View allAll Photos Tagged Introspective
Living in Transit: The Thinkers of a World in Turmoil
War looms over Europe, uncertainty seeps into everyday life, and the weight of history presses upon the present. The world is burning, and yet—there are those who seek understanding, those who bury themselves in the quiet refuge of books, the dim glow of libraries, the solitude of knowledge.
This series captures the introspective minds of young academic women—readers, thinkers, seekers. They wander through old university halls, their fingers tracing the spines of forgotten books, pulling out volumes of poetry, philosophy, and psychology. They drink coffee, they drink tea, they stay up late with ink-stained fingers, trying to decipher the world through words.
They turn to Simone Weil for moral clarity, Hannah Arendt for political insight, Rilke for existential wisdom. They read Baudrillard to untangle the illusions of modernity, Byung-Chul Han to understand society’s exhaustion, Camus to grasp the absurdity of it all. They devour Celan’s poetry, searching for beauty in catastrophe.
But they do not just read—they reflect, they question, they write. Their world is one of quiet resistance, an intellectual sanctuary amidst the chaos. In their solitude, they are not alone. Across time, across history, across the pages they turn, they are in conversation with those who, too, have sought meaning in troubled times.
This is a series about thought in transit—about seeking, reading, questioning, about the relentless pursuit of knowledge when the world feels on the brink.
Where the Thinkers Go
They gather where the dust has settled,
where books whisper in the hush of halls.
Pages thin as breath, torn at the edges,
cradling centuries of questions.
They drink coffee like it’s ink,
trace words like constellations,
follow Rilke into the dusk,
where solitude hums softly in the dark.
Outside, the world is fraying—
war threading through the seams of cities,
the weight of history pressing forward.
Inside, they turn pages, searching
for answers, for solace, for fire.
And somewhere between the lines,
between time-stained margins and fading ink,
they find the ghosts of others who
once sought, once wondered, once read—
and they do not feel alone.
Three Haikus
Night falls on paper,
books stacked like silent towers,
thoughts burn in the dark.
Tea cools in the cup,
a poem lingers on lips,
war rumbles beyond.
Footsteps in silence,
the scent of old ink and dust,
pages turn like ghosts.
ooOOOoo
Reading as Resistance
These young women do not read passively. They underline, they take notes, they write in the margins. They challenge the texts and themselves. They read because the world demands it of them—because, in a time of conflict and uncertainty, thought itself is an act of resistance.
Their books are worn, their pages stained with coffee, their minds alive with the urgency of understanding.
1. Political Thought, Society & Liberation
Essays, theory and critique on democracy, power and resistance.
Chantal Mouffe – For a Left Populism (rethinking democracy through radical left-wing populism)
Nancy Fraser – Cannibal Capitalism (an urgent critique of capitalism’s role in the destruction of democracy, the planet, and social justice)
Étienne Balibar – Citizenship (rethinking the idea of citizenship in an era of migration and inequality)
Silvia Federici – Caliban and the Witch (a feminist Marxist analysis of capitalism and gender oppression)
Didier Eribon – Returning to Reims (a deeply personal sociological reflection on class and identity in contemporary Europe)
Antonio Negri & Michael Hardt – Empire (rethinking global capitalism and resistance from a leftist perspective)
Thomas Piketty – Capital and Ideology (a profound analysis of wealth distribution, inequality, and the future of economic justice)
Mark Fisher – Capitalist Realism (on why it’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism)
2. Feminist & Queer Theory, Gender & Body Politics
Texts that redefine identity, gender, and liberation in the 21st century.
Paul B. Preciado – Testo Junkie (an autobiographical, philosophical essay on gender, hormones, and biopolitics)
Judith Butler – The Force of Nonviolence (rethinking ethics and resistance beyond violence)
Virginie Despentes – King Kong Theory (a raw and radical take on sex, power, and feminism)
Amia Srinivasan – The Right to Sex (rethinking sex, power, and feminism for a new generation)
Laurent de Sutter – Narcocapitalism (on how capitalism exploits our bodies, desires, and emotions)
Sara Ahmed – Living a Feminist Life (a deeply personal and political exploration of what it means to be feminist today)
3. Literature & Poetry of Resistance, Liberation & Exile
European novels, poetry and literature that embrace freedom, revolution, and identity.
Annie Ernaux – The Years (a groundbreaking memoir that blends personal and collective history, feminism, and social change)
Olga Tokarczuk – The Books of Jacob (an epic novel about alternative histories, belief systems, and European identity)
Édouard Louis – Who Killed My Father (a deeply political and personal exploration of class struggle and masculinity)
Bernardine Evaristo – Girl, Woman, Other (a polyphonic novel on race, gender, and identity in contemporary Europe)
Maggie Nelson (though American, widely read in European academia) – On Freedom: Four Songs of Care and Constraint (a poetic, intellectual meditation on freedom and constraint)
Benjamín Labatut – When We Cease to Understand the World (a deeply philosophical novel on science, war, and moral responsibility)
Michel Houellebecq – Submission (controversial but widely read as a dystopian critique of political passivity in Europe)
4. Ecology, Anti-Capitalism & Posthumanism
Texts that explore the intersections of nature, economics, and radical change.
