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Saturday, May 9, 2015
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Sea Glass Extravaganza!
It's quite poetic; the accidental beauty of sea glass. Humans dumping their trash into the ocean for years upon years, only for the ocean to patiently roll the hardest parts along the sand and through the waves to produce this beautiful smoothed little gem. The glass is frosted by the salty sea water, breaking down the outer surface of the glass.
The glass holds pieces of human history, now gone with the advent of plastics. They are archaeological pieces. Blues may come from medicine, vapo rub or nivea bottles, reds may come from pre-plastic tail lights, and pastels often come from perfume bottles. When I started planning my trip to California, this passion for sea glass was certainly in the back of my mind. Sea glass certainly can be found anywhere, but my understanding is that it is concentrated on English, Japanese, and Californian shores.
So, trying to contain my excitement, I asked the friend I was visiting, "do you know if there's any sea glass near you? I think it's supposed to be more common out there, and I've always thought it would be cool to find some."
It was more than worth it. The beach was so unlike the East Coast beaches I'm used to. Covered in glittering sea glass, with imposing awe inspiring cliffs. The place was incredibly beautiful. I collected a few interesting pieces, and we stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast with an ocean view.
If it weren't for my crazy crafting, I don't think I would have visited this incredible spot!
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Animal + Machine
A fear of technology and its repercussions has accompanied every technological innovation since the dawn of time. Even the invention of writing had its downside- it devalued memorization and public speaking. As these skills became less valued and used it altered the development of the human brain.
So much good obviously also came with the invention of the written word as well; more complex thought, the ability to convey meaning through symbols, and the systemization of language. The innovation of writing forced our squishy, flexible brains to change. Parts of the brain worked harder, growing in size, while other parts were silenced for the most part, shrinking from lack of use.
Evolutionarily these changes happened over many generations. BUT they also happen over a lifetime, between your ears! Our brains have a great deal of flexibility, and are impacted by how we use them throughout our lives.
Like most, my concern is with the smartphone. Having a tiny, powerful computer within arm's reach at all times has changed the way that we engage with the world. It's difficult to even recognize all of the ways the world has changed with the popularity of the smartphone, nevertheless categorize those changes as good or bad.
The change that I've recently become aware of is the way that our phones banish boredom from our lives that are full of traffic, long lines, and waiting rooms. I initially started thinking about this because of the amazing piece on boredom and creativity on the podcast Studio 360 (Give it a listen!)
When we exile boredom from our lives, we cut out time for unrestricted, off the wall thought- like those creative gems that come to you in the shower. We've greatly restricted those moments in our lives, and it's threatening to move our species away from creative thought and even self reflection.
For myself, I've found that a lack of boredom actually makes me less interesting. When I don't have those blank moments of boredom in my own life, I have less to talk about and less to contribute in my life. I have less deep thought, and my life is instead full of work, photos, comments, and word games.
I haven't made any super drastic steps yet, but I have decided to delete all of the games off my phone. Their only purpose seemed to be as boredom zappers. I also downloaded Hanx writer a typewriter app. The cool set up has encouraged me to think and write, instead of virtually twiddling my thumbs.
Creativity springing out of the smartphone, our new age is not all bad...
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Time & Space
I just flew 2,000 miles across the country. it's incredible how commonplace that occurrence has come to be.
My great grandfather had the goal of crossing the Mississippi river. In 80 some years of life he never made it. His daughter, my very dear Great Aunt who was nicknamed Dude for her gumption, lived all over the country. In the 30's and 40's she made a life for herself that was unprecedented. She drove trucks for the us army, got divorced, and worked as a secretary at nasa in the height of the space race. When she died she left a box full of pins from almost every state in the Union and a few from our northern neighbor. I found a plastic potato to represent Iowa and more state flags than I can remember. Also, embarrassingly, some Canadian provinces that I didn't know existed.
My great grandfather had the goal of crossing the Mississippi river. In 80 some years of life he never made it. His daughter, my very dear Great Aunt who was nicknamed Dude for her gumption, lived all over the country. In the 30's and 40's she made a life for herself that was unprecedented. She drove trucks for the us army, got divorced, and worked as a secretary at nasa in the height of the space race. When she died she left a box full of pins from almost every state in the Union and a few from our northern neighbor. I found a plastic potato to represent Iowa and more state flags than I can remember. Also, embarrassingly, some Canadian provinces that I didn't know existed.
Hard to reconcile that with the fact that until the age of 16 she had never left the very small town of Candler to make the now 20 minute by car, trek to Asheville. At 16, little Dude finally left the confines of Candler to see the small city of Asheville.
Technology caused time and space to shift so drastically during her lifetime. I drive that distance everyday in a car traveling at 65 miles an hour.
What a hugely different experience we have with time and space than our forefathers. It's easy to think that the ones who came before us were ignorant and wrong, but are we right? Just because I can fly 2,000 miles across the country, it doesn't mean that my limited brain can understand the space I've traveled, or that my body's reflexes can make that shift in time as quickly as I'm moving in space.
Right now, I look at a map, and cannot imagine that I flew across all of that land...all of that space, without touching any of it. I cannot conceptualize the distance, only to be back across the country on the east coast at work on monday morning.
My great grandfather must have felt the same way, looking at a map tracing the line representing the great Mississippi, a faraway and unimaginable landmark that he would never see.
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Shake it- Creamy Lavender Protein
1/4 avocado
handful of coconut
3 dates
2 pinches of lavender flowers
1 pinch of ground thyme
About 1 1/2 cups water (to fill line)
I put the lavender and coconut on top for your benefit. Nice decoration if you want it to look pretty, not necessary though.
Even though this one has no dairy or dairy replacement, it has a great yogurty texture, and I love anything with lavender :)
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