Yohannis's Xanga

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Sun, 19 May 2013 09:44:24 GMT

spring.subtleties
seattle, wa
16 may 2013 - g10, f/4 1/160s, iso-200

sometimes stepping back outside with a flashlight after checking the mail is worth it. even if you're going to look a little bit crazy but the thing is, sometimes life might be telling you things, but you just have to be looking around. you can't let something surprise you if you don't give it a chance.

~ = ~

speaking of, this film was a pleasant, feel-good surprise:

populaire :: a film by régis roinsard

a romantic comedy about typing (yes, with typewriters)? i like to catch at least one french film each time SIFF rolls around mainly to keep my french listening skills from going completely dull, but also because i've loved the way the french filmmakers seem to have a mastery of the human condition. they know how to work tension and release, or to make you clearly feel a given emotion in the most elegant of ways, whether it be a serious film or even in a romantic comedy.

it's one of the few times where i get to see so many foreign films in one go, so i try to make sure i take advantage of the opportunity. and with this film, i was left smiling because it left you feeling so good. naturally, there isn't anything groundbreaking in this film, but if you just let go of this elitist need to always find a film that does something different or something that you've never seen before, this takes something that's been done before and it does it well. it made you feel really, really good. and i think that's why i fell in love with this film.

~ = ~

on a side note, i'm noticing that as a result of this film festival, i'm getting more and more familiar with the actors and actresses of french cinema; i think the first time i had seen romain duris et déborah françois two were in different SIFF screenings in different years, paris and tribulations d'une caissière.

connections are happening. :)

anyway, i sure hope they release this soon; i'd like to add it to my personal collection.

it's been a feel good type of weekend, if you ask me. after seeing this, i couldn't help but smile even bigger because in the back of my mind was the knowledge that two time zones away, a friend (that i made more or less by surprise) was getting married, but then again, that's something that'll make me smile regardless. so happy for you, sleepysouthie--congratulations to the two of you!

tomorrow...err...later today, playing in a concert.

magically,
-j

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Sat, 18 May 2013 08:46:41 GMT

open.space
seattle, wa
17 may 2013 - g10, f2.8 1/5s, iso-200

creativity always strikes me late at night. on weekends after studying, which is when i'm able, i tend to take it up on its offer to play. it's like an open seat on a warm night, inviting you to have a seat and watch the world go by, entertaining whatever thought comes to mind and just see where it goes. it seems like if we let our thoughts go places, in due time it'll take the rest of us with and we shall go places, too.

~ = ~

this time of year is one of my favourite times of the year; it's when the seattle international film festival kicks off and with the first two films screened today, they've kicked this year off to a wonderful start.

the film that kicked off my 2013 SIFF was actually a documentary:

stories we tell :: a film by sarah polley

surprisingly beautiful, i must say. don't rush out of the theatre too soon at the end, though. she'll sneak one more jaw dropper in there.

magically,
-j

Currently
Take This Waltz
By Seth Rogen, Michelle Williams, Luke Kirby, Sarah Silverman
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Monday, May 13, 2013

Mon, 13 May 2013 04:05:10 GMT

challenge.milestones
seattle, wa
9 may 2013 - gopro HD hero, exposure data unrecorded

the interesting part about training is that when you have an instructor that constantly pushes you even on "easy" days, pushing you to the point until you start to feel like you're on the edge of your ability and your ability to keep the composure of the situation (and sometimes just a little bit beyond just to let you know what it's like), it makes some of the milestones on the horizon seem a bit less daunting when you get there. all i can say is that with each lesson my appreciation of pilots grows even more than it had been even before i started, and for all of the people going through lessons, or have finished their lessons and have earned their private pilot certificate (and i place great emphasis on the word earned), i completely appreciate what it takes to fly even a relatively simple airplane.

and so, the first day in the eleventh year of this blog, i completed my first solo flight. all i can say is thanks to my brother for keeping me inspired and for my instructor that keeps pushing me each lesson, throwing things at me just to let me see how i fare when things start to fall apart. there's always something to learn. it's consumed my life for the time being, but the reward is very clear, and that first solo, with the challenge, the rush, and the views, was just a very small taste of what's on the other side--and it was absolutely wonderful.

can't stop learning. must keep learning.

magically,
-j

Currently
Reality Bites (10th Anniversary Edition)
By Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Steve Zahn
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Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Tue, 07 May 2013 04:08:16 GMT

learning.observations
seattle, wa
30 april 2013 - g10, f/4 1/320s, iso-200

sometimes it's hard to fully appreciate what some of your pilot friends do when they take you for rides until you start going through all of the things they've gone through. so far, every pilot i've talked to has asked about, and always spoke fondly of a particular milestone at about the halfway point in their flight training, and they always seem to talk about "the smile" and "the feeling."

it's really intimidating yet exciting to hear about at the same time...

magically,
-j

Currently
FAR/AIM 2013: Federal Aviation Regulations/Aeronautical Information Manual (FAR/AIM series)
By Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
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Friday, May 03, 2013

Fri, 03 May 2013 04:14:40 GMT

sky.wander
seattle, wa
30 april 2013 - g10, f/4 1/1600s, iso-200

they thought the people who were trying to fly for the first time were crazy because human flight was impossible. of course, that was until they proved them wrong. in the meantime, you'll find me "chair flying," flipping switches and moving levers and slides that that don't exist, looking a bit crazy but it'll make sense when you put an airplane around me.

we have to be ready to look crazy before we do amazing things. perhaps that's why they're amazing.

