ste!!a gassaway: unpredictable thoughts

Life has been a bit complex recently. I’ve always driven into the skid so to speak. But this time it’s different the economic atmosphere has much thinner air these days. It’s difficult to breathe.

I decided to take some time to focus on nothing and breathe deeply. Quiet time reestablishes balance.

A white day full of muffled sounds. Almost everything a whisper.

The snow is still falling and the sky is the same strange yellow as last night. Perfect symmetry 12 hours later. It has been a night and day of quiet observation. An occasional muffled voice heard with the crunch of boots on newly fallen snow. It is a joy to be so quiet on the inside too.

Stillness.

Dr. King shortly after his bus boycott arrest
Alabama Police Mugshot, February 22, 1956

This speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. rings true today.

from:
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Beyond Vietnam — A Time to Break Silence
Delivered 4 April 1967, at a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City

It is with such activity in mind that the words of the late John F. Kennedy come back to haunt us. Five years ago he said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” Increasingly, by choice or by accident, this is the role our nation has taken, the role of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investments. I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin…we must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.

Full speech click on this line.

Was just over at the Philadelphia Museum of Art searching for their hours on Sunday. Was trying to get over to the Gorky Exhibition, spaced that Sunday was the last day. So why when I come to the welcome page can’t I find the hours in the footer or a box?

I click Information. Not there.
I click Visiting. Quick scan, Not there.
I click sitemap. Not there.

Not until I go back to visiting do I notice that under Main Building that there are hours another click away. Now when I click hours under Main Building (whatever that is) I get all the visitor information for all of the buildings. What the &%!.

I am fighting with every last bit of technology today. It started with finding out that a number of WordPress blogs had been hacked. What a mess. Hours spent cleaning up that mess and still haven’t had the time to reinstall all the plugins.

Laptop was being a little weird so I just closed the lid and am at my workstation today.

Ok. All I can say is thank-you Dropbox.

Tags: dropbox, tech, technology, gremlins,

This is a capture from my first tweet in Following Piece 2.0, a global collaborative art project as part of @Platea. I’ve written a recap of my experience participating in the project. and you can find it at : the @Platea blog.

I have been working on an online book of the project and expect to add more thoughts here and at my ARTlog. I hope you’ll check back on the project and leave your thoughts about the work. It was an exciting experience.

Are you following me?

About the project from @Plateau:

Following Piece 1.0
Forty years ago, in October 1969, artist Vito Acconci performed Following Piece. A study in the public spaces we occupy and assumptions around privacy, Acconci followed random people in Manhattan during the month and reported on their activities until they entered a private area such as an apartment or car.

Following Piece 2.0
And so, with that in mind, I thought it might be fun to do a cover of Following Piece, but to look at it specifically in the contemporary context of Twitter, a world where public/private boundaries are shifting and eroding, as once-private activities are broadcast into online public space. In the world of Twitter, the idea of following has taken on a new meaning: once an uncomfortable thought, it’s now regularly seen as a good thing to have one’s private actions followed by many strangers.

Nice cover eh?

Really enjoyed this one.

I love toy cameras. The Holga is a favorite.

Here’s some photos to enjoy from the pool for World TOY CAMERA DAY.

Maybe you’ll want to pick up a toy camera and shoot some FILM again.

Enjoy!

Time passes slowly up here in the mountains,
We sit beside bridges and walk beside fountains,
Catch the wild fishes that float through the stream,
Time passes slowly when you’re lost in a dream.

- Bob Dylan

Back from some time away from artificially managed time. When the sun goes down you go to sleep. When the sun comes up you wake up. This photo was taken at dawn. The color of the light is natural. This is the rose glow on the deck. The birds haven’t even begun to sing.

Holding on to this moment still.

Stopped to visit my sister in her new digs in Hoboken arrived early. So, we took a walk down to the river. A wonderful view. Not much time to spend checking out town — Not a very diverse place in economic strata or ethnicity.

Made me think about living in or near NYC again though.

Tags: roadtrip, hoboken, hudson, river, skyline

Getting ready for the trip to the little pond, not far away from that big pond — that sits between Vermont and New York. I’ve been watching my weather widgets that report conditions at key points along the way. This morning it is likely that it is about 50 degrees at our little Adirondack Camp. That’s 20 degrees cooler than here in Philadelphia. I am so ready to feel a shiver.

Going on this pilgrimage away from the city, technology, and connectivity is always a joy.

Everything that I am doing now is colored by the trip. What I need to do before I go away, what I need to pack, what I want to cook, what books will we read, what art supplies do I want to carry… Thinking about it all brings the thoughts of being deep inside the woods… the animal sounds and the refreshing smells of the pines and moisture on the leaves early in the morning.

This is a time of rest and renewal. Where the time passes slowly.

The cool nights have me imagining sitting by the lake, a too hot cup of coffee cradled in my hands. I look out onto the glass-like lake. I can see my breath it’s like the mist on the water. I hold the silence and if I’m going to speak I know I’ll only whisper.

It’s often like that for hours. Sometimes I only sketch in my Moleskine. I don’t want to disturb the quiet with the rustling of paper and getting drawing supplies organized on the deck. Sometimes I close my eyes to feel the morning sun on my face while I enjoy the smell of the trees and the pillowed sound of a birch leaf landing on the moss.

The seven hours driving with the traffic becoming less dense each hour until you only see a truck or two from Canada prepares one for the solitude. The mountains shock you with their colored leaves and the sky bright blue.

Only a few more days now and I’ll be on the trip north.