Recently in Living Category

West End of Bloomsburg, PA
Originally uploaded by colecamp

Such is the case for me with my friend, Cole Camplese, and his experience with the Press Enterprise of Bloomsburg, PA.

The Press Enterprise is the local paper in Bloomsburg, a town that was hit last week with a devastating flood. 

Have you read much about it? No? Well, I would point you to the paper so you could learn more about the lives of those impacted by the flood, but if I did that, you would quickly come face to face with this:

No, to learn about the flood from this paper allegedly dedicated to "Serving Bloomsburg," you would need either to subscribe or visit their Facebook Page, where you would find comments from Facebook users and the occasional link to the Press Enterprise itself; and if you would like to read the articles to which these links point ...  well, then you would need to subscribe.

Of course, you could also look at the images and stories gathered by individuals like Cole. 

These images and stories articulate well the business of Bloomsburg at the moment. And it seems to me that the business of a newspaper designed to serve this community should really revolve around the business of the community itself. While the newspaper did unlock its content during the flood and in its immediate aftermath; it has now closed itself off again from the wider community of communication that is the internet.

Cole has written an eloquent post about this on his blog, a post that should move the Press Enterprise to reconsider its business strategy.

But it is the strange tension in the name of the paper that I find rich with ambiguous meaning. At a time when the culture of printing is giving way to a new, more dynamic digital culture the very enterprise of the press has been called into question.

When we speak of the "enterprise" in business terms, we understand, as Dictionary.com says, "a company organized for commercial purposes."  But the most common meaning of the term is "a project undertaken or to be undertaken, especially one that is important or difficult or that requires boldness or energy." I like that one. But it does not seem to be the meaning at play in the Press Enterprise.

Of course, we have been living since the invention of the printing press around 1440 in a print culture that has long been characterized by what might be called a logic of compression, impression and even repression. The printing press itself is an impressive machine designed to press information upon us, imprinting mass culture with the ideas, thoughts and values that have the imprimatur of the those with authority.  

The enterprise of pressing has been lucrative indeed.

But what might the press enterprise look like if we took seriously the common meaning of 'enterprise' as an important, difficult and bold endeavor? 

It would need to become something less depressing than the business of printing. It would need to be more attuned to the business of the community as the community engages in activities that make lives meaningful. It would need to become a curator, a collector, an open space of gathering, sharing, re-mixing and responding. 

It would need to relinquish its tendencies to impress, compress and contain. In short, the Press Enterprise needs to become a shared, community enterprise.

And if the newspaper business truly becomes the business of communities, I am confident it will continue to be lucrative as well; for people will come not to be told or imprinted upon, but because they find a place in which they can engage in a common enterprise about the business of their community.

148/365: Evening Walk on the Beach
Originally uploaded by cplong11

As a faculty member, when the semester of teaching is over, a span of summer begins in which time takes on a different dimension as research responsibilities press themselves upon you. The result is an expanse of unstructured time that needs to be given structure by disciplined research. Because we give ourselves that structure, faculty often develop a sense of never really "being off of work" even when we are on vacation.

That has changed somewhat for me since becoming an Associate Dean. When the semester ends, the structure of my work week remains largely unchanged - I continue to come to the office each day to meet and work with staff, faculty and students. The result is that when I take vacation, it really feels like time off. Of course, all the research pressures of a regular faculty member remain, which casts a shadow over every vacation.

This year, however, I have had some success in learning how to relax in this context. A few of my strategies are probably a bit counter-intuitive.

Keep in touch. Many people set up an automatic email message that says something like "I will be away from my email until x, if you have an emergency, please contact ..." I never do that, even on vacation. I know enough about myself to know that allowing email to pile up while I am away increases my anxiety. I am less relaxed in such situations. Rather, I check mail periodically, deleting things I don't need, delegating things to staff at work, responding briefly if possible or adding more involved tasks to OmniFocus, my To-Do list, for when I return. The result is a bit of time over vacation, but I save two or three days of being behind when I return. I am more relaxed when I take the time to do this.

Be unscheduled. The biggest challenge for me is to settle into being unscheduled. My days are hyper-scheduled, down to half-hour time periods. Even my unscheduled time has a research or administrative work schedule imposed on it by me to ensure I am maximally productive. On vacation, I find myself often trying to schedule the day: let's go to the beach in the morning, then do X for lunch, then let's go to the pool ... I simply need to let go of that compulsion to schedule, at least for a vacation like a week at the beach.

Attend to the Moment. During my work-a-day week, I have sought to cultivate the ability to attend to the moment and the task at hand. My Photo of the Day project has helped me practice attentive seeing. This week at the beach, I have relied on that practice as I listen to my daughters' stories, notice the play of light on the ocean, and enjoy the smell of the beach. I have written before about the beach as a liminal space and the details of life at the beach. One of the important reasons I try to practice the habit of being present to the moment is that the disposition is then there when you need it most: when vacation time slips slowly away and life appears to pass too quickly.

