Category Archives: Life

‘the future is unwritten.’ joe strummer, the clash

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now that it’s november

I went on my annual quest

to buy a planning calendar

for the coming year

lo and behold

after going to three stores

not one of them

had a single 2026 calendar

each store seemed puzzled

that none had arrived yet

is this a bad sign

for the coming year?

for the future?

what’s up with 2026?

am i not supposed

to be planning anything

after December 31, 2025?

‘tomorrow is only found in the calendar of fools.’

-og mandino, american author and inspirational speaker

art credit: the michigan daily

palette.

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this thoughtful young artist

has left a painter’s palette

and kind hearts

for any passerby

feeling inspired

to create

using the colors left for them

moved by

the surroundings

and such kind generosity.

‘a world of colors on the palette remained….

wandering…

on canvases still emerging.’

-wassily kandinsky

‘excuse us, it must have spilled.’ – Olive and Pete the Cat

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‘we’re not sure who did it,

but is must have gotten all over our fur

when we were trying to clean it up.’

‘if you don’t talk to your cats about catnip, who will?’

– a public service announcement

tiniest.

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tiniest little house – charleston, south carolina, usa

‘all safe in my tiny home.’

– erwin moser, artist

magical portal.

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once again I found myself in the magical portal at the airport

I always forget

 this secret-ish place

exists on a lower level

at the airport

connecting one concourse to another

you have to enter it occasionally

depending on where your gate is

you go down the escalator

leaving the hustle and bustle behind

then you’re

suddenly thrust into a very different kind of space

colorful psychedelic wavy walls softly glow

as you glide through on a moving sidewalk

 soft ambient new age-y calming music

wraps all around you

until you arrive

at your destination

on the other side

it’s kind of mind-blowing

I can’t imagine the different reactions

 different kinds of people must have

but I know I am always surprised anew

when I find myself there

sometimes you’ll meet someone

who brings it up

in the outside world

have you ever been…?

do you know about…?

it’s like you’re part of a secret club

hiding in plain sight.

” Airports exist in a strange, liminal space where time feels unreal. You could spend anywhere from one hour to three days there, and life just pauses. It’s a universal place of transit, yet untethered to any real “place.”  “With a little imagination, airports become magical portals to distant lands. Sure, maybe you have a ticket to one specific place, but in reality, you could go anywhere. Infinite connections, endless possibilities — just a gate away. Foreign, yet familiar. Transient, yet grounding. Impersonal, yet deeply human. Static, yet always in motion. Liminal. Universal.”   –  clarissa tan, yale news

‘good enough never is.’ – debbi fields

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good harbor grill

good help wanted

‘whatever you are, be a good one.’

-william makepeace thackeray

glen arbor, michigan, usa, October 20

her place.

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she had found her place at long last
confirmed by the thumbs up
(happened upon in the streets of Ann Arbor)
‘she could not then know that, even for the squarest peg,
the right hole may ultimately be found’
-henry handel richardson, the getting of wisdom

‘it is what we know already that often prevents us from learning.’- claude bernard 

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i’m always fascinated

by how we continue to learn new things every day

it’s a part of what keeps life so interesting in my opinion

while all of us know people

who believe they already ‘know it all’

I learned a long time ago it’s just not true

I also learned that for all of the many things I learn

there are also things that I forget

so hopefully I learn more than I forget

should I just call it even then?

or odd?

 

“if we remembered everything,

we should on most occasions be as ill off as if we remembered nothing” 

-Aaron S. Benjamin, Successful Remembering and Successful Forgetting

image credit: Harvard Medical School, Daydreaming Brain

we have the choice.

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in honor of the passing of Jane Goodall and National Poetry Day

stand on the bridge
hem of heaven
holding beauty, awe, reverence, wonder
daily decisions to engage, bother, contribute, care, participate, listen, be alive
actions more than words but they both count, add up or diminish
be kind, offer a smile, a warm embrace, enthusiasm, delight, empathy, connection
gift of life
open daily.

“we have the choice to use the gift of our life to make the world a better place

-or not to bother”

-Jane Goodall

 

gallup park, ann arbor, michigan, usa – october

 

unexpected situations can be avoided.

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Icelandic Writers Union sent its members an email about this Artists Residency in an uninhabited island in Åland. There is no running water, no electricity, and apparently another issue. But they promise that “as long as you are aware of this, unexpected situations can be avoided”

Källskär Artist in Residence

Källskär was the residence of free lord Göran Åkerhielm in the years 1958-1983. Åkerhielm transferred his part of the island to the government of Åland in 1984.

On Källskär there is a log house designed by architect Reima Pietilä and a magnificent garden surrounded by stone walls created by hand, as well as some smaller cabins at the harbor on the south side of the island.

One of the cabins in the southern port of Källskär is today used as an artist in residence and is administered by the Åland Cultural Delegation.

The artist in residence is primarily given to performing artists and cultural workers in all art areas and journalists who in their creation can be expected to have a special benefit from the environment the facilities offer, but who also can offer Åland new experiences and inspiration in the cultural field. A residence is usually granted 1 or 2 weeks during the period end of May-September.

The cabin of about 30 square meters holds two beds, has a gas stove and refrigerator but no electricity. Here you live according to motto simplicity. With the help of solar panels you can charge mobile phones and laptops, and can connect to the network via a telephone modem. There is also a fixed telephone connection in the residence.

The artist must bring linen and towels and food for the stay. Food can be purchased on the main Kökar island or in Mariehamn. The supervisor arranges for water in the residence.

Theres is no indoor toilet but an outhouse. The dishes are done outdoors at the sink located on the back wall of the residence. If necessary, there are three extra beds in the small boathouse next door.

There is a small fee that each residence guest must  pay in advance to cover the costs of gas and waste disposal. You also pay an extra fee for accompanying family member.The artist pays for the travels to and from the residence.

There are quite a lot of snakes on Källskär but if you move carefully and on the walking paths and as long as you are aware of this, unexpected situations can be avoided.

question: what might those unexpected situations be?

asking for a friend.

noooooo…

 ‘if you do not expect the unexpected, you will not find it,

for it is not to be reached by search or trail”

.- Heraclitus,  ancient Greek philosopher