View allAll Photos Tagged Modernity
By Stoff _ If you wanna use or buy that image, or for more info just FlickrMail me ;)
[tool by Andrew P / Andy R / Stoff]
With all my ❤️ I thank you for your ⭐ or 💬 or just for 👀 it.
A 📷 taken by me + Camera Raw +ps
Tokyo’s skyline has always fascinated me for its fusion of modernity and tradition. In this image, I chose black and white to highlight the architectural strength of the city and the contrast between its geometric forms.
The iconic Tokyo Skytree stands tall on the left, while the Asahi building, with its golden sculpture known as the Flamme d'Or, adds a touch of uniqueness. The combination of straight and curved lines, along with metallic textures and glass reflections, reinforces the essence of this vibrant metropolis.
Tokyo is a city of contrasts, and this image aims to capture that duality between the modern and the timeless.
This is probably my favourite image of this year. With the different colour sections, it almost looks like a modern painting.
"...In modern "liquid" society, relationships are, like high-tech toys, upgradable. We want the ties that bind us to be just as easy to cut.
The hero of Austrian writer Robert Musil's great novel was, as the title of the novel announced, the man without qualities. Having no qualities of his own, whether inherited or acquired, he had to compose them himself, using his wits and acumen; but none of them were guaranteed to last in a world full of confusing signals, constant change and unpredictability.
The hero of my book is the man with no bonds - no fixed, unbreakable bonds, and he is the denizen of our liquid, modern society. More importantly, whatever bonds he does make need to be only loosely tied, so that they can be untied again, with little delay, when the settings change - as in liquid modernity they surely will.
The uncanny frailty of human bonds, the feeling of insecurity that frailty inspires, and the conflicting desires to tighten bonds yet keep them loose is what I seek to unravel and grasp. The subject is human relationships, and the central characters are men and women - our contemporaries - despairing at being abandoned to their own wits, feeling easily disposable, yearning for the security of togetherness and for a helping hand to count on in a moment of trouble, and so desperate to relate. Yet they are wary of the state of being related, and particularly of being related for good, since they fear that such a state may bring burdens they feel neither able nor willing to bear.
In our world of rampant "individualisation", relationships are mixed blessings. They vacillate between a sweet dream and a nightmare, and there is no telling when one turns into the other. Most of the time, the two cohabit - though at different levels of consciousness. In a liquid modern setting of life, relationships are perhaps the most common, acute incarnations of ambivalence. This is, we may argue, why they are firmly placed at the top of people's life agendas."
(from the foreword to Liquid Love, by Zygmunt Bauman)
Sometimes you (that is: me) get it completely wrong. I was wandering with a friend in the Victoria & Albert Museum when I saw this sculpture and started thinking how nicely ancient Indian suggestion had been mixed with a Christian image. I wondered who was the contemporary author of the work, so I read the label accompanying the image. Now, in the room you find ancient manufacts along with contemporary works, but the label didn't report the name of the artist. Anyway I had to read it twice: that was the copy of a Tympanum, in stone, from the church at Shobdon, in Herefordshire. The presumed date was about... 1140! Even though I am not an art expert it doesn't happen often I get it so completely wrong, so I couldn't help laughing at myself, besides thinking how modern this ancient piece looks anyway to my eyes :)
****SUBIR NOVA VERSÃO
MODERNIDADE, Encarando o céu...
- Testando o zoom da Coolpix P600.
*********
MODERNITY, Facing the sky...
- Testing the zoom of the Coolpix P600.
Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciències (S.Calatrava) - València - País Valencià
Més fotos ací - More shots here
València ha viscut aquests últims anys en la modernitat més polèmica: grans edificis com el Museu Príncep Felip (encara no sabem perquè li van posar un nom tan horrorós - al museu, no al príncep!, en una ciutat tan poc monàrquica), visites papals i grans esdeveniments esportius com la Copa de l'Amèrica i el Circuit de Fórmula 1. Tots tenen un factor en comú: la despesa desmesurada de diners. En un país ric i en temps pròspers potser tindria sentit. Ara i ací, NO. Falten noves escoles, que funcionen gràcies a l'esforç del professorat i de les associacions de pares i mares; la Sanitat pública viu les hores més amargues malgrat el treball incansable de l'equip mèdic (encara que s'està construint l'hospital més GRAN d'Europa!), la Televisió i la Ràdio públiques estan subjectes al monopoli d'un sol partit malgrat les contínues denúncies dels sindicats de periodistes de manipulació i censura. La llista és interminable... PROU de malversar els diners de tots els valencians!
