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Welcome everyone to the site's 23rd summer, and a warm "thank you" to all who keep visiting the site year after year! For those of you who have been with the site for a while, you know that there are two phases to the site: the Fall/Winter/ Spring version, posted from October through May, and the Summer version, which is here now through September. Things change a little bit each year, but you can always click the links on the calendar on the home page to reach the concert listings. This year's theme is "Things Aren't Always Black and White: Nature in a Different Light." It is explained a bit more below. Also, one additional feature is included on the site, initially posted in conjunction with the website book. All past summer sites from 2003 to 2013 which were covered in the book were recoded and reposted. They can be accessed from the Website Book page. The links for the 2014 through 2024 summer versions of the site (the site was Facebook only in 2016, and there were no expanded editions of the site in 2020/21 due to Covid) also can be found on that page. Those willing to help keep the site going can always help by making a purchase at the Cafe Press online storefront, "dorothyswebshop" or donate using the PayPal link on the News page. Your purchases and donations are much appreciated! If you'd like to know more about www.dorothyswebsite.org, you can find information here on the site's history and features here. You can reach any of the four sections below by clicking the links, or continue scrolling down the page.
2025 THEME: THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS BLACK AND WHITE: NATURE IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT"
2025 THEME: "THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS BLACK AND WHITE: NATURE IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT" Over the last couple of years I have been experimenting with infrared photography, or photography which captures the infrared spectrum of light (just beyond what the eye can see). To some people the pictures may look like normal black and white photos, but if you look carefully you can notice the difference. In the first set of two photos below, a scene from the Japanese garden at the Huntington Library is shown in color and in regular black and white.
The second set of photos show how the infrared image comes out of my camera and how the image appears after it has been processed with photo processing software. In nature photos, reflected infrared light gives vegetation the appearance of being a glowing white or close to it.
A slight blur is visible in many of the photos, resulting primarily from the equipment I have been using to take the pictures. Some people use a camera that has been fitted exclusively for infrared photography. Since I don't have a camera that can be dedicated to only infrared photography (the converted camera can't be used for any other type of photography), I have started out in a slightly more difficult way. To begin learning and experimenting with this type of photography, I am using an infrared filter placed over the lens of a normal camera. There are two factors which complicate this process. First, once the filter is placed over the lens, you are not able to see anything out of the lens. The photo must be framed and focused first, then the lens filter carefully placed on the camera. Also, photos are timed exposures, usually about eight to ten seconds. As a result, even the slightest breeze can move leaves or other plants in a way that renders a motion blur in the images. Sometimes that blur, if it is slight, can give the photos a kind of a soft, ethereal feeling. Other times they just look, well, blurry. Hope you enjoy the images! INTRODUCTION TO WWW.DOROTHYSWEBSITE.ORG/SITE HISTORY The site has its roots in the Cypress College Extended Education computer labs. In 2003, while working on a series of computer-based tutorials (covering everything from data warehousing to Linux), I came across tutorials for HTML computer code and the Front Page website design program. As a practice exercise I designed a basic website with the Front Page program and posted it to the internet for about six weeks. Since it contained primarily my works (and a page of concert schedules), I called it www.dorothyswebsite.org. Little did I know then that the six-week exercise would ever have a first, let alone a twelfth, anniversary! Had I known, perhaps I would have come up with a more "catchy" name. You know what they say about hindsight, though . . . Over the next couple of years I taught myself a bit more of HTML code and website design -- not enough to have a lot of flashy bells and whistles, but enough so that now I do everything for the site. I design it, write the code, research and write the articles and content, take the pictures (and incorporate many from my personal photo archives), compile the listings, manage it, and let you all know that it exists. For those music fans who have found the listings and are new to the site, you will need to know that there are two distinct phases to the site each year. The fall/winter/spring site is mostly text and in a much more succinct three-page format (Concerts By City, Concerts By Date, and an Arts/Special Events page). In the summer, generally from June to September, the site expands and takes on the format which you see now. The main pages of the site have evolved somewhat since 2003, and they are: Poetry: Many years ago I wrote a short volume of poetry based on photographs which I had taken while travelling and living
overseas. The volume was reworked in 2004 and new poems were added. Each year a few poems from the volume have been posted to the site, and in 2005 the works of a Guest Poet were also included for the
first time. When possible, new poems are added to the site each year in conjunction with the year's theme. Essays: Each summer there has been a new series of essays on a topic of technology-related current/consumer interest. The Essay Archives contain all the previous works which have appeared on the site from 2003 - 2019. In addition, the current year's essays are placed in the essay archives the month after they appear in the "This Month's Essay" section. Since there was no summer version of the site in 2016, no essays were completed for that year, and there were no essays in 2020-21 since there was no expanded site due to Covid. Also, recoding the entire Essay Archives section to accompany the summer theme has become a very time-consuming proces. A more permanent format for the Essay Archives was established in 2023. Each essay in the Archives now (unless otherwise noted) is presented in the original format of the summer site as it appeared the year it was first posted. Click here to go to the Essay Archives page. Free Concerts: This is the most visited section of the site. The listings are for free concerts and music-related
events in Orange County, parts of Los Angeles County, and parts of the Inland Empire. Events in clubs, cafes, bars and similar venues covered elsewhere generally are not included. In the summer,
concerts are listed both by date and by city for the three areas and in total in order to make it easier to find relevant information more quickly. Each year a few more cities and/or venues usually are added, and the cities currently covered for the summer concert programs are listed on the "Concerts By City" main page. You also will find the main concert calendar on the "Concerts By Date" main page. In 2010, a new section was added to the concert pages - Concerts by Type of Music - and it is now a permanent section of the SUMMER site. Links: This page was added primarily due to requests for more information about the musicians/bands appearing at the concerts.
