Birdwatching online

In 2009, somehow I came across an osprey nest cam situated in Lapland. Since then, evey year near April I return to check in on my favourite birds. (At the mo the ospreys are not back yet, so bookmark the site and keep returning.) That year I got my whole family hooked on animal webcams. We watched owls (that's when I learnt the name of 5 different kinda owls in English that I wouldn't be able to name in my mother tongue), squirrels, otters in a zoo, peregrin falcons and bald eagles. We had sites bookmarked for daytime watching and others from the other side of the world for nighttime watching. 

This is an older photo of the nest in Lapland. Source here.

Unfortunately, these sites are lost now as we have since replaced our old, broken PCs and never memorized the urls or the names of the wildlife organizations running the cams. But the number of nest cams and people watching birds and other animals online has since increased, so we have plenty to choose new favourites from. And I will! I decided that this year, besides keeping an eye on my beloved ospreys, I'll collect a few other sites, both for daytime and nighttime watching. Perhaps I'll even include a few species I've never paid attention to before. (Though, I guess I'll still stick with birds.)

At last, but not at least I would like to include here the links to Hungarian nest cams. They're all supposed to be running already. If not, keep checking. They're all worth watching.

The white-tailed eagles of our most famous national park, Hortobágy are here.

The saker falcon nest cam is here.

The black storks of Gemenc, another national park and special region, are here.

The world famous white storks of Nagyhalászi and Darány (on the roof of a school building) are here and here. (For Darány, you have to click on the image of the stork!)

Are you also a fan of nest cams? What birds do you follow? You follow nest cams from which countries? Let me know in the Comments below. (Mind you, I set all comments to moderate, so it may take a while to appear.)

Self-portraits and playing with Light

Yesterday, browsing Pinterest, I stumbled upon (sic!) a great photo, that led me to a great photography tutorial site, phototuts+. After reading the article on awesome selfies, I moved on and read a couple of more. Since I love myself, like any true exhibitionist and am totally fascinated by the various ways light can transform a human face, no wonder that this article spurred me into action.

How to Shoot a Professional, Creative Low-Key Self Portrait. It all seemed so easy. I truly believed I could do it. Hah!

"Set your camera to black-and-white-mode." Seriously, you just don't want to know how long I looked for that aspect on my Samsung PL210 digital camera. I found it. Only to discover that it was not an option with the rest of my settings. So I had to apply a black-and-white effect on my photos in the photo editing programme. (I used picmonkey. I love it.) And it turned out that most of my photos sucked in black-and-white-mode. Haha!

Though, I managed to create one photo that came out fantastically dramatic in black-and-white.

"Illuminate the subject and allow the background to remain unlit and black." Nope! That didn't work out for me either. 

"Keep ISO at the lowest level! Hurray! At last! Some success!

"Set the camera to 'Manual' mode, all the settings must be under control." Again, haha!

"Tripod." I have no tripod, I used an old cupboard door and books.

"Reading lamp." Well, when I screwed in the Osram bulb I should have known I was in for some trouble.

"A dark room." It was pitch black. Yet, I managed to light it up like a Christmas tree with a single bulb.

"Self-timer and burst-mode". Well, my camera does not allow the two together. So I went for the self-timer.

I set up everything like you can see in the original article. Then I switched the place of the lamp and the camera.

Here are some of my favourite photos.

This is the original background. I didn't apply any effects here. Though you can't see much of me in this photo, it says a lot about me.

This one is actually my mother's favourite. You can see that I'm not afraid of harsh lights and I absolutely love my nose.

The effect here is called 'tranquile' and I've never heard of it before, but it seemed to work well for this photo.

The experience was both exhausting and exhilarating. I'm sure to repeat it. Hopefully with better results.

Do you shoot self-portraits? Black and white or colour? Do you try out things you read in tutorials or you just go after your own head? Let me know in the Comments below. (Mind you, I set all comments to moderate, so it may take a while to appear.)

Sunday Poetry - Lawrence Ferlinghetti

It's amazing how poets whose work I'd enjoy find me. Yes, I've already stated it in my Kenneth Koch post, yet I still can't get over the fact. It's like some great puzzle with the pieces falling into place. Maybe, I should even put it into some kind of visual form. A huge poster on my bedroom wall, it'd certainly make an interesting map! Who knows?

I discovered Lawrence Ferlinghetti via the Random House Facebook page. It's his birthday. Seeing his photo, he reminded me of both Walt Whitman and Ernest Hemingway. It turns out he enjoyed reading both. He even included the former in his poem, Poetry as Insurgent Art that I read for this week's challenge. And also, the opening line "I am signaling you through the flames." sounds very Whitmanesque to my ears.

Source

But he was also the publisher of William Carlos Williams, an odd favourite, whose poetry ended up being the focus and theme of my dissertation.

Tell me, your heart does not beat faster reading these lines:

"You are Whitman, you are Poe, you are Mark Twain, you are Emily Dickinson and Edna St. Vincent Millay, you are Neruda and Mayakovsky and Pasolini, you are an American or a non-American, you can conquer the conquerors with words...."

