Garden

A good garden may have some weeds.

~ Thomas Fuller

- - - - -

The other day I stopped by to see Rose and Jean.  Poor Jean was doing a bunch of work and running around while Rose just sat there at her desk.  Rose has a gigantic plant that is slowly taking over the entire office.  It reminded me of the plant from "Little Shop of Horrors."  Jean was trying to work without stepping on it.

I said, "Rose, you need to get that thing under control.  It's taking over the office.  Jean can hardly get her work done."

Rose nodded dismissively in that patronizing, "I hear you but I'm only nodding so you'll stop nagging me and I'm really ignoring you" kind of way.

I finally said very sternly, "When you started working here, they didn't promise you a garden, Rose!"

(pause)

I seriously crack myself up.  Jean and Rose both laughed.  And then Rose barked at Jean, "DON'T YOU HAVE WORK TO DO?!!!!"

Rose is a little intense.

Generations

What nobler employment, or more valuable to the state,

than that of the man who instructs the rising generation?

~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

- - - - -

 

Joe:  I was reading an article Sara showed me.  Guess what the generation from 1860-1882 was called.

 

Sara:  (laughing)  Joe, you are ridiculous.

 

Me:  I don't know.

 

Joe:  The "Missionary Generation."  Do you know why?

 

Me:  Because they didn't have cable?

 

Joe:  (laughs)  I wonder when the "On the Kitchen Table Generation" will be.

 

Sara:  I bet that wasn't the first thing that went through your head.

 

Joe:  Oh no.  The first thing was much worse.

Writing

A letter does not blush.

~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

- - - - -

 

 

I think it is interesting to learn about writers.  How they do what they do.  How they think.  Create.  Capture moments.  Tell us their stories.

 

Sometimes I listen to writers reading their work.  Some, you can tell, are really just writers - not readers.  But some are amazing readers of their writing.  Their tone and pace and inflection are perfect.  And draw you deeper into their tales.

 

Everyone writes in his or her own way, I guess.  When I write my blog, for example, I mostly just dump things on the page and let the words and punctuation sort themselves out.  It's what works for me.  Or at least what I do.  Maybe I'm not to judge if it "works" or not. 

 

But I am living my life with a writer now, and I get to learn from her.  She has some interesting quirks of her own when it comes to writing.  Like proofreading.  And conveying a message.

 

I don't always get bogged down with those sorts of specifics.

Smirk

There are only two styles of portrait painting; the serious and the smirk.

~ Charles Dickens

- - - - -

I think that the same holds true for portrait photography.  The above is probably the smirk.  I don't like having my photo taken.  When Leslie suggested this shot, though, I thought it was very clever.  And it's only sort of a portrait.

I wish that there were more styles for emoticon portraits, too.  There are the serious and the happy, but not enough smirk emoticons, if you ask me.  Most of the smirking ones I've seen just look creepy.

Squirrel

Living is no laughing matter: you must live with great
seriousness like a squirrel for example - I mean without
looking for something beyond and above living.
Living must be your whole occupation.

~ Nazim Hikmet

- - - - -

Joy:  Good morning!  How are you?

Me:  I took a nice picture of a squirrel this morning.

Joy:  I know.  I saw that.

(She saw it, but did not LIKE it on Facbeook.  Not sure why.)

Joy:  The damn squirrels are getting in my bird feeders again.

Me:  Oh.

Joy:  I'm about ready to get the b.b. gun out.  But I'd end up shooting --

Me:  One of the boys.

Joy:  Myself.  (laughs)  Or, you're right, one of the boys.  I guess that's why Steve hid it from me.

Me:  He is a wise man.

Joy:  But I wish people didn't think I'd do things like that.

(pause)

Me:  But you just said that you would do something like that.

Joy:  I know.  But I don't want other people to think that and wonder about me.

Me:  Joy, we've all been wondering about you for a long time.

Joy:  I know. 

Dreamt

A dream doesn't become reality through magic; 

it takes sweat, determination and hard work.

