It's about 8:30am on a Sunday in July. We've got beautiful Michigan weather this morning. It is humid, muggy. The sky is blue but lightly glazed over with a layer of cloud, so it is a light, but bright, blue-gray.
The trees I tend to take for granted, but they are vibrant green. Just like my own skin which after time in the sun turns smooth and soft and a deeper color, so do the tree leaves. They radiate with healthful color, full of photosynthesized nutrients.
People have been coming into the park in streams, even at this early hour. That's what summer does. I am amazed at the ability, drive, discipline, eagerness and enthusiasm that every one of these individuals exhibit. They are motivated people, and they are full of life. Who else would drag themselves to thhe park so early in the morning? A number of them even biked in, so they had to get up extra early to stretch that spandex over their bodies.
I love saying good morning to everyone who drives slow enough past me, and has their window down.
"Morning."
"Good mornin'."
"G'mornin'"
And then I think about our specific location in the world, and how we speak so casually, using this universal greeting, but we speak with a Michigan accent (you know, some variation of that Northern accent that we share with Canadians, among others).
But heere we are, right here in small town Michigan. We feel normal and like we could, and be as well be, anywhere, but our accent gives us away.
"I'll get an annual pass please"
"Great," (I say with emphasis on a long, sharp A: grAt),"Can I put it on your car for ya?" The 'ya' makes this question sound more casual, and flowy than pronouncing 'you' which takes longer to say and more enunciating.
I love working mornings at the park. This is heaven on earth. This is paradise, you don't need to go to California to find it.
The sunlight is soft. The world is slow. "Stay cool," an early morning disc golfer greets me, and dispells his well-wishes onto me. Lots of the folks coming in are going to play disc golf before it gets unbearable hot and humid out there.
Lots of other folks are coming to walk, walk their dogs, bike or blade around the trails. Luckily, I get to see the phenomenon in action, as a section of the trail is only about 20 yards away from the booth.
And lucky me, I get to greet each and every one of them as they begin their outing, their adventure, their encounter with the wild. The horse flies are as rough as things get here:
"Well;" says a patron as he stops by the toll booth on his way out. He pauses as he wipes the sweat off his neck with his t-shirt in his hand, "The horse flies got their breakfast today." I burst out in a laugh. Unsure of what to say, I cry, "Great!" As he speeds away. Off to start the rest of his day.
But I saw some bunnies, and deer this morning. And the ground squirrels who live in the field at the front of the park are fascinating to observe.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Friday
I love all of the old-fashioned, vintage, craft oriented blogs. But I wonder, is there a way to engage in this sort of aesthetic pastime without materialism being central?
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Sunday
It's hard to write about things when mostly all I do is go to work. Things in my life seem to become repetative and uneventful. I know this is not true and more likely an excuse, but I am also just lazy :p
I found myself in the fortunate position to watch the sunset tonight. It just ended a few minutes ago and I feel so peaceful. Ahhhh
The sunsets are so beautiful from our front door, let me explain. Our door and the window next to it look out onto the row of townhouses across the parking lot, but above the long row of houses I can see the sunset, and every evening that I am here I love to watch the colors of the sky change. I can't see the sun, that is out of view, on the left of the house; but the colors of the sky above the scape of neighbors is marvelous.
I also love to people watch, and I love having my neighbors right there with me. It makes me feel less alone (in fact, I don't feel alone at all), I feel like I'm part of a group. The brightening sky contrasts with the darkening of the housefronts.
Today layed on the couch, which is in the perfect position to lay on and look out the window, I had some hot NightyNight Tea
in my hands, and this Brian Eno song called "Stars" playing on the computer. The song is 8 minutes long, and when it ended, I took a deep breath, relieved by the sudden stillness. Then I could hear the birds chirping, neighbors opening and closing their doors, talking, children shrieking, and the highway that is just beyond our little nook of houses. The highway noises are amazing, because though it is a constant sound of moving traffic, it is more. It is the sound of many individuals traveling. Each burst of engine rumble and the rush of a truck is the sound of someone going somewhere, somewhere big, because that is what the highway is there for. Some are going to the grocery store, or home from work, but some are going to Chicago. The trucks are traversing the country, back and forth in spurts. It's beautiful. It's enormous, and I am with them, witnessing their stressful travel, full of pressure (at least thats what driving on the highway is like for me), but with none of the pressure, only the joy of moving foward.
