Invisibility

When going to the railway station an early morning last week, a couple of young guys literally ran into me.  Hard as well.  My first thoughts were pickpockets but no, they had not seen me (an apology would have been nice).

Invisible

Surveys have shown that women over 46 become "invisible".   They get run into, overlooked, and feel it as well.  Ever thought about all the botox, nips and tucks this generation so willingly undergoes?  The efforts being made into looking younger?

Supposedly, it is a genetic thing, men's brains wired to look at young fertile women and oversee the older ones.

Funnily enough, about the time women turn 60, they become a little more visible again, but then as 'old ladies', senior citizens.  Although these days 60-year olds are still fit and active, our brains still haven't caught up with the new reality.

So I suppose the only thing I can do is stand tall, take and fill my space, and make sure I am not overlooked.

Marleen

PS interested in seeing more ?  Visit my photostream.

Patterns and bragging rights

People who know me well and my photography know how I love to photograph geometric shapes and patterns.  Even better when there is just one little disturbing element in them.  Seeing these almost "picture-perfect" shapes make my day, especially since I never arrange a scene in my photography.

Being Belgian I was raised to be humble, not to blow my own horn, even not to mention your own success.

One of the 30 pictures on Nikon's photobooth.

On my birthday last month, I received an email from Nikon Belgium, asking if they could use one of my photographs on their photobooth during the Photo Business Days, in Brussels on February 24-25, 2013.

Of course I said yes, imagine my pride and gratitude, thinking of my picture being one of the 30 images displayed in their booth.

Writing about this is yet another broken pattern.

Marleen

Goodbyes

Over the past couple of years I've had to say too many goodbyes.  And I am not good at it either.  This week there is another goodbye I am forced to say.

Such is life - it is what it is - accept what life throws at you - accept choices other people have made,  or were forced to make;  equally accept our own voluntary or involuntary choices.

So here's to you - and you know who you are.  Sad to see you go, thankful for the time we spent together, thankful for the friendship, the guidance and the lessons we thought each other.

Wishing you good speed, great projects to work on, and Be Happy!  Hope to hear from you, and see you from time to time.  Dance to the music life throws at you.  And don't forget to make your own music and dance to it  from time to time.

Marleen 
(je Indiaantje)

PS interested in seeing more ?  Visit my photostream.

Music is my madeleine

It never ceases to amaze me how the involuntary memory works.  Hearing the first notes of Mozart's Piano Concerto 23 and I am instantly transported back more than 35 years ago - Sunday around lunchtime, lunch being prepared by Mom and Dad enjoying 'a small Mozart before lunch' as he called it.

These musical memories are a big present and also a curse.  Van Morrison's Moondance will always remind me of a tender first kiss on a sunny summer night, and Taiko music will always remind me of a dear friend I recently had to say goodbye to.

Going through my cd-collection is stepping back in the past, with all the joys and pains that brings.  It is meeting old friends with bittersweet memories.

Maarten Van Ingelgem at the piano - Mazzic 2013

Recently I was lucky enough to be able to attend all the concerts of MAZZIC 5 - the fifth edition of a local music festival in Aalst, curated this year by Jan Michiels. The joy of it is that, not only did I enjoy all the music when attending the concerts, but they will bring me joy and incredible feelings in all the years to come, when hearing the pieces that were played that weekend.  Although some were one-offs and can only be played back in my head.

Marleen


PS interested in seeing more ?  Visit my photostream.

Marleen

Walls, Windows and some thoughts

Earlier this week I was talking to a qualified doctor about social media and loneliness.  Hours, days, months spent  decreasing the big, wonderful world to a "monitor" of 21 inches. Despite these hours spent on the computer in the safety of our homes, more people are lonely than ever.  Despite the possibility of more communication than ever, there is a lot of noise, and not much real talk.  Where the same news items show up on the walls endlessly in the different shapes and and slightly different format, seen from our first row seats or 'loge'.

People are getting defined by their presence on the different sites, and let computer models decide who they should or should not date.  If and when it comes to a real life encounter, in many cases there is a big disappointment.  Because on the net, you are who you want to be, and not necessary who you really are.

How 10% of web users are web dependent. Some of us suffer from IAD, but that could be an overuse of the internet as a form of self-medication for depression.  However, virtual engagements do not stimulate the release of neurotransmitters, such as oxytocin and endorphins, the way real life interactions do. Communication Addiction Disorder is another behavior disorder related to the need of being constantly in virtual communication with other people, even when there is no practical necessity for such communication (think Facebook, Youtube, Twitter,...)

As someone responsible for social media in the job, and spending a lot of time on the web in my free time, it first made me laugh.  And then it struck.

Time to switch off on a more regular basis, and venture in the real world, how freightening that might be.

Marleen