Ah! Remember when you were younger and couldn't find your clothes because somewhere, sometime your siblings wanted to be "cool" like you?

Well, now you have to be careful of those precocious statues, especially the one found at the Palau de la Musica Catalana like the one shown in the photo. The statue's name is "Carmela" by sculptor Jaume Plensa.

Little did the human know SHE would play an important role in Carmela's fashion.

The Art of Negotiation

For anyone and everyone, finding peace and quiet in this tumultuous world can be difficult.

And, for the cute little girl who was sitting on the ledge, content and happy, her time of peace and quiet was invaded by the loud demand of a little boy wanting to take her space.

She stood her ground, but after much hand waving, cajoling and whining, the little boy won but not before he gave her some candy.

The magic of a setting sun

It's 17:56:44 on a weekday (thank goodness for EXIF data) and I am at plaça Sant Miquel for one thing and one thing only ... the SUN!

The plaça is tucked in the middle of a barrio with trees surrounding its perimeter.

The tree's branches have separated allowing the sun to filter through in that romantic way ... like a man first experiencing the separation of his hair fleeting through his fingers.

The ambiance of the plaça and its light tricks you. For a brief while, you are a professional photographer. Every shot you take is magic.

Teen with tattered jeans

I'm no Johannes Vermeer but when I first saw this girl I was blown away by the color of her hair and her porcelain skin -- a striking contrast to the tattered jeans.

She also stood out in a town (not unlike any other big city) where just about everyone has some shade of tan, plasticized boobs, big lips, and botoxed brows (not that any of the aforementioned adjectives are BAD.)

Unknowingly, she became my "Girl with a Pearl Earring".

For some reason, I can picture a demand for her by the artists of Vermeer's time.

I can't know for sure, but I would be surprised if Vermeer himself would disagree with me.

What are your thoughts?

I TOTALLY love depth of field!

The photo above is about as perfect as I can get.

Why? Well, look at the colors, the saturation, the exposure, white balance, highlights and my favorite, depth of field.

I tweaked very little, added a gradient fill and no sharpening.

Yes! It was a very good day indeed.

Cuteness munching on La Rambla

La Rambla is a tree lined pedestrian sidewalk with streets on its sides.

There are all sorts of kiosks selling flowers, ice cream, souvenirs and many many restaurants for your gastronomical pleasure.

So, it's not unusual to see (ALL THE TIME) and hear, (NOT SERIOUS) people crunching and munching, but what makes her interesting to me and,

Why she caught my eye, is that she never veered her attention from the plate.

What ever she was eating must be surely good and she is certainly cute!

Orange with a twist of confidence

La Rambla de Catalunya is a rambling street full of tourists, locals and the rest.

I try to find persons of interest to me that exude a unique style in dress, and behavior, just to name a few attributes.

But what I'm finding is that just about everyone is strange and that strange is the new normal ... and that is boring to me.

And, that the old normal is now the new strange ... and that I like.

For example, I see many women with redefined noses, breasts, and perfect WHITE teeth ... and that's okay by me ... but boring.

I seem to gravitate to the person who speaks with a whimsical lisp, crooked teeth, hair mussed, wears glasses, dresses casually and just down right earthy.

I feel the person in the photo is one of those people and I choose her!

Not a selfie!

Parts of me wishes this photo had ME in it ... but my time has come and gone.

So many things I would have done in my youth and probably dressing like them would not have been on my top ten list ... I was and still am (in my advanced years) having fun without the fuss.

Actually, I am rarely a window dresser photographer ... but the mannequins, the way they were dressed and posed reminded me of my one of my top ten photographers .... Joan Colom and the subjects he photographed.

Google Joan Colom and see if you agree with me ... one of the best "shoot from the hip photographers" there ever was ... in my opinion.

Still, as I sit here and write, I wouldn't have minded then and briefly, for a very short moment, to be one of them.

Oh my, do I dare ... but if Joan Colom ever reads this post, I would be honored to meet you!

Yes, Luna ... There is an IKEA

Hidden and far away, tucked in the belly of Barcelona, is a store called IKEA in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat.

Bus and train are the way I get around Barcelona and the L95 was one way to reach IKEA. According to the internet, the L95's route begins at Barcelona's center, which I believe is la plaça de Catalunya.

But which streets from the plaça? Can you imagine how many streets have access to the plaça? Many! Why couldn't directions be explained so that a 4 year old and mature people (like me) could understand?

I was on a mission and I was NOT going to give up. I put the idea of finding IKEA aside for awhile, for confusion reigned for a long long time. (I'm too embarrassed to say how long).

I went about my simple but eventful life meeting locals, pesky tourists and discovering new places, like Casanova Foto.

And, finding the L95 bus!

Indeed! The L95 bus is almost in front of the Casanova Foto shop. Crazy, eh?

We went to IKEA that day and a few more times since then.

Victory!

PS:  Casanova Foto and origin of the L95 bus
    
     Ronda de la Universitat, 35, 08007 Barcelona
     933 02 73 63

Pass it on!

Mindless Game

If he had only written a list, he wouldn't have forgotten the most important "to-do" item.

Oh, the games we play as we get older, to master memory.

No Guns Allowed

It's a sad commentary that stores in a United States major city and its suburbs are now posting NO HANDGUN signs in their entry doors.

You see, a particular state allows for the carrying of a concealed weapon for those over 21 years of age who have passed a 16 hour training course.

Anyhow, are there reasons you should own firearms? Read this one and laugh:  Simply About Guns posts 5 points about why you should own and carry a firearm.The points are self-defense, protect others, protect your country, have fun, bond with your family. Wow! I laughed so hard at this one, I almost shot my wad!

I've been inspired! Imagine this great slogan ... not great but THE BEST I EVER HEARD OR COULD EVER EVEN IMAGINE! Family fun is with a gun!

Ambiguous Punctuation

Does she say to him or does he write to say to her:

"I think we're just gonna have to be secretly in love with each other and leave it at that, Ritchie."

A shy comma makes all the difference.