five faves: september 2016 (and this was a good week!)

Well look at that:  the last day of the month falls on a Friday this month, which means two posts in one!  So, let's get to it.

As always, these are my five favourite images I took this month.  And this month was all about home and family.

(two)  We started the month by spending Labor Day weekend with our dear friends Trish & Carl and their kids.  Carl is a bass player and a guitarist, and whenever we get together, he has playing tips for Alex. It's one of the joys of my life to watch him teach her, especially since she's known "Uncle Cah-role" (as she used to call him when she was little) all of her life.

(three)  From our obscenely overgrown front garden.

(four)  I had to bring Alex to my office at one point during this month, and as luck would have it, there was a project going on where we need her to make us some art.  She was only to happy to make it for us, which is great.  She doesn't know it, but now that we're finished recording her art, her work is hanging on the bulletin board above my desk.

(five)  A quick selfie before heading out to celebrate Marcus' birthday.  Every time I look at this photo, I'm stunned at how grown up she looks.

So yes, this was a good month.  And now for proof of good in this week:

•  A timelapse video of the micro-movements of spectacularly-coloured coral.  Watch and be mesmerized.

•  The story of how Instagram came to be.  (Basically, right place, right time.  Cool story.)

•  The beauty of architecture that heals.  So gorgeous.

•  Ever wish you could draw?  Well today's your lucky day:  here's a week of drawing lessons in one post, all for free.  What?

•  This history of social dance in America.  I ain't gonna lie: I tried some of these moves when I was alone in the house this week.

• And finally, today's soundtrack:  River, by Bishop Briggs.  Today's song brought to you by Alex (because she recommended it, and I love this sound.)

Have a great weekend, friends.

in memoriam

ALFRED OLANGO

1978 - 2016

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There's new series by NPR called "Working:  Then and Now," based on interviews of working folks that author and historian Studs Terkel conducted back in the 70s, and revisiting his interview subjects today.  This story was on this morning on our local public radio station -- take 7 minutes and click here or the arrow below to give it a listen, to learn how much has changed (or not) in policing in America between then and now.

this was a good week

This was a good week, because:

•  Yesterday I had lunch with a social worker who shared with me her plans for amazing, powerful things in the field of anti-discrimination and anti-racism, and I can't wait to see what she does (and share it with you when she's ready).

•  My friend and boss, Brené Brown, shared some truths on her social media feeds on how to fight discrimination in the United States (and it's so refreshing to work for someone who has the courage to shout her stance on racism and discrimination right out loud).

•  Our family became charter members of the brand-spanking-new National Museum of African-American History and Culture, opening this very weekend (and you can too, here).  (Related:  this wonderful NPR story on the architecture of the museum).

•  Finally, for today's soundtrack, earlier this month the Black Eyed Peas released a remix of their song, Where is the Love, that has a gorgeous new sound and features many well-known singers and celebrities.  Click here or the image below to watch and listen.  (Fair warning:  there are some tough images in this video, starting a mere 8 seconds in.  And yet, I have faith you can handle it.)

With that, let's go out there and make the world a better place.  Be brave, all of you, my brothers and sisters -- wherever in the world you may be.

in memoriam

TERENCE CRUTCHER

1976 - 2016

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(Aside: I am sick and tired of doing these in memoriam posts. I'll keep doing them every time there's news of another unarmed black person shot here in America, but I'm sick and tired of doing them.)

clearly time for this election to be over

Scene:  early Sunday morning.  Marcus and I are reading in bed.

Alex blearily stumbles in.

Marcus: "Morning, lazy."

Alex slowly blinks.

Alex: "I'm not lazy. I'm physically conservative."

this was a good week

This was a good week.  Here's why:

•  Flowers from a good friend, given to us when he stopped by to have a glass of wine; Alex's school trip allowing Marcus and me to have a sweet week together, just the two of us; and finally, our lovely girl returns home today. 