I found myself in the fortunate position to watch the sunset tonight. It just ended a few minutes ago and I feel so peaceful. Ahhhh
The sunsets are so beautiful from our front door, let me explain. Our door and the window next to it look out onto the row of townhouses across the parking lot, but above the long row of houses I can see the sunset, and every evening that I am here I love to watch the colors of the sky change. I can't see the sun, that is out of view, on the left of the house; but the colors of the sky above the scape of neighbors is marvelous.
I also love to people watch, and I love having my neighbors right there with me. It makes me feel less alone (in fact, I don't feel alone at all), I feel like I'm part of a group. The brightening sky contrasts with the darkening of the housefronts.
Today layed on the couch, which is in the perfect position to lay on and look out the window, I had some hot NightyNight Tea
in my hands, and this Brian Eno song called "Stars" playing on the computer. The song is 8 minutes long, and when it ended, I took a deep breath, relieved by the sudden stillness. Then I could hear the birds chirping, neighbors opening and closing their doors, talking, children shrieking, and the highway that is just beyond our little nook of houses. The highway noises are amazing, because though it is a constant sound of moving traffic, it is more. It is the sound of many individuals traveling. Each burst of engine rumble and the rush of a truck is the sound of someone going somewhere, somewhere big, because that is what the highway is there for. Some are going to the grocery store, or home from work, but some are going to Chicago. The trucks are traversing the country, back and forth in spurts. It's beautiful. It's enormous, and I am with them, witnessing their stressful travel, full of pressure (at least thats what driving on the highway is like for me), but with none of the pressure, only the joy of moving foward.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
PaperBack Swap
Hello Everyone!!
I've been working so much lately, hardly time to sit down and explain my days full of learning. The main project I'm working on, which is only a side project, is my newspaper clippings. I'm going to start scrapbooking them. I'm not sure where to start though! I've never scrapbooked before. I kind of want to get some of those pretty pages they have at the craft store, but I'm just going to do it all from scratch.
I have a large paperback (9"x11"ish) on The Indus CivilizationThe Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective
unfortunately Amazon doesn't have a photo for the cover of this book, but it looks a lot like this one
Same guy/statue, but facing the other direction. I used this book for an archaeology class I had on ancient civilizations so I wish I could tell you who this statue is of and why he is on 2 different book covers, but I have no idea. Hahah
The teacher of this class was so dry and boring! She was not enthusiastic at all. The subject matter was repetative, she talked over and over in a list sort of way of what each civilization had. They had houses that looked like this, they had beer factories that looked like this and were called this...
But from this class I gained the realization which is still hard for me to fathom, that people lived exactly like we do, in a world/ society/culture that is just as in depth and complicated as ours (sure they didn't have computers, but they lived in just as complex societies). The people in these societies had fully functioning brains just like us here, and it's so incredible to imagine that societies develop over and over again. For example, Mesopotamia is supposedly the first civilization to have risen, while over on the other side of the globe (Mesopotamia is right where Iran and Iraq are) the South American civilzations rose up. It's just amazing that it's human nature to create societies, build houses and have certain rituals (holidays), as well as large scale spectator events like football.
Anyway, I have this large size book that I think will be perfect for making a scrapbook collage in. I'll probably remove some of the pages so I have more space to work with and less weight. I'm not sure the best way to go about that. I think that will be time consuming. Actually, maybe I'll just cut a chunk out, and that will be fine.
Besides that, actually, I haven't really had time to sit down and read this past Sunday's paper. Maybe I will do it today. I signed up for a book swap website called paperbackswap.com. It's really awesome! I loaded my book titles into the system, and people immediately began requesting my books. It's quite time consuming, actually. What's really neat about this site is you don't have to bother with weighing out the books and estimating the postage, it does all that for you and for me it makes it so much more simple! What a relief. But the hard part is wrapping up the books to send off, that is difficult, 'specially taping the corners. I'm going to send off some books today and I guess wrap more also. When I send them off, I get credits on the site which allow me to request any book from anybody on the site and they will send it to me for free. I spent a lot of postage though, it's surprisingly expensive, but since it's just postage and I get free books in return, that's ok with me. So this is very cool. I still think the library is the best place to get any book to read, but this is good if you want to write in it and keep it, or a place to find books you might not find in the library.
