Photo of the Day, 10/29/09

Broad St buildings showing their support of the Phillies! (I have another PotD, but it's on my camera and I was too lazy to dowload it to my computer.)



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Words to Live By

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about - no, agonizing over - life, and where it's going, what it all means, what my place is in the universe, what does it mean to love and to be loved, and on and on and on... And no matter how much time I've spent obsessing over these things, I'm no closer to any sort of resolution than when I started. All I've ended up with are stress-induced migraines, shoulders stiff with anxiety, heartbreak, and an extra 15 pounds.

I found a link through the Happiness Project where someone started listing words and phrases to help them learn how to live in the present; to find happiness and joy in that particular moment, and not dwell on tomorrow or next week or next year. The author of the Happiness Project stresses that everyone's project is different, but I think one of the most valuable lessons revolves around learning to find peace in the way that things are right now. It's important to focus on growth in and the future, but not to the extent that that itself causes angst.

So here are a few thoughts on living in the present. I'm going to try really, really, really hard to live by these suggestions. And I'm hoping that some people out there have some suggestions to add.

First, the don'ts:

1. Don’t plan. Planning is an attempt to control the world around us, but it’s a futile attempt. Throw out your plans, for now at least until you’ve decided this method isn’t for you. What do you do instead? More on this below. For now, just stop planning.
2. Don’t worry about the future. Will something bad happen? Are there things coming up that we must anticipate and prepare for? Of course, if there’s a massive hurricane headed your way, you should probably get ready. But otherwise, just realize that the future is unpredictable, and worrying about it is a waste of time. Focus on right now, and you’ll always be able to handle what comes.
3. Don’t have expectations. If you expect people to act a certain way, or hope that things will turn out a certain way, you’ll always run into problems. Forget about outcomes for now. Go into things without expectations, and they will always turn out perfectly (if a bit messy).
4. Don’t get annoyed when others act a certain way. Don’t expect people to act any way other than how they actually act. They are exactly the way they should be — even if that’s selfish or weird or aggressive. Those are their problems. Your problem is figuring out how you should act. I’d also advise you to try to understand others — why do they act the way they do?
5. Don’t overreact. This is a major problem when people plan and things go wrong — they overreact, and get upset and emotional and blow things out of proportion. Stay calm, because if things “go wrong”, they didn’t actually go wrong — they just happened. More on how to react below.
6. Don’t try to be proactive. This is a common prescription (being proactive) in management and business literature. And while I think the general idea is fine — do something to prevent problems from recurring rather than just fixing them after they happen — one of the problems this creates is always worrying about what might happen. And creating solutions before there are problems — if there never is a problem, you’ve wasted a lot of time creating the solution, and a lot of energy worrying about the future.

And now for the dos:

1. Do be open. What would it be like to go into each day without a plan, but just to see what happens? A bit scary, because of the lack of security and control, a bit chaotic perhaps, a bit like we’re a piece of driftwood floating in the middle of a churning sea. But in truth, this is what it’s like to go into each day *with* a plan — it’s just that we normally fool ourselves about the amount of control we have. So start the day with no plan, and be open to what emerges in each moment.
2. Do what you love. So what should you do, now that you have no plan? Do what you’re passionate about, do what excites you right now. Create something amazing. Pour yourself energetically into a project. Build something new. And what you think you’re creating might turn out to be completely different from what emerges, but you’ll have fun doing it and something even better might be revealed.
3. Do act, in the moment. Giving yourself to the moment doesn’t mean being passive and just letting life happen. It means acting, but doing what is best at this moment, what you are excited about right now, what needs to be done, in the present.
4. Do respond appropriately. Life happens, and we must respond. But instead of overreacting, we can respond calmly and appropriately. We can take the action that’s required, fix the problem, do what’s necessary to prevent it from happening again, and move on without it ruining our day.
5. Do accept. Accept what happens. It might not be what you considered ideal, but it’s what life has given you, what has resulted from your actions in an unpredicatable world. Accept it, respond, act, move on. Don’t get caught up in things not going your way, but accept that’s what has happened.

P.S. Also check out this guy's "Happiness Commandments."

Constant Reminders

It's so difficult, painful, and frustrating that even the smallest things remind me of something that I'm trying desperately to forget. An innocent comment by a friend, a book on a desk. And these are the things that linger; it's impossible to shake them once they're in my head.

Musings On Photography

Today, I walked. I just set out without direction, without a plan, without any thought beyond "I have to keep moving." And I ended up here.

The Ben Frankin Bridge has always been one of my favorites - if not my absolute favorite - landmark in Philadelphia. I think that part of it stems from the project that I made in 12th grade physics, where we made models of bridges out of balsa wood, and competed to see how much weight they could hold before breaking apart (my bridge came in 3rd in the state).

Then there was the elective course that I took as a senior in college on the evolution of structural engineering and the relationship to how bridges are built. That's where I became familiar with and fascinated with the Golden Gate Bridge, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, and of course, the Ben Franklin Bridge. I learned about the architectural and aesthetic challenges that the architects designing those bridges faced. I also learned about the profound social and economic impacts that new bridges had on the communities that used them.

