Rare Disease Awareness Day 2020

IMAGE CREDIT

Today is Rare Disease Awareness Day and as a way of paying homage to it, I've posted a "promo" image atop this entry.

This annual "holiday" was initially brought to my attention (through a 2018 Facebook posting by my acquaintance (Catherine C) and I blogged about it at time stating:

According to a number of sources, including NORD (The National Association for Rare Disorders), "In the U.S., any disease affecting fewer than 200,000 people is considered rare. This definition comes from the Orphan Drug Act of 1983 and is slightly different from the definition used in Europe. There are more than 7,000 rare diseases affecting 25-30 million Americans. In other words, one in ten Americans are suffering from rare diseases and more than half of them are children."

The End of the First Week in 2019

Since this evening marks the end of the first week in this new year of 2019, I'd like to tell you that someone from the FB Chat Team re fundraising has made me aware (this afternoon) of how I could post an update to my personal fundraiser.

Monday's Musings: Remembering 2018

IMAGE CREDIT

Earlier today I published an entry here on Blogger which discusses that it now The Seventh day of Christmas.

Since it is also the last day of 2018, here's an entry looking back over the year that is ending and looking forward to a new one beginning. As you can see from the cartoon (by Charles Schultz), atop this entry, Linus is doing the same thing.

Throwback Thursday: "LIFE CAN'T WAIT" (Today's my video's one year anniversary.)

VIEW ON VIMEO
VIEW ON YOU TUBE

As of this blog entry, we only have ten more days left in the month of May, which happens to be known as Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month. I was born with this horrific condition and have attempted to raise awareness about it through postings here on Blogger as well as in my presentations (speaking engagements) including one I gave in December of 2018 at NYSEC (The New York Society for Ethical Culture).

Moreover, I've written a book, Imperfect Strangers, about living with Neurofibromatosis (NF) and today marks my one year anniversary of posting my video (the cover for it is posted atop this entry) about the book.

Mandarin Mania Continues (Saturday's Sequel)

MY PHOTOS OF THE MANDARIN ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE VIA FAA

MY PHOTOS OF THE MANDARIN ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE VIA FAA

MY PHOTOS OF THE MANDARIN ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE VIA FAA

In one of yesterday's entries here on Blogger, I featured a few of my photographs of the "famous" Mandarin duck who has been spending a lot of time by himself in Central Park (CP) since October of 2018. Because it was Single Awareness Day, I spoke about this duck's "willingness" to not have a mate/partner/significant other. After publishing that post, I was able to take a walk in CP.

Much to my joy, I came upon the Mandarin again (he was in The Pond near 59th/60th) and I was able to take more photos of him that highlight his other physical attributes. A few of my images are featured atop this entry.

Feeling like a Fiscal Fiasco

The clip atop this entry is from the movie, Bye Bye Birdie, and it should've been what I posted yesterday (Tuesday June 12th) since that was the day for another segment of my Tuesday's Truths series!

However, I was unable to post on Blogger yesterday as I was preoccupied with a "dress rehearsal" for an upcoming presentation that I will be making. But, as I've announced in a prior entry here on Blogger, my publishing posts with the regularity, which has been my custom, had to be scaled back due to a variety of circumstances, this upcoming presentation is one of them.

The reason I mention that I should've posted this clip in my Tuesday's Truth series is because the truth is that I'm feeling like a "fiscal fiasco!" This was apparently also the case with one of the movie's lead characters, Albert (played by Dick Van Dyke).

Albert was labeled a "fiscal fiasco" by his accountant and he agreed.  Moreover, Albert was mortified that he hadn't sold any songs (which he'd composed) in six years.

Unfortunately, I relate to that. I've poured all my available monies into dental procedures (literally putting my money where my mouth is) and am not at a point of any making profit (and have invested quite a bit) on my Words In Our Beak book series. At this point, I hope I can hang on to my home!

Rare Disease Awareness Day 2019

It was brought to my attention (through a Facebook posting) yesterday by my acquaintance (Catherine C) that Rare Disease Day is being observed on February 28th this year.

According to a number of sources, including NORD (The National Association for Rare Disorders), "In the U.S., any disease affecting fewer than 200,000 people is considered rare. This definition comes from the Orphan Drug Act of 1983 and is slightly different from the definition used in Europe. There are more than 7,000 rare diseases affecting 25-30 million Americans. In other words, one in ten Americans are suffering from rare diseases and more than half of them are children."

