"By night, by day, at morning tide and sunset, when darkness draweth on, and at earlly light I remember, and have ever remembered, in the realms of my mind and heart, the loved ones of the Lord. I beg of Him to bestow His confirmations upon those loved ones, dwellers in that pure and holy land, and to grant them successful outcomes in all things; that in their character, their behavior, their words, their way of life, in all they are and do; He will make them achieve distinction among men; that He will gather them into the world community, their hearts filled with ecstasy and fervor and yearning love, with knowledge and certitude, with steadfastness and unity, their faces beauteous and bright.
- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

I'll Deny It If You Tell Anyone....

But I actually miss running. Can you believe it?!? Me, aimee piper! Sigh, I know - what is this world coming to???
For the last 8 or 9 weeks I've had a pretty good weekly schedule of exercise - running at least twice a week! Insert praise here... No? Well, I'm proud of myself. But for the last 7-10 days I've been super super busy and I haven't run (or been swimming!) at all. And I miss it.
...never thought I'd say it, much less mean it, is all.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles... O My!

One of the things I appreciate most about being here in Israel - as opposed to Southern California - is the truly great public transportation system in place here. I'm willing to acknowledge that I think the transit system in Israel is rad because I'm from OC (where it is virtually non-existant) - as opposed to, say, NYC, or something - because these things are relative... but I think we can safely say it's at least decent.

So now that I've established that my experience with public transportation leaves a little something to be desired... let me tell you about my Thursday Night Adventures. It started as a lovely invitation to dinner in Nahiriyyih (ironically enough, what I consider to be the OC of Israel...). Some friends and I were going to enjoy some delicious Indian food - and have a bit of a field trip. Little did Nava or I know what an adventure it would truly become!

While other of our friends would be meeting us there - Nava and I decided to take the train into the city. I suppose I should tell you that that express train doesn't go directly to Nahiriyyih; you can either take a slower train, or, if you choose the express train, you can simply transfer at another station.
Nava and I decided that to avoid confusion, we would take the direct train - although it would be a little slower. ...to clarify, we had 1 ½ hours to meet our friends for dinner. Plenty of time, right? No. No it was not.

Let me summarize the entire kerfuffle for you: Nava and I spent almost an entire night getting to and from a dinner we didn't even join (except to say HI) - we were so late - and wound up going to another restaurant in the city, instead (big shout-out to Max Brenner!) where I had the most amazing tuna salad sandwich. But not so much Indian food....

Lessons? Learn to properly read a train schedule, and a touch more Hebrew than I presently possess wouldn't go amiss, either.... This has been A Day In My Life: thanks for joining.

Looking At Me, Looking At You...

I suppose I should preface this week's Friday Post by telling you that I love all of these pictures for very different reasons - but the reason I've put them together on the same post is very specific. It's about their distinct attitudes to the camera and audience that I find so striking...

The subject in this photo, seemingly unaware of her audience, has - specifically with her body language - nonetheless invited her audience into the role of voyer.
Here we have Einstein completely aware of the camera/audience, and therefore completely in control of his actions in relation to the shot. The possession of this picture does not lend a possession of the subject - in sharp contrast to the model above.
This last photo may yet be my favorite in this series. This woman, a Dalit from India, is likewise completely unaware of her audience. But there is nothing in her posture to denote that she is either a simple bystander waiting to be chanced upon by a voyeristic audience, nor is she somehow complicit in her own objectification....

Just some random and hasty thoughts for what is shaping up to be a fine September friday!

Literally or Figuratively...

We clean up okay.

I didn't cook (what was an AMAZING dinner), therefore I must clean. My mama raised me right!

Picture taken by Sina Taheri

Kalila at the Commemoration of the Martyrdom of the Báb
Picture taken by Kadria Simons - she's wicked talented...

Cost Productive...

My swim coach in college, Flip Darr, used to say that the only way to swim fast was to swim fast.
The only way to make a difference is to make a difference.

I really love this video. But let us be sure to neither romanticize the poor nor demonize the rich. What is needed is constructive action. In the work of creating a better society, let us all work as equals: not that one group is to be a recipient of aide, or as objects of development - but as subjects of development.

In a message to the Bahá’í world, the Universal House of Justice has stated:
"The greatest concern of Bahá’í [Social and Economic Development] projects has to be the development of the [peoples'] capacity to make decisions about their spiritual and material progress and then to implement them."
...this is conducive to human dignity.

Um, Don't Cancel My Friendship, But...

My nerd factor is gi.nor.mous. Game Night is high on my list of "two favorite words". I play RISK (traditional, God Storm, & - my favorite - Star Wars versions) almost every weekend. I used to tell my friends that my mom said I couldn't come out to play/go to your party - all so I could stay home and read a book. (sorry if that was you... but big shout out to my mom!) In fact - when my mom grounded me, she took my books away. [Insert sheepish grin]

So where am I going with this?
I want to shake the hand of the person who submitted this secret....
Ps. It's true: they are.