tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72408148098071192842012-01-27T16:24:58.461-05:00WHAT WE SAW TODAYunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.comBlogger10261100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-40970851591163974122012-01-27T15:12:00.001-05:002012-01-27T16:16:16.342-05:00The Potty Posts
Trashy bathroom cell phone self-portrait
“I'm the kind of person that when I get up to go use the bathroom I have this big long hallway, and I just know someone's going to jump out and get me.”
~ Britney Spears
“I hated having to wake up in the middle of the night to walk to my bathroom - where suddenly there was a six-foot-seven-inch, headless figure with a sword and a horse!”
~ Johnny Depp
unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-19599728845883803902012-01-26T11:52:00.002-05:002012-01-26T11:58:22.105-05:00Loving Miss LauraNovember 2011Model: Laura Henderson Photographer: A. J. Kahn
January 2012
Models: Laura Henderson and Unbearable Lightness Copyright Steven A Brown and Carla Johnson
It's an unusual post when I put up more than one photograph. This blog focuses on ways of seeing, not just visually but through intellectual thought, so the picture often serves an illustrative role. Another reason unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-26411444443921005442012-01-25T09:43:00.000-05:002012-01-25T09:43:42.133-05:00Ménage à trois"Ménage à trois"
Lea Dodson, Nikki Heat, and Unbearable LightnessCopyright Steven A Brown and Carla Johnson
“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.”
~ Pablo Picasso
In the mid-1990s, a colleague and I toured Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales by bus, train, plane, and ferry. I bought a journal to record my thoughts, but I never wrote more than a few words in it. I drew pictures.unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-44304921758539577602012-01-24T18:17:00.000-05:002012-01-24T18:17:46.238-05:00Afternoon DelightUnbearable Lightness by Andrew Mann
"This fun, juicy cup is tangy without getting too 'cheeky.'"
~ About raspberry tea at Adagio.com
When we're not snuggling up in our down comforters and feather mattresses with our dogs, what do the Northern folk do for comfort in the winter? Years ago I learned the Cream Tea secret for an afternoon delight.
At one time I visited Canada and the British unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-55646263148211969962012-01-23T09:19:00.003-05:002012-01-23T09:38:28.089-05:00Doubts
This weekend I caught a fascinating movie on TV: Meryl Streep is a tough, no-nonsense nun in Doubt. The great actress drew me in with her portrayal of a woman with the grit to stand up to a priest she knew was molesting altar boys in a patriarchal system stacked against her. It was the last few minutes of the movie that surprised me and illuminated a truth about the human condition.
No unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-27181917195204528692012-01-22T10:37:00.000-05:002012-01-22T10:37:56.611-05:00Models: Fake or Au Naturale?Models: Laura Henderson, Lucky, and me on the bottom, literallyPhotographer: A. J. Kahn
"Art, whose honesty must work through artifice, cannot avoid cheating truth."
~ Poet Adrienne Rich
Why would anyone criticize a model for improving her appearance? Some figure photographers want their models au naturale - no nail polish, makeup, or any enhancements that purists call, well, artificial. unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-83925179772164638692012-01-20T19:59:00.001-05:002012-01-20T22:25:23.849-05:00The White Stuff
Paris in Januaryby Lionel Bournon
"I grew up thinking of snow as a luxury you visit."
~ Filmmaker John Landis
Hibernation. The sense of isolation when sound is muffled, absorbed by layers of snow. You sleep in a cocoon of white down and feather pillows and wake to dizzying swirls of snow in a bright fog. Condensation inside, frost outside, windows give a glittering view of drifts that rollunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-70771941473751486762012-01-19T21:09:00.002-05:002012-01-19T21:13:29.074-05:00TarnishedDigital art: Ricardo58 Photographer: John Paul of Minnesota
I've started working out on my Health Rider a half hour each day. While I'm pedaling, I admit it, I watch TV. Sometimes this means I see bits and pieces of, yes, I admit it, Dr. Phil. That show kind of puts your own life in perspective by demonstrating the outrageous thinking and behavior of fellow Americans.
One day last week, Drunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-66409583275561333812012-01-18T11:32:00.001-05:002012-01-18T15:44:05.056-05:00Art vs. Porn"Cinderella Story"
Photo Manipulation by German digital artist PiXasso Based on a photograph by Steven A Brown Full list of credits
Fashion photography employs retouching to create ideal Beauty along with a covert or overt eroticism. Fashion photographers pushed commercial work into the realm of fine art photography from Edward Streichen to Helmut Newton, bringing fashion photography its unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-88354473410842315252012-01-16T20:13:00.000-05:002012-01-16T20:13:38.109-05:00I Had a DreamUnbearable Lightness with her husband 1984
“Dreams are like stars...you may never touch them, but if you follow them they will lead you to your destiny.”
~ Anonymous
Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday was actually on Sunday, but today marked the national observance of his birth. In years past this would have been a day for my husband and me to visit area schools together and talk to young unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-68579593968121217592012-01-16T09:00:00.002-05:002012-01-16T10:25:09.885-05:00Where Have All the Big Blogs Gone?Unbearable Lightness by Steven A BrownRetoucher Priscila Desingz
"The high ones die, die. You look up and who's there?"
~ John Berryman, "Dream Song #36"
When I came on the blog scene in 2007, it was a strong and thriving place. Lin at Fluffytek, Michael Barnes at Art Nudes, and Stephen Haynes at Truth and Justice For All were among the forces at work, the pioneers of an online fine art nude unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-34220834359076287522012-01-14T22:51:00.000-05:002012-01-14T22:51:34.271-05:00I Ain't Got No Money, Honey
Unbearable Lightness by A.J. Kahn
"Unfortunately, I'm a broke-ass bastard."
~ from a photographer friend's dA journal
A photographer told me he was recently contacted by a model on Model Mayhem who wanted to work with him when she came to town. He responded with the offer of a trade because, like many photographers today, he isn't making any money at this.
