LIQUID. You are mostly LIQUID. I’m mostly LIQUID. But did LIQUID get the creative juices of a bunch of people flowing this week? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out!
As of 12:01 PM on Monday, July 24, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):
1-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week
2-Evie Gorshe – 1 week
3-Sara Lockner- 1 week
4-Becky Parmelee – 1 week
5-Willy McAlpine – 2 weeks
6-Scott Degeneffe – 3 weeks
7-Mike Vest – 3 weeks
8-Mary Green – 3 weeks
9-Suzie Brannen – 4 weeks
10-Sabas Hernandez – 4 weeks
11-Sheri Fakhouri – 6 weeks (3)
12-Monica Jennings – 7 weeks
13-Logan Kahler – 7 weeks (2)
14-Nathanial Brown – 8 weeks (2)
15-Jesse Howard – 8 weeks
16-Tamara Peterson – 11 weeks
17-Alexis Stensland – 16 weeks (2)
18-Mindi Terrell – 23 weeks (2)
19-Brandon Kahler – 48 weeks
20-Linda Bennett – 52 weeks
21-Sarah Toot – 53 weeks (3)
22-Angie DeWaard – 57 weeks
23-Dawn Krause – 61 weeks
24-Kim Barker – 67 weeks
25-Joe Duff – 68 weeks
26-Teresa Kahler – 79 weeks (2)
27-Carla Stensland – 79 weeks
28-Micky Augustin – 81 weeks
29-Andy Sharp – 82 weeks
30-Bill Wentworth – 83 weeks
31-Cathie Morton – 87 weeks
32-Elizabeth Nordeen – 88 weeks
33-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 90 weeks
34-Kio Dettman – 92 weeks (2)
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:
Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 93 weeks
Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)
Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)
Shannon Bardole-Foley (Des Moines, Iowa) – 91 weeks
Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 89 weeks
Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 88 weeks
Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 84 weeks
Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 83 weeks
Micky Augustin (Moscow, Iowa) – 82 weeks
Carla Stensland (Eureka Springs, Arkansas) – 80 weeks
Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 80 weeks
Teresa Kahler (Iowa)
Joe Duff (League City, Texas) – 69 weeks
Kim Barker (Dallas Center, Iowa) – 68 weeks
Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 62 weeks
Angie DeWaard (Between Cambridge and Huxley, Iowa) – 58 weeks
Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 53 weeks
Linda Bennett (Kansas)
Linda Bennett (Kansas)
Sarah Toot (Sedgefield Country Club Golf Course – Greensboro, North Carolina) – 54 weeks
Sarah Toot (Sedgefield Country Club Golf Course – Greensboro, North Carolina)
Brandon Kahler (Story City, Iowa) – 49 weeks
Mindi Terrell (Urbandale, Iowa) – 24 weeks
Mindi Terrell (Urbandale, Iowa)
Mindi Terrell (Urbandale, Iowa)
Alexis Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 17 weeks
Alexis Stensland (east Des Moines, Iowa)
Alexis Stensland (Swaledale, Iowa)
Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 12 weeks
Nathanial Brown (Guthrie Center, Iowa) – 9 weeks
Jesse Howard (Ames, Iowa) – 9 weeks
Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 8 weeks
Monica Jennings (Des Moines, Iowa) – 8 weeks
Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 7 weeks
Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa)
Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 5 weeks
Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 5 weeks
Scott Degeneffe (Near Boone, Iowa) – 4 weeks
Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 4 weeks
Willy McAlpine (Ledges State Park – Iowa) – 3 weeks
Becky Parmelee (Arkansas) – 2 weeks
Christopher D. Bennett (Madrid, Iowa)
31 participants! That is a pretty significant dip from recent weeks and the 35 of last week, but still a pretty great week of participation! Getting near that 30 participant average!
There were submissions this week taken in the following places:
+ Arkansas
+ Kansas
+ Iowa
+ Nebraska
+ North Carolina
+ Texas
Here is the current calendar year list for states:
+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Louisiana
+ Maryland
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ Montana
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ North Carolina
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Tennessee
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Washington
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming
32 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over 60% of the way there!
The Outside of the United States map is currently:
+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico (General)
+ Isla Mujeres, Mexico
+ Riviera Maya, Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
I took my picture about 15 miles from my front door. I continue not to help expand the map.
There were no huge milestones reached this week. But on the other hand there were a ton of streaks snapped. Oh, that is a bad thing. Jen, Evie, and Sara all turned out to be one and done. Mary had 3 week steak go belly up. Oh, the humanity!
But enough dwelling on the past. Time to look to the future. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future! This week’s theme:
SELF-PORTRAIT
SELF-PORTRAIT! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!
I know what a few of you are thinking. You hate SELF-PORTRAITS or the cellular phone derivative the selfie. This is either because you don’t know you are a total smoke show and don’t like having your picture taken or you know that you are a total smoke show and don’t like sharing your smoke-showness with the rest of the world. Keep that smoke-showitude to yourself. Or you are in the witness relocation program and are worried that if your smoke-showness gets out in the world the mafia hitmen or whomever will come and extinguish your smoke show forever.
These are the only 3 possible reasons. However, if you are one of these people, I have good news for you! A SELF-PORTAIT doesn’t just have to be the standard selfie, where you are standing next to your friend, dog, or significant other. Where you hold your phone out in front of you and take a snap. That certainly works and I wouldn’t poo poo that one bit.
However, a SELF-PORTRAIT might not include your face at all. It might be a picture of your hands or your ear or whatever body part. It might not even include you at all. You could take a picture of another person taking a SELF-PORTRAIT. Just please don’t take a picture of you in your bathroom mirror with your dirty toilet in the background. Or do, I won’t judge. I might mail you some toilet cleaner, but I won’t judge.
You’ll figure it out.
While considering possible ways to do your SELF-PORTRAIT, meditate on this following quote and I have no doubt you will come up with an interesting image:
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD
It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don’t think you’re good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we’re always doing it wrong.
You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can’t ask for money because that’s crass. You have to be a boss, but you can’t be mean. You have to lead, but you can’t squash other people’s ideas. You’re supposed to love being a mother, but don’t talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people. You have to answer for men’s bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you’re accused of complaining. You’re supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you’re supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.
But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful. You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line.
It’s too hard! It’s too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.
I’m just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us.
Now I know that sorta singles women out, but I think parts of it Ken speak a bit to men who sometimes wonder if they are Kenough. I’m here to tell you brother, you are Kenough.
And for the record, if there are any women out there that have seen the BARBIE movie and need some of the intricacies of it (like the 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY parody opening) mansplained to you, I’ve got your back. I’ve been told I’m pretty good at mansplaining. I think that was a compliment. Don’t tell me if it is not.
Sorry, were you talking? I was just thinking about Matchbox 20 and how they are my jam.
And I’m a little bit angry, well. This ain’t over, no, not here. Not while I still need you around. You don’t owe me, we might change, yeah. Yeah, we just might feel good I wanna push you around. Well, I will, well, I will. I wanna push you down. Well, I will, well, I will. I wanna take you for granted.
I look forward to seeing your interpretation!
RULES
The picture has to be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge. There is a limit of 3 submissions per participant. To be considered the photographer, you have to be the one that takes the picture. Don’t be stealing the work of other artists. You can submit pictures for other photographers that took pictures with your camera or phone, but give credit where credit is due.
You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.
That is it. Thems the rules!
That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of SELF-PORTAIT in this place that is a millions of lines of code to make one giant selfie next Monday.