Art, Christianity, FNSC, Holidays, Jay, Still Life, Tenderloining, Willy

Fisher of Men: North Ames Field Work

March 31, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Happy Easter! Christ is risen!

CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED!

Here is an Easter devotional and a bit on the history of a popular Easter hymn. At least in the Methodist church.

Risen today! A Wesley hymn devotion for Easter

Many churches of all denominations begin worship on Easter Sunday by singing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” Charles Wesley’s lyrics wonderfully celebrate how Jesus’ resurrection is God’s victory over death, and call us to tell the world.

A little history
Charles and John Wesley, two of the historic founders of The United Methodist Church, published the beloved hymn in their first hymnal, Hymns and Sacred Poems in 1739. A section toward the back of the hymnal includes songs for special days where “Hymn for Christmas-Day,” which we know as “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing,” is just a few pages away from “Hymn for Easter-Day” that we sing as “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today.”

For those who know our United Methodist Hymnal well, reading the words Wesley penned can feel incomplete. The alleluias we are used to singing at the end of each line aren’t there. A later editor added them to make the lyrics fit the tune and to give added opportunities for praise.

Entering the story
Wesley writes about the Resurrection in the present tense, inviting us into the biblical narrative. As we sing, we easily picture ourselves standing among the witnesses of the empty tomb on that first Easter morning.

“Christ the Lord is ris’n to day,”
Sons of men and angels say,
Raise your joys and triumphs high,
Sing ye heav’ns, and earth reply.

Participating in this moment, we are also aware of the magnitude of the Resurrection. In this opening verse, Wesley introduces a theme that runs through the hymn. The Resurrection is celebrated both on earth and in heaven.

Our United Methodist Hymnal includes an edit to the second line. “Earth and heaven in chorus say” replaces “Sons of men and angels say.” According to United Methodist Discipleship Ministries, this change updates Wesley’s language to be gender inclusive and emphasizes the Resurrection’s impact throughout the world and beyond.

“The entire universe sings the triumphant chorus,” writes United Methodist scholar the Rev. Paul Chilcote in The Song Forever New: Lent and Easter with Charles Wesley, “with earth and heaven shouting their praise back and forth in ecstatic joy.”

Life in the midst of death
Earth and heaven sing because in the Resurrection we know death is not the final word. Wesley writes,

Love’s redeeming work is done,
Fought the fight, the battle won…

Lives again our glorious King,
Where, O death, is now thy sting?

In a podcast interview for UMC.org’s Get Your Spirit in Shape, Chilcote says, “Death seems to be a final word in the life of every human being. Seems to be, I say, a final word, because it isn’t,” he continues. “The final word is life, not death. The final word is resurrection. The final word is eternal life with God who loves us.”

Wesley calls us to live into eternal life every day,

Soar we now, where Christ has led?
Following our exalted head,
Made like him, like him we rise,
Ours the cross—the grave—the skies!

In a later verse, not published in our United Methodist Hymnal, he reiterates our call to follow Christ more closely each day:

Ris’n with him, we upward move,
Still we seek the things above,
Still pursue, and kiss the Son
Seated on his Father’s throne;

Life still to come
In the final three of Wesley’s 11 verses, the hymn’s focus shifts to our hope of a day of resurrection yet to come. Wesley returns to the theme of earth and heaven singing praise on that day:

Hail the Lord of earth and heav’n!
Praise to thee by both be giv’n:
Thee we greet triumphant now;
Hail the resurrection thou!

Jesus is the resurrection who brings new life to all of creation, and will bring it to completion.

We receive new life in Christ by God’s grace and are to share God’s love with the world. We do this by joining the song with our voices and lives.

King of Glory, soul of bliss,
Everlasting life is this,
Thee to know, thy pow’r to prove,
Thus to sing, and thus to love!

Living Easter every day
“We experience so many little deaths, don’t we, in our lives?” Chilcote asks in the podcast interview. Some are literal deaths like the loss of a loved one, but we also experience other griefs. Relationships end. Jobs are lost. “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” proclaims that Jesus has conquered all those deaths.

“The central message of our faith,” Chilcote concludes, “is the Cross and the Resurrection. Its earliest proclamation of a God who is in the business of raising us from the dead. Oh, if that isn’t good news, I don’t know what good news is.”

When we gather for worship on Easter Sunday and sing “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, God’s good news that life conquers death. As his disciples in the world today, we must raise our joys and triumphs high to invite others to join us in this new way of living.

I hope all of you had an amazing Easter!