Bruno Latour – Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climatic Regime (rethinking ecology and politics in a world of climate crisis)
Andreas Malm – How to Blow Up a Pipeline (on the ethics of radical environmental resistance)
Emanuele Coccia – The Life of Plants: A Metaphysics of Mixture (rethinking human and non-human coexistence)
Isabelle Stengers – Another Science is Possible (rethinking knowledge and resistance in an era of corporate science)
Kate Raworth – Doughnut Economics (rethinking economic models for social and ecological justice)
Donna Haraway – Staying with the Trouble (rethinking coexistence and posthumanist futures)
The Future of Thought
These are not just books; they are weapons, tools, compasses. These women read not for escapism, but for resistance. In a time of political upheaval, climate catastrophe, and rising authoritarianism, they seek alternative visions, radical possibilities, and new ways of imagining the world.
Their books are annotated, their margins filled with questions, their reading lists always expanding. Knowledge is not just power—it is revolution.
5 facts about me... Quick, go pee or get something to drink. 1. Born in PA, grew up in South Jersey. Raised by a single mom. I've got 3 sisters and a brother, none of whom I grew up with. Adoption, custody nonsense and 2nd marriages all contributing factors. My mom explains it like this, "It was the 60's! You turned out ok." Yeah, thank goodness I'm kinda smart, introspective and know when to seek guidance. Today I have good relationships with 2 of my sisters and their kids. Too much baggage for my bro and youngest sister to unpack. 2. I make things. I'm an overeducated, unemployed artist. This is commonly called being self-employed. Book arts, traditional and digital printmaking, sculpture and photography have each payed the bills at one point in time or another. I'm a fixer-upper too. Need a room skim coated, prepped and painted, give me a call. I don't do electricity though; fire bad! 3. I'm funny odd and funny haha. But unless you know me or, you can see my face, my eyes, most people don't know which funny I am at the moment. So, I try not to say things online that can be taken the wrong way, because they will be, and then I feel like an A-hole and have to over explain what I did mean. This tends to make me a thread kill, by accident. Ugh. 4. Pet peeves: I failed mind reading! So please, Use Your Turn Signals! Tailgaters make me crazy. Slowpokes in the fast lane make me crazy. Self-important people that believe they are entitled to do as they please make me angry. And please, know the difference between there, their and they're. And yes, "please," "thank you" and "may I" go a long way in making the world a more pleasant place. 5. I love cars, cameras, clouds, drums, motorcycles, trees, fog, rocks, paper, books, music, NPR, tools, animals, architecture, bridges, shadows, reflections, wind-ups, whirly-gigs, push puppets, Dr. Martens, Alaska, Iceland, Newfoundland, Yellowstone, Utah, Scandinavia, Australia, Japan, Apple, Epson, Nikon, Adobe, my family and last, but in no way least, my partner, Terese. But most of all, I'm thankful to still be alive. It's a long story.
33 Likes on Instagram
34 Comments on Instagram:
so_jane: @ncloe @jackk100 @lionclawz_photography Thanks folks!
eigbrettmom: I loved this! I could almost picture you at a mic with someone saying you have 60 secs..,GO! It was such an easy read!
so_jane: Thanks! @eigbrettmom
panomama: most pleased to meet you! thanks for stopping by, Jane. a high 5!!
christopherlmorris: Slowpokes in the fast lane drives me crazy too and for the tailgaters I pull over lately and let them go. :-))
so_jane: @christopherlmorris Wow! You went exploring! Thanks for spending the time with my images. !!! And yes, I get out out of the way, too!
christopherlmorris: Elena, it was a pleasure spending time with your images and you're welcome... sometimes it is a long story but you have summed it up beautifully and thank you for sharing.
_xst: @so_jane nice meeting you Elena
I just saw how absorbed and introspective these three people were for this moment and that they were standing in front of this surreal shop window. Oxford Street can be so busy yet you see so many people walking round in their own bubbles not taking anything in, lost in their own thoughts and worries. I know I do this at times as well, particularly if I'm having a bad day at work or worrying about something, but doing street photography helps me to look outward rather than inwards and concentrate on what is going on around me, to look for the strange or surreal or even the everyday things, the way people react to each other or seem to be daydreaming or lost, or on a mission to get somewhere.
Instruction 23 - SPNC - Year 2 "Reveal a moment of human introspection within a bustling environment. Evoke the viewer to identify their own moments of reflection." - Brian Sokolowski
"True friends get their measure, over time, in their effect on you." -- Philip Yancey
Mr. Yancey was writing about people who had influenced his life. While he had never met some of those people in person, he was still influenced by their writing and other works. Flickr is a wonderful way to connect with people all over the world, become friends with them, and be influenced by them. I've never met AVA in person, but she is a true friend. I've been influenced by her art and touched by her humanity.
