True Lies {evocative portraiture}
View allAll Photos Tagged quotes about emotions
“Music is the beat of a drum that keeps time with our emotions.”
Quote ― Shannon L. Alder
"Life is about rhythm. We vibrate, our hearts are pumping blood, we are a rhythm machine, that’s what we are."
Quote – Mickey Hart
Just straight out of the camera , no processing.
What you see is a macroview of a snare drum, during a concert, with light reflection.
Please pardon the Star Trek reference but it seemed appropriate (in an architectural kind of way). I know some of you will remember the original Star Trek series (obviously not me as I'm waaaaay too young for that) and "Bones" McCoy with his memorable extremely animated quotes. Apparently, and I've done the research, he never did say "It's life Jim, but not as we know it" although Spock did say something similar (but with a lot less emotion! :)).
Anyhow, what about this building? A new build in the more residential east side of Canary Wharf, completed on the outside but not on the inside from what I could gather (I saw workmen inside). I think that asymmetrical line near the top might be a balcony but couldn't say for sure. I love the look of it with the blueish tinted glass in the windows. I did bring up the blues a little so I hope you'll forgive me for that. At least I didn't put an AI generated zebra in one of the windows!
I'm going to be away from Flickr for a few days as I visit deepest darkest France (golf clubs in hand) so will be off line till next week. Take care everyone.
We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far. Swami Vivekananda
The ocean is like a love poem, eternal and beautiful.
Anon
The sea is emotion incarnate. It loves, hates, and weeps. It defies all attempts to capture it with words and rejects all shackles. No matter what you say about it, there is always that which you can’t.
Christopher Paolini.
Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean. Ryunosuke Sataro.
Would you learn the secret of the sea? Only those who brave its dangers comprehend its mystery!
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Whether it’s catching crabs or watching sharks swim past your boat, or just appreciating them for their beauty and gracefulness, every single living creature on this planet is connected to the ocean.
Anon
When you are alone in the middle of the ocean, the sounds of the sea will remind you that you’re part of something far more significant than yourself. This is one of the quotes about the ocean to keep you grounded.
Anon
The deep-sea is the largest museum on earth, it contains more history than all the museums on land combined, and yet we’re only now penetrating it.
Robert Ballard.
Sometimes in the waves of change, we find our true direction.
Anon
The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.
Jacques Cousteau
How foolish to believe we are more powerful than the sea or the sky.
Ruta Sepetys
The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination, and brings eternal joy to the soul.
Robert Wyland
Thank you for your kind visit. Have a wonderful and beautiful day! ❤️❤️❤️
♫ You Are Enough - Sleeping At Last ♫
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💋Drumknott
You Are Enough
When we woke up, the world was figured out
Beyond the beauty we've dreamt about
This brilliant light is brighter than we've known
Without our darkness to prove it so
Still, we can't help but to examine it
To add our question marks to periods
At the foot of our bed, we found an envelope
You're enough, you're enough, you're enough, you are enough
These little words, somehow they're changing us
You're enough, you're enough, you are enough
So we let our shadows fall away like dust
When we grew up, our shadows grew up too
But they're just old ghosts that we grow attached to
The tragic flaw is that they hide the truth
That you're enough, you're enough, you're enough
I promise you're enough, you're enough, you're enough
I promise you're enough, you're enough, you're enough, I promise you
You're enough, you're enough, you're enough, you are enough
These little words, somehow they're changing us
You're enough, you're enough, you are enough
So we let our shadows fall away like dust
You're enough, you're enough, you're enough
These little words, somehow they're changing us
Let it go, let it go, you are enough
So we let our shadows fall away like dust
-If I gave you my love
I'd tell you what I'd do
I'd expect a whole lot of love outta you
-You gotta be good to me
I'm gonna be good to you
There's a whole lotta things you and I could do
-What about the way love me?
And what about the way you squeeze me
It's simply beautiful, beautiful
-It's simply beautiful baby, simply beautiful
The way you love me, it's simply beautiful
I'm gonna be good to you
♫Jennifer Hudson - Simply Beautiful (Al Green Tribute) - 2014 Kennedy Center Honors♫
*Working Towards a Better WorldUntil you've had depression I don't think you're qualified to talk about it. - Geoffrey Boycott
Art saved me; it got me through my depression and self-loathing, back to a place of innocence. -Jeanette Winterson
If you look at suicides, most of them are connected to depression. And the mental health system just fails them. It's so sad. We know what to do. We just don't do it. - Rosalynn Carter
Depression is the inability to construct a future.- Rollo May
Thank you for your kind visit. Have a wonderful and beautiful day! xo💜💜
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. -William Arthur Ward
♫ Robbie Williams | Beyond The Sea (Live At The Albert 2001) ♫
Somewhere beyond the sea
Somewhere, waiting for me
My lover stands on golden sands
And watches the ships that go sailing
Somewhere beyond the sea
She's there watching for me
If I could fly like birds on high
Then straight to his (her) arms I'd go sailing
It's far beyond a star
It's near beyond the moon
**I know beyond a doubt
My heart will lead me there soon
We'll meet beyond the shore
We'll kiss just as before
Happy we'll be beyond the sea
And never again I'll go sailing
♫ Patti LaBelle - Somebody Loves You Baby ♫
Somebody loves you, baby
Ooh ooh ooh
Somebody loves you, baby
Ooh ooh ooh
Somebody loves you, baby
Ooh ooh ooh
Somebody loves you, baby
You know who it is
It happened so suddenly
I woke up one morning with you on my mind
No matter what I did
Couldn't stop thinking about you
Wanted instant replay of yesterday
Somebody loves you, baby
Ooh ooh ooh
Somebody loves you, baby
Ooh ooh ooh
Somebody loves you, baby
Ooh ooh ooh
Somebody loves you, baby
You know who it is
I'm under your spell
I don't want to break free
You can make a slave out of me
I worship you and nobody else
I pledge my love to you forever
© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved
Street photography from Glasgow, Scotland.
Previously unpublished shot from February 2018. If you squint closely enough you can see the start of a light flurry of snow about to land on Buchanan Street. It was barely noticeable though with the 'Beast from the East' that was to come not long afterwards. Enjoy!
Ps. Title is a quote from one of my favourite movies ;)
© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved
A street portrait from Barnsley, England. Captured on assignment for the #OldIs campaign for the charity Independent Age. Gathering a 'snapshot' of how we all feel about ageing in British society today with a portrait and some quotes from people on the street.
This is a personal black and white edit of an alternative shot captured for the campaign, all to a specific brief for the assignment. Wishing all of my Flickr friends a fantastic weekend ahead - enjoy!
I’ve been quiet for the most part (at least publicly) regarding the upheavals I’ve experienced over the last few months. Well, the truth is I’m not feeling too great. As time goes on, it does get easier. But today I’m not feeling quite okay. And it’s okay to not be okay.
The holidays are coming soon. There are so many people hurting right now. We’re all told by well-meaning people “you’ll be fine.” Or “you just need to get over it.” We say those things to ourselves too. In our society, everyone is in a rush to move forward, to be okay, to stuff down emotions and get over things. Well, I propose we make a new social norm: let’s be transparent. If you’re sad, be sad. Don’t let weird social constructs make you hide and say “I’m fine, thank you” while your heart is bleeding. You and your feelings, no matter what they are, are worthwhile. And so are mine.
It’s okay to not be okay.
In Taoism, a belief system I’ve studied for many years with Winnie the Pooh, says “through working in harmony with life's circumstances, Taoist understanding changes what others may perceive as negative into something positive.” In other words, feeling your feelings can be a positive thing. When someone has a broken heart, I often say to remember that pain is a part of life. It’s part of our own hero journey. And experiencing our emotions means you are living your life. There is always something to learn about yourself from a broken heart too. In the sage words of Daoshi Pooh, “How lucky am I to have had a friend that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
So, I say wallow, scream, cry, cuss, and embrace your sadness. Feel it. It’s important. And then — when you’re ready and not before — accept the lesson that comes with experience. Try not to lose faith in people. And if your emotions are overwhelming, please believe me that there is no shame in asking for help. If you feel weird about getting help, shoot me an IM. I can’t say I will know how to make you feel better, but we can compare heartbreak stories!
And, unless you want to be, don’t be alone this holiday season. There are literally millions and millions and millions of totally normal people just like you in the SAME situation as you who are having a lousy year. Someone may be hopefully waiting for someone like you to say hello to them. Again, quoting Winnie the Pooh, perhaps a “grand adventure is about to begin!’
And please remember, Life is worth living. We never know how the movie’s going to end. And if you turn off the TV too soon, you’ll never know if the butler did it!
:)
© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved
A street portrait from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Captured on assignment for the #OldIs campaign for the charity Independent Age. Gathering a 'snapshot' of how we all feel about ageing in British society today with a portrait and some quotes from people on the street.
© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved
A street portrait from Barnsley, England. Captured on assignment for the #OldIs campaign for the charity Independent Age. Gathering a 'snapshot' of how we all feel about ageing in British society today with a portrait and some quotes from people on the street. Enjoy!
Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Mr. Maka Orion.
He is a very talented sl artist photographer and an active promoter of interesting social media initiatives related to SL photography.
Maka is also a special friend of mine, who helped me to develop this little idea about a talk show interview after he noticed my inclination to curiosity and to make a lot of questions ^^'.
So, after he teased me a little calling me nosey-rosey and asking what school of journalism did I attend :D
we have come to create this first (and probably last :D) episode of the "Cla Jones Not so Late Show".
Hope you'll enjoy!
Cla:Hi Maka, glad to have you here and thank you for letting me interview you
Maka:Hi Claudia, Thanks for having me!
C.:Could you tell us a little more about yourself? Like how did you find SL and when did you start going on SL?
M.:Well, I'm Maka and I'm a 30 year old guy from the Netherlands who loves making photographs and being artistic on SL.
I stumbled upon SL by accident really, i googled "Online open world games that are free" and after scrolling down a few boring options there was "Second Life". I checked it out and i found it interesting from the very beginning to create your own Avatar and basically do whatever you want to do.
