Thank you for the map of Weschler's Taxonomy of Convergences. I wonder where synchronicity fits --seems relevant. Speaking of which, the link on his substack page to "And How Are You, Dr. Sacks?" with many hand-written letters fits with your recent post of Marginalia by Oliver.
Thank you (and Diane) for the NASA moon phases calendar! When I was visiting the Swiss grandkids a few weeks ago, we read a book about the moon over and over, and the 4-year-old asked if the moon he saw there was the same one I see in America. I actually had to look it up to know the answer! https://www.boswellbooks.com/book/9781534400801
I like the word anomie - despite the fact that everything looks normal, people have been talking recently about the not - normalcy of some things. Interesting that this is something that's out there.
Those are great tips for public speaking! For more like this, a book I found helpful was Demystifying Public Speaking by Lara Hogan. It's brief (83 pages) and even better, it's free online these days.
My favorite piece of advice that she gives is "wear what makes you feel like a superhero" :D
The reminder of Durkheim and anomie is so helpful. I work with clergy who are trying to keep the vehicle of the church in a reasonable lane on the road, instead of veering to one ditch or another. I think they're tired of hearing people like me saying that the unfrozen time is a time of possibility (even if it's true). Many days it's just a time of exhaustion, and anomie describes that well.
Perfect your memories. When I made photographs on a regular basis, I was always stirring for a "perfect memory" I wanted the moment captured to include only what I viewed at that time as important and beautiful. No electrical wires, no people in the crowded tourist location, National Geographic ready. It was exhausting and more often than not something was lost: the perfect moment, my patience, the truth. Now I try to embrace the reality in front of me. Figuring out how to capture the image of a caged animal without the cage, allows you to get a better look at the wild creature, but it doesn't tell the truth that the creature is not free. And people in the backgrounds can create much funnier stories if you get luck and there's juxtaposition between the main subject and the background.
I guess it all comes down to the story or stories you want to tell with your photos.
Thank you for this. I've been trying to process the rapid development and change in my little Austin-like corner of miami. Perhaps will try to find my own 'owl':)
went to see a Leonard Cohen exhibit a few weeks ago at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) - the quote on the wall as we entered was "I was always working steady, but I never called it art." - they had his drawings too, which i had no idea about - it was really more about him as an artist than just his music - it seemed he experimented with whatever caught his interest - definitely plan to go again
Thank you for the map of Weschler's Taxonomy of Convergences. I wonder where synchronicity fits --seems relevant. Speaking of which, the link on his substack page to "And How Are You, Dr. Sacks?" with many hand-written letters fits with your recent post of Marginalia by Oliver.
Thank you (and Diane) for the NASA moon phases calendar! When I was visiting the Swiss grandkids a few weeks ago, we read a book about the moon over and over, and the 4-year-old asked if the moon he saw there was the same one I see in America. I actually had to look it up to know the answer! https://www.boswellbooks.com/book/9781534400801
I found that things got a lot easier when I no longer expected to win.“ Leonard Cohen on perfectionism.
BOOM 🤯
Michael Mohr
‘The Incompatibility of Being Alive’
https://reallife82.substack.com/
Going to make that NASA Moon Calendar with my kids this weekend. Thank you Austin (and Diane)!
I like the word anomie - despite the fact that everything looks normal, people have been talking recently about the not - normalcy of some things. Interesting that this is something that's out there.
Those are great tips for public speaking! For more like this, a book I found helpful was Demystifying Public Speaking by Lara Hogan. It's brief (83 pages) and even better, it's free online these days.
My favorite piece of advice that she gives is "wear what makes you feel like a superhero" :D
https://demystifying-public-speaking.com/
https://larahogan.me/blog/demystifying-public-speaking-online/
The reminder of Durkheim and anomie is so helpful. I work with clergy who are trying to keep the vehicle of the church in a reasonable lane on the road, instead of veering to one ditch or another. I think they're tired of hearing people like me saying that the unfrozen time is a time of possibility (even if it's true). Many days it's just a time of exhaustion, and anomie describes that well.
The Leonard Cohen quote is very timely for me. But what is the real masterpiece we should sink into? It’s life, right? Awareness, presence, living?
Perfect your memories. When I made photographs on a regular basis, I was always stirring for a "perfect memory" I wanted the moment captured to include only what I viewed at that time as important and beautiful. No electrical wires, no people in the crowded tourist location, National Geographic ready. It was exhausting and more often than not something was lost: the perfect moment, my patience, the truth. Now I try to embrace the reality in front of me. Figuring out how to capture the image of a caged animal without the cage, allows you to get a better look at the wild creature, but it doesn't tell the truth that the creature is not free. And people in the backgrounds can create much funnier stories if you get luck and there's juxtaposition between the main subject and the background.
I guess it all comes down to the story or stories you want to tell with your photos.
Thanks for all the Rabbit holes.
Thank you for this. I've been trying to process the rapid development and change in my little Austin-like corner of miami. Perhaps will try to find my own 'owl':)
went to see a Leonard Cohen exhibit a few weeks ago at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) - the quote on the wall as we entered was "I was always working steady, but I never called it art." - they had his drawings too, which i had no idea about - it was really more about him as an artist than just his music - it seemed he experimented with whatever caught his interest - definitely plan to go again
https://ago.ca/exhibitions/leonard-cohen-everybody-knows
Love that line. From this song: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2AMMb9CiScI
In ongoing owl news --
https://www.npr.org/2023/02/25/1159515612/opinion-the-owl-that-became-a-new-yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/evenings-in-the-park-with-flaco
More animal/seasonal books --
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernd_Heinrich