Happy Birthday, my friend!
I encourage everyone to visit her stream and show her some love:
little feet that wait until I am ready for bed so they can snuggle .. every night... skin to skin...
photo taken with photography apps for iphone camerabag, holga filter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
♥ Milliande UnRavelling
I've been posting with infrequency lately, and don't expect much more before the week is out. My lady and I leave for Kona on Saturday, making it safe to assume there will be plenty of pictures when I get back.
ALTAR OF OBLIVION - Casus Belli
"Safeguard, rampart, shattered backbone
Revenge in gesture of kindness
Attention to the plight of prisoners... stunned to disbelief"
Shadow owes its birth to light.
John Gay
english poet and dramatist, 1685-1732
thank you for the texture habaneros!
:Jesús
" I'm in love with you...
You set me free...
I can't do this thing called life without you here with me
cause I'm dangerously in love with you
I'll never leave...
Just keep lovin' me the way I love you lovin' me... "
Not my image. Much thanks to Jimmy Hawkins for giving me written permission to edit this cool Harry Potter-ish Portrait. All rights remain with Jimmy Hawkins. Friends may view LARGE.
Vintage postcard, no. PP 105. Keanu Reeves in Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991).
Keanu Reeves (1964) is a Canadian actor, producer, director and musician. Though Reeves often faced criticism for his deadpan delivery and perceived limited range as an actor, he nonetheless took on roles in various genres, doing everything from introspective art-house fare to action-packed thrillers. His films include My Own Private Idaho (1991), the European drama Little Buddha (1993), Speed (1994), The Matrix (1999) and John Wick (2014).
Keanu Charles Reeves was born in 1964, in Beirut, Lebanon. His first name means ‘cool breeze over the mountains’ in Hawaiian. His father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr., was a geologist of Chinese-Hawaiian heritage, and his mother, Patricia Bond (née Taylor), was a British showgirl and later a costume designer for rock stars such as Alice Cooper. Reeves's mother was working in Beirut when she met his father. Upon his parents’ split in 1966, Keanu moved with his mother and younger sister Kim Reeves to Sydney, to New York and then to Toronto. As a child, he lived with various stepfathers, including stage and film director Paul Aaron. Keanu developed an ardour for hockey, though he would eventually turn to acting. At 15, he played Mercutio in a stage production of 'Romeo and Juliet' at the Leah Posluns Theatre. Reeves dropped out of high school when he was 17. His film debut was the Canadian feature One Step Away (Robert Fortier, 1985). After a part in the teen movie Youngblood (Peter Markle, 1986), starring Rob Lowe, he obtained a green card through stepfather Paul Aaron and moved to Los Angeles. After a few minor roles, he gained attention for his performance in the dark drama River's Edge (Tim Hunter, 1986), which depicted how a murder affected a group of adolescents. Reeves landed a supporting role in the Oscar-nominated period drama Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988), starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich. Reeves joined the casts of Ron Howard's comedy Parenthood (1989), and Lawrence Kasdan's I Love You to Death (1990). Unexpectedly successful was the wacky comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (Stephen Herek, 1989) which followed two high school students (Reeves and Alex Winter) and their time-travelling high jinks. The success led to a TV series and a sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (Pete Hewitt, 1991). From then on, audiences often confused Reeves's real-life persona with that of his doofy on-screen counterpart.
In the following years, Keanu Reeves tried to shake the Ted stigma. He developed an eclectic film roster that included high-budget action films like the surf thriller Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991) for which he won MTV's ‘Most Desirable Male’ award in 1992, but also lower-budget art-house films. My Own Private Idaho (1991), directed by Gus Van Sant and co-starring River Phoenix, chronicled the lives of two young hustlers living on the streets. In Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Reeves embodied the calm resolute lawyer Jonathan Harker who stumbles into the lair of Gary Oldman’s Count Dracula. In Europe, he played Prince Siddharta who became the Buddha in Bernardo Bertolucci’s Italian-French-British drama Little Buddha (1993). His career reached a new high when he starred opposite Sandra Bullock in the hit action film Speed (Jan de Bont, 1994). It was followed by the romantic drama A Walk in the Clouds (Alfonso Arau, 1995) and the supernatural thriller Devil’s Advocate (Taylor Hackford, 1997), co-starring Al Pacino and Charlize Theron. At the close of the decade, Reeves starred in a Sci-Fi film that would become a genre game changer, The Matrix (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, 1999). Reeves played the prophetic figure Neo, slated to lead humanity to freedom from an all-consuming simulated world. Known for its innovative fight sequences, avant-garde special effects and gorgeous fashion, The Matrix was an international hit. Two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, 1999) and The Matrix Revolutions (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, 1999) followed and The Matrix Reloaded was even a bigger financial blockbuster than its predecessor.