And that was in 2014, somewhere in August so i believe i have my Rez day coming up soon!
The funny thing is after i created a avatar, somehow i teleported to this London sim and i literally thought that sim was all of SL! So i stayed there for a good week until people told me about this thing called teleporting and showed me different sims!
C.: Haha I guess we experience the funniest and weirdest things when we are newbies... How has your sl changed after 8 years? What's your vision of sl to day, do you think it's a game or something different?
M.: My vision of SL, hmm...I treat it mostly as a game but with real people behind the screens and real feelings and emotions while being aware and respect the fact that for some people it is literally a second life for them, and for some a escape from reality and all the drama that has happened there.
For me it was about meeting new people, doing fun things, explore new sims and hang out. But for the last few years i have been keeping myself busy in SL with other things, like photography and talking to friends.
C.: You certainly are a great SL photographer and you also are the manager of four Flickr groups: the three themed ones "A Black & White Second Life", "Cosplayers of Second Life", "A Sexy Second Life" and the very popular "Free Spirits of Second Life". How do you like this experience?
M.: Thank you for the compliment, i still see myself as a ordinary photographer who is still very much a student of the game. Yes, I do run them groups, I loved the idea of getting to see people's work and passion and i loved the idea of them sharing it in a group that i created as i felt i wanted to be a source of connection for these amazing artists. Where they could enjoy eachothers work and connect through that group with one another. I love that idea and i hope in some way i have achieved that, even if it's just a tiny bit.
C.: I believe you surely did, Maka! In addition to your groups, you also created the SundayFunday Photo Challenge. Every two weeks you invite all the sl photography's lovers to challenge themselves about a theme you propose.
Of all the themes you launched over these years, do you remember which ones have been particularly loved by the participants?
M.:Yes, and i recently expanded it to a 3 weeks event. The themes that seem most popular among the participants are the more serious ones like Black and white, Poems, quotes, portraits and stuff like that. They are also my favorite types of themes.
C.: Tell us about your SL photographs. What does inspire you and what type of photos do you like to take?
M.: Well, allot can inspire me actually. Sometimes i listen to a song and i get inspired, or read something, or see something on tv, quotes, poems, other people, you name it.
Mostly i like to take pictures with a deeper meaning, accompanied by a quote or poem. Something that puts my thoughts on camera and make a image out of them. Pictures that people might need to look at twice or more to get it or see the meaning behind it..That's what i love most, but i also love to challenge myself with other kinds of pictures.
C.:Which is the picture you took you love the most?
M.:It's hard to say what picture i love the most because they all have different meaning to me in different periods of my life and all in a different state of mind. I ahve taken pics when i was struggling with depression that are darker, and i have taken pictures when i was feeling really good that look really bright and happy.
But there is definetly one i cherish allot, and that is this one flickr.com/photos/141139571@N08/51713560748/in/dateposted/
C.:Thank you so much for being so open with us Maka and for taking the time to do this interview. I feel that the viewer has gotten to know you a bit better and got a glimpse of how the mind of an artist works. I thank you for your time and for wanting to answer my questions!
ᶜˡᵃ'ˢ ᵒᵘᵗᶠⁱᵗ ᵇʸ ᵛᵃˡᵉⁿᵗⁱⁿᵃ ᵉ.
ʰᵃⁱʳ ᵇʸ ᵈᵒᵘˣ
I've never been one for diamonds or much jewelry, but this early morning at sunrise by the lake, I wish I could have plucked nature's beauty and turned it into a necklace. I am sometimes overwhelmed with emotion, by the simple and graceful beauty of nature.
I am reminded of a quote by one of my favorite authors. “I learned about the sacred art of self-decoration with the monarch butterflies perched atop my head, lightning bugs as my night jewelry, and emerald-green frogs as bracelets.” ― Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves
Pennsylvania, US, November 8, 2025, IMGP7769
I've never been one for diamonds or much jewelry, but this early morning at sunrise by the lake, I wish I could have plucked nature's beauty and turned it into a necklace. I am sometimes overwhelmed with emotion, by the simple and graceful beauty of nature.
I am reminded of a quote by one of my favorite authors. “I learned about the sacred art of self-decoration with the monarch butterflies perched atop my head, lightning bugs as my night jewelry, and emerald-green frogs as bracelets.” ― Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves
Pennsylvania, US, November 8, 2025, IMGP7747
(best on black)
My quote of this year: ‘BE HAPPY for what you have and NOT UNHAPPY for what you do NOT have!’ by magda indigo
Alas... tulips, once cut, have a lifespan of about 7 days, if you are lucky and bought them VERY fresh, in closed buds!
Often they retain their beauty till the end and then, oops, all the petals drop.
These had stayed in the studio, where, for obvious reasons, it is never very warm, I came in, they had opened completely, showing off all the secrets of the inside flower, aach, how can I resist such beauty, even when fading...
Twilight flowers?
Mysterious and still passionate... they look unreal.
The year 2016 is also fading rapidly now, its lifespan 365 days nearly exhausted.
Some will be sad others will be glad... ... we take it as it comes if we want to get through life 'gracefully'?
I am doing my utmost to focus on all the good in my life and Nature.
I wish you all a very good week and thanx for all your kind words, time, comments and faves. Very much appreciated.
M, (*_*)
For more of my other work visit here: www.indigo2photography.com
IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN (BY LAW!!!) TO USE ANY OF MY image or TEXT on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
“Flowers don’t worry about how they’re going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful.” –Jim Carrey
© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved
A street portrait from Barnsley, England. Captured on assignment for the #OldIs campaign for the charity Independent Age. Gathering a 'snapshot' of how we all feel about ageing in British society today with a portrait and some quotes from people on the street. Enjoy!
© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved
A street portrait from Glasgow, Scotland. Captured on assignment for the #OldIs campaign for the charity Independent Age. Gathering a 'snapshot' of how we all feel about ageing in British society today with a portrait and some quotes from people on the street.
This is an alternative image from the one chosen by my client for the campaign but an image that I preferred myself - enjoy!
A little something to remind us all that summer will be here sooner rather than later.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7u5SdjDSQQ
What a day for a daydream
What a day for a daydreamin' boy
And I’m lost in a daydream
Dreamin' ‘bout my bundle of joy
And even if time ain’t really on my side
It’s one of those days for takin' a walk outside
I’m blowin’ the day to take a walk in the sun
And fall on my face on somebody's new mowed lawn
I've been havin’ a sweet dream
I been dreamin’ since I woke up today
It’s starrin’ me and my sweet dream
'Cause she's the one that makes me feel this way
And even if time has passing me by a lot
I couldn't care less about the dues you say I got
Tomorrow I'll pay the dues for droppin’ my load
A pie in your face for bein' a sleepy bulltoad
And you can be sure that if you're feelin’ right
A daydream will last along into the night
Tomorrow at breakfast you may pick up your ears
Or you may be daydreamin' for a thousand years
What a day for a daydream
Custom made for a daydreamin' boy
And now I’m lost in a daydream
Dreamin ‘bout my bundle of joy
Songwriters: John Sebastian
Own image and textures 5167
“I can only note that the past is beautiful because one never realises an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don't have complete emotions about the present, only about the past.”
― Virginia Woolf
Soundtrack : www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqbSmrWI43c
SOLITUDE : CHANTAL CHAMBERLAND
Fraying remnants; fragments
of another life ill spent
a pastel dream of lovers hewn
from pink stucco and grey cement
they met with good intentions
their bless-ed lives to share
but turned to stone and crumbled
in dusty rooms; so unaware
of fate that dealt a fatal blow
and shattered all their dreams
the pieces of their intriguing puzzle
filled the air; settled on beams
rough-hewn wood and splinters
particles of life
echoes of another age
faded grandeur; without strife
easy come and easy go
that old chestnut; adage
let me see and let me know
the wonders of our passage
from youth to adulthood it seems
the transition was rather cloudy
speckled memories like dust bunnies
passed before my eyes and shrouded
all my thoughts entombed and rested
waiting for the sunshine
to brighten up and find me hidden
in dark corners of my anxious mind
peace reigns in old and ancient times
the buildings filled with wonder
the secrets of the ones who walked
before our footsteps crashed like thunder
my ballgown sweeps the fallen leaves
blown through the cracks in window panes
catch the softly filtered light
feel the fresh and welcome rain
how good it is to be alive
to feel the world and find my place
how sad it would have been to die
not knowing of your lovely face
I see you now in my mind's eye
the twinkle of your smile meets mine
and all the while I think of nothing
but the kiss we shared; so sweet; divine
the blue and green hues of the ocean
divided at our touch
we swam for miles and wreathed in smiles
we swam the whole way back
I think you let me beat you then
in our little race we set
your generosity and kindness
the love you gave when first we met
never dwindled through those years
and time stood still at will
set in an amber memory
you know I love you still
but you were never meant for me
never mine to have at all
I try to stop my tears from falling
amid these murmuring sequestered walls.
- AP - Copyright © remains with and is the intellectual property of the author
Copyright © protected image please do not reproduce without permission
"We dance for laughter,
we dance for tears,
we dance for madness,
we dance for fears,
we dance for hopes,
we dance for screams,
we are the dancers,
we create the dreams."
That is the 'original' quote, that goes for the flowers I photographed here, Alstroemeria... sadly, it did not mention who's words they were.
It reminds me of ZORBA, By Nikos Kazantzakis, one of my favourite literary works, talk about overlapping expression!!!
Because it was so fitting to my own emotions, I made it into this now:
"I photograph for laughter,
I photograph for tears,
I photograph for madness,
I photograph for fears,
I photograph for hopes,
I photograph for screams,
I am the photographer,
I create the dreams..."