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After the horrific experience at The Waterfront, the next Friday FNSC got back to our roots. The Catholic Fish Fry Circuit. Although that probably technically isn’t our roots. The first ever Friday Night Supper Club was at Tic Toc. But a good old fashioned Fish Fry is more in our wheelhouse.

On this Friday Jay, Willy, and I checked out the Fish Fry at Saint Cecilia’s in Ames. Here are some pictures:

Saint Cecilia is in a relatively new building. Therefore it had a disappointingly low amount of creepy Catholic art. The fish they served was baked parmesan encrusted tilapia. Definitely healthier than a fried fish. Pretty darn delicious too!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t quick enough to tell them not to put bland, boring, worthless mac and cheese on my plate. So that part of my plate went to waste where I could have gotten more green beans. Yet I endured. They did this weird thing where they cut one end off the baked potato. I’m not sure why they did this, but my guess is that it made it easier to put them in the pan and could more in the pan. I’m not complaining, it was just weird. The green beans were green beans. They got the job done. It also came with a solid cole slaw.

There was a wide assortment of desserts available for donation. The chocolate pie I got was phenomenal! Definitely worth the few bucks I threw in the offering basket.

I would definitely go back to this fish fry again in the future. Lent and Catholic Fish Fry season is over, BUT there are still 3 more fish fries I have left to share.

How is my efforting to live a healthy lifestyle going?

You may recall I put a couple pounds on last week. Was pretty sedentary and I didn’t eat the best. This week was a better week. Particularly on the movement front. I probably made a few poor nutritional choices out of necessity, but overall it was a good week.

This week my weight went down -4.5 pounds. I am now down 24.7 pounds since starting Noom. I am 4.9 pounds away from reaching my May 1 goal weight. 29.9 pounds away from my ultimate goal weight*.

Weight obviously fluctuates quite a bit based on a ton of factors. From what you ate the day before to when you ate your last meal to when you went to bed the night before to when you last went to the bathroom to when you weigh yourself. I try not to get too high if the scale ticks down or too low if the scale ticks up. The important thing is that the general trend is going in the right direction.

But weight isn’t the only measure (or even the most important measure) of positive results. My endurance and stamina do seem to be improving. I did two hikes yesterday that involved going up some pretty sleep inclines. I only wanted to die for small portions of them. Instead of the entire time.

That is all to report for now.

Next Sunday’s food adventure will involve ice cream!

Amanda, Brandon, Candid Portrait, Dahlia, Greyson, Holidays, Jonah Kahler, Logan, Russ, Teresa

Christmas – 2023

March 30, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Since Easter is tomorrow, thought I would share some pictures from Christmas. I spent the day with Teresa’s family and unfortunately didn’t get to see Carla’s family as they were down with the COVID. Maybe next year.

Here are a few photos:

I hope everybody has as good of a Christmas as I did and I hope all of you also have a great Easter as well!

Animals, Art, Basketball, Black & White, Elainie, Football, Holidays, Iowa State, Sabas, Shannon, State Fair, Still Life, Street Photography

Iowa State Fair – Day 3 – Delta

March 29, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Today is Good Friday.

Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. If you are looking for a place to worship tonight, you can join me at the Boone First United Methodist Church. It is a Tenebrae Service. It starts at 6:30.

What is a Tenebrae Service? From our website:

A Service of Tenebrae, or “Shadows,” is based on a twelfth–century late night/early morning service and is an extended meditation on the Christian Scriptures that tell of the suffering of Christ during his betrayal, trial, and public execution. This service utilizes a mix of readings, liturgy, hymnody, and candlelight to draw our attention to Jesus’ suffering and death for the whole world.

Here is a Good Friday Devotional written by Rev. Lucky Cotto.

Good Friday

The Centurion near the Cross

Scripture Readings:

John 19:23-24
Matthew 27:50-54
Mark 15:39: When the centurion, who stood facing Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “This man was certainly God’s Son.”

Devotional

The presence of Roman soldiers around the crucifixion of Jesus Christ indicates that this was a state-sponsored crucifixion ordered by the Jewish leaders opposed to Jesus’ message. (Incidentally, the Jews were treated as slaves and oppressed.)** The opponents claimed that Jesus had deceived the Jews and that He was opposed to them paying their contributions to the empire, and that, in addition, He claimed to be the Messiah, King of the Jews and stirred up the people with His teachings.

