Category: Family
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May Your Days Be Merry and Bright!
Happy Holidays from GaryMatthews.com and my digital-art associate, Fractal Fran! More background details here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+GaryMatthews/posts/PTfX1bk2mQg
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It Happened Almost at our Door!
Knoxville school bus crash kills two students, injures many more. Tragedies hit home, especially when they involve children. Way too many of those, these days. But when one lands practically on your doorstep! Cheri and I still are reeling. What really flattened us was the way we found out about it. We’re fixing dinner in the…
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See Me on tsƫ!
See Me on Tsu! Let’s connect on the network that pays us for what we post. Seriously, Tsu — pronounced “Sue”, as in   — is a new social platform. It’s barely a week old. It’s hot. Need an invite? Use mine: http://www.tsu.co/GaryMatthewsWhen you sign up, Tsu will ask you to “enter a member’s shortcode”.…
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Introducing Fractal Fran
Say hello to Fractal Fran, my new digital art assistant and avatar. She’ll be your guide to spellbinding digital designs and fractal art (plus, perhaps, occasional photography of a more traditional nature). Large, soulful eyes. Neon turban. Green whiskers. Small, pursed lips. These and other traits mark Fran as an emissary from the Vardax home-world. Vardax…
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Charmian Matthews: “influencing, rosy” mom!
Thinking of you, Mom, this Mother’s Day. And every day! Hard to believe I’m just three years younger today than you were when you died, in 1991, at 68. Too soon! But what an impact you made — on the world, on me, on everyone who knew and loved you — in those years. Your full name was “Minnie…
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Heron Now! a magic photo moment
Not every critter associated with the Knoxville Zoo resides there in an official capacity. There’s a large gray heron I’m pretty sure nests on or around the zoo property. Apparently in the wooded buffer that surrounds the exhibits. UPDATE: More bird magic! See below for my mourning dove image capture! The heron hangs out at the Chilhowee…
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A Knoxville Springtime
With winter receding, I spring to my camera to catch the first flowers. Although Cheri and I work hard at surrounding our house with flowers, the biggest and best displays involve no work at all. They just happen, courtesy of our trees: a Bradford pear along the street, and two large apple trees at the…
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Fifty Years of Fasting
I almost didn’t notice! This year (2014) is the fiftieth year I’ve participated in the annual 19-day Fast for members of the Baha’i Faith. The milestone nearly slipped past me. The Fast spans March 2-20, and it was just yesterday — the 16th — that I did the math and realized it’s now fifty years.…
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Knoxville Snow: First of 2014
Knoxville got hit this week with its first real snow of 2014. Shutterbug that I am, I couldn’t wait to document it with photos. Here they are! UPDATE: The snowfall pictured above, the week of January 29, was followed on February 12 by a much deeper and heavier snow. For comparison: Except for the animated…
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Make Your Own Animated GIFs
Animated GIF files are the rage these days. You know, those digital photos that contain moving objects and people, not unlike the hung pictures at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter books. Here’s an example: My niece, Bella Tanguay, making her first-ever horizontal dive. She already was doing straight-down vertical dives, headfirst, but needed coaxing from…
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A Walk in the Park
Cheri and I live just a couple of blocks from Chilhowee Park, an important and historic part of Knoxville, Tennessee. It’s the site of the Tennessee Valley Fair, held every September, as well as many conventions and exhibitions. To us it’s a walk in the park: a site, that is, for exercise walking. There’s a…
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Owning Your Own (Web) Name: Why You Must Grab It NOW
If your name is still available, snap it up. Now. Please! There will never be a better time. I’m referring to your web-name. Specifically, to the Internet “domain name” that matches your “regular” name. Your “regular” name is the one by which people introduce you. For example, if your name is Ed Smith, then your…