Freezing A Moment In Time

"There are no moments you have frozen in amber.

It's moving, it's changing,

so appreciate what's good about right now

and be ready for what's next."

-- Michael J. Fox

Self portrait 1-30-14

"That's why we seize the moment

try to freeze it and own it,

squeeze it and hold it

Cause we consider these minutes golden

And maybe they'll admit it when we're gone

Just let our spirits live on ..."

-- Eminem, "Sing For The Moment"

"Gradually she shaped into a more fluid, resilient woman,

coming to terms with the felt capacity to

fiercely defend herself when necessary,

and to surrender in quiet ecstasy."

-- Peter A Levine

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Welcome to the first ever One Good Thing Science Day!

For today's picture I did that thing where you fling a whole cup of boiling water into very cold air and watch the water turn instantly into vapor and ice.

Science fact 1:  If you toss cold water into the air, you will get wet.

Science fact 2:  If you toss any temperature water into the average air of a mild winter, you will also get wet. 

Science fact 3:  When the air is painfully cold, and the water is boiling-ly hot, you get magic.

I mean, it's science, but ... OK, look. If you don't believe me, next time the temperature dips below zero, instead of bitching about how goddamn cold it is and how if these kids don't go back to school soon you'll flip your shit, and just boil a kettle full of hot water. 

But don't make another fucking pot of pansy-ass tea with it. 

Instead, say "Yay, it's cold! Cold enough to do the hot water thing!" Then take your kids (or someone else's, or just yourself) out in the backyard or the parking lot or wherever. Pour some of the boiling water into a cup and fling it up as high as you can over your head, and watch the magic -- er, I mean the science -- happen. It's cool as fuck, and the kids will think you're also cool as fuck because you just let them throw boiling water into the air over right their heads, and nobody got burned because the water froze instantly, vaporized right before their eyes, before whooshing away on the winter wind. Kids love that shit.

Then, when you look back on the cold harsh winter of 2014, you won't just remember how long and cold and boring it was. You'll remember how it was cold enough just long enough for you to do that thing. 

And your kids (or someone else's) won't remember how much you bitched about the cold and the school cancellations. They'll remember that moment when you made magic happen with a cup of boiling water, and how you weren't a bitch at all.

You were cool as fuck.

It's So Cold I Can Dress Like Paul Bunyan

"Neither sleet nor rain nor a half inch of snow 

will compel me to dress like a lumberjack."

-- Gayle Forman, If I Stay

Self portrait 1-7-14

"A bitter wind, heavy with icy particles, whipped at my face,

its howling forming the high notes of a symphony ...

-- Theophile Gautier, Hashish, Wine, Opium

"The cold cut like a many bladed knife."

-- Israel Zangwill, The Big Bow Mystery

With sub-zero temperatures and an even sub-er zero-er windchill, fashion goes right out the window, like the heat when someone leaves a door open and what are you trying to do, heat the whole neighborhood?! 

Sorry, I just turned into my dad for a second.

I'm not all that fashionable to begin with, but in the kind of cold snap we are having, I don't need an excuse to dress like a lumberjack. I don't care if all those layers make me look big and bulky, either. The more the merrier. And high-tech micro fiber gear doesn't cut it. Bring on the waffle-weave, the heavy flannel, the wool socks, hats and boots. Something about the weight and warmth of it all feels comforting and protective.

Another bonus of bundling up is that you can be kind of incognito. You can get groceries, gas up the car, whatever, and nobody will recognize you. 

If I could grow a real beard, I totally would right now.

But I can't, which, if you ask my husband, is probably a good thing.

Timbrrrrrr!