Lonley Tree

I always love it when I find beautiful and interesting nature photography.  This photograph by Andrew Deer fits the bill perfectly.  This photo was taken in Lake Wanaka, New Zealand, and won the Wanderlust Travel Photo of the Year 2010. And I agree with its first place position.

Lone Tree
Photo by Andrew Deer
http://www.pbase.com/image/123260059

Aside from such technical aspects as composition, lighting, etc., this photoraph is ironic.  The thought of a grand tree in the middle of a very winter-y looking landscape is not something often concievable, but it is actaully a reality and works well in this photoraph.  It shows the perserverence of nature to survive, even when all odds are against it.

In school, we are taught to analyze everything.  Although I'm sure the artist probably didn't mean for his photoraph to have a hidden meaning, to me, it does.  The will of the one tree to survive in an environment where it is so cold there is very little vegetation, and to grow so tall regardless says that I should never give up - if this tree can do it, then so can I.

It would be amazing to be the only one standing.  To be the beautiful highlight to a desserted space.  To be overcoming Mother Nature's greatest challenge - to survive.

Addicted to Facebook?

Contrary to popular belief, not every single person who has access to the Internet has a Facebook account.  I (and a very small portion of my friends) am part of that group.  Maybe because I've never experienced the "awesomeness" that is Facebook, but I don't understand how people can become so obsessed with not only Facebook, but other social networking sites such as Twitter and MySpace.

I read an article recently, titled "15 Signs It's Time To Quit Facebook," just to see how far some people went with their "addiction" to this site.  The one I found the most ridiculous and a testament to the most addicted user was sign number four:

"You've created a separate account for your baby / cat / favourite plant"

When I read this, I literally laughed out loud.  For me, I thought it would be too much trouble to take care of my own Facebook account, but for others, I guess it isn't enough to just have one.  I mean, what plant needs a Facebook account??

This point reminds me of Mia, the Egyptian cobra who was recently missing from the Bronx Zoo in New York for two weeks, only to be found in the corner of her exhibit.  Her disappearance caused a hype, because "someone pretending to be the snake on Twitter...had imagined a glamorous life for the snake during its week on the lam" (Elusive Snake Goes Back on Display at Bronx Zoo).  This person writing for the snake has over 200,000 followers.

It amazes me how obsessed some people can be with not only telling others every single detail about themselves, but also with needing to know every single detail about others.  The point that creating another account for someone / something that could not use it means it's time to quit Facebook also applies the other way: if you're reading about someone / something that did not write it, it's time to quit.