Thursday, August 7, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Signs
Anyone who has spent much time looking at this blog knows that I have an ongoing interest in signs. I often find myself photographing signs, or messages in public, not just signs, but messages on t-shirts, billboards, walls, road surfaces, bumper stickers, etc. I'm especially interested in messages or signs that are unusual, humerous, contradictory, strange, creative, original, threatening, or innane. Recently I deviated somewhat from the usual content of my blog to include pictures of important events of family or friends such as weddings. Now I will probably go back to including information and interest from outside family and friends. That will include poetry, one short story coming up soon, articles on issues that interest me such as the environment, more on psychological abuse in the workplace, and more "signs."
Signs or public messages in our sociey and culture are ubiquitous. They say something about the kind of people we are. The value of some signs is in the directions and instructions they provide. This would include traffic signs. Others such as billboards and realtor signs exist to generate income for someone. But what about personal, political or other messages, brief statements about what someone believes or thinks, or who they are? I'm thinking of the message on the back of the shirt of the young man on crutches that I included on this blog shortly after I started it about a year ago. The message says, "Never judge a man until you walk a mile on his crutches." It was taken in Texas' Palo Duro Canyon many year ago. When ever I see the picture I think of him and wonder what his life was/is like. The front side of his shirt had the message, "Quad Power" on it. I wonder where he is today.
I think the abundance of signs and public messages in our culture may indicate that we are optimistic, or at least hopeful. We believe that someone, perhaps many people, care enough to want to read our message, even it it's in small print on a rear bumper sticker that cannot be read by anyone in a moving vehicle without dangerous tailgating. On the other hand perhaps some people don't really care if anyone sees it or not; they just have a need to express themselves. This would include those who decorate their bedrooms with posters, etc. Of course many of these are teenagers wanting their parents, siblings, friends, and other relatives to know who they really are. Perhaps if I had done that when I was a teenager there would have been more understanding between my parents and I, since it seems as if there was not much communication.
An abundance of signs is one of the characteristics of our culture. Signs can be an eyesore, a littering of the air around us. Too much exposure to messages from strangers can result in sensory overload, and then we may miss an important sign installed for our safety. Past attempts to beautify America included an emphasis on getting rid of billboards. Signs can be an indication of our addiction to consumerism, to getting "things." Many people will see little or no value in photographing signs. However signs come and go and therefore are a part of our history, a part of our lives and our culture. They inhabit our past, present, and will also be a part of our future. I'll probably keep photographing them, and adding them to this blog.
Signs or public messages in our sociey and culture are ubiquitous. They say something about the kind of people we are. The value of some signs is in the directions and instructions they provide. This would include traffic signs. Others such as billboards and realtor signs exist to generate income for someone. But what about personal, political or other messages, brief statements about what someone believes or thinks, or who they are? I'm thinking of the message on the back of the shirt of the young man on crutches that I included on this blog shortly after I started it about a year ago. The message says, "Never judge a man until you walk a mile on his crutches." It was taken in Texas' Palo Duro Canyon many year ago. When ever I see the picture I think of him and wonder what his life was/is like. The front side of his shirt had the message, "Quad Power" on it. I wonder where he is today.
I think the abundance of signs and public messages in our culture may indicate that we are optimistic, or at least hopeful. We believe that someone, perhaps many people, care enough to want to read our message, even it it's in small print on a rear bumper sticker that cannot be read by anyone in a moving vehicle without dangerous tailgating. On the other hand perhaps some people don't really care if anyone sees it or not; they just have a need to express themselves. This would include those who decorate their bedrooms with posters, etc. Of course many of these are teenagers wanting their parents, siblings, friends, and other relatives to know who they really are. Perhaps if I had done that when I was a teenager there would have been more understanding between my parents and I, since it seems as if there was not much communication.
An abundance of signs is one of the characteristics of our culture. Signs can be an eyesore, a littering of the air around us. Too much exposure to messages from strangers can result in sensory overload, and then we may miss an important sign installed for our safety. Past attempts to beautify America included an emphasis on getting rid of billboards. Signs can be an indication of our addiction to consumerism, to getting "things." Many people will see little or no value in photographing signs. However signs come and go and therefore are a part of our history, a part of our lives and our culture. They inhabit our past, present, and will also be a part of our future. I'll probably keep photographing them, and adding them to this blog.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
"But forgiveness allows us to actually let go of the pain in the memory, and if we let go of the pain in the memory, we can have the memory but it does not control us, and I think it's the fact that when memory controls us, we are then the puppets of the past."