Now a major, bonafide box office star, Keanu Reeves continued to work in different genres and both in big-budget as in small independent films. He played an abusive man in the supernatural thriller The Gift (Sam Raimi, 2000), starring Cate Blanchett, a smitten doctor in the romantic comedy Something’s Gotta Give (Nancy Meyers, 2003) opposite Diane Keaton, and a Brit demon hunter in the American-German occult detective film Constantine (Francis Lawrence, 2005). His appearance in the animated Science Fiction thriller A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006), based on the novel by Philip K. Dick, received favourable reviews, and The Lake House (Alejandro Agresti, 2006), his romantic outing with Sandra Bullock, was a success at the box office. Reeves returned to Sci-Fi as alien Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still (Scott Derrickson, 2008), the remake of the 1951 classic. Then he played a supporting part in Rebecca Miller's The Private Life of Pippa Lee (2009), which starred Robin Wright and premiered at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival. Reeves co-founded a production company, Company Films. The company helped produce Henry's Crime (Malcolm Venville, 2010), in which Reeves also starred. The actor made his directorial debut with the Chinese-American Martial arts film Man of Tai Chi (2013), partly inspired by the life of Reeves' friend, stuntman Tiger Chen. Martial arts–based themes continued in Reeves's next feature, 47 Ronin (Carl Rinsch, 2013), about a real-life group of masterless samurai in 18th-century Japan who avenged the death of their lord. Variety magazine listed 47 Ronin as one of "Hollywood's biggest box office bombs of 2013". Reeves returned as a retired hitman in the Neo-Noir action thriller John Wick (Chad Stahelski, David Leitch, 2014). The film opened to positive reviews and performed well at the box office. A sequel, titled John Wick: Chapter Two, is currently in production and is scheduled to be released in 2017. This year, he could be seen in the psychological horror film The Neon Demon (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2016) and the romantic horror-thriller Bad Batch (Ana Lily Amirpour, 2016). Reeves’ artistic aspirations are not limited to film. In the early 1990s, he co-founded the grunge band Dogstar, which released two albums. He later played bass for a band called Becky. Reeves is also a longtime motorcycle enthusiast. After asking designer Gard Hollinger to create a custom-built bike for him, the two went into business together with the formation of Arch Motorcycle Company LLC in 2011. Reported to be one of the more generous actors in Hollywood, Reeves helped care for his sister during her lengthy battle with leukaemia and has supported such organisations as Stand Up To Cancer and PETA. In January 2000, Reeves's girlfriend, Jennifer Syme, gave birth eight months into her pregnancy to Ava Archer Syme-Reeves, who was stillborn. The strain put on their relationship by their grief resulted in Reeves and Syme's breakup several weeks later. In 2001, Syme died after a car accident.
Sources: Biography.com, Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
introspective reflection
cracking like lighting
muscles tied up in a ball
overload of contraction
rolling like thunder
A mad race along my spine
Living in Transit: The Thinkers of a World in Turmoil
War looms over Europe, uncertainty seeps into everyday life, and the weight of history presses upon the present. The world is burning, and yet—there are those who seek understanding, those who bury themselves in the quiet refuge of books, the dim glow of libraries, the solitude of knowledge.
This series captures the introspective minds of young academic women—readers, thinkers, seekers. They wander through old university halls, their fingers tracing the spines of forgotten books, pulling out volumes of poetry, philosophy, and psychology. They drink coffee, they drink tea, they stay up late with ink-stained fingers, trying to decipher the world through words.
They turn to Simone Weil for moral clarity, Hannah Arendt for political insight, Rilke for existential wisdom. They read Baudrillard to untangle the illusions of modernity, Byung-Chul Han to understand society’s exhaustion, Camus to grasp the absurdity of it all. They devour Celan’s poetry, searching for beauty in catastrophe.
But they do not just read—they reflect, they question, they write. Their world is one of quiet resistance, an intellectual sanctuary amidst the chaos. In their solitude, they are not alone. Across time, across history, across the pages they turn, they are in conversation with those who, too, have sought meaning in troubled times.
This is a series about thought in transit—about seeking, reading, questioning, about the relentless pursuit of knowledge when the world feels on the brink.
Where the Thinkers Go
They gather where the dust has settled,
where books whisper in the hush of halls.
Pages thin as breath, torn at the edges,
cradling centuries of questions.
They drink coffee like it’s ink,
trace words like constellations,
follow Rilke into the dusk,
where solitude hums softly in the dark.
Outside, the world is fraying—
war threading through the seams of cities,
the weight of history pressing forward.
Inside, they turn pages, searching
for answers, for solace, for fire.
And somewhere between the lines,
between time-stained margins and fading ink,
they find the ghosts of others who
once sought, once wondered, once read—
and they do not feel alone.
Three Haikus
Night falls on paper,
books stacked like silent towers,
thoughts burn in the dark.
Tea cools in the cup,
a poem lingers on lips,
war rumbles beyond.
