Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

“In this country American means white. everybody else has to hyphenate.”

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Trump should be leading, not lying.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

Keep the Immigrants and deport the fascists!

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Respite / Taking a Break from the News

Taking a Break from the News

by | 39 Comments

This post is in: , ,

In case anyone wants to take a break from the news, here are all the sidebar images from April.

In no particular order.  Click on any image to see it in full-size.

Just enjoy the beauty, or chime in with thoughts about a daily image in the sidebar.

Open thread.

On The Road - Albatrossity - The Chiricahuas week 3 5
Image by Albatrossity (4/20/25)
4 Sidebar Photos – April 2025
Image by HinTN (4/2/25)
On The Road - lashoharangue - Botswana - Makgadikgadi Pans National Park 2
Image by lashoharangue (4/1/25)
First Night: Home Sweet Home!
Image by MomSense (4/3/25)

On The Road - Munira - Sunrise, Sunset 5
Image by Munira (4/4/25)
On The Road - Munira - Sunrise, Sunset 7
Image by Munira (4/6/25)
On The Road - lashonharangue - Mayan Ruins and the Sacred Monkey River [4 of 4] 4
Image by lashonharangue (4/5/25)
On The Road - lashonharangue - Mayan Ruins and the Sacred Monkey River [2 of 4] 8
Image by lashonharangue (4/8/25)
On The Road - Elma - Eclipse Trip 4
Image by Elma (4/9/25)
On The Road - Albatrossity - Spring migration begins 7
Image by Albatrossity (4/7/25)
On The Road - JAFD - Cherry Blossoms of Newark, part 3 4
Image by JAFD (4/12/25)
On The Road - JAFD - Cherry Blossoms of Newark, part 2 2
Image by JAFD (4/13/25)
On The Road - Albatrossity - Serengeti Day 2, Round 2 4
Image by Albatrossity (4/18/25)
On The Road - ema - City Blooms and Solidarity Ducks 2
Image by ema (4/10/25)
On The Road - Albatrossity - Serengeti - day 1 5
Image by Albatrossity (4/17/25)
On The Road - way2blue - Fjords of Tierra del Fuego March 2023 1
Image by way2blue (4/14/25)
On The Road - way2blue - Fjords of Tierra del Fuego March 2023 2
Image by way2blue (4/16/25)
On The Road - Munira - On the Haiku Road – The Natural Elements 7
Image by Munira (4/15/25)
On The Road - Dangerman - Point Sur Lighthouse (And Whale Watching, Wildflowers. and a Random Lighthouse Story) 9
Image by Dangerman (4/19/25)
On The Road - Albatrossity - Spring 2023 in Flyover Country - week 2 4
Image by Albatrossity (4/11/25)
Image by Raven (4/21/25)
On The Road - Albatrossity - Spring 2022 in Flyover Country - Week 2 4
Image by Albatrossity (4/27/25)
On The Road - JanieM - Home and Away - Maine #7
Image by JanieM (4/22/25)
On The Road - Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!) - Turneffe Flats Resort, Turneffe Atoll, Belize 2
Image by Mike S (4/23/25)
On The Road - Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!) - Turneffe Flats Resort, Turneffe Atoll, Belize 3
Image by Mike S (4/24/25)
On The Road - Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!) - Turneffe Flats Resort, Turneffe Atoll, Belize 4
Image by Mike S (4/25/25)
On The Road - ema - Water For WaterGirl
Image by ema (4/26/25)
On The Road - frosty - Channel Islands National Park
Image by frosty’s friend John (4/28/25)
On The Road - For Alain - Fly Away Home 34
Image by skybluepink (4/29/25)
On The Road - For Alain - Fly Away Home 6
Image by Frank West (4/30/25)

Reader Interactions

39Comments

  2. 2.

    WaterGirl

    @frosty:  I wish I could remember whose idea it was, but I was willing to try it.  Bonus, It’s probably good for my mental health to scroll through the Media library choosing beautiful photos. :-)

    When I pulled up all the photos for April, I was kind of shocked to see how well they all went together when viewed as a set for the top image of the April collection.

  3. 3.

    SiubhanDuinne

    They are all beautiful photos. But I must admit, seeing all 30 arrayed in a thumbnail grid has me searching for traffic lights and taxis to prove I’m not a robot.

  10. 10.

    NutmegAgain

    Just beautiful. And I bet I’m not alone in finding solace in animal images these days.

  11. 11.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    @SiubhanDuinne: But I must admit, seeing all 30 arrayed in a thumbnail grid has me searching for traffic lights and taxis to prove I’m not a robot.

    I had the same reaction.

  12. 12.

    Rusty

    In a previous job, a couple of afternoons a week I would brew up two French presses of coffee and invite some of my colleagues to my office.  We would have an afternoon break for 10 or 15 minutes, you could talk about anything but work.  I called it our moment of civility.   I think of this post as a moment of civility.  Thank you.

