thoughts on the news of the day: prom

hmmm…..

            There’s an article today on the internet about a teenage girl who made a prom dress out of Starburst candy wrappers.  In the photo, the young lady looked fabulous and the young man with her looked very happy and even proud.  Other photos of unusual prom attire were included in the article: dresses made out of duct tape, monkey sock dolls, newspapers and even plastic, clear bubble wrap.  What fun to be inventive and creative on a special night when most prom attenders are dolled up in sparkly dresses that cost hundreds of dollars!  Although, I have to admit that a dress made out of 1800 candy wrappers would not be cheap either.

            I remember my first prom dress from  a long time ago. Since I was a budding fashion designer at the time, I thought my original white linen, black polka-dotted ball gown was quite creative.  The photo of me in my dress with the red carnation corsage and my date in his black tuxedo, red carnation boutonniere,  and carrot orange hair (natural) is probably still in an old scrapbook somewhere in my garage.

            Anything goes these days.  The queen of the unusual attire is probably Lady Gaga.  I mean anyone who would wear a dress made out of meat has to be a little on the creative and inventive side—or else maybe just a little bit crazy.

            I am glad that kids are stepping out today to make a statement that prom dresses or any dresses for that matter, don’t have to be in a certain mold or a certain style.   Creativity can be fun -- unless the dress you are wearing belongs in a freezer. 

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: where the wild things are

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            We have lost some significant children’s book authors this year.  First, Dr. Seuss and now, Maurice Sendack, a prolific writer who is most well-known for his best selling book, “Where the Wild Things Are”.  Sendack passed away yesterday in Connecticut at the age of 83. 

            To me, the most amazing thing about both of these authors is their ability as artists to visually entice us.  They were able to picture the characters in the stories and then create a message for both children and adults in their works. These are the books parents don’t mind reading to their children because they are so inventive.

            I wonder what will happen to the children’s book industry as digital reading becomes more and more popular.  It has been an easy adjustment for me to go from paper to my kindle; easier than I thought it would be.  Most folks think they will miss holding a book in their hand and I did, too.  But I found that holding a kindle is about the same; plus the screen is illuminated, so there is no problem reading in dim light.

            But what about those classic children’s picture books?  Tasha Tudor’s soft watercolors could never be reproduced on plastic.  Probably, “Cat in the Hat” and “Where the Wild Things Grow” are out in electronic versions … but is the quality and the texture well-reproduced on the lighted screen?

            Myself, I have a collection of children’s books.  I have gotten rid of a lot of my fiction and non-fiction paperbacks but the children’s books will remain. I want my grandchildren to know what The Little Prince really looked like in Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s classic.  On a lighted screen, it just wouldn’t be the same.

            hmmm…..

hmmm.....: thoughts on the news of the day: employment

hmmm.....: thoughts on the news of the day: employment: hmmm…..             A friend of mine recently went back to work for a call center.  For those of you who don’t know what a “call cente...

thoughts on the news of the day: employment

hmmm…..

            A friend of mine recently went back to work for a call center.  For those of you who don’t know what a “call center” is, it is the place where the live person works that you eventually get to when you call a large company with a problem or question. Its not really that great a job.  You sit in a cubicle for most of the day and deal with the problems of folks who aren’t really in that great a mood.  My friend  is over 50, had been downsized at his old company, and had looked for work for a year and a half while his unemployment pay was in effect.  Hoping for a better job, he kept looking in spite of the fact that in this economy, there are few jobs to be found.

            I think he is glad to be working again.  Being around people, feeling productive and having a paycheck are all nice things to have after a long time of hiatus.  There is a lot to be said about honest work done on a regular basis.  It’s easy to take our jobs for granted.  It is easy to think that the pay is too low or the boss is unreasonable or the hours are too long. But really, in this economy, we are lucky to have jobs at all.  It is one of the gratitudes we can count. 

            If you are feeling grumpy this morning because you have to go to work, try gratitude for work to do and a place to go.  

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: blog

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            I haven’t written my blog very consistently for a while.  Maybe you have noticed … maybe not.  It’s funny how something that has become such a habit falls by the wayside so easily.  I miss writing it every morning and was not even sure why I had stopped.  Was it just laziness?  Was the thrill of seeing my writing in print and available for others to read gone?  Was I just out of the habit? 

            It was probably a combination of all three of these things, plus a little more thrown in.  But if I look closer, there is usually an underlying cause for a change in my habits.  It takes some self examination, but if I am intentional about it, I can eventually find the culprit for the new variation to my routine.

            In this case, it didn’t take all that long.  It began with an awareness that my outlook was becoming more cynical and negative.  My point of view was deteriorating toward what was wrong with a person, place or thing.  It spilled over into my writing.  My blog was no longer hopeful, creative, imaginative or winsome.  For me, at times, it almost felt sinister.  Really.

            But I got over it.  Well … not completely, but I am working on it.  All it takes is catching myself in the act of being negative and changing it as quickly as possible.  Wish all my bad habits were that easily broken!  I hope to get back on board with my daily blog.   I miss the creative energy that comes in crafting thoughts into words.  Writing is a great way to start the day; and a positive attitude never hurts.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: tell me a story

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            You may not think this is true, but we want to hear your story.  You say you don’t have a story?  I seriously doubt it.  Everyone has a story.  It could be argued that the story is not worth telling, but that is debatable.  And it is also up to the listener and not the teller to determine whether the story is valuable or not.

            Can you tell your story?  It’s a little intimidating, isn’t it?  You have to think about what it is you want to say in the first place.  How much would you want to disclose?  Would it hurt someone else’s feelings if you spoke your truth?   Recently I began to collect the stories of my congregation.  My folks are at the late dates of their lives.  If the stories are to be collected, now is the time.  We have fascinating stories in our congregation.  Fighter pilots flew the skies during World War II.  One woman gazed from the top floor of a building as Japanese planes flew over her head on their way to bomb Pearl Harbor.  Not everyone’s stories are so dramatic but they are worth the telling all the same.

            So what about you?  What are you willing to share with us?  Tell us about the birth of your first child … your wedding day… or the time that you first knew that your friend was your “best”.  Is there a first real accomplishment?  A first failure?

            You may not think you have a story; but you do.  You were born, you grew up, things happened.  And we want to hear about them ... really…. We do.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: the good ole days

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            Simulacra …. It’s a word you can wrap your tongue around.  Simulacra … not exactly Similac, that word that names the nasty formula babies are fed.  Simulacra is not exactly Lycra.  That’s the stuff that makes us well…. less fluffy.

            Simulacrum, the word, was first used in the 16^th century. It meant likeness or representation – like the likeness of a god in statuary or other medium.  Philosophically it has come to mean a distortion to intentionally make a copy appear correct to viewers.  So, the idea from there is that in remembering “the good old days” we distort how they really were.  We perform simulacra. We do this a lot, especially as we get older. 

            We long for something that probably is more legend or myth.  We have this idea that people used to sit on their front porches every evening; when in reality, most folks were still doing dishes or folding laundry or taking their evening bath so they could get up at the crack of dawn the next day, bone tired, to go to the work they did to make a living for their family. 

            We do that with technology.  We long for the good old days when families used to gather around the dinner table and have conversation together.  Really?  Is that what really happened? Or was it more like adults sparing in debate over their close minded opinions and children being “seen but not heard.”

            OK, so I know I am being a little harsh here.  There are many good things to remember about days gone by. And there are things we wish we had now that we don’t.  But next time you say “I remember when,” think about it.  Is it the way it really was, or is it the way you wish it always was; the way you wish it is now …

            hmmm…..