37-43/365 Days of Photos

43/365 ~ Self Portrait
This is my photo of the day for February 12, 2011. I chose this photo because I was proud of myself for getting out of the house and riding even though I knew it was going to be cold; I was proud of myself for being willing to set the timer on my camera and jump in front of it; and I was proud of myself for remembering to take at least 12 good photos on 12 of 12 day for the second month in a row. This is me ... straight out of the camera!

42/365 ~ Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing - Henry David Thoreau

There is nothing, absolutely nothing
Half so much worth doing
As simply messing about in boats
~ "Wind in the Willows"

Found these boats dry docked and waiting for Spring's return at Beechwood Lakes. You can see more photos I took at Beechwood Lakes by clicking here: Beechwood Lakes

41/365 ~ "When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell

I think this is an appropriate saying because I made the trip today to talk to a new advertiser who will be carrying a product that an advertiser who is going out of business used to carry. We were kind of down about losing the old advertiser but I'm excited about the possibility of a partnership with the Watsons of Chesnee, SC and Columbus, NC. They are a really nice family and their showroom in Chesnee is just beautiful.

This photo was taken at an abandoned building just as you get into Chesnee off Hwy. 11. I took a few more pics on this little trip. If you would like to look at them, click here: To Chesnee and Back

40/365 - This Day in History

Today our local radio station, WTZQ, is running a Beatles' marathon in celebration of The Beatles' first Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964. Pictured are George Henry, Program Director, and Terry Wetton, Host of Local Artist Showcase, who added authenticity to this morning's broadcast with his British heritage and accent.

This was the date of The Beatles' record-breaking first live appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, at Studio 50 in New York City.

"Seventy-three million people were reported to have watched the first show. It is still supposed to be one of the largest viewing audiences ever in the States. It was very important. We came out of nowhere with funny hair, looking like marionettes or something. That was very influential. I think that was really one of the big things that broke us - the hairdo more than the music, originally. A lot of people's fathers had wanted to turn us off. They told their kids, 'Don't be fooled, they're wearing wigs.' - Paul McCartney, The Anthology

"A lot of fathers did turn it off, but a lot of mothers and children made them keep it on. All these kids are now grown-up, and telling us they remember it. It's like, 'Where were you when Kennedy was shot?' I get people like Dan Aykroyd saying, 'Oh man, I remember that Sunday night; we didn't know what had hit us - just sitting there watching Ed Sullivan's show.' Up until then there were jugglers and comedians like Jerry Lewis, and then, suddenly, The Beatles!


39/365 - Today's forecast: Sunny and Windy

This week's DPS 365 Assignment is "The Weather Outside" - Driving home from Brevard today, I took the backroads again and spotted this Silver Grass (at least that's what I think it is, if you know different, please let me know.) I thought the way the sun was shining on the obviously bent over golden reeds was the perfect way to show today's weather.

38/365 ~ Coin Laundry on Maple Street, just off 7th. I love finding the old store fronts and signage in Hendersonville. Some of them like this one were painted on but have stood the test of time. What I really get curious about are those that are carved in stone. Did they really think they were going to be there forever? That no other business would ever inhabit that building? The worst offenders are the banks - I'll post some of those soon.

This Coin Laundry (Currently David Huntley Office) is directly across the street from our Train Depot. Pretty handy for getting off the dusty trains when you were covered in suet from the coal burning engines.

Seventh Avenue East developed as a commercial district during the late 19th and early 20th centuries around Hendersonville’s first depot, established in 1879. The majority of the buildings are simple one and two-story brick commercial and warehouse structures in the typical pattern of buildings connecting to each other. There are thirty-two contributing structures.


37/365 ~ Super Bowl Sunday

What better way to celebrate Super Bowl Sunday than watching these cute little seven-year-olds playing a bit of flag football on a beautiful sunny afternoon?

The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather than the year in which it is held. For example, Super Bowl I was played on January 15, 1967, following the regular season played in 1966, while Super Bowl XLV will be played on February 6, 2011, to determine the champion of the 2010 regular season.

The game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its then-rival league, the American Football League (AFL). It was agreed that the two leagues' champion teams would play in an AFL–NFL World Championship Game until the merger was to officially begin in 1970. After the merger, each league was redesignated as a "conference", and the game was then played between the conference champions.

The day on which the Super Bowl is played is now considered a de facto American national holiday, called "Super Bowl Sunday". It is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day. In most years, the Super Bowl is the most-watched American television broadcast; Super Bowl XLIV, played on February 7, 2010 between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts, became the most-watched American television program in history, drawing an average audience of 106.5 million viewers and taking over the spot held for twenty-seven years by the final episode of M*A*S*H. The Super Bowl is among the most watched sporting events in the world, primarily due to mostly North American audiences, and is second to football's UEFA Champions League final as the most watched annual sporting event worldwide.

Because of its high viewership, commercial airtime during the Super Bowl broadcast is the most expensive of the year. Due to the high cost of investing in advertising on the Super Bowl, companies regularly develop their most expensive advertisements for this broadcast. As a result, watching and discussing the broadcast's commercials has become a significant aspect of the event. (From WikiPedia)