Three Prompt Meme
Jun. 19th, 2019 09:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grundyscribblingAs prompted by independence1776:
Kayak - My parents used to take me on canoe trips when I was little, and then once I got older from time to time we'd rent kayaks. One of the things I put on my 'I am going to ____ once I pay off my stupid student loans' list was 'buy myself a kayak'. And I did, the very first month I had zero loan payments to make. Since then, I can go out whenever the fancy takes me (provided the ponds/creek are not frozen over.) Sometimes I actually go down the creek to the river, sometimes I stick to the ponds, and occasionally I just beeline for a quiet spot to laze around and read or think. Kayak time is also great inspiration time - half the time while I'm paddling I'm thinking on stories.
Photography - Photography is fun! Always has been - I started out as a kid with a camera that had a cube flash. (It might not be this exact one but something similar.) When I went on my first international trip, my dad got me an SLR. Once digital happened, I stuck with pocket size cameras for years - I got very good results with my trusty Canon Powershots. (Yes, plural. I stuck with the line for quite a while. I probably still have all of them, cameras being the one thing I don't throw away.) I finally upgraded to a DSLR last year. I've never been a camera snob - I don't need or want top of the line or all the bells and whistles, just a camera where I understand what it's going to 'see' so I can get the photo I want. I did P365 several times in the LJ days (sadly it's all broken links now, as I deleted my Flickr account when Oath's creepy new TOS came in), and - also prompted byindependence1776 - I'm going to give it another try. Tomorrow is Day 1 of P365. (If anyone else is thinking of trying it, ImageShack are offering 50% off 1year of the Basic paid account - which allows direct links - for new accounts.)
New Jersey - I LOVE MY STATE. No, really. New Jersey often gets a bad rap, but there's a lot that's great about it. Aside from all its own charms, it's close enough that DC is a day trip and (depending on where you are) NYC and Philly are both either day trips or right there, meaning all that culture, nightlife, sports, etc is in easy distance if what's right in your local area isn't enough. Despite a lot of people's perception of the state as nothing more than the Parkway, the Turnpike, and the shore, we've got quite a lot of scenic areas, and if you can persuade any locals to tell you about them, quiet back roads and small towns that look like they never moved beyond the 1950s (if they got that far.) Not to mention, the shore. (Just the shore. You're in Jersey, it doesn't need a qualifier.) Sand beaches all the way from Cape May to Sandy Hook, plus the bayshore. (NJ natives are routinely baffled or even horrified by the idea that you can call it a 'beach' if it's not sandy.) Then there's the history. NJ is largely on Lenape lands. It's one of the original 13 colonies, and one of the ones not originally colonized by the English. (Earliest European colonists were Dutch, Swedes, and Finns.) The English came later, and there was a fair Quaker presence in the southern part of the state. If revolutionary-era history is your thing, NJ is a great state to poke around. "George Washington slept here" sites are a dime a dozen with all the fighting that happened in NJ, there's the Battle of Trenton (and Washington crossing the Delaware.) If you really want to sink your teeth into juicy history, ask about local partisans. When it comes to food, NJ may not have any particular signature dish, but it's not like we lack for options. We will debate both pizza and cheesesteak quality with the fierceness of a bloodless war and have strong opinions on produce. I'm not sure, but it may be a state law that you should never be more than a 20 minute drive from a diner. (Please note, despite all the delicious food, never feed the seagulls. In fact, if you're down the shore, be prepared to defend your food.) I could keep going - I haven't even mentioned the Jersey Devil yet - but I feel like everyone's probably already backing away slowly...
independence1776:Kayak - My parents used to take me on canoe trips when I was little, and then once I got older from time to time we'd rent kayaks. One of the things I put on my 'I am going to ____ once I pay off my stupid student loans' list was 'buy myself a kayak'. And I did, the very first month I had zero loan payments to make. Since then, I can go out whenever the fancy takes me (provided the ponds/creek are not frozen over.) Sometimes I actually go down the creek to the river, sometimes I stick to the ponds, and occasionally I just beeline for a quiet spot to laze around and read or think. Kayak time is also great inspiration time - half the time while I'm paddling I'm thinking on stories.
