This Halloween my husband and I carved a jack-o-lantern together.  This was old stuff for me, but my sweet, British hubbie had NEVER carved a pumpkin for Halloween -- EVER.

What the heck is going on with these British people that a guy can be almost 30 years old and have never carved a Halloween pumpkin?

now THAT'S scary.

I don't think this sign really needs a caption -- it pretty much hits the nail on the head.I'm glad to be hitting the rails for a little holiday in Belgium...  chocolate, chips and beer -- oh my!
Not to mention the hopelessly impossible Flemish language...

I didn't take the above photo -- I just want to say that I'm heading to Belgium in two days -- the home of fine chocolate -- so if you don't see any new content on here for a little while, I'll be back soon with new (hopefully beautiful) pictures of Bruges canals, 15th century buildings and yes, chocolate...  See you soon!

I like looking at signs in England.  Street signs, tube signs, outdoor advertising, whatever.  A lot of them are very different from their American counterparts.  This photo is of the best example I have seen thus far.  It's one of the many "exit" signs inside a tube station.  You see, in England they don't use signs that read "EXIT" to indicate where you get out of a place.  They use signs that say "WAY OUT." 

This is cute to me.  They use two words when they could easily use four letters.  It also reminds me of stereotypical hippies uttering phrases like "Far out, man" or "That's way out, dude."

Anyway, I dig these "WAY OUT" signs.  That's why this is my "Pic Of The Week."

Cheers!

I went shopping at the famed Harrod's department store today.  In case you don't already know, Harrod's is in the Knightsbridge area of London and it was opened on that exact location back in 1849.  It's the largest department store in the world (literally) and has 330 separate departments including a pet shop, a toy store and fine jewel mini-stores by the likes of Cartier, Tiffany, DeBeers and Bulgari.  The owner of the place is Mohamed Al Fayed, the father of Dodi (the man who was killed in the car crash with Princess Diana).

Anyway, Harrod's is stunning.  They have enomous food halls with entire counters dedicated to everything from beluga caviar and fresh alaskan crab claws to Swiss chocolate truffles and fresh tropical fruit. 

But the big draw for me was Harrod's "Christmas World."

See, in England there's no Thanksgiving holiday (duh) so the Christmas shopping season doesn't wait to begin on "Black Friday" like it does in the States.  In fact, the holiday season is already underway here and it's only October 5th.  It's pretty weird, but also fun to start the celebrating and shopping so early.  There was so much stuff in Christmas World that I couldn't even get a decent photo to represent it -- if that makes sense.  Not to mention there were people all around me also trying to take photos.

So, in honor of a country where the Christmas shopping season is already underway in the first week of October, this is my "Pic Of The Week."

In London when you come to a cross-walk on a street there is almost always a message painted on the ground reminding pedestrians to "LOOK RIGHT."  This does not mean that you should look presentable or proper, but rather it means to look to your right side for oncoming traffic in a country where cars drive on the left side of the roadway.

I like taking photos of random signs and words when I'm out and about.  My own tiny bit of contemporary art.  This little section of street was outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.  Since this area of the website is all about looking, I'm putting this photo here as my "Pic Of The Week."

Enjoy.

Sometimes you pass something on the street and it just makes you giggle.  This sign was one of those things.  I doubt in America a food or wine shop would be named "Booty" even if the owner's last name was Booty.  I could be wrong on this but I don't think I am.

Anyway, enjoy this shot of a silly sign.  I did.  That's why it's my "Pic Of The Week."

While waiting for a prescription at the local Boots pharmacy this past week I noticed something interesting.  It's the thing in the photo above.  Almost all of the pharmacy's available pharmaceuticals were located alphabetically in a giant rotating display mere feet from the counter where you pick up and pay for stuff. 

A drugstore cowboy's dream.  No big hold-ups, no major distractions needed, no climbing over high counters, no ransacking a dozen shelves looking for the Vicodin or codeine or good ol' amphetamines -- it's all right there in front of the customers in alpha-order a few feet from where they're standing. 

In America the drugs are hidden away on shelving behind tall white counters beyond the platform on which most pharmacists work -- far from the actual customers at the counter.

i don't really know why it's different here.  it just is.  that's why it's my "Pic Of The Week."

There's nothing especially great about this subject -- it's the interior of a tube/subway car on the Hammersmith & City Line in London.  What I dig about it is the fact that when I stepped on, the car was entirely empty.  Not a soul in sight.  If you use the tube in London you know how rare that is.  That's why it's my "Pic Of The Week."

Today is August 12th and according to weather.com it's 76 degrees in Los Angeles, California and 81 degrees in southern Maryland right now.  I am pleased to report that right now in London, England it is 62 degrees Fahrenheit -- and HAILING.

This photo may look like a blurry mess but it's the best I could do with my limited resources to capture the fact that there's a HAIL STORM outside my deck doors right now.  A hail storm can look pretty cool -- and yeah, it can sometimes be destructive -- but when it happens in the dead of summer at the end of a sunny day it's just plain awesome.

London has the most interesting August weather I've ever experienced.  It's a welcome break from the oppressive heat and humidity of American summers.  And that's why this shot of today's hail storm is my Pic Of The Week.