She advocates for this cause due to the fact daughter has a rare disease (Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome AKA Fibro-Adipose Vascular Anomaly OR Kawasaki Disease). As it happens, before I saw Catherine's posting, I had a very unpleasant experience re my rare disease (Neurofibromatosis).

October 1st 2018

St. Thérèse de Lisieux

Another October 1st is upon us and as always the day honors St. Thérèse de Lisieux, a saint whose framed photo (seen in the image directly above) hangs above my desk. As I've mentioned a number of times here on Blogger, including an entry I made in 2011, I moved into my apartment on her feast day in 1992.

Many of my years here have not been easy, with health-related issues frequently interrupting my work. But I'm hoping for some success with my endeavors (selling my photo-art, kaleidoscopic, as well as fauna-based) which I have had uploaded to my gallery pages on Fine Art America, and/or my booking presentations that feature issues related to my Words In Our Beak book series) will alleviate some of my financial burden.

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of spending part of my "Saturday in the Park," with Jenny (one of Cam 's biggest fans who is also an advocate for us being given an event at a bookstore on the UWS).

Monday Musings: ON BEING AN ODD DUCK ETC

Yesterday morning I got the notification via a tweet from from Manhattan Bird Alert  which stated
"The MANDARIN DUCK and his reflection, continuing this Sunday at the Central Park Pond (60th and Fifth)" and upon reading it I made my way over to that area of CP.

However, when I arrived the Mandarin duck was no where to be seen, but The Pond, was being used by a number of other ducks, including male Wood ducks, such as the one seen in my photograph atop this entry.

. . . and so now we've got to say goodbye TO the summer . . .

The title ". . .  and so we've got to say goodbye TO the summer", for today's blog post, is not a misprint, for I am well aware of the Brian Hyland lyrics, to the "Bobby Vinton classic", Sealed With A Kiss, are, " . . . and so we've got to say goodbye FOR the summer"; however, since today is the second day of autumn and the last Saturday of September, it seems appropriate to put a spin on the lyrics.

Perhaps, my tendency to put a spin on lyrics comes from my departed father who often did this with a number of songs as discussed in a previous post which you may refer to by clicking here. 

His "spin" on Hyland's song was, ". . . and so we've got to say goodbye to the plumber."

"Busy, busy as a bee" — My Bees and Me: Canterbury Tales in my Terrace Garden

As you can see, the bees that are in all of the photographs featured within this blog post are, as the saying goes,"busy as a bee". The origin of the common simile "busy as a bee" is thought to be from Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, (specifically The Merchant's Tale) written in the late 1380s. 

It's Ditch New Years Resolutions Day + MORE!

According to a web- page on Holiday Insights (HI) "If there's a day to celebrate New Years and to make resolutions for the upcoming year, then there should be a day to ditch those resolutions. That's the reason for today [January 17th]."

HI goes on to proclaim "If you haven't broken or given up all of those New Year's resolutions, you're doing better than most of us. Maybe, you're well along the way to accomplishing them. Maybe, a few are already checked off on your list. Good for you! For many of us, New Years resolutions are hanging heavily over our heads. They have become a burden, and perhaps were not such a good idea after all. Then...... of course, there's the New Years resolutions that have already been broken. If you haven't accomplished, broken, or given up your New Year's resolutions, today is your chance to get out from under them."

So in honor of this holiday, I've posted a comic strip of Dilbert as well as a cartoon by Bill Whitehead atop this entry as they "address" the making of New Years resolutions.

I guess ditching New Years resolutions won't be on my to-do list today because I didn't make any, which has been my standard for a number of years now. I confessed this in a 2011 blog post, where I stated, "It's not that I don't have resolutions to make: I have bills to pay, a temper to monitor, faith that feels watered down and it needs building up, and the habit of swearing that needs to be stopped immediately.

It's the first year anniversary for volume one! Poignant Omissions Strike Again (almost)!

Image Credit

This morning when I called my publisher to see if they were able to resolve the issues re the errors that showed up in my copy of the third and final volume of my book series, Words In Our Beak a customer service representative let me know that I should hear back from someone by the end of today.