I honestly think that in another life, I was a civil engineer or something, because to this day, I let out a little gasp every time I see it, and my eyes are locked onto my bridge. The Ben Franklin. It reminds me of home. It reminds me of where I've been, and where I'm going next.

Climbing

Hahahahahaha!

Photo of the Day, 10/28/09

Time to have some fun!




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About those photos

I'm still working on the Photo of the Day project, but I might not have a photo for *every* day. But, everywhere I go, I I look at things differently now. There are a lot of pictures out there, just some that aren't worth looking at.

Detangling

I have taken for granted the way that this "digital age" makes it so easy for people to stay connected. Keeping up with friends through Facebook, Twitter, their blogs (via a feed reader, of course), Flickr and the like makes information about anyone available through a variety of sources. And then add the corresponding iPhone or Blackberry apps - the ever-present devices where one can text, check e-mail, or even call to keep in touch - and you can find out anything about anyone, anytime. That's great when you want to keep in touch with where people are and what they're doing, but when you don't necessarily want to, it becomes really hard to disentangle yourself from the constant stream of information about them (seriously, G, I don't need to know the minutiae of every single second of your day through Facebook, your Gmail chat status, and Twitter). It's sensory overload; it almost necessitates total radio silence so that you don't have to think about which feeds into what, or that this syncs with that... It's enough to make one long for pre-smartphone days, when you weren't linked to everything, and where you didn't have access to everything all of the time. So I think I'm going to go back to an earlier time. No more Tweeting. No more Facebook. No more Google Chat. No more following blogs on the sly. I'm going to go back to the tried and true phone call (and e-mail) to keep in touch with people.

Realization

Despite the difficulty of the last week or so, I'm sure that I've made the right decisions. I'm more confident that I did the right thing for all involved. There's still a sadness that I don't think will ever go away, but it's a deep, dull ache, rather than the sharp debilitating pain that I felt before.

Photo of the Day, 10/25/09

What can I say... I like the sky.

Photo of the Day, 10/23/09

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Yet another reason why I love Michelle Obama

Laura Bush would have never done this!

Fall is here, thus apple picking is required

Since it might be too cold for apple picking this weekend, how's this as an alternative?

Secrets

Most of the time, when someone has a secret that they know they're not supposed to share, they let it out to at least one other person, just so that they don't have to carry the burden of that knowledge themselves. Also, usually the secret-teller in truth wants that information to get out, but they're just not ready or willing to let it out publicly. And then there are the secrets that have to be left unspoken, because the implications of that information getting out are just too dire.

I have one of those secrets, and I am being crushed under the weight of it. It's making me miserable, but there would be disastrous consequences if I let it out. So I am stuck with this one option. I have to just hold it in.

Photo of the Day, 10/10/09

Taken today (10/10/09) at the church after Dave and Danika's wedding. An example of some of my favorite things: geometric shapes, mosaics, windows, and natural light.

Photo of the Day, 10/9/09

Edited: These were fun to take. S has this set of chess pieces that he got in Russia years ago. He finally dug them out of storage, and they're getting some major action. As I was photographing them, I was imagining these scenarios and conversations that the pieces were having with each other.


Redacted:
I.O.U. I took a couple of awesome shots on S's camera. I just need him to send them to me...

Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

The nonstop discussion everywhere I've gone today has been about the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to President Barack Obama. As everyone well knows, there are some rather sharp divisions among people about whether or not he is deserving of the award. A lot of people - Obama supporters and detractors alike - think that he hasn't yet fulfilled any of the promises that he made during his campaign to reduce the proliferation of nuclear weapons, to improve Israeli-Palestinian relations, and to overall improve the US' international image. He talked a big game, but he hasn't delivered yet. That, and it's only about 8 months into his term.

All of these things are true. But I think that he deserves the Peace Prize not for what he has accomplished in terms of getting closer to the goals that he set during his campaign, rather that he has inspired and mobilized the US population and people around the world to make a renewed effort to carry out these tasks. This is akin to his "Yes We Can" and "Hope" philosophies; I think President Obama has inspired people in a way that they have not been inspired in years - if not at all.

I understand fully that there are years ahead of us before we are no longer at war, and before there is no longer a fear of attacks by nuclear weapons, and before we can say that any or all of these goals have been met. But I think that universally, there's a renews sense of optimism that these things will happen. Before Obama was inaugurated - as soon as he was elected President, in fact - I felt this complete shift. The second he started working on his transition, I knew that US foreign policy would become a completely different beast, that I would no longer fear the words and actions that came out of the Oval Office.

Anyway, I could go on and on and on about how I feel about this, but I'm suddenly exhausted. BUT - as President Obama said, this is a call to action. This is his chance to 'put his money where his mouth is.'

"...I know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

"And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century." -President Barack Obama, 10/9/2009

Appreciating Philadelphia through the eyes of a European visitor

A lovely article from a visiting knitter.

Scary

I'm not usually one of those "I'm so old that I remember..." people, but I thought that this was pretty funny considering a recent conversation that I had with a co-worker who is a full 10 years younger than me. And it IS just a little bit freaky that the current senior class at Baldwin AFTER 1990. Anyway, D, this is for you!

