-- Want to buy the house where I grew up? My mom has put it on the market. The real estate listing is here. It's furnished differently now than when I lived there, and my old bedroom has become a guest room. (It's the one with two twin beds, if you browse the photo gallery.) A lot of that furniture came from my grandmother's house after she died in 1989. I haven't lived there for 31 years (!) except in the sense that it's the family homestead, and honestly, I still don't feel nearly as upset about the sale as I expected. Not yet, anyway.
-- My blog pal Ellen wrote a great post on Earth Day about the insanity of our germ-phobic, dirt-phobic, safety-obsessed modern culture, which cuts us off from nature and harms our health and well-being. It was prompted by a report she heard on public radio that the average modern child spends only 14 minutes a day outside. Read it! I wish I'd written it myself.
-- The kids in the social justice group at the school where I work put together an amazing video highlighting the ways in which individuals at school have been victims of oppression, or free of oppression (if they're lucky). They asked people around the building to write out a message that touches on a personal experience with oppression, then photographed us holding our messages. Yes, I'm in the video! You can check it out here. I may be the only person who used an objectionable word outright.
-- I have to say goodbye to my pajama pants (above), which I bought at the Banana Republic at Rockefeller Center in New York in 2008 or so. I've worn them a lot. Then, last week, a huge hole opened up in the back. Definitely too much air conditioning for respectable wear! Into the trash they went. Sigh.
-- And finally, one of my photos on Tumblr has gone positively viral. Most of my photos there get a handful of "likes" and reblogs, and a few have had several dozen. But this one has been reblogged or liked 15,754 times! Insanity! It's funny what catches on. I like that photo, but it wouldn't be the one I'd choose to define my photographic career.
(Top photo: Bathroom renovations in West Hampstead, a couple of weeks ago.)
First of all, I love the bathtub photo and your viral photo, too. How fun that so many people are sharing it -- and very well-deserved. Secondly, the video is marvelous and very powerful. The pairing of the images with the music was so effective, and there's just something real and authentic seeing people's handwriting and faces together.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I would have cut the usable bits of fabric from your pajama trousers before chucking them-lovely dragonflies! Great video too1
ReplyDeleteSteve, that is a powerful video. What socially conscious kids. They give me a lot of hope.
ReplyDeletewell, it is a cool photo but yeah, weird what takes off. the kids did a great job with the video. and thanks for the mention and link.
ReplyDeleteHow odd it must be to have those rooms you know so well out on the internet. Too bad I'm not in the market for a move - such a roomy living room and to have your own dock!
ReplyDeleteAnd Sarah has a point - you could have cut some material from the bottom of the pajama legs, sewed it to the holy seat and then. . .never mind. Hardly worth the effort.
Seven years is a damn good life for pajama bottoms!
ReplyDeleteThat film blew me away. Thank you for sharing it, Steve. What a remarkable school you work in!
Oh...that dock. And I swear- the furniture all looks so familiar.
Go! Little Viral photo! It's an amazing one.
Love the video! So cool! And your photo is great, as usual, but yes, it's interesting to see what goes viral.
ReplyDeleteI agree about Ellen's post - very good!
how nice to be greeted every morning by otters, deer and bunnies. What a sweet home you had growing up. You would have done well to snip about a four inch square from your jammie bottoms, Just to ...have.
ReplyDeleteRead the earth post - agreed with every bit of it.
ReplyDeleteLooked a the video, all those dreadful stereotypes of people; what a great project. It would make a great poster you know.
Sad about the jamas, nothing lasts forever...
Ms Soup.