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Forested hills slope down to the banks of the mighty Mississippi River at Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa. The yellow leaves of maple trees are catching the sunlight, providing a lovely and soothing atmosphere for hikers, anglers, kayakers and photographers. Other autumn visitors include thousands of migrating birds pausing at the refuge as they make their way south. Photo by Jessica Bolser, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Wijdewormer, Netherlands (by monique anrochte)

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Chateau de Neuchatel, Switzerland (by Rogg4n)

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Happy National Bison Day! Our national mammal is a shaggy symbol of strength and resilience. Public lands managed by Interior support 17 bison herds – or approximately 10,000 bison – in 12 states, including Alaska. Check out more interesting facts about bison: http://on.doi.gov/1Oc7VXg Photo of a bison at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming by Jacob W. Frank, National Park Service.

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Steinweg, Germany by Momentum Dash Via Flickr: Photo by Unknown. © CC0.

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Jéghideg arany by Lwp Kommunikáció Via Flickr: A view from Base Camp, Storo Island, Greenland.

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Yukon, Canada by Momentum Dash Via Flickr: Photo by Kalen Emsley. © CC0.

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_DSC6559 by Giuseppe Cocchieri

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Hüttendorf, Austria by Momentum Dash Via Flickr: Photo by Dome Laci. �� CC0. yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/photos/7238533/

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Munnar, India by Momentum Dash Via Flickr: Photo by Bhupesh Talwar. © CC0.

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Hanauma Bay, HI, USA Photo by Viktor Elizarov

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Reblogging this because it made me laugh so much 😂

My favourite parts are:

"A watermelon interviewing a water melon"

"Yeri doesn't want to be jam anymore"

Ahhhh hahahahahahahahaha

Red Velvet’s Red Flavor MV (Music Video Analysis)

The views presented in this analysis are a part of my own individual interpretation of the video, which means they are subject to error. This post is based off of the MV from the SMTOWN Youtube channel. The video is very quirky and I’ve been kind of disconnected from the fandom lately, so if the members mention anything about the meaning of the video, please go again and message me. 

Fruit: So, Red Velvet has come back with a rather…unique concept. Each girl has been assigned a different fruit based on their color: Irene is watermelon, Yeri is grape, Seulgi is pineapple, Joy is kiwi, and Wendy is orange (why couldn’t they have just made Wendy blueberry?). The song is called Red Flavor, so it makes sense to assign them each a fruit that would give them a specific flavor. But that doesn’t explain why each member is interviewing a fruit version of themselves…my theory is that the video is a coming of age story. The most important thing about fruit is that it has to be ripe for it to reach its best flavor point. As the girls age and mature, they “ripen” and reach an age where they can enjoy the sweetest part of life. 

The video includes scenes where the members are interviewing their respective fruits. It appears like a newscast, with ticker tape, and a different member translating in sign language. 

The ticker tape reads: I wasn’t that sweet when I was young. As I grew, I became full and ripe. 

Later, the video switches things around, having the kiwi interview Joy instead. 

Or a watermelon interviewing a watermelon.

And then finally reveals multiple versions of Seulgi interviewing herself, and even running the production. As they interview the fruit, they are really interviewing themselves. The surreality of fruit interviews and multiple Seulgis can be attributed to an almost subconscious state. Rather than literally interviewing fruit, each member is figuratively reflecting on their past selves, reflecting on their own stories, their youth, and their current lives. 

Keep in mind the subject matter of the ticker tape interviews. 

I wasn’t that sweet when I was young. As I grew, I became full and ripe.

Back when I was a child, I wasn’t tough like this, I was very weak. 

That I have to say goodbye to my friends.

I used to dream of becoming jam when I grew up. 

During my childhood, I was very mischievous.

(I wanted to be) Ice cream!

Sometimes I’m not even sure who I am.

As an only child, I always used to play alone. 

I haven’t included everything, but the things included in the interview show a reflection on childhood emotions and aspirations, and a comparison to current life. As children they faced hardships, like having to part with friends. They experienced weakness and loneliness. They dreamed of becoming things like jam and ice cream in accordance to the fruit theme, showing somewhat unrealistic aspirations for the future. As they grew and matured, they could become strong and “full and ripe,” but they might still experience issues of identity, as with Yeri’s interview line: Sometimes I’m not even sure who I am. This reflects the transition from childhood to young adulthood.  

We see a childhood photo of one of the members. I have no idea who it is or if it’s even an actual childhood photo, but it’s shown during Irene’s clip so for the purpose of this post I’m going to say it’s Irene’s childhood photo. The childhood photo explicitly introduces the comparison of youth. 

A few seconds after the shot of baby Irene, we see a little sprout being watered. 

And then immediately after we get a shot of a child being rained upon. The juxtaposition of the childhood photo, the growing plant, and the child all show the connection between growing fruit and growing children. 

A couple seconds later we get a shot of a giant orange tree, in contrast to the small sprout. Again, there’s contrast between youth and maturation. 

Then we see Irene recreating a childhood photo. 

And Seulgi dressed as a school girl being reprimanded for her hairstyle. The ticker tape reads: I always got reprimanded in school for having inappropriate hair styles. 

In reflecting upon their childhood, they imagine their present selves in that childhood context. Even though they act as they did when they were children, we know there’s something off with someone Seulgi’s age being reprimanded like a school child. In reliving their childhood memories, it only serves to show how much they’ve really grown and matured. We know that Seulgi won’t be chastised anymore for her hair, just like we know that Irene doesn’t wear her hair in watermelon pigtails and that Yeri doesn’t want to be jam anymore. 

The coloring book pages and 100% grade also reflect childhood. 

We see Wendy dressed in a cap and gown while playing on a skateboard. It’s a mix of childlike playfulness with young adult themes like graduation. This reflects the meeting of a childlike attitude with their current state of maturity in young adulthood as they move from one phase of life to another. 

Throughout the video, the fruit is being picked, put into baskets, and having stickers put onto them. The fruit is being removed from their place of growth to be shipped out. The fruit is ripe and ready for consumption. 

Just as the members are themselves reaching a stage in life where they can reflect on their childhood and still look forward to what is to come. They have reached the sweetest part of life. They’re ripe and ready to face the world that is to come. The adult-like nature of the party reflects this coming adulthood, as well. (Also, the little patches on Wendy’s dress are grocery store bags…like for fruit.)

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Yosemite by Daniel Jongen Via Flickr: Olympus digital camera

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Turin, Italy by Momentum Dash Via Flickr: Photo by Splitshire. © CC0.

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Moraine Lake, Alberta by Momentum Dash Via Flickr: Photo by Orrin Hancock. © All rights reserved.

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The Infinity of China by Trey Ratcliff Via Flickr: Here is a new photo I really love. It was taken in the old city of Li Jiang, China when I last visited there. I did not get a chance to work on it until just recently. In fact, I love it so much, you can probably see it up there on The Arcanum website behind some of that parallax scrolling text. I like the idea of this kind of Chinese infinity, the repetition, the slight variations on a constant theme. It all kind of came together in this scene. - Trey Ratcliff Click here to read the rest of this entry at the Stuck in Customs blog.

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Grote Markt, Brussels (by aliffc3)