RSS feedSeptember, 2011
I’m not myself…
By Silver Blue | 1 comment
1…though knowing me, I know I am.
What am I referring to? When combing through my photo archive this evening for a suitable picture to use, I came across one of me, and my hairstylist, Beth, in which there’s something that made me do a double take. “I’m not myself…”
Well, the watch is mine. The shirt, I used to own (it was silk, and after 4 or 5 years, it started to develop holes, etc. and had to be disposed of). The “Believe” necklace is there, so … it IS me (in fact, I can tell I’m also wearing my Eagle pendant necklace as well (you can barely see it to the left of the flash unit)). The corner of the picture frame makes it look like I am wearing an earring, which I haven’t since 2007. Oh wait. It’s that I’m not all spiky! I had this hairstyle (parted on one side, due to numerous cowlicks) for too many years to count. The spikes are easier to tend to, and allow me to towel and go.
Silver Blue, who wonders how many people actually take the time to stop and look in the mirror…and see their real self.
[audio:https://www.eyesofsilverblue.com/mirror.mp3]
I’ve got the power…
By Silver Blue
Driving home in the thunderstorms and tornado watches/warnings this afternoon, while stopped at a red light, I encountered these two transformers. Amazing how quickly they rust. I just liked the composition, and shot the photo with my Android.
Silver Blue, who is shocked at where inspiration may come from.
The years have passed…
By Silver Blue
…the names and purposes of the building have changed.
But Freemason Abbey is one of the best restaurants in Norfolk (and home to the 3rd best French soup in the world. The second? At Ye Olde College Diner, in State College, PA. The best? In France, of course).
The building the restaurant is housed in was built in 1873 as the 2nd Presbyterian Church in Norfolk, VA. Freemason Abbey has been there since 1989. You can see where the original stained glass window was — it’s been bricked up for years, and has a mural on the inside of the building. It does boast a great open floor plan however, with dining on two levels:
They also have some of the best, most moist bread putting I’ve ever had. The sauce is to die for. In fact, I’ve never had a bad dish here.
Silver Blue, who is getting hungry just thinking about the Abbey!
[audio:https://www.eyesofsilverblue.com/hungry.mp3]My evolution through time
By Silver Blue
In 1988, I created an abstract piece of art on my bedroom wall in my parents’ house. It exists to this day:
The wall was painted Federal Slate (a light blue), and it would still be another year before I took the moniker “Silver Blue”. The width between each triangle, and the diagonal stripe is 2″ — the width of the largest masking tape I had in the house. The top blue line is 2″ wide, the bottom red line is 1″ wide, and the red triangles are 1″ wide as well.
In 2001, I digitized the wall painting, and altered it for a (then) web company called “Polo Blue Web Productions Ltd.”
This served me well, but I disbanded the company in 2007, for numerous reasons. While I still own poloblue.net, it’s closed and probably will not be resurrected. I needed a way to be reborn. Enter the Phoenix. That’s how I see myself, most of the time. In a constant state of rebirth. Old parts of me are destroyed while new parts spring forth of the ashes of my past. Ergo, my new logo (designed by Elise Heath) is:
Take that with the changes in me (from left) in 1988, 2001, and 2011.
Silver Blue, who hopes that as time goes on, I never lose the will and desire to continue evolving into newer and more exciting (to me) versions of myself.
[audio:https://www.eyesofsilverblue.com/wia.mp3]A Day That Changed My Life
By Silver Blue
January 2, 2010. The day I was afflicted with Bell’s Palsy. Out of the blue. I didn’t know what in the hell was going on. I didn’t even know what it was. I poured over Google, which said it could be an impacted sinus, a clogged salivary gland… and in the middle of the night, as I lay awake, something told me to Google “Bell’s Palsy”. (I obviously had heard of it before, but didn’t remember it.)
That was it. This was me.
I was paralyzed on the left side of my face. My roommate drove me to an urgent care, where they confirmed that I did, indeed, have the classic Bell’s paralyzation, and the doctor said we’d start Prednazone, in additon to another drug to attempt to get me back to normal. I went to work 2 days later and everyone though I’d had (or was having) a stroke. I read everything I could on the palsy, and even went to a neurologist, who told me that it could take 6 to 8 months to recover as much as I was going to, and that some people never fully recover from their attacks.
I’m one of the lucky ones. 4 months later, on April 8, this was me:
As you see, I fully recovered from my paralyzation. I’m one of the lucky ones. But that day is one I consider to be the day that changed my life. I don’t take anything for granted any more. Life’s short. I try to make it memorable for those who I come in contact with.
Silver Blue, who’s thankful to have been given a second chance.
