February Moon

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

The moon was visible  from my bed last night. It was a crescent shape and the clouds moved across its face with no particular destination. As the moon illuminated the night I tried to imagine its entirety, out there in space, orbiting around the earth. The earth simply hanging out there, all on its own, orbiting around the sun. Did you know that the moon is 384,403 kilometres or 238,857 miles away. The moon makes a complete orbit around the earth every 29.5 days (taking into consideration the earths rotation around the sun as well). The moon is extremely cold and space is a very hostile environment to humans compared with earth. What an amazing fact. 

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

All of this life is the result of the big bang. Of course its a theory but apparently the best one so far.  If the big bang is correct, and we can use that as a marker for the beginning of time, was there anything before the big bang? What may have existed before? Anything? Nothing? What is nothing? Can you imagine nothing, no-thing? As I tried to imagine nothing, the thought occurred to me that If everything came from nothing, then the concept or reality of nothing is everything. Nothing must contain everything. Paradoxical. Pretty weird no? Think about the color black. It absorbs all light, all color. Black is the result, the totality of all color, everything and yet it is black, nothing. Is the idea of nothing like the color black? Everything and nothing at the same time. So, I lay in bed last night trying to make some sense of it all. I really should know better by now. Life is a mystery and there simply are no answers. But its a lot of fun to think about.

Winter's Melancholy

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Winter is on the wane. Of course, we all know it can snow heavily in March, as winter makes its last effort to affirm her power. This is my birthday month which helps abate the melancholy spirit of February. One gets weary of winter about now and spring is still a way off. That's why this is such a popular month for tropical vacations. It's their high season. Skiing is popular too. If you go to the Geneva airport here you will see lots of foreigners arriving with their skiing gear. There is plenty of snow this season in the Alps so they won't be disappointed. We had one lovely sunny day here in Geneva this past week with 50 degree F. temperature. One could feel that spring is just around the corner. I'm really partial to the renewal of spring. It always holds such promise.

Sports Illustrated swimsuit Issue

The sports Illustrated swimsuit issue has hit the news stands with lovely Brooklyn Decker on the cover. Beauty is a commodity in our culture whether male or female, young or old. I wonder if it would be possible for beauty to "just be" and enjoyed for itself? Not used to sell things or to gain advantage. For the uneducated, but beautiful, I suppose its a very welcome asset. Or if you just happen not to be too bright, beauty comes in handy. As human beings there is something built into our sensibilities, a preference towards symmetry and hence beauty. This simple fact supports this weakness in our culture. It takes extraordinary character to recognize the power of ones beauty and not to use it for personal gain. Or to develop skills, a profession, something hard when It's so much easier to capitalize on one's beauty. 

The very sad reality that these beautiful men and women fall prey to is the plastic surgeons promise and dream of perfection. There is some controversy over Brooklyn Decker's use of plastic surgery. She is only 22. What happens when you start so young with surgery? The constant demands of "touching up" and the obvious health risks? We all have favorite personalities that we hardly recognize because of plastic surgery. Over time it deforms one. These unrealistic views on beauty are largely American but do exist worldwide. What happens to Brooklyn Decker when she is no longer youthfully beautiful? 

She is married to hot shot tennis star Andy Roddick. I took the photo of Roddick below at the US Open practice sessions.

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Happy Valentine's Day

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

A Valentine greeting from me to you. Happy Valentine's Day to my family and friends and to the faithful followers of my blog. A little history of Valentine's Day to follow. Have a great Day and remember all those you love.

Saint Valentine's Day is an annual holiday held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The holiday is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). The holiday first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

At bottom every man knows well enough that he is a unique being, only once on this earth; and by no extraordinary chance will such a marvelously picturesque piece of diversity in unity as he is, ever be put together a second time.

Friedrich Nietzsche

F-Stop Magazine

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

© 2010 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

My two images above are currently being featured in F-Stop online photography magazine. I am excited to be amongst such a wonderful group of photographers. The theme of the show is "Away From Here". Expressing and interpreting various modes of escapism, whether psychological or physical. I hope you'll stop by for a visit.