Yarn Bomb

I first heard about this form of public art a few years ago; referred by many different–yarn bombing, yarnbombing, graffiti knitting, guerrilla knitting, or yarnstorming. And I first encountered it on a trip to San Fransisco last summer (click here to see that post with pictures, but this is the first time I’ve seen any in Buffalo…Nice! Keep it up yarn bombers…I know there has to be more. Thanks for your little glimpse of creative beauty. To see more pictures (not mine) and to read a little about the history of this type of art, click here or here.

>Yarn Bomb

>

I first heard about this form of public art a few years ago; referred by many different–yarn bombing, yarnbombing, graffiti knitting, guerrilla knitting, or yarnstorming. And I first encountered it on a trip to San Fransisco last summer (click here to see that post with pictures, but this is the first time I’ve seen any in Buffalo…Nice! Keep it up yarn bombers…I know there has to be more. Thanks for your little glimpse of creative beauty. To see more pictures (not mine) and to read a little about the history of this type of art, click here or here.

City Highways = Ugliness


MBA: Highway Removal from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

I came across this video this morning on Treehugger and it really struck a nerve with me. It’s in regards to highways cutting through cities: why we don’t need them and the destruction they leave in their wake. I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions that I am writing from Buffalo, NY…a small city, but it’s getting smaller (population) each year. It is quite literally half the size in population that it was 50 years ago. Anyhow, what struck a nerve in me–and to get to the point–is that like many American cities mine has a few hiways circumnenting them, but also one that cuts it directly in two. For a small city we have such beautiful park space…but it was once more beautiful. The park system was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, who was most famous, I think, for designing Central Park in NYC (among numerous others). Anyhow, one of the parks–Humboldt Park–was shortened greatly by the Kensington Expressway. The park still remains, but the pan handle is gone.

 
If you look at the above image (found here) you can see what I mean…the image on the left shows the park in tact, and the image on the right shows the highway running through where the panhandle once was (click it for a close view).

The highway was completed in the late 1960’s (I think). I grew up in a neighborhood that was close to the construction (but not near Humboldt Park). I don’t have many memories of it being built, but one I do remember is–ironically–riding a bicycle down it at night. They worked around the clock building it (time is money) and had flood lights at night, and one memory is the construction workers allowing a gang of us to ride our bikes down the unopened highway at night (in my minds memory it seemed  really late, but being just a boy it was probably only like 9pm). I also remember my mother  telling me stories of when she was a little girl the “rich people” would ride horses through Humboldt Park (how perfect…two miles long and narrow)…now we just drive cars down it.

I can’t image how terrible it must have been for the people who own the many beautiful houses that line the highway. Oddly (and almost cruelly) in an effort to make it seem less ugly the city actually submerged the highway, which in my opinion is uglier still. So these people when from having beautiful park-front homes to owning a house whose front yard now faces a submerged highway. This isn’t just ugly; it’s the anti-beauty of the urban landscape. This highway has made it really easy–to this day–for people to flee the city, for good or just daily; to work downtown and race back to their subdivisions at 5pm. Here’s a couple before-and-after pictures (found here and here). It’s easy to see which makes more sense on so many levels. In a city that has such a rich cultural and architectural heritage…shame on us for allowing this to happen.

>City Highways = Ugliness

>


MBA: Highway Removal from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

I came across this video this morning on Treehugger and it really struck a nerve with me. It’s in regards to highways cutting through cities: why we don’t need them and the destruction they leave in their wake. I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions that I am writing from Buffalo, NY…a small city, but it’s getting smaller (population) each year. It is quite literally half the size in population that it was 50 years ago. Anyhow, what struck a nerve in me–and to get to the point–is that like many American cities mine has a few hiways circumnenting them, but also one that cuts it directly in two. For a small city we have such beautiful park space…but it was once more beautiful. The park system was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, who was most famous, I think, for designing Central Park in NYC (among numerous others). Anyhow, one of the parks–Humboldt Park–was shortened greatly by the Kensington Expressway. The park still remains, but the pan handle is gone.

 
If you look at the above image (found here) you can see what I mean…the image on the left shows the park in tact, and the image on the right shows the highway running through where the panhandle once was (click it for a close view).

The highway was completed in the late 1960’s (I think). I grew up in a neighborhood that was close to the construction (but not near Humboldt Park). I don’t have many memories of it being built, but one I do remember is–ironically–riding a bicycle down it at night. They worked around the clock building it (time is money) and had flood lights at night, and one memory is the construction workers allowing a gang of us to ride our bikes down the unopened highway at night (in my minds memory it seemed  really late, but being just a boy it was probably only like 9pm). I also remember my mother  telling me stories of when she was a little girl the “rich people” would ride horses through Humboldt Park (how perfect…two miles long and narrow)…now we just drive cars down it.