~ = ~

in other news, i fell for this:

magically,
-j

Currently
Information Manual: Cessna 1980, Model 152
By Cessna Aircraft Co.
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Sunday, April 28, 2013

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 04:18:06 GMT

fresh.eyes
seattle, wa
27 april 2013 - g10, f/2.8 1/4s, iso-80

it's always a great novelty to move to the big city, let alone a place where tourists from all over will plan a vacation, where strangers near and far will crowd the city streets, taking pictures of everything, bouncing from tourist attraction to tourist attraction, but the known challenge is to keep seeing this city which you make your own in new and fresh eyes. there are the favourite views, and they may be easy to find, where the scenic vistas that are filled with people (and great for people watching), but finding a new way to see the same landmarks or finding hidden views becomes more and more difficult with each visit. the favourites become comfortable and reliable and the hidden trap is that we find it more and more difficult to break free from its increasing gravity that we risk the mere possibility of depleting it of all that it's worth.

maybe that's why it's important for us to stop every so often and look around. we can look at the same view and see if there's anything different, but even that will become more difficult each time. we end up having to look to our sides, look behind us, look above us or even below. we know our favourite routes in and out of our favourite places, but have we seen what's going on behind us whenever we walk these paths?

yes, sometimes that's all it takes.

when we keep seeing the same things, especially if we don't like what we see, we have to do one thing: change it. the interesting part, though, is that even if we like what we see, it never hurts to change it around every so often as well. in order for anything to be comfortable and familiar, it first had to exist outside of our comfort zone. we don't just grab it--we have to grow into it.

photography, for me, started as a hobby with a distinct technical challenge, which quickly evolved and persists as an artistic challenge, but throughout the whole process it was always, always, always a new way of looking at life. every day can be a work of art if you want to see it that way. we can choose this.

and this, dear stranger-friends, is why i like to take so many pictures.

magically,
-j

Currently
Jet Sounds

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 03:11:32 GMT

spring.work
seattle, wa
21 april 2013 - g10, f/2.8 1/40s, iso-800

get up close to your life and look at the details, then step back and look at the big picture. don't forget to look at everything.

spring is coming together. slowly, but surely.

always magically,
-j

Currently
Brain Games
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Sunday, April 21, 2013

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 08:17:58 GMT

hot.shop
tacoma, wa
20 april 2013 - iphone 5, f/2.4 1/20s, iso-320

after a quick stroll through the museum gallery, i took a seat in the hot shop and watched the artists trickle in from their break and start producing works of art with such a mesmerising level of teamwork and communication that three hours had gone by before i noticed i needed to make a quick trip to the gift shop to find a few postcards before the museum closed.

i was captivated by these artists working with a medium they knew inside and out--all of its nuances, all of its capabilities and limitations, knowing how fast to work and how slow to work, knowing what can and cannot be done, how things should and should not be done, taking all of these pieces of knowledge and wisdom to turn a vision into reality.

what i'm getting at is that with all of the focus lately on STEM, in reality, there needs to be more focus on STEAM. we engineers could learn a lot from watching these artists: a complete understanding of our materials, working in a proper balance of theory and reality, and creativity to drive innovation. yes, a strong base in theory is necessary, but if we can't communicate our ideas, or if we do not have a practical understanding of the materials with which we work, our designs will only be flawed and there's a bad chance we may not have the understanding to fix it.

we could learn a lot from artists.

we need art.

~ = ~

the more we can think out of the box--to think creatively, to think like artists, the better off we'll be. if you ask me, we need to do this, no matter what we're doing.

magically,
-j

Currently
Noises Off...
By Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Denholm Elliott, Julie Hagerty, Marilu Henner
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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 06:13:43 GMT

globe.trot
luzerne, switzerland
14 march 2009 - eos-1ds mk1, f/10 0.5s, iso-400

keep your eyes open. you might see people that might know people, but whatever the case may be, you will always know poeple that will know someone else, and sometimes a name you might see in passing might cross your path again. the world is smaller than we think, and when we pick up a book that catches our interest from the bookstore shelf and read it through, there might be a surprise waiting for us in the back pages--a surprise that has been with us all along, just waiting for us to discover it.

it might be a big surprise or it might be just a little one to make us smile, but all of it will keep life interesting.

~ = ~

sometimes i like to think about the strangers in some of the pictures i've taken on my adventures, some of the faces in the pictures that my friends have taken on their journeys, and wonder when the next moment will come when i see somebody i know in another friend's picture--where two friends of mine, strangers to each other, cross paths--unknowingly connected...

keep those eyes open, stranger friends.

magically,
-j

Currently
Cloudbusting

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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 03:07:19 GMT

sky.line
seattle, wa
15 april 2013 - iphone 5, f/2.4 1/120s, iso-80

i take a lot of pictures; there is no hiding this. it's because i can't help but walk around this world, on these streets, in this wonderful city i now call home, and see everything as some potential work of art. i mean, we can choose to find beauty in everything around us. we can choose this. it's a bit difficult to find in trash, maybe, but when the sun sets and a towering cumulus cloud is taking on the paint of the sun, all you have to do is make sure your eyes are open. the scene is setting itself for you.

photographs are everywhere (and yes, there are extremes on both ends), and all we need to do is stop to see them. it's as simple as that.

~ = ~

while i've been really impressed by the pictures my phone's camera has been capturing lately, i do hope to find some time in the near future to go on a proper photowandering. with my other cameras. in the meantime, back to learning how to fly...

magically,
-j

Currently
Once In A Lifetime
By Talking Heads

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