Behind the Paint

Does every picture tell a story?  Perhaps it does, but the meaning may not be obvious.  Last year I went to Ocean Springs Mississippi to help out with the relief effort.  I saw the work of a local artist who lived through Hurricane Katrina.  His studio and most of his work were damaged in the storm.  I was looking at a painting that he completed after the storm and it hung in a station used for relief workers.  It wasn’t a piece I’d have hanging in my home, but it really didn’t matter.  Despite loss, the artist keeps working.

Up and Away

How often the musings of childhood return.  I’ve been pondering the paths that I have taken and where they started.  A common question I heard was “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  I’d come up with answer; it didn’t matter that I would change my mind later on.  It’s wonderful to have a vision of the future even if it doesn’t come true.  Of course there is another factor to that.  How many of us answered the question and got, “But you can’t do that.  You’re not (smart, talented, pretty, etc) enough to do that”.  The trail head is still there.  It’s never too late to walk that path.

Hippity hoppity

Walking along my favorite path in the park, what do I see?  There is a little cotton tail rabbit; munching on the weeds.  I stop and watch it; I don’t want to scare it.  Slowly I approach it, but when I’m within five yards it takes off.  Those little cotton tails are so skittish.  Further down the trail I spot another one.  The reaction is the same.  In sharp contrast is the reaction of the hare.  I met one of these creatures years ago in the high desert of Eastern Oregon.  This thing was as big as a medium sized dog.  I approached it slowly.  When I was within five feet, it casually hopped off and then stopped.  It turned to look back at me.  This was not an animal to be messed with. 

The end, maybe.

I heard news that a large asteroid could smack the Earth on Friday the 13^th, 2029.  It would cause mass extinction and eclipse any other disaster happening that year.  What a bummer; I’d only be 65 years old, just before retirement. Of course there are other doomsday predictions.  I won’t need to worry about the asteroid if the Mayans are correct about the December 21, 2012 event.  There is a prediction even closer than that.  Doomsday is said to be scheduled for October 21, 2011.  Should we celebrate Halloween early?

What if

From somewhere in my mind came a peculiar musing or perhaps I’ve been watching too much T.V.  I’ve seen commercials for Lego kits based on popular movies.  They’re always action/adventure movies, but what if they chose another approach.  Imagine a Pride and Prejudice Lego series.  What little kid wouldn’t love building a model of Pemberly?  The Mr. Darcy Lego man would have a set of interchangeable heads with expressions ranging from mild distain to total disgust.  How fun it would be to set up the assembly hall and reenact Elizabeth Bennett’s and Mr. Darcy’s first meeting.

It would be educational too.  Not only would children have a fun introduction to Jane Austin’s popular novel, but they can also explore the fashion and architecture of Regency period England.  Of course some parts of the story wouldn’t be allowed in a children’s toy.  There might be a big stink if there was a kit featuring Lydia’s elopement.

What's that?

When does the obscure cease to be obscure?  By its own nature, something that is obscure is something that goes unnoticed.  It exists on the fringe of society.  It’s there, yet no one admits to knowing it’s there.  There are some people who look for, write about and produce television shows about things that are obscure.  What happens when everyone knows about it?  What I’ve observed is this; two things happen.  The obscure item or fact loses its obscurity and enjoys fame.  The other direction is more obscurity; the item or fact simply slips back into the shadows.

Oh to simplify!

Simplification sounds like an easy thing to do, but it isn’t.  I’ve been looking through StumbleUpon and some interesting articles have popped up.  There was one titled “75 ways to simplify your life”.  Does it really take that many?  Apparently that’s the short list because there was another article called “100 ways to make your life simple”.  I pay attention to the ones which say “3 ways to make life better”.  Three ways; great, seven ways; maybe, nine ways; doable, but more than that and the reader is lost.

There is a lot of information available and most of it's good.  So how do you simplify your life?  Look at the 75 ways list, pick three items that make sense and try them out.