"What the hell, right?" he wrote unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-34913548949247487912012-01-13T00:04:00.000-05:002012-01-13T00:04:33.132-05:00An Anita Ekberg Moment
Images from a studio shoot in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on January 4, 2012Copyright Steven A Brown and Carla Johnson
"Anita Ekberg's uninhibited cavorting in Rome's Trevi Fountain remains one of the most celebrated images in film history."
~ Wiki entry about Swedish actress Anita Ekberg
During a shoot with Josefina Photography and Steven A Brown the first week of January, I realized my unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-88304733432965985032012-01-13T00:01:00.000-05:002012-01-14T08:42:52.136-05:00It's Friday the 13th!Images from a studio shoot in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on January 4, 2012Copyright Steven A Brown and Carla Johnson
Don't walk under a ladder. Don't let a black cat cross your path. And stay home! It's Friday the 13th.
"Beware," the Huffington Post cautioned this morning. "It may be the first Friday the 13th of the year, but it won't be the last." The calendar year allows up to three Friday unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-62886795260904021172012-01-12T12:37:00.003-05:002012-01-12T15:09:21.384-05:00It's Only Rock 'n' RollCopyright Steven A Brown and Carla JohnsonJanuary 4, 2012Kalamazoo, Michigan
If I could dig down deep in my heart
Feelings would flood on the page
Would it satisfy ya, would it slide on by ya
Would ya think the boy's insane? He's insane.
I know it's only rock 'n' roll (but I like it)
~ Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
Music plays the soundtrack of our lives. What's playing during your unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-26482687697816936912012-01-11T11:35:00.000-05:002012-01-11T11:35:29.358-05:00Suicide Girl? Unbearable Lightness by Steven A BrownRetoucher Priscila Desingz
Suicide Girl? No, I am not.
I've written countless times here about my near death experience at age three and how that changed my view of death. I do not fear it. Nevertheless, I do not seek or court it either. My fascination with longevity should tell you how much I want to remain in this world a very long, long time - but,unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-44858064195758458742012-01-10T13:43:00.000-05:002012-01-10T13:43:41.062-05:00My Secret StashUnbearable Lightness by Steven A BrownRetoucher Priscila Desingz
Uh-oh! Today I want to pursue the S-Word, a little lightness before launching into a very serious post tomorrow.
I recently had good friends staying at my house. One night I opened my secret stash of, yes, chocolate. We often think of a secret stash as something we are hiding from others so they can't take it from us, but in unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-39026243767155567832012-01-09T10:20:00.000-05:002012-01-09T10:20:05.897-05:00Coming Back From Adversity
"The Suicide of Tyra Haraldsdottir"Unbearable Lightness by Steven A BrownRetoucher Priscila Desingz
Jennifer Hudson spoke in a Dateline interview last night about the murders of her mother, brother, and 7-year-old nephew in late 2008. Afterward, she stepped out of the limelight for three months, resuming her public appearances in 2009 at the Super Bowl XLIII.
An adversity may be very unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-87490194843295398352012-01-08T08:44:00.002-05:002012-01-08T08:55:49.504-05:00The Medium is LIGHTPhotographer Josefina PhotographyJanuary 5, 2012
"I have spent the last few years worrying and fretting so much about ‘learning' the mechanics of photography, worrying about f-stops, shutter speeds, etc., that I forgot the art in it."
~ Michaeal Bilotta
A sculptor carves in stone, a painter applies pigments to a canvas, and a photographer captures light on a plate, strip of film, or a card. If unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-37385948614339250742012-01-07T12:45:00.000-05:002012-01-07T12:45:07.521-05:00Joyeux Anniversaire Photographer: Hervé Baudat
Joyeux Anniversaire, très cher amiunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-27751774441971714562012-01-06T18:10:00.000-05:002012-01-06T18:10:15.461-05:00De rerum natura, or how to eat a snowballPhotographer Josefina Photography
Bloggie friend Jochanaan initiated a controversy when he quoted author Piers Anthony in a comment on the previous post here; Jochanaan said, "Author Piers Anthony once described an experience at an SF conference where he was being photographed as 'a reversal of the natural order: a young woman photographing a middle-aged man.'"
The idea of a natural order unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-17110792964052757082012-01-05T09:06:00.001-05:002012-01-05T09:07:22.630-05:00Don't Fuck With the PhotographerCenter Stage is Photographer Josefina PhotographyThe Midwest's Top Models: Lea Dodson, Laurie Horn, Laura Henderson, Unbearable LightnessCopyright Steven A Brown and Carla Johnson
Comments welcome.unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-57931524255411555202012-01-02T12:44:00.000-05:002012-01-02T12:44:25.042-05:00Lost in TranslationVisual translation: dramatizing the suicide of my 30x great grandmother Tyra HaraldsdottirPhotographer: Steven A Brown
Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux was embarrassed when they used this slogan in an American advertising campaign: “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.”
Back in the 1950s, my small town high school gave us a choice: Latin or Spanish. If I knew then what I know now aboutunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-88313282763888628062011-12-31T15:56:00.001-05:002012-01-02T10:47:20.793-05:00Time To Say GoodbyePhotographer: Steven A Brown
The Final Shoot in Steve's Studio
Dec. 30, 2011
“Every end is a beginning.”
~ ProverbsIt's time to pack 2011 on the Viking funeral pyre and light the match. Most people seem relieved to do this. I don't know anyone who has said 2011 was a good year for them. However, if those who commented here this past week are correct, 2012 may be an arbitrary divide. In unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-67928886246785727062011-12-30T19:12:00.001-05:002012-01-18T10:05:18.838-05:00Erotic OR Glamorous???"White Light"Photo Editor: Priscila Desingz
OK, I got pissed off today. A moderator for a deviantART group declined "White Light" (published here in Solid Gold a couple days ago). In the 20 hours this photograph has been posted on dA, it has received almost 2,400 views.