•  Last year, I shared my near-death experience with a crocodile ... but despite my resulting suspicion of all reptiles everywhere, even I have to admit that this caiman with a crown of butterflies is pretty cute.

•  And speaking of wildlife, here are the winners of the British Wildlife Photography Awards.  Gorgeous images.

•  I don't remember whether I've shared this Instagram feed with you in the past, but regardless:  these little video self-portraits of Mike Mellia make me happy.

•  Lupita N'yongo at her family home in Kenya.  She's so incredibly charming.

•  Finally, for today's soundtrack:  The Greatest, by Sia, featuring Kendrick Lamar.  Click the arrow below to listen.

And with that, have a great weekend, friends.

image activism

This weekend, someone shared the following video in my Facebook feed.  I was going to save this for an upcoming This Was A Good Week post, but honestly, I haven't stopped thinking about it.  It's about 6 minutes long, and I invite you to grab a cuppa and sit and listen to these beautiful, wise women.

I've watched the video again and again, and I've become enthralled with the three of them.  I googled each, trying to find out more.  Sadly, I found very little on Jo-Ani Johnson, the woman with the long, beautiful grey hair; however, I can tell you that I'm now even more determined to own an item of clothing designed by Norma Kamali, and I've fallen in love all over again with Michaela Angela Davis.  

I've been a fan of Michaela's for a while -- I watch every interview that I ever come across of her, she's so whip smart, with such grounded confidence -- but I hadn't really researched her before.  It turns out that she was in fashion for a long time, as the editor of several national magazines, and a stylist.  But most interestingly, I learned that she also calls herself an "image activist," and fights to broaden representations of women of colour in the media.

Image activist.

When I read those words, something in me stirred. It's the first phrase I've ever heard that feels like it encompasses the work that I strive to do, albeit with a slightly different take:  while Michaela works to change how the world views each of us (as she rightfully should, it's a worthy cause), I'd like to help change how we see ourselves.  For example, with The Beauty of Different, my hope was to redefine what it means to be beautiful, yes; but mostly it was to encourage people -- all people -- to take control of their own beauty story, by sharing the narratives and portraits of people who have done just that.  Because more important than "accepting flaws," or "learning to love yourself," I think it's imperative to truly believe the truth:  that who we are -- the entire package, inside and out -- is a precious, precious thing, too precious to allow anyone else to define its value and worth.  It's about each of us taking control of that narrative, because it's our right to do so.  

In other words, we get to decide that we're beautiful.  Straight up.

This belief is also the basis behind my Thrive Portrait Project, and the associated book that I'm writing based on the project:  just like the women in this video, aging, and what it means to age, is something that we each have the right to define for ourselves.  My hope is that both the project and the book illustrate that there are as many definitions of what it means to age, and what it means to thrive as there are people ... and thank heavens this is the case.  

Anyway, I'm going to keep talking about authenticity, and courage, and cultivating the grounded confidence to create our own stories.  Because I think when we do this -- and equally value the stories of others who are different from us -- that's when we'll really start to change the world.

in remembrance

Soundtrack:  Bridge over troubled water, as performed by Aretha Franklin.  Amazing rendition.

scenes from the weekend: the aggies vs. the panthers

A few months ago, I was thrilled to be invited by the Texas A&M Foundation to speak at their annual conference for women, and as I was preparing for my talk, I realized that even though the university is my alma mater (class of '88),  it had been over 14 years since I'd been back at the campus.  When I remarked about this length of time, Alex said, "Yeah, Mom -- and you've never taken me to a football game before.  EVER."

I had no idea going to a football game was that important to her.

So anyway, while I was at the conference, I mentioned the length of time since I'd been to a game, and I asked my host, Angela, how easy it is these days to get tickets to a game.  I don't remember her exact words, but "damned near impossible" pretty much captures the spirit of her answer.  "But if you want tickets," she kindly offered, "I can help you."