I can’t image how terrible it must have been for the people who own the many beautiful houses that line the highway. Oddly (and almost cruelly) in an effort to make it seem less ugly the city actually submerged the highway, which in my opinion is uglier still. So these people when from having beautiful park-front homes to owning a house whose front yard now faces a submerged highway. This isn’t just ugly; it’s the anti-beauty of the urban landscape. This highway has made it really easy–to this day–for people to flee the city, for good or just daily; to work downtown and race back to their subdivisions at 5pm. Here’s a couple before-and-after pictures (found here and here). It’s easy to see which makes more sense on so many levels. In a city that has such a rich cultural and architectural heritage…shame on us for allowing this to happen.

Employee Meal 3.30.11

I and another cook made a bunch of pizzas for staff lunch yesterday and today. I made a whole wheat barley crust and the other cook added a variety of topping; some with meat, some without meat, and one vegan. Anyhow they were so beautiful I thought I’d share a few photos. If you’d like to read an article I wrote for Artvoice titled Anatomy of a Pizza (with a basic recipe), which explains the process of making pizza, click here. To read an earlier post on this blog but bearing the same title as the other article (with many more recipes), click here…hope it doesn’t make you salivate too much.

>Employee Meal 3.30.11

>

I and another cook made a bunch of pizzas for staff lunch yesterday and today. I made a whole wheat barley crust and the other cook added a variety of topping; some with meat, some without meat, and one vegan. Anyhow they were so beautiful I thought I’d share a few photos. If you’d like to read an article I wrote for Artvoice titled Anatomy of a Pizza (with a basic recipe), which explains the process of making pizza, click here. To read an earlier post on this blog but bearing the same title as the other article (with many more recipes), click here…hope it doesn’t make you salivate too much.

Spring…and the newness it brings

Amazing isn’t it? I think so. As I was walking the Mundo up the plank of gratefulness today I saw these shoots pushing up in front of the porch. They’re a type of day-lily that were in my front yard when I bought the house. Who knows how long they were here before I lived here. It’s not a rare plant in these parts of the world…you see them growing everywhere. And they spread like weeds if you don’t keep them in check. But still I find them–and the cyclical system of life–truly amazing. Soon there will be tall leaves, then two-foot tall shoots, then–around late June–bright orange flowers. The flowers die off by August or September, leaving only the leaves, which in turn die off in late fall. And there the bulbs lie, connected to one another by long tentacle-like roots, in hibernation. What I find interesting also is that the bulbs are only a few inches underground, meaning they are frozen solid through much of the winter. But then, when the time is right–maybe it’s the the temperature, or the way the earth lies on its axis in relation to the sun, or maybe planets are in a certain alignment–they push through the still-cold and wet soil and reach skyward…and not only the old plants but new ones as well. Amazing; it’s easy for me to see why (and how) our ancestors organized their lives according to the seasons. Sometimes it’s little things like this that make me slow down and remember what is true. 

>Spring…and the newness it brings

>

Amazing isn’t it? I think so. As I was walking the Mundo up the plank of gratefulness today I saw these shoots pushing up in front of the porch. They’re a type of day-lily that were in my front yard when I bought the house. Who knows how long they were here before I lived here. It’s not a rare plant in these parts of the world…you see them growing everywhere. And they spread like weeds if you don’t keep them in check. But still I find them–and the cyclical system of life–truly amazing. Soon there will be tall leaves, then two-foot tall shoots, then–around late June–bright orange flowers. The flowers die off by August or September, leaving only the leaves, which in turn die off in late fall. And there the bulbs lie, connected to one another by long tentacle-like roots, in hibernation. What I find interesting also is that the bulbs are only a few inches underground, meaning they are frozen solid through much of the winter. But then, when the time is right–maybe it’s the the temperature, or the way the earth lies on its axis in relation to the sun, or maybe planets are in a certain alignment–they push through the still-cold and wet soil and reach skyward…and not only the old plants but new ones as well. Amazing; it’s easy for me to see why (and how) our ancestors organized their lives according to the seasons. Sometimes it’s little things like this that make me slow down and remember what is true. 

Delicate Load

This is awesome…I came across it at this Pakistani website (click to see other pictures of things carried on bikes). I carry eggs relatively frequently when I grocery shop (a dozen or two at a time) but if my calculations are correct–if a flat of eggs hold the same amount in Pakistan as it does in the US (2.5 dz)–then this guy has in the upwards of 125 dozen eggs on his bike. There are heavier loads to carry, and certainly bulkier loads a person can carry, but few are as delicate. Quite impressive.

