Isn't it amazing how a flash can give anyone the eyes from Hell? Don't they look just totally demonic? It even makes this cute little bunny look like the rabid, vicious, killer bunny from Hell! I'm told it is just the light reflecting off of the blood vessels of the inside of the eye. It still looks like rabid killer bunny to me! Muuhahah...
I found this Rufous Hummingbird hanging out at the Quail Botanical gardens the other day. It's pretty amazing that a flash works this well at about 20 feet distance but he was just hanging out and I was keeping the Nikon very busy. These guys are one of the few hummingbird species (as in only) that migrate all the way up to Alaska although this one obviously found a good thing at the Botanical Gardens here in San Diego.
They say that the parents go into the closet when the kids come out. While this Mom was a little camera-shy when she that big lens of mine pointed her way, I had to snap a picture because it means so much to me to see parents that are willing to get out there and stand up for their kids. Way to go, lady. Good job.
I dare say squirt guns have come a long way since I was a kid. We had those little plastic pistol squirt guns that shot perhaps 5 or 10 feet. They have squirt rifles that go a good thirty feet these days. I was carefully guarding the telephoto lens with these guys around!
Now that is a headdress for you! I'm betting there are sooo many feathers in there that it is downright work to keep that headdress from falling off as she goes down the parade. Either way, I was impressed by the colorful display and vivid expressions!
It has been HOT and HUMID lately. Perhaps we are spoiled in San Diego by the normally dry weather but the mugginess is making it hard to sleep at night. This Polar Bear at the San Diego Zoo has a nice refrigerated pool to dive into which he is making good use of. Hope you are "bearing" the Summer heat as well.
There is beauty in the simplest of things if only we take the time to stop and appreciate them. This sunflower was blooming with an amazing 6-8 flowers per stock! The proud owner said it popped out of a bag of normal sunflower seeds. Wow! Happy Friday!
Hahah! I have but one thing to say. Oh my GOD! The material was pretty anyhow, but oh, the unibrow has got to go! I think you've got to have a hearty sense of humor to dress up like these two gentlemen did. They look soooo ugly you just have to laugh.
Even the muppets were out for Pride! This muppet of color was looking absolutely fabulous. Miss Piggy, eat your heart out. ...and where was Ernie in all the commotion?
I couldn't resist snapping this picture of a mom and her daughter surrounded by a cloud of balloons. Daughter is keeping a wary eye on those balloons, just in case any get a little too forward. They were on one of the many pride floats last week.
There's Betty Rubble and Wilma Flintstone out getting some sun. Wait, is that a tat on Betty's left arm? I always figured Betty and Barny were a little wilder than they let on. Is Wilma looking at that tattoo with a little bit of tattoo envy? Guess it is just all the rage, isn't it?
Thank goodness for PFLAG. The Gal had a sign that said, "PFLAG rocks my world." The guy's sign said, "I love my gay Mom." The most touching though are the Moms and grandparents that are willing to get out there and march for their kids.
One of the marchers last weekend was dressed up as the Statue of Liberty. While it may at first seem a little perpendicular to the festive atmosphere, perhaps it speaks more to the purpose that pride parades were created. In fact, given the vicious immigration debates going on today, perhaps more people should remember the charitable words immortalized on the base of the Statue of Liberty, those words written by nineteenth century poet Emma Lazarus in "The New Colossus."
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
It appears that the gay community drinks enough to get some attention from Anheuser-Busch. Enough, at least, to send Bud Man to the parade! 10% of the population, mostly with no kids and with lots of income. They go to theme parks too. Heck, it sounds like a no brainer. Bud man here we come.
I think it was a dare. Around 6 scantily clad, color themed guys all ran across the street, being waved off the road by one of the parade marshalls. Shown here are flaming pink and flourescent orange. They were closely followed by brilliant blue.
This little guy was practicing his "royal wave" in Saturday's Pride Parade. Now, you could attribute it on his role models or perhaps he is just getting a queenly head start.
Gay Pride or not, it takes guts to parade around in speedos. On the other hand, if I looked like that, maybe it wouldn't take quite as much guts after all. Besides, they did get some advertising and a little free blog space.
The guys from Bourbon Street, a local bar, were pretty pysched up about the beads as you can tell from the big "hand in the cookie jar" grin on the guy on the right. He really lit up a few moments before when one of his buddies came by with an armful of beads. I guess it's the little things in life that make us happy.
They had the San Diego Pride Parade today. While once upon a time, Pride Parades were pretty outlandish affairs, these days, they are pretty tame, polite and political affairs. All the politicians were out as were the police, the fire department, the sheriff, the prosecutors, the public safety people, the banks and the car people. Overall, it was still pretty festive. Here is a picture of some political weiner dogs.
I found this puffer at a friends house in their aquarium. He was pretty friendly and would follow your finger across the tank. Notably, it is a freshwater puffer as you may notice the Java ferns in the background. I like the cute little perma-smile.