\"^o^\" --- \"^o^\" --- \"^o^\" --- \"^o^\" --- \"^o^\" --- \"^o^\" --- \"^o^\"
València was living last years in a polemic modernity: big buildings like the Felip Prince Museum (we don't know why they give this awful name, to the museum, no to the Prince!, in a not very monarchic city), the Pope visits and great sportive events like the America's cup and the Formula 1 race. All have a common factor: the very big spending of money. Perhaps in a rich country and in better times it could be have a little of sense. But now and here, NO. We need new schools, the Public Health is living its worst time (they are now building the biggest hospital in Europe!); the public Television and Radio are dominated by the censure and manipulation of a lonely politician group, continuously denounced by the journalist syndicates. The list is unfinished... ENOUGH of spending the money of all the Valencian people!
344. Modernity is not a stiffened, static reality, but a dynamic process, which is continuously working to make itself darker and darker.
361. Today’s man has gradually built a denatured world for himself: he has already been cut off from the supernatural, and now he is about to take leave of the natural.
366. A machine is demonic for it contributes to the emergence of a considerable alienation between producer, production and product - and this is always accompanied by an inner alienation.
9. The »ideal« of dark tendencies is the person without world-views.
29. In the background of the modern world’s conceptions, elaborated by a vast rational apparatus, there work manias which are generated by demonic forces.
58. Amalgamation most extremely contrasts with unity.
137. The case when someone ignores essentiality involves not only that the most important thing starts missing but that there can be found something else in its place.
138. Sticking to the only-human leads not to remaining in the human sphere but to becoming sub-human. For persisting in something is to loose it: to loose that which was intended to be retained.
307. Those forces that manipulate the world, so that they can work undisturbed, want to accomplish two things: first and foremost that their existence be questioned, and if this does not work, they would at least like to appear undefeatable.
309. Disintegration can also be seen on the surface. The act of disintegration, however, is forever under the surface which makes it even more difficult to notice it.
310. The path leading to chaos is not yet chaotic, only in its ultimate phase. For, though a chaos-creating force is creating chaos in its course, it necessarily gets structured into dark order of things.
314. That which is in opposition to what transcends life, ultimately, is in opposition to what belongs to the domain of life - for life gets life from what transcends life.
315. As the forces of modernity first annihilate the connection with the supernatural and ruin man’s relationship with nature and only then destroy nature, in the same way they destroy the connection with what transcends life first and only then annihilate life itself.
317. First, only he who maintains his principles is considered a fool (though he is not), then it comes true that only the fool maintains his principles...
318. Those things which are usually referred to as superstitions are in fact innocent and harmless superstitions. The harming and harmful superstitions appear in totally different forms such as evolutionism, antihierarchical views, beliefs in the equality of mankind and as all those phenomena which, philosophically speaking, belong to the realm of humanism.
328. Modernity is the way to conformity - the way to conformity forever in the direction of the lowest.
329. Kali-yuga is characterised mainly by the passionate clinging to the continuous deterioration and disintegration of consciousness.
331. »Being devoured«: this is the fundamental word for what the rule of darkness realises; being devoured, which is followed by annihilation.
332. Kali-yuga is not merely a state but a threatening and devouring throat.
333. The disintegrating forces of darkness are living forces, living forces that bring death.
335. The forces of darkness can gain power in the world only because they have already gained power in the soul.
341. Kali-yuga is present in the consciousness, in the strict sense of the word, in the human psyche, in the spiritual manifestations and deeds of man, just as it is present in the surrounding world, in buildings, in music, in the different manifestations of artistic trends and in the very processes of nature. Wherever man directs his attention, be it inward or outward, he is everywhere surrounded and ruled by a world which is under the aegis of antitraditionality - that is being cut off from God, heaven, transcendence, superiority and the essence.
344. Modernity is not a stiffened, static reality, but a dynamic process, which is continuously working to make itself darker and darker.
361. Today’s man has gradually built a denatured world for himself: he has already been cut off from the supernatural, and now he is about to take leave of the natural.
364. The specific blindnesses of the dark age as a rule cloak themselves in rationalism.
366. A machine is demonic for it contributes to the emergence of a considerable alienation between producer, production and product - and this is always accompanied by an inner alienation.
375. The forces of darkness and the forces of light in a way want the same in the present age: to make the kali-yuga progress to its end. But whereas the forces of darkness tend to annihilate the true values as well, the forces of light tend to maintain the true values in the course of kali-yuga so as to serve in the building up of a future golden age.
376. One has to accommodate himself to the modern world so that his powers will not wear him out - but not in the sense of bending and assimilating to it, but as a kind of acclimatisation; for he who gets acclimatised will not »serve« the climate but resists the climate.