"Really?" I said.  "Oh, if there's a way you can get me access to them, I would love it.  It doesn't have to be a big game or anything -- I just would like to take my daughter to a game to experience it."

"No problem," she smiled.  "Leave it to me."

And so, a few weeks ago, she called to tell me that she had tickets to the Texas A&M University vs. Prairie View A&M University game, if I'd like to bring Marcus and Alex.  This was a pretty minor game -- both universities are actually in the same university system -- but no matter, I was thrilled at her generosity.  (And it turns out it was an important game, nonetheless.)  So today, we drove the 90 miles north to watch the game.

It did not disappoint.  Our seats were incredible, the fans were friendly and warm, and the teams and their bands played and performed with such class. It was exactly the kind of first-football-game experience I would hope for my kid. 

Here are a couple of shots from the game.

Kyle Field is the name of the university's football stadium.  At capacity, it holds about 100,000 people, and is the fourth largest stadium in the United States -- which really, is just insane.

The game begins.

While I love a good university football game, I really love a good university football halftime show.  The first band to perform during the halftime break was Prairie View A&M's Marching Storm.  Prairie View is a historically black university (read more about HBCUs here), and one thing that HBCUs tend to be famous for are their marching bands and performers.  The Marching Storm was fantastic.  In fact ...

... by the time the Storm had finished performing, the entire stadium was on their feet in applause.  A wonderful show.

Next up:  The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band.  So here's a fun fact:  Texas A&M University actually began as a military university, and while less than 10% of the current student body is a member of the Corps of Cadets, Texas A&M still manages to commission more officers into the armed forces in the nation every year, except for the United States Military Academies.  That said, every member of the band is a member of the corps, and the corp prides itself on its military precision. They're really fun to watch, especially in contrast to the way the Marching Storm broke it all the way down just minutes before.

A completely out-of-focus "us-ie" of the three of us.  No matter -- it's proof we were there, and sometimes focus is overrated, you know?

The game actually ended up being a bit of a bloodbath -- the Aggies beat the Panthers, 67-0 (!!) -- but each team played with class, the fans enjoyed each other and to my everlasting shock, Alex actually said she's thinking about whether she'd want to attend A&M in the future (she probably won't -- while A&M has many great strengths, they don't generally lie in the kinds of subjects Alex is interested in, but it's lovely to know that she had such a good time, she's actually considering it).  So it was a fun day.

On that note, thank you so much, Angela -- we LOVED being there, and we owe you big.

this was a good week

Oh, friends.  Can you believe it's been six weeks since I last shared a good week with you?  I just checked the calendar, and I was so surprised at how much time had passed.  I do hope that during that time, you noted the good moments of your own days and lives.  No matter what, they were there. I promise.

And so, to this week.  This was a good week, friends.  Here's why:

•  After a crazy-relaxing weekend, Alex is getting her rhythm back in school, and Marcus and I each had a productive week at work.  And the beat goes on.

•  My friend Jeannine is shooting a roll of film a month, and I think I just found my new photo challenge.

•  Speaking of film, check out these Kodachrome images of artists from the Harlem Renaissance.  Darth Vader never looked so cool.

•  Did you guys see that amazing photo of Usain Bolt smiling over his shoulder when he won the men's 100 meter in the Rio Olympics?  Here's the story of how the photographer got the shot.  So amazing.

•  88 truths about life.  He might very well be right.

•  This incredibly sweet interview moment between filmmaker Kevin Smith, and his daughter Harley Quinn.  There's some salty language in it, but somehow, it makes the moment even sweeter.

•  The most nostalgic little end-of-summer film ever.

•  And finally, the soundtrack of the day:  the video for Soy Yo, by Bomba Estereo.  Don't worry if you don't speak Spanish:  it's pretty obvious why my new goal is to grow up to be the little girl in this video.  Talk about a kid who sees the beauty in her Different.

Click here or the image below to watch.

With that, have a great weekend, friends.  Keep being you.