The Strength Of Observation

"It's on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way, so we must dig and delve unceasingly."

~Claude Monet

I have spent the last week or so digging deep into my archives, trying to get photos moved to the new computer. I should have saved the images to either a portable storage device, or online cloud, but I procrastinate a bit, so now I find myself tasked with going through files going all the way back to 2003, to make decisions about what to store, what to keep on a flash drive, and what to store in one of the older computers I keep for just that... storing files.

It's quite a task, I have a lot of images to file, but it's a lot of fun too! I have been smiling a lot the last few days as I reminisce about my kitty Elvis... gosh I miss him... and all the flowers and interesting places I have been in the last decade! I have come across photos, and memories, I hadn't considered in years! I think tip-toeing through the archives more often! Sometimes one forgets just how happy they really are, and how happy they have been!

Life is good!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Art About Town: Berkeley, Addison Street Poetry Panels... "A Textbook Of Poetry, 21 By Jack Spicer

"There is something about poetry beyond prose logic, there is mystery in it, not to be explained but admired."

~Edward Young

A Textbook Of Poetry, 21
By Jack Spicer

Hold to the future. With firm hands. The future of each afterlife, of each ghost, of each word that is about to be mentioned.

Don't say put beauty in here for the past, on account of the past.
On account of the past nothing has happened.

Stick to the new. With glue, paste it there continually what God and man created. Your fingers catch at the edge of what you are pasting.

You have left the boy's club where the past matters. The future of your words matters. That future is continually in the past.

That pathology leads to new paths and pathfinding. All the way down past the future. The words go swimming past you as if they were blue fish.

I love the Addison Street Poetry Panels and visit when I can. They inspire me, and calm my nerves, and remind me that even in the toughest time, there is truth and beauty just around the corner! Addison Street is a very special place on this earth.

A Look Back At July 2014

"Taking a picture is like giving a piece of your soul away. You allow other people to see the world through your eyes."

~Katja Michael

It's time to say goodbye to another month! Goodbye July, 2014! You were kind to some and devastating to others. I have no complaints about my life, or my little corner of the world, but I am saying some prayers for others... prayers of peace...and keeping a good thought that maybe August will bring some kind of ... well... sanity to this world. I will never give up on hope. NEVER!

Looking In The Rear View Mirror...

And Forward We Go...

Mood: Hopeful

~Me :)

Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charithonia)

 

"Go on, hitch a ride on the back of a butterfly. There is no better way to fly."

~Pat Monahan, Scott Michael Underwood, and James W. Stafford

~Get To Me

Just a picture and a quote tonight. Super busy, means super tired! I thought about maybe not doing a post for today, but I came across this photo in the archives from February, and thought it deserved to be seen! Just think, that pretty butterfly has already lived it's life, and moved on to the other side. I imagine that heaven must be  filled with the souls of a million butterflies! In fact, I can't imagine heaven without a creature of such beauty, but in truth, I imagine there is all kinds of beauty in heaven. And cats too. LOL.

What, and who, do you think you'll see in heaven?

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Zebra Longwing
Heliconius charithonia

The Old And The New...

San Francisco
March 1st, 2014

"Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life."

~Mark Twain 

Mark Twain loved San Francisco... and so do I. But he loved the city in a different era, so I have often wondered what he would think of today's San Francisco. I would love to be able to sit down with him, and really find out what he thinks of today in general. Would he be a follower of reality TV, maybe, but I think if he did it would be to mock it. Would he enjoy a good ride on BART? I will have to consider that one longer! LOL. How about all the amazing street performers, especially the ones who dress like him, and tell tall tales? Someone impersonating you could either be the biggest compliment ever, or a total insult, so I am sure when it comes to that he would consider the issue from all angles.  What about one of the most famous quotes about San Francisco, most often attributed to him, not actually being by him?

"The coldest winter I ever spent, was a summer in San Francisco."

According to Snopes.com, it wasn't said by Twain! This opinion is based on some pretty extensive research into his writings. That quote is simply not something mused by him, however it's believable he could have uttered it. Have you ever been in San Francisco in the summertime? It can be cold... really cold... and layers of clothing are often required, but it's also true that we have micro-climates in and around the city, and we natives have just come to depend on the best bet of always leaving the house with a sweater, or jacket, no matter what the temperature says it is! LOL. It's just what we do! And I am sure that during his time in San Francisco, he learned to do the same thing! That's the one thing about San Francisco that he could probably still relate to the best, if he were to suddenly come back for a visit. The weather. Cities change. People sometimes change. Culture changes. The weather generally doesn't. Unless you consider Global Warming a thing. Gee, I wonder what he would think about that?

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics"

~Quoted by Mark Twain in his autobiography, he attributes the quote to Benjamin Disraeli.

"So I became a newspaperman. I hated to do it, but I couldn't find honest work."

~Mark Twain

:)

Mood: Quiet

~Me :)

Vivid

"To be creative means to be in love with life, You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance it's beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, and little more dance to it."

~Osho

I agree whole heatedly that your general outlook on life affects your creativity. When I became deeply depressed years ago, and lost my ability to enjoy life, I couldn't even think about being creative, and yet people around me encouraged me to try. I at first that it was a waste of time, but as it turns out, I was wrong. I took pictures. Dull, lifeless, unfocused, half hearted photos, and it was frustrating because one of my favorite joys in life seemed to be gone, like I had surgery to remove it. In a lot of ways it sent me further into despair, but in that I felt like I had no choice, I continued and I snapped photo, after photo. Then one day, 3 years after the depression began, I felt myself wake up, and I felt life again. And I saw life again. I saw colors and places and objects with renewed interest. Like those things had not existed for a time. VIVID. LIFE WAS VIVID ONCE AGAIN!

I have been feeling uninspired lately, but slowly I have been getting my photography mojo back. This week I am hoping to get out and do some real photography! There are some new public art pieces in San Francisco, and some new gardens that look promising. I may not have my energy as high as I would like, but I have the will and the drive, so perhaps the other will follow. I have to try... right? If the current conflict in the middle east, and in the Russia/Ukraine has taught us nothing in the last couple weeks, it has served as a reminder that life is too short to allow depression to take our joys from us!

Mood: Encouraged

~Me :)

Here We Go Again...

"You live and learn. At any rate, you live."

~Douglas Adams

Okay, well, it was inevitable. Today I am officially posting from the new computer. It is an HP Envy. It's too soon to tell you that you should be... envious that is... but I will get back to you on it! LOL. It's going to take me a few days to get everything back where it belongs, you know, websites and such, but I do have a few things in place. Blogger and Twitter, and, of course, I have my celebrity crush, Dylan McDermott, all nice and tucked into my favorites tab! I have my priorities after all! :) The one downside to getting this new computer is having to deal with Windows 8.1!

 I will not mince words, I was happy... HELL... thrilled after the disaster that was Windows Vista. What a walk through hell that was! 7 was everything Vista promised to be. Well, you know, you were there! Anyway, I liked Windows 7 very much, and I feel like they could have just continued with that program, but no, they created Windows 8, and then later, 8.1, so get over it and get with the program, right? Learn it and stop bitching, right? It's not like I hadn't used it before, I have it installed on my laptop, and it was fine there. So really, get over it!

Okay. I will. 

Sigh.

I don't like change, unless it's summer changing into autumn. I am completely on-board with that!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)