Jun20

artsy.

Posted on by
Standard

 

glad that no one was counting on me

to be the only photographer at the graduation party

here are two of my shots documenting the fun occasion

i’d classify them as ‘artsy’

‘i came to photography by accident. ‘

– eve arnold

 

 *Eve Arnold,( 1912–2012) was an acclaimed American photojournalist and the first female member of the prestigious Mangum Photos agency. Best known for her intimate, candid portraits of celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Malcolm X, she was equally celebrated for her fearless documentary work in closed-off regions like China and the Soviet Union.
Jun19

much to celebrate on Juneteenth.

Posted on by
Standard

  Barack Obama Presidential Center opens to the public on Juneteenth

Chicago, Illinois,USA

 

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. It marks the day in 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to ensure all enslaved people were freed, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, finally enforcing the freedom of 250,000 freed enslaved Black Texans.

“Our Nation is stronger because of the generations of struggles for equal rights and social justice, and our culture is richer because of the contributions of African Americans throughout our history. This is why Juneteenth, while rooted in the history of a people, can be celebrated by all Americans.” – Barack Obama – 2010 

On the tower of the new Obama Presidential Center the message reads:

“You are America. Unconstrained by habit and convention. Unencumbered by what is, ready to seize what ought to be. For everywhere in this country, there are first steps to be taken, there is new ground to cover, there are more bridges to be crossed. America is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘We.’ ‘We the People.’ ‘We Shall Overcome.’ ‘Yes We Can.’ That word is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours.”- Barack Obama

 

—

source credits: brittanica, history.com, the Obama Foundation, IPM, Chicago Tribune

Jun18

‘destiny is not necessarily what you get out of life, but rather, what you give.’ – cary grant

Posted on by
Standard

cary walking his siamese cat in beverly hills, ca. – 1955

—

happy birthday to cary grant

one of my favorite actors

born archibald leach in 1904

—

an amusing story from his neighbor, talent agent shep gordon, who was cary’s next door neighbor in beverly hills:

One day Shep’s cat, (not the cat above), to which he had given the name The Sensitive One, disappeared and he put “missing” posters on lampposts.

“I got a phone call from Cary Grant’s housekeeper telling me they’d found the cat,” he says.

“But after that they didn’t return my calls for a couple of weeks so finally I thought I’d go to the house. I rang the doorbell and when the door opened on a fur carpet with these two silver bowls were Cary Grant and my cat.

“I could see the cat looking at me going, ‘Don’t blow this for me please.’ So we ended up with joint custody but I only took the cat back once after that. Cary Grant later gave this amazing interview to Parade magazine where he said the cat saved his life. It brought him back to wanting to live. He was about 70 at the time and I never saw him again after that.” 

—

‘it is the law of life that if you are kind to someone you feel happy

if you are cruel you are unhappy

and if you hurt someone you will be hurt back.’

-cary grant

 

 

—

photo credit: sanford roth, getty images 1955

Jun17

bazooka.

Posted on by
Standard

when we were young

bazooka gum 

was the most popular

bubble gum

hard as a rock

we loved how sugary it was

the little comics inside

reading our fortunes

we had all summer

to play games 

think up things to do

one day

my sister, my friend and i

had a contest to see who

could get the most pieces of gum in their mouth 

bazooka was really really hard to chew

it took a lot of work 

to chew it and chew it and chew it

to make it soft

to make a bubble

 our friend won the contest

 ten pieces in her mouth 

while chewing it 

she won nothing but the glory

we all had

very, very sore teeth

very sore jaws

but what a contest

so worth it!

—

Bazooka bubble gum was first marketed shortly after World War II in the U.S. by the Topps Company of Brooklyn, New York. The gum was packaged in a red, white, and blue color scheme and originally sold for one penny. Beginning in 1953, Topps changed the packaging to include small comic strips with the gum, featuring the character “Bazooka Joe”. There are over 1,535 different “Bazooka Joe” comic-strip wrappers to collect. Also on the comic strip is an offer for a Premium and a fortune.

“if summer had a flavor, it was pink bubble gum.” — Goodreads
Random Recent Comments:

“Bazooka Joe gum: It’s like chewing a mountain that someone shot a freeze ray into.” — Reddit / 30 Rock

“I think my jaws still ache from chewing all that bubble gum when I was a kid.” — Facebook 

Jun16

new mistake.

Posted on by
Standard

how was i to know

when i walked in

a little cafe

new to me

great food

that when i started

talking to my friend

about to leave 

cleaned up our table

distracted

more chatting 

saw the open slot

threw my trash in 

realized

not trash slot

 part of decor

not trash slot

no way to get it out

not trash slot

part of a built-in fake wall

told my friend 

two construction workers

sitting near us

busted out laughing

promised not to tell

good thing it was all paper

i’m sure someone else

must have done this before

maybe many

saw our construction guys 

outside 

laughing again

as they drove off

in their truck

—

“there are endless possibilities for new mistakes no one has ever seen before.”

