roots

No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves.

Amelia Earhart (1897 - missing 1937) aviator and author

I was so looking forward to checking out the new movie amelia, based on the life of the adventurous aviation pioneer and author amelia earhart. then I read this review. now I think I'll just wait until the movie makes it to hbo or gets released on dvd. that's just as well, my film card, along with the rest of my life, seems to be already overloaded.

this summer I signed on as a reviewer for the upcoming cleveland international film festival. by accepting the offer to review films for the festival I committed myself to watching a minimum of 10 sets of shorts (each set consists of between 6 and 10 films, ranging in length from 5 to 30 minutes), grading and writing a brief review on each film. the sets became available in the middle of september and will continue coming until the end of the year. I'm sure I'll write about the experience sometime in the future. overall it has been a great experience but right now I'm a bit behind schedule.

but that's cool, sometimes one falls behind in order to keep going elsewhere. and I have been going elsewhere - to nyc a couple weeks ago and then meeting the deadline on my big quilt project. but hey, I'm happy to report I made that deadline with time to spare - though not much! for those interested in seeing a snap of the finished quilt check out the magical mouse blog.

in addition to the quilt update, I'm sure a few mouse readers will enjoy a kitten update. this afternoon I received a call from ms. t's mom wanting to know if I was going to be around. there was no stopping love! many thanks to all the mouse's readers who helped the cause by throwing out into the cosmos all those positive vibes! yesterday I took the kitten to the vet and she received a clean bill of health and her first set of immunizations! happy kitten. happy ms. t.

today is the birthday of ali farka touré (b. 31 october 1939 -2006; touré is perhaps one of the african continent’s most internationally renowned musicians. his music may be seen as a fusion of of traditional malian music and north american blues. many consider that the latter is historically derived from the former; martin scorsese credits touré’s traditional music as constituting "the DNA of the blues". touré was ranked number 76 on rolling stone’s list of “the 100 greatest guitarists of all time”.

ali live at segou festival, mali with bassekou kouyate in 2005


photo: rocky river reservation, cleveland 25 october 2009

halloween spooks

From ghoulies and ghosties

And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!

traditional scottish prayer, author unknown

some germy ghoulies dropped by and have thrown me off my game, gotta lay low.

sorry, I used the photo and poem in 2007, but that was a while ago! since I signed up to play theme thursday I had to have something!

the vocalese trio lambert, hendricks, & ross 1959 song halloween spooks (at least the song is new to the mouse!)

I can't stop loving you

on sunday evening we discovered a kitten on the front porch of our house here on avenue c. of course we had no choice but to bring the little thing in and figure out what to do from there. we already have more than enough cats (4) and we are not planning on adding another. I am looking for a good home for this adorable all black kitten. in the meantime, what is one to do?

on monday and tuesday ms. t was over and we have a serious case of mutual love taking place.

ms. t is working on her parents, but you know those parental units can be tough nuts to crack. her mother and father do love cats. coincidentally, their home recently had a death among their clowder of cats, reducing the number of felines in the family to two. now I don't want to add any pressure, but it sure seems like three cats is an ideal number!

until whatever happens happens it looks as if ms t has her a sweet kitten to love and cuddle here on avenue c. incidentally, since the kitten needed a name I did give the honor to ms t she named her lilo sasha - lilo, after a character on one of her favorite disney shows and sasha which is variation of her own name.

ray charles (1930-2004) singing don gibson's country classic I can't stop loving you. ray's version of the gibson song propelled the song to the top of the charts back in 1962 and is credited as helping bring country music to the mainstream. according the the portal of all knowledge, " 'I Can't Stop Loving You' topped the Pop chart for five weeks and stayed at #1 R&B for ten weeks in 1962. It also gave Charles his only number one record in the UK"


photos: top - yesterday morning; bottom yesterday afternoon - oh my how can one stop true love?

I believe

Sometimes you ask God for something and you don't know what you're asking.

Mahalia Jackson (b. 26 october 1911 -1972) the first queen of gospel music

there is something majestic about woods shimmering in autumnal splendor. yesterday while f and I were taking a hike in a nearby park we both had the same thought when we entered this spot of being inside a golden cathedral. I posted a couple other pics from yesterday's walk over here (when I find some time I expect I'll be putting up a flikr set)

mary had a little lamb II

We are all children in our strife to seize
Each petty pleasure, as it lures the sight,
And like the tall tree swaying in the breeze,
Our lofty wishes stoop their tow'ring flight,
Till when the prize is won it seems no more
Than gather'd shells from ocean's countless store,
And ever those who would enjoyment gain
Must find it in the purpose they pursue.