I've said it before, and I will say it again. If you're evaluating art for any purpose, whether choosing work for unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-25878782708474111462011-12-29T21:34:00.001-05:002011-12-30T14:10:16.117-05:00The First, My Last, My EverythingPhoto by Doug EblingerPhotomanipulation by Ricardo58
"You’re like a first morning dew, on a brand new day…
You’re my reality, yet I’m lost in a dream…
You’re all I’m living for…
First…last…everything."
~ Barry White
Time begins, and Time ends. It's reality. It's the first. It's the last. Its everything.
Sometimes insights come through the sublime and sometimes through the ridiculous. Notunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-54858058555345125672011-12-28T12:02:00.000-05:002011-12-28T12:02:47.625-05:00Solid Gold"Steamy"Models Unbearable Lightness, Phoenix Kelley and ALenzieby Dave Levingston
It was all Gold in 2011.
Gold is a warm color characterized as exciting. While green may be the color of money, gold is the color of riches and extravagance, lavish and regal. It is also associated with the wisdom of aging; a Golden Age exemplifies the height of a civilization.
Gold turns out to be a unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-1543669405975506062011-12-27T09:03:00.005-05:002011-12-28T07:31:15.495-05:00Time Is On My SideApril-Lea Hutchinson shooting Unbearable Lightness, photographed by A. J. Kahn
"Clocks slay time... time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life."
~ William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury
As New Year's Eve approaches, our thoughts shift to Father Time. When D. L. Wood left the Faulkner quote in a comment, I realized Time unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-51290381851659763062011-12-25T23:24:00.000-05:002011-12-25T23:24:04.539-05:00Winter Time by Steven A Brown
"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you."
- Carl Sandburg
Holiday time is exactly that, time, and I'm not sure how we differentiate one minute from another. How do we place value on a commodity more valuable than anything material? We canunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-73300691495883743762011-12-23T20:00:00.000-05:002011-12-23T20:00:19.417-05:00What Is Holy About the Holiday?photograph by A. J. Kahn
The word holiday came into Middle English before the 12th century and has always meant a holy day. In modern times, it has acquired an additional meaning: a day exempt from work; specifically, a day when work stops for the commemoration of an event. Americans take vacations; the British go on holiday. It is a period of exemption or relief.
I just realized the unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-91831047770324367602011-12-22T13:43:00.005-05:002011-12-22T18:01:25.054-05:00Have I told you lately...?This is the snail mail card I sent this year, breaking my holiday card non-tradition. Based on a photograph by A. J. Kahn
The year 2011 seems to have been difficult for most of us if only because of the economy and the politics thereof. As though the oil spill in the Gulf wasn't enough, the oil companies somehow found their way into the Great Lakes and the mountain states. That's one of manyunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-935576480487619692011-12-21T09:49:00.001-05:002011-12-21T11:10:00.206-05:00Ticked OffLaura Henderson, Lucky, and Unbearable Lightness Photographer: A. J. Kahn
Tick: A light mark used to check off or call attention to an item.The year 2011 has been decidedly a mixed bag. My son married the love of his life in a beautiful and joyous moment last March; my mother died in early October. It was probably the best of times and the worst of times. Discovery of deep family roots unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-85896374886274080902011-12-20T09:54:00.001-05:002011-12-20T09:55:58.845-05:00Tyra and Her Viking ShipUnbearable Lightness by Photos by Thomas
"Understanding how DNA transmits all it knows about cancer, physics, dreaming, and love will keep man searching for some time."
~ David R. Brower, founder of the Sierra Club
Around 950 AD Harald Bluetooth, King of Denmark, gave a fleet of his ships and his daughter Tyra to the renegade Swedish prince Styrbjorn the Strong of the Jomsvikings. Harald unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-56673108347449952252011-12-19T00:07:00.000-05:002011-12-19T00:07:07.050-05:00What Happened to the Front Porch?Photographer: Werner Lobert
"Nobody thought much about the front porch when most Americans had them and used them."
~ Rochlin, Home, Sweet Home
Walking downtown with Sunny the other day, I passed some of the old mansions on the main street with their gracious front porches. At Christmastime their pillars were probably decorated with holly and red berries, and I could imagine carolers unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-42243631703494668682011-12-17T22:36:00.002-05:002011-12-17T22:55:21.301-05:00Holiday and Everyday - STRANGE Photographer: Jerry DMUA: Kim Steward
"People baffle me and make me laugh. In this holiday season of parties, reunions, and other such soires of joy, I am always astounded by the nature of humans in large groups doing really stupid things."
~ DecoGoddess
My deviantART friend DecoGoddess wrote a post with a fascinating title this week: "Holidays and the People that Make them STRANGE." Sheunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-78263054755374259472011-12-15T22:13:00.000-05:002011-12-15T22:13:42.892-05:00My Others, My SelfLaura Henderson, Lucky, and Unbearable Lightness Photographer: A. J. Kahn
"I often wonder if the self-identification of the human species...revolves around self-definition not as what one IS but what one is NOT...? So many people have few conceptions to identify themselves but so many disdainful definitions of others..."
~ Darkwolf
Friend Darkwolf left this thought provoking comment on the unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-7518258046554810182011-12-14T10:24:00.001-05:002011-12-14T10:30:01.576-05:00Art WarsPhotographer: A. J. Kahn
"When John heard Coming Up, he said, 'Oh bastard McCartney! I've got to write again!' It would happen to me too.... It was like a see-saw. He'd write Nowhere Man, so I'd have to write Paperback Writer."