THANX for your comments and visits, much appreciated, as always!, M, (*_*)
Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
The first sprout for a public library came in the spring of 1828. Then there was a call in the city's newspaper to form an association which aimed to found "A Book and Manuscript Collection and a Museum of Antiquities, Art and Naturalia". The association was established and the newspaper in the future could read about "contributions and gifts to the public Library and Museum in Christianssand". The association swelled quietly over time, but still managed to make public lending of the Latin School's large library before it died out. The idea of establishing a library in Kristiansand finally came in 1890. This is to celebrate the city's 250th anniversary the following year. The library was to be the municipality's anniversary gift to the city's citizens. However, the big city fire in 1892 put an end to this. Not until 1909 was the Kristiansand public library officially opened. It happened on the evening of September 27th. The day after the opening, Fædrelandsvennen wrote:
Quote From 12 noon today the library is open to the public. In the reading room where at two long tables there is seating for 16 people, you will find a nice and comfortable place for anyone who is looking for some information. It is hoped that at the Folkebibliotek, our city has been given a cultural factor that the city will enjoy lasting benefit and enjoyment. Quotation
Facade drawing of Kristiansand Folkebibliotek. Performed by Johan Keyser Frölich (1914)
Since its opening, the library has been located several places in the square, first in rented premises in Samlagets courtyard in Tollbodgaten 21. In July 1914, Kristiansand city council gave permission for a two-storey building to be built in Kirkehaven, right by the Cathedral after drawings by architect Johan Keyser Frølich. And in 1915, Kristiansand Public Library was able to move into its own building with Agder Naturmuseum as tenants on the second floor. Over the years, the library's activities and fields of activity increased as a result of population growth and the merging of municipalities, and space shortages became a growing problem. The big discussion in the 1970s was the two options: find a new site, or demolish the old building and build a new library on the same site. The discussion aroused strong emotions, but it ended with the library building of 1915 being demolished. Architect Bjørn Hovstad from 4B Architects won the architectural competition of 59 proposals received, and after 12 months of construction, the current library was ready for occupation on September 24, 1979. With the Association's premises on the 4th floor, and with two magazines under the street surface. The building extends in length over an entire quarter.
The building was awarded the Houen Foundation's diploma in 1983.
On the 4th floor of the library is Christianssands Kunstforening, a total area of 650 m². wikipedia Google translator
“Some things go on. Pass on. Some things just stay. I used to think it was just my rememory. You know. Some things you forget. Other things you never do”.
~Sethe (The pensive protagonist in Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer prize and National Book award winning novel ‘Beloved'.)
Memory is a messy necessity. On one hand, it curates our past and gives us our identity; on the other, it is a frail feature of our brain that is highly susceptible to time, trauma, and emotions. When something so contradictory and paradoxical mates with a writer of Toni Morrison’s caliber, one expects the birthing of something extraordinary. ‘Beloved’ was the lovechild in this case. It is a fictional recounting of African American life under and after slavery. Based on the life of Margaret Garner, a historical slave woman who killed her girl child to ‘protect’ her from horrors of slavery, this claustrophobic novel does not mince words, leaves blood where it can’t be ignored, and rough handles the core concept of memory. Here, Margaret’s character –Sethe– slits the throat of her unnamed infant girl and then, from the depths of her motherhood, had the word ‘Beloved’ engraved on her tombstone. For the rest of her life, trying to reconcile and heal, Sethe hides from and seeks this painful memory in equal measure. And in this unrest, a new word is coined: ‘rememory’. “History versus memory, and memory versus memorylessness.”, Morrison later defined the word, “Rememory as in recollecting and remembering as in reassembling the members of the body, the family, the population of the past… The effort to both remember and not know...”
Read that with me slowly… 'Rememory as in recollecting and remembering as in reassembling the members of the body, the family, the population of the past …' that has been ripped apart. Neither can you dwell on it for too long, nor can you ignore it for a long period of time either. This uncomfortable recollection of repressed memory – it seems– has a paranormal quality to it. In the novel, Sethe says, “Some day you be walking down the road and you hear something or see something going on. So clear. And you think it's you thinking it up. . . But no. It's when you bump into a rememory that belongs to somebody else.” Is it possible to walk into some else’s rememory, as Sethe suggests? Or, perhaps it’s a metaphor to represent the interconnectedness of our collective past and present human experience –especially of trauma– and its subsequent transformative narration to ourselves and others. Our ancestors still tell us their stories, don’t they? Like Sethe and other characters in ‘Beloved’, we are all story-inheritors. But unlike them, why is that we reflect on our inheritance in such seldom?
In her Nobel prize for literature lecture in 1993, Morrison gave us the unforgettable quote about language, “We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.” I wonder, if Sethe would have disagreed and instead, as our lives’ true measure, cited ‘rememory’.
by CountryDreaming and Linskudd.
l am requested to post a picture and write 16 things about myself ...
The picture shows me at my niece's wedding
l) l was born in Arkansas,USA ...but grew up in a small town in Oklahoma. My father, a doctor, passed away in 2001. My mother, a teacher, is very much alive and a vibrant spirit at age 83. l have 2 younger sisters.
2) When l was 18, l moved to New Orleans. l lived and worked in the French Quarter as a sculptor's apprentice. New Orleans was such a fascinating blend of cultures : French, Spanish , Caribbean, African ,etc. It was a wonderful experience.
3) My favorite sculpture is the bronze and granite grave marker for Clover Adams ...in Rock Creek Cemetery ...Washington , D.C.
It is commonly referred to as the "Adams Memorial " (You can google that name if interested) .
The sculptor was Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
Its beauty and mystery touches me deeply .
4) When l was 25, l went on a 4 month backpacking trip across India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. One memorable experience was in the holy city of Veranasi, on the Ganges River. A young local kid took me out onto the great river in his tiny boat before sunrise ...and, as the rising sun was breaking through the river mists, we floated past the impressive ghats and temples that line the bank. Everything looked and felt so exotic and timeless ..
5) When l was 26, l flew to Hawaii for a supposed 2 week holiday . l ended up living there for 4 years. It was hard to leave such a beautiful place. The small town boy was seduced by all those coconut trees, rainbows and frangipani.
6 When l was 30, l went on a 4 month trip through Europe and Morocco. To see the midnight sun in Narvik , Norway ...to stand beside the Parthenon in Athens ...to enjoy long walks in the green,springtime hills of Ireland ...it was all like a dream come true. l love Europe, and wish l could spend a year living in each country .
7) The biggest change in my life came when l was in my early 30s. l fell victim to a medical condition that took away a lot of my energy, both physical and mental . l had to change my plans from an ambitious, high-energy life ....to a life that was very simple and very limited in scope.
But l fully realize that, overall, l have been very lucky in this world. l feel that destiny has been very generous to me .
8) Several years ago, l received an e-mail from a lady in a foreign country who has been totally blind from birth. She asked if l would be willing to help her practice and improve her English .
This is a lady who never saw her mother's face ...has never seen her own face, or the face of a laughing child ...has never seen a rainbow or a butterfly ...the rising mist on a summer river or the glittering winter stars at midnight. And yet ....l have never heard her complain ....she maintains an independent life in a big city with her own flat....takes the subway to work at 2 different jobs ...plays the piano beautifully ...has learned far more about computers and technology than l will ever know ...and is always looking for ways to improve and grow as a person.
There is so much bad news in the world today . ...but to know such a person reminds me that there can also be great courage and dignity in the human spirit.
9) One of my favorite quotes is from Einstein ....
" The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious . It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of all true art and true science."
10) l love cats for their beauty, grace and mystery. My favorite pet was a tabby cat named Nancy . l still think about her everyday .
11) Books and reading have probably been the single greatest joy in my life. Just the act of walking into a nice library can give me a slightly euphoric feeling .
l love to read just about anything except camera manuals ....which helps explain why l am such a mediocre photographer .
12 ) l am a terrible procrastinator, but l do plan to confront that issue ....and l plan to do it next week ....or, maybe, next month ....or ....you know ...whenever l get around to it .
13) l love to see paintings and all forms of visual art.
A few of my favorite painters :...Edward Hopper, Frida Kahlo. Henri Rousseau .....Van Gogh ....Hieronymus Bosch, Andy Warhol, Giorgio de Chirico.
l am lucky that some of my Flickr contacts are painters and graphic artists ....l love seeing their work.
14) My favorite meal is Thanksgiving.l think pumpkin pie with whipped cream is food worthy of the angels. For my birthday, l like coconut pie. Then l have to diet for the other 363 days :-)))
It seems that everything l Really want to eat has a zillion calories .
15) Sunrise is my favorite time of day .
Sunrise is when the colors are freshest and the air is sweetest.
To experience the awakening of a new day can fill our hearts with hope .
16) Walking is my favorite exercise .
In a world that is much too tense ....too crowded ..and too complex ....the sheer simplicity of walking is a wonderful emotional release .
And, when l walk , l always take my camera ...because you never know what's waiting around the next bend :-)
Thank you for reading my list .
Best wishes to You for happiness in your life :-)
My quote for this year: ‘BE HAPPY with what you have and NOT UNHAPPY with what you do NOT have!’ by magda indigo
Alas... tulips, once cut, have a lifespan of about 7 days, if you are lucky and bought them VERY fresh, in closed buds!
Often they retain their beauty till the end and then, oops, all the petals drop.
These had stayed in the studio, where, for obvious reasons, it is never very warm, I came in, they had opened completely, showing off all the secrets of the inside flower, aach, how can I resist such beauty, even when fading...
Mysterious and still passionate... they look unreal, like ’silked’.
The year 2019 is also fading rapidly now, its lifespan 365 days nearly exhausted.
Some will be sad, others will be glad... ... we take it as it comes if we want to get through life 'gracefully'?
I am doing my utmost to focus on all the good in my life, around me and in Nature.
I wish you all a very good week and thank you for all your kind words, time, comments and faves. Very much appreciated. M, (*_*)
For more: www.indigo2photography.com
IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN (BY LAW!!!) TO USE ANY OF MY image or TEXT on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
Indeed.
The place where you start thinking about love, knit all the dreams; ultimately leaving that sweet haven to build a new one for yourself.
Weird life tales. But that's how it is meant to be.
Home is the Starting Place of Love and Dreams.
*_*
Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to.
Home is where you can say anything you like cause nobody listens to you anyway. ;-)
Have a blessed life in your home.
E X P L O R E D # 135~ 11 July 2009
Ahava (love) אהבה.
One of the most fascinating things i learned about Hebrew is that structure of each word, starting with letters, defines its essence.
