listen.

Naom the Jaguar
Originally uploaded by paulakoala

Have you listened to this story? (You should listen to this story.)

Alan Rabinowitz, Man and Beast via Moth

simple pleasures

Kafka was a slightly strange man. He used to come to our house, sit and talk with my mother, mainly about his writing. He did not talk a lot, but rather loved quiet and nature. We frequently went on trips together. I remember that Kafka took us to a very nice place outside Prague. We sat on a bench and he told us stories. I remember the atmosphere and his unusual stories. He was an excellent writer, with a lovely style, the kind that you read effortlessly.

Alice Herz-Sommer of London, formerly of Prague, who is 106 years old and the last living friend of Franz Kafka. As reported in I Look at the Good in Haaretz.com.

Imagine: To travel to a very nice place outside Prague. To sit on a bench. To listen to Kafka tell you a story.

(Imagine that.)


Sommers also speaks of how music saved her life »

we feel fine

I took pictures of everybody’s hands because I think you can often tell a lot from somebody from how their hands look. [1]

Jonathan Harris: The art of collecting stories, A Ted Talk


About a month back I was contacted by the folks behind wefeelfine.org about using one of my images and a story clip in an upcoming book.

We Feel Fine searches for and clips online stories and images to capture and visualize an emotional snapshot -- a stream of real time feelings. All the clippings share the words “I feel” in common.

This morning I stumbled across Jonathan Harris, one of the minds behind We Feel Fine, on Ted, talking a little bit more about the project -- and about collecting stories »

In the second half of his presentation he speaks about a marvelous project that he’s just wrapping up.

[1] He’s not the only one.



Update 28 Sept 09: Ah shoot. Just heard from the publisher that I got axed: "Our editors wanted a shorter book than we had originally anticipated. As a result, we were forced to remove many images that we would have otherwise loved to include. The editing process was incredibly difficult and after many months I am sorry to tell you that we were unable to find space for your image in the book. We are so appreciative of all of your help and hope that this news does not come as too much of a disappointment."

Disappointed? Not all that much: I wasn't a big fan of the image they picked. And I'll still receive a copy of the book and an invite to the launch party. So there's that.

ritual = receptacle

Green Tea
Originally uploaded by Patrick T Power.
© 2007 by Patrick T. Power.
All Rights Reserved.

I wanted to write about this, just note it, briefly, how ritual = receptacle, how something about the funeral this last weekend -- the Mass, the Meal -- helped to wrap up the grief, make it manageable. Contain the soft, wet edges that kept spilling into everything before.

I needed a pic of course, and then Patrick T. Power posted this, which he shot last night as we wrapped up the meal that we shared before I packed it up and headed home from Ann Arbor. He was kind enough to participate in a usability study that we were doing, schelpping all the way down from Lansing, and kind enough to share stories and a little Teriyaki after.

Another important receptacle: Stories. How we tell them. Why we tell them. That we tell them.

How they shape our world.



p.s. do you see that glimmer of silver light on my hand in the left hand side of the frame? that's my Nini's birthstone -- a ruby -- in a pave setting. it was a gift from my family for coordinating her funeral. so unnecessary. such a tremendous treasure. with an inscription that reads: "you are loved."