Stories, like people and butterflies and songbirds’ eggs and human hearts and dreams, are also fragile things, made up of nothing stronger or more lasting than twenty-six letters and a handful of punctuation marks. Or they are words on the air, composed of sounds and ideas-abstract, invisible, gone once they’ve been spoken-and what could be more frail than that? But some stories, small, simple ones about setting out on adventures or people doing wonders, tales of miracles and monsters, have outlasted all the people who told them, and some of them have outlasted the lands in which they were created.
― Neil Gaiman, Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the original photo used to create this image. It turns out my front yard is the perfect breeding ground for mushrooms… No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

 

 

When you make music or write or create, it’s really your job to have mind-blowing, irresponsible, condomless sex with whatever idea it is you’re writing about at the time.
― Lady Gaga

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the original photo used to create this image. I stumbled across these bizarre flowers while taking a walk around my hotel on a July trip to Shawsville, VA to visit family. No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about.
― John Steinbeck, East of Eden

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the original photo used to create this image. I saw this beauty of a sunset on my way home from work and actually pulled over, got out, walked two blocks and crossed a bridge to take this pic. Ah, the sacrifices I make for my art… No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

I believe that you have the absolute right to think things that I find offensive, stupid, preposterous or dangerous, and that you have the right to speak, write, or distribute these things, and that I do not have the right to kill you, maim you, hurt you, or take away your liberty or property because I find your ideas threatening or insulting or downright disgusting. You probably think some of my ideas are pretty vile too.
― Neil Gaiman, The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the original photo used to create this image. It turns out my front yard is the perfect breeding ground for mushrooms… No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

Don’t let the expectations and opinions of other people affect your decisions. It’s your life, not theirs. Do what matters most to you; do what makes you feel alive and happy. Don’t let the expectations and ideas of others limit who you are. If you let others tell you who you are, you are living their reality — not yours. There is more to life than pleasing people. There is much more to life than following others’ prescribed path. There is so much more to life than what you experience right now. You need to decide who you are for yourself. Become a whole being. Adventure.
― Roy T. Bennett

 

 

 

 

Below is the original photo used to create this image. I visited a local-ish winery, Saude Creek, located in Lanexa, VA. Their late-summer landscaping was in full bloom and I probably took way too many photos of the lush foliage and flowers including these Black-eyed-Susans. Oh, and the wine was good too… No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.