In Hebrew, the word for love is Ahava אהבה. The root of Ahava is Hava הב, which can be translated as "to give".
There are so many quotes on what love is, and someone surely said that already, just can't remember who, love is not an emotion but an act of giving... maybe not those exact words..
"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride" is an old saying I learned by rote from my beloved maternal Grandmother, who often quoted it when I said I wished for something as a child. I think she read it in Nancy Mitford's "Love in a Cold Climate", which is where I first came across it quoted. However, the proverb and nursery rhyme was first recorded about 1628 in a collection of Scottish proverbs.
"If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.
If turnips were swords, I'd have one at my side.
If "ifs" and "ands" were pots and pans,
There'd be no work for tinkers' hands."
The theme for “Smile on Saturday” for the 9th of December is “selective multicolour”. In the last two years, I have been exploring a new avenue in my photographic creativity, that of portraiture photography. I used a somewhat illusive sitter for several “Smile on Saturday” themes in the past. My model has kindly returned to sit for me yet again for this theme, creating a most whimsical portrait. I was recently given the small wishes jar containing blue glitter (and I assume a wish on a scroll, although I haven't actually unfurled it to find out) and the butterfly clip by a friend who knows I like an interesting challenge to photograph. I've been playing around with them for the last few weeks, and produced a selective colour image, which has turned out to be perfect for today's theme! I hope that you like my choice for the theme this week, and that it makes you smile!
© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved
A street portrait from Barnsley, England. Captured on assignment for the #OldIs campaign for the charity Independent Age. Gathering a 'snapshot' of how we all feel about ageing in British society today with a portrait and some quotes from people on the street. Enjoy!
“That's the difference between me and the rest of the world! Happiness isn't good enough for me! I demand euphoria!”
― Bill Watterson, Weirdos From Another Planet: Calvin & Hobbes
For the Kreative People Treat This Challenge 162. Thanks to Lemon~art for the starter image, posted in the first comment box below.
And for the Mixmaster Challenge, which calls for an abstract in 3 colors conveying an emotion. The title is to be a quote about the emotion pictured.
(repost)
That is what the California Highway Patrol officer said.
We were ensconced in an open garage waiting out an armed 211 suspect when those words were spoken.
My call came in at 2:30. A man was barricaded in his apartment after a shootout with police. At the time, I was home sick with a headache the size of the Rock of Gibraltar. But a barricade is a barricade and I threw on some clothes and rushed to the scene.
I stopped at the road closure and was waved through by one of the CHP guys that yelled, “Hey, I know you....go ahead.”
“OK”
After parking the car where the chippy said I should, I asked our esteemed parking enforcement officer (also known as the Parking Nazi) who was standing guard, where was everything happening and where should I go.
He motioned somewhere down the street towards some low-rent apartment complexes and told me to walk on the right side of the street through a vacant lot - nothing but dirt and a creosote bush.
“OK.”
I kept an eye out for what was going on and watched as the guys from the PD’s Special Response Team ( SRT) moved into place.
“Cool,” thought I and grabbed a few shots of one of the guys creeping across the roof, rifle in front of him, pack behind. I thought, “If I get nothing else this will be good art."
I heard people yelling at me and here comes the PIO from the Barstow Police running across the street telling me that hey, I was right in the line of fire and I should like move.
“OK.”
“Don’t go south of the palm tree,” he said, “that way you won’t be in the line of fire.”
“OK. Can I stand behind the palm tree?”
“Sure,” he said, “but I’m not responsible if you get shot.”
“OK”
Seemed to be my thought processes at the time, singular “OK’s”
I stood behind the palm tree for a little bit and then moved — I really wasn’t in the mood to get shot.
The reporter showed up, a radio guy showed up, a small TV station guy showed up and we all sat around in the heat waiting for something to happen....for a long time.
Negotiators were on the phone, relatives got on the phone to try and talk this guy out. The man had been wounded slightly in the first shootout — shot in the hand and the arm — and yelled out to his friends that he was afraid the cops were going to shoot him on sight.
We all knew that this would never happen, but the guy wouldn’t come out. The cops even brought him cigarettes when he asked for them - actually threw them up to him on the balcony. If they had wanted to shoot him, they could have at that time.
I got permission to wander a bit, down in parking area where the CHP rifle shooters were set up — watched them concentrate completely down their black gun sites. I was close enough that if I stuck my head out I could see the guy’s balcony — really, really well — with bloody curtains swaying in the wind.
Time wore on, heat got worse, men got shifted around so as to give the ones sitting in the sun a break.
We waited. Cops gave me Gatorade and water. It was hot.
As dusk set in I kept hoping this guy would come out with his hands up while I still had light to shoot by. Even with my new digital camera (YEA!) I was still a newbie at using the flash in low light situations so I wanted halfway good light.
I simply couldn’t figure out why this guy would NOT come out.
Was it the macho mentality of the whole gang banger personality? Was it that he knew he was facing some major jail time? He was already a loser in that department. What possibly could be worth prolonging this stand-off?
Time wore on some more. The apartment complex residents started getting restless. Hoots and hollers and jungle-like monkey noises came from the apartments and from those watching and waiting behind the lines. A bottle was thrown.
I have to admit, this made a me a tad nervous. I could just see this thing erupting into an all-out riot. Half the people in the complex were convinced the cops were going to gun the guy down and the other half were afraid of the first half.
Soon the cops had enough waiting and started firing tear gas canisters into the apartment. Oh my! Horrible sound those loud guns. Once that tear gas thing started I didn’t stick my head out any more. I crouched down behind a car. I could still see the CHP shooters but wasn’t in the line of fire.
Good thing.
Several minutes after the first rounds of tear gas were volleyed into the apartment there came three quick shots - pop - pop - pop — out the sliding glass door — over the balcony.
“Holy shit,” thought I, “that guy is firing at us.”
“Hey,” I yelled, “Was he shooting this way.”
“Yes, Lara, he was shooting this way.”
I crouched down lower. Just about fully dark now. The people that had come out to watch were yelling the guy was yelling babies were screaming and one Barstow cop remarked, “I can’t believe these people brought their kids out to a gunfight.”
Law enforcement did not return gun fire but more tear gas was used.
Still no sound, no reaction from the barricaded man.
One of the CHP guys came back down into our spot and said that after the three rounds fired by the suspect, one more shot was heard a few minutes later - muffled. Not aimed out the sliding glass door — inside the building.
He said quietly that he had heard _that_ sound before.
Time was starting to lose meaning. Amidst the noise and chaos I had been on the phone relaying the latest developments to the reporter who had gone back to write his story. More tear gas was lobbed into the building but the feeling was that the man had offed himself with that final fourth shot.
My deadline to leave was fast approaching — close to 9 p.m. I had the images from the afternoon’s deployment and some close-ups of the guys close to me. But no resolution. No closure.
The crowd up the street was really starting to turn ugly and I debated going up to photograph that, but figured that a camera flashing would trigger the already riotous behaviour that was growing.
Two guys threw bottles at the sheriff’s SWAT team. Ooooh, not a good idea. Those SWAT-dudes are bad-asses with attitudes and guns. They do NOT take kindly to being pelted with bottles. The bottle-throwers were arrested and the crowd scene cooled after that.
No lights were on in the apartment, no movement was seen and all negotiations had long since broken off. The man’s last words and comments to the negotiator were pretty much that the only way he was going to leave was in a body bag.
I still hoped not, but I left to file my art. Before I left the center of the action, which is where I had been allowed to stay (don’t ask me why, I was just allowed to stay.) I made sure the police chief and one of the LT’s knew I was returning and wanted to be back close to where things were happening.
“Sure.” they said, “Just show your press pass, tell whoever we said it was ok and come on back - stay out of the line of fire.”
“OK”
I left, filed the creeping-across-the-roof pic and one of two officers and a bullet proof shield and came back.
Things were as I left them — no more noise, no more nothing.
About 11 p.m. the sheriff's office took over. The Barstow PD SRT and CHP back-ups had been on duty squinting down their sites for almost 8 hours, it was time for a relief team.
I watched the camouflaged SWATs come in, dash about the courtyard smashing out the remaining lights that would put them in danger and get into place, covering each other with guns pointed toward the apartment as they ran across the courtyard.
I couldn’t help myself, I thought “Jeez, this is just like in the movies.” Only this time it was for real — surrealistic, but real.
When the Barstow guys and CHP left I was still standing there all by my lonesome. One of them yelled back at me, “You probably ought to come out too.”
“OK.”
That seemed like a good idea to me — it was dark and I didn’t like being alone.
I came up out of the garage hole and plopped down on the front of a fire truck. Sheriff’s homicide detectives were wondering who the hell was I and why was I there. I smiled, introduced myself and sat back quietly on the fire engine, hoping that no one would actually notice me. I even put my camera down.
The sheriff’s Captain saw me, smiled and let me stay. I was now considered a “friendly.” Cool.
I had kept in contact with the night editor at our sister paper, even after the Dispatch went to bed, did some interviewing, got the correct on-the-record-quotes that supported the police’s version of what happened and waited — and waited.
For almost an hour after the SO took over a deputy called out over a loud speaker. “Aaron. Come out with your hands up. The building is surrounded.” Every few minutes for almost an hour. Over and over. The same tone of voice. No emotion. It could have been a computerized recording it was so precisely repeated, but it wasn’t.
Aaron didn’t come out.
Talking time was up and the SWAT team started in with more powerful tear gas. Volley after volley. No Aaron. He was either immune to the gas or dead.
Soon the team took out the doors and entered the building using flash-bang devices before going into each room - “auditory and visual distractions” they call them.
Hell honey, those are bombs.
Every time they said over the radio they were setting off another one, all the law enforcement guys, suits, SWAT dudes, everybody around me, put their fingers in their ears. I wish I had photographed that, but it is hard to hold a camera with your fingers in your ears.
Time moved faster, soon after the SWAT guys entered they called for the SO medics that had flown in on a chopper. Word came out fast that it was over, Aaron was dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
It was one o’clock in the morning. There was almost a palpable sigh, a slumping of the shoulders when it was over. I had been at the scene for almost ten hours.
