shamash says...

Good-bye 2007

2007 was an eventful year for Shamash Says. My blogging life was put on hold as I pursued other passions such as art, grad classes, and working on my novel.  I remain anonymous, yet for those of you who know where I live and the recent events in this country Somewhere in Asia, the lines of communication, including the internet, were down for weeks at a time during the past four months. Compared to other years, the number of posts for Shamash Says has decreased, yet my traffic has increased primarily due to google images. In December I reached the image via ffffound

80,000 hit mark. As a way of remembering 2007, I'm following the meme of Jeff and Terry  and have picked the first lines from the first posts of each month. Eclectic, eclectic!

January:
In the Mirror Here are a few of my photography experiments on reflective surfaces.

February:
Five Things You Didn't Know About Me What do a tattooed Hell’s Angel, a parachute, a shot of whiskey, a motorbike, Jimmy Carter, and a cockroach have in common?

March:
Taking Notice “And the days go by, and the years follow the years, and we walk sightless through miracles." -Jewish proverb

April:
Sky Bar: My Favorite Bar on Earth  It’s high. It’s cool. It’s invigorating. It’s how I like my Friday nights in the sexiest city in Asia.

May:
Coaching the Creative Process  Creating art in any form requires showing up regularly at the dance floor, the easel, the musical instrument, the page.

June: The Big Apple Store, Fifth Avenue, NY  We’ve shopped for antiques in Rangoon, silverware in Bangkok, silk in Saigon, but nothing compares to our adventures in the Big Apple.

July:
The Mall of America: Bigger? Better? Best? I realize that I’ve entered this place with the eye of a stranger in a strange land.

August
A Woman Should Have...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
A set of screwdrivers,
a cordless drill, and
a black lace bra...

September
Yes, It's True It rained a lot the past few days. What we see on the surface is only a percentage of what might be.

October
"Every community needs a group of angelic troublemakers." -- Bayard Rustin

November
Waking Up with a Bindi Last night I donned one of my saris and headed out to celebrate the Festival of Lights, Indian Devali.

It's been a crazy, wonky year, my friends! May 2008 bring you growth, enlightenment, and a bountiful life of "living in the now."

Creating Closure....

.... helps me realize that:

...............Happy New Year, everyone. May it be a year of love, peace, growth and transformation.

image from postsecret

Waking Up with a Bindi

___The Goddess Lakshmi arose from the Ocean of Milk, during the great churning of the oceans.

Last night I donned one of my saris and headed out to celebrate the Festival of Lights, Indian Devali.

Image via shedrums

Water, Wires, and the Power of a Pen

Charlie, my kitten-turned-cat, is still all legs and all ears; we shall see if her body catches up with her appendages. I have no doubt I will be blamed in her cat therapy sessions for an identity crisis for my recent mistake in thinking she was male. In reality, she’s a dog-cat, drinking water out of the toilet and my bathtub, a sociable licker, and an eager greeter-at-the-doorer.

Read on for surprising, historical photos from this week.

All Things Green and Beautiful

You might think this is a Windows Desktop, but you would be mistaken. It's a pic I took of a rice paddy not far from the city where I live. I've been out and about, visiting villages on the weekends. What you see here is a photo journal of the past three weeks: my tribute to this country's people and the beauty of this land.

The Problem with Starting School in August

No one could have said it better. The dog days of summer, indeed, are depicted in this encomium to August from EYEWEAR:

"The semi-mythic month of August has arrived. April may be cruel, but August is vast, vacant, quiet, deserted, even slightly dusty. August is an empty Paris of the mind, where one can wander shuttered streets at noon, and meet no one. August is when parliament is out, and the fish are jumping onto the banks of the river. August is when you realise you have wasted your life, then turn over in the hammock for another forty winks…" 

Head on over to read the piece in full; I hope it will make you smile as much as it did me.

(Thanks, Sherry, for the link.)

Image: Untitled #94 gelatin silver print 3 1/4 x 4 3/4  by MASAO YAMAMOTO via Moon River

A Woman Should Have...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
A set of screwdrivers,
a cordless drill, and
a black lace bra...

Brave, Fearless Drawing Machines

What do a labor arbitrator, a radio personality, a teacher, an epidemiologist, a registered nurse, an education specialist, a bat expert, a physiology professor, and a defense lawyer for the Dept of Justice all have in common?

This past week, I found out. And, in the process, realized that much of that which unites us as human beings has little to do with our professions, and much to do with what we long to do after-hours.

Slogans to Live By

The best cure for grief is motion. (Ann's fortune cookie)

"Why not?" is a slogan for an interesting life." (Mason Cooley)

The Kindness of Strangers

  This is a picture I took of the State Capital of Minnesota through the window of a bus I never planned to take, in a part of town I never planned to visit.

Some of my most profound life lessons have come from my solitary travel and sometimes, the greatest travel adventures happen when nothing goes as planned. Despite what you see and read in the news (violent crime, kidnappings, and murder) America is a not the big, scary place we see on the news.

There is a warm web of community among strangers who meet at bus stops, and for every crime reported in the media, there are thousands of untold stories and numerous unsung heroes who lend  helping hands to a frantic traveler like me who would be unable to make it to her destination without the kindness of strangers.