Under the Bridge

Running along with my bridge theme, I present to you “Under the Bridge.” This is the “literal video version” of the Red Hot Chili Peppers song. If you’re not familiar with it you must watch. You must. It cracks me up.

on the bridge

My ThThTh posts are falling down.¹ I’m having trouble finding enough time for blogging, at least of the variety that necessitates typing. (I’m doing a lot of reading, but little commenting or posting.) And I have a backlog of barebones drafts of these lists, but no time to flesh them out.²

Anyhow, I’ve had this bridge post under construction for a bit, and Saturday’s bridge photos seemed a good prompt to finish the job. So, here’s a ThThTh list on the bridge.

  • burn one’s bridges: create circumstances such that there’s (metaphorically) no going back.
  • Bridges of Madison County : A novel by Robert James Waller that become a runaway best-seller, and a 1995 movie based on it starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood.
  • burning one’s Bridges of Madison County: an expression meaning “rid one’s library of fad novels.” (Oh, fine, I just made that up.)
  • we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it: an expression meaning that plans about how to deal with a situation won’t be made until that situation arises.
  • The Billy Goats Gruff: a classic fairy tale about three goats who want to cross a bridge, and encounter a troll. Who leaves nasty comments on their blogs. (No, wait. Wrong kind of troll.)
  • water under the bridge: an expression one says of negative events when one has decided not to dwell on them.
  • “Under the Bridge,” a song by Red Hot Chili Peppers.
  • “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” a song by Simon and Garfunkel.
  • “Water Under the Bridge Over Troubled Water:” a non-existent song title.
  • bridge: part of a musical composition
  • bridge: a card game
  • bridge: a type of dental work used to fill a gap
  • bridging the gap: making a connection between ideas, or other abstract concepts
  • “London Bridge is Falling Down:” a nursery rhyme and traditional song with many verses, the first (and best known) of which is:

    London Bridge is falling down
    Falling down, falling down
    London Bridge is falling down
    My fair lady.

  • Bridge to Terabithia, a Newbery Medal-winning children’s novel by Katherine Paterson. Also a 2007 movie based on the same.
  • Bridge to Nowhere: let’s not go there.

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Image: The New London New Bridge from The Encyclopedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition (New York: The Encyclopedia Britannica Company, 1910), via clipart etc.

¹Falling down, falling down.
²Hey, those two metaphors worked together!

red britches

red_pants-250px1This was a post that I meant to write and post on Sunday. See how the post title from Saturday was “red bridges”?¹

The pants in the photo are from a snow suit I got for Theo at a second hand store for a few dollars. I quite like the festive suit, with its bright red fabric and traditional Chinese design, but we haven’t managed to get any use out of it yet.

Sunday was a special Chinese New Year’s event at the Boston Children’s museum, and John and I had talked about going. So I thought “hey, Theo can wear the snowsuit!” Of course, plans change. For a start, John was too busy with work to go. And then it was surprisingly warm, with temperatures in the low 50s after a long cold spell, so the snowsuit was out.

The museum website had a few items listed for the Chinese New Year day, including some plays and some concerts. There was even mention of a Lion Dance. Phoebe has a book about the Lion Dance, which was a favorite for a while. She loves music. She was going to love the day.

Getting ready to go was rough, though. Somehow amongst feeding Theo, getting breakfast for Phoebe and me, finding clothing for the 3 of us, diaper changes, trips to the potty, brushing hair, and packing up all the snacks, lunch, and whatnots we’d be needing for the day, the morning just evaporated. It was a bit past noon by the time we were ready to get in the car.

The last concert scheduled was for 1:30, and I wasn’t sure we could make it. But somehow we did. Phoebe and I ate our lunch in the car. We met up with my friend Erica (who happily was able to join us), parked at the garage, walked the couple of blocks over, checked in, and made it into the theater before the concert began.

I felt mildly victorious.

Of course, I didn’t get to see the whole thing, even though it was only a half hour long. We probably saw 15 or 20 minutes of it before Phoebe suddenly needed to use the potty. By the time we made it back, the concert was done. Then we missed the Lion Dance. There was a flyer given out with the schedule and so forth, but we hadn’t been given one, and didn’t find one till later. At which point we saw other goings on that we missed, too.

