Day 1702: Inevitable quiet

On the last day of the 70th annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe, as things were quieting down, I noticed the words “Inevitable Quiet” on a poster.

I suppose it’s inevitable that I would point out the very unusual heart on that poster.

I took that photo quietly last night as workers ripped down weeks and weeks of thousands of posters quietly and noisily. Some used chain saws and other unquiet tools to remove the evidence of the month-long festival.  Soon after we witnessed the beginning of that inevitable process,  my son Aaron and I saw and heard noisy events like fireworks over Edinburgh Castle and a talented Shakespearean troupe performing an unquiet version of Romeo and Juliet in which Juliet was sh*t-faced.

Do you  see inevitable quiet in my other photos from yesterday?

As Shakespeare wrote at the inevitable quiet of another play’s ending,  “The rest is silence …..”

…. except for the inevitable noise of today’s YouTube video:

 

I don’t know if this was inevitable for the entire run of Sh*t-Faced Romeo and Juliet at the Edinburgh Fringe, but on the last night both Romeo and Juliet also lived, to my quiet satisfaction. Those two young deaths are inevitably depressing.

I hope there’s not too much inevitable quiet in the comments section for this post. That would also be depressing.

Inevitable thanks to all who helped me create today’s quiet and unquiet post and — OF COURSE! — to you, for visiting.   Make some noise, people!

 

 

Day 1700: What are the odds?

What are the odds that

• somebody obsessed with odds and odd things  has never published a post with this title before?
• The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally would reach its 1700th consecutive day of blogging?
• three women with the extraordinarily rare heart condition of Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries (cctga) would all be in Edinburgh at the same time, to meet for breakfast later today?
• those same three women met for the first time at the same exact place two years ago?
• this blogger, who likes to refer to her old posts, would include a link to that prior meeting here?
• my son, after attending several Fringe Festivals in Edinburgh with his mother, would apply to the University of Edinburgh and get admitted to a 5-year program in Mathematics where they probably discuss probability and odds?
• I actually had no worries yesterday after publishing a post with that name?
• we would return to Forsyth’s Tea Room yesterday to revisit with the lovely Christina, who figured prominently in this post from two years ago?
• if you visit that post from two years ago you’ll see other people we encountered again yesterday at the 2017 Festival Fringe, including the very talented Durham Revue?
• Scottish coins looks so odd to us that we might confuse it with chocolate coins, which Christina gave to us yesterday?
• there would be so many beautiful days in Edinburgh during this time of the year?
• somebody taking  Coumadin/Warfarin would be able to control her Vitamin K consumption while she’s traveling by eating the exact right amount of spinach every day?
• people would be able to keep track of time well enough to make it to all their scheduled shows at a festival like the Fringe?
• a comic genius like Neal Portenza (a/k/a Joshua Ladgrove) would have dinner with two of his biggest fans from the USA?
• readers will actually respond to any of these questions in the comment section below?
• this exact series of photos would make it to this post today?

 

What are the odds that I would include this odd video here?

What are the odds that I would end this post with thanks to all who helped me create today’s post and YOU, for reading?  Pretty good.

Day 1699: No worries

“No worries” is a phrase that originated in Australia. I have no worries, this morning, about …

• writing my third blog post titled “no worries” in four and a half years of blogging,
• linking to those previous blog posts here and here,
• people with great expectations perhaps preferring my earlier posts to this one,
• taking my time responding to others,
• remembering to take my medication,
• losing things,
• being on vacation, and
• snapping photos wherever and whenever I can.

 

 

 

 

 

I have no worries that one of the excellent comedians shown above has a congenital heart condition and that we showed each other our open-heart surgery scars in public.  I also have no worries that two of the lovely people portrayed in the photos above are from Australia and say “no worries” instead of “you’re welcome.”

I have no worries about giving you more details in this blog post because

the end of this post is nigh.

No worries about including this music today.

Thanks to all who help me create this daily blog and — of course! — to you, whether or not you respond “no worries” in a comment today.

