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I was walking on a nature trail in Tampa, Florida.
The trail ended at an elementary school back lot. It was a Sunday, so I poked around.
There was a dumpster behind the school, and this guy was sitting on top of the dumpster in exactly the pose I show here.
I like his optimism. He's in a dumpster, but he's definitely on top of the situation.
Cool.
Optimism Snail 25-Pack Greeting Cards: Discover the impact of our cards! These greeting cards add beautiful imagery and motivational messages to your notes and will make a positive impression on everyone who receives them. Stock cards are blank inside for a personal message and packaged flat to imprint messages using your computer printer. Includes 25 envelopes.
FringeNYC 2012 production, photo credit Lotte Marie Allen
Maxwell and Milo Cramer as Our Man of the World
Leo is the leader of a team of workers in the building, 5 years away from his family and home, he successfully builds the dreams of others and maintains optimism amid the rigors that his profession requires.
"No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to unchartered lands."
--Helen Keller
A captured male Timber Wolf cautiously approaches through the fresh powder of an overnight snow on a frigid winter's morning at the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Sanctuary - Divide, CO via 500px bit.ly/2PnQRDU
Detail of the Baptistry Window, a masterpiece of abstract stained glass designed by John Piper and executed by Patrick Reyntiens.
Coventry's Cathedral is a unique synthesis of old a new, born of wartime suffering and forged in the spirit of postwar optimism, famous for it's history and for being the most radically modern of Anglican cathedrals. Two cathedral's stand side by side, the ruins of the medieval building, destroyed by incendiary bombs in 1940 and the bold new building designed by Basil Spence and opened in 1962.
It is a common misconception that Coventry lost it's first cathedral in the wartime blitz, but the bombs actually destroyed it's second; the original medieval cathedral was the monastic St Mary's, a large cruciform building believed to have been similar in appearance to Lichfield Cathedral (whose diocese it shared). Tragically it became the only English cathedral to be destroyed during the Reformation, after which it was quickly quarried away, leaving only scant fragments, but enough evidence survives to indicate it's rich decoration (some pieces were displayed nearby in the Priory Visitors Centre, sadly since closed). Foundations of it's apse were found during the building of the new cathedral in the 1950s, thus technically three cathedrals share the same site.
The mainly 15th century St Michael's parish church became the seat of the new diocese of Coventry in 1918, and being one of the largest parish churches in the country it was upgraded to cathedral status without structural changes (unlike most 'parish church' cathedrals created in the early 20th century). It lasted in this role a mere 22 years before being burned to the ground in the 1940 Coventry Blitz, leaving only the outer walls and the magnificent tapering tower and spire (the extensive arcades and clerestoreys collapsed completely in the fire, precipitated by the roof reinforcement girders, installed in the Victorian restoration, that buckled in the intense heat).
The determination to rebuild the cathedral in some form was born on the day of the bombing, however it wasn't until the mid 1950s that a competition was held and Sir Basil Spence's design was chosen. Spence had been so moved by experiencing the ruined church he resolved to retain it entirely to serve as a forecourt to the new church. He envisaged the two being linked by a glass screen wall so that the old church would be visible from within the new.
Built between 1957-62 at a right-angle to the ruins, the new cathedral attracted controversy for it's modern form, and yet some modernists argued that it didn't go far enough, after all there are echoes of the Gothic style in the great stone-mullioned windows of the nave and the net vaulting (actually a free-standing canopy) within. What is exceptional is the way art has been used as such an integral part of the building, a watershed moment, revolutionising the concept of religious art in Britain.
Spence employed some of the biggest names in contemporary art to contribute their vision to his; the exterior is adorned with Jacob Epstein's triumphant bronze figures of Archangel Michael (patron of the cathedral) vanquishing the Devil. At the entrance is the remarkable glass wall, engraved by John Hutton with strikingly stylised figures of saints and angels, and allowing the interior of the new to communicate with the ruin. Inside, the great tapestry of Christ in majesty surrounded by the evangelistic creatures, draws the eye beyond the high altar; it was designed by Graham Sutherland and was the largest tapestry ever made.
However one of the greatest features of Coventry is it's wealth of modern stained glass, something Spence resolved to include having witnessed the bleakness of Chartres Cathedral in wartime, all it's stained glass having been removed. The first window encountered on entering is the enormous 'chess-board' baptistry window filled with stunning abstract glass by John Piper & Patrick Reyntiens, a symphony of glowing colour. The staggered nave walls are illuminated by ten narrow floor to ceiling windows filled with semi-abstract symbolic designs arranged in pairs of dominant colours (green, red, multi-coloured, purple/blue and gold) representing the souls journey to maturity, and revealed gradually as one approaches the altar. This amazing project was the work of three designers lead by master glass artist Lawrence Lee of the Royal College of Art along with Keith New and Geoffrey Clarke (each artist designed three of the windows individually and all collaborated on the last).
The cathedral still dazzles the visitor with the boldness of it's vision, but alas, half a century on, it was not a vision to be repeated and few of the churches and cathedrals built since can claim to have embraced the synthesis of art and architecture in the way Basil Spence did at Coventry.
The cathedral is generally open to visitors most days. For more see below:-
Christiana Figueres, Founding Partner, Global Optimism, United Kingdom, speaking during the Session "Realizing the Energy Transition" at the Annual Meeting 2019 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 23, 2019. Congress Hall - Aspen 1
Copyright by World Economic Forum / Ciaran McCrickard
Martin Lewis
(Castlemaine, Australia, 1881 - 1962, New York, New York)
Dockworkers Under the Brooklyn Bridge c. 1915
Oil on board
Martin Lewis is an artist best known for his paintings and prints that depict scenes of everyday life set against the visual drama and romantic spirit of New York City.
Working in New York from 1905 until his death in 1962, Lewis's pictures are noted for their insightful observations, strong compositions and skillful execution. Dockworkers Under the Brooklyn Bridge, ca. 1915 is an example of one of the artist's very best paintings of a New York subject produced near the beginning of his career. The painting presents a group of workmen gathered in the morning who are about to start the day. Above them is a soaring view of the bridge arching across a misty, smoke-filled sky to the Brooklyn side of the East River. On the far shore smoke rises from factory chimneys, a sign of the city at work. This painting is a celebration of one of New York's most iconic landmarks, the Brooklyn Bridge, and expresses a spirit of optimism in American achievement, industry, and hard work that was current in early 20th century New York.
This week Valentina (my niece), has become my little muse, she never give up for anything! Even when she has to climb a bit ;)
Nuna... always aware
ODC: optimism / pesimism
67/365 project
I have become my own version of an optimist. If I can't make it through one door, I'll go through another door — or I'll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present.
— Rabindranath Tagore
‘Optimism is a strategy for making a better future.
Because unless you believe that the future can be better,
you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.’
~ Noam Chomsky ~
At the Birmingham Social Media Cafe on October 29th 2010, we asked people what they were optimistic about.
It's a spin-off from newoptimists.com. We asked scientists 'what are you optimistic about?' — and their answers are now in a brilliant book.
amzn.to/thenewoptimists