Tag Archives: memory

Oct6

‘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

May19

tartle.

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the photo on the left illustrates my reaction

when running into someone that i’ve met before

and its awkward because i cannot, for the life of me

remember their name

and i just have to say

“great to see you again’

and if i ever have to introduce them to someone else

i just have to introduce the person with me instead

 hoping they’ll pick up the cue and respond with their own name.

for 3 years i called one of my old neighbors ‘phil’

 until another neighbor said

“i don’t know who you’re talking about, do you mean, al?”

“yes, as a matter of fact, i think i do.”

 

—

my new perfect word of the day –

‘tartle’ (verb, scots)

(to hesitate while introducing or meeting someone because you have forgotten their name)

Apr25

flashdance. one more time.

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repost below from 5 years ago, now the 40th anniversary of this film

—

35 years ago ‘flashdance’ was released

and it emerged again recently

in honor of international dance day

 i loved this movie

 had the shoes, the ripped up sweatshirt, the perm

though my dancing style

was a bit different  

from this welder by day/dancer by night

and i didn’t live in a cool loft

or have an eccentric dog

or ride my bike to work

or look at all alike

but other than that

we were like sisters.

—

Take your passion and make it happen! #InternationalDanceDay

—

“let us read and let us dance –

two amusements that will never do any harm to the world. “

-voltaire

 

 

—

image credit: paramount pictures, jennifer beals

Mar13

blockbuster or bust.

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it was ladies’ night at my friend’s house

we had a bit of wine and chat and lots of laughter

the hostess suggested that we should get a movie

and try as she might

she could not remember its name

but it was ‘really good’

couldn’t remember the main stars

‘but we would recognize them immediately’

she put in a call to blockbuster

where they had every current movie

 the kind person/movie nerd at the store

answered the phone

the experts were standing by

 to help her figure out the title

when we heard her explain

that it was really good

had 2 popular stars

and a 3-word title

beginning with the word ‘the’

we absolutely lost it

the poor person on the phone

worked for 20 minutes

trying to jog her memory for more details

finally giving up and apologizing

now, that’s customer service

i really miss blockbuster

something about the excitement

going to pick out a movie

families, couples, friends, singles

taking turns and negotiating

hoping the one you really wanted was still there

so much comedy and drama all in one place.

“vague questions deserve vague answers”

-ristretto

May30

on memorial day.

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“yours has the suffering been, the memory shall be ours.”

-henry wadsworth longfellow

 

on memorial day

 

 

 

 

 

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photo credit: marde ross and company

Nov27

remembered.

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4 of the 6-pack taking their turn in group charades.

6 of the 6-pack will have different memories of thanksgiving.

 

—

“it’s like your children talking about holidays,

you find they have quite a different memory of it from you.

perhaps everything is not how it is, 

but how it is remembered.”

-denis norden

Nov22

soundtrack.

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i had just recently become a pre-teen

this was the

top hits playlist

of the week

on our local station

i can hear most of them still in my mind

how things change in half a century

how they stay the same. 

 

—

“music is the soundtrack of your life.”

-dick clark

 

Mar25

fold.

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i held this gift of a tiny origami star

made from a square of beautiful paper

admiring it in my hand for a time

knowing it will be held in my memory

for a long time to come.

—

“WHEN YOU FOLD A PIECE OF PAPER,

YOU’RE ESSENTIALLY CHANGING THE MEMORY OF THAT PIECE”. 

-ERIC DEMAINE

Mar15

how and why?

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image credit: natural learning

 

Aug31

don’t forget.

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what a lovely coincidence

that on this day

as i continue on my city parks journey

and drive through a neighborhood

i am lost

until

i come to the intersection of

pamela and patricia

the names of

my two sisters

one still with us

 one gone forever

and today –

her birthday

i look ahead to find

they’ve led me

to the beautiful park right in front of me.

—

“don’t forget to leave your handprints on the ones you love

and your footprints around the neighborhood.”
― lisa c. miller