 

Day 1696: The key to happiness

One of my keys to happiness is learning about the experience of others. So I am happy to ask you, here and now, about your keys to happiness.

Another key to happiness, for me, is sharing my thoughts and photos in this daily blog.

That’s the key to our hotel in Edinburgh, lying on a table at Petit Paris, a French restaurant we always visit here. Travel and great food are other keys to happiness, I think.

Do you see more keys to happiness in my other photos from yesterday?

 

It’s not imaginary that another key to happiness is associating with good humans, like my ex-sister-in-law’s husband Joe …

… and comedian Ron Lynch (who was playing in several unrecognizable keys on stage yesterday).

Here’s another Key to Happiness in recognizable keys, on YouTube.

Thanks to all who gave me every key to happiness I needed to create today’s post and to my readers (including you!)  who are more keys to my happiness.

 

 

Day 1197: Where creativity happens

Where creativity happens, that’s where I want to be.

Where creativity happens, I can learn and grow.

Where creativity happens, I can express myself authentically.

Where creativity happens, I am inspired.

Where creativity happens, I am more in the moment.

Where creativity happens, I let go of any regrets about the past.

Where creativity happens, I let go of fear and worry about the future.

Where creativity happens, I am more accepting.

Where creativity happens, I can show up, be gentle, and tell the truth.

Where creativity happens, I can see mistakes and imperfections as opportunities to solve problems .

Where creativity happens, I can let go of assumptions and expectations.

Where creativity happens, I am more playful and spontaneous.

Where creativity happens, I am less concerned with what other people think.

Where creativity happens, I can live non-judgmentally.

Where creativity happens, I feel free to share the love in my heart and the knowledge in my head.

Where creativity happens, I can bring all the different parts of me, without shame.

Q: Where does creativity happen?

A: Anywhere people have the means to create  and feel safe enough to do so.

Yesterday, creativity happened everywhere I went.

 

Yesterday, my boyfriend Michael creatively told me and my son about creative Craig Ferguson and creative Shirley Manson creatively talking about Edinburgh, Scotland, where creativity will happen (1) during the Festival Fringe in August and (2) when my son starts University there in September.

Here‘s creative Shirley Manson being creative musically:

Where creativity happens, there’s room for comments AND gratitude.

Day 597: Brilliant

“Brilliant” is a word I’m hearing a lot, during my trip to Edinburgh, Scotland. People use it somewhat differently than what I’m used to, when I’m home in the United States.

Here are two recent examples:

Me: “I can pay for those tickets with this credit card.”

He: “Brilliant.”

 

Me: “We’re done eating.”

She: “Brilliant.”

 

More reasons I should move to Edinburgh!  I love

1. feeling like I’m brilliant and
2. being told I am.

Before I’d make any decision to move here, though, I need to remember this: there’s no way of knowing whether all these people telling me I’m brilliant actually live in Edinburgh.  There’s a good chance they do NOT, according to somebody who was talking to me and my son yesterday. This person (who, I seem to remember, also called me “brilliant”) told us that the population of Edinburgh DOUBLES during the Fringe Festival every August, because of all the visitors.

Brilliant.

Now, I believe, is a brilliant time to show you some photos I took yesterday.

 

 

There’s a lot of brilliance to be found, here in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Many thanks to brilliant people everywhere, to those who express appreciation of brilliance, and to you — of course! — for brilliantly being here, today.

 

 

Day 238: Random Images (paired)

I wasn’t sure what to post about on this Monday morning, so I thought I would do a Random Post. Rather than my usual Random Thoughts, though, this is a post about Random Images. That means I get to include some photos I’ve taken lately, which haven’t appeared in previous posts.

To give this post a wee bit more structure, I am going to post those pictures in pairs — two photos at a time, that have some connection (and differences, of course).

Okay? Let’s get started!

