puxatawny phil with some other (less famous) celebs.
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it’s his big day, and one of my favorite fun holidays
no matter what he predicts
about the coming of spring
(*not sure about his accuracy)
i love his spirit.
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*the national climatic data center compared U.S. national temperatures from 1988 to 2012 to determine the accuracy of Phil’s predictions, and he’s only been proven correct 39% of the time — significantly worse than chance.
WDIV-TV shares a recently discovered local treasure –
When glass artist Shawn Bungo and his wife moved to Ann Arbor from Knoxville, Tennessee six months ago, they knew moving to a new city during a pandemic would be a challenge. No stranger to community collaboration, Bungo decided to engage with locals through virtual scavenger hunts for small glass works he would hide across town — and they were an overnight hit. He originally started the tradition while going on walks with his dog, Leo, in Knoxville.
“Being a glass artist, you have a lot of pieces that don’t come out, so that’s what started that,” said Bungo. “When I moved up here, after the pandemic started, I started doing that again where I would just go around and randomly hide things and put my card with them — typically in downtown Ann Arbor. I really connected with the community with that.”
On his many walks, Bungo became fascinated with the city’s numerous Little Free Libraries. He shifted his scavenger hunts to showcase the various library boxes around town — which inspired him to relaunch a project he created in Knoxville.
“I just recently put it back up two weeks ago and I shared it with the Ann Arbor Townies group on Facebook,” said Bungo. “As soon as I did that, I almost immediately got people involved in it and it’s been really fun.”
He said he’s received about a dozen miniature paintings and other small items in the 12×12-inch box, some with handwritten notes. “Over the years, I’ve gotten poems, photographs — I’m open to everything,” said Bungo. He said it has served as a fun way to engage with other Ann Arborites during the pandemic.
“With people being so isolated right now, I think it’s the perfect time to do something like this, “ he said. “It allows me to connect with people because we haven’t been able to.” Bungo was supposed to show at the Ann Arbor Art Fair last summer, and with the event being canceled, he felt like he missed out on a true introduction both to Ann Arbor’s art scene and its residents. For now, keep an eye out for his latest adventures with Leo and his front yard gallery. You might just find a tiny treasure — if you look close enough.
story: wdivtv,clickondetroit, meredith bruckner – photos: shawn bungo, bungo glass
“art is too important not to share.”
-romero britto
nothing like the feel of
walking on a lake of solid ice
remembering how it felt
swimming in its warm water
pure magic
“in the arctic, the inuit say water and land are the same;
they’re an unbroken unity.
in the winter, you travel on the ice because it’s the linkage and the easiest way,
and in the summer, you move around on the water.”
*-john ralston saul
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*John Ralston Saul (born 1947) is a Canadian writer, political philosopher, and public intellectual. His work is known for being thought-provoking and ahead of its time, leading him to be called a “prophet” by Time and to be included in Utne Reader’s list of the world’s leading thinkers and visionaries.
the brave little snow panda masters the road
with a few big challenges along the way.
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“this would not be a problem if i were driving a snowplow.”
-aaron allston
our class has been taking a close look at snow and ice
after reading them
the first book i ever read all by myself
‘snow’ by p.d. eastman
brought a snowball in from outside
named it ned
popped it in our freezer
check on it every now and then
take ned out for just a little bit
see if it’s still cold and in the shape of a snowball and if it’s drippy
hope that ned will be with us throughout the season
even if he goes away in the spring
we’re pretty sure he’ll be back next winter.
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“let your children see you slow down.
read a book, walk in the woods,
sip coffee in the early hours of the morning.
because when they grow up,
they’ll know how to slow down, too.”
-angela anaghost-repke
after my recent post about those who ‘keep boxes’
my longtime friend, a brilliant apple systems engineer
texted this mind-blowing response to me:
“thought you might like to know that the apple engineers designed the iphone box
so that the amount of time it takes to lift the top off is 4 seconds –
just because their research showed
that it was the amount of anticipation that gave the recipient the most joy”
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“i have drunken deep of joy, and I will taste no other wine tonight.”
― Percy Bysshe Shelley
as i worked on report cards over the last week
putting together my notes
gathering my thoughts
sharing my stories
telling their stories
i was reminded
that each child
has
their own gifts
their own challenges
yet each shares
without fail
a curiosity
a sense of wonder about the world
a desire to learn
and does so
in their own way.
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“Do not train children to learn by force and harshness,
but direct them to it by what amuses their minds,
so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy
the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”
-Plato
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image credit: Radhusets Julkalender 2012 – Arte del libro, Arte dell’illusrazione
what you might imagine it to be vs. what it might quite possibly be.
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i recently listened to this book written and read by stephen king, and loved every minute of it-
a mix of his personal story and very straight shooting practical advice.
“It starts with this: put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write,
remind yourself why it isn’t in the middle of the room.
Life isn’t a support system for art. It’s the other way around.”
― Stephen King
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Amazon book review summary: Short and snappy as it is, Stephen King’s On Writing really contains two books: a fondly sardonic autobiography and a tough-love lesson for aspiring novelists.
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image credits: tom gauld, simon and schuster
j.l. hudson department store – detroit, michigan
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i have always loved boxes
some for nostalgia or beauty
others for their material or design
as my children know
sometimes a box is my favorite part of a present
yes, i have a kept a few or so.
apple – macbook air
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“thanks to my mother, not a single cardboard box has found its way back into society.
we receive gifts in boxes from stores that went out of business twenty years ago.”
-erma bombeck
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one specialized group are those who save the boxes created by apple and the used boxes are actually for sale on ebay.
i only recently gave a gift in my macbook air box that i had saved for no reason other than i loved its amazing design.
see the link below for a look into this apple phenomenon:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5bw3b/why-people-keep-empty-apple-iphone-macbook-boxes