Sarah Josepha Hale (b. 24 october 1788 -1879) writer, and influential editor

sarah josepha hale is probably best known as the author of the childhood classic mary had a little lamb and as the person most responsible for making thanksgiving a national holiday.

guitarist and bluesman buddy guy jamming out with mary had a little lamb; some of you may remember that earlier this month I posted a vid of stevie ray vaughan playing the song....it does lend itself to some great guitar riffs - expect ol' sarah would be quite surprised on how far her little poem has traveled!



photo: ms. a in her lamb-like vest early october 2009 couple days before the squirrel pulled down the backyard prayer flags for winter insulation

freedom rider

Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.

Ellen DeGeneres (b. 1958)actress and comedian

If only for the sake of elegance, I try to remain morally pure.

Marcel Proust (1871-1922)novelist, essayist, and critic

(T)he sidewalk must have users on it fairly continuously, both to add to the number of effective eyes on the street and to induce the people in buildings along the street to watch the sidewalks in sufficient numbers. Nobody enjoys sitting on a stoop or looking out a window at an empty street. Almost nobody does such a thing. Large numbers of people entertain themselves, off and on, by watching street activity.

Jane Jacobs (b. 1916-2006) urbanist, writer, and activist

For the Amish, everything is a ritual. Doing the dishes, mowing the lawn, baking bread, quilting, canning, hanging out the laundry, picking fresh produce, weeding - no distinction is made between the sacred and the everyday.

Sue Bender contemporary writer

Every kind of peaceful cooperation among men is primarily based on mutual trust and only secondarily on institutions such as courts of justice and police.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) physicist, philosopher, peace activist

Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.

Anatole France (1844-1924) poet, journalist, and novelist

Hutchison's Law: Any occurrence requiring undivided attention will be accompanied by a compelling distraction.

Robert Bloch (1917-1994) writer

notes about photos

1. random view of lower manhattan traffic from a room at pace university,
   
2. view of the champs elysées from the top of the arc de triomphe, september 2004
3. random snap of nyc sidewalk action, august 2008
4. amish traffic, central ohio, july 2007
5. I just snapped this picture on friday before I knew tt was traffic, I was taken with the fact that the nyc traffic cops are driving hybrids!
   
6. traffic along a rural road in ireland, transferred from film, may 2001
7. finding vanity plates is one of my guilty pleasures and if I have my camera I have been known to capture the plate. a couple weeks ago I decided I should finally start organizing the snaps I've taken - yet another flickr set! I (heart) flickr!
   

of course I chose a song by traffic! a group I adored back in the day. choosing which song was hard, I finally settled on freedom rider only because it makes for a better post title - although 40,000 headmen was a close contender.

and then she stopped

It is above all by the imagination that we achieve perception and compassion and hope.

Ursula K. Le Guin (b. 21 October 1929) writer

I'm back, at least in body.

our little sojourn to new york was wonderful, albeit way too brief. the drive out on thursday was surreal considering that it snowed almost the entire drive. yes, snow - mid october and it was snowing, not only that but the landscape in parts of pennsylvania looked as if it was january; I kept expecting to see skiers on the slopes.

fortunately snow in october is a short-lived phenomenon; the drive back to cleveland a few days later was snowfree and memorable for autumnal splendor which guided our way home.

the purpose of our trip was to attend a wedding of two dear friends - actually, saturday's wedding was a 're-up nup' the first ceremony took place in massachusetts a few weeks ago, where our friends could became legally married! yeah!! august's ceremony was very small, but saturday our friends pulled out all the stops. friends and family from near and far came together to bear witness and take part in a beautiful, touching and joyous ceremony. although same-sex marriages are recognized in new york, new york does not yet perform them. hopefully it is just a matter of time before same-sex marriages will be recognized and performed in all the states and in all the countries of the world. for this little mouse, the ability to marry who one loves is a basic civil right!

this trip to new york we stayed in harlem with a friend who recently moved to the city; generally we stay at the home of the 'bridal couple' when we visit, but needless to say, that wasn't going to happen this time. although I've walked through harlem before, this weekend we had more time to explore the neighborhood in more depth. talk about walking streets steeped in history.

speaking of exploring, one of the highlights of friday's activities was checking out the rubin museum of art. wow! last march when we were in new york, we walked by the rubin and popped into the museum, however, instantly realized we didn't have enough time to do the museum justice. I'm really glad we postponed checking out the museum; one of the exhibits we saw on friday was on carl jung's red book. this exhibit which opened earlier this month marks the first public presentation "of what may be considered psychology’s most influential unpublished work."

