Turtle Catch and Release

Courtney found a turtle, then she gave it to a child to let go. Just a tiny turtle from the big water. She was looking for tadpoles I suspect, when she spotted the turtle instead and waded back across the stream with the critter cupped in the hands, exclaiming, "Look, look what I found!" We couldn't see until she came closer, then we were smiling too. The father and son nearby watched curiously. Courtney took the turtle to the little boy, let him hold it, asked him, "Where do you think we should let it go?" The turtle's head moved side to side just like those tiny painted wooden turtles they sell sometimes. "How about over there?" Courtney suggested. The boy carefully waded there and placed the turtle where it came from and watched it swim away.

grapefruit tree flowers

I smell the flowers of the grapefruit tree every time I walk on 17th and Pearl. Sometimes I walk that way just so I can smell them. I know its a grapefruit tree because in the fall, I collected grapefruits from the branches, and wrote about that time in this blog. Otherwise I would not know what kind of tree I am smelling, only that its white flowers are my new favorite flowers. The blossoms don't last long, a day, maybe three in a vase on the table. Amazing how such tiny flowers scent a whole room and cause me to stop and breath in deeply. Just when I was saying I am so tired of city sound and city smell.

Objectified

Saw the Movie "Objectified" by Gary Hustwit (director of "Helvetica") at its SWSW premier on Tuesday with Jacqueline. I give her total credit for telling me it was playing. We arrived early, unsure if they would let us in since we didn't have badges. If there was enough space left after they let in all the pass holders they would open it up to non-pass holders at $10/each. By the time the show was ready to begin, there were four very long lines! But they ended up letting in 100 non-badge holders and we slipped in to good seats at the front. The movie is outstanding. I found it especially fascinating as it relates to my interest in objects and the stories they tell and people and places they connect to. I wish I'd brought a notebook with me because now I can't remember all the great quotes. But I remember one thing I particularly like that a guy from Apple said when interviewed: "When something is designed well, it feels as if its meant to be that way. Why would it be any other way? as opposed to What if it was this way instead? It was nice that the film brought the conversation full circle from the objects and the diverse designers interviewed, back to issues of sustainability - where all these objects go (very quickly) after consumption, and, also, how everyone is a creative.

Wooden Birds

I saw a band in the back of Urban Outfitters yesterday. For one of the three free day parties of SXSW. I really like the band playing, Wooden Birds, from Austin. It was nice to be close to the stage without being crowded, actually half the crowd was sitting down mellow. The one girl in the band, dressed in black, played a black and white guitar. I found myself paying most attention to the percussion player with his various shakers and tambourine. Behind the band on the stage wall/structure, someone pasted numerous copies of the show poster and associated "Urban Renewal" sidewalk sale poster. All the posters were either crumpled or stapled sideways/horizontal overlapping one another becoming a solid mass line of paper, text and color.