Latest Image of Pluto Raises Concerns

Picture of the Day - Firestorm At Dusk

In my summer school version of Fire & Society at Cal Poly we have an art assignment. After initially planning on doing something involving internet memes involving fire I dropped the idea in favor of something more traditional. Today I painted my first acrylic painting ever and the first painting of any sort I have done as an adult. The requirement for this assignment was something fire-themed. Here is "Firestorm At Dusk." I hope I have earned an "A" on this. Note: doing this was also in keeping with my ongoing theme of challenging myself to go outside my comfort zone and try new things. I am a photographer, not a painter!
Image and painting by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Evolution Of American Army Uniforms

I came across this on Twitter a short time ago and was touched by it... way cool, but kind of melancholy in an existentialist sort of way as one is reminded of how ephemeral everything is as change is the only constant. The Roman uniform changed over the course of human history as did the uniform of soldiers of every great civilization throughout history. Someday we will be gone and people will remember our warriors in like fashion.

Picture of the Day - Drought vs. Oak Tree

Today I hiked with my buddy Mike again as I try to get my weight down and my cardiovascular health back to peak performance for the first time in years. Our path was blocked near the trailhead at East Santa Margarita Lake (River Road access) by this recently fallen mature oak tree whose mortality probably relates to the ongoing drought conditions in the area and across California.
Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Straw Cross

Today I was out hiking with my buddy Mike. Along our path Mike noticed this random cross and asked me to photograph it.  Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Why I Love The Late James Horner

As some of you noticed and most of you have not and don't care, James Horner, one of Hollywood's greatest movie scorers died in a plane crash a week ago today. It happened out in the middle of nowhere (to most people) in Quatal Canyon which is in the Los Padres National Forest east of Highway 33 and south of Highway 166 roughly near Ventucopa, CA. Strangely enough, I had previously visited where he died while exploring there about a dozen years ago. Also, at the time of the crash, I was monitoring Twitter and the Hotlist and saw the initial dispatch for a plane down with fire at that location not realizing who was aboard the aircraft. I have dearly loved the cinematic sound of James Horner ever since The Wrath of Khan in 1982 followed by The Search For Spock in 1983 followed by Aliens in 1986 and Willow in 1988. Given how I dropped off the face of the earth by 1990 I did not follow his work since then given how few movies he scored since that time which I have actually watched. He was at his best scoring the antagonists and his sound transformed each of these movies from good movies into great ones. If context is everything then so is tone as a form of context.

Scripture of the Day - Paul (ICor.6:12)

The following scripture has been on my mind a lot lately. I know exactly to what the Lord refers in my life. I choose to submit to His will. I suspect most people have things in their life to which this passage applies equally well so I share it with you here.

"All things I am free to do, but not everything is beneficial. All things I am free to do, but I will not allow myself be brought under bondage to anything." ~ I Corinthians 6:12 (Kimicus ad Absurdum translation)