Footsteps in silence,
the scent of old ink and dust,
pages turn like ghosts.
ooOOOoo
The Intellectual Pursuit: What They Read in 2025
In a world teetering between war and uncertainty, young academic women turn to books—not as mere escape, but as a way to confront reality, to seek wisdom in the echoes of history, and to understand the weight of the present. They read in dimly lit libraries, at café tables littered with half-drunk cups of tea, in quiet university archives where dust clings to forgotten volumes. They are drawn to words that unravel complexity, books that demand contemplation, and authors who have wrestled with the same existential questions that haunt their minds today.
Here is what they read.
1. Existential and Philosophical Works
In times of crisis, philosophy becomes a mirror—reflecting both the weight of the world and the possibilities of thought. These books challenge, unsettle, and offer a way to navigate uncertainty.
Simone Weil – Gravity and Grace (moral clarity and reflections on human suffering)
Hannah Arendt – The Origins of Totalitarianism (a timeless study of power, ideology, and authoritarianism)
Byung-Chul Han – The Burnout Society (a philosophical take on modern exhaustion and performance-driven culture)
Jean Baudrillard – Simulacra and Simulation (a critique of reality and illusion in an age of digital manipulation)
Albert Camus – The Plague (a novel that mirrors today’s existential and ethical dilemmas)
Søren Kierkegaard – The Concept of Anxiety (an exploration of freedom, dread, and the human condition)
These thinkers guide them through uncertainty, offering both discomfort and clarity—challenging them to see beyond the immediate chaos.
2. Poetry and Literature of Longing, Loss, and Human Experience
Sometimes, only poetry and fiction can capture what analysis cannot—the deep, wordless truths of grief, love, exile, and the quiet resilience of the human spirit.
Anne Carson – Nox (a fragmented, deeply personal meditation on loss and memory)
Paul Celan – Todesfuge (haunting post-Holocaust poetry that lingers between beauty and horror)
Rainer Maria Rilke – Letters to a Young Poet (a lyrical guide to solitude, art, and self-discovery)
Ocean Vuong – On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (poetry-infused storytelling on identity and survival)
Virginia Woolf – The Waves (a novel that reads like a long poem, exploring time, consciousness, and human connection)
Clarice Lispector – The Hour of the Star (a sparse, existential novel that lingers long after the last page)
These books are read slowly, lines underlined in pencil, phrases whispered to oneself in quiet moments.
3. Political Thought and Social Critique
Understanding the present requires looking at the past and tracing the patterns of history, power, and resistance.
Naomi Klein – Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World (on misinformation, conspiracy culture, and the fracturing of reality)
Timothy Snyder – On Tyranny (20 lessons from history on how democracy is lost—and how it can be protected)
Achille Mbembe – Necropolitics (on the politics of death, control, and who gets to exist in modern power structures)
Olga Tokarczuk – Flights (a novel that blurs fiction and philosophy, exploring movement, exile, and identity)
Rebecca Solnit – Hope in the Dark (on why history is shaped by those who refuse to give up)
These books are read with urgency—annotated, discussed, debated. They provide frameworks for understanding the unfolding crises of today.
4. Science, Psychology, and the Search for Meaning
In times of uncertainty, some turn to the mind and the universe—to trauma studies, quantum physics, and new ways of seeing.
Carlo Rovelli – The Order of Time (a poetic examination of time and its illusions)
James Bridle – New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future (on the unpredictability of AI, climate change, and human systems)
Bessel van der Kolk – The Body Keeps the Score (on trauma, memory, and how the body stores experiences)
Donna Haraway – Staying with the Trouble (rethinking human and non-human relationships in a time of ecological crisis)
These books stretch their understanding beyond politics and poetry—into the unseen forces that shape the self and the cosmos.
After an hour I still don't like the way this looks. It doesn't fully convey everything I wanted it to. Thoughts?
One of the guys from a group of special needs adults that I taught photography to last year. He's looking at projected photos from the group exhibition tonight in a pop-up shop.
St Columba Church of Scotland, Downing Street, Cambridge
Introspective and unimposing, the 1891 work of J McVicar Anderson. Rather cowed on its site now by the height of the more modern buildings opposite. Although part of the United Reformed Church it retains its Church of Scotland identity by being their chaplaincy to the University of Cambridge. The little St Columba chapel is open everyday, and worth seeing for being the only chapel i have ever come across which is focused on a fire place.
British postcard, no. MM371.
Keanu Reeves (1964) is a Canadian actor, producer, director and musician. Though Reeves often faced criticism for his deadpan delivery and perceived limited range as an actor, he nonetheless took on roles in a variety of genres, doing everything from introspective art-house fare to action-packed thrillers. His films include My Own Private Idaho (1991), the European drama Little Buddha (1993), Speed (1994), The Matrix (1999) and John Wick (2014).
