Posts Tagged With: Gene Kelly

Day 3101: What do you do?

What do you do when you wake up to another day in your precious life?

What do I do? I blog.

What do you do when you observe so many interesting things all around you?

What do I do? I capture them and share them in my blog.

.

What do you do when you want to get happier? I watch a Gene Kelly movie.

What do you do when you have a comment about a blog post?

What do you do when you’re grateful to someone? I express it without hesitation.

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism, Twitter | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Day 3069: Best

I do my best every day to publish a blog post that helps me face the world each day. If that post helps others too, that’s the best.

As I was doing my best this morning to come up with a good enough topic, I realized I had some “best” tweets to share.

.

I think it’s the best that people on Twitter are still responding to my recent post about four strangers treating me with contempt during one day (not one of my best days). Here are two of the best replies:

People can be the best.

What do you think is the best photo I took yesterday?

I don’t know if the Daily Bitch is really doing her best.

Several of my latest Twitter exchanges are about bests.

Here’s what might be the best scene from what I think is the best movie of all time.

Expressing gratitude is the best, so thanks to everyone who helps me blog every day, including YOU!

Best,

Ann

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Day 3013: Signs of Spring

Do you see signs of spring in these images that are springing out of my iPhone onto your screen?

Poets are a sign of spring, because April is National Poetry Month in the USA.

From now on, the amazing 1967 French musical The Young Girls of Rochefort (Les Demoiselles de Rochefort) starring George Chakiris, Catherine Deneuve, her sister Françoise Dorléac, and GENE KELLY, directed by Jacques Demy, with music by Michel Legrand, is going to be a sign of spring for me, because I first discovered it in the spring of 2021.

Here’s the opening of The Young Girls of Rochefort:

Here are the sisters:

Gene Kelly always has a spring in his step, here and everywhere else:

If you make a comment, below, that will be another wonderful sign of spring for me.

I am always grateful for signs of spring and for all who help me create these daily posts, including YOU.

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Day 2941: Comebacks

I always appreciate it when you come back to this blog, which today will start out with a definition of “comeback.”

come·back /ˈkəmˌbak/

noun
1. a return by a well-known person, especially an entertainer or sports player, to the activity in which they have formerly been successful.
“the heavyweight champion is set to make his comeback”
Similar: resurgence, recovery, return, rally, upturn, revival, rebound, fightback
2. INFORMAL
a quick reply to a critical remark.
“some of my best comebacks just go right over people’s heads”

I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s comeback of many well-known politicians to the activities in which they have formerly been successful. I’m also looking forward to the comeback of my country to the world stage.

Also, since I was very young, I’ve been known for my comebacks. Once, when a young man was telling me how wonderful he was and said, “You can call me God, for short,” I had this comeback: “Short for what — Godawful?”

Now it’s time to come back to my most recent images. Do you see any comebacks in them?

.

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire have had many comebacks, as you can see here:

I look forward to your comebacks in the comment section, below.

Thanks to all who come back to this blog, including YOU.

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism, politics | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Day 2750: Staycation favorites

I’m on a staycation this week, which is one of my favorite kinds of vacations.

My staycation favorites include

  • spending time with those I love,
  • looking at beautiful scenery,
  • watching movie musicals,
  • reading,
  • writing,
  • yummy food,
  • self care,
  • letting go of worry and anxiety about the future,
  • being in the moment,
  • staying safe, and
  • taking photos of whatever catches my fancy.

img_5340

img_5342

img_5341

img_5335

img_5333

img_5337

img_5334

img_5355

It looks like Oscar is going to be staying for my staycation.

The musical number Oscar and I were watching yesterday …

img_5333

… is “Heavenly Music” from the 1950 musical Summer Stock, starring Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers, other humans, and animals.

Despite all those dogs barking, Oscar was his usual chill self as he stayed on my lap.

One of my staycation favorites is watching Gene Kelly dance, like in this solo from Summer Stock, which shows a favorite use of a newspaper:

What are your staycation favorites?