377. Despite all its losing track, deterioration and dissipation, today’s world and the tendencies operating in it show one direction: the direction of nothingness.
381. The postmodern state, in which everything can be manifested without any real consequence, and in which everything will be free, but nothing will matter, must be accomplished before everything falls apart in postmodernity. Without this, the final disintegration will not come about, since there would always be left certain positive remnants.
404. As light magnetises certain insects, so spiritual darkness attracts the overwhelming majority of people.
427. Everything that is against the supernatural also turns, sooner or later, against the natural.
488. Liberalism not only represents the view according to which every man is equal (to one another), but it also does its best to abolish quality in order to make every men equal.
528. Modern culture is the culture of anti-spirituality and anti-traditionality. Consequently, it can only be considered as pseudo-culture, or rather, counter-culture. This term denotes counter-cultivation, that is, the cultivation of man and the world in such a way and to such a degree that they are continually becoming more fit to receive the dark instead of the light.
529. Counter-culture does not simply mean being a poor hand at culture or that man’s world is inundated with cheap things instead of higher values. The real meaning of counter-culture is that man and his world turn in a completely different direction to the one they ought to, since instead of dominating and cultivating the light, he dominates and cultivates the dark.
531. That which is called the Enlightenment today was, unambiguously, darkening; and exactly that which was dark in it resulted in it being called »Enlightenment«: the denial of the spirit.
533. Turning towards the earth clearly reveals darkening and decay. But how degenerated this [materialistic] view has become is really shown by the fact that it is called »Enlightenment« instead of »Endarkenment«.
[The contemporary manifestations of these kinds of processes at the time were similarly criticised by Plato, according to whom this attitude originated in »grievous ignorance which, however, appears to be the greatest discretion.« (Laws 886B).]
538. The bulk of negative processes and tendencies, be they communism, environmental pollution or economic crises, might be suppressed and reversed. However, there is one process which cannot be held back, and there is not even a wish to hold it back, namely, the rapidly increasing »not-anything-like-ness« or »not-any-kind-of-ness«.
738. Each world that has lost its origin-awareness is characterized by annihilation.
773. Since the return to the origin is only possible from well-ordered states, anti-traditional forces and powers primarily attack the internal and external order of man. This way they create such counter-conditions from which the return to the origin becomes impossible, or almost impossible.
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Metaphysical aphorisms by András László
www.tradicio.org/english/solumipsum.htm
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Painting by Tadeus Brzozowski
Apr 13 2017 [Change] An uptick in the weather finally... Laval's modern make over showing off under the warmer sunny skys along Boulevard St-Martin this afternoon.. Gas prices are up but still cheapert than a couple of years ago.
Modernity
I had this general idea shortly after @clondon posted her prompt, which I'm sure is a rather more dystopian take than she was thinking. It took a couple of nights of trying ideas before I got this as something closer to what I envisioned.
Find me on Instagram as MusingEye
Model: Scarlett Quimby
in port adriano, a marina between tradition and modernity, designed by philippe starck, the photograph captures the elegance of a luxury yacht reflecting the calm mediterranean waters. this state-of-the-art harbor is a luxurious destination that not only provides moorings for vessels but also offers a variety of services and cultural experiences. it's equipped with a shipyard, high-end restaurants, and shops under a vast underground parking space. the marina is a hub for nautical activities, water sports, and hosts an array of events throughout the year, including a celebrated music festival featuring international artists. this multifunctional space is renowned for its modern architecture and vibrant lifestyle, harmoniously combining the high seas with leisure and entertainment.
Olympia is a painting by Édouard Manet. Probably the most famous painting by an artist who seemed to devote his life to poking the École des Beaux-Arts with a sharp stick and challenging the conventional wisdom of art appreciation.
This year the painting is having another look where the nude white woman lying on a bed is less the focus and the black servant who is bringing flowers is getting top billing.
Recently this was the central focus of "Posing Modernity: The Black Model from Manet and Matisse to Today" but the painting itself could only appear as a photograph. The next stop for this very interesting take on art history will be the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and the painting will only need to travel a few flights of stairs.
Shinjuku, Tokyo, is a dynamic district that perfectly encapsulates the essence of modern Japan. This image showcases the vibrant energy of Shinjuku, a place where tradition meets innovation. The towering buildings, adorned with a plethora of colorful advertisements and neon lights, create a visually stimulating environment that is both captivating and overwhelming. The architecture in Shinjuku is a testament to Japan's rapid modernization, with sleek skyscrapers standing alongside older, more traditional structures. This juxtaposition highlights the district's historical significance and its role as a hub of contemporary culture.