One of the reasons why these strategies work for me, I realize, is that I don't feel the need to separate radically from my working life when I am on vacation. I am lucky to have a career I love, one that feels more like a calling than a burden. This too, was a matter of intentionally attending to the course of my life, which I take to be one of the primary purposes of living a philosophical life.

Jelly Dog
Originally uploaded by cplong11

Jelly Dog with his Friends
Originally uploaded by cplong11

iPhone
Originally uploaded by Florin Hatmanu

My great hope is that posing the question and turning attentively to it is itself the beginning of a way of responding that is able to set us on a path toward a life well lived.

Freud S, Strachey J, Gay P. Civilization and its discontents. W.W. Norton; 1989. Available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=DOGQDHo8ihIC&pgis=1.

Four Running 2
Originally uploaded by cplong11

My father taught me to appreciate the subtle joys of photography back before everything went digital. In our basement darkroom, we used to develop the black and white photographs we took with his Canon AE-1.

I still love to take pictures and have begun to organize my Flickr page to showcase some of them. My family remains the central focus of my photographic life, although on Flickr I only share those pictures with my friends.

Increasingly, however, I have been trying to take more of what my Dad and I used to call "Artsy-Craftsy" pictures - that is, pictures that are taken exclusively for their artistic value as opposed to those that are taken as mementos of an historical moment. Of course, such historical pictures, if they are good, will have artistic value. Recently, though, I have rekindled my interest in photography as an outlet for whatever modicum of artistic ability I may have.

Here I share a slideshow of some images I took of light in motion over the Fourth of July holidays. For those of you viewing on an iPhone or iPad, I include the link directly to my Light in Motion set on Flickr.

Jumping a Wave
Originally uploaded by Christopher Long

She is uncertain, but brave and increasingly confident. The waves are not huge, but to her six-year-old self, they must be daunting. Even so, we venture out, her to test her courage, me to support her effort.

They come in rhythm, the waves.

We call the easy ones "rollies" as my Mom called them with me and her dad with her. The bigger ones we eye with concern, deciding if they will require a lift from me or if she can negotiate them herself.

She has recently learned to hold her breath under water, a great advantage for this game, yet a cunning one as it can lead to overconfidence.

We roll with the waves. As each one rises, she teaches me something of her growing ability to navigate the world. 

At first, she requires constant contact, holding my hand and reaching for me as the waves approach. Slowly, but more quickly than I anticipate, she ventures further away. She grows in confidence, yet remains always within reach.

I learn my job: to be present to her, to the oncoming waves, and to the moment; to lend a little courage, to praise a wave well ridden, to hold and lift when necessary.

Floating with her in the waves, an intricate dialogue emerges between us as we learn by touch and talk and silence who we are and how we are to be together.

This year we visited Beiler Farm, a beautiful Amish farm in Spring Mills, PA. There a family of 9 runs a dairy farm. We were taken around by one of the middle sons, Ruben, who was an expert tour guide, and his sister, Martha, who was a knowledgeable, caring and thoughtful young woman. 

Chloe and Hannah enjoyed, in particular, jumping on the trampoline with Martha, one of her sisters, and two of her brothers. For Val and me, it was an important opportunity to expose the girls to a way of life with which they are not familiar. They had many questions about how the Amish live and we were happy to answer what we knew and research what we didn't. I remain in awe of the life they lead, recognizing at once its nobility and its difficulty.

We then visited Stone Meadow Farm in Woodward, PA, where Brian Futhey produces raw milk cheese and grass fed beef. He is committed to the sustainable practices of rotational grazing, stream bank fencing and making excellent cheese from the most natural sources.

 

He spoke to us about the ways he works with the natural rhythms of the animals to produce cheese and beef. I very much admire his commitment to farming in ways that facilitate a symbiotic relationship between the earth, the non-human and we human animals.

Finally, we visited the picturesque Fiedler Farm in Aaronburg, PA, where they have a beautiful summer kitchen and a nice little yurt at the top of the property. Val and Hannah are walking up to the yurt in the picture here.

Fiedler Farm is part of a community of farms participating in the Groundwork Farm Community Supported Agriculture.

On Sunday, we went to Knoebels Amusement Park with my step brother's family, Tom, Amina, Aaron and Danny. The picture with which this post began was taken there. Increasingly Chloe and Hannah are venturing on to more dynamic and scary rides and I, their father, am compelled to join them. It is a happy compulsion and we had a great time just screaming at the top of our lungs and challenging ourselves to try rides just at the boundary of our comfort level. 