No matter where I’m staying, I’m staying with gratitude as my favorite way to end a blog post.

IMG_5343

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Day 2744: Turning around

In my mind, I’ve been turning around the pros and cons of euthanasia for our ailing and beloved cat, Oscar.  Yesterday morning, Oscar seemed so sick that I scheduled a home euthanasia visit for this afternoon. This morning, I am turning around to cancel that visit, because Oscar took a turn for the better yesterday afternoon.

I notice Oscar has trouble turning around without staggering in the morning. In the afternoons, he is turning around before he settles in my lap. And no matter what he is doing, he is still turning around to eat some delicious chicken whenever we offer it to him.

My son is not turning around in his belief that we should not euthanize Oscar. My husband Michael is turning around what he believes is right, depending on Oscar’s behavior.

I’m used to turning around many perspectives in my mind while making decisions, especially difficult ones like this one. With so much turning around, everybody seems a little dizzy, including Oscar.

Turning around to today’s photos, here’s the inspiration for today’s title:

IMG_5211

When I saw that sign yesterday, I thought there was probably no turning around from today being Oscar’s last day on earth.  However, in my life, I’ve experienced and witnessed so much turning around that nothing seems written in stone.

Last week, I witnessed people in my Coping and Healing groups turning around low self esteem by discussing positive attributes.  If anyone had trouble naming what they liked about themselves, the other group members had no trouble turning around to share what they appreciated about that person.

Every time I try to write my last letter from the President for the Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy, I keep turning around to other activities, like watching musicals on TV (including The Music Man, Bye Bye Birdie, and On The Town).

Here’s a thought that’s turning around in my mind: It’s difficult to say goodbye.

No matter where I am, I’m often turning around to take photos like these:

IMG_5145

IMG_5206

61566284322__73C99C2D-B84B-4810-890F-FE99F709D19A

IMG_5208

IMG_5210

IMG_5212

IMG_5213

fullsizeoutput_46cc

IMG_5215

IMG_5216

IMG_5217

IMG_5218

IMG_5219

IMG_5221

IMG_5222

IMG_5223

fullsizeoutput_46cb

IMG_5225

IMG_5226

IMG_5227

IMG_5228

IMG_5229

fullsizeoutput_46ce

IMG_5233

IMG_5232

In On the TownGene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munshin are playing sailors showing up and turning around in New York, New York:

There’s a lot of turning around in “You’re Awful” from On the Town, including Frank Sinatra and Betty Garrett  turning around the meanings of words:

What thoughts and feelings are turning around for you, here and now?  Consider turning around and leaving a comment, below.

At the end of each post, I’m turning around to gratitude, so thanks to all who help me turn out this blog every day, including YOU.

img_5142-1

img_5146

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Day 1459: In the dark

I’m in the dark as I’m writing this because

  • the sun hasn’t come up yet,
  • I’ve not turned on any lights, and
  • there are so many things I don’t understand.

I took this photo when it was dark last night.

img_7817

I guess I felt the need for some sunshine, although that was just somebody trying to sell me soap.

When  I’m in the dark, it helps to remember happy times, like this scene from my favorite movie:

Even though I’m in the dark about so many things, I’ll still keep  singin’ in the rain with the late Gene Kelly,  the late Donald O’Connor, and  the late Debbie Reynolds.

As light through yonder window breaks, good morning and thanks to all of you for brightening my life, here and now.

Categories: blogging, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

Day 1437: More comparisons

Earlier this year, two days before I tried out for the TV show The Voice, I wrote a post titled “Comparisons.” Because comparisons are a cognitive distortion that can lead to envy, dissatisfaction, low esteem, disappointment, and misery, I hesitate to compare today’s post with the one I wrote before.

Since I’ve been back at work after my two-month medical leave, several people I’ve seen in therapy  sessions have presented as unhappy due to comparisons with other people.  Indeed, yesterday I circled “comparisons” on the list of cognitive distortions displayed on the wall of my office, because that particular cognitive distortion seems incomparably toxic.