Photo A:

Photo B:

I took these two photos in Harvard Square last month, right before I left for my trip to London and Edinburgh. The connection? The photos show two sides of the same sign, in front of a cafe/restaurant. What did I want to say about this, right now? I’ve been noticing that conversations and attitudes about diet — about what people eat — seem to be “split” lately, between:

1. Food that is really, really good for you — so health-oriented, with so many restrictions, that I begin to get scared that everything I eat is poisonous except for, maybe, just cool, clear water (and sometimes, a stuffed cabbage), but no, wait! water is a problem, too, especially if it’s in the wrong receptacle, etc. etc., OR
2. Food that is really, really “bad for you” — so let’s eat that sugar, that fat, all that stuff that’s bad for us, packed as tightly as possible into a single serving, and screw you, diets!!

Next pairing!

Photo A:

Photo B:

These two photos are separated in space and time. The first one was taken during that aforementioned trip to Harvard Square; the second one taken a week or so later, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Similarities? Both involve people dressed up in period costumes, performances, and trying to sell somebody something.

Next pairing!

Photo A:

Photo B:

This is another pairing that was very close in space and time. Our last night in Edinburgh, I noticed these two buildings, a couple of blocks away from each other, that had windows illuminated in one color — green in the first building and purple in the second building. I had never seen anything quite like this, didn’t know how this special effect had been created, and wanted to capture it.

Last pairing, for this blog post!

Photo A:

Photo B:

Similarities? Both photos were taken after I returned home from the trip to Edinburgh, both feature the same domesticated short-haired cat, and both involve a special effect. The difference? In the first one, the photographer intervened in the staging of it; in the second one, she just captured the moment.

That concludes our blog post for today, ladies and gentlemen.

Thanks to Mel Brooks’s 2000 year old man (for the reference to his strict diet of just water and maybe sometimes a stuffed cabbage), to special effects wizards everywhere, to performers and performances both staged and improvised, and to you, of course, for reading today.

Day 225: Reasons why I should move to Edinburgh, Scotland

Reason #1:  Because humor is really important to me.

After spending just one full day in Edinburgh, I saw lots of evidence that this place would be a good match for my personal sense of humor.

For example, I like a good pun:

I really appreciate visual humor, too:

Also, my son and I went to several comedy shows yesterday, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, (and we plan to go to more today).  By far, the funniest person we saw yesterday was Tom Joyce, apparently a non-professional comic and student at Edinburgh University.

I want to say these things about Tom, after seeing him perform yesterday:

1. Tom’s humor appeals to many ages. My 15-year-old son and I both started laughing as soon as Tom started his set and we didn’t stop until he did.
2. Tom was very smart.
3. I’ve never seen anybody quite like him, and I’ve seen a lot of comedy shows.
4. Another time I had a thought like #3, above, was after seeing Steven Wright in a local Boston comedy club, when he was starting out in the late 1970s.
5. People in Edinburgh must be REALLY funny, because Tom tied for 1st place as Edinburgh University Stand Up of The Year, 2013.

Reason #2: People in Edinburgh seem to be very modest.

After the comedy review show where we saw Tom yesterday, which included comics performing on their own during the festival, Tom was very gracious as he told us the disappointing news that he did not have his own show at the Fringe. When we asked Tom his last name, and told him how much we admired his act, he was kind and appreciative, but also wanted us to know, “I’m not really famous.”

And, nobody mentioned Tom’s recent stand-up award; we had to find that out by googling him.

I’ve seen other evidence, in Edinburgh, that the people can be quite humble here. And even though I’ve written, previously, about how bragging can be a good thing to practice (especially if you are working on self-esteem issues), I still value authentic humility and modesty.

Here’s more evidence of that, in Edinburgh, where people recognize the value of the little things:

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Reason #3:  There are so many amazing things to look at.

I wrote about photo opportunities in London, a few days ago. And while London is a truly beautiful city,  in Edinburgh every moment is a photo opportunity.  Here are just a few of the ones I was able to capture yesterday (in reverse chronological order):

I wanted to end with that last image, above, because of my final reason, this morning:

Reason # 4: If you look more closely at anything in Edinburgh, you’re likely to see something else.

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Thanks to Tom Joyce, to the other wonderful people who live in Edinburgh, and to you, for looking today.