Jan16
Author Archives: beth
Jan15
humanity.
our class of 3’s-4’s
met with their learning partners
a 4th grade class
and together
they read a book
learned about what Dr. King
stood for and fought for
in his own peaceful way
talked about
what love, fairness, equality
meant to them
then created
a lovely art piece together
each to become a square
in a large paper quilt
created by the whole school
a beautiful collaboration.
—
“make a career of humanity.
commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights.
you will make a better person of yourself,
a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.”
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – March for Integrated Schools, April 18, 1959.
Jan14
blue!
a lovely, blustery, turn your fingers blue, afternoon
spent with my grandson
welcoming our team home with a parade
a city full of pride and joy
for our very own
national champions
university of michigan wolverines
go blue!
—
“i think everyone, once in his life, should be given a ticker-tape parade.”
-gene kranz
—
image credits: brad galli, wxyz, me
Jan13
snowflake.
2500 hours across 5 years – “The Snowflake,”
featuring more than 400 snowflakes, all in relative size to one another.
photography by *don komarechka
—
*Don Komarechka is a nature & landscape photographer located in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario, Don is no stranger to cold winters. From auroras to pollen, insects to infrared, much of Don’s photographic adventures reveal a deeper understanding of how the universe works. Snowflakes are no exception.
Don began studying the science of snowflakes the same day he first photographed them, nearly four years prior to the publication of this book. Since then, snowflakes have been a non-stop passion.
Each one of Don’s snowflake images is photographed on an old black mitten at his home. Barrie, Ontario is known for higher levels of winter precipitation, making it a great location to capture hundreds of beautiful specimens.
Always science-minded but never formally trained, Don uses photography as a way to explore and understand the world around him. Photographing something unusual or unknown is the perfect excuse to learn something new.
—
“nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand.”
-henry david thoreau
Jan12
michigan medicine.
as michiganders
we grew up with detroit’s famous vernors ginger ale
not only was is good to drink and make floats and shakes out of it
but we used it as at least 80% of our medicine
if you felt
nauseous, had a virus, flu, unexplained itching, headache, were sore, tired, dizzy
or suffered from an unlimited litany of ailments
you were put to bed
and given cold vernors to sip on
but when the hot vernors showed up
on your bedroom tray
you knew your prognosis was much worse
and your days possibly numbered.
—
“there is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great,
and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow.”
-orison swett marden
Jan11
collage.
my class, getting into the collage style of art
—
not me, but very similar to how my house l0oks
when i’m happily immersed in my favorite way to create art,
collage.
—
“collage is more than just an art style.
collage is all about bringing different elements together.
once you form a sensibility about connection,
how different elements relate to each other,
you deepen your understanding of yourself and others.”
-bryan collier, american writer and illustrator
Jan10
word nerd.
artist: graham gillmore, ploy.
now this is a holiday made for me! i love words of all kinds and am a proud word nerd.
We celebrate National Word Nerd Day on January 9, (missed it by one day), by enthusing about our favorite words and the importance of language in our culture. Whether you always know what to say, or you often end up with your foot in your mouth, words are essential to our success and progress. National Word Nerd Day gives us the chance to learn some new words, use some old ones, and maybe even borrow them from someone else!
HISTORY OF NATIONAL WORD NERD DAY
Humans have communicated since we first walked on Earth, though our early language was nowhere near as complex as the systems of words we use today. Once, our basic vocabulary range was no different from that of great apes, but as we advanced, so did our language.
With developments in our lifestyle, we needed to be able to name things, communicate ideas, and express ourselves to aid our advancement. Words and language became increasingly important, yet it took many centuries until they were considered important enough to document.
During the medieval period, the written word was considered a luxury, with only the rich or the anointed able to read and write in a sophisticated way. As such, the majority was only able to enjoy words through oral storytelling. Shakespeare and other great wordsmiths used their love of words to delight audiences in the theatres, even inventing words for use in their work.
But by the mid-18th century, reading and writing were more widely taught and accessible to a greater range of people. It became necessary to produce a comprehensive list of words and their meanings in the English language, a task embarked upon by Dr. Samuel Johnson, who was paid the sum of 1,500 guineas (approximately $325,000 in today’s money) for its completion. After seven years of toil, his dictionary was published in 1755 and is still widely regarded as one of the most influential texts of the English language.
Today, we celebrate National Word Nerd Day to mark the importance of words in our history and civilization, giving us an excuse to geek out on our favorites!
Jan9
champions.
Photo by ERIC BRONSON / University of Michigan Photography
photo by university of michigan alumni association
—
“if you’re a champion, you have to have it in your heart.”
*-chris evert
*Christine Marie Evert known as Chris Evert Lloyd from 1979 to 1987,
is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest …
Jan8
real courage.
seven year-old ernest hemingway, fishing at horton’s creek in michigan, 1906
—
“the thing is to become a master
and in your old age
to acquire the courage to do
what children did when they knew nothing.”
-ernest hemingway
Jan7
after the silence.
treat yourself to something beautiful
watch this all the way through and feel the beauty of her voice move the audience to tears
-15 year old emma kok sings ‘voila’ – with andre rieu, maastrict 2023
—
“after silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”
-aldous huxley
I didn't have my glasses on.... 