such a wild adventure
grandie m’s 9th birthday fun
special ops teams, nerf guns, fairy bread, burger bar, headbands, sunglasses and laughs
one powerful team member even offered a great tip
when she warned me:
“never trust a panda with a gun.”
lesson learned.
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‘it’s all fun and games ’till someone loses an eye, then it’s just fun you can’t see.”
-james hetfield
Tyrus Wong, the artist whose works inspired the Disney film Bambi,
has died at home. surrounded by family, at age 106.
A Chinese immigrant, Mr Wong’s vibrant paintings captured Walt Disney’s eye and became the basis of the film’s distinct style. In a statement, the Walt Disney Family Museum said “his influence on the artistic composition of the animated feature Bambi cannot be overstated.”
Mr Wong emigrated to the United States from China as a child, with his father – leaving behind his mother and a sister he would never see again. After studying as an artist, he began working with Disney in 1938 as an “inbetweener”, drawing hundreds of pictures between poses to create the illusion of motion.
When the film studio began pre-production on Bambi, “he went home and painted several pictures of a deer in a forest”, the Disney museum said. “Walt Disney saw that Tyrus was able to produce exquisite artwork that did not necessarily look like the forest – but rather, felt like the forest. Walt’s vision for Bambi and use of Tyrus’ work still influences films today,” it said. Tyrus Wong only worked at Disney for three years, moving to Warner Brothers as a concept artist, designing greeting cards for Hallmark on the side.
Tyrus Wong holding one of his intricately made bamboo kites on the beach
After retiring, he turned to creating hundreds of elaborate bamboo kites, received many awards in recognition of his work, and became the subject of a documentary about his life, TYRUS. Writing about his death, the documentary’s director said “with his passing, we have lost a brilliant artist, motion picture and animation legend, Chinese American pioneer, and hero. “Tyrus always faced adversity with dignity, courage, and art… he awed us with his talent, charmed us with his boyish humour, and moved us with his humility, generosity, resilience, and big heart.”
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“the secret to so many artists living so long is that every painting is a new adventure.
so, you see, they’re always looking ahead to something new and exciting.
the secret is not to look back.”
– norman rockwell
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credits: walt disney studios, bbc canada, TYRUS, image copyright: sara jane boyers
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image credit: courage works
what a lovely day for a walk in ann arbor
with some of my friends and neighbors
“today is one of those excellent January partly cloudies in which light
chooses an unexpected part of the landscape to trick out in gilt,
and then the shadow sweeps it away. you know you’re alive. you take huge steps,
trying to feel the planet’s roundness arc between your feet.”
― annie dillard
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image 1 credit: ann arbor townies
“women hold up half the sky. “
-mao zedong
—
image credit: google images
“in transition I think the spirit goes somewhere, but I don’t think it leaves.”
– valerie simpson
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photo image: pinterest
“every once in a while, someone will mail me a single popcorn kernel that didn’t pop.
i’ll get out a fresh kernel, tape it to a piece of paper and mail it back to them. “
-orville redenbacher
“so random but a couple months ago a boy scout came to our door selling popcorn.
he told V, “i know it’s not as good as the cookies but it’s what we do.” 😂😂
-facebook quote from my daughter’s friend, m
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image credit: victor nunes art
“we always think of borders
as something that separates two peoples
but of course they unite them.
it’s something you have in common, literally.”
-don winslow
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photo credit: getty images
crystal lake, northern michigan
–
‘ice day’
no school.
—
“in skating over thin ice our safety is in our speed.”
-ralph waldo emerson
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image credit: university of michigan
dear mom –
“just a few photos from xmas. still having shutterfly problems so thought i’d better at least send something. felix is talking, saying ‘car, ear, nose’ and magnus is crying over patsy cline songs. just back from swimming at ellen’s house with the dairy cows watching us from the other side of the fence. terry has his triathlon in two weeks then he can finally relax and not train every night. had our outdoor movie night on the weekend and it was great, everyone had fun and the kids got to stay up late and be maniacs.
what’s going on at home?”
<3 love, holli
(a glimpse of life from my daughter who was living far away in australia at the time)
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here’s to
national handwritten letter day
in honor of one of my favorite things.
—
“letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them.”
-johann wolfgang von goethe
I didn't have my glasses on.... 