Irish Pub in Philadelphia

Photograph by D. Bowden
Irish Pub in Philadelphia, Pa
2005

Shutters

Photograph by D. Bowden - 2005
Title: "Shutters"
(building in Philadelphia)

Starry Night -- Vincent van Gogh

Explanation: The painting Starry Night is one of the most famous icons of the night sky ever created. The scene was painted by Vincent van Gogh in southern France in 1889. The swirling style of Starry Night appears, to many, to make the night sky come alive. Although van Gogh frequently portrayed real settings in his paintings, art historians do not agree on precisely what stars and planets are being depicted in Starry Night. The style of Starry Night is post-impressionism, a popular painting style at the end of the nineteenth century. The original Starry Night painting hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, New York, USA.

Indian Chief

Indian Chief by Jeff Bowden

(18" x 36" Graphite Pencil on paper)

My son Jeff won an award for this when he was only 14 years old. I have it hanging on a wall in our home. He captured the ethnic features of the Native American amazingly well for someone so young.

Urban Legend Circulating Internet -- "Hideaway"

Hideaway
Illustration Credit & Copyright: Inga Nielsen

Explanation: Is this a picture of a sunset from Earth's North Pole? Regardless of urban legends circulating the Internet, the answer is no. The above scene was drawn to be an imaginary celestial place that would be calm and peaceful, and therefore titled Hideaway. The scene could not exist anywhere on the Earth because from the Earth, the Moon and the Sun always have nearly the same angular size. This is particularly apparent, for example, during solar eclipses. Still, the scene drawn is quite striking, and the crescent part of the "moon" shown is approximately accurate given the location of the parent star. In reality, the North Pole of Earth looks different. Starting earlier this month, the North Pole even has a web camera returning near-live pictures.

Sandsational!

Italian sand artist Gianni Schiumarini works on a sculpture showing a soccer goal at the 'Sandsation 2006' international sand sculpture festival in Berlin June 15, 2006. The sculpture festival is opened to the public until July 16.

Happy Father's Day

Miller, My Bearded Dragon

This is my pet Bearded Dragon, Miller. Miller is now 6-years-old and aging a bit. She loves salad, hates normal beardie food such as crickets (she is actually afraid of them), and she is addicted to television and fresh green beans. I wrote once before about Miller and why she has a boy's name HERE.

Doggie's favorite pastime

Once again, here is my daughter's cat, Doggie
in her favorite sleeping position.

So cute!

Two squirrels frolic on a sidewalk in Alexandria, Va. Monday, June 5, 2006. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Fishing with Fowl

Photo by: Zhou Hua/AP

Huang Yunba and his cormorants raft on the Lijiang River in Yangshuo in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on May 24, 2006. People in China have been fishing with cormorants for at least 2,ooo years. Modern methods have mostly replaced the birds in commercial fishing, but some remain in service as a tourist attraction.