But the Roman Empire didn’t care. In fact, Pontius Pilate could not find a reason to crucify him, all he could think of was the coming uproar against the empire. In his own words, “Pilate then said to the chief priests, and to the people, “I find no crime in this man,” and he said to them, “You brought this man before me as one who was misleading the people. I have questioned him in your presence and found nothing in this man’s conduct that provides a legal basis for the charges you have brought against him. 15 Neither did Herod, because Herod returned him to us. He’s done nothing that deserves death.” As Pilate wanted to release Jesus, he again addressed the people; (Luke 23;1-24, VV. 4,14,15,20).

Meanwhile the crowds continued to shout, “crucify Him, crucify Him” (vv21) and the priests encouraged them to ask that Barabbas be set free. They wanted a revolutionary who had been in prison for murder to go free. At the same time, the Jews could not execute anyone. So, from the legal and judicial point of view Jesus’ sentence was unjust and tainted with false accusations. It is the effective result of false narratives promoting political manipulations orchestrated by religious fanatics who could not accept the message of Jesus’ kingdom.

However, from the perspective of what God intended for humanity, and what Jesus’ sacrifice would mean for the world, Jesus bore our sin, therefore, bore our guilt, our crimes, and on the cross, as Paul wrote: “God caused the one who didn’t know sin to be sin for our sake so that through him we could become the righteousness of God.”

At the foot of the cross are the Roman soldiers who nailed Jesus to the cross, mocked Him, tore His clothes, and were asked to watch over Him. Finally, He died and when He expired there was among the soldiers a centurion, a prominent officer, in charge of at least 100 soldiers. We do not know if he was comfortable and in agreement with the crucifixion of Jesus, if he knew about Jesus, or if he was interested in Judaism. Surely, he saw the sign above the cross that said “King of the Jews”, and he must have heard the thief standing next to Jesus who said to him: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Lk.23:42). and the assurance with which Jesus said: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”. The centurion saw and heard everything that was happening and saw when Jesus gave His last breath and died. What came out of this man’s mouth was to praise God and say, “Truly this man was righteous.”

For Reflection

As a result of his new conviction, the centurion turned against the government he served. He had a transformation of mind and heart, even though he was one of those who wounded Jesus’ side, and executed him. Now he could see that this Jesus was truly sent by God, that he was truly who he said he was. Let us ask ourselves: Who is Jesus for me? Should we strive for people in positions of power who are guilty of committing injustice on the innocent to change in the face of an encounter with the gospel?

Prayer

God who loved us so much that You did not mind sending Your only Son to come to save us, to save humanity, help us to recognize that great love that You have for us and that we can live as Jesus lived, who, in the midst of pain had compassion and asked you to forgive us. Thank You that we can feel Your forgiveness, Your love, and Your grace. Amen.

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Time to share another collection of images from my trip to the State Fair with Monica and Graham and then Elainie, Sabas, and Tiffany. At this point in the day Monica and Graham just kinda ghosted me. I never saw them again. I hope they are doing okay, wherever they are.

I’m pretty sure this is the last time I saw Shannon. Have seen. I’m sure I will see her again someday.

Still more pictures to share from this day. I don’t think I’ll be going to the State Fair with Sabas and Elainie this year. With Elainie all preggers now, I’m sure she won’t be up for that kind of heat and activity. Maybe Sabas and I will go and we’ll send her pictures. Lots of pictures.

Christianity, Flowers, Holidays, Mom

Lady

March 28, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Today is Maundy Thursday, so I wish all of you a happy Maundy Thursday with the following picture:

Maundy Thursday commemorates Jesus Christ’s Last Supper with his disciples. The Last Supper was a Passover meal and so we continue to celebrate that through communion with unleavened bread and a grape drink. Jesus wasn’t a Christian. In fact, one of my favorite shirts has Jesus on it, riding a motorcycle, with the words “What the (fudge) is a Christian?” I don’t own this shirt, but I have admired it from afar.

My picture to commemorate the Last Supper is a (rather weak admittedly) imagining of Jesus’ Last Supper if he was not only a Christian, but a Methodist. A good Methodist meal would consist of a casserole. But Jesus’ status was “single” or maybe it was “It’s complicated” depending on who you listen to and how you want to interpret relationship status. So I figure Jesus wouldn’t have made his own casserole. He would have picked up a frozen one by Marie Callender and popped that in the oven. He definitely wouldn’t have had wine with it. He would have had grape juice. But not just any grape juice. It would have to be Welch’s grape juice. Or as it was originally called, Dr. Welch’s Unfermented Wine.

