Category Archives: Life

Mar1

kids watching kids.

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where are those kids going and what are they up to?

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today we went back to the farm

to see how it has changed since our fall visit

there were no leaves

there were no pumpkins

there were lots of new babies

there was not a lot of green

but the animals were as sweet as ever

and that never changes.

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‘to teach children that animals have certain rights

creates in their minds a respect and regard for life.’

*-caroline earle white

*Caroline Earle White founded the first animal shelter in the United States in 1869. Born on September 28, 1833 in Philadelphia, Penn., White became an influential figure not only in animal welfare, but also fought for women’s suffrage and equality. White and a group of 30 women activists created the Women’s Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (WPSPCA), America’s first official animal shelter. Later known as the Women’s Humane Society, the organization pioneered programs that helped save homeless animals and employed animal cruelty officers to prevent and punish animal abuse. The organization still operates today as the Women’s Animal Center.

Feb29

on leap day, heed the gap.

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Zanzibar – Kirks Red Colobus Monkey, leaping from tree canopy
photo: Bernard Castelein
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toads, rabbits, certain bird species, kangaroos and wallabies hop and jump.

by contrast frogs, hares and jackrabbits and monkeys leap,

the latter

routinely covering the distance from one large tree to another in a single leap.

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“the most dangerous thing in the world is to try to leap a chasm in two jumps.”
*david lloyd george
*uk prime minister, 1916-1922,
one of the 20th century’s most famous radicals.
the first any only welshman to this office

 

 

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source credit: Bill Fife, GSU biologist with focus on natural history of vertebrates

Feb28

smooth.

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tough to pass up this amazing offer

it’s really got it all

charm, the military, friendship, threats, god, a random stranger, a thank you, a blessing,

and a photo of general milley of course

such a smooth operator

but i’m going to have to take a hard pass on this one

too bad, so close!

 

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“bad decisions make good stories.”

-ellis vidler, american romance author

Feb25

private.

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is it really, though?

what would stop anyone from just walking around the sign,

unsure of where the private part begins and ends?

or to test the boundaries?

 

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“there is no private life which has not been determined by a wider public life.”

*George Eliot, Felix Holt: The Radical 1866

 

*Mary Ann Evans, known by her pen name George Eliot, (who changed her name because she wanted her writing to be taken seriously), was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and widely recognized as one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels: Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Romola, Felix Holt, the Radical, Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda.

Feb24

‘our thoughts are with all those who stand for peace.’ n. o’reilly.

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it’s been two years

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“and the sunflowers are an eternity in themselves.

let them embrace our dreams and invigorate our hope evermore.”

* bhuwan thapalia

 

*Bhuwan Thapaliya is a nepalese poet writing in english.

he is an economist and is the author of four poetry collections.

 

 

 

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photo credit: hollie adams, getty

Feb20

monkey business.

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apes playfully tease each other just like humans

Joking around is a key element of human interaction — one that starts emerging in babies as young as 8 months old, before they can even speak. Now, a new study is suggesting that the human instinct to play goes further back than previously thought.

An international team of cognitive biologists and primatologists documented playful teasing in the four species of great apes: orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas. They identified 18 distinct teasing behaviors, indicating that “the prerequisites for humor evolved in the human lineage at least 13 million years ago,” per a press release.

“Similar to teasing in children, ape playful teasing involves one-sided provocation, response waiting in which the teaser looks toward the target’s face directly after a teasing action, repetition, and elements of surprise,” explained lead author Isabelle Laumer.

The concept of playful primates isn’t new — Jane Goodall previously documented such behavior — but this is the first study to systematically analyze it. “We hope that our study will inspire other researchers to study playful teasing in more species in order to better understand the evolution of this multifaceted behavior,” Laumer said.

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“the very essence of playfulness is an openness to anything that may happen,

the feeling that whatever happens, it’s okay…

you’re either free to play, or you’re not.”

-john cleese

 

 

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source credits: Proceedings of the Royal Society, Laumer, Winkler, Rossano,  Cartmill

photo credit: anup shah, getty

Feb19

the miracle worker.

