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Thursday, October 29, 2009
Levitation or yoga demonstration?
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Car free in Boston and environs . . . almost
Yesterday I made my way on the Rockport commuter line to visit a friend. The round trip train ticket (Sr. price) was $7.35 and to my great surprise the ride included free WiFi.....OMG, how cool is that! The picture above is one of many I took through the window with my digital camera and transferred them immediately to my computer and was able to send some of the images to friends, all the while, never having to look at the speedometer to make sure I wasn't violating something or putting my life at risk.
The good/bad news from my loyal mechanic is that the car had some kind of ignition problem. There was plenty of oil and for now, I won't be car free in Boston, though I plan to use it less and less and may just make my weekly pilgrimage to Gloucester a mini vacation from the auto highway and ride instead an electronic one.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Not-so-daily blog . . .
I've changed my signature that appears on the bottom of all my emails. Part of the signature used to have this blog address, implying that it's a daily blog, but time and truth have surfaced. Now the blog address is prefaced by the words: not-so-daily. Some days I may even post twice, but then a week or 10 days might go by with nothing new. The busier I'm getting in this fall season, I'm finding that my walks are getting shorter and the zip that went into thinking of my blog first as my entry point into the day's creative action is changing. My latest foray into the land of inventing something out of nothing is songwriting. Now I've been listening to music and especially lyrics for years, but once I finished my behemoth novel FLORIANA a few months ago, I'm gravitating to shorter pieces of writing. Through a set of serendipidous connections, I've been immersed in songwriting for the first time and sometime in the not-too-distant future may actually make my way onto a stage to bark at the audience in whatever voice comes out. But let me tell you, short doesn't mean easy. The form of songwriting is full of craft traps that force you to express complex thoughts in simple language with the fewest amount of words. Call me a Jill of all trades, but I do love/hate being a beginner. Every time I learn something new I am a beginner and in this genre I'm at the lowest rung, but there's a kind of joy and ease in that. No expectations. I'm just doing it for the pure joy of it. Which brings me to a quote I've wanted to share with you for weeks now. It was on someone's office bulletin board and I copied it down so that I would never forget it. And today's the day I want to share it with you. It's by G. K. Chesterton. Not sure who he was, but he said,
A man must love a thing very much if he not only practices it without any hope of fame and money but even practices it without any hope of doing it well.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Classic Rock at the Lowell Auditorium . . .
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I want to know what love is, I want you to show me . . . Hot blooded! . . . Cold as Ice . . . Urgent . . . I've been waiting for a girl like you to come into my life . . . It wasn't until my son Michael (pictured above on the keyboard from last night's concert in the Lowell Auditorium) began to tour with the band FOREIGNER, that I realized those classic rock lyrics from my past, had been created this 80s band, the only original member of which is Mick Jones (the original "foreigner" of the group). Most of their classic rock tunes appeal to all of our sturm and drang relationship woes and ecstasies, so when we hear them years later, they still pull at our fantasies and heartbreak, two aspects of the human condition that never change.
Wikepedia says Sturm und Drang (the conventional translation is "Storm and Stress"; a more literal translation, however, might be storm and urge, storm and longing, storm and drive or storm and impulse) is the name of a movement in German literature and music taking place from the late 1760s through the early 1780s in which individual subjectivity and, in particular, extremes of emotion were given free expression in response to the confines of rationalism imposed by the Enlightenment and associated aesthetic movements."
The concert at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium evoked all of those emotions. The crowd stood all evening swaying and singing along, each of us with our own personal history, reliving the music and all the sturm and drang attached to it— past and present.
If you'd like to see more pictures from the concert, click here and it will connect you to an album I've placed on mobile me.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Who needs Maine when you can ride the Blue Line train?
Instead of heading back to Boston the way we came, my friend and I did something very spontaneous when we got back to the Orient Heights T stop after our walk. In the spirit of exploring unknown places as I often have when traveling in Europe, I convinced my companion to jump on a Revere Bus Line bus that was waiting at the Orient Heights T stop just to see where it might take us rather than getting back on the Blue Line. Our bus driver, Riccardo, lives in Winthrop so he served as a guide answering all our questions as the bus went to its final destination: the entrance to a five mile trail that encircles the tip of Winthrop known as Deer Island— absolutely a trip I want to take in the future. I'll pack a lunch, put on my walking shoes and explore. By the time we found that spot, it was getting cold and windy, the light was fading so we stayed on the bus as it brought us back to Orient Heights. Deer Island would be a bookmark for the future, and hopefully, the near future—before the first snow.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Future wave . . .Flexi-Pave
Yesterday as I walked along Boylston Street, new trees appeared where there had been none. Rectangles carved out of the existing sidewalks days before were now homes to these delicate trees. Surrounding the base of each tree a layer of some kind of paving was being placed. When I asked the worker who was applying the surface if he thought the trees would survive the onslaught of winter, he said, "I don't know anything about the trees, I just put this stuff in around them."
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This "paving" which sets up to a solid surface in 24 hours acts as a drainage material that allows the trees to breath underneath the solid surface. The worker told me that this Flexi-Pave was the wave of the future and that I'd be seeing lots and lots more of it. A trip to the Flexi-Pave web site told me lots more.
Here's a direct quote from the website: "The paving project comes out of a Duke Markets and Management Capstone course in which 12 Duke students consulted with Clearwater, Fla.,-based KB Industries (KBI). KBI Flexi-Pave manages stormwater runoff, and its largest ingredient (by volume) is recycled tires. The students and their professor, Sam Veraldi, helped to set up the installation on campus. By using recycled tires, the material helps reduce the disposal of tires in global landfills and incinerators while improving the management of stormwater runoff, one of the major issues facing urban areas today. Eliminating stormwater runoff is important to reduce flooding, prevent erosion, protect our environment and control water quality."
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Fall gold . . . what we see, what we are
On this morning's walk I noticed the random pattern of those maple "helicopters" crowded together with golden leaves and the words, "fall gold" came to me. An apt metaphor for this time of life in my sixties on a day when I'm feeling energetic, hopeful, and strong......knowing full well that it's not a lasting condition and that the ravages of time and gravity are catching up.
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Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Binky on the mound . . .
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The Garment District will buy some of your clothes outright. You can bring them by appointment or bring them there on Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 4:30 to 7:30. I've got a huge amount of things I just don't wear any longer, so I'm going fill bags and bring them over there in a few days before the rush for Halloween costumes prevents any new acquisitions. Away from the Dollar-a-Pound mound, other corners of the Garment District are crawling with masks, sequins, and every imaginable disguise for the coming holiday.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Some more Aesthetics of Decay . . .
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Thursday, October 1, 2009
Where are my gloves?
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Green: Elixir vs. Poison
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