You still might be wondering where the Maundy in Maundy Thursday comes from. Maundy is short for the Latin word mandatum which means command. Maundy Thursday also celebrates Jesus giving us the new commandment:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34).

On these holy holidays I like to share a devotional. This one was written by Rev. Dr. Luz E. Maldonado.

Maundy Thursday

Trimmed or chopped

Scripture: John 15:1-11, CEB
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vineyard keeper. He removes any of my branches that don’t produce fruit, and he trims any branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. You are already trimmed because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch can’t produce fruit by itself, but must remain in the vine. Likewise, you can’t produce fruit unless you remain in me.I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without me, you can’t do anything. If you don’t remain in me, you will be like a branch that is thrown out and dries up. Those branches are gathered up, thrown into a fire, and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified when you produce much fruit and in this way prove that you are my disciples.

“As the Father loved me, I too have loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy will be in you and your joy will be complete.

Meditation
In the Bible we find the use of similes (indirect comparison) and metaphors (direct comparison). God uses them to bring to His people the teachings of what the kingdom of God is like and what He is like. He uses well-known examples to teach the people in these comparisons. The potter, the carpenter, in this case he uses agriculture-the growing of grapes. Whenever a seed is sown it is done in the hope that it will grow and produce its fruit. But there is a care to be taken so that the harvest is properly reaped.

Jesus teaches us what He and the kingdom of God are like by pronouncing the seven “I am’s.”

In John 10:11-14 I am the good shepherd; John 11:25 I am the resurrection and the life; John 6:35-48 I am the bread of life; John 8:12; 9:5 I am the light of the world; John 10:7 I am the door; John 14:25 I am the way, the truth, and the life. And in the reading, we have chosen for today’s meditation: John 15:1-5 I am the true vine. The vine is a grape plant, it is a vine. It has a root, a trunk, branches, shoots, leaves and fruit. Jesus compares himself to that plant “He is” and my father is the vineyard keeper, He is the owner and caretaker. He is the one who takes care, who cleans, who prunes. The use of agriculture to explain the kingdom of God, and its care.

He talks about trimming: What is it and why is it necessary? It is to clean, to cut, to pull up, to remove dry leaves, dry branches. Pruning is a sign of love, God is concerned about us. He takes care of us, He removes what is not necessary, He removes what is not productive, what is not useful to us. When God is closest to us, it is when He is trimming us. When a vinedresser goes to prune, He always has the branch in his hand. God has not let you go, you have always been in the hollow of God’s hand. Pruning is not the absence of God, on the contrary, it is when He is closer than ever. John 15:2 he trims any branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit.

To be cut off: John 15:2 He removes any of my branches that don’t produce fruit; the branch is a new shoot. The danger of not being attached to Christ is that this new shoot will dry up. In other words, the danger of not congregating, of not being in a church, can dry us up, it does not allow us to grow, mature and bear the fruit that is expected of us. The Lord gives us a piece of advice, a commandment or recommendation in John 15:4 “remain in me, and I will remain in you”. A branch can’t produce fruit by itself, but must remain in the vine. Likewise, you can’t produce fruit unless you remain in me. He is speaking of a relationship, a friendship and fellowship. John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches” is giving us identity. He is also giving us a promise John 15: 5b “he who abides in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit”. He is telling us that we need him in order to go forward, John 15:5c “for apart from me you can do nothing”.

For reflection
Trimming is the evidence of something new in our lives. Usually when something goes wrong or we are in a time of trial we get desperate. We tend to worry too much and try to solve. The pruning in your life has as a goal that you bear fruit as it says: Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control.”; 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control”. So do not stray from the vine and allow whatever the vineyard keeper desires to do in your life to be done, for the result will be a blessing.

Prayer
Blessed God, thank You for revealing Yourself to our lives with examples from our daily lives and with them help us to understand Your plans and purposes in our lives. Help us to stay attached to You and continue to work in our lives, take away what You need to take away, add what You need to add so that we may remain united to You and bear much fruit. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

If you want to worship an awesome God, you are welcome to join me at Boone First United Methodist Church. Our Maundy Thursday Service is at 6:30 PM tonight. And I promise you will be home in plenty of time to watch the Iowa State game.

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Lady
I’m your knight in shining armor and I love you
You have made me what I am, and
I am yours

My love
There’s so many ways I want to say I love you
Let me hold you in my arms forever more

You have gone and made me such a fool
And I’m so lost in your love
And oh, we belong together
Won’t you believe in my song?

