aud...'s photostream

Daniel Parmenter, age 20, last of Westchester, Ill.
Catalina Garcia, age 20, last of Cicero, Ill.
Ryanne Mace, age 19, last of Carpentersville, Ill.
Julianna Gehant, age 32, last of Mendota, Ill.
Gayle Dubowski, age 20, last of Carol Stream, Ill.

And dedicated to 17 other victims, some of whom are still in critical condition.

Yesterday afternoon at Northern Illinois University, a 27-year-old gunman, Stephen Kazmierczak of Champaign, appeared on the stage of a lecture hall and opened fire, killing 5 students and injuring 17 others. He then killed himself.

Although I didn't know any of the victims, this hits close to home for me. Last year at this time, my oldest daughter was taking notes in that very lecture hall. Many years ago, I was doing the same thing. NIU has educated many members of my family - even my great-grandmother attended the NIU Teachers' College.

As a mother, I simply cannot imagine facing this kind of tragedy. My heart goes out to all the families of all the victims, and I wish them and the entire NIU community blessings and comfort, which for some may be a long time coming.

Happy Valentine's Day to all my flickr friends! Hope it brings a little luck, a lot of love, or both.

Ya got trouble,
Right here in River city!
With a capital "T"
And that rhymes with "P"
And that stands for Pool.
We've surely got trouble!
Right here in River City!
Remember the Maine, Plymouth Rock and the Golden Rule!
Oh, we've got trouble.
We're in terrible, terrible trouble.
That game with the fifteen numbered balls is a devil's tool!
Oh yes we got trouble, trouble, trouble!
With a "T"! Gotta rhyme it with "P"!
And that stands for Pool!!!

~from the Music Man

Thanks to thomas.merton for the lyrics suggestion!

Here is one of my aquarium shots that did turn out....accidentally. (Thanks to all of you who have made suggestions, by the way - I was doing several things wrong for the underwater shots...next time I'll improve).

Anyway, later, as I was trying to crop it so the lines appeared to be straight, I discovered Photoshop's "spherize" feature and used it 'cause it just looked cool.

Isn't it amazing how high dolphins jump? Have you ever tried jumping OUT of the water? I have, and other than the inevitable wardrobe malfunction, it's never pretty.

Believe it or not, this is a COLOR photo.

"Man with Fish," sculpted by German artist Stephan Balkenhol, was installed in front of Chicago's Shedd Aquarium in 2001.

So.....I tried - for the first time - shooting at an aquarium. Geez! It's not easy shooting fish through glass in dimly lit spaces. I'll post one or two of my shots in the next couple of days, but I'm in need of advice. )

The "Museum of Modern Ice" is an art installation on view until the end of February at Millennium Park in Chicago.

Artist Gordon Halloran has created a wall of ice, called "Paintings Below Zero," which is 95 feet long and nearly 12 feet tall, and it was a welcome dash of color on another gray day in the Windy City.