Shinjuku is not just a commercial center; it is also steeped in history. The area has been a significant part of Tokyo since the Edo period, serving as a post town on the Koshu Kaido, one of the five routes of the Edo period. Today, Shinjuku Station is one of the busiest railway stations in the world, a testament to the district's enduring importance. The streets are lined with a variety of shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues, offering something for everyone. From high-end department stores to quirky boutiques, Shinjuku is a shopper's paradise. Food enthusiasts can indulge in a wide range of culinary delights, from traditional Japanese cuisine to international fare. The district is also home to numerous entertainment options, including theaters, karaoke bars, and nightclubs.
Shinjuku's unique blend of history, culture, and modernity makes it a must-visit destination for anyone exploring Tokyo. Whether you're interested in shopping, dining, or simply soaking in the urban atmosphere, Shinjuku offers an unparalleled experience that captures the essence of modern Japan.
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O vendedor ambulante tem celular e aceita cartões de crédito. Isso é modernidade !
The beach vendor has a cell phone and accepts credit cards. This is modernity!
This photos might make it look as if I was inside the Post Office today. I was not. Instead, I placed my iPhone flat against the window glass and suddenly it was as if I were inside the building.
Having captured an image, I then came home and proceeded to remove any trace of modernity from the image. Gone are all the US Postal Service signs that clutter all the surfaces of our post offices. I wanted this scene to be faithful to the appearance of the post office in 1920.
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Here is all there is to know about the Oysterville Store and Post Office. This isn't just longreads category. It's shelter-in-place-until-it's-safe-to-come-out length.
It comes from the blog of Sydneyofoysterville.com:
Archive for the ‘Oysterville Store andPost Office
Back In Our Wild, Wild West Days
Sunday, December 2nd, 2018
Given all of our country’s gun problems and controversies these days, I was a bit startled to see a full-page reproduction of an advertisement for “Reliable Revolvers” in an old Sou’wester magazine. Actually, the ad appeared on the back cover of the Summer-Autumn 1979 issue without explanation. It is not clear where or when it originated and I can only surmise that the editor (also not named) of this particular issue felt it went with the rest of the magazine’s content.
The issue was called “The Town of Chinook” and about half of its 40 pages deal with “History of the Chinook Post Office.” Among its pages is another interesting ad, also from the Sadler Pub. Co., Baltimore, MD. For “Post-Office Cabinets and Cases.” It says, in part: The rental from boxes in Post-offices where the salary is less than $1,000 belongs to the Postmaster. They can, therefore, increase their income very materially by having their offices fitted up in an Attractive manner. The money received from rentals alone will pay for a Cabinet in a few months. With this in view…
I had no idea that the rental money from post office boxes once was considered supplementary income for postmasters on the low end of the pay scale. I wonder if that was the case with our wonderful little old-fashioned post-boxes. These days, for those of us who have no postal delivery service available, there is no rental fee charged. I don’t know about other situations, but I’m pretty sure that rental revenue no longer goes into the postmaster’s pocket. Hopefully, our postmasters make an adequate living wage these days without having to “fit up” their place of work to eek out a bit more income!
But, back to the “Reliable Revolvers” ad. When I realized that this advertisement was targeting (ahem) postal workers specifically, I immediately thought, “Wow! That puts a whole new spin on the expression, Going Postal.” Perhaps you remember when that phrase originated. It was back in 1986 in Edmond, Oklahoma when 14 employees were shot and killed and six were wounded by Patrick Sherrill, a postman who then committed suicide. And to think that a century or so beforehand, postal supply companies were offering weapons for sale!
Mailboxes at the Oysterville Post Office
On the other hand, it wasn’t all that long ago that an Oysterville postmaster revealed to me that she always carried a gun when she went on her daily noontime walks. I was horrified. I think she was the first person who ever confided in me about routinely ‘carrying’ a revolver. She said that she simply didn’t trust the drivers who might slow down and threaten her in some way. I chalked it up to paranoia. However, I was careful not to slow down for a talk with her if I happened to drive by her on her walks. Just sayin’…
But now, I’m wondering if it’s a historic tradition among postal employees to be armed. I’m hoping some of my friends in ‘the biz’ will weigh in and tell us that this advertisement is a historic aberration and not since the days of Wells Fargo and the Pony Express have postal workers routinely carried weapons as part of their jobs. YIKES!
Tags: Historic Oysterville Post Office
Posted in Oysterville Store andPost Office | No Comments »
Oysterville’s Seventeenth Postmaster
Monday, April 9th, 2018
Jean Smith, Oysterville Postmater 2002-2012
Mescal Jean Smith, always known to us by her middle name, died last week at her home in Tygh Valley, Oregon. Her daughter-in-law kindly called to let us know. Though Jean and John moved from Oysterville almost six years ago, I feel Jean’s absence more since that phone call than in all the years since they left. Somehow, they have remained ‘present’ despite our sporadic communication.