~ Sir Paul McCartney about John Lennon
In a 2005 interview Paul McCartney recalled a fiercely competitive relationship with John Lennon. It continued even after The unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-64380235746431210142011-12-12T02:21:00.001-05:002011-12-12T02:21:40.228-05:00Nudity is God's ArtModel: Unbearable LightnessPost Processing: Josefina Photography
"Traditionally the Nude was used to express formulations about life as larger-than-life, as Heroic or Ideal... The nude is not a 'genre' subject."~ Isabel Bishop
It was just another day on deviantART. I was checking my "feed" for new artists to feature and perhaps invite to the groups I administrate. This quest often takes me unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-42672784654919599692011-12-12T00:42:00.002-05:002011-12-13T01:02:07.018-05:00Nudity Is God's Art - Part II"Eternal Springtime"Rodin
Friend Vincent mentioned four great artists in his comment on Nudity is God's Art. That inspired me to post nude works by each artist he mentioned as an addendum to our conversation. Enjoy!
"Birth of Venus"Sandro Botticelli
"Danae"
Rembrandt
"Sappho"
Gustav Klimtunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-15310879552115361012011-12-10T09:31:00.000-05:002011-12-10T09:31:34.637-05:00Forever YoungModel: Unbearable Lightness Photographer: A. J. Kahn
“To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness.”
~ Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
It's not carelessness, of course. It's inevitable. If the way of the world plays out as expected, we are all going to be orphans at some point. When you're as old as I am, the word unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-36513268770357495852011-12-08T19:23:00.002-05:002011-12-08T19:29:27.888-05:00Pearl Harbor & the Hula DollLaura Henderson, Lucky, and Unbearable Lightness Photographer: A. J. Kahn
Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, my uncle was stationed in Hawaii. During his absence in 1944, I was named after him.
He left as a soldier and came back a married man. For years I displayed on my dresser the hula doll with grass skirt that his new wife brought as a gift from her Oahu home. Afterunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-25147819086679957092011-12-07T14:01:00.000-05:002011-12-07T14:01:19.634-05:00A World Without ScreensLaura Henderson, Lucky, and Unbearable Lightness Photographer: A. J. Kahn
"My first job on 2001: A Space Odyssey was to make all of the HAL readouts: the 16 screens that surround HAL's eyes."
~ Special effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull
We can have a world without love, but can we have a world without screens? You know, those that now surround us - TV screens, computer screens, iPad screens, unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-82468596003330956352011-12-06T10:43:00.001-05:002011-12-06T11:10:09.424-05:00To Bed, To BedCopyright Steven A Brown and Carla JohnsonPost Processing: Josefina Photography
Lady Macbeth:
To bed, to bed! there's knocking at the gate:
come, come, come, come, give me your hand.
What's done cannot be undone.--To bed, to bed, to bed!
Doctor: Will she go now to bed?
Gentlewoman: Directly.
~ Shakespeare's Macbeth
In Shakespeare's well-known "Scottish play," Lady Macbeth suffers from unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-30535780409118857452011-12-04T14:35:00.001-05:002011-12-04T14:48:27.333-05:00The Case for the JunkLaura Henderson, Lucky, A. J. Kahn, and Unbearable Lightness Photographer: A. J. Kahn
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”
~ Charles Darwin
Disclaimer: This post could not possibly convey more than a rudimentary understanding of Intelligent Design or any other theory about human unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-90757564351427023502011-12-01T12:45:00.001-05:002011-12-02T11:28:17.899-05:00Through the Looking Glass"Through the Looking Glass"Post Processing: Josefina Photography
"The horror of that moment," the King went on, "I shall never never forget!"
"You will, though," the Queen said, "if you don't make a memorandum of it….. It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards."
~ Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
Doorways. Portals. The surreal landscape of memory and the human mind. unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-1492584676003447712011-11-29T22:43:00.001-05:002011-11-29T22:46:02.410-05:00Soup and Chocolate: What's culture got to do with it?"Diana of the Hunt" Unbearable Lightness by Steven A BrownRetoucher Priscila Desingz
"A first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting."
~ Abraham Maslow
If you motor around another country, you can learn a great deal about the culture in the gas stations. I don't mean the stuff people parade out for tourists; I mean the real culture of ordinary, everyday people. Gas unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-88067499545293293092011-11-28T19:30:00.002-05:002011-11-28T19:34:49.314-05:00La FamigliaLaura Henderson, Lucky, and me by A. J. Kahn
“A man's true wealth is the good he does in the world. Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are eternity and you are the mirror.”
~ Kahlil Gibran
As the holidays begin, our focus shifts to family. Last night my niece and I broached the subject of what family means. Our discussion triggered my memory of the trip my sister and Iunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-76523055203478885752011-11-27T13:28:00.001-05:002011-11-28T19:30:56.129-05:00The Bright Side of LifeUnbearable Lightness by A. J. Kahn
If life seems jolly rotten
There’s something you’ve forgotten
And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
And…always look on the bright side of life…
Always look on the light side of life…
~ from Monty Python's Life of Brian
What can you learn from family history? A lot.
This past week I traced my father's paternal line (Tyndale) all the way back to unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-88850837010882889922011-11-26T11:14:00.000-05:002011-11-26T11:14:47.305-05:00You Are What You SpeakUnbearable Lightness by A. J. Kahn
"Does the language we speak shape the way we think?"
~ Linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf
Eskimos may not have more words in their vocabulary to describe snow than the rest of us, but a theory about language and thought suggested they would. As a principle of something called linguistic relativity, it seems logical Eskimos might devise more words to describe the unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-66593554330370712002011-11-24T22:42:00.000-05:002011-11-24T22:42:34.139-05:00Happy ThanksgivingPhoto by Dr. Carla Johnson
“When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies with yourself.”~ Shawnee Chief Tecumseh unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-74498038003898542482011-11-23T11:13:00.001-05:002011-12-01T09:09:26.250-05:00Shop Till Somebody Drops!Suggestion: chill at home on Black Friday
Post Processing: Josefina Photography
I did a rare thing this past Monday: I went shopping in a retail store. By definition, shopping is the process of browsing or buying, and on most days of the year that means a leisurely stroll through or a quick run to pick up something in a store. But the Friday after Thanksgiving is a good day to stay home andunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-44341428765749816892011-11-22T13:24:00.001-05:002011-11-25T22:21:00.622-05:00Through a Glass, DarklyPhotographer: A. J. Kahn
Digital Art: Pixasso
"Can we not understand that exclusivity is a condition that we, not God, invented? That the same energy enfolds the Buddhist's prayer wheel as it does the fondly held rosary? We are here to share God's light, not claim ownership of it." ~ Rev. Margaret Stortz
In my last post about the secret to longevity, I cited a study from Boston University unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-48686008806695815312011-11-20T09:24:00.000-05:002011-11-20T09:24:21.390-05:00At Long Last: The Secret to LongevityUnbearable Lightness at age 67by A. J. Kahn
Years ago a friend of mine often visited her 106-year-old grandmother in a nursing home. This is my favorite story about the centenarian who had immigrated to the United States from Hungary in her youth. Nursing home residents park their wheelchairs in the hallways to watch the world go by or sleep the day away. This drove grandma wild. She wouldunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-46380710171185099362011-11-17T22:34:00.001-05:002011-11-18T11:53:36.255-05:00Pass the Barf Bag "Oak Tree in a Storm" Laura Henderson, Lucky, and me by A. J. Kahn
Does human behavior ever make you nauseous? In the middle of the nightly news, do you sometimes wish you had one of those paper bags found in the pocket of the airplane seat in front of you? Here is a sampling from my current Barf Bag list.
Penn State's scandalous child molester Jerry Sandusky made a public statement in his unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-76827456181625666582011-11-16T14:14:00.000-05:002011-11-16T14:14:11.804-05:00Three Oaks Three Oaks?Laura Henderson, Lucky, and me by A. J. Kahn
"The oak has long been an enduring and mighty tree. It is truly a part of our national heritage, and it merits the formal distinction of America's National Tree."
~ Bob Goodlatte
I posted this new work by A. J. Khan on deviantART a couple days ago, and some of our blog friends have weighed in with their interpretations. Cyranos wonders unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-91401047732749682002011-11-15T12:48:00.000-05:002011-11-15T12:48:46.454-05:00Visio, Vedere = To SeeUnbearable Lightness by A.J. Kahn
Concept sketch by Unbearable Lightness
"...terrifying and edible beauty..."
~ Salvador Dali on Art Nouveau
Friend Josefina and I dialogued last week about the ritual of preparing for a shoot. We both agreed we clear our schedules and our minds, then immerse ourselves in complete focus on the art we hope to create. For me, ideas and emotions derive from unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-27822532350740622062011-11-14T17:24:00.001-05:002011-11-29T12:59:22.601-05:00Same Time, Last YearUnbearable Lightness by Steven A BrownRetoucher Priscila Desingz November 8, 2011
"Red is the ultimate cure for sadness."
~ Bill Blass
We all know that each year of our lives differs from the last, and the same is true of the seasons. When Steve Brown and I headed to the same field to shoot during the same week of November as we had last year, we already knew the color was more brilliant. unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-1538586491087900022011-11-13T15:01:00.002-05:002011-11-14T20:55:25.005-05:00Taking LivesPost Processing: Josefina Photography
"All of these [victims] have one thing in common. Simply a life different from the [serial killer's] own."
~ Angelina Jolie as a profiler in Taking Lives
When I woke this morning, I had 23 text messages sent during the night. I've been reading the same message for weeks. It's a familiar complaint. A generous, loving person has finally had enough of a unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-69599404935303461522011-11-11T18:36:00.003-05:002011-11-12T08:50:27.612-05:00Penn State Cover-Up Copyright Steven A Brown and Carla Johnson
"When Joe Paterno, the ousted Penn State football coach, was confronted with a possible case of child rape, he notified his bosses rather than call the police or the child-abuse hotline. That was all Pennsylvania law required him to do, yet in most other states the failure to call could be a crime."
~ “PSU scandal stirs debate over abuse reporting lawsunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-44088714885256137932011-11-09T19:11:00.000-05:002011-11-09T19:11:54.958-05:00OuttakesLaura Henderson, Lucky, and me during our shoot with A. J. Kahn
Outtakes by Steven A Brown
Between our first breath and our last, most of life seems to be an outtake. The formal moments occur few and far between; they make our lives public through rituals and ceremonies or through artistic expression.
Art has been a crucial venue for human emotive and spiritual expression from the dawn unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-3628156232353935932011-11-08T13:52:00.001-05:002011-11-09T08:45:47.478-05:00Burn / Update on a friend"A Sad Season"by Steven A Brown
Update on a friend: As I posted this yesterday, I was still unaware friend Vincent Wolff over at Erotic Pin-ups had a heart attack two weeks ago. Like many, he did not realize what was happening right away; fortunately, he is all right now and embarking on some life style changes.
Vince, this season could have rapidly gone beyond sad! Thank goodness unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-39428279844409956572011-11-07T09:33:00.001-05:002011-11-07T09:50:54.728-05:00The Politics of RecognitionPhotographer: A. J. Kahn
“There are two things people want more than sex and money... recognition and praise.”
~ American businesswoman Mary Kay Ash
The dream last night came from nowhere. It was one of those dreams when your subconscious mind seems to nag you about something, makes you look at something that would never occur to you in a waking moment. It was about recognition at the unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-17064842258634801502011-11-06T19:08:00.004-05:002011-11-07T14:25:25.351-05:00What Happens Behind the Scenes? A. J. Kahn and Lucky
A. J. Kahn and Laura Henderson
What a wonderful day!!! Here are my behind-the-scenes candids. The REAL DEAL coming soon at this blog space....
What do models do when they can't move during lighting changes?