Alexendra Asseily (From the film "The Power of Forgiveness")
Alexendra Asseily (From the film "The Power of Forgiveness")
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Some Interesting Quotes
"Liberalism is not a fixed set of doctrines, but a temper,
a public spirit of openness and generosity."
Forrester Church
"Liberalism is trust of the people tempered by prudence;
Conservatism is distrust of the people tempered by fear."
William Gladstone
"Liberalism, above all, means emancipation--
emancipation from one's fears, his inadequancies,
from prejudice, from discrimination...from poverty."
Hubert Humphrey
"Liberals support the idea that individuals are more important
than corporations, that as long as there are welfare programs for
corporations there should be welfare programs for individuals."
Jan Carroll
"What passes for radical left-wing opinion in America today would
fit comfortably into the platform of any center-right party in Europe."
Phil Freeman
"The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be
watered also himself."
Proverbs 11:25
from "The Best Liberal Quotes Ever"
Pages 129-132
a public spirit of openness and generosity."
Forrester Church
"Liberalism is trust of the people tempered by prudence;
Conservatism is distrust of the people tempered by fear."
William Gladstone
"Liberalism, above all, means emancipation--
emancipation from one's fears, his inadequancies,
from prejudice, from discrimination...from poverty."
Hubert Humphrey
"Liberals support the idea that individuals are more important
than corporations, that as long as there are welfare programs for
corporations there should be welfare programs for individuals."
Jan Carroll
"What passes for radical left-wing opinion in America today would
fit comfortably into the platform of any center-right party in Europe."
Phil Freeman
"The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be
watered also himself."
Proverbs 11:25
from "The Best Liberal Quotes Ever"
Pages 129-132
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The Color Pink: Not Just a Wimpy Shade of Red
What's your favorite color? Mine used to be blue or green. Now I prefer red or something warmer and brighter than the cool colors. Often how well a color looks depends on the setting in which it is seen, or on other adjacent colors. Unlike most men, I like the color pink, but not as much as several other colors and not enough to include it in my purchases, as in clothing, tools, or cars. I'm inclined to believe that men who don't like pink are just insecure with their masculinity, but I might be wrong. Many people shy away from purple also. I wonder how pink ever became the property of females. Is there anything inherently different about pink that automatically designates it as a "female" color? I don't think so. Our association of pink as feminine is likely a learned attitude. Baby girls are identified by wearing pink and baby boys wear blue. But boys gradually disengage themselves from blue as they grow older, sharing it's former distinction with other colors, while many girls hang onto pink and make it a part of their "color"identity as women, perhaps more so than most other colors. Of course there are exceptions. Not all women like pink. I've heard some women express a keen dislike of pink.
What would it be like if people, as is the case with some mammals, could only see in black and white. Living in a colorful world enriches our lives. But what, if anything , are we missing by having the ability to see in color. Is the presence of color distracting us from some other, currently hidden, beauty that would also enrich our lives? How many times do we notice, not just black and white, but also the multitude of subtle shades in between those two opposites. If we lived in a black and white world would one shade of gray be identified as feminine and another as masculine? Would that indicate a greater skill in humans to distinguish the differences in tone, shadows, and shades of gray than we currently possess?
At my place of employment there are two brand new mountain bikes locked together on a table outside the snack room. They're prizes for a fund raising raffle. Both are the same size - 26 inches. Both have nearly alike frame designs and are build by the same company. Both have the same number of gears. There are identical small rectangular reflectors under the rear of each seat. Both have the name NEXT on the side of the frame. However the red one is designated as a boy's bike and the blue one as a girl's. Why? Perhaps the difference would be obvious to a bike connoisseur, but I don't see it. There are only three parts of a bicycle that come in frequent contact with the rider's body: the pedals, the seat, and the hand grips on the handle bar. In these two bikes the seats are identical and the pedals nearly alike. However the girl's bike has a wider hand grip, as if made for a larger hand. And why is the color red assigned to the boy's bike and blue to the girl's? Are women trying to take over another color and make it their own? Let's put a stop to it now. We'll let them keep pink. Pink's OK. It's more than just a wimpy shade of red, but not much more. It's really not THAT great. They can have it. But that's it. No more. The colors, like education, respect, wages, promotions, job opportunities, job descriptions, religious status, and other gifts, blessings, and opportunities in life should be equally available to both sexes..... and if I win the raffle, I promise to accept either bike with equal gratefulness.
Monday, July 28, 2008
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