I wasn't able to snap any photos of the special exhibits but I did take some photos on the floor which houses some of the museum's amazing permanent collection. for a little view inside the museum, check out my flickr set from the museum.

our time was somewhat limited and we only had time for visiting one museum, but next trip, you can be sure I'll be checking out the new museum. friday night we walked by it and just based on the building, I can already tell I'm gonna love it. and then again, sorry to sound like new york's tourist campaign, but, I love new york.

It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.

Ursula Le Guin

had to add another le guin quote. I love le guin's books - I only learned today that this year is the 40th anniversary of her classic the left hand of darkness. I hope I can find my copy of the book, it's probably been thirty years since I've read it; I'd say it's time for a re-read. too bad I didn't realize this factoid when we were picking books for my bookgroup's year of reading!

along with being ursula k. le guin's birthday, today is also the birthday of jazz great dizzy gillespie (21 october 1917 - 1993) today's song is 1966 version of the dizzy gillespie quintet playing this happy little tune.


photos: top-ugo rondinone's sign installation on the outside of the new museum; insert snow in pa; bottom - rubin museum

take our planet back

along with being theme thursday today is also blog action day, the topic chosen for both of these cyber gatherings is global climate change, perhaps the most serious threat to our very survival. the mouse is humbled and happy to add her small voice to the thousands of other voices around our beautiful blue planet who are addressing this important issue today. mouse medicine instructs us that in order to attain the big things we must work on the little things - there may be no better place to practice mouse medicine than with the decisions we make each day as we carry out our everyday lives.

Walk or bike instead of driving a car. Cars and trucks run on fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In the United States, automobiles produce over 20 percent of total carbon emissions. Walk or bike and you?ll save one pound of carbon for every mile you travel.

more tips on what each of us can do to help our climate are here

Polar bears are on thin ice because their arctic home is threatened. The climate has been getting warmer and polar ice is melting. It is more difficult for polar bears to hunt seals because bears need the ice to stand and rest. The result is bears and cubs are starving and drowning in the wild.

read more about climate change & polar bears

Burning coal for electricity is a leading source of global warming pollution in the US. Emissions from coal combustion for electricity contribute 32% of US CO₂ emissions. The CO₂ emissions from this coal combustion are larger than the emissions from gasoline and diesel transportation, which together contribute 27% of US CO₂ emissions.

Coal is also disproportionately more polluting than other fuels used in the US to produce electricity. 83% of the CO₂ emissions produced from making electricity come from coal even though coal is the fuel source for only about half of US electricity generation. Per unit of electricity produced, CO₂ emissions from coal are more than 1.5 times those of natural gas, the other major fossil fuel source of electricity in the US.

from Reality.com

Climate change is probably the most serious, long term threat our planet is facing. The evidence of it is all around us. The sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk by more than 386,000 square miles: all over the globe glaciers are melting: the ten hottest years on record have all occurred since 1991: and sea levels are rising, which increase the likelihood of flooding and death.

from You Can Save the Planet (2007) by J. Wines

Some estimates claim that dryers use at least 6 percent of all household electricity consumption, but Alexander Lee, who runs the Web site Project Laundry List, claims that dryers probably consume three times as much energy because the federal estimates don’t consider actual use at laundromats and in multifamily homes.

from Laundry Wars: The Clothesline Debate

Recycling and waste reduction are related to climate change. The energy used in the industrial processing of virgin materials and in their transportation, involves burning fossil fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and coal, all major sources of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. While manufacturing goods from recycled materials still requires energy, it is much less than extracting, processing, and transporting virgin raw materials. Recycling and waste reduction also avoid emissions caused by incinerators and landfills which produce large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane (21 times more potent than carbon dioxide). Waste reduction and recycling also slow the harvesting of forests, which act as carbon sinks, meaning they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

more on recycling and climate change

being green is as easy as shopping at your local thrift shop - after all, isn't the expression reduce, reuse, recycle!! go here for 23 must know tips for thrift store shopping

check out the other bloggers who are addressing climate change today go here for theme thursday players and here for blog action day players (at last count, blog action day had 7, 596 blogs in 139 countries registered!)