Outtake by Steven A Brown Models: Laura Henderson, Lucky, and me wait during our shoot with A. J. Kahnunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-6310294354084745942011-11-05T00:06:00.001-04:002011-11-05T11:00:36.407-04:00PassionsPhotographer: A. J. Kahn
"I read King Lear once a year. It cheers me up."
~ Ernest Hemingway
Despite numerous warnings about some gruesome scenes, I finally watched Black Swan. My sister worried it would have a negative affect on me during this time of unusual stress, but I reminded her about the Hemingway quote. Shakespeare's great tragedy is an existential masterpiece about endless unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-65881482299813381452011-11-03T17:32:00.001-04:002011-11-03T17:34:30.305-04:00MIDWEST LAWby Scott Sullivan
"There is an orderliness in the universe, there is an unalterable law governing every thing and every being that exists or lives. It is no blind law; for no blind law can govern the conduct of living beings."
~ Mohandas Gandhi
Ah, so you thought the U.S. State of Nevada was the only state where people could go for quickie marriages or a trip to Mexico for an annulment the unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-43515150488171486222011-11-02T10:06:00.000-04:002011-11-02T10:06:24.628-04:00EvidenceModels: Unbearable Lightness, Laura Henderson, and LuckyPhotographer: Peter Le Grand
Sometimes I watch Cold Case, a TV show that invariably begins with a police officer pulling a box of case evidence off a shelf to reopen a closed case. What fascinates me is the idea that no "case" ever really closes. As long as physical evidence remains warehoused, and perhaps even if evidence were unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-80194448572001550942011-11-01T09:24:00.000-04:002011-11-01T09:24:22.635-04:00My kingdom for a Horst!"Get a Horst" Unbearable Lightness by A. J. Khan
A Horst, a Horst! My kingdom for a Horst!
~ paraphrase of Shakespeare's Richard III
"Horst? sorry, don't know the reference," commented a visitor to my deviantART site.
The photo I posted was titled "Get a Horst!" but such titles fall flat when they allude to an unknown entity. A year ago September I posted here about the famous German fashion unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-24342498336337054122011-10-30T20:55:00.004-04:002011-10-30T21:27:56.939-04:00OK, I Know This Is Blurred...duh!"Naughty Nurse"
Photographer: Dave Levingston
A national news show this week featured Halloween costumes, and among them was the ever-popular Nurse. Thinking I would get into the spirit of Halloween, I decided to post "Naughty Nurse" on deviantART and subsequently submitted it to several groups. A number of groups rejected it, and the moderators for two of the groups kindly told me why:
"unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-51318337886670149432011-10-29T20:11:00.001-04:002011-10-29T23:00:10.491-04:00Mrs Obituary Jones
"And when I was in the delivery room, waking up from the ether, I asked the nurse whether it was a boy or a girl. She said it was a girl - and I turned my head to the side and cried. And then I said, I hope she grows up to be a pretty little fool. That's about the best a girl can hope for these days, to be a pretty little fool."
~ Daisy Buchanan, The Great Gatsby 1925
Since my mother died, unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-50927483729605774242011-10-28T17:49:00.001-04:002011-10-28T17:52:52.228-04:00Emancipated?Photographer: Rebellious Dreamer
Once I was happy and had a good wife
I had enough money to last me for life
Then I met with a gal and we went on a spree
She taught me smokin' and drinkin' whiskey.
Cigarettes are a blight on the whole human race
A man is a monkey with one in his face...
~ Red Nichols, "Cigarettes, Whiskey, and Wild Wild Women"
If a woman smokes, she's subject to moral judgementunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-59078120541077240882011-10-27T09:41:00.001-04:002011-10-27T09:49:42.949-04:00I Buried the Ironing
Photographer: Rebellious Dreamer
"I buried a lot of my ironing in the back yard."
~ Phyllis Diller
"I'm eighteen years behind in my ironing."
~ Phyllis Diller
It was one of those never-forgotten insignificant moments. On a 90-degree in the shade day in the 1950s, my hair in a pony tail, neck hairs curled in sweat, I danced to "Kansas City" as I labored over a hot ironing board.
It unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-72498231995916272452011-10-25T17:12:00.003-04:002011-10-25T18:32:12.875-04:00A Cold Day in HellPhotographer: A. J. KahnModels: Unbearable Lightness, Tia, and Spilt Sugar
Mirrors on the ceiling, the pink champagne on ice,
And she said, “We are all prisoners here of our own device.”
~ The Eagles, "Hotel California" from Hell Freezes Over
Is hell hot or cold? It depends on whom you ask.
If you consult the Urban Dictionary, you will learn about a city named Hell, Michigan, "that unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-9587632851672188942011-10-24T11:23:00.001-04:002011-10-24T11:23:51.119-04:00Something Sexful
Models: Unbearable Lightness, Laura Henderson, and LuckyPhotographer: Peter Le Grand
"It's not a word, it's an attitude..."
~ The Urban Dictionary
Did you know the English word sexy is also sexy in French?
In 1898 the word for someone “sexually attractive” was sexful. The word sexy was coined in 1905 to describe silent film actor Rudolph Valentino. As language goes, it's a very recent unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-11118790949310994092011-10-23T10:40:00.003-04:002011-10-23T15:33:09.581-04:00The Look of LoveModels: Lea and Unbearable Lightness
Photographer: Steven A BrownPost Processing: Josefina Photography
When a model looks as bored as if she were eating dry toast, who is responsible? When I was texting last night with photographer friend Josefina, I dared to ask: Why do your models look at you that way?
