Category: Daily Life

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Treasure Map of Prague – Part 2

On our second day in Prague we were still adjusting to the time change and ended up sleeping in a bit before grabbing a small bite in Siddharta Cafe at the Buddha Bar Hotel (Breakfast is included in the price of a room!).  We then set out in search of more adventures, guided in part by the New York Times Article (36 Hours in Prague) that Allen had folded up and tucked in his pack.

A requirement for us when traveling is finding good coffee that can be enjoyed in a pleasant atmosphere.  We would have been deeply disappointed if the only options were hotel coffee, or Star Bucks. The article recommended Original Coffee close to the church of Jan Hus at Betlemske Namesti.  It was a delightful option on a quiet street and the espresso had a perfect caramel colored creme.  We warmed to the place immediately and decided to make it a stop every morning for the rest of our stay.

More to come…

Original Coffee, Prague
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500 Instagrams

Instagram500On a recent trip to Williamsburg, NY, I managed to take 26 Instagrams, bringing me to a grand total of 500 Instagrams since I joined the social media platform in the Spring of 2012. That may sound like a lot or a little, depending on your perspective. It averages out to less than two a day.  I’m a pretty picky curator.  I only post the results I’m most pleased with, so in reality, I’ve composed far more shots that never made the cut.

I’m sure there are many changes ahead for Instagram. Image archiving and sorting will likely improve with time.  Of course there are various third party apps to assist with just that, but I kind of like Instagram’s current method of archiving just the way it is.  Users can amass hundreds and hundreds of images over time that are stored very simply by the moment in time when they were created.  Whether you use your smart phone to compose an image in real time or you import an existing image and apply an Instagram filter, they are all stored chronologically.  It’s like a little time capsule right there in the palm of your hand.

I love photography.  I own numerous cameras and I use each of them in different ways.  For me, smart phone photography is just fun.  Since I travel a great deal for my job, it gives me a way to easily document my experiences using a method of capturing the everyday in a way that is itself very connected to the everyday.  I’ve already been to Connecticut since I hit the 500 mark, and soon I’ll be traveling to Chicago, Albany and Minneapolis.  Imagine all the Instagrams!

My Instagram account is set to private, but I post some of my favorite shots on my Tumblr account.  Check it out here:  http://littleardour.tumblr.com/.

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Restore the Fourth Parade – Buffalo, NY

On a stroll through the Elmwood Village on this quiet 4th of July, I crossed Elmwood Avenue to peer into the window of a new clothing Boutique that has sprung up recently.  Off in the distance I heard the lively shouts of this group of young people peacefully protesting government surveillance. I realized the small group had formed a tiny parade and they were headed my way.  I quickly found a stoop to sit in to wait for them to pass, hoping I could grab a few shots.  Someone from the parade handed me a flyer as I snapped photos and exchanged greetings with participants.

The group makes up one of Buffalo’s responses to the movement called Restore the Fourth, which has emerged in the online community with sites like Reddit, Boing Boing and Mozilla supporting a campaign in cities across the United States. “Restore the Fourth” – refers to the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens against unlawful search and seizure.  Read an article about the Restore the Fourth effort on reuters.com – Internet Sites Join July 4th Protest Against Surveillance.