Mar28

r.e.s.p.e.c.t.

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thinking of Aretha Franklin during her birthday week

 powerful singer and powerful person

who sang so many powerful songs

including

RESPECT

an anthem

to civil rights and women’s rights

personal power

knowing

she’d be proud today

if she were still with us

as people will fill the streets

across the country

to stand and sing and march

to take back their rights

reclaiming their power

no kings.

—

‘stand up to your obstacles and do something about them.

you will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have.’

-norman vincent peale

 

—

*Aretha Louise Franklin , 1942 – 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Regarded as the “Queen of Soul”, she was twice named by Rolling Stone magazine as the greatest singer of all time. 

 

 

 

—

photo image: don hunstein, Getty

 

 

Mar27

the roar of humanity.

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up north visiting empire/glen lake, michigan

reading one of the little local papers

the leelenau enterprise

when what do I happily stumble upon?

two letters to the editor.

the first,

a thank you to the 25 snow plow drivers and support staff who drove 15,000+ road miles over 5 days to clear snow during the recent insane blizzard – yes, superhuman heroes

and next,

a casual observation about a recent local big foot sighting, simply advising the other locals to use caution, no big worries. 

 

I really have a great love of local papers 

 these are just two reasons why.

—

“to look at the paper is to raise a seashell to one’s ear

and to be overwhelmed by the roar of humanity.”

-alain de botton

 

—

source credit: the leelenau enterprise

Mar26

ugly gerry.

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Ugly Gerry is a font created in 2019 to protest gerrymandering. It used the shape of a U.S. congressional district for each of its characters. 

It was designed by Ben Doessel and James Lee of the Leo Burnett Agency in a project for Represent Us. 

The team was from Chicago, and after seeing how crazy the Illinois 4th district had become, they became interested in this issue. … Its notorious earmuff shape looked like a U, then after seeing other letters on the map, they created a typeface so their districts could become digital graffiti that voters and politicians couldn’t ignore.

Shapes that loosely resembled the letters ‘A’ through ‘Z’ were used to create the (uppercase) font.  Some of the shapes were not of single districts but instead combined pairs.

Ugly Gerry has been called “the world’s most revolting font”.

 

—

‘type is what meaning looks like.’

-max phillips

 

 

—

source credits: ben doessel and james lee, leon burnett, democrat docket, wikipedia

Mar25

pete got mail!

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i cannot believe

that Pete the Cat,

‘Peter,’ to the bank

is getting his own mail

 wondering how much he’s saved up

since moving in with me

also wondering

why he hasn’t mentioned 

his secret bank account.

does he also have credit cards?

 

—

‘i get mail: therefore i am.’

-scott adams

Mar24

picture books.

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march is national reading month in the United States

people of all ages are encouraged to celebrate

by daily reading or listening to books

as a way to strengthen knowledge, imagination, and empathy,

and to foster a lifelong love of reading and literature.

 

—

‘all really good picture books are written to be read five hundred times.’

-rosemary wells

 

—

i have always loved picture books and still collect them.

do you have a favorite?

 

 

—

art credit: Grégoire Mabire, watercolor ink illustration

Mar23

charades.

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—

staying up veeeery late

playing charades

with a small group of friends

laughing

like I have not laughed 

in a very long time

at one point

i was martha stewart 

to my friend’s snoop dog 

on their tv show

rules became ‘suggestions’

more laughing

especially when they could not 

make the leap from 

their ‘very close but not quite correct’

shout out of:

‘bug-uanahumamhau bunny’ 

as a guess 

to  solve the charade of: 

‘bugs bunny’

so close. 

but not.

 

—

art credit: mark anderson, andertoons.com

 

Mar22

family farm.

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we visited the cutest family farm near our freinds’ house

sweet animals and baked goods and alpaca wearables

a little shop, and baking classes

everything created and taught and well cared for by the family

on a beautiful plot of land 

a lovey place to vist and a lovely place to live.

 

—

‘farming is a profession of hope’

-brian brett, farmer and writer

Mar21

two signs.

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spent the last couple of days doing some projects

to help my community

maybe it was working

because I received not one, but two, good signs.

-author unknown

Mar20

‘a day without sunshine is like, you know, night.’-steve martin

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it’s official, the astronomical start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere (vernal equinox) occurs today, March 20, at 10:46 a.m. EDT. At this moment, the sun crosses the celestial equator, providing nearly equal amounts of day and night across the globe. -Farmers’ Almanac 

Just in time,  La Croix has a SUNSHINE flavor of sparkling water. Can anyone tell me what sunshine might taste like? Here’s what La Croix has to say about it, but I’m not sure it’s really any clearer.

pastedGraphic.pngLaCroix Launches Sunshine . . . “The Deliciously Fascinating Taste of WONDER! A refreshing, guilt-free drink that captures the warmth, joy, and sparkle of a ray of sunshine. It’s bright, the essence of a sun-kissed day in every sip.”

Hmmm… still not sure what that taste might be, anyone have an idea?

 

—

‘wherever you go, no matter what the weather,

always bring your own sunshine. ‘

‘anthony j. d’angelo 

 

 

 

 

—

source credits: lacroixwater.com, farmer’s almanac

 

Mar19

born p.d. (pre-doritos).

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taco flavored doritos- now vintage

—

yes, i know it surprised my children

 i was born before Doritos were invented

and ranch dressing became popular

and captain crunch cereal

and space bars and pop tarts

were born

and …

the 60s and 70a

were the heyday for junk food

and i was in my glory.

—

what is a childhood food or snack that you still think about?

 

—

‘i’m not really a football guy, i’m more of a snack guy,’

-john, age 5