Here’s a definition of the cognitive distortion of comparisons:

Comparisons.
We compare ourselves to others, with ourselves coming out short. For example, “I’m not as smart (or good, competent, good-looking, lovable, etc.) as that other person.”   Or, we compare ourselves to how we think we should be, or how we’ve been before.  We might think that comparisons help motivate us, but they usually make us feel worse.

I don’t want to compare myself to other people, but I’m wondering whether others ever make the kinds of comparisons I’ve been making lately.  These comparisons have included:

  • comparisons to people who are healthier,
  • comparisons to other blogs with higher readership,
  • comparisons to when I was younger,
  • comparisons to when I was thinner,
  • comparisons to those who have more endurance,
  • comparisons to people who live in better climates,
  • comparisons to how I felt before I had my latest surgery,
  • comparisons to the time before the U.S. presidential election, and
  • comparisons to others who work in my field.

As always, I might think these comparisons help motivate me, but they usually make me feel worse.

To help  myself feel  comparatively better, I’m going to invite comparisons among the photos I took yesterday.

img_7334

img_7336

img_7337

img_7341

img_7340

img_7348

img_7343

img_7342

img_7347

img_7345

img_7344

img_7346

img_7349

img_7354

img_7353

img_7352

img_7351

 

img_7356

img_7355

Please leave  presents of comments here, below.

And feel free to make comparisons between  two  music videos (here and here on YouTube) inspired by “Dance Yourself Silly” above.

 

To all who helped me create today’s post about comparisons and — of course! — to my incomparable readers, I express comparable gratitude:

img_7357

img_7358

Categories: personal growth, Psychotherapy | Tags: , , , , , , | 42 Comments

Day 859: Was yesterday the best day EVER?

When our days are numbered (and they are, though we rarely know the exact number), every day might be the best day ever.

But yesterday really was one of the best days  ever for me,  because:

  • I spent time with my son,
  • I spent time with my boyfriend,
  • I spent time with my cats,

  • I gave and received gifts with WordPress bloggers,
  • I saw some helpful signs,

  

  • My friend Kathy brought chocolate,

  

  • Oscar, per usual, grabbed and swallowed any available ribbon, and did not return that ribbon later (as far as I know),
  • I watched, with my son, perhaps my favorite “Louie” episode ever, which included dreams, insomnia, guilt, friendship, kindness, Clockwork Orange, parenting, doctor’s visits, family,  moving heavy objects, dread, crying, connection, fear, rabbits, stand-up comedy, dealing with other people’s shamelessness, reparative experiences,  and other topics near and dear to my heart,
  • Michael was the best nurse ever, changing my surgical dressings perfectly (not pictured) AND the best cook ever, making me perhaps the best pasta primavera ever for dinner (not pictured),
  • I knew, despite never going to Italy, that “primavera” means “spring,”
  • I went with my amazing friend Carol to see my favorite movie EVER, Singin’ in the Rain, accompanied by the Boston Pops Orchestra, at Symphony Hall,
  • We got A FREE PARKING SPOT ON THE STREET IN BOSTON ON A FRIDAY NIGHT,

  • We had a nice walk in beautiful weather, to Symphony Hall,


  • I got to see, from afar, one of my favorite spots in Boston, the Christian Science Center,
  • Our seats were friggin’ awesome,


  • Carol, who was hungry, got to order food and I got to order water,

  • One of my heroes, Stephen Sondheim, kept showing up (before I had to turn my phone off for the performance),

  • I GOT TO WATCH SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN STARRING  GENE KELLY AT SYMPHONY HALL ACCOMPANIED BY THE BOSTON POPS, SITTING NEXT TO SOMEBODY I LOVE,
  • We met new, wonderful people, some  who love that movie as much as we do and  some who were seeing it for the first time (not pictured),
  • I got to reminisce about my first time attending Symphony Hall to see Simon  & Garfunkel, when I was sitting in the balcony,

  • Symphony Hall looks and sounds as awesome now as it did then, and
  • It’s the best season ever, for me, no matter where I look.