[audio:https://www.eyesofsilverblue.com/sos-c.mp3]Running From One Heart To Another
By Silver Blue
“A hint in the night, a touch of a dream has come to an end…” (Roxette, “From One Heart To Another”)
The last church I was affiliated with, Pembroke Manor UCC in Virginia Beach, had an awesome stained glass above the altar:
(This photo has not been photoshopped — I managed to get this photo before sunrise service, Easter 2007 – there’s an exterior light that illuminates from the outside.)
I walked away from organized religion in August of that year. The small, still voice inside me said that there was another work for me to do, but it was not bound within the walls of a church made by man.
Whether this voice was the voice of “God,”, the multiverse, or my own intuition, I do not know. But it felt right to do at the time, and feels right to this day. My “calling” is elsewhere.
The problem I have with Organized religion is multifold: 1st, are we to blindly believe that the God of War, Death and Destruction of the Old Testament received a prescription for some mood elevators and evolved into the God of Love, Forgiveness and Peace of the New Testament? The two dichotomies have never sat well with me. 2nd, and perhaps most important in my mind — are we to believe that God spoke with mankind for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, and then, once his son was crucified and resurrected, has not had anything to say worthwhile of writing down and including in his “guideline for his children”?
One of the best things I’ve seen in recent memory is this:
If God can love and forgive, and God is supposed to be the only one who is able to judge, then Man has fallen so far short that we should all just step off the planet now. Someone needs to tell the politicians that they ARE NOT divine. I don’t care if their Republicans or Democrats. Acting like you have an inside link to the will of God is ludicrous. Not only that, it drives intelligent people away from you.
Silver Blue, who honestly thinks I’ve become apathetic.
[audio:https://www.eyesofsilverblue.com/fohta.mp3]Playing Dress Up.
By Silver Blue
No, not the way you think.
I have a coworker that gives me a delightful bottle of wine every year for the holidays. Since she learned that I am unable to drink most reds (they cause massive migraines), she’s resorted to the whites and the blushes. She also makes sure they come in very cute wine covers. The female kimono on the left was one year, the male on the right (with hat and pony tail) was the next. (Have no fear, the wine is swapped out regularly!) The silk artwork between was a gift from a group of Chinese students, and the teacup in the middle? Well, of course, that’s for when I have to have a spot of tea (which is, invariably, almost every evening).
Just shows that things look different when they play dress up or are covered.
Silver Blue, who is so glad today is Friday that I could laugh manically. In fact, I have.
[audio:https://www.eyesofsilverblue.com/dh-dyu.mp3]It all began the day I found…
By Silver Blue
….that from my window I could only see a piece of sky…
Again, something about the angles, the reflections. I’ll admit it. I like deco design. Of course this was before Wachovia built their own office building, and then became Wells Fargo. Bah. The more things change…
Silver Blue, who thinks that things really do stay the same. Only the names change.
[audio:https://www.eyesofsilverblue.com/pcyhm.mp3]An over-arching theme
By Silver Blue
The building I work in on campus, though renovated in 2000-2002, has some beautiful architectural aspects. As with every building on campus that is new construction, or renovation, it includes arches:
Former University president Rosanne Runte said that the arches are a salute to our past — our “college” (now University) was formed in 1930 as the Norfolk Campus of the College of William and Mary (the second oldest institution of higher education, after Harvard, and one of only 2 to have a Royal Charter (W&M’s was from King William III and Queen Mary II in 1693; the other is Columbia University, chartered in 1764 as “Kings College” by King George II.) Some would argue that there is a third, but in actuality (from the Wikipedia): Dartmouth College 1769 – was founded by Letters Patent by King George III via the Governor of the province of New Hampshire. The distinction between the Letters Patent forming Dartmouth versus those documents founding William & Mary or Kings College (Columbia) is that the seal of the Province of New Hampshire appears on the Dartmouth document, while the Great Seal of the Realm appears on the William & Mary and King’s documents.
I’m not sure if Columbia had to give up their royal charter when they changed names; I do know that W&M qualifies as a University (due to the number of Doctoral programs it offers) but will not change its name from College of William and Mary to William and Mary Univeristy due to the charter issue.
Interestingly enough, even though Old Dominion University is now autonomous from William and Mary, we carry another part of our past formation by them with us to this day.
The William and Mary Seal:
and the Old Dominion University Seal:
as you can see, the center of our seal is the seal of William and Mary. The break wasn’t easy. ODU awarded its first bachelor’s degrees in 1956, became Old Dominion College in 1962, and attained university status in 1969.
Silver Blue, who sometimes thinks I know too much trivia.
[audio:https://www.eyesofsilverblue.com/litp.mp3]One day my ship will come in.
By Silver Blue
The USS Wisconsin, before the Navy deeded her back to the City of Norfolk, berthed beside Nauticus. I love the angles, the lighting, the colours…the way the camera captured the mood as the sun slipped below the horizon.
Silver Blue, who still gets misty eyed when he sees the harbour lights.
[audio:https://www.eyesofsilverblue.com/hl.mp3]
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