Keanu Charles Reeves was born in 1964, in Beirut, Lebanon. His first name means ‘cool breeze over the mountains’ in Hawaiian. His father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves, Jr., was a geologist of Chinese-Hawaiian heritage, and his mother, Patricia Bond (née Taylor), was a British showgirl and later a costume designer for rock stars such as Alice Cooper. Reeves's mother was working in Beirut when she met his father. Upon his parents’ split in 1966, Keanu moved with his mother and younger sister Kim Reeves to Sydney, to New York and then to Toronto. As a child, he lived with various stepfathers, including stage and film director Paul Aaron. Keanu developed an ardor for hockey, though he would eventually turn to acting. At 15, he played Mercutio in a stage production of Romeo and Juliet at the Leah Posluns Theatre. Reeves dropped out of high school when he was 17. His film debut was the Canadian feature One Step Away (Robert Fortier, 1985). After a part in the teen movie Youngblood (Peter Markle, 1986), starring Rob Lowe, he obtained a green card through stepfather Paul Aaron and moved to Los Angeles. After a few minor roles, he gained attention for his performance in the dark drama River's Edge (Tim Hunter, 1986), which depicted how a murder affected a group of adolescents. Reeves landed a supporting role in the Oscar-nominated period drama Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988), starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich. Reeves joined the casts of Ron Howard's comedy Parenthood (1989), and Lawrence Kasdan's I Love You to Death (1990). Unexpectedly successful was the wacky comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (Stephen Herek, 1989) which followed two high school students (Reeves and Alex Winter) and their time-traveling high jinks. The success lead to a TV series and a sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (Pete Hewitt, 1991). From then on, audiences often confused Reeves's real-life persona with that of his doofy on-screen counterpart.
In the following years, Keanu Reeves tried to shake the Ted stigma. He developed an eclectic film roster that included high-budget action films like the surf thriller Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991) for which he won MTV's ‘Most Desirable Male’ award in 1992, but also lower-budget art-house films. My Own Private Idaho (1991), directed by Gus Van Sant and co-starring River Phoenix, chronicled the lives of two young hustlers living on the streets. In Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Reeves embodied the calm resolute lawyer Jonathan Harker who stumbles into the lair of Gary Oldman’s Count Dracula. In Europe, he played prince Siddharta who becomes the Buddha in Bernardo Bertolucci’s Italian-French-British drama Little Buddha (1993). His career reached a new high when he starred opposite Sandra Bullock in the hit action film Speed (Jan de Bont, 1994). It was followed by the romantic drama A Walk in the Clouds (Alfonso Arau, 1995) and the supernatural thriller Devil’s Advocate (Taylor Hackford, 1997), co-starring Al Pacino and Charlize Theron. At the close of the decade, Reeves starred in a Sci-fi film that would become a genre game changer, The Matrix (Andy and Lana Wachowski, 1999). Reeves played the prophetic figure Neo, slated to lead humanity to freedom from an all-consuming simulated world. Known for its innovative fight sequences, avant-garde special effects and gorgeous fashion, The Matrix was an international hit. Two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded (Andy and Lana Wachowski, 1999) and The Matrix Revolutions (Andy and Lana Wachowski, 1999) followed and The Matrix Reloaded was even a bigger financial blockbuster than its predecessor.
Now a major, bonafide box office star, Keanu Reeves continued to work in different genres and both in bid-budget as in small independent films. He played an abusive man in the supernatural thriller The Gift (Sam Raimi, 2000), starring Cate Blanchett, a smitten doctor in the romantic comedy Something’s Gotta Give (Nancy Meyers, 2003) opposite Diane Keaton, and a Brit demon hunter in American-German occult detective action film Constantine (Francis Lawrence, 2005). His appearance in the animated science fiction thriller A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006), based on the novel by Philip K. Dick, received favourable reviews, and The Lake House (Alejandro Agresti, 2006) , his romantic outing with Sandra Bullock, was a success at the box office. Reeves returned to Sci-fi as alien Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still (Scott Derrickson, 2008), the remake of the 1951 classic. Then he played a supporting part in Rebecca Miller's The Private Life of Pippa Lee (2009), which starred Robin Wright and premiered at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival. Reeves co-founded a production company, Company Films. The company helped produce Henry's Crime (Malcolm Venville, 2010), in which Reeves also starred. The actor made his directorial debut with the Chinese-American Martial arts film Man of Tai Chi (2013), partly inspired by the life of Reeves' friend, stuntman Tiger Chen. Martial arts–based themes continued in Reeves's next feature, 47 Ronin (Carl Rinsch, 2013), about a real-life group of masterless samurai in 18th-century Japan who avenged the death of their lord. Variety magazine listed 47 Ronin as one of "Hollywood's biggest box office bombs of 2013". Reeves returned as a retired hitman in the neo-noir action thriller John Wick (Chad Stahelski, David Leitch, 2014). The film opened to positive reviews and performed well at the box office. A sequel, titled John Wick: Chapter Two, is currently in production and is scheduled to be released in 2017. This year, he could be seen in the psychological horror film The Neon Demon is (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2016) and the romantic horror-thriller Bad Batch (Ana Lily Amirpour, 2016). Reeves’ artistic aspirations are not limited to film. In the early 1990s, he co-founded the grunge band Dogstar, which released two albums. He later played bass for a band called Becky. Reeves is also a longtime motorcycle enthusiast. After asking designer Gard Hollinger to create a custom-built bike for him, the two went into business together with the formation of Arch Motorcycle Company LLC in 2011. Reported to be one of the more generous actors in Hollywood, Reeves helped care for his sister during her lengthy battle with leukemia, and has supported such organizations as Stand Up To Cancer and PETA. In January 2000, Reeves's girlfriend, Jennifer Syme, gave birth eight months into her pregnancy to Ava Archer Syme-Reeves, who was stillborn. The strain put on their relationship by their grief resulted in Reeves and Syme's breakup several weeks later. In 2001, Syme died after a car accident.
