Jun28

missing books.

Posted on by
Standard

have you ever forgotten who you lent your book to?
 so excited about it you just had to share it
 remember saying you wanted it back
because you loved it so much
one day you notice
it’s still not back on your shelf
not sure who you lent it to
 ask the possible borrowers
 no one seems to remember it
couple of months pass
a person who you asked
appears with the book
asking you:
‘do you have any idea whose book this is?
i remember someone lent it to me.’
as a fan of both true crime and books  
 this is an interesting turn of events
one you’ve come to expect.
“never lend books, for no one ever returns them;
the only books i have in my library are books that other folks have lent me.”
-Anatole France, French author, La Vie Litteraire, 1888
—
source credits:
Missing From the Shelf, Michael Salkeld, Published by Geoffrey Bles, 1936, London
The Case of the Missing Books, Ian Sansom, Published by Harper Collins, 2005

Jun27

on main street.

Posted on by
Standard

relaxed evening on main street

perfect summer weather 

live music duo playing 

adults slowing down

children making art

enjoying the night

 

—

‘my ideal city would be one long main street with no cross streets or side streets to jam up traffi.

just a long one-way street.’

-andy warhol

 

 

 

—

ann arbor, michigan, usa – early summer 2026

Jun26

gracie’s great adventure.

Posted on by
Standard

( not gracie, but a cute giraffe modeling being in a similar situation)

A 3-year-old giraffe named Gracie escaped from her enclosure at a Texas Hill Country ranch nearly two weeks ago and remains missing despite helicopter searches, reported sightings, and a $5,000 reward. Ranch owner Vic Jones believes she wandered through rugged terrain and exited through the wrong side of a gate. Authorities say Gracie poses little danger to people because she is in a remote, heavily wooded area with abundant vegetation and will have no problem finding food. Local officials and residents continue searching, though leads have often arrived days after she moved on, making recovery difficult.

how do you lose a giraffe?

can you not see her?

she’s on the lam

she’s very tall

she’s clever

she’s quick

i’m on team gracie

hope she finds a great place to live and be free

go, gracie, go!

 

—

‘sometimes the best hiding place is one that’s in plain sight.’

-stephanie meyer

 

 

—

source credits: a. parnas, abc news

Jun25

look for the whole person.

Posted on by
Standard

The Sun (Solen) by Edvard Munch, 1911

—

“If you write, fix pipes, grade papers, lay bricks or drive a taxi – do it with a sense of pride.

And do it the best you know how.

Be cognizant and sympathetic to the guy alongside, because he wants a place in the sun, too.

And always…always look past his color, his creed, his religion and the shape of his ears.

Look for the whole person.

Judge him as the whole person.”

-rod serling

 

—

 The Sun is a departure from Munch’s darker themes, focusing instead on themes of light, life force, and energy through intense, radiating colors.

It is a monumental work, measuring approximately 4.5 meters high by 7.8 meters wide, originally created for the Oslo University assembly hall.

 

Jun24

nature laughed.

Posted on by
Standard

walking a path between the corn in saginaw forest

on a beautiful morning

we even found our way out

—

‘a light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine.’

-anne bronte

 

 —

saginaw forest, ann arbor, michigan, usa

summer 2026

Jun23

cut to order.

Posted on by
Standard

fresh herbs

cut to order

five dollars

a bunch

bumper crop

farmer wins

kitchen wins

—

 

‘For those dependent on their gardens for fresh food,

it was often a case of feast or famine..

One settler wrote: ‘Strawberries were now so plentiful that… I made 287 lbs of jam…’

*Bee Dawson, Author, ‘A History of Gardening in New Zealand.’

 

*Bee Dawson is a social historian from New Zealand who enjoys researching and writing books on the history of people, places and gardens. The wide range of topics she has written about includes women painters, the air force, New Zealand gardens, freight transportation, Hobsonville air base, the Child Cancer Foundation, and Puketiti Station. Her writing captures the unpredictable reality of early colonial gardens, where fluctuating seasonal cycles meant settlers either faced severe scarcity or overwhelming, sudden bounties.

Jun22

zag.

Posted on by
Standard

FOR THOSE WHO ZAG

Here’s to the ones who still write things down.

The analog ones.
The handwritten ones.
The slow ones.
The kind ones.
The ones who believe a short walk can fix more than an app.
The ones who know dogs need little pats on the head and sunsets deserve an audience.

They’re not fond of shortcuts and they’re suspicious of templates.
They have respect for empty spaces
and complicated feelings about noise.

You can quote them. You can disagree with them. Scroll past them.
But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.

Because they notice.

They notice birds.
And clouds.
And tired teachers.
And lonely cashiers.
And the person who just simply needs a minute.

They’re the ones who wave in traffic.
Who let people merge.
Who listen to kids like they’re great philosophers.

These are the ones who believe in smiling with their whole face
and handwritten thank you notes
and personalized cakes
and remembering there’s other real humans out there living
real human lives who deserve to be looked directly in the eyes
and told how much they matter.

You see, while some people are busy optimizing life, there are others busy living it.

They see things differently.
They see gentleness as strength.
Kindness as courage.
Attention as rebellion.

Many might be trying to disrupt the world, but these folks are trying to repair it.

While the world keeps refreshing, they’ll keep remembering.
Some may call them outdated,
but time will reveal them as wise
and essential.

Because the people who are gentle enough
to think they can change the world …
are usually the ones who do.

—

Brad Montague, The Enthusiast

 

 

 

—

image credit: leafy trees

Jun21

we exist together.

Posted on by
Standard

summer solstice 

 longest day

 shortest night

tomorrow

 begins

its slow reversal

enjoy every minute

of today

 

—

“humans are vulnerable and rely on the kindnesses of the earth and the sun; we exist together in a sacred field of meaning.”

-joy harjo

*Joy Harjo, (1951) is an internationally renowned poet, musician, playwright, and author. She is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation and made history as the first Native American to serve as the United States Poet Laureate, holding the prestigious position for three terms from 2019 to 2022.

 

 

 

—

lake superior, marquette, michigan, usa

Jun20

artsy.

Posted on by
Standard

 

glad that no one was counting on me

to be the only photographer at the graduation party

here are two of my shots documenting the fun occasion

i’d classify them as ‘artsy’

‘i came to photography by accident. ‘

– eve arnold

 

 *Eve Arnold,( 1912–2012) was an acclaimed American photojournalist and the first female member of the prestigious Mangum Photos agency. Best known for her intimate, candid portraits of celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Malcolm X, she was equally celebrated for her fearless documentary work in closed-off regions like China and the Soviet Union.
Jun19

much to celebrate on Juneteenth.

Posted on by
Standard

  Barack Obama Presidential Center opens to the public on Juneteenth

Chicago, Illinois,USA

 

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. It marks the day in 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to ensure all enslaved people were freed, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, finally enforcing the freedom of 250,000 freed enslaved Black Texans.

“Our Nation is stronger because of the generations of struggles for equal rights and social justice, and our culture is richer because of the contributions of African Americans throughout our history. This is why Juneteenth, while rooted in the history of a people, can be celebrated by all Americans.” – Barack Obama – 2010 

On the tower of the new Obama Presidential Center the message reads:

“You are America. Unconstrained by habit and convention. Unencumbered by what is, ready to seize what ought to be. For everywhere in this country, there are first steps to be taken, there is new ground to cover, there are more bridges to be crossed. America is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘We.’ ‘We the People.’ ‘We Shall Overcome.’ ‘Yes We Can.’ That word is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours.”- Barack Obama

 

—

source credits: brittanica, history.com, the Obama Foundation, IPM, Chicago Tribune