Photos of the Day, 10/7/09

I'm just going to call this series "Observatory and then some with Jane."

Barnes Update #2

The Art Commission approved the design for the new Barnes museum today. I'm rather amazed that they approved it unanimously. NO ONE had a problem with it?!? Come ON people!! Anyway, construction could start as soon as next month.

More on the Barnes...

The Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff has thrown in his two cents on the discussion about the new Barnes Museum. He was far less diplomatic than Inga Saffron, which I'm rather surprised by. She doesn't usually mince words or cut designs that are lacking any slack.


More photos of the site can be found here...

Photo of the Day, 10/5/09

New Barnes Museum on the Parkway

The Barnes Foundation has finally announced their plans for the new museum which is slated to be built at 21st St. and the Ben Franklin Parkway. Let's put aside the fact that I still have really mixed feelings about the relocation of the Barnes at all. I love its' current setting, in a quiet, tree-lined neighborhood, far away from the craziness of the Downtown Philadelphia area.

I can appreciate, however that it's distance from Center City is a hindrance to its' financial longevity. I get that. SO, on to the new location. I do think that the future home of the Barnes collection is in a great spot - if it has to be moved. I love the idea of growing our museum district on the Parkway. AND, the previous occupant of that parcel of land, the Youth Studies Center (a fancy name for a juvenile prison) just didn't fit. I understand the necessity of having such an institution, and I also understand that no one else particularly wants it, but a prison sandwiched between the majestic main branch of the Free Library and the Rodin Museum?

Anyway, the new design was announced, and Inga Saffron commented on it in today's Inqy. I don't have any particularly strong feelings about the building; it was designed to fit in unobtrusively to the landscape, but it's more than unobtrusive - it's kind of blah. I also wonder why there couldn't be more windows. I mean, I think the LAST thing we possibly need is another cement or brick or whatever box sitting along the street. There are some windows, but they don't quite alleviate the sense of being an impenetrable box, nor can it possibly allow that much natural light in to the gallery itself.

Also, I think they could have done so much more in terms of making sure that the new museum fit in cohesively with the existing landmarks on the Parkway. Hello - they're going from this beautiful building designed by Paul Cret to a box. That's it. I'm actually getting more irritated the more that I think about it. By the way, the French architect Paul Cret designed the building that the Barnes collection currently resides in, AND he designed the Rodin museum, which is essentially right next door to the future home of the Barnes collection. Tod Williams and Billie Tsien couldn't come up with anything better that would somehow bridge the gap between the old and new?

Anyway, I think I need one more trip to the "original" Barnes before it closes for good. As most of my friends know, Impressionist Art is one of - if not my favorite - genre, and I just love being in that space. It will be nice that it's closer to where I live; hopefully the new location won't require a reservation made in advance to see the exhibits!

Photos of the Day, 10/3/09

I was on a 'sky' kick yesterday. It was partially the clouds; they were big and fluffy, and looked as if I could just pluck them out of the sky. Later in the day, close to sunset, the clouds were still big and fluffy, but they'd taken on this orange-ish hue that evoked a Maxfield Parrish painting.

The third picture doesn't really go with the first two, but I also love the Philly skyline. This one was taken from S's roof deck. Pretty!

Photo of the Day, 9/30/09

So, I wasn't supposed to retroactively post photos of the day. BUT, since they're my rules, and rules are made to be broken, I'm going to share a couple of my pics from the last week.

I like this picture because it sort of represents how I feel so much of the time. Life is just whizzing by me, and it's all happening so fast that I don't know what's going on, and I don't know what I'm missing. It's all a blur, but sometimes that's ok. It's almost like squinting your eyes to make something familiar or routine look a little different. It lacks definition, but at the same time, you can appreciate the ability to not focus on the details.

Made in Brooklyn

After a last minute change in plans, I skipped Friday's stitch party at Loop, but I did go to one of the knitting classes that author Jared Flood was teaching today! I'm going to dork out for a minute, and say how much fun it was to go to this class! I don't think I'm ever going to become a regular sweater knitter - I don't have the patience for it, nor do I really want to knit items that really scream "I knit this myself!"

Anyway, it was a fun way to spend part of the day. I met a couple of cool people (and I'm keeping these new friends to myself, kiddo), and I learned a new skill, and I got to avoid irritating familial obligations.

I bought his new book of patterns (and had it autographed), and there are a couple of things that I can't wait to try. But that's all for post-Christmas...

P.S. I think I may have come up with the perfect knitted Christmas gift for that certain friend who likes to tease me for my hobby. I can't wait!!

Photo of the day, 10/2/09

So I was a slacker. I skipped the last two days. Wednesday, I was in such a foul mood that I couldn't even think about taking pictures. Yesterday, I actually took quite a few pictures, but I think they all turned out terribly, so there's no point in posting them.

Today's photo is one of my favorite subjects. For some reason, I always enjoy looking at, photographing, and otherwise studying City Hall. Almost every time I go past it, I'm reminded of how beautiful and majestic it is. This pic was taken on my phone from the back seat of a cab as I was on my way home from S's.




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