I've been working so much lately, hardly time to sit down and explain my days full of learning. The main project I'm working on, which is only a side project, is my newspaper clippings. I'm going to start scrapbooking them. I'm not sure where to start though! I've never scrapbooked before. I kind of want to get some of those pretty pages they have at the craft store, but I'm just going to do it all from scratch.
I have a large paperback (9"x11"ish) on The Indus CivilizationThe Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective
unfortunately Amazon doesn't have a photo for the cover of this book, but it looks a lot like this oneSame guy/statue, but facing the other direction. I used this book for an archaeology class I had on ancient civilizations so I wish I could tell you who this statue is of and why he is on 2 different book covers, but I have no idea. Hahah
The teacher of this class was so dry and boring! She was not enthusiastic at all. The subject matter was repetative, she talked over and over in a list sort of way of what each civilization had. They had houses that looked like this, they had beer factories that looked like this and were called this...
But from this class I gained the realization which is still hard for me to fathom, that people lived exactly like we do, in a world/ society/culture that is just as in depth and complicated as ours (sure they didn't have computers, but they lived in just as complex societies). The people in these societies had fully functioning brains just like us here, and it's so incredible to imagine that societies develop over and over again. For example, Mesopotamia is supposedly the first civilization to have risen, while over on the other side of the globe (Mesopotamia is right where Iran and Iraq are) the South American civilzations rose up. It's just amazing that it's human nature to create societies, build houses and have certain rituals (holidays), as well as large scale spectator events like football.
Anyway, I have this large size book that I think will be perfect for making a scrapbook collage in. I'll probably remove some of the pages so I have more space to work with and less weight. I'm not sure the best way to go about that. I think that will be time consuming. Actually, maybe I'll just cut a chunk out, and that will be fine.
Besides that, actually, I haven't really had time to sit down and read this past Sunday's paper. Maybe I will do it today. I signed up for a book swap website called paperbackswap.com. It's really awesome! I loaded my book titles into the system, and people immediately began requesting my books. It's quite time consuming, actually. What's really neat about this site is you don't have to bother with weighing out the books and estimating the postage, it does all that for you and for me it makes it so much more simple! What a relief. But the hard part is wrapping up the books to send off, that is difficult, 'specially taping the corners. I'm going to send off some books today and I guess wrap more also. When I send them off, I get credits on the site which allow me to request any book from anybody on the site and they will send it to me for free. I spent a lot of postage though, it's surprisingly expensive, but since it's just postage and I get free books in return, that's ok with me. So this is very cool. I still think the library is the best place to get any book to read, but this is good if you want to write in it and keep it, or a place to find books you might not find in the library.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday
Yesterday was a perfect day. The only thing that could have made it better was if the sunset was more vibrant (not really an issue). It was a wonderful day!! It must have been the sun, or the rewarding feeling of getting to relax and do exactly what I want after a long week at work.
I work at 8:30 and got my Sunday New York Times. I listened to the Pacific Island music program on WCBN where they played gamelan and the like. Then at 10 I switched the station to WEMU to listen to Dr. Arwulf and the Sunday Best. At the end of the program he made me feel so good by saying, "It's a good day to be alive. Aren't you glad you're in your skin? I'm glad you're alive." I felt so wonderful after that, and after listening to Fats Waller. This whole time I was reading the NYT. I've been keeping my little widdling knife that dad got me for the birthday while I read the paper, and when I see a phrase or picture that I react to, resonates with me, inspires, motivates, validates or I find beautiful I cut it out. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. A collage seems in order, or maybe putting them all together as a story would be funny. Suggestions?
Mom and her friend came in and we talked for a little while, and now I am looking into raising peacocks (or other various bird eggs that I can make a profit off of), saffron and cardamom. I think local saffron would be a hit around here.
I started to get tired in the afternoon so I allowed myself the indulgence of a nap. I layed on the couch and turned on TCM where the movie Dear Heart was playing. Great movie! I recommend it!