Lady
For so many years
I thought I’d never find you
You have come into my life and
Made me whole

Forever
Let me wake to see you each and every morning
Let me hear you whisper softly
In my ear

And in my eyes (In my eyes)
I see no one else but you (I see no one else but you)
There’s no other love like our love
And, oh, girl I’ll always want you near me
I’ve waited for you for so long

Lady
Your love’s the only love I need
Oh, and beside me is where
I want you to be (I want you to be)
‘Cause, my love
There’s somethin’ I want you to know
You’re the love of my life
You’re my lady
-Written by Lionel Richie
-Perfected by Kenny Rogers

This week marks the 3 year anniversary of my Mom’s passing. I selected this song because she loved this song and she loved Kenny Rogers. She loved Elvis. She loved the Beach Boys. I’m not sure which was her absolute favorite, but this was one of her absolute favorite songs. And objectively, it is one of the greatest songs ever written.

I got to see a Kenny Rogers concert at the Civic Center with my Mom. It is one of my favorite memories and favorite concerts I’ve ever attended. Life, as they say, is made up of memories. Not possessions. It is a great memory.

This Thursday’s flowertography is a collection of flower images taken in my yard. I know I said I was about to finally leave my yard for the flowertography session, but then I stumbled upon this collection of flower images that I had somehow missed. I’m glad I found them.

Next Thursday we will finally leave my yard again.

Can you believe that it is almost flowertography season. I will be heading down to Pella in a couple of weeks to take some tulip pictures. The peak tulip bloom is going to be about 2-3 weeks early this year. So I’ll probably head down there in the middle of April. Let me know if you are interested in going, hitting their bakery, and probably eating some good food.

Art, Boone FUMC, Christianity, Elizabeth, Olympic Sports, Street Photography, Vest

RAGBRAI – MADRID – III

March 27, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

This is Holy Week, so I did want you to know that if you need or want a place to worship or just check out, well you are invited to the Boone First United Methodist Church. For details, check out the picture below:

I’ll definitely be there for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. Hope to see one or two of you there.

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Time to share the final collection of images from RAGBRAI. Not just the last collection from Madrid, but the last period. I didn’t follow RAGBRAI after it left Madrid. I went back to work the next day. But I look forward to taking some time off and doing some RAGBRAI photography again this year.

This year RAGBRAI cuts through southern Iowa. These are the overnight stops:

+ Glenwood
+ Red Oak
+ Atlantic
+ Winterset
+ Knoxville
+ Ottumwa
+ Mt. Pleasant
+ Burlington

The towns it passes through each day haven’t been revealed yet. But there are some great towns already announced.

Art, Dad, Macro, Mom, Nature, Still Life, WPC - Alternate

Does She Mean You Forgot About Me?

March 26, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

A few weeks back the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme was SENTIMENTAL. Thought I would share some of the spare images I took for the theme that didn’t make the cut.

SENTIMENTAL was a good theme. A real thinker! I hope everybody enjoyed it as much as I did.

Adam, Alexis, Andy, Angie, Basketball, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Deanna, Elainie, Elizabeth, Evie, Iowa State, Jesse, Joe Duff, Johnathan, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Lowell, Michelle, Micky, Mindi, Nathanial, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Sheri, Steph, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 445 – HOBBIES

March 25, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

NOTES: 1. THIS IS ONE OF 2 THEMES THAT HAVE A SPECIAL, EXTRA RULE. MAKE SURE YOU READ THAT RULE BEFORE YOU SUBMIT. 2. I’VE BEEN GETTING SOME SMALL IMAGES SUBMITTED. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THE FAQ ANSWER ON IMAGE SIZE. YOU MAY NEED TO ADJUST YOUR CAMERA SETTINGS OR YOUR EMAIL ATTACHMENT SETTINGS OR YOUR IMAGE TEXT MESSAGE SETTINGS OR MAYBE YOU ARE AN OVER-CROPPER. DON’T BE AN OVER-CROPPER. CROP WTH YOUR FEET. 3. AS ALWAYS, I APPRECIATE ANYBODY THAT GETS THEIR SUBMISSION IN BY SUNDAY NIGHT.

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It is the last Monday of the month and on the last Monday of the month I like to revisit our Frequently Asked Questions. Who asks these questions? I mostly ask them of myself. But that isn’t a Frequently Asked Question. These are:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

What skill level photographer can participate?

THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is open to photographers of all skill levels. From award winning photographers to professionals to the highly ranked amateurs to those that are just beginning to those who don’t even know how to focus a camera. All skill levels are encouraged and welcome. You can’t be too bad and you can’t be too good! Everyone has room to learn and be challenged!

Award winning photographers? Really?

Yes. I can think of at least 10 photographers that participate regularly that have won a photography award of some kind.

Is this a competition?
NO. It is a challenge. There are no winners and losers. Well the people that don’t participate are losers.

Is there a limit to the number of submissions I can have each week?

Yes. That limit is 2. If you send me more than 2, I will post the first 2 that you send. I’m not trying to harsh your photography buzz, but any more than that starts to overwhelm the other submissions and it takes me about 5 minutes to take a picture from my inbox to code it on the website. So I have to manage my workload.

If you are going to submit more than one picture, I strongly urge you to choose completely different subjects for each submission. If you are submitting multiple pictures of the same subject, make sure that each picture is saying something unique.

If I start to average like 45 participants a week, I will lower the limit to 1.

Can I send you several pictures and have you pick the best one?

No! No! NO! If those words come out of your mouth or your keyboard, I consider that to be a non-submission.

Do you ever question whether somebody’s submission fits the theme?

Meh. Only if I think somebody is clearly confusing this week’s theme with last week or next week’s theme. Otherwise, if the submission makes sense in your head, that is good enough for me. However, I would urge you to not try to fit your favorite subject into the theme every week. This isn’t a challenge to share a picture every week of your kid or your business or your pet. It is a challenge to take pictures of different things every week. Which isn’t to say subjects can’t be repeated, but you shouldn’t become reliant on the same ones.

Why can’t I submit after 11 AM on Mondays if the post doesn’t publish until 12:01 PM?

I go to lunch at 11 AM. I leave my office. I’m not near a computer. At 11 AM I hit “Schedule” and then I go throw food down my throat. 167 hours is more than enough time to send a submission. Okay, 166 hours and 59 minutes. You got me.

Do I have to wait until Monday morning to submit?

Absolutely not! In fact (AND CAN’T EMPATHIZE THIS ENOUGH) I appreciate the submissions that make it to me by Sunday evening. Makes the job of putting this together on Monday morning much easier!

Are there resolution requirements for submissions?

I won’t turn down submissions that are too small. I will probably ask you for a picture of greater resolution if it is really small. The typical 4 x 6 image posted to my website has a resolution of 1280 pixels x 853 pixels. While a 400 x 300 image might look okay on your phone, it looks like trash on a computer monitor. I prefer images that are at least 1000 pixels at their widest point, but don’t ban smaller pictures at this point. But don’t tempt me!

What format should my submission be?

.JPG but .PNG also works.

If I write a description of my image will you include that in your post?

No. Photography is art that should stand on its own. Only exception is the SLICE OF LIFE theme. But if you let me know where the picture was taken, I will include that. In fact, I appreciate you letting me know where a picture was taken. If you don’t let me know, I will assume the picture was taken in the state you live in.

When will you start accepting suggestions for next year’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE themes?

I will take suggestions only and ONLY in the comments sections of the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE posts the last week of October and the 1st week of November.

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HOBBIES! A great theme! Everybody has a HOBBY or 2. From making kolaches to eating kolaches, HOBBIES can really run the gamut! But did enough people have photography as a HOBBY to make it a popular theme? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, March 18, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week
2-Elainie Hernandez – 1 week
3-Deanna McClain – 1 week
4-Johnathan Stensland – 1 week
5-Suzie Brannen – 2 weeks
6-Monica Jennings – 2 weeks
7-Adam Gordon – 3 weeks (2)
8-Mary Green – 5 weeks (2)
9-Stehanie Kim – 5 weeks
10-Becky Parmelee – 5 weeks
11-Sara Lockner – 9 weeks
12-Lowell Davis – 11 weeks (2)
13-Michelle Haupt – 11 weeks
14-Alexis Stensland – 11 weeks
15-Brandon Kahler – 12 weeks
16-Scott Degeneffe – 30 weeks
17-Sabas Hernandez – 31 weeks
18-Mike Vest – 36 weeks
19-Sheri Fakhouri – 40 weeks (2)
20-Logan Kahler – 41 weeks (2)
21-Nathanial Brown – 42 weeks (2)
22-Jesse Howard – 42 weeks
23-Tamara Peterson – 54 weeks
24-Mindi Terrell – 57 weeks (2)
25-Linda Bennett – 86 weeks (2)
26-Sarah Toot – 87 weeks
27-Angie DeWaard – 91 weeks
28-Dawn Krause – 95 weeks
29-Kim Barker – 101 weeks
30-Joe Duff – 102 weeks
31-Teresa Kahler – 113 weeks (2)
32-Carla Stensland – 113 weeks
33-Micky Augustin – 115 weeks
34-Andy Sharp – 116 (2) weeks
35-Bill Wentworth – 117 weeks
36-Cathie Morton – 121 weeks (2)
37-Elizabeth Nordeen – 122 weeks
38-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 124 weeks
39-Kio Dettman – 126 weeks (2)

Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

1. The picture must 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 and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM next Monday.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.