While we were on the phone, she pointed out that it was one year ago today, October 5, 2017, that volume one of the Words In Our Beak  hardcover version was made available to book sellers and book buyers.

SEE PRESS RELEASE

So many things have been going wrong for me with family relationships, health issues, and financial issues, that I hadn't realized this fact, which seems like a "poignant omission" on my part. This caused me to think of an essay (that I've referenced in a 2010 post here on Blogger) by Joan Didion.

Saturday's Sentiment Birds Watching

As you can see, The Mutts comic strip seen directly above, is created by Patrick McDonnell, whose strips have been discussed in many of my blog posts.

In fact, I've referenced this particular one in prior entries and it came to my mind again today as I was culling  photos that I've taken in bygone years in order to prepare for a new opportunity.

"Time is fun when you are having flies."

Happy First Saturday of November, dear reader, from the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where I live, and where extra preparations are still under way for the New York City Marathon, an annual world-famous event which takes place the first Sunday of November. It is an exciting time for many; however, it is a bittersweet time for Lucifer, my rhinestone frog, who is the little creature featured in the image posted above todays blog entry.

Mallards Doing the Otis Redding Thing (Tuesday's Truths WK 116)

In yesterday's post here on Blogger, all but one of the bird types included were ones I'd seen when in Central Park this past Sunday.

The birds in the photograph atop this posting (mostly Mallards) are ones I saw the Saturday prior to that when I was walking along the portion of The Greenway (on the UWS) which is parallel to the Hudson River.

February First

I confess that I feel that I don't have much to offer re the onset of February in this year of 2019 except to reiterate what Snoopy has to say re the date of 2-1 (in the comic strip that I've posted atop this blog entry). What I can do, dear reader, is to remind you that February is National Bird-Feeding Month.

In Honor of Therese de Lisieux's Birthday

On this day of January 2nd in 1873, St. Thérèse de Lisieux, was born and in honor of this fact, I've posted the video atop today's entry.

I confess that I've just now remembered this fact as I've always associated the date of October 1st with her, because that is the Feast Day of St. Thérèse de Lisieux.

I moved to my apartment on her Feast Day in 1992 and have a picture of her above my desk and my keychain is a medal upon which her image is imprinted.

Friday Follow Up: My Event at NYSEC

Just a quick follow-up for my well wishers re the speaking engagement (about birds and related issues) that I had this past Monday (11-26) at the New York Society for Ethical  Culture (NYSEC):

JG, the wonderful man who has been rehearsing my presentation with me for several weeks made himself available for a quick run through of my talk with slide show and to help me schlep some volumes of my Words In Our Beak series to the event, which was beyond helpful, since torrents of rain happened to be falling and I already had to carry my computer and other equipment.

Moreover,  he surprised me with a "bouquet" of Paper Whites, which can be seen in the photo atop this entry.

National Peanut Day 2021

According to many holiday-themed web-sites, today is National Peanut Day. Over the years I've published posts on this blog about this event, so if you'd like to learn about it, please refernce them by clicking here.

On this National Peanut Day, I'm pleased to announce that I've complied a number of my photographs that feature various bird types who are enjoying peanuts I offer in a wreath style  feeder (which is in my garden), and I've created photo-comic strips.

Photo-comics, they are a means of sequential storytelling that use photographs rather than illustrations. The inspiration comes from photo-novels, also known as fumetti. They are popular in Italy and Latin America.

An example of one of my strips can can be seen in the image atop this entry. The bird type "show cased" in this image is a male House finch.

He (along with over twenty types of avian creatures) is included within my three volume hard cover book series, Words In Our Beak.

The goal of these books is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden (mine) in New York City, my story is told in the voice of Cam, a female cardinal, who visits it. Words In Our Beak is directed to children and adults who are curious about birds, and want to learn about them from a unique perspective.

This series has received rave reviews and prior to the cornavirus pandemic, I was able to make public presentations (based on my books's content) at prominent institutions.

Hopefully now that restrictions are being lifted, I will have the opportunity to do that again but during the imposed hiatus preventing that type of assignment, I created my photo-comics. They feature a number of birds participating in a variety of activities and they are now complied into a digital, interactive book titled BIRD TALES.

It is dedicated to all birds and everyone who loves them. An interactive book for people of all ages to enjoy together and is now available via Apple Books.