Josefina, a feisty young woman whose motto is "'Dull' does not exist," wrote aboutunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-42872126755820706472011-10-22T10:05:00.003-04:002011-10-22T12:16:14.885-04:00The Four Seasons of Thought: Is Logic Warm or Cold?"Working"Models: Unbearable Lightness, Fitness101, and Rebellious DreamerPhotographer: A. J. Khan
As an undergraduate, I had to choose courses to fulfill the science block. My first choice was chemistry. I wanted answers to many why questions and was excited when we studied oxidation. I had already a theory on aging that says our life source, oxygen, also creates the combustion that "rusts"unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-25150069196498258602011-10-19T21:02:00.000-04:002011-10-19T21:02:13.703-04:00Why Can't I Own A Canadian?Models: Unbearable Lightness, Laura Henderson, and LuckyPhotographer: Peter Le Grand
OK, you know you all want to own a Canadian. Here's the problem. In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned under any circumstance.
A Canadian friend sent me the following, written by unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-77907679647960151162011-10-18T02:01:00.251-04:002011-10-18T09:47:26.303-04:00The Meaning of "Meaning"
from my first shoot Photographer: John Horwitz
"Through art we are sometimes sent - indistinctly, briefly - revelations not to be achieved purely by rational thought. It is like that small mirror in fairy tales - you glance in it and what you see is not yourself; for an instant you glimpse the inaccessible, where no white horse or magic carpet can take you - and the soul cries out for itunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-25368743215991333042011-10-16T11:31:00.011-04:002011-10-16T15:46:01.864-04:00The Meaning of Life Photographer: A. J. Khan
A friend has been asking me for months about the purpose of life; she is at a crossroad in her life, and she needs to understand this to make some big decisions. As we all know, there is no definitive answer. It depends on whether you seek the answer from philosophy, religion, psychology, social theory, or whatever school of thought.
So today I am going to tell youunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-17051721346947135612011-10-15T01:50:00.007-04:002011-10-15T09:21:53.777-04:00Misery Loves Company"Mirrors"Photographer: Steven A BrownPost Processing: Josefina Photography
"If misery loves company, misery has company enough."
~ H. D. Thoreau Journal, 1851
I've been reading about near-death experiences and was surprised to learn that people who die together typically have near-death experiences together. Group experiences occur with regularity when parents and children are involved or unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-26769108823722370742011-10-13T09:19:00.000-04:002011-10-13T09:19:39.423-04:00A little sunny, a little sad... "Bask" "To lie in or be exposed to a pleasant warmth: to bask in the sunshine." Digital Artist: thenakedfelttipPhotographer: Steven A Brown
Friend, photographer, and fellow blogger Josefina wrote this week about Repeating Patterns, specifically bad things happening in the month of October. "I have never been one for October," she writes. "Ever. Even as a little kid, I just knew that there was unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-61284536577256039422011-10-12T09:50:00.005-04:002011-10-21T09:03:01.280-04:00Can A Wrong Be Made Right?
"Nothing in life comes 'next' but everything exists together and at the same time within us; there is no past to be 'brought forward' in a human being, but he is his past at every moment and the present is merely that which his past is capable of noticing and smelling and reacting to."
--Arthur Miller
Yesterday's post Family Secrets brought many excellent comments, including one unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-79603558289449577812011-10-10T23:24:00.002-04:002011-10-21T09:05:09.473-04:00Family SecretsModels: Unbearable Lightness, Laura Henderson, and LuckyPhotographer: Peter Le Grand
"Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see Ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be Ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sand of the sea.... We are, one and all, so pitifully afraid of the light."
~ HENRIK IBSEN, Ghosts
"It would appear that families are what they seem, but most unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-1098538685377917232011-10-09T12:05:00.003-04:002011-10-09T12:27:57.967-04:00GhostsLight painting with Tia and Spilt Sugar by A. J. Khan
"I'm becoming more and more myself with time. I guess that's what grace is. The refinement of your soul through time."
~ American musical artist Jewel
This summer I was a blonde.
This fall I have changed hair color and wear a different mask.
I've told the surface story of how I first came to model at age 59. Beneath the surface of unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-56096493822946317442011-10-07T09:00:00.001-04:002011-10-07T18:21:32.454-04:00Embracing Jobs
"Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice."
~ Steve Jobs
In the midst of my own personal loss, with condolences and flowers coming in, I have not missed the enormous event that is the death of Steve Jobs. He has touched virtually the life of every one of us in this worldunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-19469650356851254702011-10-06T08:40:00.002-04:002011-10-06T08:49:16.202-04:00What did you do today?with Judy Roberts
What did you do today?
Those are words I've heard every day for the past year that I have helped care for my mother. When we would swim in the afternoon or talk on the phone later in the day, the question always jarred me. It seems like a simple question, but I found it almost impossible to answer. If I said I made coffee, walked the dog, and weeded in the garden or wrote aunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-91228958863464628452011-10-02T09:02:00.010-04:002011-10-02T11:34:56.619-04:00Stealing Friendsby Joseph Crachiola
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”~ Arab and Chinese proverb
Disclaimer: If you've ever tried to befriend the friends of someone you're stalking, you probably think this post is about you. My advice is to not overreact and call attention to yourself. I know you're out there stalking, but chill out. I'm not interested in you personally; I'm interested in the why of this unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-2058544282845757132011-09-30T14:03:00.001-04:002011-09-30T16:58:41.301-04:00Stealing Ideas: A Bare Taleby GaryM May 2008
"Anything you can do I can do better; I can do anything better than you."
~ Irving Berlin for the 1946 musical Annie Get Your Gun
Fellow blogger AisA, Dan Ariely, left a comment on my birthday post suggesting I check out a Call for Artists to submit work, for a competition, depicting the artist's reflection on cheating and dishonesty. This is in connection with a discussion unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-87117600202785665002011-09-29T08:35:00.002-04:002011-09-29T15:09:07.531-04:00The Birthday Blues"Blue" by Joseph Crachiola
I've always had low expectations for birthdays. My siblings were born on holidays, one being mommy and daddy's little Valentine and the other their little firecracker. I was none of the above; I was simply born, I guess.