There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.
3. Sometimes, for special people, for special circumstances, we can negotiate something.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks or the rules of the challenge or how to submit. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 127 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Honey Hollow – Summerset, Iowa) – 125 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 123 weeks

Cathie Morton (Nassau, Bahamas) – 122 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, NE) – 118 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 117 weeks

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 116 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 114 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 114 weeks

Joe Duff (League City, Texas) – 103 weeks

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 102 weeks

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 96 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa)

Angie DeWaard (Story County Administration Building – Nevada, Iowa) – 92 weeks

Sarah Toot (Nobu – Las Vegas, Nevada) – 88 weeks

Sarah Toot (E. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 87 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa) – 58 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 55 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Des Moines, Iowa) – 43 weeks

Jesse Howard (Hilton West – Omaha, Nebraska) – 43 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 42 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 41 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa)

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 37 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 32 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Bettendorf, Iowa)

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 31 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Story City, Iowa) – 13 weeks

Lowell Davis (Boone, Iowa) – 12 weeks

Michelle Haupt (Iowa) – 12 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 12 weeks

Sara Lockner (Johnston, Iowa) – 10 weeks

Stephanie Kim (Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, New York) – 6 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Boone, Iowa)- 6 weeks

Adam Gordon (Iowa) – 5 weeks

Adam Gordon (Iowa)

Elainie Hernandez (Ogden, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Deanna McClain (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Johnathan Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Evie Gorshe (Iowa) – 1 week

Willy McAlpine (Boone, Iowa) – 1 week

Tim Panages (West Des Moines, Iowa) – 1 week

Christopher D. Bennett (Hilton West – Omaha, Nebraska)

39 participants this week! A pretty good week! But that is a 1 participant drop from DECORATION.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Bahamas – 1
+ Iowa – 39
+ Kansas – 1
+ Nebraska – 3
+ Nevada – 1
+ New York – 1
+ Pennsylvania – 1
+ Texas – 1

Thanks to Sarah’s trip we added Nevada! Thanks to Cathie’s trip, we added the Bahamas!

Here is the Year 11 list of places where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each places):

+ Arkansas (6.5)
+ Bahamas (1)
+ California (1)
+ Colorado (4)
+ Florida (3)
+ Georgia (1)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (1)
+ Indiana (2)
+ Iowa (444)
+ Kansas (17)
+ Louisiana (2)
+ Michigan (4)
+ Minnesota (6)
+ Mississippi (1.5)
+ Missouri (8.5)
+ Nebraska (17)
+ Nevada (1)
+ New York (9)
+ Pennsylvania (11)
+ South Dakota (3)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (19)
+ Vermont (1)

23 states so far! 1 foreign country! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:

+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA) – 7
+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN) – 5
+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA) – 4
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV) – 4
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE) – 3
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO) – 3
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN) – 3
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE) – 3
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS) – 3
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL) – 2
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL) – 2
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO) – 2
+ Michelle Haupt (IA, MO) – 2
+ Brandon Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Sara Lockner (IA, MN) – 2
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA) – 2
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN) – 2
+ Carla Stensland (IA, MO) -2
+ Mike Vest (IA, MO) – 2

Andy maintains a 2 state lead over Jen to be crowned the most travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE photographer!

Becky joined the list of people that have submitted from multiple states! WooHoo!

The big milestone this week was Sara joining the Double Digit Streak Club! WooHoo! Also the first ever submission from Tim! That’s pretty sweet too!

But it wasn’t all good news. In fact it was mostly bad news. There was a veritable bloodbath of streaks. Jen couldn’t build on last week’s submission. Her streak is over before it began. Suzie and Monica had two week streaks go poof! Mary’s 5 week streak is over!

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:

#INSTAGOOD

#INSTAGOOD! What a great theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what exactly is an #INSTAGOOD image? Here is where that special rule for this theme is revealed. An #INSTAGOOD image is simply the best image you take this week. Period. And because it is the best image you take this week (HERE IS THAT SPECIAL RULE) you can only submit ONE picture for this theme. Only one picture is your best picture.