Do you enjoy American poetry? Are you familiar with the poetry of WCW? What kind of poems do you like? Let me know in the Comments below. (Mind you, I set all comments to moderate, so it may take a while to appear.)

You are Whitman, you are Poe, you are Mark Twain, you are Emily Dickinson and Edna St. Vincent Millay, you are Neruda and Mayakovsky and Pasolini, you are an American or a non-American, you can conquer the conquerors with words.... - See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20643#sthash.8FP0fdm3.dpuf

Scottish accent

I'm greatly enamored with Scotland and Scots. It started with the student exchange programme during my high school years. But my love is thoroughly strengthened by the music of the old Runrig and Donnie Munro's voice.

On one occasion my friend mentioned that she had watched a film with Scottish actors and that she could hardly understand a word despite the fact that she's very proficient in English. Back then I told her that I could easily understand "the" Scottish accent. (There's no such as the Scottish accent, there are several Scottish accents.)

Tonight, I decided to test myself, as ever since my haughty declaration I've been wondering if I only bluffed. I started with this video, that explains you the basics. Then, I moved on to this one. And I must proudly admit that yes, I do understand "the" Scottish accent.

And though I'm not a native speaker of English, I always find it shocking when people don't get jokes that include a pun with a Scottish accent, like the one that goes: There are 8 cows out in the fields, which one is the closes to oil (or something like that) and the answer is Coo 8 (pronounce Kuwait). I mean, I'm not a native speaker, you are and it's you who don't get the pun?!

I also immensely enjoy Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.

And let me finish with a favourite song of mine, though not from Runrig.

Are you also a Scotland fan? Have you ever been to Scotland? Can you understand Scottish accents? Let me know in the Comments below. (Mind you, I set all comments to moderate, so it may take a while to appear.)

Disponible - Available

I'm so used to the dis part in a word indicating something negative, that I was totally shocked when I looked it up and it turned out that the word disponible actually means available. I was browsing the catalogue of the French Institute, you see.

Sometimes, there's hardly any issue of my favourite revues left on the shelves so this time, I decided to arrive prepared. I wanted to look up the covers of the various issues to decide which ones to ask for in case they are not on the shelves. But the catalogue did not feature the covers, of course.

By the way, the word catalogue reminds me of this video:

I firmly believe that libraries could do with some serious reformations. The aforementioned catalogue almost always lacks something or more often some things. They are quite inadequate databases, while they could and should be more like webshops with plenty and user-friendly product descriptions.

Then, I'd also enjoy some kind of inner mail system with which people reading or borrowing the same stuff could leave messages to one another. What a hopeless romantic I am! I'm already thinking about library romances. But really, sometimes it would be gawd awfully nice to discuss the stuff you read with others who have also read that stuff. I'd leave cryptic notes, too like: Côté Est no. 59 page 50 Portrait of a Lady.

Do you ever leave cryptic messages in library books? Do you go to a foreign language library? What kind of stuff do you borrow usually? Let me know in the Comments below. (Mind you, I set all comments to moderate, so it may take a while to appear.)

Towards a Carte Blanche

2013 for me is about finally doing what I've always wanted. For weeks now I've been decluttering and rebuilding and also starting new ventures, like this blog. It feels good. And it also makes me feel proud of myself. Recently, I've realized why I've been putting off things and this realization managed to accelerate the achievement of my goals. It turns out I'm an avoider, who keeps putting things off because of a fear of judgement.

It's unbelievable how fear can actually paralyse you. Sometimes, I'm even avoiding checking my mailbox in case I should find an email in it, I don't wish to deal with. Everything becomes a burden and being awake is a struggle. Not as if the nights would be any better.

So, I'm spending my weekends, like today with cleaning up either literally or virtually and one by one I try to tackle my duties and even create something new. This latter is absolutely worth it!

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Another unbelievable thing is, how we keep putting off things that make us feel happier. It's crazy, right? Everyone's pursuing happiness, but when we find something that makes us happy, we don't make a habit of it. For me, doing something new is something that totally boosts my level of happiness. So, right now I'm trying to incorporate as much 'new' in my life as possible. And hopefully, these two things: not stalling and doing new things will get me achieve my lifetime goals, at last.

Are you also having a spring cleaning in your life? Do you enjoy trying new things? Do you make a habit of incorporating things that make you happy into your life? Let me know in the Comments below. (Mind you, I set all comments to moderate, so it may take a while to appear.)

Snowed in and blogging

Today we are rather snowed in. Consequently, we also enjoy an increased feathery traffic in the garden. Dr. Red here is a dearly beloved guest.

So, I decided to try and figure out the knack of redesigning my blog background. With a bit of help from an old blog post I managed to crack the code and now you can enjoy my detail photo of the Notre Dame of Luxembourg.

Also, I decided to share my favourite blogs with you hastily before the Reader retires. (Anyone knows yet about its future replacement?) While going through my subscriptions I discovered some great blogs that have no new posts anymore. One of them is The essence of Frenchness. The blog, written by a French amateur antique lover, who's really obsessed with 18th century grandeur, is quite interesting in itself, but if you're mad about interior design, I suggest you check out his favourite blogs. You may find a few new favourites.