Jean and John came to Oysterville in 1984. They bought the Oysterville Store/Post Office Building as well as the old Andrews house next door. I don’t know if Jean had aspirations to become the postmaster at that time or not. I think Mary Munsey was still in charge of the mail in those days and then came Casey Killingsworth who we dubbed “The Singing Postmaster.”
John and Jean Smith, 2012
Meanwhile, Jean and John (but mostly Jean) ran the store. John was still working in Oregon; for years we saw him only on the weekends. By the time John finally retired and moved to Oysterville full-time in 2001, Jean was working as the PMR (Postmaster Replacement) at the Post Office as well as keeping an eye on the store.
Somehow, she also had time to grow tubs full of gorgeous tulips, nip outside to give doggie treats to her canine friends, and wave hello to the neighbors on her noontime walks through town. She had worked and walked her way into our community and into our hearts and had brought John right along with her.
Soon, in 2002, she was officially appointed Oysterville Postmaster and John was minding the store full-time. It was a natural division of labor and it seemed as though it had always been that way. Indeed, now, almost two decades later, there are many store customers and postal patrons who don’t remember life ‘BJJ” – before Jean and John.
Jean Cuts Farewell Cake, 2012
“How is John doing?” I asked during the phone call. Jean had written some time back that he had been diagnosed with “Beginning Alzheimer’s.”
“Not very well,” Jean’s daughter-in-law replied. It wasn’t clear that he fully understood that Jean had died. “His son will be taking him to Arizona to live with them,” she said. And we were quiet for a while.
I asked if I could do any calling – to let people know. “There’s someone I called who said she’d post a notice at the Post Office,” she said. “And we are going to gather up there at Jean’s Beach, probably in July, to scatter her ashes. We want all her friends to come.”
I’m not really sure where Jean’s Beach is, but we plan to be there.
Tags: Historic Oysterville Post Office
Posted in Friendship, Oysterville Store andPost Office | 1 Comment »
Mail Call! – Always fun in Oysterville!
Monday, February 5th, 2018
Mailboxes at the Oysterville Post Office
It’s probably similar at little post offices throughout the world. Our Oysterville P.O. is a gathering place for the locals – nowadays, not so much ‘gathering’ as ‘see-you-as-I’m-passing-through – and it’s a collection/disbursement area for news and rumors (now called ‘fake news’) and gossip. And, of course, there’s the mail.
Over the years, we’ve had some strange items in our post office box. Take the letter that was sent to my folks from a friend in England. It was addressed properly except that instead of WA, there were periods after each letter: W.A. That little mistake was compounded by the omission of U.S.A. The letter took several months to get here. First it went to Western Australia, according to the cancellation stamps on the envelope. A notation said, “Not here. Try West Africa.” The next note said, “Try the U.S.” and that, apparently did the trick!
Even in my great-grandparents’ time, there were interesting mail stories. In 1893, the Oysterville postmaster received this letter – the first indication that the erstwhile Baptist preacher (who had skipped town to avoid arrest for his wife’s possible murder) was also a bigamist.
Tom and Sam Andrews Store and Post Office, c. 1900
Sir:
…I am the ferst [sic] wife of one Josiah Crouch. I was married to him the 5 day of August in 1885 at St. Joseph, Mo. County Buccanan [sic]. In 1888 he left me at Havensville Kans and I understand that he went to Ark. In 1889 he married a woman by the name of Tedden at Gladstone Ark as I had too [sic] letters from D.P. Tedden the father of his last wife. I have a little girl 7 years old. I have written some letter [sic] to Ilwaco with my one [own] handis [hands] no forgery. I have send [sic] letter [sic] a copy of Mr. Teddens letter and a stat ment [statement] nad [and] copy of the married [sic] lissen [license] to T.H. Parks at Ilwaco Wash if you wish to see thum[sic] you can write to him yours respectfully Mrs. Tillie Crouch
Mail from Japan
Not too long ago, there was another curious bit of mail in our postal box. Apparently, it was from Japan and was addressed to:
The Tourist Information Center of Oysterville Town.
Oysterville – Town.
Washington – State.
Willapa – Bay.
Pacific Ocean.
South west – Olympic City.
South west — Washington.
North west – U.S.A.
To: U.S.A.
We love going for the mail. We never know what the next surprise might be!
Tags: Historic Oysterville Post Office, Winter in Oysterville
Posted in Oysterville Store andPost Office, The World Beyond | No Comments »
Count down! Save the date!