I tried to read some books but to no avail. I decided to check off another task on my to-do list: ironing. I have so many clothes I've never ironed but have always needed it. I set to it, on the floor in front of the TV where I watched Tammy and the Bachelor. Very interesting movie in the way she spouts about god all the time. It's set in the south. Not many movies at all are set in the south today, so that was interesting. It's just a silly light hearted film about an amazing girl and romance.
Ironing a laundry basket of clothes took about 4 hours! Wow. But it was great. I watched great movies, and the color of the sky change from day to dusk to night. Between dusk and night I took a quick rollerblade around the neighborhood. That was great! I'm excited to do more and use my blades instead of a bike. I didn't even fall last night, though there were some close calls.
Finally, right before bed I did some yoga and that felt great!
I work at 8:30 and got my Sunday New York Times. I listened to the Pacific Island music program on WCBN where they played gamelan and the like. Then at 10 I switched the station to WEMU to listen to Dr. Arwulf and the Sunday Best. At the end of the program he made me feel so good by saying, "It's a good day to be alive. Aren't you glad you're in your skin? I'm glad you're alive." I felt so wonderful after that, and after listening to Fats Waller. This whole time I was reading the NYT. I've been keeping my little widdling knife that dad got me for the birthday while I read the paper, and when I see a phrase or picture that I react to, resonates with me, inspires, motivates, validates or I find beautiful I cut it out. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. A collage seems in order, or maybe putting them all together as a story would be funny. Suggestions?
Mom and her friend came in and we talked for a little while, and now I am looking into raising peacocks (or other various bird eggs that I can make a profit off of), saffron and cardamom. I think local saffron would be a hit around here.
I started to get tired in the afternoon so I allowed myself the indulgence of a nap. I layed on the couch and turned on TCM where the movie Dear Heart was playing. Great movie! I recommend it!
I tried to read some books but to no avail. I decided to check off another task on my to-do list: ironing. I have so many clothes I've never ironed but have always needed it. I set to it, on the floor in front of the TV where I watched Tammy and the Bachelor. Very interesting movie in the way she spouts about god all the time. It's set in the south. Not many movies at all are set in the south today, so that was interesting. It's just a silly light hearted film about an amazing girl and romance.
Ironing a laundry basket of clothes took about 4 hours! Wow. But it was great. I watched great movies, and the color of the sky change from day to dusk to night. Between dusk and night I took a quick rollerblade around the neighborhood. That was great! I'm excited to do more and use my blades instead of a bike. I didn't even fall last night, though there were some close calls.
Finally, right before bed I did some yoga and that felt great!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Viewing A Person from the Past
Call me morbid, but while watching this video about Victorian Post-Mortem photography a thought occured to me which I have occasionally thought before.
Seeing photos of specific people who were as complex and dynamic as you or your best friend are today, but who died over 100 years ago, just makes me think about them and their lives.
I can look at a picture and see a person, but to really know and understand that they are a complex human being is a whole other concept, particularly if they are from another and completely separate time period from us today.
Even more, it is difficult to imagine a still image of a person as dynamic and contradictory as you or me, but especially a person who lived so long ago.
I mean, if you see a photo of a person from within the last 50 years, you'll recognize them as being similar to you (at least in what they are wearing), but if you see a picture of someone in a context that you cannot use your own experience and social knowledge to process what you see, then they are even less of a real person because now they are an anonymous face; a historical object which we can use to understand the time, and it is that much harder to derive any understanding of the person.
In fact, the fact that this person was once a real person doing the same thing that I am doing now is very incredible. That that time was all they knew, and this time is all I know, is equally as mind blowing. And that I now know them, but they will never know I caught a glimpse of them. Yet in the present times, when we see a picture from the past, we tend not to see the person in the photo anyway.
Anyway,
I didn't intend to meditate on that when I found the video, what I was looking for was tips on how in the world I can dress up like Victorian.
Seeing photos of specific people who were as complex and dynamic as you or your best friend are today, but who died over 100 years ago, just makes me think about them and their lives.
I can look at a picture and see a person, but to really know and understand that they are a complex human being is a whole other concept, particularly if they are from another and completely separate time period from us today.
Even more, it is difficult to imagine a still image of a person as dynamic and contradictory as you or me, but especially a person who lived so long ago.