Photography - Photography is fun! Always has been - I started out as a kid with a camera that had a cube flash. (It might not be this exact one but something similar.) When I went on my first international trip, my dad got me an SLR. Once digital happened, I stuck with pocket size cameras for years - I got very good results with my trusty Canon Powershots. (Yes, plural. I stuck with the line for quite a while. I probably still have all of them, cameras being the one thing I don't throw away.) I finally upgraded to a DSLR last year. I've never been a camera snob - I don't need or want top of the line or all the bells and whistles, just a camera where I understand what it's going to 'see' so I can get the photo I want. I did P365 several times in the LJ days (sadly it's all broken links now, as I deleted my Flickr account when Oath's creepy new TOS came in), and - also prompted by
independence1776 - I'm going to give it another try. Tomorrow is Day 1 of P365. (If anyone else is thinking of trying it, ImageShack are offering 50% off 1year of the Basic paid account - which allows direct links - for new accounts.)New Jersey - I LOVE MY STATE. No, really. New Jersey often gets a bad rap, but there's a lot that's great about it. Aside from all its own charms, it's close enough that DC is a day trip and (depending on where you are) NYC and Philly are both either day trips or right there, meaning all that culture, nightlife, sports, etc is in easy distance if what's right in your local area isn't enough. Despite a lot of people's perception of the state as nothing more than the Parkway, the Turnpike, and the shore, we've got quite a lot of scenic areas, and if you can persuade any locals to tell you about them, quiet back roads and small towns that look like they never moved beyond the 1950s (if they got that far.) Not to mention, the shore. (Just the shore. You're in Jersey, it doesn't need a qualifier.) Sand beaches all the way from Cape May to Sandy Hook, plus the bayshore. (NJ natives are routinely baffled or even horrified by the idea that you can call it a 'beach' if it's not sandy.) Then there's the history. NJ is largely on Lenape lands. It's one of the original 13 colonies, and one of the ones not originally colonized by the English. (Earliest European colonists were Dutch, Swedes, and Finns.) The English came later, and there was a fair Quaker presence in the southern part of the state. If revolutionary-era history is your thing, NJ is a great state to poke around. "George Washington slept here" sites are a dime a dozen with all the fighting that happened in NJ, there's the Battle of Trenton (and Washington crossing the Delaware.) If you really want to sink your teeth into juicy history, ask about local partisans. When it comes to food, NJ may not have any particular signature dish, but it's not like we lack for options. We will debate both pizza and cheesesteak quality with the fierceness of a bloodless war and have strong opinions on produce. I'm not sure, but it may be a state law that you should never be more than a 20 minute drive from a diner. (Please note, despite all the delicious food, never feed the seagulls. In fact, if you're down the shore, be prepared to defend your food.) I could keep going - I haven't even mentioned the Jersey Devil yet - but I feel like everyone's probably already backing away slowly...
no subject
Date: 2019-06-20 02:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-20 03:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-20 03:32 pm (UTC)I agree, lol. If it's not sandy, it's a shore. If it is, like the entire shoreline of the Baltic sea here, it's a beach.
How can I get a prompt?
no subject
Date: 2019-06-20 03:45 pm (UTC)I can prompt you! Art, Beach, Poland :)
no subject
Date: 2019-06-20 03:55 pm (UTC)Funny yet creepy thing, in (on) Madeira, there is a shore all over the place and only two (if I remember correctly) sandy beaches the sand of which was brought from Morocco -- along with scorpios which they had to kill really fast. So sandy not always means fine ;)
Thank you foe the prompt :D
no subject
Date: 2019-06-21 12:17 am (UTC)You're welcome! :)
no subject
Date: 2019-06-20 05:01 pm (UTC)Oh, gods no, never feed the freaking seagulls, anywhere! Any time I go to eat takeout at the beach here, i have to keep my windows mostly rolled up or those things will swoop right in and grab food from your hands. "Aggressive" doesn't even begin to cover the seagulls here.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-20 05:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-21 12:34 pm (UTC)There's nothing wrong with using the cameras that work for you! Mom fell in love with her smartphone when she realized how easy it was for her to take photos, helped along by her point-and-shoot being on its deathbed. Good luck with P365! I think I'm starting July 1.
Like
no subject
Date: 2019-06-23 01:39 am (UTC)Any particular facet of NJ you want to hear more about?
no subject
Date: 2019-06-23 12:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-24 01:01 am (UTC)Eep! Didn't realize I left this comment up and unposted all day. (Too many tabs.) Will get back to my singing the praises of NJ tomorrow/later in the week - unfortunately I have to pack for a week on the road and get to bed ASAP.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-24 01:08 am (UTC)Hope you have a good night's sleep!