In all, we had a fine time, but it was rather a bust in terms of Chinese New Year activities.

When I got home, I thought I could write a little post about the day, and my various failed plans. But that plan failed, too. I don’t even remember what happened to the evening. It might have been one of the recent nights when I’ve fallen asleep in my clothes while putting Theo to bed.

Then I was going to post Monday, but the day evaporated again, and it was time to put together the Just Posts post, a new commitment I’ve taken on.

This is a common pattern in my life right now. I have grand plans for things I want to do, but time barrels forward in a blur of feedings and eating and diaper changes and trips to the potty. In trying to get little people to sleep, and big people to wake up. Work meetings. Doctor’s appointments. Home repairs. And somehow I’m always behind. Out of clean clothes, missing bill due dates and car inspections. Still needing to put away the Christmas tree ornaments. I often feel like I have little control, that I’m just bounced around from one obligation to the next. I get frustrated at the lack of time I have to myself, to do with as I wish.

But then again, I realize how good I have it. I may feel like I have no control over my time and my life, but I am here in this life by choice, and by good fortune. My days are full because my life is full.

But I’m a bit sorry I haven’t managed to get Theo into the damn snowsuit.

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¹ Playing with post titles is one of the ways that I amuse myself. (cf. look who’s stalking and look whose stocking, putting my money where my mouth is vs. putting my money where my mouse is, pigeon post vs pidgin post, and grrrr vs. brrrr)

January Just Posts

jpbuttonjan2009Welcome to the newest incarnation of the Just Posts, a monthly roundtable of posts about social justice started 2 years ago by jen of One Plus Two and Mad of Under the Mad Hat.

This is the debut of the Just Posts in their two new venues, here and over with my co-hostess, Holly at Cold Spaghetti.

We are very pleased to share with you a bounty of posts by people who have in common the desire to see the world become a better place.

Writing about causes that we care about is more than “just words.” The act of writing helps us put our thoughts together, and helps us connect to others. In many cases, the writing then moves us on to further action.

I know that my own participation with the Just Posts has moved me to take actions in my personal life. I buy more local and sustainably grown produce, and more fair trade choclate. I have cancelled catalogs and junk mail. I have donated money and signed petitions. Bought more used clothing items, given gifts that benefit worthy organizations, and stepped back a bit from the consumerist frenzy that constantly beckons. Most of these are small actions, when taken individually. But they are moves in the right direction.

In the months that come, I hope to explore issues of social justice in my own writing, with emphasis on finding ways that I can do more, and make more of a difference. One of my big personal goals is to find a way to do volunteer work that I can fit in with my (seemingly already overloaded) personal and professional life, and I hope to share my progress in that goal.

Now I’d like to direct your attention to the amazing list of posts below.

I would like to encourage you to pay a visit to as many of the folks below as you can. A simple click or two on your part can help motivate a blogger to write and do more. Please consider leaving a comment at a post or two, even if it is only to say “thank you.”

I would like to say “thank you” as well. First, to Mad and Jen for their work and inspiration with the Just Posts these past 2 years, as well as to Su and Hel who helped them along the way. Thank you to Holly for sharing this new endeavor with me. Thank you to all of you who have written the posts below, or nominated them. And I would especially like to thank you, for stopping by here, and clicking on some links below. Click away!

The January Just Posts Roundup:

Some of the January Just Post readers:

Please stop by to see what Holly has to say, too.

red bridges (PhotoHunt)

The PhotoHunt theme for this week is “bridge.” Like the reflections theme that first enticed to me to play along with this game, this is another theme that I am quite drawn to. I have many photos of (or with) bridges in my photo library, so it was hard to choose which to present.

In the end (or perhaps the beginning?) I chose to start with this photo, which reflects my fondness for reflections in photos, as well as my fondness for bridges. (You see how I like to run on with a theme? Just like that time when I ran on with spoons and reflections.)

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This photo has the added appeal of showing the bright light and vibrant colors of a late summer day, which contrast so vividly with the colors of the landscape around my home right now. We are in the midst of a long, icy, snowbound sort of winter, which offers the sort of stark gray and white palette that can leave the eyes craving a splash of color.

And to warm and brighten things up a bit more, I offer photos of Phoebe, looking regal as she is wheeled (along with her Bunny-Bunny-Bunny) across the steeply sloping bridge.