Wednesday, June 1st, 2016
Meet the Author - CopyMark your calendar! Saturday, June 18th, 1:00 – 3:00, Oysterville Store, Meet the Author. (That would be me!) I’ll be signing my new book, Jailhouse Stories from Early Pacific County. And, as storekeeper Greg Rogers says, “There will be a book talk at one o’clock.”
Presenting a new book is always interesting. I’ve had some practice doing it, myself, but I’m even more experienced at watching other authors introduce their books. During the decade that Nyel and I owned the Bookvendor in Long Beach, we hosted many “Meet and Greet” events for authors. That was during the 1990s when publishers were still sending authors ‘on tour’ with new books – a practice that has all but stopped in this era of e-books, self-publishing, and a much beleagured, struggling communication industry.
I like to watch how potential buyers approach a new book. If it’s a paperback (like Jailhouse Stories), the blurb on the back cover often gets scanned first. Sometimes, it’s a quick look at the illustrations. But, I suspect with this new book of mine, it will be the index that gets the initial once-over.
At the Oysterville Store (1)More than one person has already asked me if any of their forebears show up in the book. It’s possible, of course, but probably unlikely. The parameters are fairly narrow: those booked into the Pacific County jail between April 15, 1886 and September 20, 1919 or those connected with law and order here during that same period of time. And a few others. The index lists most of the 591 men and women who spent time behind bars here in those years – even for a day. And a few others…
I hope, though, that interest goes beyond those who were unfortunate enough to run afoul of the law. It’s the ‘for what’ and the ‘why’ questions that are far more interesting. Crime (or at least those transgressions that are punished), like all other social problems, erupt in waves of ‘popularity.’ During those years in our County, whether it was being ‘drunk and disorderly’ or an ‘underage woman’ or a person deemed ‘insane,’ arrests reflected not so much the laws on the books, but the concerns of the community at any given time.
The book takes a peek at the history that’s often swept under that proverbial rug of respectability – right here in Pacific County! I think readers will find it illuminating even if they don’t see familiar names in the index!
Tags: books
Posted in Books and Reading, Oysterville Store andPost Office | 1 Comment »
Without The Background Noise
Sunday, July 5th, 2015
Fourth of July Visit
Fourth of July Visit
It was with relief that I woke up to peace and quiet this morning. This hushed fifth of July – birthday of my beautiful Marta and of the Dali Lama – is a welcome contrast to the sounds of insanity of yesterday.
Open for Business
Open for Business
We went to sleep last night feeling like we were living on the edge of a war zone. The explosions were continuous and seemed endless – some from a few doors north in Oysterville, but most from the ocean beach just a mile to the west. I drifted off thinking of all the money being blown up and wondering if we’d be awakened to the sound of fire engines. Or the smell of smoke.
Patriotic Pies!
Patriotic Pies!
The night proved uneventful; Oysterville appears to be still intact. But, still, I held my breath as I took a quick took at FaceBook to see if the rest of the Peninsula escaped unscathed. The pictures of the crowds on the beach and of the ‘bombs bursting in air’ were amazing. Everyone looked happy and in a celebratory mood. Yet, I could almost hear that unseen background noise…
Patriotism, Oysterville Style
Patriotism, Oysterville Style
My own images of our Fourth were so simplistic by comparison – so safe and sane looking. You’d never know there was chaos happening so very close by. I wonder if that’s the way it is a mile away from the front lines in real war zones. And why is it, again, that we celebrate our independence so loudly and dangerously? I rather visit friends and eat pie.
Tags: Summer in Oysterville
Posted in Community Spirit, Oysterville Store andPost Office, Summer in Oysterville | 2 Comments »
Pride? Anxiety? Bhima’s not telling.
Tuesday, April 14th, 2015
Bhima-the-Greeter
Bhima-the-Greeter
When I went in to get my mail the other day, Bhima was sitting tall beside the door. At first glance I thought his expression was one of pride. But… maybe not. Perhaps it was Bhima looking anxious. I think it could have been interpreted either way.
Bhima doesn’t often stand sentinel at the entrance to the Oysterville Post Office. Usually he is lazing on the lawn in front of Greg’s house next door with a ball for fetching at the ready. He’s given up on me as a likely playmate, however. I’m usually on my way somewhere that makes a drool-covered hand undesirable. (No offense, Bhima!) This sentry pose was a new one for Bhima.