― james irwin, author

Jun15

blue whispering day.

Posted on by
Standard

Choy Moo Kheong (b.1950 Singapore)

Blue Whispering Day, 2022.

Acrylic on canvas

—

Choy Moo Kheong (b.1950) is a self-taught artist from Singapore who is inspired by the romanticism of nature. At the age of 28, he taught himself how to paint. Combining his talent, creativity and determination, he succeeded despite the odds. He held on to his dreams and was rewarded when his works begun to be accepted and exhibited.

Since then, his work has been exhibited in France, Switzerland, Brunei, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. Besides attracting international and local private collectors, his work has also been collected by many private organizations such as the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, the Canadian High Commissioner, Glaxo Holdings in London, the New York Institute of Finance in Singapore, the Sultan of Brunei, JP Morgan Singapore and the Gulf International Bank.

Jun14

say anything.

Posted on by
Standard

“I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed.” That’s Lloyd Dobler, played by John Cusack in Say Anything, explaining his future plans to his girlfriend’s father.

—

’tis the season of graduations, transitions and celebrations

when people

little and big

complete their

middle school, high school, college, post-grad

school years

they will be asked

many times

what do you want to do next?

most do not yet have an answer

or

will come up with

whatever comes to mind

they just need a minute

to take a breath

look back

at what they’ve done

enjoy the moment

exactly where they are

just a little bit longer

—

‘Say Anything,’ (1989) is my favorite teen rom-com-drama movie

the movie follows the romance between Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack), an average student, and Diane Court (Ione Skye), the class valedictorian, immediately after their graduation from high school.

 in 2002, Entertainment Weekly named Say Anything the best modern romance film, and in 2012, ranked it number 11 on its list of the “50 Best High School Movies.”

 

—

credits: 20th Century Fox

Jun13

knick-knack. when the knicks were last champions in 1973.

Posted on by
Standard

Coach Red Holzman directs play from the Knicks bench,

1973. | Dick Raphael/NBAE/Getty Images

–

tonight the New York Knicks will have a chance to win it all once again

the city is electric with hope and joy for their return to glory

it’s been a very long time coming

53 years

—

here’s a look back with an excerpt from Mental Floss Magazine:

In the summer of 1973, New York City was riding a collective high—and you didn’t even have to walk through the Village to catch the drift. The real buzz that summer was a wave of sports euphoria. Ever since the Knicks clinched th MNA Title on May 10, 1973, a semi-permanent celebratory state had settled over the five boroughs.

It was a season of shifts: downtown, a gleaming pair of skyscrapers completely rewrote the Manhattan skyline, while up in Midtown, rock royalty shook the rafters of Madison Square Garden. But before the music started and the concrete dried, the tone for the entire summer was set the moment the world-champion basketball team touched down at the airport.

Police officers hold back a crowd of ecstatic fans welcoming the NBA Champion New York Knicks

at JFK Airport on May 12, 1973. | Robert Rosamilio/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images

Before the summer of 1973 even had a chance to heat up, the city was already boiling over. On May 12, the New York Knicks touched down at  JFK International Airport after dethroning the Los Angeles Lakers on their own court to claim the NBA Championship. The reception was less of a welcome home and more of a glorious riot: Port Authority police found themselves in a full-court press just trying to keep the roaring crowd from swarming the tarmac. It set a manic, victorious tone for a legendary New York summer where the energy simply never simmered down.

here’s to the team touching down at JFK one more time 

with a trophy 

and a city

waiting with open arms

ready to celebrate them

at long last

—

‘the strength of the team is each individual member. the strength of each member is the team.’

*phil jackson

*Phil Jackson is a legendary American basketball player, coach and executive. He was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1969, where he won two NBA championships as a player. He holds the NBA record for winning the most championships as a head coach, capturing 11 titles. He is celebrated as the “Zen Master” for his unique coaching style that used mindfulness and teamwork.

 

 

—

source credit: Mental Floss , Nitya Rao

Jun12

superhuman.

Posted on by
Standard

ready to drizzle

tear the seal

unwrap

twist off

the cap

no

the glass

how

does

this

happen

do i

have

super human strength

and don’t know it?

 

—

‘it is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit.’

–J.R.R. Tolkien

Jun11

happy hours.

Posted on by
Standard

looks like it’s time to call it a day

sure was a hot one

no end to those squirrels

and loud kids

happy hour?

 sign says otherwise

500$ fine ?

park your big rig

let’s head out.

 

—

‘fair thoughts and happy hours attend on you.’

-william shakespeare

 

 

 

—

ann arbor, michigan, usa –   june 2026

 

a