Red Queen Day: September 2006

Saturday, September 30, 2006

The Art of the Day is: Seeing Possibilities

So, a friend came over today, and we were going through part of my garage, ostensibly to clean it up, and throw out unnecessary stuff. Each time she would pick something up and say, "what's this?" I would know what it was, and what project it was for. If she hadn't pointed out to me that not everyone thinks that way, I don't think I would have assumed anyone thinks any other way.
File that under curiouser and curiouser.

Friday, September 29, 2006

Envy, Jealousy

I admit, I get them confused. You are envious of some thing someone has, and jealous of the person, ie: I want what he has (envy), I want to be that person (jealousy)?

Basically, I don't care. I just want to find the way out of feeling either way.

What is the opposite of jealousy? I want more of that. Is that envy? What is the opposite of envy? I need to develop that.

Both envy and jealousy seem to be in the "I want/ I lack" side of the scale of things. What am I missing? And what should I do about it? Doing something about it seems to be the next logical step, and I expect it is out of my comfort zone, more like exercising than finding a solution, more like training than learning, practicing than playing. The dreaded “acting as if”. OK.

I wrote this in July, and never posted it. After rereading the post, I’ve decided that what I wrote is still true, but I am more comfortable with the idea of doing something about it, and that whatever “it” is, the feelings are less immediate, and I’m more amenable to the thought of stretching, or exercising.

Are feelings like weather in New England? Wait a while, they’ll change.

The Art of the Day is: the art of acting as if

Thursday, September 28, 2006

The Art of the Day is: The Art of Creating a Distraction

AKA: diverting attention, misdirection.
Associated with magic, slight of hand, scams, changing subjects.
Mixing things up.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

The Art of the Day is: The Art of Creative Interpretation of Human Motives

Much more interesting than:
Art Of Dramatic Writing : Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives by Lajos Egri (as per the Amazon List).
Question: Is this another way of saying revisionist history?

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

The Art of the Day is: Compassion

It needs to be exercized to keep healthy.

Monday, September 25, 2006

The Art of the Day is: Balancing

Sunday, September 24, 2006

The Art of the Day is: choral singing

Blending voices, call and response, seagull calls.
What a nice way to start a new year!

There was a psychologist I was seeing, who used to encourage me to join a choral group of some kind. It really does help (or force) you to play well with others.

Iconography.

Friday, September 22, 2006

The Art of the Day is: wordplaying

So, this came up as a result of my meeting with an ultrasonographer.
My first reaction was is ultrasonography an art? Like scenography, or Photography.
Or an area of study, like geography (OK, maybe that's the art of mapping, no, that's cartography). Pornography? (only if it has redeeming social importance). Oceanography? Stenography?
I open it up to you for further examples, and opinions.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

The Art of the Day is: listening

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

The Art of the Day is: Making nervous people less nervous.

"Don't make nervous people more nervous." --Tennessee Williams, Night of the Iguana

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

The Art of the Day is: the art of playing fair

Monday, September 18, 2006

The Art of the Day is: getting from here to there

Sunday, September 17, 2006

The Art of the Day is: Appreciating Mornings

Maybe it's because the weather is changing, or the light coming in the bedroom window is on a different angle, but mornings have been sweeter, lately. It may also be because I have more of a schedule, now that school has started. It may also be because I'm taking a new medication that you have to take and then wait to have breakfast, and it's that time where I'm developing a new routine, which includes time for appreciation. Whatever. It's good, and I'll go with it.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

The Art for the Day is: Vanity Plate Names

I just wanted to note an especially good licence plate I passed on Rt 93 last week.
It was on a silver Subaru Outback. It said:
ENTROPY
If you know who's car this is please get in touch.

Friday, September 15, 2006

A Four Dwarf Day

I'm having a four dwarf day. The kind of day where you feel
Happy, Dopey, Sneezy, and Sleepy,
which is better than a Grumpy, Sleepy, Sneezy and Dopey day,
but not by much.

The Art of the Day is: Coping with the common cold

Thursday, September 14, 2006

The Art of the Day is: Disambiguation

Have I mentioned lately that I am fond of polysyllabic words? I am.

This is a word that came up on Wikipedia. It seems if you search for a word or a name where there are several meanings or answers (two Englebert Humperdincks, as an example) it will take you to a disambiguation page, and help you to decide if you want the Baroque Composer, or the 60’s rock star (for example).

