somehow a cow
always manages to find its way back to the barn
(along with his sidekick penguin, of course).
—
“build the barn before you buy the cow.”
-serbian proverb
Oct28
Author Archives: beth
Oct27
reflections.
when robots and humans have a playdate
—
“we’re fascinated with robots because they are reflections of ourselves.”
ken goldberg
Oct26
tiny tree tour.
bonsai in the autumn
add the bonsai and penjing garden to your list of color tours this fall.
they may be small, but these little trees have a big impact.
the outdoor garden closes for the season on October 30th.
matthei botanical gardens, ann arbor, michigan, usa – autumn 2022
—
“the world of bonsai is miniature, but the natural world that it evokes is boundless.”.
-arthur joura, bonsai curator
Oct25
in yellow.
a favorite comment said to me
when wearing a yellow sweater
“i enjoy you in yellow”
—
“some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun.”
-pablo picasso
Oct24
continual celebration.
surrounded for a long weekend by big people who choose to live creative lives
working daily with little people who quite naturally live creative lives
i realize they are the same kind of people
who are, in spite of everything,
open, honest, vulnerable, full of wonder, bravery, creativity, joy, passion, and spirit
i feel such an admiration for them and kinship with them.
—
“life should be a continual celebration, a festival of lights the whole year round.
only then can you grow up, can you blossom.”
-rajneesh
happy diwali to those who celebrate!
Oct23
moments.
attendees stand up comedy show
alan zweibel and laraine newman – old friends from saturday night live
cathy guisewite with her shoe
erma’s grandson sees her selectric typewriter
tried to open my hotel room coffee, attempted to bite it, finally had to stab it with a pen
trouble getting in and out of magic star trek door
always a sure sign of a long night, an abandoned jerky wrapper
—
“it takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.”
-erma bombeck
Oct22
you can’t deny laughter.
memoirists, novelists, songwriters, television writers, screenwriters, comedy writers, social media writers, cookbook authors, newspaper writers, bloggers, it writers, comicstrip writers, standup comedians, human interest writers, 92 year old and 17 year old writers, actors, playwrights, short story writers, cartoonists…
so much creative energy all in one place
learning, listening, talking, writing, improv, playing, crying, laughing my face off with stomach hurting fun.
not your usual conference
not your usual hotel drawer reading material
—
“you can’t deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants.”
-stephen king
Oct21
write something.
after 4 years and 4 tries
at last i find myself in
the erma bombeck writer’s workshop
at the university of dayton
her alma mater
where she has left an endowment
to support writers of humor and the human condition
i’ve always admired her style of writing
her daughter spoke of growing up in the family
the joy of erma’s looks at life
already feeling inspired and so lucky
with very welcoming writers
of all shapes and sizes, ages and stages
beginning to accomplished author
each with a unique story and reason
all with a common passion
the desire to write.
—
“to say, ‘well, i write when i really get into it’ is a bunch of bull.
put the paper in the typewriter, stare at it a long time,
get snowblindness if you have to, but write something.”
-erma bombeck
Oct20
cat’s eye view.
my daughter’s two black cats
who i collectively call ‘the nathans’
waited until her halloween display was up
deciding to become the stars
sitting centerstage in the tableau.
—
“in a cat’s eye, all things belong to cats.”
-joseph wood krutch
Oct19
across the universe.
my grandson stargazing in a night field
—
i met my ex-husband many years ago
a man with a brilliant mind
who taught me myriad things
among them
oceanography, astronomy, photography
astrophotography
my grandson
never met his (now late) grandfather
yet all these years later
he put together one of his old telescopes
taking it upon himself
to learn astrophotography
he has become a stargazer
two generations later
his grandfather
would have been thrilled and so proud of him
proving once again that
everything in the universe is truly connected
most in ways we cannot even begin to imagine.
—
“Science is the one human activity that is truly progressive.
The body of positive knowledge is transmitted from generation to generation.”
― Edwin Powell Hubble, The Realm of the Nebulae
I didn't have my glasses on.... 