It is exhilarating to watch as they grow into the world, learn about the earth that sustains us and risk new endeavors. This fall Chloe will begin Kindergarten and it will be a transition for all of us. Hannah is already expressing a worry about going to pre-school without her big sister.  Val and I are already a bit nostalgic that this phase of Chloe's life is coming to an end, but we are excited that she will soon begin the exciting adventure that is her formal education. As for Chloe herself, she seems for the moment the most at home with the whole idea of beginning school.

These exhilarating weekends are all the more precious in the wake of the recognition that they are fleeting.

With this in mind, I end with this picture, for it seems to capture something of the more nostalgic side of the exhilaration we felt this weekend.

The event itself seems, from this distance, to have marked the end of an era of tumultuous creativity and violence in American culture and politics.

The social web is frequently moving, often inane and continuously ongoing. Its voices reflect the beautiful diversity of the human experience.  

This week another voice was added to the discussion; it is the voice of my step-father, Ted Loder, long-time senior paster at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown (FUMCOG) in Philadelphia, writer of many books of prayers, poems and dramas, and dynamic preacher.

I grew up listening to his thoughtful, provocative and poetic sermons, challenged by their demand to attend to the divine at work in everyday doings, humbled by their appeal to a deeper mystery than can be adequately articulated, and inspired by their call for and commitment to social justice. 

Although I have never been able to embrace the dogma of Christianity, the roots of my philosophical thinking were nourished by those sermons and my deep commitment to seeking justice in relation was and continues to be cultivated by the dynamic spirituality of Ted's work and words.

So, I am very happy to announce that Ted has started a blog in which he will continue to put words to the mystery of God's ways. When you have a moment, click over to his blog to hear what he, in his unique theological voice, is saying. 

The social web is enriched by his contributions.

The day began with a wonderful children's parade of bikes through town to the local Central Parklet, where we ate watermelon, sang songs and danced. 

Afterwards, we had a great lunch at Irving's, where they are very conscientious about buying and supporting local food. We returned home and Val made a meal with local food bought at the State College Farmer's Market and delivered from our Howard's End CSA. 

Val's excellent Finnish Tart was featured on the Huffington Post in the green living section, check it out and vote for it!

After dinner, we headed out to the fantastic fireworks display put on by the all volunteer Central PA 4thFest.

While the 4thFest display was amazing, we were also treated to natural fireworks as the sun set behind Beaver stadium prior to the start of the celebration.

Here is Val with the girls in a picture that captures something of the beauty of that most beautiful day.

In the video you will see much splashing in the pool, reminiscences of last year on the Outer Banks, NC, a few birthday wishes and a photo slideshow of our time in Stone Harbor this year.  I think it captures something of the wonderful time we had this year. 

* * *

Much of my academic life involves projects that take a long time to complete. Last week I spent an entire day trying to get one short paragraph of an essay to say what I wanted it to say. So, I don't often have a chance to see a whole project come to a completion in a single stroke. 

Researchers at Harvard have been following 268 men who entered Harvard in the late 1930's and who are now in their 80's. I embed the video of Vaillant talking about the study because it affirms two things I have always tried to embody in my life.

First, in the video, Vaillant says of the study:

Second, Vaillant says, "Happiness is love, full stop." Here too is something decisive, for to enjoy where you are now is at its core to respond each moment with living attention to those with whom your life is made meaningful. 

Happiness is not an individual achievement, but a cooperative activity rooted in engaged encounters and animated by love.

Today on the "tickle bed" Hannah fell into the headboard and we had one of those moments.

Today as Chloe talked to her Nana on the phone, she fell and we had another.

Hannah's nose was bruised, but it seems OK. 

Chloe scraped her thigh, but not too badly.

Yet for me, these two moments were palpable reminders that in a moment everything can change. The fragility of life announces itself to me in the gut as a poignant nausea. It is related to that feeling of vertigo that comes when I focus too intensely on the finitude of my life, of Val's and especially of Hannah and Chloe's.

Even so, as I looked at Hannah's nose, red and flattened, as I held her crying, I was brought back to another moment, to an early moment with her, when her nose seemed strangely similar, when she too was crying ... it was shortly after her birth and I was holding her, trying to comfort her as she was being rudely measured and poked by nurses and doctors ensuring that all her parts were in order.  I remember feeling that she was so small but so strong, so resilient. 

I rely on that resilience; I have faith in it even as that lingering nausea reminds me that there will be things from which I cannot protect them, ultimate things no one can avoid. In the meantime, however, there are the hugs, a bit of ice, a smile through tears, a princess band-aid and the tenacious courage to go on.

 

With the approach of my 40th birthday in May, the submission of my second Aristotle book manuscript to Cambridge University Press, Chloe's pre-registration for Kindergarten, Hannah's hard earned successes in moving out of diapers, Val's exciting new adventures with art, bread making and living locally, it seems that a new phase is upon us.

Often the phases of my life have been marked by a shift in location. This new phase, however, involves a deepening relationship to this place: this house, this town, this state, and indeed, now even, to this country.