>Delicate Load

>

This is awesome…I came across it at this Pakistani website (click to see other pictures of things carried on bikes). I carry eggs relatively frequently when I grocery shop (a dozen or two at a time) but if my calculations are correct–if a flat of eggs hold the same amount in Pakistan as it does in the US (2.5 dz)–then this guy has in the upwards of 125 dozen eggs on his bike. There are heavier loads to carry, and certainly bulkier loads a person can carry, but few are as delicate. Quite impressive.

Anyone Can Practice Yoga

It may come to a surprise to some that I practice Yoga (then again, maybe not)..I don’t do it regularly but sporadically. But when I do I often wonder why I don’t do it every day…it makes me feel good…physically and emotionally (especially when followed by meditation). It is, in fact, yoga and positive thought that, I truly believe, helped me overcome a herniated disk without surgery. Anyhow, the reason I’m posting this video (which I found at Yoga Mom) is because it made me laugh…not at the video but with it. Many people believe that to practice yoga entails twisting into a pretzel or some other position that only a 19-year-old agile woman can…but in truth yoga is more of a life style…stretches are just part of it. Anyhow, I have always been a believer that anyone can practice yoga…even the biker in this 30 second clip. To see another equally inspiring clip visit Yoga Mom. Click here to see some of the many benefits of yoga and meditation.

>Anyone Can Practice Yoga

>It may come to a surprise to some that I practice Yoga (then again, maybe not)..I don’t do it regularly but sporadically. But when I do I often wonder why I don’t do it every day…it makes me feel good…physically and emotionally (especially when followed by meditation). It is, in fact, yoga and positive thought that, I truly believe, helped me overcome a herniated disk without surgery. Anyhow, the reason I’m posting this video (which I found at Yoga Mom) is because it made me laugh…not at the video but with it. Many people believe that to practice yoga entails twisting into a pretzel or some other position that only a 19-year-old agile woman can…but in truth yoga is more of a life style…stretches are just part of it. Anyhow, I have always been a believer that anyone can practice yoga…even the biker in this 30 second clip. To see another equally inspiring clip visit Yoga Mom. Click here to see some of the many benefits of yoga and meditation.

That Sweet Sunny Spot

My pugs teach me things but they probably don’t know it. The sun has shifted with the seasons (even though it doesn’t feel like Spring) and it pours into a different window this time of year. My house is often chilly in the morning so they basked in the sun on the bare floor in the middle of a room…maximizing their comfort potential. I look at them and they seem so content. All they desire is their basic necessities…food, playing and fighting with each other, keeping warm in the cool weather and cool in the warm weather, and–above all–love and affection from me. Sometimes when things seem harried and slightly askew–like now, for example–I wish I could pare my necessities down to that. Though I write this blog on living simply my life is as busy as any…and like many mine is often busier than I’d like. Sometimes I have to give myself permission to do nothing. At present I have two stories which are past deadline and the kitchen needs cleaning, but it is my day off work and after running errands on a heavy bike in frigid temperatures I am tired. Tonight I need to give myself permission to do nothing (i.e. watch a movie). Things will get done in due time; that’s what I have to keep telling myself. I have a fresh bottle of red wine and the wood stove is hot. The dogs are laying in between me and the stove…every so often letting out a purr, snort, or fart that only pugs can do. Even though the sun has set a couple hours ago I’ll take a lesson from them and take the night off, just chill…and lay in that sweet sunny spot.

>That Sweet Sunny Spot

>

My pugs teach me things but they probably don’t know it. The sun has shifted with the seasons (even though it doesn’t feel like Spring) and it pours into a different window this time of year. My house is often chilly in the morning so they basked in the sun on the bare floor in the middle of a room…maximizing their comfort potential. I look at them and they seem so content. All they desire is their basic necessities…food, playing and fighting with each other, keeping warm in the cool weather and cool in the warm weather, and–above all–love and affection from me. Sometimes when things seem harried and slightly askew–like now, for example–I wish I could pare my necessities down to that. Though I write this blog on living simply my life is as busy as any…and like many mine is often busier than I’d like. Sometimes I have to give myself permission to do nothing. At present I have two stories which are past deadline and the kitchen needs cleaning, but it is my day off work and after running errands on a heavy bike in frigid temperatures I am tired. Tonight I need to give myself permission to do nothing (i.e. watch a movie). Things will get done in due time; that’s what I have to keep telling myself. I have a fresh bottle of red wine and the wood stove is hot. The dogs are laying in between me and the stove…every so often letting out a purr, snort, or fart that only pugs can do. Even though the sun has set a couple hours ago I’ll take a lesson from them and take the night off, just chill…and lay in that sweet sunny spot.