"Pastel Steampunk and Pastel Steampunk Fragment 2" - Postcard

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This week's Sunday Postcard Art challenge was "Pastel Steampunk."

I think I like the washed out "fragment" better, but I don't think either piece actually looks like steampunk. I finally had to enforce my "paint brush down" time limit rule. I have two additional, very similar postcards, here.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.18.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Burnt Rainbow Steampunk Fragment and Pastel Steampunk Fragment" - Postcard

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This week's Sunday Postcard Art challenge was "Pastel Steampunk."

These are two additional postcards that I made, which are very similar to the ones here. I don't think either piece actually looks like steampunk. I finally had to enforce my "paint brush down" time limit rule.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.18.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"T Stands For Teddy And Angel Statue In Wooded Area" - Photograph

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I am joining Bleubeard and Elizabeth for this week's T Stands For challenge found here.

This is my summation of the past week:

Teddy will be serving double duty as my main image plus as my "T-Day ticket" for my T-Day posts.

I used my Angel Statue In Wooded Area as the backdrop for Teddy posing in a lawn chair with my his (ahem) tea mug in my side yard.

I try to keep politics / my personal opinion / etc. out of my blog posts, but the word "hero" has become so overused that the word is now meaningless. During this covid-19 situation, entire groups are labelled as heroes. So, I wanted to share a video of one of those "heroes" in action on Monday May 18, 2020, when Connecticut was still in a Lock Down due to covid-19. Please note the following: (1) He isn't wearing a mask or gloves, thereby risking exposing the other person to covid-19. (2) He isn't wearing a body camera, which State Police are required to wear by Connecticut state law. (3) He never asks for the person's driver's license, vehicle registration, and vehicle insurance card. (4) He violates the person's US Constitution First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment rights.

Note: Unfortunately, the video was removed. A news article about the "incident" is here: CT trooper barred from public interaction after profanity-filled traffic stop

Connecticut "reopened" on May 20, but that description is a misnomer. And the powers that be who are making the covid-19 rules have no problem wasting tax payer money: they closed bathroom facilities at State Parks, to prevent the spread of covid-19, yet they then turned around and rented (at tax payer expense) portable toilets, which have a higher risk of spreading covid-19! "Visitors should not expect bathroom buildings to be open at the State Parks, but most locations will have portable toilets available." (May 20, 2020 article)

And Connecticut's Governor Lamont paid $2 million in tax payer money, without any legislative body oversight, "to hire Boston Consulting Group to oversee the state's reopening." (May 14, 2020 article) People complain about Trump (who I'm no fan of) acting like a King / Dictator, but Governor Lamont acting like a King / Dictator is okay, right?

Artwork and photography:

artwork: none

photographs:

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TV Shows on Roku Tubi:

Cadfael (1994–1996) Crime, Drama, History - started watching (again)

Midsomer Murders (1997– ) Crime, Drama, Mystery - started watching (again)

(Roku - Tubi TV - a few commercials) movies:

And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973) Horror - good

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973) Drama, Horror - pretty good, classic story (note: Nigel Davenport was in it, and he was also in Midsomer Murders episode Blue Herrings (2000))

Silent Fall (1994) Drama, Mystery, Thriller - good

Murder Suspect (1999) (When Justice Fails - original title) Drama, Mystery, Thriller - okay. too predictable.

Lantana (2001) Drama, Mystery, Romance - good

Isolation (2005) Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller (Ireland) - pretty good, scary. takes a little while to get going, but it's building the character and plot developments.

The Devil's Mercy (2008) Horror, Thriller - good

Abandoned (2010) Drama, Mystery, Thriller - good, good plot

Ghost of New Orleans (2011) (Little Murder - original title) Crime, Drama, Thriller - pretty good, despite contrived coincidences. takes a little while to get going, but it's building the character and plot developments.

Last Kind Words (2012) Drama, Horror, Mystery - pretty good, not too scary

Coherence (2013) Drama, Horror, Mystery - excellent, but the ending was a little confusing
(Note: don't look at this link until after you've watched the movie => Coherence movie explained)

The Face of an Angel (2014) Crime, Drama - Awful. No plot, and story goes nowhere. I shut it off. Don't waste your time on this one.

Hex (2018) Horror, Thriller - okay. his actions unbelievable, considering he only knew this woman a few days. predictable ending.

(Roku - Crackle - a lot of commercials, but skip option) movies:

Quarantine (2008) Horror, Thriller - pretty good, intense

Angel Statue In Wooded Area - Photograph

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I took those photographs in my yard this past week.

Baltimore Oriole - Photograph

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I took those photographs in my yard this past week.

Downy Woodpecker - Photograph

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I took that photograph in my yard this past week.

Pale Blue Butterfly - Photograph

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I took that photograph in my yard this past week. (Those green shapes in the background are grass seed I had recently sprinkled on the ground.)

Leaf Shadows On Rock Ledge - Photograph

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I took that photograph in my yard this past week.

"T Stands For Teddy And Red Teapot" - Photograph

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I am joining Bleubeard and Elizabeth for this week's T Stands For challenge found here.

This is my summation of the past week:

Teddy will be serving double duty as my main image plus as my "T-Day ticket" for my T-Day posts.

Teddy said I should show everyone the new red teapot / tea kettle I purchased online a few weeks ago, and he volunteered to pose with it. I also changed my vinyl kitchen tablecloth to my "Summer" nautical theme one.

Incredible animal video on the weather channel: Bobcat's Perfect Long Leap Surprises Onlookers

The weather has become seasonably warmer. Most of the trees are in full leaf now, but everything growing also means I needed to start mowing my lawn. I also did a little yard clean up of some overgrown areas, planted a few flower bulbs, etc.