Sources: Biography.com, Wikipedia and IMDb.
British postcard by Heroes Publishing Ltd., London, no. SPC2581. Photo: publicity still for Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991).
Keanu Reeves (1964) is a Canadian actor, producer, director and musician. Though Reeves often faced criticism for his deadpan delivery and perceived limited range as an actor, he nonetheless took on roles in a variety of genres, doing everything from introspective art-house fare to action-packed thrillers. His films include My Own Private Idaho (1991), the European drama Little Buddha (1993), Speed (1994), The Matrix (1999) and John Wick (2014).
Keanu Charles Reeves was born in 1964, in Beirut, Lebanon. His first name means ‘cool breeze over the mountains’ in Hawaiian. His father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves, Jr., was a geologist of Chinese-Hawaiian heritage, and his mother, Patricia Bond (née Taylor), was a British showgirl and later a costume designer for rock stars such as Alice Cooper. Reeves's mother was working in Beirut when she met his father. Upon his parents’ split in 1966, Keanu moved with his mother and younger sister Kim Reeves to Sydney, to New York and then to Toronto. As a child, he lived with various stepfathers, including stage and film director Paul Aaron. Keanu developed an ardor for hockey, though he would eventually turn to acting. At 15, he played Mercutio in a stage production of Romeo and Juliet at the Leah Posluns Theatre. Reeves dropped out of high school when he was 17. His film debut was the Canadian feature One Step Away (Robert Fortier, 1985). After a part in the teen movie Youngblood (Peter Markle, 1986), starring Rob Lowe, he obtained a green card through stepfather Paul Aaron and moved to Los Angeles. After a few minor roles, he gained attention for his performance in the dark drama River's Edge (Tim Hunter, 1986), which depicted how a murder affected a group of adolescents. Reeves landed a supporting role in the Oscar-nominated period drama Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988), starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich. Reeves joined the casts of Ron Howard's comedy Parenthood (1989), and Lawrence Kasdan's I Love You to Death (1990). Unexpectedly successful was the wacky comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (Stephen Herek, 1989) which followed two high school students (Reeves and Alex Winter) and their time-traveling high jinks. The success lead to a TV series and a sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (Pete Hewitt, 1991). From then on, audiences often confused Reeves's real-life persona with that of his doofy on-screen counterpart.
In the following years, Keanu Reeves tried to shake the Ted stigma. He developed an eclectic film roster that included high-budget action films like the surf thriller Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991) for which he won MTV's ‘Most Desirable Male’ award in 1992, but also lower-budget art-house films. My Own Private Idaho (1991), directed by Gus Van Sant and co-starring River Phoenix, chronicled the lives of two young hustlers living on the streets. In Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Reeves embodied the calm resolute lawyer Jonathan Harker who stumbles into the lair of Gary Oldman’s Count Dracula. In Europe, he played prince Siddharta who becomes the Buddha in Bernardo Bertolucci’s Italian-French-British drama Little Buddha (1993). His career reached a new high when he starred opposite Sandra Bullock in the hit action film Speed (Jan de Bont, 1994). It was followed by the romantic drama A Walk in the Clouds (Alfonso Arau, 1995) and the supernatural thriller Devil’s Advocate (Taylor Hackford, 1997), co-starring Al Pacino and Charlize Theron. At the close of the decade, Reeves starred in a Sci-fi film that would become a genre game changer, The Matrix (Andy and Lana Wachowski, 1999). Reeves played the prophetic figure Neo, slated to lead humanity to freedom from an all-consuming simulated world. Known for its innovative fight sequences, avant-garde special effects and gorgeous fashion, The Matrix was an international hit. Two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded (Andy and Lana Wachowski, 1999) and The Matrix Revolutions (Andy and Lana Wachowski, 1999) followed and The Matrix Reloaded was even a bigger financial blockbuster than its predecessor.
