Author Archives: beth

Unknown's avatar

About beth

Ann Arbor-ite writes about enjoying life with all of its ironies and surprises.
Mar20

it’s spring.

Posted on by
Standard

And this is the lady

Whom everyone loves,

Ms. Violet

in her purple gown

Or, on special occasions,

A dress the color

Of sunlight. She sits

In the mossy weeds and waits

To be noticed.

She loves dampness.

She loves attention.

She loves especially

To be picked by careful fingers,

Young fingers, entranced

By what has happened

To the world.

We, the older ones,

Call it Spring,

And we have been through it

Many times.

But there is still nothing

Like the children bringing home

Such happiness

In their small hands.

“Children, It’s Spring”

~Mary Oliver

 

 

 

—

art credit: anatomyofmind/etsy

Mar19

who me?

Posted on by
Standard

something happened to the little lamb

similar to what happened to the reindeer

the victim of someone with the same m.o.

when I asked around

Pete the Cat

didn’t seem to know anything about it. 

‘guilt: the gift that keeps on giving.’

-erma bombeck

Mar18

sync or swim?

Posted on by
Standard

do your best even if you have no idea what you’re doing

—

my post today was inspired by my blogging/podcasting friend

Wynne Leon of Surprised By Joy –

https://wynneleon.com/2025/03/17/all-you-have-to-do-is-ask/

who wrote about her daughter finally getting into a class she was interested in, (glee club), and then wasn’t sure what it actually was, reminding me of my own experience in the arena of not knowing what I was getting into:

i was in high school and my best friend told me she was going to try out for our synchronized swimming team (that I didn’t even know we had). it sounded fun, looked easy, i’d seen it on tv, so i thought why not? i’ll give it a whirl.

the afternoon of the try out arrived and we jumped in the pool with everyone else, but as they went through some different moves and swim strokes, and the music began, it suddenly struck me:

 I had neglected to figure in two important factors before jumping in:

  1. my friend was a great swimmer, strong, athletic, and had been on the swim team for many years
  2. I was a terrible swimmer, did not enjoy it at all as an activity, hated being cold, and just loved to play in the water or float around on a raft

as you might imagine, it did not go so well. it involved some water swallowing and inhaling, burning eyes, lots of thrashing and water slapping, nothing that could be construed as graceful, something really, really far from water ballet, and some spinning and jumping. there were no coordinating moves with anyone else, i was just trying to survive. needless to say, i did not become a member of the club, luckily for me, (and all). but i did learn something that day. it never hurts to try new things, but it’s usually best to have an idea what you’re about to try before going off the deep end or you’ll soon find yourself underwater.

—

‘I tried synchronized swimming, but felt, over time, i was just going through the motions.’

-dana gould

Mar17

shenanigans.

Posted on by
Standard

happy St. Patrick’s Day

no questions asked.

 

—

‘shenanigans, because life is more fun when you’re up to something.’

-author unknown 

Mar16

flow.

Posted on by
Standard

Flow (Straume, in Latvian)

this film is a thing of beauty

as the story unfolds before your eyes

  a cat trying to survive

along with other animals

some from

across the earth, the air, the sea

the animation is flawless

filled with details

 offering clues to the story

becoming clearer over time

while some of it remains ambiguous

there is no dialogue

its mesmerizing score

colors, light, mood, magical quality

all draw you in to

this ethereal vision

the ebb and flow of life, death, renewal

 choices made by the individual

and those of the collective community

accepting differences

learning from each other

 caring for each other

impacting each other

there are scenes

that will break your heart

 that will bring you joy

an ongoing thread of reflection shines through

reminding each

they are still here

who they are

 who stands with them

the universal need

for connection and community.

this film is a poem.

—

(Make sure to watch the credits to see a final scene)

—

Flow was the first Latvian production to win an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. The film’s Golden Globe Award was featured at the Latvian National Museum of Art.  It was also the first independent film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.

The film’s budget was around €3.5 million, which translates to roughly $3.7 million USD.

Production for this film took 5 1/2 years to complete.

No storyboards were used for the production and there are no deleted scenes.

  • Co-production: “Flow” was a co-production between Latvia, Belgium, and France.
  • Director: Gints Zilbalodis (First win for him)
  • Producers: Sacrebleu Productions, Dream Well and Take Five

—

‘each of us is a living system within a greater living system,

connected to each other in more ways than we can fathom. ‘ 

-Paul H. Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson

Mar15

‘i never said most of the things i said.’ – yogi berra

Posted on by
Standard

why is ‘oxymoron’ an oxymoron?”

Much like “deafening silence” and “jumbo shrimp,” the word “oxymoron” is a bit of an oxymoron in itself.

The word “oxymoron” may sound like an insult or maybe a cleaning product, but it’s neither. It’s the name for a figure of speech where contradictory terms appear together (e.g., “minor crisis,” “small crowd,” “bittersweet”). But the word “oxymoron” also falls into that category, as it’s derived from ancient Greek words that contradict each other.

“Oxymoron” comes from the Greek oxumōron,which combines oxus (meaning “sharp”) and mōros (“foolish”). Calling something both sharp and foolish comes across as, well, oxymoronic, thus making the word “oxymoron” a perfect example of what it describes.