The Facelift Begins
The Facelift Begins
Also new was the white color of the building’s front wall. It’s a giant step forward in the face-lift process for which owner Greg has been preparing for some time. First came a lot of looking at early pictures. But reading colors from black and white photos is beyond difficult. Next came hours of careful paint-scraping in an effort to find the ‘original’ colors. Easier said than done. Then were the trips to Seattle to a place that specializes in matching heritage paints. (Well, I don’t know if “heritage” is the right term, but you know what I mean.)
I’m actually not sure of Greg’s final choices in the matter. I’ve heard him mention “Standard Station Red, White, and Blue,” “Coca Cola Red,” and some sort of very light mustardy khaki color. I also heard him say how much he likes the look of this bright white primer. So, I’m in wait-and-see mode. Maybe Bhima is, too.
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Greg’s Photo of Bhima’s Coat of Many Colors
Or, it’s entirely possible that Bhima was purposely hiding his backside. During the painting process he managed to get a good bit of paint on his coat. If he were a FaceBook reader, he’d know that Greg had already posted that picture. I’m posting it once more on the off-chance that he reads my blog… And, be of good cheer, Bhima! You look great no matter what color you’re wearing!
Tags: Springtime in Oysterville
Posted in Community Spirit, Oysterville Store andPost Office | 4 Comments »
Ghosts and Hot Chocolate by Candlelight!
Sunday, November 9th, 2014
Sydney Talks about Ghosts, 11-8-2014
Sydney Talks about Ghosts, 11-8-2014
Last night I shared center stage with the world’s most elegant raven (a sculpture by Greg’s mother) and talked about ghosts to a standing-room-only crowd. They (well, not the raven) drank hot chocolate, told some ghost stories of their own, and seemed to have a great time. Me too!
Greg Rogers at the Oysterville Store knows how to put on an event! Candlelight and chocolate eyeball candies for kids gave just the right touch of eeriness to the evening. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate – none of the slashing rain or moaning wind that Greg had hoped for. Too, there was a competing clam tide but that was probably just as well – it was a packed house!
Oysterville Store Raven
Oysterville Store Raven
There was high interest in the ‘behind-the-scenes’ tidbits concerning Ghost Stories of the Long Beach Peninsula – lots of great follow-up questions about the details. Plus, I actually got a lead or two on another possible ghost story – maybe a sea captain who hung himself long ago in a house in Seaview.
The ‘Lamplighter Story’ surfaced again, too – the woman who appears now and then in the Ladies Room at the Seaview restaurant à la Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It’s the only enduring Peninsula ghost story that I did not include in this book and seems to be calling out for me to get busy with a sequel.
Signing "Ghost Stories of the Long Beach Peninsula"
Signing “Ghost Stories of the Long Beach Peninsula”
I also learned for the first time that there is a “Lady of the Bay” who rises out of the waters of Willapa Bay now and again. Apparently she appears out of the fog on the lonely, curvy stretches at the head of the bay. “She doesn’t appear on this side of the bay – just on the other side,” we were told. I’ll have to ask my friends in South Bend and Raymond if they know of her.
I loved it all. I don’t know how the raven felt about it, but at least I didn’t hear him say “never more”… so maybe there will be a next time!
(Many thanks to Greg Rogers and Stephanie Frieze for these great photographs!)
Tags: Autumn in Oysterville, books
Posted in Autumn in Oysterville, Ghost Stories of the Long Beach Peninsula, Oysterville Store andPost Office | 3 Comments »
The Magic Words! “Sold Out!”
Sunday, October 26th, 2014
From Mary Beth Kelly's FB Page
From Mary Beth Kelly’s FB Page
The “Ghostly Book Event” at Adelaide’s yesterday was great fun. I was astounded at how many people were there to be “introduced” to the ghosts and even more amazed at the number of books they purchased and that so many stayed to have me personalize and sign them! When proprietor Katee Uram whispered in my ear that they were almost sold out, I was delighted.
Fortunately, I had a partial box of books in my car just against such an emergency so the book sales continued without a hitch. Whoo Hoo! And, meanwhile, people were leaving me notes with their phone numbers – eager to tell me about their own ghostly encounters here on the Peninsula. “Ghost Stories of the Long Beach Peninsula, Part Two” seems like a distinct possibility!
'Sydney Signing' by Maggie Stuckey
‘Sydney Signing’ by Maggie Stuckey
The entire experience was enhanced by the weather. The wind howled and the rain slashed against the old Taylor Hotel. I arrived a bit early and Katee was already answering anxious phone callers asking whether the author was going to make it. I loved hearing Katee’s end of the conversation, “She’s already here!” and hoping that the caller would take courage and join the party. And apparently they did!
I’m already looking forward to the next ghostly adventure that will take place at the Oysterville Store on Saturday, November 8th beginning at 5:00 P.M. Several people have told me already that they will be there, eager to buy books and to bask in the ambiance of the old store by lamplight.