Another fantastic blog that hasn't had any new posts for a while now is Art Inconnu (despite the title it's written in English actually). If you enjoy discovering rare treasures, this is the place for you! It's perfect to boost your knowledge of trivia to impress your unsuspecting friends, family or whomever you may encounter. And if you're just as obsessed with challenges as I am, you can also build a challenge on it. Though no new posts, it has plenty.

So go and discover something new and fantastic this weekend!

Do you have a blog? What kind of blogs do you read? Do you read any of the blogs on my Blogs I Read list? Let me know in the Comments below. (Mind you, I set all comments to moderate, so it may take a while to appear.)

Inspiration from the world of interior design

Nowadays, when I sit down in front of the PC at work, I always ask myself: What am I going to find today? And thankfully, I often find something amazing. I started to ask myself the above question after repeatedly finding inspiration in the millieu of interior design.

My first find was some extra pages dedicated to Jean Cocteau in an issue of Côté Sud. That week I read one of his poems for my Sunday poetry challenge. Then in an issue of Côté Ouest (These two are my favourites, but I also enjoy Maison Française. Yes, I have a habit of reading French home deco mags now and then.) I found a book that immediately piqued my interest.

So I wasn't really surprised when I discovered Katia and Marielle Labèque's music on a Belgian interior design blog. You should really watch the following video!

Where do you find inspiration? What was your most exciting discovery? Do you enjoy interior design mags and/or blogs, too? Let me know in the Comments below. (Mind you, I set all comments to moderate, so it may take a while to appear.)

Sunday Poetry - Kenneth Koch

Just like with quotes, reading a poem every week is an old habit I used to enjoy and think of with nostalgia, thus I decided to pick it up, again. This time, though I added a challenge to it, to make things more interesting. Several people start the so called Author A-Z challenge to make themselves read more or discover new authors. I thought, I'd do it with poets. And I go mainly for poets I've never heard of before, or if they are truly famous, for those, whose poems I've never read before.

Source

It's amazing how poems find me from week to week. Today, I used a Flavorwire compilation. I picked To you by Kenneth Kock. (Click on the links to read the poem and the Wikipedia page of the poet!) I must admit, I have a killer instinct to pick poems I'd enjoy. This one really spoke to me. While I was still reading the poem I decided to pick out my favourite line, but there are so many, that I should quote half of the poem if I wanted to show you all my favourite parts in it, so I put here the last two lines that really made my heart beat faster.

"Best at dawn, when even before I am awake the sun

Receives me in the questions which you always pose."

After reading the poem, I looked up the above mentioned Wikipedia page, where I found the following lines:

"He was a prominent poet of the New York School of poetry, [...] that eschewed contemporary introspective poetry in favor of an exuberant, cosmopolitan style that drew major inspiration from travel, painting, and music."

 Travel, painting and music. No wonder this poem spoke to me! I guess, I'd rather check out more poets from the New York School.

Do you read poetry? Who are your favourite poets? Are you familiar with the works of contemporary poets? Let me know in the Comments below. (Mind you, I set all comments to moderate, so it may take a while to appear.)

My favourite building

I love taking photos of building facades. This detail here is my favourite of one of my favourite buildings. It's the facade of a bank building. I first discovered the building on a surprise walking tour. I was wandering aimlessly in the city when I stumbled upon an event where I saw a stall advertising free walking tours in the nearby area. So I signed up.

The walking tour was one of my best experiences, I really enjoyed it as the area is full of amazing buildings and facades. I vowed to return with my camera. Ever since, I've been wanting to photograph all the details of the facade of this building. And finally, yesterday I did.

I made a "million" photos, most of them shot vertically, so I spent my day today "straightening" them. Actually, I'm still not done with the whole batch.

What about you? Do you like taking photos? Do you like old buildings? Do you ever go on walking tours? Let me know in the Comments below. (Mind you, I set all comments to moderate, so it may take a while to appear.)

Amanda Palmer

Amanda Palmer must be getting a bit of online traffic this week, I guess. This video was featured in the latest TED newsletter and appeared in several newsfeeds on Facebook, too. I've never heard of her before. First I watched the TED video, then I checked out some of her music videos and at last a couple of photos of her. She's definitely not a person I'd be friends with. She's too wild, too much for me, but I really liked her voice and somehow she became a strange sort of inspiration. Somehow, after watching her videos, I've become stronger and more confident about myself, the person that I am. I guess, she does that to a lot of people.

And this is my favourite music video from her.

Have you ever heard of Amanda Palmer? Have you watched the TED video? Do you know her music? Let me know in the Comments below. (Mind you, I set all comments to moderate, so it may take a while to appear.)

Quote #1

"It's not fake, but it's not entirely genuine, either."

Years ago, I used to have a blog where I collected and published my own lines that one day should have become famous quotes. You know, when everyone already knew my name.

It must sound extremely pretentious, but I loved making up quotes. It was a "toying with words" and I really enjoy that. Finding the perfect order for the perfect words and thus perfectly grasping an idea. 

Do you also enjoy "toying with words"? Let me know in the Comments below. (Mind you, I set all comments to moderate, so it may take a while to appear.)