Spring is upon us; it is again the time of imagination.

And I imagine my way into this new phase of life, where relationships deepen, research stretches in new directions, new opportunities open. 

And again I am aware of how fulfilling it is to be right here, now, with these people: family, friends, colleagues.

Today a friend presented me with a little gift of one of Updike's poems. It reminded me again how important now is. I knew that, of course, but one must always be reminded of it; one counts on one's friends for that.  

The magnanimity of Lincoln was revealed repeatedly throughout the story as Lincoln confounded rivals who under-estimated his ability to navigate the world of human politics.  It was what allowed him to tolerate General McClellan's repeated challenges to his judgment and authority during the early stages of the war.  It was what enabled him to draw on Salmon P. Chase's extraordinary ability to raise money for the war effort as Treasury Secretary even as Chase opposed him for the Republican nomination in the 1864 election.  In these and many other cases, Lincoln acted always in a thoughtful, even manner, never allowing his anger to cloud his judgment or his understanding of the forces that animated his opponents. 

William Henry Seward's magnanimity was of a slightly different sort: he seems to have been free of pretty resentfulness and vindictiveness. After losing the 1860 Republican nomination for President, which everyone expected him to win, Seward was able to find it within himself, despite this disappointment, to campaign vigorously on Lincoln's behalf in 1860.  Many credit speeches he gave on Lincoln's behalf for the ultimate Republican victory that year.  He then accepted Lincoln's nomination of him as Secretary of State (does this story sound familiar?) and became one of Lincoln's closest friends and most important political advisors.

Perhaps the strong friendship between these two men was rooted in the shard virtue of magnanimity.  What strikes me as worth holding always in mind is that magnanimity requires a great deal of ethical imagination: the ability to imagine one's way in the position of another in order to gain insight into what animates that person.  From this perspective, those initial impulses toward anger dissolve and new possibilities open for more productive modes of response.  I will recall Seward and Lincoln as I make my way through the politics of the academy and everyday life, remembering not to respond in anger, but with empathy and magnanimity, for it is at once ethically generous and politically, far more effective.

As Val and I were focused on the inauguration, Hannah was hard at play with her dolls. As we were waiting for all the dignitaries to be seated, I turned to Hannah and noticed her holding two dolls in her hands; she was making them jump up and down.  They were chanting "OBAMA, OBAMA, OBAMA."

Then there was Chloe who said as she sat on my lap watching the 21 cannons saluted the new President and the crowd going wild: "Daddy, the whole world is shaking."

To which I could only reply, "Yes, Sweetheart, it really is."

Of course, this proposal only address those with the money to buy or own a house, so it would not address the struggles of millions of the working poor.  For them, relief in a variety of other forms will be needed: health coverage, unemployment benefits, etc. Such efforts, however, would not be undermined by extending mortgage relief to homeowners and home buyers; to the contrary, the overall effect of this sort of mortgage relief plan would be a more robust and strengthening economy.

If you agree, write your Congress members, the President and the President-Elect:

• Write your Representative: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
• Write your Senator: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
• Write President-Elect Obama: http://change.gov/page/s/yourstory
• Write President Bush: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

For those who live in Pennsylvania, you can write to our Senators here:

• Senator Casey: http://casey.senate.gov/contact/
  
• Senator Specter: http://specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
  

Aside from the rioting here in State College after the aforementioned PSU victory, it does not get much better than this for a Pennsylvania kid living in State College with leanings toward Philadelphia.

Well, yes it does, but I will wait until after tomorrow night's World Series game five in Philadelphia before I dare mention it.

As usual, the best way to view the movie is from my MobileMe gallery. You can link directly to the video by clicking here.

I have also posted it to my YouTube channel, embedded below. 

On that day, I despaired that "we are a long way from such an uprising."

"What is that American promise? It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have obligations to treat each other with dignity and respect... 

That's the promise of America, the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation, the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper. 

That's the promise we need to keep. That's the change we need right now."

Today we are a step closer to living out the meaning of our creed, to bringing the ideals of American into closer connection with our reality.  

We left State College around 9 and arrived in Pittsburgh at noon. We went immediately to the Children's Museum where Chloe and Hannah had a great time doing Arts and Crafts, going through the Gravity Room, playing in the garage workshop and the water room.

At the time, I was 38, chronologically, but my "real age" turned out to be 43. You see the "43 year old" here, swimming with his daughters during a camping trip in August, 2007.

The message came just as our existing reusable shopping bags were reaching the end of their working lives, so Val went to the website and found The Market Pack, which includes a carrying bag that contains five fold-up Market Totes.

We have used the bags now for a few weeks and I have been moved to post this because the bags are excellent:

So, I encourage anyone out there interested in reducing the considerable harm the use of plastic and paper shopping bags does to the environment to look into Neela bags.