Paul E.

My wife shared this with me this morning . It’s pretty spot on 🤣 #parenting

I only post color photos when color is the subject. I think this dahlia bloom qualifies. #MastoArt #flower #bloomscrolling #photography #shotoniphone

The magnolia trees here are in full glory this week. I got out early yesterday morning and made some close-up photos of one that I'd noticed while taking my son to school earlier in the week. #MastoArt #BlackAndWhite #photography #flowers #magnolia

It's not often that I prefer the color version of one of my images over the B&W version, but this is one such case. I saw these little guys (Siberian squill I think) in my lawn on Saturday and got out yesterday with my camera and flash. #MastoArt #photography #flowers #macro

I found this strip of birch bark lying outside my garage door the other day. Yesterday I got out my camera and speed light and went to work. One of my goals is to get better at 'studio' lighting this year. This was my first step. #MastoArt #BlackAndWhite #photography #tree #bark

I got this message in my inbox this morning: I have been told that tomorrow evening during the President's State of the Union speech, there is an alternative for us to watch. If you were already wondering how you could handle watching the President boasting about what he has accomplished and will do yet, this may be good news. The broadcast is called " THE STATE OF OUR UNION" and it will begin at 6pm Central time & go to approximately midnight. To find this alternative to the President's speech, if all works as is hoped, we can log into Youtube.com/RolandSMartin, or view this on the Black Star Network (BSN) app. The broadcast will be broken into 30-minute blocks with speakers that include Congressional Black Caucus members, civil rights activists, voting rights advocates, labor leaders, business leaders, grassroots activists and millennials. The organizers of the broadcast are planning to go live to New Haven, Connecticut, the moment President Trump walks to the mic, and they will begin with a speech from Rev. William J. Barber II. Periodically, besides the speakers already listed, the advocates will show clips of the President and discuss what is being said. If you are interested in spreading the word about this alternative and also tuning in, the creators of the broadcast hope that Trump's ratings will be very LOW while each of us finds much needed inspiration. Their goal is to have 100,000 views and hopefully this can be accomplished. #StateOfTheUnion #Resist #Trump

Well, I puttered around a bit with setting up my camera for some close-up flower shots this afternoon. Tomorrow I'll go to the flower shop and get a flower or two and make some photos. Then I went back and made this simple/quick #drawing. Now it's time for dinner 🙂. #artist #PenAndInk #graphite #geometry

Just finished this 64 star tetrahedron drawing today. I've been following Zak Korvin's tutorials. I don't think he's got a fedi presence, but you can find him on YouTube. Amazing stuff there. Now I need to go do some photography. It's been too long. #drawing #geometry #lineart #penandink

My wife and many of her friends are sociologists. She forwarded me this text from one of her FB friends. I found it helpful. Maybe you will too. "As a sociologist, I need to tell you that your being overwhelmed is the goal. 1/ The flood of 200+ executive orders in Trump's first days exemplifies Naomi Klein's "shock doctrine" - using chaos and crisis to push through radical changes while people are too disoriented to effectively resist. This isn't just politics as usual - it's a strategic exploitation of cognitive limits. 2/ Media theorist McLuhan predicted this: When humans face information overload, they become passive and disengaged. The rapid-fire executive orders create a cognitive bottleneck, making it nearly impossible for citizens and media to thoroughly analyze any single policy. 3/ Agenda-setting theory explains the strategy: When multiple major policies compete for attention simultaneously, it fragments public discourse. Traditional media can't keep up with the pace, leading to superficial coverage. The result? Weakened democratic oversight and reduced public engagement. What now? 1/ Set boundaries: Pick 2-3 key issues you deeply care about and focus your attention there. You can't track everything - that's by design. Impact comes from sustained focus, not scattered awareness. 2/ Use aggregators & experts: Find trusted analysts who do the heavy lifting of synthesis. Look for those explaining patterns, not just events. 3/ Remember: Feeling overwhelmed is the point. When you recognize this, you regain some power. Take breaks. Process. This is a marathon. 4/ Practice going slow: Wait 48hrs before reacting to new policies. The urgent clouds the important. Initial reporting often misses context 5/ Build community: Share the cognitive load. Different people track different issues. Network intelligence beats individual overload. Remember: They want you scattered. Your focus is resistance.” #resist #trump

Here's another frost-covered leaves image from my walk the other morning. This was the second photo from the batch that I edited and I think I like it even more than the first one. #MastoArt #BlackAndWhite #photography #artist #frost #leaves