alby.us Blog

Happy New Year !

Happy New Year !, originally uploaded by Southernpixel.

As we wrap up 2007 I want to take a moment to thank you. This year has been wonderful and painful for me personally, and I could not have made it though without the love and support of my family. That means Jessica Melissa and Austin, of course, but it also means you, my extended family.
I want to thank my many friends, those of you who view my dabbling on the internet. None of this could have happened without your encouragement and support. Happy New Year. I hope you find true blessings in 2008. Thank you again and God bless you !

Camellia in winter

Camellia in winter, originally uploaded by Southernpixel.

Still – in a way – nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small – we haven’t the time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.
- Georgia O’Keeffe

Camellia in winter

Camellia in winter, originally uploaded by Southernpixel.

Crisp clear lines of pink, at its peak The camellia at the Birmingham Alabama Botanical Garden on a Winter’s Day.

Reflections

Reflections, originally uploaded by Southernpixel.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens December 2007
Garry Trudeau
Cartoonist
Trinity College, Hartford
The impertinent question is the glory and engine of human inquiry. Copernicus asked it and shook the foundations of Renaissance Europe. Darwin asked it and redefined humankind’s very sense of itself. Thomas Jefferson asked it and was so invigorated by the asking that he declared it one of our inalienable rights.
Two hundred years years later, Martin Luther King asked it, and forced the country to honor those rights. Daniel Defoe asked the impertinent question and invented the novel. James Joyce asked it and reinvented the novel, which was promptly banned. Jean-Paul Sartre asked it and inspired Simone de Beauvoir, who asked it and inspired a whole generation of women to question what they were doing with men like Jean-Paul Sartre. The Wright brothers asked it and were ignored for five years. Bill Gates asked it and was ignored for five minutes, which was long enough for him to dominate the industry.
Whether reviled or revered in their lifetimes, history’s movers framed their questions in ways that were entirely disrespectful of conventional wisdom. Civilization has always advanced in the shimmering wake of its discontents.

Reflections of2007

clipped from www.boston.com Notable deaths of 2007 James Kelly Bradford Washburn Art Buchwald The Rev. Robert F. Drinan Molly Ivins Anna Nicole Smith Dennis Johnson Arthur Schlesinger Jr. Brad Delp Rae Anne Donlin Eddie Robinson Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Boris Yeltsin David Halberstam Wally Schirra The Rev. Jerry Falwell Beverly Sills Lady Bird Johnson Harold Madison Jr. — “Mr. Butch” Tammy Faye Messner Tommy Makem Merv Griffin Max Roach Leona Helmsley Luciano Pavarotti Madeleine L’Engle Paul Sullivan Marcel Marceau Robert Goulet Norman Mailer Tom Johnson Evel Knievel Ike Turner Albert L. “Dapper” O’Neil Oscar Peterson Benazir Bhutto

Meet Garcia

Meet Garcia, originally uploaded by Southernpixel.

He is an 11 week old male Golden Retriever puppy given to my 3 year old Grandson Ben for Christmas. I think he will a great addition to the family. Ben thinks Garcia is his dog – Gracia knows that Ben is his boy :~)

What Christmas is all about?

What Christmas is all about?, originally uploaded by Southernpixel.

Charlie Brown: (shouting in desperation) Isn’t there anyone out there who can tell me what Christmas is all about?
Linus Van Pelt: Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you. Lights, please.
[a spotlight shines on Linus]
Linus Van Pelt: “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the lord shone round about them, and they were so afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you this day is born in the City of Bethlehem, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men’”. That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie brown.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens Poinsettia Tree

Birmingham Botanical Gardens Poinsettia Tree, originally uploaded by Southernpixel.

this amazing Poinsettia Christmas Tree at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

Queen Elizabeth II to air Christmas message on YouTube

clipped from www.cnn.com Queen Elizabeth II will use YouTube to send out her 50th televised annual Christmas message, a British Sunday newspaper reported. Buckingham Palace plans on posting archive footage on the video sharing Web site, including her maiden Christmas Day television speech sent out to Britain and its former colonies in 1957, The Sunday Times reported. The palace plans to post the first of the archive footage on the queen’s royal YouTube “channel” on Sunday, the report said. “The royal channel is a way of bringing the queen’s Christmas message to more people of all ages across the world and keeping up with technological innovation as the queen has always done,” the newspaper quoted a royal spokeswoman as saying.

Flickr Christmas Commercial

Flickr Christmas Commercial, originally uploaded by Southernpixel.

Happy Holiadaze EVERYONE !!!!

Camera – lens – Computer / Thousands !

Flickr Love – Priceless !!!