Life

The Getty - 8/27

The Interrupters 8/27

Steve James' documentary, The Interrupters, is about Dr. Gary Slutkin's unique program, CeaseFire, which treats violence as an infectious disease. In the toughest neighborhoods in Chicago, Interrupters attempt to defuse potentially violent situations by changing behavior.  Most of the group’s employees were once criminals themselves, which, together with their roots in the community, gains them the respect of the people they advise, cajole, dissuade, and mentor.  Heart wrenching and inspiring.  A must see.

Ozomatli 8/25

Must See

Inside Job, the Oscar winning documentary takes a sobering look at the financial crisis of 2008.  Charles Ferguson, the filmmaker, posits greedy Wall Street players, economists and bureaucrats perpetrated a colossal crime on the working-class masses.  Beginning in 1981, the deregulation of our financial institutions created an environment for systemic corruption.  It's perplexing and frustrating that no efforts have been made to regulate executive compensations, practices of ratings agencies, and lobbyists.  I can't help but question why Obama appointed several of the men who were responsible for the collapse of Wall Street to key economic positions.  They are not looking out for the average American citizen, proven by the fact that the US's inequality of wealth is now worse than in any other developed country. When Ferguson accepted his Oscar he blew past the pleasantries and stated, "Forgive me, I must start by pointing out that three years after our horrific financial crisis caused by financial fraud, not a single financial executive has gone to jail, and that's wrong".  I agree.

Tarot

If only Florence was closer I would mark my calendar with a trip to the Uffizi to see Francesco Clemente's new exhibit featuring my favorite divining tool, the tarot.  The Seventy eight cards were re-imagined by the artist, executed in his inimitable style, featuring his friends in New York City. 

The origin of the deck is as murky and mysterious as the cards themselves.  The first known tarot was created in the early 1400s in Northern Italy for the purpose of playing games.  It wasn't until the early 1700s that rudimentary divinatory meanings were given to the cards, thus beginning the long association of tarot with mysticism and magic.  In the 1900s Carl Jung was the first psychoanalyst to attach importance to tarot symbolism. He may have regarded the tarot cards as representing archetypes: fundamental types of persons or situations embedded in the collective unconscious of all human beings.

Sometimes I'm unnerved by the unknown, and if my life was a book I'd be tempted to read the last page first.  On those days I pull a tarot card from the deck, explore the hidden meaning in the symbols, and oddly, breath a little easier.

Sunset Blvd 8/21

Echo Park 8/20

Hollywood & Vine 8/18

Agave 8/16

Before I Die

Public installation artist, urban planner and TED fellow, Candy Change, turned a blighted house in her New Orleans neighborhood into an interactive wall of dreams.  I LOVE the internet for getting me out of my head and transporting me to the collective journey as I put one foot in front of the other.  I thrive on the endless pool of inspiration that comes from seeing others ability to forge ahead and achieve the unthinkable. 

Progeny

Haunting photos of Frances Bean Cobain by Hedi Slimane.

Brunch 8/14

Peaches 8/13

Sunset Hike - 8/12

Cloudy 8/10

I've been diligently dragging my butt out of bed several mornings a week to attend a 7am yoga class.  The session is somewhat clinical, and the instructor, about to give birth in a week, has a no nonsense demeanor.  On occasion she's surprised me by taking away a block propping me up for twisted triangle or suggesting I come out of child's pose even though my wobbly legs disagreed.  This morning, she assisted me in bridge.  I held on to her ankles, straightened my elbows and lifted my arched back.  The tightness between my neck and shoulders felt like glass about to shatter.  "My arms are weak," I said, coming out of the pose.  "It's your willingness", she diagnosed. "You have a mental block".   What could have been heard as a passing observation, resonated as a bold statement.  Her tone was matter of a fact, clearly stating a conclusion she made several weeks ago.  Nail on the head!  That's what I sensed from her all along.  She thinks I'm capable of much more than I'm giving.  Instead of clearing my mind of thought, I wondered if she was on to something.  What was at the core of my holding back?  Were my beliefs that I didn't have enough strength, or could injure myself in the process stronger than my actual ability?  Perhaps what I labeled -- embracing my limitations instead of judging them -- was entirely something else.  Although I'm a Taurus I've never though of myself as stubborn, but this encounter made me considered my willfulness in a new light.  I do believe certain things to be true.  Are those truths based in reality or has my reality mirrored my truths?  This question comes at a time when I wrestle with other truths which seem to define my life and inform my actions.  So much for starting the morning with a centering yoga class.  I feel all mixed up from the experience, which I've come to recognize as a nerve being struck.  And so much for The August Break, some days just need words too.

My Monkey 8/9

Lemonade 8/8

Cactus - 8/6

The Moon 8/5