It was not a good resolution. Not the one that everyone; law enforcement, medics, firefighters, friends and family had hoped for.
I remembered what the CHP shooter said after word came in about the fourth shot — “We are in a stand-off with a dead man.”
He was right.
•••••••••••••
Rest in Peace Aaron
— Max Lucado
I love the quote to the max!
I'm back from a youth camp, it was really awesome. I can't believe it ended. The best part was two of my friends accepted Christ! Hallelujah!
I got tagged by Chenny. (Hea. Iamcsv) and empress jacqueline ♛♫ to write a paragraph about myself (: Check them out. They're awesome!
I'm Penny Wong Pui Yan explains that I am a Chinese. I'm a Christian. Sixteen in 2011. God comes first, then family and friends. My family members call me Yan. I love playing the piano but sadly I'm not good in it. I love being at home. Is my favourite place. I love drinking sup especially home made sup by my Mum. Yum. Best sup ever! I love home cooked food too (: Taking a nap is a must for me. I take naps almost everyday especially when I have school. I started photography after something happened to me. All the things around me get really inspirational and there's where I started capturing pictures which explains my emotions. Yeah. I love looking at beautiful pictures particularly when they have feelings in it. God was a great inspiration to me. He has taught me various things in life which I think I'll never be able to do it without his presence. I also love helping people, no matter they're young or old. I was trained by my Mum to eat up everything that is on the plate or a bowl. I don't like wasting food. Yeah. It always hit me about children in the third world country if I don't finish :/ Hmm. I only drink MCD coffee with a lot of sugar! Tahaa. That's it I guess. Oh yeah, I love vintage and antique stuff. Love them! Plus I love love love painting, colouring, drawing and art and crafts. I'm never a science person. I suck at that. Really. Flickr always makes me happy :D
The longest paragraph written. o____o
Tagged people write about your self in a paragraph! I want to read so do it as fast as possible!! :D
Christmas in a few more days. Happy Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Explored Front Page Dec 22, 2010 #9. Thank you thank you thank you < 3
Sometimes....
Sometimes....I feel more naked....than if I were to actually be naked.
Sometimes....My thoughts & feelings overwhelm me.
Sometimes....I question what I am doing....and why I am doing it.
Sometimes....I wonder why people misunderstand me and how can I change it.
Sometimes....I wonder why when I decide to be quiet, people get confused.
Sometimes....I am sick and tired of the inner fight.
Sometimes....I just want to be sure of SOMETHING in my life.
Sometimes....I think I am too much of a loner.
Sometimes....I can't find the right words to say.
Sometimes....I'm sick of being my own worst enemy.
Sometimes....I just don't feel like being me anymore.
Sometimes....I am truly truly happy.
Sometimes....I want God to give me a new mind.
Sometimes....I just don't care what is wrong and what is right.
Sometimes....I wonder if I will ever fully understand why I am the way I am.
Sometimes....My unrealistic expectations get the best of me.
Sometimes....I wish I had no expectations about anything.
Sometimes....I just feel defeated.
Sometimes....I feel I can take on the world.
Sometimes....I feel like I am unseen.....invisible.
Sometimes....I want to be invisible.
Sometimes....I just have soooooo much to say.....and no real reason to say it.
HSS 😊😊😍
I know friends, that I have included many quotes, which of course, you don't have to read. I do sincerely believe with all my heart that war is the problem not the solution. We need to come to the table and work out our differences with dignity, compassion, understanding, knowledge and the real will for peace and to avoid physical pain at all costs. I believe and hope that this work to be a powerful message in that direction.
The sky takes on shades of orange during sunrise and sunset, the colour that gives you hope that the sun will set only to rise again.
Ram Charan
There is no blue without yellow and without orange.
Vincent Van Gogh
Orange is the color of the sun. It is vital and a good color generally, indicating thoughtfulness and consideration of others.
Edgar Cayce
Orange strengthens your emotional body, encouraging a general feeling of joy, well-being, and cheerfulness. Orange vibration foods are: oranges, tangerines, apricots, mangoes, peaches and carrots.
Tae Yun Kim
Orange is the happiest color.
Frank Sinatra
Orange is the color of positive thinking and optimism.
Remez Sasson
Orange is a color of liberation, from the pains of hurtful love and inner insecurities. To channel orange is to truly be free, to be you.
Frank Ocean
Bullets cannot be recalled. They cannot be uninvented. But they can be taken out of the gun.
Martin Amis
It takes twenty years or more of peace to make a man; it takes only twenty seconds of war to destroy him.
Baudouin I
War is an invention of the human mind. The human mind can invent peace with justice.
Norman Cousins
Wars never hurt anybody except the people who die.
Salvador Dali
Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks.
Bob Dylan
The most shocking fact about war is that its victims and its instruments are individual human beings, and that these individual beings are condemned by the monstrous conventions of politics to murder or be murdered in quarrels not their own.
Aldous Huxley
The first casualty, when war comes, is truth.
Hiram Johnson
The belief in the inevitability of war is a self-fulfilling prophecy... We need an alternative vision, to see the world as one, as interconnected.
Dennis Kucinich
The great question is, can war be outlawed from the world? If so, it would mark the greatest advance in civilization since the Sermon on the Mount.
Douglas MacArthur
The strength of a civilization is not measured by its ability to fight wars, but rather by its ability to prevent them.
Gene Roddenberry
Preparedness for war is an incentive to war, and the only hope of permanent peace is the systematic and scientific disarmament of all the nations of the world
Anna Howard Shaw
With heartfelt and genuine thanks for your kind visit. Have a wonderful and beautiful day, be well, keep your eyes open, appreciate the beauty surrounding you, enjoy creating, stay safe and laugh often! ❤️❤️❤️
“Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.”
- Samuel Ullman
This is from a series Cory and I took in April. I never posted this one and I just came across it again and was remembering that great day and how fun I thought this photo was. I adore red (shocking, I know).
I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be young and starting out and trying to find your direction in life. Some days are much easier than others. Some days I know just who I am and that I have made all the right choices and other days I feel that I have thrown myself into an abyss that I can't climb out of.
I guess it's just the perils of growing up in this constantly changing world...
Explore # 8 on September 13, 2009... Thank you everyone :)
(I've included what everyone said - well, highlights from them- including Niobe's, who had to leave before she could post what she would say, and notes from the letter Fallon wrote Laz. I also added Artika and Cata's internals, because they pay tribute to Laz - and I'll miss that guy. This RP impacted me harder than any other, and this funeral was one of the most beautiful things of all time. What a fantastic story.)
EAMON CALE:
"I hope... we will do more than mourn this man tonight. I ask that we pay tribute to a lad who was, indeed, larger than life, and far better than this city deserved. For all his... bluster and blow..." He smiles then, melancholy but gentle. "He was a rarity in this day and age, a man who still believed in compassion, in the protection of those who could not protect themselves, in fairness, equality." Eamon Cale's dark eyes linger on each face in turn. "Laz believed in making the world a better place than which he'd found it. Ye can look to his civil efforts to improve Midian's standard of living, his tireless work toward a common cause--that no one, regardless of race, creed, faith or genetics deserves to be locked away by the world, and forgotten here on this island with no chance nor opportunity to improve their lot. He showed others how to find their fecking bootstraps and draw themselves up again."
Eamon Cale's voice quiets again. "But 'tis as Captain of the Watch, guardian of this church, that -I- will remember Laz best. He came to this church, -drawn- here, he said, by a feeling that defied all logic... drawn to a Church and a faith that was not his own. And over the course of our friendship--over many a whiskey where he'd tell me I was mad for half the things I did... or punch me for the same--" He smiles briefly and resists the urge to run his palm over his jaw. "He came to share his belief with me, that God had spared him thus far, because his work was not yet done." Eamon Cale searches their faces. "Redemption," he says softly. "And a chance to be the good man that had been inside him all along. 'Twas this man who became my friend..." His voice catches, quiet now and hoarse. "A far better friend than I will ever deserve. He saved my life, in more ways than one. He defied the Legion for this parish, and for his family, the Pride. He gave me an incredible gift..." He pauses, jaw working. "And stood beside me as brother on the best day of my life." …
Eamon Cale looks to the door at the front of the church. If he tries, he can still see Laz standing there, back to the door, watching over the Mass. That damned cigar poking from the corner of his cocky grin. "'I have fought the good fight,' the Bible says." His gaze comes to rest on those gathered to say goodbye. "And so he did. 'I have finished my course. I have kept the faith.' He did all this and more. And so I say goodnight, ye mad bastard, with no doubt of God's words when ye stand before him." His vision blurs. He doesn't care. "'Well done, good and faithful servant. Lay down your burden. And welcome home.'"
ALRIC BRAVIN:
“…But Lazarus Lowenstark was my friend. Midian, it is said, is a den of evil, a gathering place of the wicked, and a neverending hole of darkness - or those were the first words I ever heard uttered of this place before I arrived. Laz was a light in that darkness. Someone who saw the evil, understood it, and yet, managed to stay good. Even managed to find good in those of us who might think that we were swallowed whole by the cesspool."
"He saw that good in me. When I arrived to this place, I will not lie, the darkness drew me. The promise of anonymity and a cessation to the boredom that I suffered from. I was not a good man. Still do not believe that I am, but Laz was one of a small number of people who told me differently, and perhaps performed the impossible. He made me believe it. It was something he was capable of doing - to show people that they were not their circumstances." He paused, taking another deep breath. "He taught me that sometimes you can't fight destiny. You can't fight fate putting you where you're supposed to be, but how you get there, and what you do when you get there, that's up to you… Laz was - is, one of the greatest men I've ever known, and I will never forget him. He protected my family, stood by my side when I needed someone to slap some sense into me, and became the godfather of my children. I couldn't ask for a better friend. And I know that there are people here who feel the same way. Laz will not be forgotten - the deeds that he has done and the lives that he has touched will ensure that he will live on forever. And though he and I may not end up in the same place, I consider it my greatest pleasure to have known this man for the short time - a blink of an eye, really - that I did." He returned his attention down to the casket, and bowed his head. He was fighting hard not to let the tears that wanted so desperately to form fall. "Rest well, Laz, you've earned it. Eternity awaits you. Enjoy it."
