Fun with words today. Inspired by the piece above.
Spin pot
Spider dot
Too shallow to hold a floral show.
Spin dot
Spider pot
Headless yet it knows.
Spin spindly spider
The ceramic mold cannot hold you.
The breakable hold cannot mold you.
Spin pot
Spider dot
Are you here for looks or?
Spin dot
Spider pot
Do you have a purpose forward?
Spin spindly spider
You were brought here for our amusements.
But you are so much more.
Quick post.
Technically autumn arrived a month ago for the northern hemisphere but for those of us in the Southwest region of the US, it feels like summer is struggling to release it’s fiery hands from the atmosphere.
However, autumn has been slowly extinguishing the flames of summer heat by ways of later sunrises and earlier sunsets, minimizing the hours in the day warmth is allowed.
I had the fortune of visiting Lake Tahoe (first time) after Labor Day. In that area at that time I could truly sense the change in seasons. It was an amazing weekend spent amongst the trees, the water and the mountains. Below are a few memories from that trip.
What was the last thing you searched for online? Why were you looking for it?
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I know this prompt came out days ago, but it fits a recent search I did that has yet to produce results. While in Cape May, NJ I spotted several of these booths near the US Coast Guard campus.
This appears to be a bus shelter, but… there were no “Bus Stop” signs anywhere, nor did I see a public bus during my time in Cape May. Similar shelters were jutting into front lawns of duplexes and houses and had no smoking signs.
If you zoom in on this one, you’ll see a green station for poop bags (along with a garbage can to deposit said bags) which has nothing to do with the booth but I just wanted to point that out.
What really piqued my interest was the numbers on the outside of the booths. This has a blue “1” on the front. As I progressed down this same street I saw more booths sequentially numbered (2, 3, 4, etc…). The last booth I saw was number 8.
My search started with an image search of this- which led to image results of bus shelters not in Cape May, that all had bus signs nearby and were NOT numbered. I tried “bus shelters Cape May”, “marked bus shelters New Jersey”, “marked booths Cape May” well you get the gist of what I’ve been googling.
So far the only information my search has produced is that it’s not uncommon for bus stops in NJ to be in front of someone’s front lawn, according to the NJ Transit FAQ.
IDK if I would have the patience for this if I had a bus stop in front of my house.
However interesting this may be, I’ve yet to confirm this particular booth or outdoor shelter is for a bus stop. Being a storyteller- the possibilities of what this could be are swimming through my head.
If you know what this is or simply have a creative answer to what this could be, drop me a note in the comments section!
This weekend, I’m finishing up my final project for a post-grad certificate program I’ve been enrolled in since January of this year. I’m currently knee deep in executing Python code to create a model that will assign a database of IT support tickets into different categories. Fun stuff! So while I’m busy working in a Jupyter notebook, I thought to keep thing moving along on my blog, I’d share some work from another notebook.
My sophomore year English instructor had us put together a notebook of our work over the fall and spring semesters. I didn’t have a computer at home at the time, so I remember working on this during my lunch break in the school’s computer lab. I don’t know why I chose a cursive font but whatever! She was nice enough to package our work in a spiral bound and laminated notebook, which I still have today.
I’ll share page 6 as it contains 1) a poem about summertime 2) a limerick and 3) a haiku.
It’s not award winning work, but hey I was 16 when I wrote these. The limerick still cracks me up- which tells me my humor has not changed much since I was in high school.
Seasons Poem
The hot blazing sun.
Its rays beam down to the Earth like a laser.
The days seem to last an eternity.
Patiently I wait for cool breezes.
As I step onto the sizzling sidewalk , I wonder
Will this hellish weather ever end?
Finally, I see a yellow leaf floating to the ground
As the wind travels through the cool night air.
Note: After reading this, the yellow leaf could be from a dead tree- you know- that died from the summer heat. The cool night air indicates the shift from summer to not summer but not yet fall. So, probably late August, early September.
Limerick
There once was a kid who had a dog.