Every year my mother informed me that my father had forgotten my birthday again. How many of you reading this are parents and would have handled unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-19467494287757041082011-09-28T14:20:00.002-04:002011-09-28T16:48:02.412-04:00Go to the Head of the "Class"by A.J. Kahn
As kids, we used to play a board game called Go to the Head of the Class. Class meant classroom, of course, but through decades of teaching I noticed the best and brightest students did sit at the head of the class, i.e., in the front. In that sense, class meant rank, a position within a group. In terms of all those at the same level of an educational body, class took another unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-36764094941835690522011-09-26T09:43:00.002-04:002011-09-28T14:23:47.875-04:00Streets of Love
Speaking of bad habits, I stayed up half the night looking at youtube videos on a quest to isolate a rare glimpse of what constitutes greatness through the works of great entertainers in their maturity. At first I considered comparisons, something from Tina Turner's early work to contrast the richness of the later realization of those early displays of great talent. That struck me as too unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-9894001231250621032011-09-25T09:02:00.000-04:002011-09-25T09:02:06.779-04:00Old HabitsUnbearable Lightness by Scott Sullivan
Recently I said to someone, "Old habits die hard." Where did that come from? I rarely use that expression. That made me wonder about it; a Google search brought up a youtube video of Mick Jagger singing "Old Habits Die Hard" from the remake of the movie Alfie. It's an incredible Jagger ballad, my new favorite - in case you also missed it, I've imbeddedunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-29717754311643014762011-09-23T12:57:00.000-04:002011-09-23T12:57:45.692-04:00Starting Over
Could there be a more compelling reminder of our mortality and the necessity to fill our lives with happiness than John Lennon's poignant ballad? We all know the story.
I get weary of everyone's drama. We become too absorbed in the petty nuisances of everyday life and lose the panoramic view, the mountains of significance that are the things that really matter. What really matters? It's unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-59048511403778202532011-09-23T12:20:00.000-04:002011-09-23T12:20:18.050-04:00A Special Message Copyright Vincent Wolff
Fellow blogger and good friend Vincent Wolff at Erotic pin-ups and illustrations lost a friend and coworker last week. Bernie Fansler, the overnight supervisor at the Geneva, Illinois Home Depot store suffered a massive heart attack at home and finally succumbed last Friday morning.
Bernie supported his handicapped sister and his seriously ill brother without unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-6296386656137535232011-09-22T16:31:00.000-04:002011-09-22T16:31:42.874-04:00Does Your Blog Reflect Your Employer's Image?Lea, Laura Henderson, and Unbearable Lightness Photographer: Steven A Brown
The subtitle to this post should be: If it doesn't, you'd better not be blogging. It could not only jeopardize your current employment, it could also leave you with an "Internet footprint" that could preclude being hired in the future.
Even though I gave notice of my date of retirement two years prior to my first unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-32624201773389240782011-09-21T13:32:00.001-04:002011-09-21T13:32:54.757-04:00Where There's Smoke...Photographer: Joseph Crachiola
I don't really smoke a cigar. I have never smoked anything, including cigarettes and marijuana. No need to say I never inhaled; nothing literally on fire has ever touched my lips. My father, a lifelong smoker, died at age 78 while his brother, who never smoked, is a healthy and independent 95 years old. Genetics can only do so much to help someone who smokes,unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-42595787080565580642011-09-20T01:48:00.005-04:002011-09-20T08:39:10.472-04:00Coming of Age
Taken Sept. 27, 2008, two days after Joe and I founded WHAT WE SAW TODAY
This blog launched three years ago on Sept. 25, 2008. The anniversary is also my uncle's stupendous and amazing 95th birthday. Born prematurely on a farm, with no hospital or incubator, this one-time preemie exemplifies the beauty of physical and mental health as a person nears 100. He just passed his drivers test unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-67847247606665139362011-09-18T20:54:00.001-04:002011-09-18T20:55:27.651-04:00No More Sleek Ridersby photographer Peter Le Grand
"No matter what time of the day or night...no matter whether it was winter or summer, raining or snowing, hailing or sleeting, or whether his beat was a level straight road or a crazy trail over mountain crags and precipices...[the pony express rider] must be always ready to leap into the saddle and be off like the wind!"
~ Mark Twain
A few days ago I received an unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-65167204804051495252011-09-17T20:38:00.003-04:002011-09-17T20:52:45.813-04:00The Diva Is Italian Models: Unbearable Lightness, Laura Henderson, and Lucky Photographer: Steven A Brown
"A diva is NOT a regular chick! Divas are High Maintenance and Expensive Bitches! Men need lots of money to own us."
~ The Urban Dictionary"Actually, I take it as a compliment. Diva is a derivative of divine." ~ Calista Flockhart
I got it straight from the hardcover Cassell's Italian dictionary that sits onunbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-72719745029790179362011-09-16T11:57:00.000-04:002011-09-16T11:57:48.234-04:00Gloria: The GreatestGloria Swanson
Fifteen years ago today I performed a Blanche du Bois monologue from A Streetcar Named Desire for an Oral Interpretation class I taught. Every actress wants at some time to portray Blanche; it is one of the plum roles. Others are Lady Macbeth and Hedda Gabler. You notice these female roles have grit and passion; they are not necessarily people you'd want to know well or live unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240814809807119284.post-11161924864743005002011-09-15T00:41:00.001-04:002011-09-15T00:42:45.006-04:00Mae West: Born Single Mae West
“The woman and the legend long since had become one.”
~ Critic Kevin Thomas in Mae West’s eulogy (1980)
One of the female icons of the 20th century, Mary Jane West may be remembered for her sexy quips, but she was also a successful Broadway playwright, a stage actress, and a film star. Her official biography says Mae West the sex goddess was rare for her time or almost any time, “an unbearable lightnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146661740927787207noreply@blogger.com14