Try A Little Tenderness

'Say Something Nice On The Internet' sprang forth from Emily McCombs of xojane.com who proposed that February 29th be a day of positivity online (and in real life also!)

"Being insulted is just par for the course when it comes to participating in online culture.

It's happens to all of us: Like when Lesley's piece about sexism in video gaming made it to the front page of Digg and inspired a flood of comments on the relative fatness of her hands, when I write about rape, or when Cat writes about pretty much anything. I suspect that a barrage of direct, immediate and viscous criticism will in the future just be part of the deal when it comes to being a writer.

But it's not just writers who are affected. Anyone who has ever posted a photo, video or comment anywhere online has probably had the experience of having their appearance, life choices and perceived character flaws announced, dissected and harshly judged. And look, it's OK to disagree with one another. xoJane in particular is devoted to a diversity of opinions. But I find it hard to believe that all this knee-jerk nastiness contributes in any way to public debate.

We're not suggesting that everyone be nice all the time, no matter what. After all, the admonition "Be nice" has been used throughout history to keep women quiet, polite and compliant. But so many of the nasty comments leveraged online relate directly to tearing down women -- our appearances, our sexuality, our choices. And while we advocate criticism and debate and the calling out of wrongness wherever you may find it, deliberately tearing people down through personal attacks and cruelty is not making anything better."

When i see people tearing strips off each other online (I'm not talking about intelligent, measured debate but rather the more typical examples of personal attack) I always wonder would you say that to somebody directly? When it comes to online activity I adhere to one simple principle: If i wouldn't say it to someones face, then i sure as shit ain't going to type it or hide behind a computer screen.

I don't know a single person who isn't wracked by self doubt or loathing at times; for others it's a permanent state of being. My friends are wonderful, kind, loving, generous people but they usually spread the love to those around them rather than themselves. In the spirit of 'say something nice', I sat down and identified five things i like about myself. 


Let's just say it's interesting and not the easiest of exercises but I wholeheartedly encourage you to try it out!

A lil' self love:

1) I am honest. By that I mean I think about, examine and then communicate my 'how/why/needs/wants' to those I interact with and to myself. Some people are repelled by it but it's a useful litmus test!

2) I am sensitive. Not so long ago i would have marked this as a negative but I've learnt to embrace it as an asset. It plays a big part in who i am.


3) I have a scar at the side of my mouth or i like to call it half a Chelsea smile! It gives my lips a distinctive curve.


4) I'm courageous. I've taken some big risks. some have paid off, some have not. This does not deter me from continuing to do so.


5) I'm a dab hand at baking and my gluten free dark chocolate and raspberry brownies have brought more than one person to their knees.

Spread the love on Twitter with the hashtag #saysomethingnice

To read more:

http://www.xojane.com/issues/february-29th-say-something-nice-internet-day

On The Verge

"Amid the chaos of that day, when all I could hear was the thunder of gunshots, and all I could smell was the violence in the air, I look back and am amazed that my thoughts were so clear and true, that three words went through my mind endlessly, repeating themselves like a broken record: you're so cool, you're so cool, you're so cool. "

Traits

"It has always seemed strange to me...the things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second."

John Steinbeck

Vivian Maier: Hidden Treasures

Snippets of an era that were seemingly destined to be forgotten. That is until 2007 when John Maloof attended an auction in Chicago. He was working on a local history book Portage Park and whilst researching, had gone in the hopes of finding any old images that depicted Chicago. It was here that he accidentally stumbled upon on something which would change his life: the work of Vivian Maier.

Her belongings had been left in a commercial storage locker and were being sold off due to non payments. Maloof didn't realise the full extent of what he had acquired until he began to examine the negatives. As he looked through her images, he gradually developed an interest in street photography and inspired by her work he began taking photographs.

Her life story is still vague. Born to a French mother, Maier herself spent time in both France and America. She was an aloof but at times outspoken woman who who moved to Chicago circa 1956. It was here that she worked as a nanny, mainly for North Shore families for four decades. Those who knew her said she remained single and kept to herself.


In her spare time, she would walk the streets armed with a camera, the results of which were never shown to anyone. It's questionable as to if she really viewed the results herself, judging from the huge number of undeveloped film that was left behind when she died at the age of 83 in 2009. As he continues to explore her photographs, Maloof discovered that Vivian traveled the world in 1959. She visited and photographed places like Canada, Egypt, Bangkok, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, France, Italy, and Indonesia. He also noted that she traveled alone which would have been unusual for a single woman to do at the time.

Out of the more than 100,000 negatives, about 20,000-30,000 shots were still in undeveloped rolls from the 1960's-1970's. These are gradually being developed and according to Maloof there's still 90,000 negatives to scan, a few hundred black and white rolls and about 600 color rolls to develop. To date he has safely archived over 3000 of her prints and scanned/archived about 10,000 negatives with the help of Anthony Rydzon.

Maloof is working to both preserve and spread awareness about her work. He regularly posts photographs on the link featured below and is working on both a book and documentary.

To see more of Vivian Maiers work and to watch her story unfold:
http://www.vivianmaier.com/

http://vivianmaier.blogspot.com/

Sam

Thank you :)