Next Ghost Event: Oysterville Store, Nov. 8th
Next Ghost Event: Oysterville Store, Nov. 8th
Store owner Greg Rogers has “plans” for that evening and with his typical enthusiasm and imagination it should be another event to remember. And, given the time of year… maybe the weather will cooperate again. Maybe even a power outage! If so, I doubt that it will be anything to do with PUD. With three of the stories in the book about Oysterville ghosts, it seems a given that there will be some spirited hijinks afoot. No, make that afloat!
Tags: Autumn in Oysterville, books
Posted in Books and Reading, Ghost Stories of the Long Beach Peninsula, Oysterville Store andPost Office, The Ghost of Mrs. Crouch | 1 Comment »
Scraping Up History
Saturday, June 21st, 2014
Paint Layers at the Oysterville P.O.
Paint Layers at the Oysterville P.O.
We commonly say that we are “digging” into the past. That usually involves research of some kind – searching various archives for deeds or birth certificates or other primary documents that give a framework of time and people. But, for the archaeologists among us, actual digging is, indeed, the most direct route to the past.
Oysterville storekeeper Greg Rogers, however, is scraping rather than digging to find answers. His question: What was the original color of the Oysterville Store and Post Office? He has photographs going back to the very earliest days of the building (1918) but, of course, they are in black and white. And, so far anyway, there is no way to determine actual color from a black and white photograph.
Oysterville Store c. 1940
Oysterville Store c. 1940
Some of us old-timers remember clear back into the 1930s when there was a small gas station in front of the post-office. It was a sort of adjunct to Bert Andrews’ Garage down the street a way. I remember the whole store-post-office-gas-station being a sort of cream color with reddish-brown trim. But I’ve never claimed to have a very good visual memory.
Those are not, however, the colors that Greg is finding as he scrapes around the doorframe at the post office. He has found white, green, and a red he describes and “Coca-Cola red, like your car, Sydney.” Both the white and red seem to have been used on the trim and both red and white show up on the siding.
Oysterville Store c. 1930
Oysterville Store c. 1930
But then there were stripes… They can be seen as darker, horizontal areas in the old photographs on the lower portion of the building. And, how old are the parts of the building that have been scraped so far? Are those marks on the trim piece indicators that it is pressure-treated wood? If that is the case, it might be fairly recent in the great scheme of things – perhaps a repair?
But, on doing a bit of my own research, I find that the slit method of pressure-treating wood has been around since 1911. Knowing what I do of Bert Andrews, he could well have been on the cutting-edge of construction materials in 1918. So when was that trim painted red, anyway? Maybe Bud remembers.
All of this scraping and pondering is the precursor to giving the building a new coat of retro-colors. I’m looking forward to Greg’s final conclusions and to seeing the building as it once might have been. I wonder if it will stir up some long forgotten memories.
sydneyofoysterville.com/category/oysterville-store-andpos...
in madrid, where the "cuatro torres" stretch, two giants reach for the sky, nearly piercing the cotton-like clouds above. glass surfaces mirror the ambition of a city, reflecting fragments of blue and white in a spectacle of modernity. there's a conversation between earth and heaven here, a visual poetry of aspiration, where human ingenuity meets the artistry of the skies. the towers, like beacons of progress, stand as sentinels at the threshold of the clouds, their tips disappearing into a dreamscape where the boundaries of reality seem to blur into the ether.
From “Posing Modernity: The Black Model From Manet and Matisse to Today” an 1873 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904) seen at the Musée d'Orsay.
Biennale di Venezia 2014 - 14th International Architecture Exhibition - Fundamentals.
Fundamentals consists of three interlocking exhibitions:
1.Absorbing Modernity 1914-2014 is an invitation to the national pavilions to show the process of the erasure of national characteristics.
2.Elements of Architecture, in the Central Pavilion, pays close attention to the fundamentals of our buildings used by any architect, anywhere, anytime.
3.Monditalia dedicates the Arsenale to a single theme – Italy – with exhibitions, events, and theatrical productions.
Alongside the Central Pavilion, built in 1894 and later restructured and extended several times, the Gardens are occupied by a further 29 pavilions built at different periods by the various nations participating in the Biennale. Set amidst tall trees, the pavilions themselves form a sort of anthology of important twentieth-century architecture - given they were designed by architects of the status of Aalto, Hoffmann, Rietveld, Scarpa and Stirling.
1932 Denmark (Carl Brummer) enlarged in 1958 by Peter Koch;
1962 Nordic Countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland (Sverre Fehn)
London/City/Tangle, London (UK).
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