the places that bring you joy
There is no there there.
—
Gertrude Stein, Everybody’s Autobiography (1937)
A quote that is often used to describe “placelessness”. More on the story behind that quote: here.
A place is not a place until people have been born in it, have grown up in it, lived in it, known it, died in it — have both experienced and shaped it, as individuals, families, neighborhoods, and communities, over more than one generation. Some are born in their place, some find it, some realize after long searching that the place they left is the one they have been searching for. But whatever their relation to it, it is made a place only by slow accrual, like a coral reef.
— Wallace Stegner
Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
An inspiring book by Dr. Seuss, published in 1990. Pictures aren’t mine.
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.
It’s opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And then things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll be on y our way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
that Bang-ups
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.
You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping,
once more you’ll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You’ll be as famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don’t
Because, sometimes they won’t.
I’m afraid that some times
you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win
‘cause you’ll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you’ll be quite a lot.
And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul.
On you will go
though your enemies prowl.
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike,
And I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never foget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So…
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
You’re off the Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!
Cagoule
From the makers of Anorak, the revolutionary kids magazine I have yet to get my hands on. So who says a magazine has to be all neat and organised?
MagCulture says:
Much is made of the idea these days that general interest magazines are dead, that new titles need to be about one subject. Cagoule ignores this perceived wisdom, instead wandering from comic strips to food, to shot stories to poetry.
The art direction is gorgeous, and I think it’s very hard to achieve that sense of orderly chaos with so much colours! Can’t wait ‘til some fancy bookstore stocks it in Singapore.
From the Creative Review blog (again):
Rebecca Ayre’s intruiging landscapes are made up of digital composites of a range of found photographs and postcards. The series, entitled Nostalgia, derives from Ayre’s research into memory and recollection, both personal and collective, and the significance of imagination within this process. “I am very interested in how photography stimulates our ability to remember and also forget,” she says. “I am concerned with how it is used, both personally and culturally, as a confirmation of a particular time and place; considering, particularly in a contemporary visual culture, we understand that photography can be a deceptive and an often inaccurate medium. Because of the nature of the composite process, the images do not depict any one place, but many, representing a collective nostalgia we hold as a culture for our personal experiences.”
(pictures are courtesy Creative Review blog)
The Good Times is The Church of London’s response to the January blues and the result of a week-long project to write, design and print a one-off newspaper which celebrates only good news…
In the seven days leading up to today’s publication date (which, according to the dubious claim of an ad campaign from a few years ago, is the ‘most depressing day of the year’*) TCoL rallied writers, designers and illustrators together to produce a newspaper which exclusively features ‘good news’ stories.
Thanks to Creative Review, I discovered this really interesting project from The Church of London, the agency behind more great publications such as Little White Lies and Huck.
- There are other people who believes in the importance of Good News!
- It is a printed publication (LONG LIVE PRINT), but it highly utilised the instant connectivity and ease of digital to involve the audience, through tweets and its constant stream of updates on the website.
- I like how the creators chose a picture of a DEADCUTE PUPPY to reign over the centre spread. Because I do, too, understand the majestic healing qualities of cute baby animals.