~ Colin Powell

- - - - -

I don't know why, but my Gmail doesn't recognize the word "dreamt."  It has - wait!  My blog doesn't recognize it, either.  That is sad to me.  Is technology trying to take away my dreams?  Or at least the dreams of my past?  Or is it jealous because it does not dream?

I think that sometimes people who haven't found their dreams or who are scared of their dreams try to squash the dreams of others.  I think most of the time this isn't even a conscious act.  Most people are afraid of their dreams.  Even those who pursue them, I am guessing, are scared about what might happen if they achieve their dreams.

My dad always told me to dream bigger than anything I thought I might ever achieve.  He said he had set goals in his life and had achieved them when he was young and then wasn't sure what to reach for next.

So I have big dreams.  I dream of a life full of laughter and love and creativity.  I dream of winning an academy award.  And a Pulitzer Prize.  And the Nobel Peace Prize Of course, at some point I'm going to have to actually do something to get those things.  I'm going to need to write.

And be peaceful.

Stuff

Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else.

~ Leonardo da Vinci



- - - - -

I think I've said this before, but I like looking at ads on Craigslist.  What people sell and their marketing strategies are interesting.  And I like it when they use creative spelling.  I'm assuming they misspell words as an attention-getter, not because they don't know how to spell.  Or when they sell several things all at once and you wonder what kind of person would own that particular collection of items.

That said, it's not like I have all day to sit around and look at Craigslist.  I have to manage my time.  So when I see something listed as, "Artwork--- Balloons in Paris.  $35," I know that I don't have to spend my time reading that listing.

For the record, I am not sure da Vinci really said the quote above.  I found it online which already casts it in a suspicious life.  I'm not sure he would have used the word "stuff" very often (or "roba" in Italian.  Yes, I'm fluent.  In Google Translate.). Though he invented a lot of stuff and did a lot of stuff and painted a lot of stuff. 

Maybe I should go back and reconsider that "Balloons in Paris" artwork.  What if it something da Vinci painted?  Me getting it for $35 would be the deal of the century!

(pause)

Yeah.  So, I went back and looked at it.  It's not a da Vinci. 

(pause)

I really am not that good at managing my time.

Kid

- - - - -

I like little kids.  They make up realities because they haven't been forced into thinking a certain way, yet.  They are still making meaning of the world around them without having belief systems or laws of physics or social norms forced upon them.

I think I have some pretty good ideas now, but if I could go back to my little kid self, I think I'd have some really amazing ideas.  I think that little kids should write books for little kids.  Except maybe some of them can't spell so well.  Which means I'm privileging the social norm of and "rule" of spelling.  Which I am.  Because I don't want to sit down with a pile of kids book and read something like:

"AHnd oadd m dnne..."

Which is how some kids would type, "Once upon a time..."

(pause)

Of course, only if they had the fairytale norms of storytelling already ingrained in their kid brains.  They might start a story with:

"SDfoii asssdii adfoicu as ufuf ... weid zozdim."

But who knows what that means?  And I think zozdim should be capitalized.

Talking

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.  

If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.

~ Nelson Mandela

- - - - -

I really like Leslie.  She is hilarious.  She says multiple things every day that make me laugh.  Often on purpose.  I like to share those things, but sometimes she doesn't want me to.  Sometimes I double check with others to see if I should share them or not.

As an example, I blogged a while ago about something she said that was hilarious.  Probably one of the funniest things I've heard.  I wanted to blog about it, but she asked me not to.  So I sent it to my brother and his partner Jared.  The humor involved Jared, actually.

When I texted it, Kirk didn't respond right away.  But then he did.

Me:  You didn't write back so I was worried L was right and you two were offended.  Had to share.  She doesn't want me to blog it...

Kirk:  I agree on the blog part.  Jared's not here so not sure what he thinks.  I'll let you know.

(Later)

Kirk:  Jared laughed when I showed him...  Also, agreed...  Don't blog.

