Monday, January 22, 2018

Maybe not the best choice of reading in my current state

The process of growing old bears little resemblance to the way it is presented, either in novels or in works of medical science.

No work of literature, and no doctor, had prepared the former residents of Katalin Street for the fierce light that old age would bring to bear on the shadowy, barely sensed corridor down which they had walked in the earlier decades of their lives, or the way it would rearrange their memories and system of values. They knew they should expect certain biological changes: that the body would set about its work of demolition with the same meticulous attention to detail that from the moment of conception it had applied to the task of preparing itself for the journey ahead. They had accepted that there would be alterations in their appearance and a weakening of the senses, along with changes in their tastes, their habits, and their needs; that they might fall prey to gluttony or lose all interest in food, become fear-ridden or hypersensitive or fractious. They had resigned themselves to the prospect of increasing difficulties with digestion and sleeping, things they had taken for granted when young, like life itself. But no one had told them that the most frightening thing of all about the loss of youth is not what is taken away but what is granted in exchange. Not wisdom. Not serenity. Not sound judgment or tranquility. Only the awareness of universal disintegration.
 --from the first page of Katalin Street by Magda Szabo

Saturday, January 20, 2018

Women's March 2.0 in photos


It seems impossible to find an estimate on this year's crowd in Seattle but for now let's just say it was a lot. As many as last year? I donno. It was colder than last year but that didn't seem to dampen anyone's spirits. When we could get a view up or down the street, the crowd seemed to stretch all the way back to Broadway (when we were at 7th or so) and as far as one could see back along 4th towards Pine (from mid-Belltown). It was, again, a hopeful, positive crowd with a great many creative signs.
You wouldn't think this would need saying, would you?
Sounds reasonable
I"m a sucker for the Space Needle (in my excitement to see it marching, I couldn't focus my camera).
I liked this one, despite the questionable hyphenation on "superpower."
And there were a lot of children in the march.
Some old enough to make their own signs
This little girl became a star, waving at the waiting crowd who all waved back.
This child was a bit more reflective.
I particularly liked this one and hope the idea catches on.
A recurring theme
Words to live by
What gives me the most hope
"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."
In Seattle, we love our acronyms. I had to ask what this one meant: "Impeach the motherfucker already."
Another worthwhile laundry list
"LOVE is the answer (that, and VOTING)"
A popular bit of signage
Self-explanatory, I like to pair it with this one:
Antifascist US WWII Veteran
A range of causes including that business of not destroying the planet
Immigration!
This one just cracked me up.

Not a great day for golf anyway.
Again with the hope when you see the young women who will be voting for the first time in 2018
There were at least *two* versions of this one. Mmmmm, cinnamon rolls.
So Seattle
Crowd shot while waiting to get moving
Another crowd shot
Marchers and signage (yes, that's the Space Needle sign)
Milling crowd at the end of the line by Seattle Center
WWHD?
I love her so much I'm putting her in twice.