But being a walking contradiction never stopped the word from becoming a part of our collective vernacular. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it became popular in the mid-17th century, with people using it to rhetorically emphasize blatantly contradictory phrases. While you may be tempted to call someone an oxymoron as a personal descriptor, doing so wouldn’t be by the book. Instead, the term is best reserved for incongruous sets of words.

—

just when i thought I had a handle on this…..

what is your favorite oxymoron?

my personal favorite is:

‘definite maybe.’

—

‘i’m not going to say i told you so, but i did.’

-nouriel roubini

 

—

Source credits: Bennett Kleinman, SergioVas/Shutterstock
Mar14

pies on pi day.

Posted on by
Standard
on pi day, try a slice of your favorite pie
pickle and peanut butter pie with yogurt?
cool ranch Dorito and onion pie?
—
pies on pi day
from random cookbooks
don’t think either will be too popular
maybe find a third option.
pi is math
pie is food
celebrate wisely. 
—
‘i wanted to be in the FBI. i also wanted to be a pie salesman.’

-shirley temple

(same here, Shirley, same here)

Mar13

a little more gentle.

Posted on by
Standard

so kind and unexpected

  handwritten positive affirmations

in the restroom of a little local diner

—

‘wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all be a little more gentle with each other?’

-judy garland

 

Mar12

‘at the end of the day, the goals are simple: safety and security.’ -jodi rell

Posted on by
Standard

 

(a treasured baby blanket – owned since birth)

CUBBIES

as an early childhood educator of many years

i’ve seen many children come to school with all kinds of things

sometimes they wear layers of clothing all buttoned up

shedding layers as the year continues

some bring heavy bags with their entire dinosaur collection

which gets smaller and smaller as time goes by

some bring a whole box of cars

some wear costumes

some bring a picture of someone they love

some carry heavy rocks in their pockets or boots

some bring special tiny things to leave in their personal cubby

all these treasures sit waiting patiently for the children

to come and pick them up

or touch them or share them or cuddle them

as needed

they all have one thing in common

these items are very special to them

 they represent

a connection between home and school

helping them to feel safe and secure

they always get smaller, appear less often, or fade away with time

as the child grows confident and claims the classroom as their own

a place they are welcome, are truly a part of, and where they belong.

as the year continues

they love to bring things from school back to their home

artwork, inventions, words, and things found outside in nature

all that have stories to go with them

so excited to share a part of their school day with the ones they love

the connection goes both ways

(favorite cars and strong robot monster)

(very fancy sparkly shoes and water bottle)

(little pencils used to learn how to write with tiny hands and fresh moss from outside)

(a beloved cuddly red panda)

my favorite treasure ever 

(that little thing that comes in a carryout pizza box

that looks like a miniature table)

 

—

‘safety is a basic human need.

people with a sense of security and belonging are stabilized for learning, creating, innovating.

a group of wonderfully cared for, confident individuals will generate great ideas.’

*john sweeney

*John Sweeney is a British investigative journalist and writer who worked for The Observer newspaper, and the BBC’s Panorama and Newsnight series.

Mar11

big park, little park, and the people who share them with all of us.

Posted on by
Standard

Grand Canyon National Park

Polly Mead Patraw was the first woman park ranger at Grand Canyon National Park in 1929. She was the second woman ranger-naturalist in the entire park service. 

With a botany degree from the University of Chicago, she first applied to the Forest Service but was denied. Undaunted, she was accepted shortly after to be the first woman ranger-naturalist at Grand Canyon National Park. 

Her uniform consisted of the standard National Park Service uniform and a soft-brim hat. Women’s uniforms were not available.  Her job as a ranger-naturalist included lectures, auto tours, nature hikes, and writing about her findings. She served two summer terms and continued on through the spring of 1931. Today, her legacy as a trailblazing ranger-naturalist lives on.

 

 

Shizuoka, the world’s smallest park in Nagaizumi, Japan.

If you want to take a stroll around this park in Japan, you will have to be very nimble on your toes.A park roughly the size of four sheets of paper in Japan’s central prefecture of Shizuoka was recently crowned the world’s smallest, according to Guinness World Records. Despite measuring just 2.6 square feet, the recreational space offers a stool made up of a block of wood held up by a rock, with a little bush encircling it.

From afar, it could easily be mistaken for a bonsai, an example of the Japanese art of manicuring miniature trees.The park is a short walk from the town hall of Nagaizumi, about 68 miles southwest of the capital Tokyo.

When a Nagaizumi local was on vacation in the US, “they found the previous record holder for the smallest park,” Shuji Koyama, a team leader of the town’s construction division, told Guinness. “So they wanted to create an even smaller park.”

To qualify for the Guinness title, Shizuoka officials brought in a certified surveyor to measure the park. Koyama told Guinness World Records he was relieved that the park was finally recognized.

“We want to continue maintaining the park with the community, as well as creating a landscape that is more social media friendly, so that even more people will find attractions of our town,” he said.

—

‘for some people, a park is the only place in their entire world where they can see something beautiful.’

-bette midler

 

 

 

—

source credits: U.S. National Park Service, Chris Lau,CNN