Now a major, bonafide box office star, Keanu Reeves continued to work in different genres and both in bid-budget as in small independent films. He played an abusive man in the supernatural thriller The Gift (Sam Raimi, 2000), starring Cate Blanchett, a smitten doctor in the romantic comedy Something’s Gotta Give (Nancy Meyers, 2003) opposite Diane Keaton, and a Brit demon hunter in American-German occult detective action film Constantine (Francis Lawrence, 2005). His appearance in the animated science fiction thriller A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006), based on the novel by Philip K. Dick, received favourable reviews, and The Lake House (Alejandro Agresti, 2006) , his romantic outing with Sandra Bullock, was a success at the box office. Reeves returned to Sci-fi as alien Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still (Scott Derrickson, 2008), the remake of the 1951 classic. Then he played a supporting part in Rebecca Miller's The Private Life of Pippa Lee (2009), which starred Robin Wright and premiered at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival. Reeves co-founded a production company, Company Films. The company helped produce Henry's Crime (Malcolm Venville, 2010), in which Reeves also starred. The actor made his directorial debut with the Chinese-American Martial arts film Man of Tai Chi (2013), partly inspired by the life of Reeves' friend, stuntman Tiger Chen. Martial arts–based themes continued in Reeves's next feature, 47 Ronin (Carl Rinsch, 2013), about a real-life group of masterless samurai in 18th-century Japan who avenged the death of their lord. Variety magazine listed 47 Ronin as one of "Hollywood's biggest box office bombs of 2013". Reeves returned as a retired hitman in the neo-noir action thriller John Wick (Chad Stahelski, David Leitch, 2014). The film opened to positive reviews and performed well at the box office. A sequel, titled John Wick: Chapter Two, is currently in production and is scheduled to be released in 2017. This year, he could be seen in the psychological horror film The Neon Demon is (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2016) and the romantic horror-thriller Bad Batch (Ana Lily Amirpour, 2016). Reeves’ artistic aspirations are not limited to film. In the early 1990s, he co-founded the grunge band Dogstar, which released two albums. He later played bass for a band called Becky. Reeves is also a longtime motorcycle enthusiast. After asking designer Gard Hollinger to create a custom-built bike for him, the two went into business together with the formation of Arch Motorcycle Company LLC in 2011. Reported to be one of the more generous actors in Hollywood, Reeves helped care for his sister during her lengthy battle with leukemia, and has supported such organizations as Stand Up To Cancer and PETA. In January 2000, Reeves's girlfriend, Jennifer Syme, gave birth eight months into her pregnancy to Ava Archer Syme-Reeves, who was stillborn. The strain put on their relationship by their grief resulted in Reeves and Syme's breakup several weeks later. In 2001, Syme died after a car accident.
Sources: Biography.com, Wikipedia and IMDb.
This has been added to my 2016 Top 10
4 September 2016
Photo #2 of ‘52 Pictures of Me’ Self Portrait Project
After having an introspective and creative start to the year and then having a quiet few months, by September I was feeling the urge to challenge myself. I decided to start a self-portrait project where I would take one photo each week for a year and share it with everyone. I had been inspired by others who did this and how much it helped them grow as an individual and become a better photographer. This seemed like the perfect combination.
This photo was only the second I had taken in the series and it is still very much a favourite. I was still learning some of the logistical issues of self-portraiture – remote triggers, weather, people, equipment, etc and trying to think about what I wanted to get out of it. Even though I set the project rules as ‘anything goes’, it was important to me that the photos captured emotion. Focusing on this aspect and being present with my feelings at the time of taking the photo has helped me create images that show different sides of me and ones that I feel are authentic.
These words accompany this photo and explain the innate feelings I had at the time…
It calls.
Echoes from a distant world.
Flow through my heart and whisper the answers.
My other ’52 Pictures of Me’ photos can be seen in this album:
www.flickr.com/photos/naomicreek/albums/72157672149817231
Original Post
It calls.
Echoes from a distant world.
Flow through my heart and whisper the answers.
Location: Port Melbourne Beach
Canon SX60 on tripod and 10 second timer.
1/100 sec, f5, ISO250
For more on African American experience and achievements in the U.S. and elsewhere visit Discover Black Heritage , a travel guide to black history and culture.
Dorian chose the darkest corner of the house — the one where the world forgets to knock. There, between shadow and silence, he dreams of open fields and soft rain. Nothing moves. Nothing asks for more.
I bought this painting (reproduction) for something like $3, or maybe $5 at a yardsale on Rogers Street in Lowell, Massachusetts in 2008.
Hair and Make-up: Meltem Sahin
Assistant Photography: Chantal Delissen
Canon 6D with Sigma 50mm f1.4 ART
Processed with Lightroom 5 and Alien Skin Exposure 6
“Why do you stay in prison
when the door is so wide open?
Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking.
Live in silence.”
...From my Midwest Travelin' Journal...
introspectively blogged in the wee hours of the morning here:
waterblossoms.blogspot.com/2008/09/nothing-new-here.html
"Make each day count! "