SISTER D:
"There is not much I can say about Laz that has not been said already... True also that I did not know him as well as most, and that will remain one of the biggest regrets of my life." She closed her eyes against their faces, "However, but for the Grace of God and the man we honor tonight, I would not be standing in front of you. The thing that I'll always remember about Laz is his ability to make anything better: a sad or...akward... moment fixed with a word, even up till his final breath, he was trying to console us; many of the city's problems fixed, with the help of his friends, with one of his inovations;" the teen took a deep breath, "a fight won through his skill, wit, and many strengths." Slowly, she opened her eyes... this wasn't right... not quite, she turned to the casket, that was who she needed to talk to, "Laz... I'm so sorry, sorry we didn't get to know eachother as well as we'd have liked, that we didn't get Pop Tarts, Lucky Charms, and cartoons, mostly... sorry that-- that I was up on the roof last week, and sorry these are so smushed." She choked on the last word and set a small, blue box down near the foot of the casket as she turned away. Those close could recognize the framilar Pop Tart brand logo. With that she hurried back to her seat, the napkin back at her dirty eyes.
GUIN FOUROUX:
"Laz and I," she finally says, softly. "We had our moments. The first word I think of when I think of him is 'opinionated.' But the second... well, the third. The second would be 'stubborn.' " She laughs, quick and soft, and glances at the casket. "But the third would probably be 'hero.' "She pauses for a moment, all hint of a tease leaving her voice and posture. "I grew to know Laz during the worst time of my life. And I remember standing, just about right here, when he managed to get a laugh out of me when no one else could. I don't think he knew how much that meant to me. How much it had felt, until that moment, that I wouldn't be able to laugh again, and what a weight he'd lifted…” She smooths a hand along her skirt, then lifts her hand to brush her rosay as she exhales. "Laz also never approved much of anything I did. The people I counted as friends. And he took every opportunity to tell me so. He -also- took every opportunity to defend me, whether through a barb or cutting comment, a laugh or a threat. I always knew he would be at my side if I needed him. And despite all his disapproval... he never missed an opportunity to tell me how much he trusted and respected me, either."
ELISE CAPALINI:
Elise Capalini looks at the coffin before her and then those assembled. "I tried to write something three different times before coming here tonight, and every time I failed," she says. "I think it was only after spending time with Bianca, in the cloister and the house she shared with Laz that I understood what had really been lost here." She looks to the hat retrieved from that house, and gently touches its brim.. "For me, Laz returned part of my family. I met him in this very church--asked him to do a job for me. I thought that would be the end of it--but... He became a brother to me, a protector of the Pride." She draws in a breath, throat gone tight and vision blurry again. "Laz held my hand through the darkest hours I have known in this city. He never flinched, not even in the end." Her hand flattens against the top of the casket. "We'll watch over your girl for you, Laz, until you two can hook back up. I told you--I told you..." There was too much else, she thought; too much to say and no proper words. She moves back to her place near Bianca.
RAVI KARU:
"Lazarus Lowenstark restored my faith in humanity." she paused, for a moment, and brushed the back of a hand over her cheek. "I want to impress how exact, and literal that statement is. Before coming to Midian, the only side of humans I had known was at best a dirty glance, a harsh word, and at worse, outright hatred and murder. When I came here, I met humans that seemed to care for hybrids, that seemed to be able to tolerate us, such as Father Eamon, but I still did not trust them, would not turn my back on them.. it was Lazarus who changed that, who taught me that humans were not all like those I had encountered before, that some, perhaps even most, would live and let live, and even do more. Lazarus Lowenstark helped me learn to trust humans, for the first time in my life.
LINDSAY NOONAN:
"We've all said good things about Laz, but my friend deserves to know I miss him. I genuinely respected him, even loved him. I can't say that about many humans, if you knew my past...She shrugged "...this isn't about me. Lazarus was truly Midian's hero, more than most will even know. Not just in the fight, but in trying to keep us all alive day to day as well. In time we'll see what we've lost here, but all I know is my sister has lost a beloved mate, and I've lost a dear friend. He and I often disagreed, but we were truly friends. I have laid my life on the line for him, and him for me. We worked side by side but I give him the credit for the brains to make it all work." Looks to the casket and smiles "I love you Laz, and I'm gonna miss you a lot. I won't let you or BB down though. Rest easy, you've earned it.
DAMIAN RIGAUD:
Damian Rigaud points with his gloved hand at the casket “The man I knew enjoyed what he did.. and it showed in his work and in his life. He lived and worked passionately and he shared his opinions and his mind the same way…” he smiles wider “Whether you agreed with him or even wanted to hear his thoughts on a particular subject or not.. “ says with a slight chuckle. Damian Rigaud straightens… his gaze settling on the crowd “You here that know me… know that I am not given to displays of emotion… or tortured ramblings about the pain of life and its unfairness… “ he points without looking at the casket “Neither did this man… Lazarus lived as he wished… worked in the field he wished.. took the pleasures that he wished… and *I* believe he even died in the manner he wished.” He says with determined tone at the end.“He died in the defense of the people of this church, a task he volunteered for and preformed in the manner he did everything he put his mind to… with excellence.” He says his voice confident and even. “This man that I call friend did not consider this a chore… or a vain effort.. I will not hear his wisdom debated in my presence.. “ he says with a hard edge to his voice. He looks again at the casket “Grieve as you will for the passing of a man, that stood straight and did not waver, that made no excuse for his way of life or the way he lived it….I send him on his way with my deepest respect…” he says his voice quieter.
BIANCA BENDER:
Bianca Bender she'd speak her voice quiet but strong now echoing against the old stone walls reaching all ears, "I lost the one thing that had meaning to me a week ago. I would have gone with him, if he'd but asked me to. But he wouldn't have done that...he asked me to go on...to be strong for him. I've been trying. It's difficult, he was my lover, my best-friend and my all. I've got to let him go, but for now I'm going to remember him. My..." takes a breath and swallows hard. Finally - finally after this long week she'd speak his name, "...Laz. With his impish grin that could melt me at a glance, that loved me unconditionally for all my faults he saw me as more...always more...he challenged me...every day we were together."
Bianca Bender takes another deep breath eyes sliding close briefly before opening still remaining dry, "You all shared parts of his life, work, friendship, family...." would glance in turn towards each of those that fell into each category the last landing on Alric, Fallon and the girls after passing over Elise. "He loved you all, so much. You all brought joy, pain, and challenge into his life every day." smiles softly, "I know because I had to help deal with some of the knots left behind." smiles softly and she'd turn then resting both hands against the coffin.
Bianca Bender now speaking just for him she'd break lightly the tears falling peacefully from her eyes as she continues, "I love you Laz, given time, I'd hope I would have eventually carried your name proudly as my own. We won't have those moments now, but the moments we did share, I'll cherish. Even your jokes, that I didn't always understand. I've got to go back to our home...soon...I tried earlier this week...I got you your tux you always looked so good in...you still do I'm sure..." smooths a hand over the coffin as if to smooth his tie again, "I will love you always...forever, and if I do find comfort again...the love won't be half of what I feel for you at this moment and always. Go in peace...I don't understand right now...but one day."
ARTIKA:
Artika Muliaina sits quietly now, her eyes forward and face appropriately somber... perhaps thinking of the waste of losing a useful and reliable tool, albeit one whose mind required the utmost care on her part, for such he was, at least in her mind. If she were to rise and speak, she would tell them that the man was not a fool. High praise coming from Artika. But she does not, instead glancing at Cata once more, her expression thoughtful.
CATABOLIS PLUTONIAN:
Catabolis Plutonian watches the cat quietly, for a second, but otherwise his gaze is locked on the coffin. The idea of life ending seemed almost merciful. He had done terrible things, ugly deeds that would not easily be forgiven. To be at the funeral of a man who had stood for something other than himself consumed him, made him wonder what he'd been wasting this cursed existence on. Not altruism - that alone was certain.
FALLON:
Thank you, for what you meant to Alric. You were more than a friend to him, and I'd hoped so much that you'd have become the same for me. I'd hoped you'd be the father of my next child.I know, it's a terrible time to make jokes, but at moments like these, it's either laugh or cry, and I do so hate crying in public. I will make sure Rose knows your face. Your name. What you did for her. That you held her, and kept her safe when I couldn't, and when I thought the world was crashing around us. You earned a place in my heart that night. A mother never forgets moments like those…Knowing you, I know the old saying, Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names, is true.
PORTIA:
Portia Kass exhaled and began her silent thoughts, hoping somehow or other that Laz could hear them "Laz... I wasn't kidding... wasn't just quoting when I said I'd miss you most of all. I don't think I realized exactly how important you were until it was... too late. I can promise you... that I will never take something like that for granted ever again. Thank you for believing in me, thank you for giving me a chance to loosen up and grow up, I'm only sorry I didn't do it sooner. From the very first moment we met, you had my respect and you always will. I love you dearly, I will always consider you my friend, and I will do my best to try and be as good and strong as you were, as much as I know I can be. You'll always be with me, the voice in the back of my head. I'm glad it's yours. Thank you... for everything."
NIOBE:
"It went like that the rest of the time I knew him. Laz was a man with a lot of ideas, and he loved working with other people who also had a lot of ideas. He had a passion to make Midian City a better place to live, not by changing the people who live here, not by enforcing his will on the place, but by the ignoble, simple things that Science - and he was a man to capitalize it - could fix. Clean water. Reliable power. Better technology for the Medical Center. Sustainable food supplies. And getting the subway opened between here and the mainland. Some of those we got done while Laz was with us. Most of them we're still working on. He poured heart and soul into the League, and I'm happy to say that just yesterday, Mayor Rigaud deeded us space for our new lab, which will be named the Lazarus Lawrence Lowenstark Labs. He was one for alliteration. So were his parents, apparently…Laz was good at looking at a situation and saying, ‘What can I do to help?’ and then doing it. More than that, though, he had the ability to look at someone, see something good in them, and nurture it until that good thing grew into something life changing for the person. He did it to me. I'm sure I'm not the only one."
