Tag Archives: connections

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:

Jul23

“photography is telling stories.” – jim spillane

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attending the annual ann arbor art fair

i had great luck and the honor of meeting

photographer/human rights advocate, jim spillane.

i happened by his stall

drawn in by the beauty and subjects of his photographs

especially taken with his pictures of children

after much thought

finally decided on one

a young tibetan child

tiny hands held together in hello.

i asked jim his story

how he had come to take these stunning pictures all over the world.

once a criminal defense attorney in the gerald ford white house

representing vietnam war draft resisters seeking amnesty

he got sick, had a horrible experience

 changed his life

trained with an ansel adams associate

began traveling the world

taking photographs of people

his subject is the human condition and the connections and responsibilities we have for each other.

using his pictures as a way to create interest, open discussion, communicate, call attention to a cause

he has worked taking photographs of workers at a nepalese brick factory for many years

created a photo book of the workers

to speak out and to tell their stories with his photographs

still seeking to help those in need and to be an effective advocate for them.

he is a natural artist, storyteller, teacher, advocate, and man.

—

“in recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.”

-thurgood marshall, former justice of supreme court of the united states

—

link to his website: jimspillane.com

link to his book, ‘the face of bricks’: https://www.blurb.com/b/9897011-the-face-of-bricks

Oct3

‘life is a collage of events, really.’ – mohanlal

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for those of you who’ve followed, read, or commented on my posts over the years

 I’ve finally put my finger on my ‘writing style’

it’s collage

and no surprise to anyone who knows me outside of the blogging world

it goes along with the creative outlets I’ve always enjoyed

making cards, books, and art

using pieces of things I’ve found, read, and collected in the world

it’s simply a matter of combining

images, thoughts, prose, quotes, poetry, music, and ideas

that generally don’t begin together

but once gathered

looked at in new ways

rearranged mixed and shuffled

like a puzzle with no absolute solution

suddenly seeming to belong together

to bring new meaning

when combined into a whole

my blog is the same

but the difference is

 rather than being made of anything concrete

 it’s abstract

it’s a mix of electronic media

 it can vanish into the ethernet at any time.

like all of life

it’s about making connections.

and having lived a while

I suppose I am a bit of a collage myself.

 

—

 “every art I do is a collage.”

-santigold

Jan15

2001.

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what began as post #1 in may of 2012

has led to post #2001 today.

thank you to all who

view, read, comment, chat, post, and share.

i appreciate each and every one of you

even in those far away countries

where i may have only 1 loyal reader

you have all offered me

great support

much food for thought

inspiration

and most of all

wonderful human connections.

 here’s to the next 2001.

—

“i think statistics go in one ear and out the other.

all of us respond to stories more than numbers.”

-koren zailckas

 

 

 

—

image credit: metro goldwyn mayer, media.com

Nov26

lift.

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had to catch an early morning flight

out of the little village of new york city

super shuttle came to the rescue

arriving right on time at 3:20am

picking up 6 other people along the way –

2 young women speaking korean

1 southern man speaking with a heavy twang

1 set of parents who giggled and hummed along with the radio

and their two year old boy 

who yelled out ‘woah, man!’

every few mintues for no apparent reason

making everyone laugh over and over

couldn’t have had a better crew to send me off on my way

what a lift.

—

“i love those connections that make this big old world feel like a little village.”

-gina bellman

 

 

—

image credit: supershuttle.com

Nov19

instead.

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(a candid moment from my recent fiesta)

—

my goat and i would like to thank

each and every one of you

who help me

celebrate every day

(the best day ever)

by being a part of my life.

—

“instead of hate, celebrate.”

-prince

Aug31

shared humanity.

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in yet another amazing case of serendipity

i was recently at school (in the united states)

attending a professional development session

with colleagues who were describing a wonderful project

they had undertaken with their students.

during the last school year they had worked on design thinking projects

intended to help our world’s environment in some way.

throughout the process

the teachers provided the students

with a wide range of sources of information having to do with their area of interest.

during our seminar, they passed around some of the sample articles they had used.

imagine my surprise when reading the random article that i was handed

and i saw the photographic credit on the back page

realizing that i had a connection to it.

it read:

‘michel porro – getty images.’ 

michel porro is a long time friend of mine who i happened to meet

when we were both working at the world cup in my city 24 years ago.

michel, at the time was a photojournalist from the netherlands, stationed in hong kong, working for reuters, and covering events all over the world. i was in advertising, taking time off to working in the media tent for the duration of the event. we met there and continued to run into each other in a variety of places, though we never had the chance to meet up outside of a working situation, try as we might.

we finally had the chance, and it was the last night before he was to leave. unfortunately brazil won, causing a chain of unusual events, that led to our last chance to meet not ever happening.

since that time, (24 years ago), we’ve stayed pen pals, and followed what’s happened in each other’s lives. i wrote an earlier blog about our long distance unlikely long term friendship and the link is below, but i’ve somehow lost the photo part of the post.

—

https://ididnthavemyglasseson.com/2014/06/22/what-a-wonderful-thing-is-the-mail-capable-of-conveying-across-continents-a-warm-human-hand-clasp-author-unknown/

—

upon seeing his name again last week, i texted to tell him about my surprise. he texted back surprised as well. our paths continue to cross in the most interesting ways.

B Kennedy
to Michel pastedGraphic.png

small world, Michel 

Sent from my iPhone

——–

Michel Porro

to me pastedGraphic.png

Wow Beth, that is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing. Boyat (the subject in the photo) is a quiet man with a big mission.  I met him twice for 2 photoshoots.

How are you doing? I’m in Italy at the moment. The world is a turbulent place isn’t it?

You do good work.

Best

Michel

—

“this idea of shared humanity and the connections that we make with one another – that’s what, in fact, makes life worth living.”

-clint smith