I mean, if you see a photo of a person from within the last 50 years, you'll recognize them as being similar to you (at least in what they are wearing), but if you see a picture of someone in a context that you cannot use your own experience and social knowledge to process what you see, then they are even less of a real person because now they are an anonymous face; a historical object which we can use to understand the time, and it is that much harder to derive any understanding of the person.
In fact, the fact that this person was once a real person doing the same thing that I am doing now is very incredible. That that time was all they knew, and this time is all I know, is equally as mind blowing. And that I now know them, but they will never know I caught a glimpse of them. Yet in the present times, when we see a picture from the past, we tend not to see the person in the photo anyway.
Anyway,
I didn't intend to meditate on that when I found the video, what I was looking for was tips on how in the world I can dress up like Victorian.
Cruising
This week is the first really nice week since winter came. It's been between 30-60s during the day, rather than between 0-30. It was like a switch was flipped, and suddenly the sun moved in closer to Michigan, and so the birds started chattering and chirping and Spring began.
Well my mind is on fire with books I want to read, and things I want to learn about, and hands-on creations I would like to make. I've been on Youtube recently, and there are some videos I'd love to sit down and watch, but for some reason, I feel like watching videos online is a waste of time so it's hard for me to sit down in front of my computer and do that. I think it is just that I don't like to stare into screens for long periods of time. I feel like it is better to be involved in the 3-D world that I can touch.
Right after I got home from work today and was settling down for a day of doing some of the things aformentioned, my friend Sophia called me to whisk her away from the bustling streets of downtown Ann Arbor so we could perhaps get our hair braided (just about 10 braids, scattered about). My mom really wanted the car washed and vacuumed today, so I got Sophia, and we veered off down a major avenue in Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti called Packard, into Ypsi. Ypsilanti is the forgotten brother of Ann Arbor, in a sense. It's got it's own thing going on, with less ego, but they're similar places because the both have universities, and nice downtowns with lots going on. Ypsi is just less yuppy. They also have lots of hair braiding salons. Did you know that this hair style comes from Africa?
We strolled down Michigan Ave., a main street in Ypsi with lots of cute and practical little shops. This street is also known as US Route 12 does not just take you across lower Michigan, but across the whole northern US! Wikipedia link One day, maybe even soon, I hope to travel the whole highway. That would be incredible. No one thinks of these states or this route too much. The northern US isn't too popular as a whole; not like Route 66 or I-75 which takes you through the Southern states to Florida; nor is it popular like coastal highway routes through New England. It's not even as well known as the well traveled Grand River Avenue (which also runs across Michigan)! At least it's not as well known to me. And I think it is because no one really cares to venture cross all the cold, desolate states of the north, and it's not as glamorous as California.
Well my mind is on fire with books I want to read, and things I want to learn about, and hands-on creations I would like to make. I've been on Youtube recently, and there are some videos I'd love to sit down and watch, but for some reason, I feel like watching videos online is a waste of time so it's hard for me to sit down in front of my computer and do that. I think it is just that I don't like to stare into screens for long periods of time. I feel like it is better to be involved in the 3-D world that I can touch.
Right after I got home from work today and was settling down for a day of doing some of the things aformentioned, my friend Sophia called me to whisk her away from the bustling streets of downtown Ann Arbor so we could perhaps get our hair braided (just about 10 braids, scattered about). My mom really wanted the car washed and vacuumed today, so I got Sophia, and we veered off down a major avenue in Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti called Packard, into Ypsi. Ypsilanti is the forgotten brother of Ann Arbor, in a sense. It's got it's own thing going on, with less ego, but they're similar places because the both have universities, and nice downtowns with lots going on. Ypsi is just less yuppy. They also have lots of hair braiding salons. Did you know that this hair style comes from Africa?
We strolled down Michigan Ave., a main street in Ypsi with lots of cute and practical little shops. This street is also known as US Route 12 does not just take you across lower Michigan, but across the whole northern US! Wikipedia link One day, maybe even soon, I hope to travel the whole highway. That would be incredible. No one thinks of these states or this route too much. The northern US isn't too popular as a whole; not like Route 66 or I-75 which takes you through the Southern states to Florida; nor is it popular like coastal highway routes through New England. It's not even as well known as the well traveled Grand River Avenue (which also runs across Michigan)! At least it's not as well known to me. And I think it is because no one really cares to venture cross all the cold, desolate states of the north, and it's not as glamorous as California.
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