will.i.am. take our planet back

all the photos included in today's post have been taken in and around cleveland, ohio, planet earth

think global, act local

oh, the mouse is scurrying about and will return to her nest next week. I do look forward to catching up on the bloggyhood when I return - I am sad to have missed the ball at willow manor, from the little I've seen so far it was great fun ....and completely carbon free!

the letter

following up on yesterday's post about the nobel peace prize thought I'd share this letter which I received from the prez late yesterday afternoon just in case you aren't among the millions on the obamas' email list. it is a wonderful letter, no surprise that the prez would like to share the prize with all of us!! we will live as one!

thanks president obama and may we all keep our eyes on the prize - peace, love and understanding!

5:31 PM

mary kim --

This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

That is why I've said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won't all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it's recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.

This award -- and the call to action that comes with it -- does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better.

So today we humbly recommit to the important work that we've begun together. I'm grateful that you've stood with me thus far, and I'm honored to continue our vital work in the years to come.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

today's song the letter by the boxtops, rolling stone ranked it #363 on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

imagine

Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one.

John Lennon (9 october 1940 - 1980) musician, artist, peace activist

today on what would have been john's 69th birthday the nobel peace prize was awarded to another dreamer - barack obama. the announcement shocks many, including myself.

after reading the press release, provided below in it's entirety, my shock is replaced with understanding and a renewed sense of hope. by choosing obama the committee in a clever way issues a challenge to the world. that challenge is that each of us must come together to realize the shared vision of the committee, obama, and of all the people living for today - together we make the world a better place, a place that where we can live as one.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."

photo: strawberry fields, new york city, august 2008

the world I know

Among collectors of Americana, much is made of the nation's folk art. The picture postcard is folk document. Studying them it is better to renounce sentimentality and nostalgia, that blurred vision which destroys the actuality of the past.

Walker Evans (1903-1975) photographer and educator

None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)essayist, poet and philosopher

Museums are the cemeteries of the arts

Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1869) poet, writer and statesman

Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles, and kindnesses, and small obligations, given habitually, are what win and preserve the heart and secure comfort.

Humphrey Davy (1778-1829) chemist & inventor

More is required of public officials than slogans and handshakes and press releases. More is required. We must hold ourselves strictly accountable. We must provide the people with a vision of the future.

Barbara Jordon (1936-1996) attorney, politician, human rights activist

An original is a creation motivated by desire. Any reproduction of an originals motivated be necessity. It is marvelous that we are the only species that creates gratuitous forms. To create is divine, to reproduce is human.

Man Ray (1890-1976) artist

The corkscrew: a useful key to unlock the storehouse of wit, the treasury of laughter, the front door of fellowship, and the gate of pleasant folly.

Anonymouse

notes on photos:

1. from the exhibit walker evans and the picture postcard which was held at the metropolitian museum of art, march 2009
2. a gathering of train enthusiasts sharing their miniature trains collections with the public at the penitentiary glen reservation, ohio fall 2008
3. collection maintenance, the louvre, paris october 2005
4. a collection of kitchen utensils, hancock shaker village, massachusetts, june 2007
5. I am ashamed to admit that I am bit of a packrat, or would that be pack mouse? however, other than books, kitschy toys, and an enormous collection of photographs (most of which I've taken), the only other collection which is worthy of a mention is my button collection - maybe one of these days I'll find time to organized my books, photographs and buttons.
6. in 1920 artist and collector katherine dreier joined with man ray and marcel duchamp to create a collective of dada and post-modern artists which they named the société anonyme, inc. this photo shows the artist that were part of the group from the traveling exhibit that visited the phillips collection, washington dc january 2007
7. just a few of the thousands of corkscrews at the musée du tire-bouchon, ménerbes france, october 2005
   
   
   collective soul's 1995 song the world I know
   

raised on robbery

I think my squirrel buddy is trying to tell us that it is going to be a cold winter. yesterday morning I looked out back and saw found him stealing the backyard prayer flags! had I known he was looking for material to line his nest I would have put out some fabric scraps, no shortage of those in the home of a quilter! he did abscond with a blue flag - click here to see a wee slide show of the thief running off with his loot.

