Childhood Friends

There is something special about knowing someone since before they had inhibitions. You forge a connection. J, my mom, and I were looking through family pictures yesterday afternoon and came upon this one. He (yes, he!) isn't blood related. But he might as well be. And when you have people you call family even though they don't share the same tree, well, that qualifies as a bean.
Plus, I just really wanted this picture posted for the world to see! He doesn't do this anymore. All testosterone!

Double Rainbows

I saw one Tuesday. And every time I see one (double or not) I can't help but feel that it is magical. I know there is a scientific explanation. But I don't think magic has to be unexplainable to be magic. When you think about it, what happens when light is filtered through water is really very strange and wonderful.

Incidentally, this picture was taken by someone (not me) in Kauai. We saw several while we were there too. It's no coincidence that Hawaii's license plate has a rainbow.

A Wild Magic Bean (I didn't "buy" this one)

On the way home yesterday I was thinking about the word "irrational" and the negative connotations that go along with it. Rarely is it considered good or beneficial to be irrational. I have had eyes rolled at something I have said because it was considered irrational. Logical thinking is prized in our society. We're taught in school to have logical arguments-reasons for what we think . . . and believe, for that matter. Now, I'm not saying logic is bad. Logic is good. Logic is important. But, where did we get the idea that just because it is good to be logical it is bad to be illogical? Who has commanded that everything has to be logical? What if it isn't always bad . . . and what if it is sometimes necessary (and even good) to be irrational?

I would like to point out that the action that allows us to be Christian was completely irrational. A holy perfect Being becoming a man and facing pain and death just to be with us? Highly irrational behavior on the part of that Being.

So, here's "the sprout": Perhaps there is a time and place for "irrational" and "illogical". Perhaps ration and irration are not opposites as we have made them to be but are complimentary-both good and useful.

From: The Dog and the Shadow

"Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow."

Aesop

From: The Giggleman's Mind

I know that The Giggleman's mind usually expresses itself in a mildly twisted manner. But sometimes twisted can be thought provoking-you know, breaking a paradigm and whatnot. And I thought this particular expression of his was rather provoking of thought. He titled it "The Utterance of Thought".

Houses of Parliament by Claude Monet

For My Own Inspiration

In your future career, would you like to:

*Work with children and young adults
*Reach out to diverse communities
*Share your love of books
*Keep up with the latest technology
*Develop leadership, organizational, and decision-making skills
*Use your dramatic and artistic talents
*Bring positive change to individuals, families, schools, and neighborhoods

*Most of all, do you want work to be challenging, surprising, and fun?
Consider becoming a librarian who serves children and young adults.

What do librarians who serve children and young adults do? They . . .
*Empower and motivate young people
*Promote and nurture the habit of reading
*Introduce students to the latest electronic resources
*Collaborate with other educators
*Build programs to link the library to community groups
*Choose resources to enhance the library collection
*Provide parenting education and family literacy programs
*Design and provide engaging activities that help young people develop their creativity, interests, and talents

A librarian who serves children and young adults helps young people discover themselves!

From: www.ala.org

I have heard a piece of advice common among motivational speakers that says if you have a dream or aspiration you should write it down and put it somewhere you can look at it. They say it makes it more tangible and there's some crazy percentage of people who do this that actually achieve what they write. So, this is me, writing it down.

Midsummer Eve by Edward Robert Hughes

Hawaii State Motto

"Ua mau ke ea o ka aina I ka pono."
The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.

Moon Dreams

Artist: Kim McDonald

Untitled

You may recognize this as a Windows desktop background. It is currently the background on my computer at work. The thing I find so intriguing (and the reason I've decided to add it to my blog) is the reflection in the little blue window. You don't see the outside looking through the window. You see the outside looking in the window. It's charmingly ironic.

Photographer: Unknown

Puffball

Photographed by: Dewitt Jones (Photographer for National Geographic Magazine)

Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh

Menorah by Roger Wagner

This is a picture I discovered while in Oxford, England a few years ago. It was hanging in an Anglican church that some friends and I went to for an afternoon service. The smoke stacks in the background are those of a power station in Didcot-a town near Oxford.