It includes both links to the cities and venues in which the concerts are held, and to the websites of bands/musicians appearing during the summer (when available). Over the years, the page became one of the longest on the site, so it was split into three sections to avoid the page loading too slowly. The three links pages are City/Venue Links, Band Links A-L and Band Links M-Z. Extras: The extras page was added in 2005 and offers a few other ideas for things to do or see for free during the
summer months. The page is dynamic and continually being updated, and suggestions for items to be included are appreciated. The page also incorporates the type of information which
appears on the site's Facebook page during the year. About the Site: You're here now! Two other sections have been added since 2003. The Featured Artists page (2004) and Show of the Week section (2005). Both were added in response to requests for more information about the summer entertainers. "Featured Artists" have a large number of performances over the summer in two or three counties, or, as in the case of a group such as the Long Beach Municipal Band, a number of performances in a particular venue or venues. As a general rule of thumb, and in order to give a wide number of groups the opportunity to appear as "Featured Artists," a group or artist will be included in the section NO MORE THAN ONCE IN ANY THREE-YEAR PERIOD. The "Show of the Week" section included acknowledgements of a wide variety of summer artists, special events, and whenever possible, the individuals, organizations and others who so generously make the shows possible. Due to changes in the summer concert schedules and other factors beyond site control, it has since been cancelled and the information no longer appears on the site. Website Guests: The works of a guest photographer were included in the site for the first time in 2004. In 2005, the site exhibited works of a guest photographer, guest painter and guest poet. These special guests are invited to exhibit works on the site which, as of 2006, either express or in some way interpret the summer theme. The site is called "www.dorothyswebsite.org," and if you understand a bit about how it has evolved, you'd know why the works on it have been mine. If the site stays in existence, however, my hope is that it will become much less about my materials and much more of a summer exhibition space for the works of other poets, painters, photographers and artists. Eventually this may also include a guest website designer/programmer, but only time will tell . . .
Photograph "Australian Protea" © 1985 Dorothy A. Birsic There is no logo for the site, but if there was, it might include a protea flower like the one shown in the picture above. The word "protean" has its roots in mythology in the god Proteus, a legendary sea god who had the power of assuming different shapes. In its more modern use it describes something capable of great change or readily assuming different shapes or forms. Hopefully this will continue to be a "protean" site in the sense that it can readily adapt to the changing circumstances in which it exists and become an ever more interesting stop for those who take the time to visit. Dorothy holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. She also designed and completed a graduate program combining an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School with an M.A.L.D. (Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy) from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. She has taken additional coursework in Human and Plant Biology, Genetics and Neuroscience. Dorothy's professional background includes work in public relations and management consulting. She has been a Fulbright Scholar in the former Yugoslavia, a Rotary International Scholar/Ambassador in Sydney, Australia, and lived and worked in Japan. She speaks Croatian, has passed oral and written translation exams in Japanese, and is currently teaching herself Spanish. In previous years, there also has been a section on the site featuring excerpts from a variety of Dorothy's personal and professional writings. Please click here to view those excerpts on a new page.
"Dorothy With Kangaroos" Miss Birsic is an avid sports and music fan. She plays tennis, basketball, runs (well, used to, at least), is a certified PADI diver, bikes, and enjoys photography and playing the piano. She spends a bit of time in the garden, too, tending to everything from vines and roses to fruit trees and dahlias. If you have any questions or comments about the website, please send e-mail to moremusic@dorothyswebsite.org.
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