One day the dog chased after a frog.
While running down the street.
A car the dog did meet.
And got squashed because of a dumb little frog.
Haiku
The clouds move swiftly
Fluffy and round, always moving
Stretched out in the sky
Have you recently come across any creative projects from years ago? Did it surprise you to revisit your work?
List 30 things that make you happy.
Multiply the above by 3. Done.
What’s your go-to comfort food?
Food for thought.
Preface
I recently posted these photos and zine as four separate posts on a different blog…
Sound confusing? Well it is.
Since the beginning of this year, I’ve wanted to start fresh with a new site and be more intentional vs my initial go round blogging from 2011-2014. So in June I did start fresh and built a new site where I was going to be more serious. And I started posting things.
In digging through my WordPress account, I found this blog that you’re reading now.
And … cue face palm.
I forgot I had this blog. And reading back through the contents, I was like – this is my true voice. Actually I created this blog as a complement to my main one back in 2012 because the main blog was focused on sharing the interesting and weird stuff I photographed in my area, in addition to sharing snippets of writing I was working on at the time. This blog was my sarcastic side- the “let me make fun of the absurd.”
The reality is, my true voice is somewhere between my two original blogs. But there’s no reason I can’t do it all in one spot. So I’m going with this one.
However, I already posted some cool photos on the other blog so rather than a simple reblog of those posts, I’m making ONE BIG POST mashing together the photos I posted on the other blog and now all my current content is in one place because I can. :-p
So here goes…
The ZINE
You can download a PDF copy here or from the DOWNLOADS page.
Below is the Digital Edition…
Garden 1: Japanese Friendship Garden/Rohohen: Phoenix, AZ
So now that you’ve seen the ZINE, below are some photos of the Japanese Friendship Garden, also known as Rohohen. Prior to November 2021, I’d never visited the gardens. I ended up here after registering for a weekend writing class through the Phoenix Arts Center. The class was focused on using nature and meditiation to generate written work. Having been to various writing workshops and conferences over the years, this was by far my favorite workshop.
The entire workshop was conducted at the garden over two morning sessions (9am-noon). Both days, we were given time to wander the garden on our own, encouraged to sit and observe, meditate.
After a specified amount of time, the class of 10 plus the instructor would converge on the lawn where we’d discuss our observations, read short pieces on nature and then write based on prompts given to us by the instructor.
We’d then share pieces of our writing to the class. It was a very positive experience!
One drawback is that our class did not stay in touch. One of our classmates did send out a group email after class to see if anyone would like to have regular meet ups at the garden for future writing sprints. Although some of us responded, nothing ever came of it.
I have found it hard to locate a writer’s group – either in person or virutally- but in the meantime I’ve continued to find smaller events/opportunities such as this workshop to keep me motivated and inspired – to move forward with my craft.
I did generate many pieces of writing during this workshop. Last year, I began to sift through my scribblings from this weekend. As a result, I created the zine referenced above to highlight some of my writing from this weekend.
One thing I reference in the zine is an apartment complex that overlooks the garden, as seen in the photo above.
If you are ever in the Phoenix area, I’d encourage you to visit this spot! Despite a nearby festival intruding upon the serenity of the garden on the second day, the garden is truly a hidden treasure in the city.
Garden 2: Vizcaya Gardens, Miami FL
Taken March 2015 at Vizcaya Gardens, Miami Florida overlooking Biscayne Bay. It’s a historic estate that was owned by some bigwhig from the 1800s but has many antiques as well as actual gardens. Definitely worth checking out if you’re in the Miami area.
QUESTIONS:
Questions for you!!!
Please drop a note in the comments below!
Taken July 2018, taken near Central Ave and Adams St. in downtown Phoenix. Hanny’s was a department store that last almost 40 years, from 1947-1986. The building was designed by local architects Royal Lescher and Leslie Mahoney.
Photo Friday: Hanny’s Downtown Phoenix
unfrazzled analyst 