And you know what? Today might be even BETTER, because they’re doing Singin’ in the Rain again at Symphony Hall, TWICE.

June’s looking pretty good to me, too — what with Simply Sondheim at Symphony Hall, my presentation about my therapy groups, continuing nice weather, and, I’m sure, so much more.

And — speaking of the future — there’s that little matter of making it to Italy, as soon as I can figure out how to pull that off, too.

To make this a better day (if not the best day ever) for all of us, here‘s an amazing dance number from my favorite movie:

Best-day-ever thanks to everybody and everything making yesterday exactly the day it was and to you — of course! — for making today better, for me.

Categories: gratitude, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: , , , , , | 49 Comments

Day 827: Stumped

Is anybody stumped about how I manage to blog here day after day, season after season, through sickness and health?

I’m not stumped about that, but I am stumped about why there is so much snow still around, during the second week of April in my hometown city of Boston.  After months and months, this finally reappeared, yesterday morning:

That’s the stump of our tree, out back.

Have I been stumped by any thing else, recently? I am quite easily stumped, it seems.

Why has it taken me so many years to figure out how to make fried matzo that’s almost as good as my mother’s?

Why are there only three players on my 2015 Boston Red Sox, when I could have sworn they need nine players on the field, this Opening Day?

I’ve also been stumped about why I’ve been seeing Coca-Cola everywhere, lately:

If I hadn’t told you what kind of truck that was, would you have been stumped by that photo?

I am stumped by this new Kids Concourse at Fenway Park. If my sister Ellen reads this post, she’ll probably un-stump me, since she knows all the latest about baseball, the Red Sox, and Fenway.

I am stumped by what that bench is doing at that construction site.

People can really stump themselves with unhelpful negative thoughts. In case you are stumped by that last photo, yesterday at work I invited somebody to transform the thought

I’m not doing enough

to

I want to do more.

Are you stumped by why I thought that was so important?

I wonder if anybody at the hospital cafeteria yesterday was stumped by matzo balls. Are you? I was personally stumped because the soup, at first, was matzo-ball-less.

Don’t be stumped by the matzo-ball-less appearance of that soup. The matzo balls were there, but they were sinkers, not floaters. Are you stumped by the concept of floating vs. sinking matzo balls? If so, don’t stay stumped — ask for help, below.

Speaking of sinking, when I told my friend Jan yesterday that I’ll be  having surgery next month for synching my heart ventricles, she looked stumped for a second. She thought I’d said “sinking” instead of “synching.”  Because she’s a nurse, she realized her mistake immediately.

In case you’re stumped by what might be sustaining me, right now, while I’m creating this stumped post, here it is:

I’m stumped by why I and others don’t eat more apples, rather than junk food. Apples are so yummy. Are you stumped by that photo, in any way?

Speaking of food … 

That was dinner last night, served by my boyfriend, Michael. Is anybody stumped by why I let him do all of our cooking (except for an occasional fried matzo, by me)?

In case you’re stumped by how to move forward, here’s one answer I saw on a wall last night:

As I was taking one step at a time yesterday  on my walk to work, I was stumped by how the universe put the PERFECT music into my earphones.

Are  you stumped by what that music might be? I would expect you would be stumped, at this point, so allow me to answer that particular stumper.

It was the full version of “Gotta Dance/Broadway Melody” — from my favorite movie musical Singin’ in the Rain — which lasted every step of my way, until I reached the hospital.

I am stumped in my attempts to share that full version with you now, but here’s part of it from YouTube, with the stumpingly amazing Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse:

I wonder if anybody, yesterday, was stumped by how  happy I looked, walking towards work on a Monday morning!

Stumping and stomping good thanks to Gene Kelly, to Cyd Charisse, to my family, to Jan, to people who do their best to let go of thoughts that might stump them in their attempts to heal and grow, to matzo in all its various manifestations, to synching and sinking hearts, to Fenway Park and Red Sox fans everywhere,  and to you — of course! — for stumping your way over here, today.

Categories: inspiration, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: , , , , , , , | 47 Comments

Blog at WordPress.com.