Artwork and photography:

artwork: Faux Postage Stamps - Birds, Red Christmas Cardinal, Merry Christmas Cardinal Stamp.

photographs: Once again, I took a lot of bird photographs through my house window, as well as a few flower photographs, and posted them to my blog. Here are a few of them:

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TV Shows on Roku Tubi:

Cadfael (1994–1996) Crime, Drama, History - started watching (again)

Midsomer Murders (1997– ) Crime, Drama, Mystery - started watching (again)

The Dead Zone (2002–2007) Drama, Fantasy, Mystery - started watching

Mary Higgins Clark Collection   Thriller, Mystery, Drama - started watching

(Roku - Tubi TV - a few commercials) movies:

First Man Into Space (1959) Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi - good

Invasion of the Triffids (1963) (The Day of the Triffids - original title) Horror, Sci-Fi - good

The Power (1968) Thriller, Sci-Fi - Mediocre. How to make a 1 hr 48 min movie? Have unnecessary scenes and unnecessarily long scenes.

The Stuff (1985) Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi - good (not a great movie, but you don't watch a movie like this for a great plot)

The Lazarus Project (2008) Drama, Mystery, Thriller - pretty good

Triangle (2009) Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller - Awful. Most of the dialog: "Hello?" "Is anyone out there?" How to make a 1 hr 39 min movie? Repeat the same scenes multiple times. Don't waste your time on this. I shut it off, after giving up on fast forwarding to try to get beyond the repeating infinite loop scenes. And none of it would've happened if they went to the bridge, like they said they were going to do when they first boarded the ship, but then we would've been spared this stupid movie! One user review said it was a complete plagiarism of Timecrimes (2007) (Los cronocrímenes - original title, Spanish film).

Triangle movie explained, with spoilers: https://www.thisisbarry.com/film/triangle-2009-movie-plot-ending-explained/  (Note: the premise on which the movie was based is a good idea, but this movie failed to do it well.)

Sorority Row (2009) Horror, Mystery - pretty good

In the Electric Mist (2009) Crime, Drama, Mystery - pretty good

Passion (2012) Drama, Mystery, Thriller - sort of good, but too many "dream" sequences, some things were implausible, and the ending was awful.

Dark Space (2013) Sci-Fi - okay, other than the stupid dialog: "Hello?" "Is anyone out there?"

Black Butterfly (2017) Crime, Mystery, Thriller - pretty good, a little predictable, and some violence

The Axiom (2018) Horror - pretty good (sort of - many plot contrivances, etc.), different (sort of)

(Roku - Crackle - a lot of commercials, but skip option) movies:

Forever Mine (1999) Crime, Drama, Romance - good, but if I'd known it was mainly Romance, I wouldn't have watched it.

Drone (2017) Thriller - pretty good, tense

"Faux Postage Stamps - Birds" - Postcard

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(Click on image to enlarge)

This week's Sunday Postcard Art challenge was "Faux Postage Stamps."

I created this using GIMP 2.10.18.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Red Christmas Cardinal" - Postcard

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I know Christmas is a long way off, but one thing led to another when I was working on a different postcard with a similar background, and this piece was born.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.18.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

"Merry Christmas Cardinal Stamp" - Postcard

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I know Christmas is a long way off, but one thing led to another when I was working on a different postcard with a similar background, and this piece was born.

I created this using GIMP 2.10.18.

The vintage images are from an Internet search. (See the side of my blog for links.)

Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts - Photograph

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I took that photograph of the Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts growing in my flower garden this past week. The flowers are waning.

Bleeding Hearts Bumble Bee - Photograph

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I took that photograph of the Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts growing in my flower garden this past week. The flowers are waning.

Downy Woodpecker - Photograph

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I took that photograph in my front yard this past week.

Red-bellied Woodpecker - Photograph

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I took that photograph through my house window this past week, so the quality isn't the best.

Cardinal In Tree - Photograph

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I took that photograph through my house window this past week, so the quality isn't the best.

Baltimore Oriole - Photograph

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I took those photographs through my house window this past week, so the quality isn't the best.

Blue Jay - Photograph

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I took that photograph through my house window this past week, so the quality isn't the best.

Downy Woodpecker - Photograph

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I took those photographs through my house window this past week, so the quality isn't the best.

Gray Catbird - Photograph

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I took those photographs through my house window this past week, so the quality isn't the best.

Tufted Titmouse - Photograph

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I took those photographs through my house window this past week, so the quality isn't the best.

Baltimore Oriole Red-bellied Woodpecker Skirmish - Photograph

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I took those photographs through my house window this past week, so the quality isn't the best.

I heard the male Baltimore Oriole (BO) chirping away, and knew another argument and ensuing skirmish between him and the male Red-bellied Woodpecker (RbW) must be in progress.

In the first photo, the male BO was nearby, and displeased with the male RbW monopolizing the suet feeder. In the second photo, he moved a little closer. In the third photo, he's flying away due to the aggressive stance the male RbW took. In the fourth photo, he tried to sneak in on the left side, but was chased off again. In the fifth photo, he continues to voice his anger at the male RbW. In the sixth photo, the female BO flew in and chased off the male RbW. The apparent takeaway message: males don't like to mess with an angry female, regardless of the species. :-)

Red-bellied Woodpecker - Photograph

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I took those photographs through my house window this past week, so the quality isn't the best.

Baltimore Oriole - Photograph

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(Click on image to enlarge)

I took those photographs through my house window this past week, so the quality isn't the best.