joni singing her rollicking fun song raised on robbery. the song first appears on the album court and spark, released in 1974. speaking of joni, thanks to a head's up from blogging bud steve one of the books I'm currently reading is michelle mercer's biography of joni's early songwriting years will you take me as I am - wonderful book, and I recommend it to fellow joni aficionados.

glass, concrete, stone

Our own epoch is determining, day by day, its own style. Our eyes, unhappily, are unable yet to discern it.

Le Corbusier (b. 6 october 1887-1965) architect, designer, urbanist

david bryne's glass, concrete, stone (live in holland)


photo: apartment designed by le corbusier, paris october 2005

mary had a little lamb

All praise to you, Oh Lord, for all these brother and sister creatures.

from Canticle of the Creatures attributed to St. Francis

happy world animal day!

at a 1931 convention of ecologists in florence italy, october 4th was designated as world animal day. the date was selected because it is the feast day of st. francis of assisi, the patron saint of animals, as a way to calling attention to the plight of endangered species. over the years, world animal day has grown to celebrate all animal life.

around the earth, the day is celebrated in a wide variety of ways - some communities hold all species parades, people walk with their pets or dress up in animal masks and costumes, special meetings take place concerning animal life, and most often the day is recognized with special pet (animal) blessings that are held in churches, temples or other locations.

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

Mahatma Gandhi

the picture is of ms. t holding notch, the mouse who lives here on avenue c. em, my daughter, gave notch to me as a mother's day gift in 2006. yes, notch is getting up there in mouse years; in spite his years (how many human years are there in a mouse year?) notch is lively and loving. like all animals, notch teaches many lessons if we are open to learning - here he teaches the importance of being gentle.

guitar great and bluesman stevie ray vaughan performing mary had a little lamb in munich (1984). yesterday was stevie ray's birthday, he would have been 55 years old had he lived. tragically vaughan died in 1990 when the helicopter he was riding in crashed into a hill - the accident killed vaughan, the pilot and three members of eric clapton's traveling crew.

leaving on a jet plane

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Mary Oliver (b. 1935) poet, from Wild Geese

Be like the bird that, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings.

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) poet, novelist and dramatist

Look alive. Here comes a buzzard.

Lady Stella Isaacs (1894-1971) founder of WVS

The only thing that we know is that we know nothing and that is the highest flight of human wisdom.

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) novelist and philosopher

For as the eyes of bats are to the blaze of day, so is the reason in our soul to the things which are by nature most evident of all.

Aristotle (384 BCE-322 BCE) philosopher

It was my thirtieth year to heaven
Woke to my hearing from harbour and neighbour wood
And the mussel pooled and the heron
Priested shore.

Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) poet, from Poem in October

Don't believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding, find out what you already know, and you'll see the way to fly.

Richard Bach (b. 1936) writer

A bird maintains itself in the air by imperceptible balancing, when near to the mountains or lofty ocean crags; it does this by means of the curves of the winds which as they strike against these projections, being forced to preserve their first impetus bend their straight course towards the sky with divers revolutions, at the beginning of which the birds come to a stop with their wings open, receiving underneath themselves the continual buffetings of the reflex courses of the winds.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) polymath

Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us

Samuel Smiles (1812-1904) writer

notes on photos:

1. migrating geese, oberlin, october 2008
2. snapped while feeding peanuts to the seagulls, oregon coast, photo transferred from film
3. buzzard flying overhead, lakewood, july 2009
4. I have heard that the flight of hummingbirds is a scientific mystery. hummers at the feeder at my cousin carla's home july 2009
   
5. ceiling mural at the paris opéra, october 2005
6. great blue heron taking flight, sarah p. duke gardens, north carolina 2006
7. my dad decked out in his flight jacket, lofty pa, date unknown (late 1940s)
8. seagulls flying over lake erie, living on the banks of a great lake gives one the illusion of living on a coast, one of the nicknames for cleveland is the north coast, june 2009
9. snapped while leaving on a jet plane
   

this post is dedicated to mary travers who took flight from this mortal coil on the 16th of september after a four year battle with leukemia.