I will add, do NOT send me multiple images and ask me to pick the best one. Remember that one rule for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is that the picture has to be taken the week of the theme because this is not a curate your pictures challenge, this is a get off your butt and go take pictures challenge! However, this week, you will have to curate all the pictures you take this week down to one, best picture.

I look forward to your interpretation!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will see your idea of INSTAGOOD in this place in this place that is sometimes gets my best next Monday.

Blogging, FNSC, Jay, Jesse, Still Life, Tenderloining

On the Waterfront: Ankeny Field Work

March 24, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Those of you that are observant AND have a Photography 139 email subscription, may have noticed that the emails that have come out have been a bit off this week. MailPoet (the client I use to send out those emails) had an update and that has jacked everything up. I think I have it fixed and the emails should look correct again, but I might do some more dinking around with it. It was probably past time I messed with it anyways.

A few Fridays back Jesse, Jay, and I suspended our Catholic Fish Fry Tour and paid a visit to The Waterfront in Ankeny. It was one of those Fridays that I thought I was going to have to cancel because I get stuck on Fridays late at the Computer Mine rather frequently these days. Which is a great joy, because I LOVE having to cancel plans with friends to work late. This also happens on Tuesdays. Which means I no longer make it to Bible Study or to movies with Nader. If you have noticed my increased negativity towards Canadians on the Snapchat lately, this is why.

I was able to go and didn’t have to cancel on this Friday. But when I did think I was going to have to cancel, I decided I was just going to watch ON THE WATERFRONT instead. Thankfully Marlon Brando will have to wait.

I’ve never really ripped a restaurant or food truck or concession stand or pancake feed in one of these reviews… that streak will end here.

Here are some pictures from the experience:

Calamari

Rice Pilaf

Blackened Mahi Mahi

I’m just going to cut to the chase. This was an extremely disappointing experience. The only thing that I truly enjoyed was the calamari. It was fantastic. I can’t hate on the baked potato. But I mean, if a restaurant can’t bake a potato, what are we even doing here? The rice pilaf was incredibly bland. Maybe I’m expecting too much from rice pilaf, but it didn’t deliver. But the greatest disappointments was the mahi mahi. It was incredibly soggy. SOGGY!

I won’t say that my expectations were heightened because we were at a fancypants (by my standards) restaurant. I don’t like fancypants (by my standards) restaurants. Give me a greasy spoon. A local tavern. A 50 year old diner. This is where I live. After all, most of my food adventures (used to be anyways) revolve around the pork tenderloin. The least uppity and least elitist sandwich to ever grace God’s green earth.

Although I’m definitely not an elitist, I also do not stick my nose up at fancypants restaurants. I’ll give them a fair shake. However, if I’m paying $27.95 for some fish, it better not be soggy and it better have some flavor.

I wasn’t the only one to leave disappointed as they didn’t have the crab that Jay came for so he settled for some kind of shrimp pasta.

My exact words when we left were “I wish we would have went to Long John Silver’s.”

And that isn’t a slight on Long John Silver’s. I love me some Long John Silver’s. I miss the one in Ames.

I won’t bother telling you where to find The Waterfront. It is in Ankeny. You want to overpay for bland food, you can find it on your own.

Enough of that noise.

How is my efforting to live a healthy lifestyle going?

Well, there is no way around it. I had a rough week. I definitely didn’t eat well. I had a lot going on and probably didn’t exercise enough. I spent a lot of time in cars. I spent a lot of time in the Union Street Theater watching movies and basketball. I’ll repeat, I didn’t eat well. But this journey will never be a straight line.

This week my weight went up. +1.9 pounds. I am now down 20.2 pounds since starting Noom.

But I try not to get too high when I lose 5 pounds like 2 weeks ago or too low when I put on a couple pounds like this week.

But weight isn’t the only measure (or even the most important measure) of positive results. This week my stamina and speed was definitely up in my HIIT workouts. So not all bad this week.

That is all to report for now.

Next Sunday’s food adventure will involve another stop on the Fish Fry Circuit.

Animals, Boone County Fair, Naima, Railroad, Self-Portrait, Still Life, Street Photography

But She’s So Sweet, She’s So Pretty

March 23, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Today feels like a good time to clean up the backlog from July of last year. These pictures just didn’t fit into previous entries in “An Artist’s Notebook”.