So, in the end I guess Leslie was right.  What she said - while funny - wasn't something I ought to have shared.  I'm glad I got a second opinion from Kirk and third opinion from Jared - the target of her humor.  

The moral of the story is, not everything needs to be shared.  Some things should be kept private.  Or at least out of my blog.  I'm glad I know where those boundaries are. Or that I have people around me who tell me where those boundaries ought to be.

Art

A fool's brain digests philosophy into folly, science into superstition, 

and art into pedantry.  Hence, university education.

~ George Bernard Shaw

- - - - -

This is some art outside of Ames.  I love this kind of thing.  The artist used real people as models.  And now there are images of them around the state.

I think art is a good idea.  It gives us something to look at.  And think about.  And something to inspire us.

You can find art in a lot of things...  In ARchiTecture, in your heART, you can put some of it on a shopping cART.  You get the idea.

And, yes, I realize you can find ART in a fart.  But that kind of lowbrow observation just proves you can't appreciate art as good as me.

Values

Values are not trendy items that are casually traded in.

~ Ellen Goodman

- - - - -

I wonder if most people see their values has valuable.  As having literal value.  I don't mean something on which you put a price tag.  I don't mean something with which you barter for other goods, services, or values.  In effect, they are priceless.  You can't put a dollar amount on the things which comprise your essence or being, can you?

But once you give up or sell-out on your values, are they really gone?  Are they gone forever in a way you can't get them back?  If one's values can change over time, can they be retrieved if you have compromised them in some way in the past?  Maybe they are always in flux and adapting to the moment, the experience, the situation at hand.

If there was a store called "Values Mart" I would go there.  It would be interesting to see what values they had for sale.  And what the packaging looked like for the values.  And what the costs would be for different values.

Though, I think they ought to change the name to "Values Emporium" to make it more alluring.

Brain

The human brain now holds the key to our future.  

We have to recall the image of the planet from outer space: 

a single entity in which air, water and continents are interconnected.  

That is our home.

~ David Suzuki

- - - - -

I have heard people say to other people, "If you had a brain, you'd be dangerous."  I don't know that anyone has ever said that to me.  Maybe.  Or maybe about me when I wasn't around.  

Anyway, it made me think of how the Tin Man was the same way.  Except that the Tin Man had an axe. Which already made him dangerous.  Oh, wait.  He didn't need a brain he needed a heart.

(pause)

But then, someone with an axe and no heart is pretty dangerous, too, I suppose.

Puzzle

Who in the world am I?

Ah.  That is the great puzzle.

~ Lewis Carroll

- - - - -  

I like puzzles.  I may have mentioned this before.  I like taking chaos and putting it back in order.  Making sense of pieces.  Seeing how things fit together.  Creating order.  Organizing.

Of course, it's a man-made created chaos.  Since someone took a photo, put it on cardboard and cut it into pieces.  Then took the pieces apart and mixed them up.

Maybe all chaos is man-made, though.  Maybe if we left things alone, they would make sense on their own.

Except for clowns.  Those will never make sense.  Putting on a disguise to hang out with children is creepier than almost everything.  

I sure do hate clowns.  But I like puzzles.  So what about a puzzle of a clown?  Would I like it or hate it?

Easy.  I would hate it.

Ideas

We need to give each other the space to grow, to be ourselves, to exercise our diversity.  We need to give each other space so that we may both give and receive such beautiful things as ideas, openness, dignity, joy, healing, and inclusion.

~ Max de Pree

- - - - -

Sometimes I get ideas about how to be more sustainable.  I think about biorenewable resources.  I think about using what is in nature to our benefit without wrecking nature.  I think about mutually beneficial measures to increase not only energy and productivity, but livability on our planet.  Seriously, my mind goes like a mile an hour.

(pause)

That sounds slow, but I was comparing it with running in a race.  An idea race.  And I'm not a very fast runner.

Society

A society grows great when old men plant trees 

whose shade they know they shall never sit it.

~ Greek Proverb

- - - - -

The other day I was waiting with Cameron and Jenny for a Downton Abbey lecture to start.  Jenny said to Cameron, "Did you ever go to school when this was a thing?" and showed him a black and white picture of a young woman.  Cameron laughed.