CRAZY STRIPPER GRIEFER:
PrimalChaos Frostbite: Everybody fucky fucky...
So today this picture/ quote kinda means a lot to me... Ive had my heart broken many times by boys.. from going out with one, too liking another.... but finding out someone told him and he said some rude comment back to me.. just things like that..
well the one boy i actually did date was in 7th grade.. i had to do it secretly behind my parents backs becuase they thought dating was to young.. (and now that im older i agree! when i was in 7th grade i didnt see that..figures.. right!?)
anyway, i /Thought/ i reallly loved this guy.. i was picturing us together for a long peroid of time.. the next week we broke up.. i was soo sad.. i didnt understand!? was i not good enough for anyone!?could i finally find true love somewhere...!? was /True/ love out there? i mean ive always read about it in books and movies.. but was it out there looking for me..? So i prayed.. and prayed and prayed for my future husband... But little did i know what was about to happen.
I had just started cyber school and i was wanting to make new friends so our school has this IM (instant messaging) with people in our school. and they'd have random people from our classes on their and such.. so i went down my contact list trying to make friends and say Hi to peopl ein my own little way!so i saw this cute guy and i was like OHMYGOSH he is soo cute! how do i find a way to say hi so that it doesnt look like im a creeper!? *giggles* So finally i got the nerve to say Hi to him .. but i didnt say hi i said ,"SMILE!" and then waited for his response.. he replied back and said " thanks, but I dont need to be reminded to smile .." it really crushed me hard that he said that.. but over the next couple weeks i didnt give up on him and we actually started to like each other.. we found out a lot about each other.. we'd talk for hours straight!as of 6 days ago .. *smiles and tries not to cry..* we've been together for 11 months now.. Now you guys are like , thats such a short period of time! your crazy to be head over heals over someone! but let me tell you guys that we havent even met each other in person yet! yep... its hard every single day not to get to see him as much as id like.. its hard that he's half way across the state.. its hard when i need a hug and he's not there for me.. but you know what..!? Its worth it.. our love is worth it is what i found out..were both christians, we love the lord with all of our hearts , minds and souls.. our love is different from anyone elses though.. were not the type of couple who will get together for a week, have sex and break up.. were not the type of couple who goes to parties and gets drunk... were not the couple who makes out 24-7... no were not any of that.. ive set rules for us.. a lot..
I love this guy with all of my heart... hes been there for me through such rough times where sadly i was at the end of my rope and he was the one who saved me by telling my sister to call 911.. He talked me through everything.. I have never found a love that is truer then his.. He's helped me become everything i am today... he constantly encourages me.... hes the one who keeps me going... he's constantly reminding me how beautiful i am.. constantly reminding me of how much love he has for me.. He constantly reminds me of how much God my heavenly father loves me.. Hes everything ive ever wanted.. and hes nevr given up on me even when there were times that i wanted to give up on this relationship..We help each other get through each hard day were not together... we send silly messages, emails and even videos to each other. We remind each other our love for the other one everyday... i cant put our love into words its just unexplainable.. He can feel my emotions soo strongly that he will email me asking if im okay becuase he can feel in the pit of his belly that im not...how amazing is that!? Only god could do that for a couple!
i also found out that Kyle was going to delete the instant message off his computer a couple days before i had said "Smile!"... but i guess he got side tracked and guess who never deleted it off of his computer..
Take one guess at who had that planned out the whole time..? Take one guess at who knew that we were going to meet that way..? *smiles and shakes her head in disbeilef... "Silly God<3"
Guess whos going to be a high school sweet heart to the man of her dreams..?
Well this was one long story im sorry guys i just wanted to introduce you to my Boyfriend Kyle..<3 *smiles* i thought this would be a good way(;
Good night flickr, lovelys!<3 I guess Good things /DO/ fall apart so that better things can happen, huh?"
PS) this is one of our favorite songs<3 give it a listen!
365/365.
can´t believe i actually made it. i wish i had something really special to say. but i don´t. this project has been just a diary of my life. my ups and downs, my emotions. there´s more in those pictures than anyone could ever think. to be honest, i don´t think i will ever do 365 project again, but at least i tried.
i´ve definitely grown more than i could ever think since the beginning of this project. when i look at the first pictures i don´t even recognize it anymore. so much has changed. and God thought me a lot.
yesterday i was thinking about finishing this project. and i took the time and went through my entire tumblr that only two of my friends from real life have link to. and as i went through it and i realized that if someone looked through the entire blog they would see myself. it´s my heart. everything i needed to vent somehow just for myself. though it´s pictures and quotes and mostly reblogged stuff there´s nothing without a reason behind it. it´s all so real. for some reason i´m sharing it now. as i´m beginning new chapter of my life. i´m not afraid of being real anymore, of being honest and sharing my struggles. it does not define me. Christ does. and i know it now more than ever. my life with Him starts all over again, every single morning. i finally feel like i gave it all to Him. i was made clean. His wounds cover mine. every day is a new beginning of life He offers me.
“I wish I could throw off the thoughts which poison my happiness, and yet I take a kind of pleasure in indulging them.”
― Frédéric Chopin
Soundtrack : www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9n40aTbwfk&feature=youtu.be
KISS THE RAIN – YIRUMA
DANCING IN THE RAIN
My heart is shrink-wrapped to protect it
protect it from the damage that love brings
one moment I am dancing in the rain
bare feet splashing; dancing with you;
next thing precious memories are driving me insane
stick out my tongue and catch those sweet drops
trickling down my face and chin
laughing out loud with such joyful abandonment
giggling when trickles are tickling my skin
just now though I'm rolling with the punches
because I can't stand the strain
of losing myself so deep in you
that it causes such exquisite pain
so in my head I'm outside still dancing
kissing you in the rain
with the bubble wrapped around me
and the sweetest dreams contained
but in reality I'm writhing
broken up and bound
wound so tight like a steel drum
loud clanging in my head; cacophony of sound
reverberating around and around
spinning my head 'til my feet can't touch the ground
love lifted me so high; to be better than I am
it's a long way to fall down my love
I'm scared I won't survive the fall
you were always there to catch me
like the rain on open hands
so delicate and fragile
you saved me from my broken bones
you released my heart from it's plastic prison
where sweetest hopes and dreams were left to die
and now I'm hopeless and bereft without you
laying on my bed, as I begin to cry
I need you now; without you I'm just an empty shell
please don't give up on life; on love
I couldn't bear for us to die
I am a fighter, but even I feel bleak
and all I ask is for you to fight the night
that descended and left you so very weak
together we can fight most everything
together we stand brave and strong
putting heads together
and making right the wrong.
- AP – Copyright remains with and is the intellectual property of the author
Copyright © protected image please do not reproduce without permission'
My artwork is a compilation of 3 of my photographs
“There are a hundred things she has tried to chase away the things she won't remember and that she can't even let herself think about because that's when the birds scream and the worms crawl and somewhere in her mind it's always raining a slow and endless drizzle.
You will hear that she has left the country, that there was a gift she wanted you to have, but it is lost before it reaches you. Late one night the telephone will sign, and a voice that might be hers will say something that you cannot interpret before the connection crackles and is broken.
Several years later, from a taxi, you will see someone in a doorway who looks like her, but she will be gone by the time you persuade the driver to stop. You will never see her again.
Whenever it rains you will think of her. ”
― Neil Gaiman
We live in a world where people create better opportunities, better prospects by bringing down the other. Some people fight for it and some people find a safer place for them to survive.
This pic was handled at very high noise. I had to bring it down by giving enough luminance, Details are obviously lost but then its about the message.
*Working Towards a Better World
All violence against children is preventable. States must invest in evidence-based policies and programs to address factors that give rise to violence against children. - UN Study on Violence Against Children, 2006
Is it too modern to notice that there is nothing about rape, nothing about the protection of children from cruelty and nothing about genocide? Or is it exactingly in context to notice that some of these very offenses are about to be positively recommended? -
Christopher Hitchens
Never be too busy for
the people you love.
Never allow pursuits
or possessions to
become bigger
priorities than your
relationships. Love is
what gives meaning to life. -
Dave Willis
Thank you for your kind visit. Have a wonderful and beautiful day! xo❤️
“Darkness comes. In the middle of it, the future looks blank. The temptation to quit is huge. Don't. You are in good company... You will argue with yourself that there is no way forward. But with God, nothing is impossible. He has more ropes and ladders and tunnels out of pits than you can conceive. Wait. Pray without ceasing. Hope.”
- John Piper
Soundtrack : www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoNtYC_XDC8
ALL THAT YOU HAVE IS YOUR SOUL – TRACY CHAPMAN
I take myself away now for a little while because I am feeling sad again and my heart is elsewhere.
