2 Movies, 2 Books & 1 New Mantra

February 5, 2013May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 19 Comments

As part of my attempt to live a more balanced life in 2013, I have given myself the assignment to watch 2 movies and to read 2 books each month. This is more difficult for me to do than you might imagine, but I’m giving it my best shot. Here is my January report.

2 Movies

Hachi, A Dog’s Tale – Delightful. The story of a college professor, the stray dog he found on a train platform and loyalty that goes on forever. Highly recommended if you like Richard Gere, fables and house porn. {have tissues nearby}

The Queen of Versailles – Compelling & whacked. This is a documentary about a ditzy woman and her billionaire husband who set out to build the largest residence in USA. Can you say conspicuous consumption? Can you say bad judgement? Can you say slobs? Highly recommended because, well– Whiskey Tango Foxtrot— you’ve never seen anything like this.

2 Books

13, rue Thérèse – Fascinating. On the surface, this is a novel about a college professor who finds a box filled with letter, photos and personal objects. He decides to document each item and to research the timeframe from which the objects came. What makes this novel so unique is that the author, Elena Maui Shapiro, who lived in an apartment building in Paris when she was a girl, inherited the objects when an older woman in the building died. Using these objects as a starting point, the author wrote this novel. Recommended if you like history and the idea that nothing is quite as it seems.

The Buddha Walks Into A Bar – Informative. It’s been a long time since I read a book about religion. This one, written by Lodro Rinzler, is quietly funny, well-researched and difficult to put down. I hesitate to call it personal development, but I suppose that’s the genre it fits in. I read it more as a refresher course on Buddhism than a how-to guide. Recommended if you’re feeling the need to think about life from a different point of view and be mindful.

1 New Mantra

A friend’s second grade daughter came home from school with a long, involved story about playground intrigue. My friend, who was making dinner as she listened to the story, said that she wasn’t absorbing the details. Instead, she was listening to the tone-of-voice. Eventually her daughter stopped talking and my friend realized that she needed to say something Mom-like. So she asked her daughter what she thought about all that had happened and her daughter, with a sigh, summed it up with: “People are silly.”

No truer words, my little one. And a perfect mantra about relationships, if you ask me.

Take Me To The River

January 21, 2013July 1, 2025 / Ally Bean / 24 Comments

I wanted crab cakes. So on Saturday Zen-Den and I went to a restaurant on the KY side of the Ohio River where I had some delicious crab cakes. It was a sunny day, so after lunch we decided to walk across the Purple People Bridge on Pagan’s Path to OH. After spending some time in the park along the river on the Ohio side, we walked back across the bridge to KY where we had parked our car. Here is what we saw along the way.

~ ~ • ~ ~

Helpful Signs

~ ~ • ~ ~

The Purple People Bridge

~ ~ • ~ ~

Pagan’s Path Plaque

~ ~ • ~ ~

Blue Sky While Looking Up On The Purple People Bridge

~ ~ • ~ ~

Cincinnati From The Purple People Bridge

~ ~ • ~ ~

Original Rookwood Pottery Buildings In Mt. Adams

~ ~ • ~ ~

The Serpentine Wall On The Ohio River

~ ~ • ~ ~

Statue Of Cincinnatus

~ ~ • ~ ~

Pedestrian Only Walkway On The Purple People Bridge

~ ~ • ~ ~

A Kentucky Tree In Front Of The Ohio River

~ ~ • ~ ~

The Stuff & Things Of Life

January 19, 2013February 25, 2015 / Ally Bean / 12 Comments

{ Source }

This year my desk calendar displays a vintage ad above each monthly grid. January’s ad is for a Big Ben alarm clock. The style of the ad is mid-century and the vibe of the ad is cheerful. I smile when I look at it.

Unlike the nature photo calendars that I’ve had in the past, this one inspires me in a more creative way. Suddenly I want to paint something– or bake something– or color something, even. Funny how the imagery on something can influence me in such a way, but it does.

###

I’ve always been fascinated by what objects people put around themselves. I enjoy knowing what stuff a person finds important enough to keep on his or her desk– or on his or her kitchen counter– or in his or her magazine rack. The little things that make someone smile. Or be productive. Or feel safe.

###

I stumbled on this article about abandoned suitcases that were found in an old insane asylum. It’s an interesting read. The photos of the contents of the suitcases are amazing. Plus there is documentation to explain who owned the suitcases– and why he or she was institutionalized.

There’s no way of knowing who put the objects into each suitcase. It might have been the patient or it might have been the person who institutionalized the patient. Or, I suppose, it might have been the nurse or doctor who came to escort the patient to the asylum.

###

Looking around my home office I see the details that make it mine. Like the calendar that inspires me. Like the colorful Le Creuset mug that keeps my coffee handy. Like the books in the old wooden bookcase that ground me. And I wonder, what would I take with me if I knew I was going to an insane asylum… probably for the rest of my life.

Impossible to know the answer to such a hypothetical question. Yet interesting to ponder. On a Saturday morning.

Back When TV Was Truly Refined

December 15, 2012December 15, 2012 / Ally Bean / 10 Comments

… After yesterday’s constant stream of sad news I’m feeling a bit nostalgic today.

This is funny and sweet. It’s a reminder of how smart + delightful television used to be. So. Very. Calm.

I miss watching TV shows that were in black & white. I miss seeing TV shows that don’t *flash* and *bang* all over the place. I miss being entertained by TV shows that don’t try to impress me with their super hipness.

But mostly I miss the kind of innocence that allowed a pleasant “nobody” to outsmart a panel of curious “somebodies” by merely being herself. With a smile.

###

[H/T to Maria Popova at Brain Pickings. More info + other video clips here.]

[Unrelated to this video, but interesting to know, the contestant later wrote a memoir titled Look Back and Laugh. Writers are everywhere, aren’t they?]