  14. 14.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @WaterGirl:

    Wow! I think there are only two photos in the entire lot that don’t show one of those three things! Three, if you include windshield raindrops as “water.”

  15. 15.

    WaterGirl

    @SiubhanDuinne: Trees would be another one!

    At least they don’t get too complicated – all the images that have trees but not water!  etc  :-)

  16. 16.

    Jeffro

    beautiful pics – thanks WG!

    I am trying to motivate myself to do some work and it’s not happening.  OH WELL!

    Here’s a good non-political, non-news piece for everyone to lol at: the 30 most “CD album” albums of all time.

    Buying CDs, aside from eating and sleeping, is the one thing I have done consistently for the past 33 years. I bought CDs when everybody in the world was forced to buy CDs to hear music. And I bought CDs when I was among a small number of physical-media enthusiasts (you might refer to us as “freaks”) who pursued this hobby (is that the right word?) by choice. I am a dedicated fan of the format. I think they sound good. I think they look good. I enjoy the experience of shopping for them. And my feelings about these things have only grown fonder as CD collecting has become a niche pursuit.

    One could argue my life-long obsession has been pointless. But that one person would be wrong. Because it’s all been leading up to this very column, on the most “CD album” albums ever.

    The idea is to talk about albums that are best suited for the CD format. In the same way that certain albums are best suited for vinyl, and no albums are ideal for streaming, some albums are meant to be heard on compact disc

    Dookie on vinyl? Jim [Gandolfini], I know you have been dead for 11 years now, but what are we doing here? Dookie is not an album you play on vinyl. Everybody knows that Dookie is an album you play ON COMPACT DISC!

    I know it’s possible to play Dookie on vinyl. You can purchase it on “baby blue” vinyl, apparently. Or, if you really feel like being swindled, you can play it on five different pieces of regular vinyl, courtesy of the 30th anniversary box set. But if you do this — I mean this respectfully — you are a sucker who has been brainwashed by the out-of-control, money-drunk vinyl industry.

     

    the author even later explains why Kenny G sold so many CDs back in the day:

    The compact disc is a physical object. It is designed to play music. But it also is something that can be wrapped, placed in an attractive bag, or in some other way presented by one person to another. It is a tangible manifestation of how capitalism is used to demonstrate one’s personal affection for a friend or family member. Actually, in the case of Kenny G, a CD was perfect only for a family member, specifically an aunt or grandparent, who was otherwise impossible to shop for.

    That is why Kenny G flourished — his CDs were no-brainer gifts for relatives with no discernible interests or hobbies. It didn’t matter if the relative in question normally “wasn’t into jazz.” Kenny G wasn’t really jazz anyway. His CD was an object you could wrap or place in an attractive bag, and that’s what mattered.

    have a fun Friday peeps ;)

  18. 18.

    H.E.Wolf

    Thanks for posting these monthly collections. April’s images have a distinct color palate! Very serene and springlike.

  19. 19.

    SkyBluePink

    Wonderful sky images! But maybe I’m just partial.

    All pics provide needed respite….

  20. 20.

    stinger

    I love the daily sidebar photos. I’d much rather look at giraffes and hummingbirds and water scenes than at Stephen Miller or Elon and the Felon.

    Viewing the April cluster as a whole, the soft blues and greens and pinks are soothing and refreshing. What humans evolved looking at. Makes me wonder why “primary colors” are a thing, especially for children’s bedrooms.

  23. 23.

    SkyBluePink

    PS- Love todays pic, WaterGirl.  Blue iris are my favorites. (Well, maybe blues and pinks)

  29. 29.

    Joy in FL

    I love seeing all the photos in a convenient group. They’re so beautiful. Thanks to all who contributed to the array.

  31. 31.

    eclare

    I love all of the photos, and this is a wonderful feature, but 4/2 intrigues me.  Do you remember where this was from?

    Storms moving through Memphis, but not bad, just gentle boomers.

  32. 32.

    WaterGirl

    @eclare:  Most of these are from On the Road posts, but that one was sent to me by email from HinTN.  You’ll have to catch him in the comments at some point and ask him.

  33. 33.

    There go two miscreants

    I too find the sidebar images very soothing. Thank you for posting them!

  34. 34.

    HinTN

    @eclare: @WaterGirl:

    That’s the Grand Canyon from the South Rim but well east of the village. I’m remembering that it was actually in an OTR from long ago.

  38. 38.

    Miki

    Wow. That worked for me. Thanks to all the photographers and to WG for putting this post together.

  39. 39.

    something fabulous

    These are so great all together as a clowder :)! I also am especially fond of the giraffes: I love how their expressions are so often of kindly concern.

Comments are closed.