You could call it clarification, but it’s more interesting when things come up that you had no idea there were any alternatives. And that would be serendipitous.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

The Art of the Day is: Coping with unexpected changes

My vet (my cat's vet) retired and sold her business to another vet.
I am not used to the new vet yet.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

The Art of the Day is: The Art of Navigation with Maps

Lawyers call it a frolic or a detour, when you get sidetracked for a bit, and go wandering off from your intended goal or plan. Sometimes planned, sometimes unintentional, I can't remember which is which, which is longer, which is more of a problem in the scheme of things.
I've written about hunting down comforters for a friend's show, and that has been the impetus for several detours recently. Today it was to Biddeford, ME where in one plaza there is a Salvation Army Thrift Store, Marsdens (a salvage store like Big Lots), and a dollar store. A bargain hunter's trifecta!

Monday, September 11, 2006

The Art of the Day is: Painting skies.

"That sky is so beautiful, if you painted it, no one would believe you."

"They say the most beautiful sunsets are seen after volcanic eruptions, when all the dust is in the air."

Is delayed grieving an antonym to delayed gratification? Not exactly. But it’s similar, in that you behave well until afterwards.

I did pretty darn well yesterday and last week, the anniversary of Jimmy’s death, and Sunday, after everyone had checked in to see if I was doing OK, I lost it. I lost it when someone I didn’t know thought I had hit a third party’s car, and the third party found me, and I moved the car, and everything was fine, but I responded to someone else’s bad mood, and then I missed him. And then I cried.

Everyone is checking in with their feelings around 9/11, five years out. It happens that Jim’s Yahrtzeit falls on the same weekend this year on the Hebrew/Secular calendar. I remember Jimmy on September 11^th. He left for work, and then came back after a few hours, realizing everyone was too distracted, too upset to care about what he was presenting. I remember hearing about a plane hitting the Trade center on NPR when my alarm clock turned the radio on. I remember going downstairs and wanting to watch CNN. I remember seeing the second plane hit, and thinking that’s not right! That’s no accident! My father (who worked for the FAA) must be rolling in his grave! I remained glued to the screen. Jim called to see if I knew what was going on, and when Jim came home he was glued to the screen too.

And I remember how that day and the following few days were absolutely beautiful, but eerily quiet. No planes. A throw-back to a time before flight. Not even birds in the air. Not even insects. Well, that’s how it seemed.

I never went to see the twin towers when I lived in New York. They were a latecomer to the skyline, best viewed from the Jersey side, but that’s not the point is it? I never had warm fuzzies over the Pentagon, either, but it’s not the building, it’s the people, it’s the shaken up lives.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

The Art of the Day is: Dealing with difficult people

Saturday, September 09, 2006

The Art for the Day is: the art of making it history

Friday, September 08, 2006

The Art of the Day is: Recreating Heirloom Recipes

A very fancy way of saying:"Today I'm making kreplach".

Thursday, September 07, 2006

The Art of the Day is: Confounding Expectations

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

The Art for the Day is: Making Waves

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

The Art of the Day is: The Art of Getting there on time

or as the White Rabbit would say,"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! "

Monday, September 04, 2006

The Art of the Day is: The art of Careful Listening

Sunday, September 03, 2006

The Art of the Day is: The Art of song

Saturday, September 02, 2006

The Art of the Day is: the art of perseverance

Friday, September 01, 2006

Pinch, Punch, First of the Month.

The Art of the Day is: The art of the witty retort

Sorry if you were expecting an example. It's something I'm working on that sometimes comes naturally and sometimes doesn't. But hey, I know it when I see/hear it!

Some days "It takes all the running you can do to stay in the same place". This blog is to chronicle the running, and point out the interesting things, people, places, I meet on the way.

: Name: the other Joan; Location: New Hampshire, United States

I've lived in all 4 New states, NY, NJ, NM, NH. I grew up as far away as you can from Manhattan and still take the subway.(I used to put subway tokens in my penny loafers so I could click my heels three times and go home). I've sung solo in the Parma Opera House. My brother and sister are twins. I believe that people want to be used, but they want to be used well.

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Keep your eyes on your
own plate
Be yourself,
it's who you do best
Every problem has
a family

Red Queen Day