Brian’s Blog

Julia and her sisters have been visiting thier grandparent, friend of ours in the neighborhood. They came over one day and sat for my first “backyard portrait” attempt. Julia is almost five years old.

Tomorrow, all America celebrates Günter Berthel’s birthday. Many happy returns, Herr Doktor Fuchs.

Pete Souza is the chief White House photographer and the guy who takes pictures of the President when all of the other photojournalists are sent out of the room. You can see his work on the official photostream of the White House. Only a fraction of the photographs he takes will make it to this on-line album, but they show a lot more than I normally would expect to see. And all are available to the public, not just the one or two that make it into the newspapers and magazines. While this isn’t the pictorial equivalent of the Nixon tapes, it is revealing. Especially of the major and minor players surrounding the President and who aren’t paying attention when the invisible man with the camera gets busy. 

I don’t know if it was Souza who came up with idea of posting pictures to Flickr. While he is a published freelance photojournalist who has been around for a while, Flickr is the MacDonald’s of the on-line photography world. The two don’t seem all that compatible to me. 

These official White House photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.

Amerika, ich komme! 6000 Kilometer will Bernd Barthel bei seiner Amerika-Durchquerung mit seinem Fahrrad "erfahren".

I’m coming, America!

Bernd Barthel is a retired school teacher from Hassfurt, Germany. Hassfurt is right next to Knetzgau, the little town where we will be retiring to soon. Mr. Barthel is planning a cross-country bicycle ride from California to New York this summer. Gerda met a young niece of his when they shared a hospital room in Hassfurt a few years back. When we read about his planned trip in the Hassfurter Tagblatt recently, we thought we might invite Mr. Barthel to stop by if he was passing through the area. So she looked up the name in the phone book and called Germany this morning. She ended up speaking with another niece, whose mother knows Gerda from the time she was in the hospital with the younger niece. This lady was probably pretty surprised to get a call from America, offering help for her uncle’s road trip before he even gets underway. But it is a small world, at least in some respects. I rode a motorcycle across the country once years ago, and that wasn’t easy. I don’t think I would make it on a bicycle, but this fellow has made other long-distance tours in Europe so he knows what it’s like. 

I don’t know yet what route Mr. Barthel is planning to take in this 6000 kilometer journey, but if he’s planning on crossing the Appalachians, Cumberland Gap is just down the road from here. Daniel Boone found this a convienient path across the mountains. Maybe is still is. We’ll see.

The longest lasting effect of Gerda’s recent adventure will probably be the ugly bruising to both arms, caused by the IVs and other needles she was stuck with at the hospital. The front of her left forearm is so bruised, it looks like a farmer’s tan. But this to shall pass.

Bristol Regional Medical Center

Gerda’s first helicopter ride was on Easter Sunday. Unfortunately, it was to the Bristol Regional Medical Center where she was admitted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit after suffering a seizure that evening. She is home now and I expect she will fully recover.

I learned a lot during the time Gerda was in the hospital, and hope to write about some of this here. But probably the most important thing to come of all this is the realization that I am not ready, willing or able to go it alone. Thankfully, I won’t have to today.

Originally uploaded by kilgorebrian13

I’ve been experimenting with the free trial-version of Adobe Photo Shop Elements 7, using actions and guided editing. I kind of like how easy it is to use, and will probably end up buying the update.

Slavoljub Eduard Penkala

Slavoljub Eduard Penkala (April 20, 1871 – February 5, 1922) was an engineer and inventor from Croatia. Educated at the University of Vienna and the  Technische Universität Dresden, he earned a doctorate in organic chemistry. Among many other things, Penkala developed the mechanical pencil and the  first solid-ink fountain pen. He and Edmund Moster founded a pen and pencil factory still in existence and called TOZ-Penkala. Penkala’s first patented invention was the hot water bottle, a personal favorite of mine.  

A hot water bottle is a container filled with hot water and sealed with a stopper, used to provide warmth, typically whilst in bed, but also for the application of heat to a specific part of the body.

Called “hotties” in New Zealand, hot water bottles come in many different shapes and sizes and with all kinds of fashionable covers. You can keep all that. On days like today with temperatures in the lower 4os and snow forecast, the old-fashioned rubber hot water bottle is one of life’s little luxuries I wouldn’t want to do without.

Ironically, Penkala died in Zagreb at the age of 51, after catching pneumonia on a business trip. He should have invented a travel version of his hot water bottle.

This is a picture of my daughter-in-law Marion. I don’t know who took it, or when or even where. It is just one of those pictures that catches my eye and won’t let go. I like the lighting and muted colors, especially in the the painting behind Marion. Her expression is mysterious. I asked permission to use the photo, but couldn’t wait to post this. I hope you forgive me, Marion.