I said, "I think that's me in the picture."

It was a photo of a woman looking through a card catalog drawer.

And I thought, "Wow.  She really hasn't ever used a card catalog."  And then I thought, "Wow.  I hope she was talking about card catalogs and not libraries."

Wonder

He who can no longer pause to wonder and

stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead;

his eyes are closed.

~ Albert Einstein

- - - - -

 

Sometimes I go through the world and miss things.  We aren't paying attention.  Sometimes things are even offered to us and we miss out because we don't take the time to appreciate them.  A flower, a sunset, and beach, a nice rock.  Amazing things are all around us.  And sometimes we don't even imagine that such amazing things could exist until they are put right in front of our faces.

 

For example, the other day I was looking at Facebook as I do most every day.  I saw a post which read, "Ever wanted to see a cat in a shark costume chasing a duckling while riding a Roomba?"  Little did I know I HAD always wanted to see that.

 

The world is full of miracles.

Future

Every saint has a past and every sinner a future.

~ Oscar Wilde

- - - - -

 

The other day I read my horoscope.  It started with, "Stifle outrage for now."

 

I didn't know I was outraged.  Or that I am going to be outraged.  Some days I think I shouldn't read my horoscope.  I just am always interested in what the universe thinks it has in store for me.  Silly universe.

 

So, I'm stifling my outrage.  For now.  I channel it elsewhere.  Like into my art.  This blog.  At least until my horoscope says, "Let that outrage loose upon the world!"

Rooms

There is a big difference between what I do onstage and what I do in my private life.  

I don't put my living room on magazine pages.

~ Annie Lennox

- - - - -

I was looking at Craigslist the other day and I saw an ad for some "leaving room furniture."  It got me to thinking about perception and how we create realities in our minds about space.  I guess the person posting the ad had always envisioned the main room of the house as a room from which people leave.  I wonder if that had an impact on his or her interactions with others.  Was the person always focused on the departure?  Maybe some kind of abandonment mentality?  It was very interesting to me.

While there may be some sad implications for the person focused on the "leaving" part of any interaction, I do think it is better than calling a room a "coming room."  Though "arrival chamber" has a nice ring to it.

Bridge

The grave is but a covered bridge leading from light to light through a brief darkness.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

- - - - -

People deal with change differently.  I know this is not profound.  Much of what I say is probably more common and made even more common by my reiterating it.

But think about this...  Two people - once friends perhaps, or relatives - have a conflict.  There is a rift.  There is distance created that they have problems overcoming.  And one person feels it is done and there is no going back.  He burns the bridge between the two of them.  The other person, however, feels that time heals all wounds and that what happened is simply water under the bridge.

If the second person develops her perspective first and communicates it with the first person, then the bridge need not be burned.  If, however, the first person makes his choice first and the bridge is burned, then there is no bridge for the water to go under.  Water under a burning bridge, as it were, is too little too later.  And water under a burning bridge cannot put out the fire.

Throw into the mix a third person who is bungee jumping off the bridge and you have tremendous chaos.  Comedy or tragedy or just bungee.

Magic

Magic is believing in yourself. 

If you can do that, you can make anything happen.

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe



- - - - -

I vaguely remember that perhaps I have used this image before.  If I had it in front of me, I would spin it so it could tell me if I've used it.  I don't.

Anyway, the other day I was walking across campus.  It was a beautiful day.  Lots of students were lying on the grass or studying outside with friends or playing frisbee. 

I passed two young men engrossed in conversation.  This is what I overheard, ""I was initially calling him a magician, but he's not really a magician."

That's all I heard.  I wonder what "he" really is.  Some possibilities:

* A wizard
* A Magic Eraser®
* A flower pot
* A tea pot
* His roommate
* A dog
* A calendar
* A coffee table book on staplers

Some magical mysteries are meant to remain just that, I suppose.  Like where thunder and babies come from.