend that I'm the "conductor" and everyone is following my lead. Excellent therapy for megalomaniacs. Try it!