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dealing with a bad sciatic nerve episode

over a few days

i tried waiting it out

only getting worse instead of better

to the point where it affected my leg

shooting pains

hard to even sit down

 a knee refusing to bend

after trying many strategies to solve this

 all to no avail

i sought out an expert

a therapeutic massage and body work practitioner

did a lot of reading

found just who i needed

a strong eastern european therapist

with a small practice

close to home

personalized for each client

luckily she had a spot for me

when i arrived we talked for a while

she explained

what she could offer

how she worked with olympic swimmers

and others whose lifestyles or vocations or circumstances

led them to have body pains and challenges

how the body is all connected

one thing impacts the others

it would not be easy

but i would find relief

me explaining

my medical history

current issues

goals for the visit

she assessed

how i

walked, moved, sat, stood

 then we began

in a quiet and warm room

 calming music and dimmed lighting

i had booked an hour and a half visit

knowing that i needed a lot of work

like nothing i’ve ever experienced

she was very physically strong

moving and realigning my body

in ways that i didn’t know it was possible to do

some of it hurt, as expected

she told me to tell her if it felt like too much

but i really wanted relief

so knew i had to try to endure it

i fell into a kind of relaxed state

lost all sense of time

in spite of the intensity

when it was all over

she mentioned a few things:

she had gone a little over our planned appointment

it had actually taken 2 1/2 hours

my body was so resistant

that i fought her much of the time

why she had to take water breaks

 i had even inched up off the table

trying to escape?

survival instinct?

i asked if it was like wrestling with a bear

she laughed

covered me with hot towels to relax my muscles

i’m quite sure she must have been exhausted

told me all of the places that she could tell were tense

including my feet

 not even mentioned in our conversation

also clear that i drink a lot of coffee

 i now should feel better

when i stepped off the table

it was like a miracle

i was no longer hobbled

i could bend my knee

put weight on both legs

 move without pain

 all pain was gone

we had a conversation after

where she told me

the best ways for my body

to sit, stand, walk, run, eat

to keep it healthy and strong

told me to drink water after this long session

no extra charge

for the hard work, extra time, or helpful conversations

she had me stand again

 i thanked her profusely

for taking my pain

changing how i treat my body moving ahead

i almost cried

maybe i’ll even become an olympic swimmer.

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“massage is the study of anatomy in braille.”

– jack meagher

 

 

 

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photo credit : catster

Feb18

how i see it.

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like me when driving at night, or writing, if you added in a pair of glasses and fingers crossed,

knowing i’ll get there somehow, not sure exactly when, and just trusting the process

 

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 ‘writing is like driving a car at night.

you can see only as far as your headlights,

but you can make the whole trip that way.”

-e.l. doctrow

 

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art credit: homeward bound by Natalia Shaloshvili
Feb17

one love.

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always enjoyed bob marley

the new biopic musical film about him

was a bit disjointed

but

 leads were very good

his message stood strong

music was a great bonus

especially loved the real footage at the end.

 

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“love the life you live, live the life you love.”

-bob marley

 

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image credit: paramount pictures

Feb14

the valentines.

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The Valentines

My Old Man’s A Groovy Old Man (1969)

who could resist this classic?

happy valentine’s day!

 

Formed in 1966, The Valentines were a popular Perth band favoring soul and British mod sounds. They had a local hit with Arthur Alexander’s Every Day I Have To Cry. In 1967 they went to the national finals of Hoadleys’ Battle of the Sounds in Melbourne and moved there later in the year. They eventually became national teenybopper idols after the success of My Old Man’s A Groovy Old Man.

The band featured notable co-lead vocalists: Bon Scott (1946-1980), later famous as AC/DC’s lead singer from 1974, and Vince Lovegrove (1947-2012), journalist, TV presenter, booking agent and film maker.

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“there are more love songs than anything else.

if songs could make you do something we’d all love one another.”

-frank zappa

source credit: Ian McFarlane, Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop (1999), pp.660-661