Aug7

at the school show.

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one of my favorite things

is to go to school shows

i love every kind of kid up there

 bored

nervous

awkward

moving

bouncing

spinning

hiding in back

 overly enthusiastic

staring straight ahead

giggling

belting it out

faking the lyrics

wearing mismatched shoes

in a fancy outfit

whispering to a stage neighbor

giving it their all

waving to family

looking proud

non-stop smiling

have their own rhythm different from the rest

whether

dancing

singing

acting

playing anything that makes a musical sound

performance art

athletic feats

comedy

any kind of talent show

poetry reading

costumed or not.

i am all in.

—

“sometimes I was in school plays,

but only when the kid they’d originally picked got sick and they asked me to substitute.”

-peter falk

—

“i remember acting in a school play about the melting pot when I was very little.

there was a great big pot onstage.

on the other side of the pot was a little girl who had dark hair,

and she and i were representing the italians.

and i thought: is that what an italian looked like?”

-al pacino

—

“i did a school play when I was 10 where I played a cold germ infecting a whole classroom of kids.

the play was called ‘Piffle It’s Only a Sniffle.’

i’d never had so much fun. It was a thrill.”

-kim cattrall

Aug6

w.e.a.m.

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found on the car parked next to me

close call 

appreciate the warning

 will keep a safe distance

—

“never stay on the barren heights of cleverness, but come down to the green valleys of silliness.”

-ludwig wittgenstein

Aug5

owls.

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 Meet the owls that lived in the Smithsonian Castle

These barn owls used to live in the Smithsonian Institution Building, AKA the Castle, in the 1970s.

The Smithsonian Secretary in the 70s, S. Dillon Ripley, was an ornithologist and thought the owls could hunt the rats attracted to the new garbage cans on the National Mall. He named them Increase and Diffusion—a nod to the Smithsonian’s mission of “the increase and diffusion of knowledge”—and they lived in the building’s west tower.

The pair hatched three owlets in the spring of 1977. One of those new owlets fell out of the tower, but was recaptured and brought safely inside by a staff member. After raising their family, the owls departed and never returned.

This Smithsonian Institution Archives photo shows one of the pair refusing to take a message.

(Not to be confused with the previous Castle owl residents, who were known to crash into windows and swoop down on guards on the National Mall at night, and whose extensive droppings caused the collapse of the floor of a tower. They remain nameless.)

—

In honor of International Owl Awareness Day

The clamorous owl that nightly hoots and wonders at our quaint spirits.
-William Shakespeare

—

Read the full history of Smithsonian Castle owls from Smithsonian Institution Archives

Credits: Hannah S. Ostroff, Smithosonian
Aug4

wilding.

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 back in time on a summer’s day

when your parents thought

you and your friends of all ages

were just pedaling around the block for hours

but in that time you really

explored abandoned houses and those still under construction

built your own underground fort

jumped in the mud to see if it was quicksand

left your socks behind

met a new kid

balanced on a a board going over the water to get to the other side

found a golf ball

explored the gravel pit

rolled down a hill backwards

shared snacks that fell in the dirt

had the best day ever

every single day.

—

“keep your children wild, don’t make them grow up too fast.”

– brooke hampton

Aug3

storytelling.

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not us, but actors with a similar communication style

—

getting together with my friend yesterday to catch up,

with our usual mutual understanding:

“if i’m telling you a story be prepared to have 7 mini conversations and 19 other stories thrown into it.”

Aug2

marcel.

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this film.

i recently saw it with one daughter and two grandies

based on a youtube character created by comedians who were bored at a wedding

with low expectations, just wanting to be entertained

i was not prepared for this poignant, sweet, sad, funny, and heartwarming story

a documentary with a perfect blend of stop-action and live-action film

you may recognize some of the humans who appear on the screen

not an action film but fully a reaction film

give it time, it’s slow, it’s quiet, it’s incredibly touching, and will enchant all ages

it’s seeing the world through marcel’s tiny eyes,

as he deals with joy, love, loss, fear, grief, courage, and a renewal of life

 reminding us of the importance of family, friendship, support, and connections of all kinds.

–

This poem, The Trees, by Phillip Larkin, was read at a pivotal point in the film and is so fitting:

Aug1

august of another summer.

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 “august of another summer,

and once again I am drinking the sun

and the lilies again are spread across the water.”

-mary oliver

 

 

—

gallup park, ann arbor, mi, usa – august 2022

Jul31

strawberry shampoo does not taste as good as it smells.

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i had asked my daughter

to pick out a nice shampoo and conditioner for me

 was excited to get these

loved reading the labels

here are just some of the words/phrases on the packaging:

Resurrection 

For weak, brittle hair that needs an intervention!

Damage Level – 3

Micro shields boost strength and stamina

Great results may cause your hair’s ego to inflate to astronomical proportions.

what?! ‘damage level -3’?!

i love the descriptors

who could resist even one of these?

and also there is so much little writing on the label

 the shampoo and conditioner bottles look exactly the same

 once i’m in the shower i have no idea which is which

and i always forget to look before i get in

and i’m not getting out to get my glasses on

so i have a 50/50 chance of getting it right, a roll of the dice

and sometimes i lose

this is what i call an ‘x-treme’ hair care experience.

—

“sorry I can’t hear you over the volume of my hair.”

-author unknown

Jul30

mega.

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last night

was the drawing for 

the 2nd highest mega-millions prize in u.s. history:

$1.28 billion

$747.2 million cash option

i had ticket in hand and plans in mind

 i’m not going to spoil the outcome

but…

 

—

“i won $2.00 in the mega millions lottery.

please respect our privacy as our family decides

how to move forward in this exciting and pivotal moment in time. “

-author unknown

Jul29

partings.

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Born in 1960 to a Sicilian family living in Morocco and raised in France, Catalano became a sailor in his twenties. This nomadic lifestyle was a major inspiration for his work as an artist. The sculptures of Bruno Catalano, especially, Les Voyageurs show this influence. They delve into themes of travel, migration and journeying. Themes extend into exploring the ideas of home, belonging, loss and the experiences of a “world citizen”. Each statue carries a single suitcase, weighing them down, but also serving as their only means of support. Fascinating technically, artistically, and in its symbolism, the large omissions in the statues leave much to the imagination. Some figures appear to be fading away, while others materialize before our eyes. Contrary to the opinion that travel broadens and enriches, Catalano lamented that all his travels left him feeling that a part of [him] was gone and will never come back. ‘Fragments’ makes full use of this ethereal effect with three sculptures broken down to create one unit. The man looks fragile and delicately held together, losing more and more of himself till only his feet and bag remain.

—

“life is made of so many partings welded together.
-charles dickens

— 

credits: Daily Art Magazine