PrettyTiny Film Company Pic-A-Week *2024*! (#18, May 4)

[fishy]

Awww he's so sweet. Good photo.

[davidd]

I could go off on a ranty tangent... about the Current Administration trying to ban gas appliances; now it makes more sense when looked at from an off-grid, social-control perspective. And about cash giving way to cards... and inevitably, to government-controlled digital currency. And even about having to order and pay for fast food through a friggin' app. I guess the days of functioning in society without having a phone are done and gone. The Mark of the Beast is upon us, and it is the Mobile Device.

But instead of a rant, I'll go all d'awwww over the cute pic of Sunsette and her new kitty friend! Because it's a d'awww-worthy scene! No wonder you're not ready to go home.

Did it take Kitty long to get used to you? He seems to have completely accepted you at this point. I guess you'll have to stay!

[Alliecat]

I wonder how people without smart phones manage anymore. Several of the attractions I visited required you to buy tickets online in advance. A couple of times I did, but elsewhere I also called and got them to confirm you could still get admission at the door. Also some charge more for walk-ups and on-site parking.
Now that we don’t have a bank you “have” to do online banking. I don’t know how some seniors manage! Or those who can’t afford the outrageous Internet rates.  Next thing is we are getting “smart” power meters. I have a list of questions to take to the public meeting. Have to decide whether I want to try to opt out. People who have them claim their bills went up a lot.

Nope, I would happily have not come home. My neighbourhood has immediately continued demonstrating how gonetohell it is. I could stand it for a while if I had a plan of where to go. But nothing has worked out.

Tipsy was very friendly right away and is pretty good with strangers I guess. I offered to play ball with him shortly after I got there and he was in my lap in no time. He is such a dear soul!
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Thank you to fishy for the outfit.

[fishy]

Glad you like it!

[davidd]

Super cute outfit! I love those shoes!

I also love the nicely stained woodwork in the background. All my porches and decks and stairs need serious attention, but paint and stain has become prohibitively eggspensive.

I don't understand how everyone manages to pay for mobile phones and internet connectivity. Even homeless people are shuffling around staring at their phones. How do I get a plan that even a destitute person can afford?

And... charging more for paying in person rather than making a reservation online? What kind of sick messed-up world are we living in? Sometimes (often) I long for the long-threatened EMP - Electro Magnetic Pulse - attack that will supposedly wipe out electronic communication systems. Or a ginormous solar flare to throw things in to a tizzy. I am going to laugh when it happens. But it won't happen. That's all a bunch of fear-mongering hype.

[Alliecat]

LOL, the "nicely stained woodwork". It's just your basic brown pressure-treated from quite a few years ago. The colour has leached out horribly. I wonder how many chemicals have gone into the ground (and my water). Have to take out a mat to sit on if I need to sit on it, after ending up with orange shorts the first time I did it. I should waterproof it again, but, it's a big job and at the moment I feel a bit whybother about further fixing that doesn't HAVE to be done.


Sara & Celeste had a photoshoot this week. More to come. I've made more work for myself sorting more photos, in a week where I am still trying to dig out from the post-trip blahs, write deadline articles and do income tax. Feh.

[fishy]

LOL, the "nicely stained woodwork".  It's just your basic brown pressure-treated from quite a few years ago.  The colour has leached out horribly.  I wonder how many chemicals have gone into the ground (and my water).  Have to take out a mat to sit on if I need to sit on it, after ending up with orange shorts the first time I did it.  I should waterproof it again, but, it's a big job and at the moment I feel a bit whybother about further fixing that doesn't HAVE to be done.


Sara & Celeste had a photoshoot this week.  More to come.  I've made more work for myself sorting more photos, in a week where I am still trying to dig out from the post-trip blahs, write deadline articles and do income tax.  Feh.

That looks so chill.

Oh, to be in the woodland listening to music...

[davidd]

What a lovely Hawaiian scene! This looks like it could be on the Big Island, or perhaps at a higher elevation on Maui where the nēnē geese live.

Excellent costuming and posing. Is Celeste the pinkish-blonde? Her hat even looks like the hat worn by island icon Hilo Hattie back in the day.

Ahhh... I'm so homesick now. Because, after 16 years there, I decided that da North Shore was my real home.

You know da kine: what'd you spend there, a year? And yet Hawaii is in your blood and calls to you still.

[Alliecat]

Yeah… Being in the woods listening to music – or just the sounds of nature and not trucks and ATVs – would be wonderful
You know, I never even thought of this as feeling Hawaiian, but I see the Hilo Hattie likeness now. Yes, Celeste is the strawberry blonde. I only spent 15 weeks there the first time and three the second. That was enough to fall in love with all things Hawaiian.  >siggghhh< 
I gather that I would not be eligible to move to the states, even if it was financially feasible.  I don’t think they even let foreigners buy land in Hawai’i now anyway, do they?


I never cheat on pic-a-week with phone pics, but I am in a bit of a state of overwhelm here. And I’m so bummed that I didn’t manage to get a Star Wars Day photo done. So Mariya saves the day at midnight with a badly lit snapshot. At least I have 5 pretty amaryllis flowers to enjoy.

[davidd]

I don’t think they even let foreigners buy land in Hawai’i now anyway, do they?


At least I have 5 pretty amaryllis flowers to enjoy.

The amaryllis are lovely, and rather than putting me in a Christmas mood, they have me... missing Hawaii. One year I planted post-bloom amaryllis plants outside in a planter box when I lived in Hawaii. The plants did fine, but they didn't bloom again... until snails ate the greenery down to the ground. I figured that was that. Instead, after being devoured, fresh shoots popped up followed by a flower stalk. So there's an interesting amaryllis factoid: rather than a cool snap, they will also flower, eventually, after being chewed down to nothing by marauding snails!

When I lived in Hawaii, most of the property was owned by Japanese nationals, particularly the valuable downtown property. Now, my understanding is that much of Hawaii is owned by Chinese nationals.

I have not heard of foreign nationals being banned from owning property in Hawaii, or in any state. China residents are buying up everything, everywhere, in many of the states. According to this website (updated this past March), it is a relatively straightforward process for Canadians to purchase property in Hawaii:
https://www.mtfxgroup.com/post/guide-for...in-hawaii/

Why can't you move to the States? The government is planning to bring in terrorists from Palestine at takspayer ekspense. So I guess you gotta start chanting "Death to America" and maybe go blow up some stuff and you'll get an all-ekspense paid invitation.