Take care of yourselves and each other. I will return when I am smiling more and the shadows have lifted. Thank you all for your wonderful support and kindness. I love you all <3
THE ARTIST (AGAIN)
I am emptied; devoid of all emotions
motionless; sunk into the softest mattress
cushioned from the world
reclusive and alone
no distractions; I listen to the outward sounds
to quieten my mind and inner voices
I listen to the ticking of the mantel clock
and to the spaces inbetween where heaven is
I listen to the sound of the ocean lapping on the shore
it comforts me and lulls me into a dream-like state
my eyelids feel heavy, but I can't close them both
one of them is bruised and swollen;
the colour and texture of ripened grapes
sweet juice oozing and beading on the surface of the skin
a soft sheen glistening; a loud bang makes me jump
before I settle with a sigh back into the verge of unconsciousness
he's gone; the door slamming was a relief
I listen to the sound of the birds; twilight is approaching
they seem to get excited around this time
like they are saying goodnight to each other
the dawn chorus is the one everyone talks about
but more beautiful than that is the chorus of the golden hour
those precious moments before the sun slides down the globe
and into another land where it begins to rise up to greet the day
I wondered was there a quantum slipstream
of space-time continuum
when the sun was alone in the darkness
was there a pathway between where night meets day
I wondered what that place would be like
what extraordinary powers existed
that could block out the sun
albeit for some brief moments in time
or what if time did not exist in this imaginary place
perhaps this is the place where all things mislaid go
all those odd socks; keys and other little mundane things
which bring a little comfort to our everyday lives
I blocked out even these small thoughts
thinking only made me more aware
of the pounding in my skull
my brain felt that it was too big to be contained within
pulsating at the temple on the right side of my head
I could feel the blood pumping to protect me
it felt warm and comforted; a natural defence mechanism
how marvellous the body is at repairing itself
and thank goodness for that; mine was overtaxed
every few weeks or so had narrowed now to every few days
the shouting; the moods; the artistic temperament of the Artist
I didn't yet call myself this; I didn't feel like being labelled
and I didn't recognise anything in me
that would make anyone think I was one
He, on the other hand, The Artist; He was the real deal
tortured and tormented some days
and charming, charismatic on others
I never knew what his moods would be; he was unpredictable
at first this had been exciting; I loved his passion for life
for his art; all this spilled over onto me
and at first it had been exciting; oh yes, I said that already
I am repeating myself; my thoughts need checking
and bringing into line;
I tried to block out all thoughts once more
the headache continued to thump rhythmically
at least my pulse was now steady
and consistent as it pounded away
I listened to the night settling around outside
and watched as the darkness crept into the room
slowly enveloping me in it's claustrophobic cloak
I wasn't afraid; how could I be afraid of the dark
when it was the day that brought most terrors
the birdsong was tailing off now as they roosted
In the darkness I could hear the tide turn
I know; you may think it's too subtle to be heard
but let me assure you it is possible
and I heard it now; the turning of the tide
for the Adriatic and for me
the end of the road; how clichéd I had become
my mind once so desirous of knowledge
that no amount of reading could quench my thirst
now I had become empty-headed
the only thoughts when he was here
were his thoughts; his words;
entering my brain with a loud tangible thud
not much difference between them
and the blows he had landed before he left
I wanted to yawn but I felt my jaw was broken
I could feel the blood that once was warm within me
congealing now; cold upon my cheek
my nose was numb; broken again
tears rolled down my cheeks, but I couldn't feel them
until they fell from my chin
the window was open
and a gentle breeze flowed in from the sea
I followed him here to Venice; to The Lido
I thought it would be exciting and it was
but now the excitement was no longer pleasurable
I heard the door opening downstairs in the hall
I groaned; the sound of an animal but it was me
I heard his footfalls on the stairs
he called my name, but it wasn't him
and at last I was saved ...
- AP – Copyright remains with and is the intellectual property of the author
Copyright © protected image please do not reproduce without permission'
My artwork is a compilation of 4 of my photographs
This was taken at a protest in Chicago and I loved how expressive these kids were and how happy they were to be there with their families. The quot is actually taken from a really amazing autobiographical wonder I just finished-Yiyun Li's Dear Friend, From My Life I Write to You in Your Life. It's not really about protesting, though this quote stood out. It's really more about depression and suicide and how writing, memories, making sense of past, melodrama, conversations and measuring time takes place in a life. It's a really philosophical and beautiful exploration into what makes us human beings. Highly recommended.
But, this quote alone actually got me thinking quite a bit about the nature of the protest, because there are so many emotions that occur at once when you are present there with all of these people in a community. We are all so very sad and angry but if we don't laugh, we won't stop crying. So many things are still so wrong and I wonder when this nightmare truly will end. It's especially unfair to the children. And yet, it is always reassuring to live amongst a community of people all advocating for the right things, it reaffirms your faith in humanity and allows you the chance to share laughter with your grieving. You can laugh so hard you almost cry or sob so loud it turns into laughter. It's hard to explain that, really, but there is so much simultaneous joy and heartache in the world. There always has been....but now we know all of the details it seems like seconds after it happens. And that pain is real...that sorrow is real. But we also can't allow ourselves to go insane or we're useless to our family, our community, ourselves and therein lies the balance where tears can become giggles and we are constant emotional architects, building bridges just to get through another long day of reality.
www.npr.org/2017/02/25/515434225/dear-friend-is-an-fraugh...
**All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission**
This photo is from a recent trip up north.
It resonates with something I felt yesterday while listening to a heartbreaking interview between Patrick Bet-David* and a young courageous woman named Yeonmi Park. They were discussing her dangerous escape from North Korea with her mother in 2007 as outlined in her book “In Order to Live”.
Not only did she escape North Korea but was then trafficked into slavery in China. Living in trauma for years, she explains that she felt numb most of the time because when you are starving and have no freedom to think for yourself, you do not even know what range of emotions are possible. From the time she was a baby, everything from her favorite color to her style of dress to what she was allowed to think and say was dictated to her. Disobedience meant incarceration or death. She did not risk her life in order to be free but to avoid starvation and later she left China to escape her life of slavery.
What particularly struck me was her remarkable response when Patrick asked her about how it felt when she finally did have a taste of freedom, was she in shock and when did that moment of recognition happen for her? In China? In South Korea or America?
I wrote down her response because the words shook me right down to the core of my Being:
“…being free wasn’t easy at all. It was so painful. At one point I thought if someone is not going to kill me and give me enough food in North Korea… just giving me frozen potatoes and no one will hurt me, I would go back to a place where everything was decided for me…because you know understanding freedom was a responsibility, was scary right?! If I choose to become, let’s say a dancer, I have to be responsible for that choice for the rest of my life. That was an insanely scary idea. I had to choose. Being free is not easy.”
I sat dumbfounded when I heard her words. Wow! I saw Patrick’s eyes open wide as he was deeply struck by how profound her words were. He had lived in a refugee camp in Germany for a few years after his family fled from Iran when he was a teenager. Even he seemed deeply moved and immediately acknowledged the depth of this insight and paused to really take it in.
Her words jarred me back to something I had heard before. Many prisoners, who were liberated from the Bastille during the French Revolution, came back within a few days. Why did they return? Did they feel the same way? Were they completely overwhelmed by freedom and consequence of choices? Why is this affecting me so deeply right now?
Today this powerful young woman’s pain has challenged me to celebrate my relentless journey of seeking value and meaning through art, poetry, singing and photography. That to live beyond the numbness of a mind on auto-pilot, to be open to feel a broad range of profound human emotions navigating the abundance of life is a noble pursuit in a society where we are able to express freely from the heart. I feel a sudden wave of gratitude pass through me.
I go back to the photograph. I stand again on that dock facing the opposite shore. It represents the next moment . The ladder welcomes me to enter the water. I carry all of my thoughts, habits, emotions and memories with me. Will this be enough to embrace the other side with courageous possibility thinking? Do I know enough about myself, my strengths and vulnerabilities to forge ahead and create something better than ever was before? Will I carry the weight of my freedom with responsibility? Will I exercise the enormous priviledge of shaping my limitless imagination to design the world I really want to live in or will a part of me simply seek refuge in old patterns of thinking and recreate the comfort of the familiar even if it feels empty or painful?
This question pulsates through the whole world right now.
*If you would like to see the whole interview with Yeonmi, Patrick’s show is called “Valuetainment”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=za34H-dT8I0
…or if you would just like to listen for context to the quote …41:59 to 44:14 is such a powerful bit to watch.
** The image quote is from Toni Morrison from the book "Beloved"
One of the things I love most about living in the city of Manchester is that nobody pays much attention to you, you can go out and slip right into the crowd right away. Hook your music into your ears and you can become whoever you want, feel like whoever you want to be. There's a Sylvia Plath quote I once came across which sums things up nicely:
“I love people. Everybody. I love them, I think, as a stamp collector loves his collection. Every story, every incident, every bit of conversation is raw material for me. My love's not impersonal yet not wholly subjective either. I would like to be everyone, a cripple, a dying man, a whore, and then come back to write about my thoughts, my emotions, as that person. But I am not omniscient. I have to live my life, and it is the only one I'll ever have. And you cannot regard your own life with objective curiosity all the time...”
I think that's why I like photography so much, I like creating my own little characters and stories that have played in my head. I get to be someone, or create someone for someone else to be, for a picture.
This is from a photoshoot with an awesome girl called Talia Janson! I did a shoot with her sister Ciara back last year, and yesterday was Talia's turn ;) She was so brilliant, I don't think I've ever seen anyone more eager to get into a puddle!! I'll be posting more to twitter, so stay tuned on there if you'd like to see:
twitter / blog / website! / formspring
Or for a shoot enquiry just shoot me an email to georgiarosehardy@gmail.com :D
Picture the last days with family and friends during Christmas when someone inadvertently drops the bomb along the lines of "so, all those pictures of people, why do you take them?, why? what's the purpose of it all?"... followed by long mumbling while I completely fail to reply like an adult human being.
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If someone has already figured out a killer quote to get out of such situations with dignity, please do share 😅 ... but the thought stuck with me.
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The images are sometimes unashamed attempts at portraying aesthetic beauty for the sake of it. Other times however, there may be a conceptual layer behind a shot, half shaped by sketches, conversations, music or a state of mind. I've always felt uncomfortable trying to explain an image after it is done.
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To illustrate my point, take this favourite portrait of mine, Molly: it began with a conversation about a feeling of loneliness in a sea of people that is London. We shot in a cold day, looking for a crowd in a touristy spot of the city. A long shutter exposure smears passing by pedestrians staring at Molly, who is further isolated by a splash of light.
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Technicalities asides, this is an important portrait to me because it reminds me of that feeling — it is framed on my wall, and sometimes people notice and comment on it and invariably each person reads the same image in a different way; some people may not notice the blue smear, or may read Molly's emotions differently or simply don't react at all.
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And why would anyone, right? there's no objective statement to be made about the images themselves. We just put them out there, and perhaps hope that someone can relate to our thoughts, likings, and obsessions. But it's more likely they'll make them their own and create a new narrative, and that's great, too.
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There's no point, no purpose, no evil plan. It's just a necessity and an outlet.
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To anyone who has read this rant, thanks! I'm sure I'm not a special snowflake ❄️, so perhaps everyone wrestles with these musings — if you've given it some thought, I'd love to hear from it.
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Here's to a 2018 full of inspiration!