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This arched bridge is in a park in central Massachusetts, but it is clearly modelled after Japanese bridges, such as this one, in a park in Nara, Japan.

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(The kimono-clad women in the photo are some linguists or other speech researchers attending a conference in 2004. It was during a special kimono-trying event, mind you, and should not be taken to reflect the standard style of dress of speech researchers attending conferences.)

And lest it appear that all red Japanese bridges are fancifully arched and primarily decorative, I offer up exhibit C, a very different red bridge which I came across (and walked across) in Kyoto, Japan. While this bridge is much more sturdy and utilitarian, I still appreciated its lines as well as its color.

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To come across more bridges, make sure to visit the PhotoHunt home at tnchick.

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p.s. Don’t forget to send in your Just Post nominations by the end of today, Saturday, February 7th.

gather round the table

I’m pleased as punch that Holly and I will be hosting the ongoing Just Posts roundtable, an affair passed on to us by hostesses extraordinaire jen, Mad and Su.
canterbury tales roundtable
Our first gathering is coming up on Tuesday, February 10th, and you are invited. We’ll be serving up posts from around the blogosphere on topics of social justice and activism, and raise our glasses to the cause of making the world a better place.

We’d love to have you join us at the table. Help us offer a scrumptious menu by nominating posts from January that you have read (or written) by this Saturday, and then come back on Tuesday to partake of the feast.

For details on how and what, please check out the appetizing new Just Posts info page.

—
Round table woodcut image is from “William Caxton’s second edition of the Canterbury Tales printed in 1483.”

moo too

Before my other cow posts get too far behind me, I had another cow I wanted to post:
stone_cow

I painted this cow for a painting class I was taking a few years ago. The instructor had recently seen Cow Parade in Chicago, and was inspired to ask us all to paint cows one week.

This was one of the cows I painted. (I painted two others in very different styles, too. I used to sometimes go mad with the painting. I’d share them, too, but haven’t manage to track them down. Our house sometimes swallows things.)

greeting cards for the digital age

welcome_baby_blogBirthdays and weddings. Condolences. Friendship. Any gift shop or supermarket can offer up plenty of cards for plenty of occasions. But in this digital age, the world is serving up more and more occasions for which the greeting card market has yet to be tapped.

  • Mazel tov!
    Wishing you all the joy of your new blog!
  • Smile ;)
    You’re being cyber-stalked!
  • You are invited!
    To waste away your time on Facebook.
  • I can’t keep my hands off you!
    Thank you for being my iPhone.
  • Achoo!
    Your YouTube video’s gone viral, and that’s nothing to sneeze at!
  • My heart beats for your tweets!
    I’ll follow you anywhere.
  • You’re one in 257! (And counting.)
    I’m so glad you’re my “friend.”
  • Thinking of you in your time of loss.
    Hard drive failure sucks. Wishing you speedy data recovery.
  • Happy job hunting!
    Sorry to hear that you’ve been dooced.
  • Congratulations!
    You’ve reached your 200th Facebook Friend.
  • Bon voyage!
    Wishing you many hours of escape with your new Wii.
  • Happy Bloggiversary!
    u can haz cayk!

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This post has been brought to you on the occasion of the Monday Mission. For more greeting cards to stuff in your envelope, go visit Painted Maypole.

super bowl

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I’m quite fond of this serving bowl. It’s got this cool variegated blue glaze, with swirls of grays and blues with bits of browns and whites. (I’m sure that someone with more knowledge of pottery could tell me what it’s called.) It has a nice shape, and it’s a great size for mixing up a salad or whatnot, or serving chips at a party. It’s also dishwasher safe, which means that I don’t avoid using it. It’s beautiful and sturdy, an object that gracefully nods towards both form and function.

A woman I worked with gave it to me at a going away gathering when I left my job as assistant manager of a bookstore, before starting grad school, which was now 9 years ago. I think the occasion for the gift-giving was my civil service wedding, which was a couple of weeks or so before. It was a totally unexpected gift, as the coworker and I were more friendly acquaintances than friends. I haven’t seen her since then, but her gift became one of my favorite household items.

That bowl has become a sort of gold standard for me for gifts: an item that is both useful and aesthetically pleasing.

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