look carefully now

Akira Kurosawa, the great film director, was 13 when the Great Kanto earthquake hit in 1923 destroying Yokohama, three fifths of Tokyo, and killing nearly 150,000 people. His older brother Heigo Kurosawa (16 at the time) took Akira to see the devastation. It was something Akira never forgot:

"My brother once forced me to spend a day wandering through Tokyo looking at the victims of the Great Kanto earthquake..." Kurosawa told an interviewer in 1993, 70 years after it struck. "Corpses piled on bridges, corpses blocking off a whole street at the intersection, corpses displaying every manner of death possible to human beings. When I involuntarily looked away, my brother scolded me, 'Akira, look carefully now.' When that night I asked my brother why he made me look at those terrible sights, he replied: 'If you shut your eyes to a frightening sight, you end up being frightened. If you look at everything straight on, there is nothing to be afraid of.' With my camera, like Dostoyevsky with his prose, I have tried to force the audience--which is often unwilling--to look carefully now."

bedtime story

mom (Monica) reading to Presley (looking at her mom) and Finley (in mom's lap)

via @jpokluda

(Thanks Jonathan!)

JSB Give-Away!

here

The Jesus Storybook Bible is my absolute favorite children's bible story book. The illustrations are so gorgeous!  But the best part of the story is how it shows the presence of Christ throughout every Old Testament story. This is a book that every Christian family should have for their children... Since reading it to Micah and Mia, they have begun to see even more how Christ is present in their lives today and that is my highest priority as their mom." Hayley

jsb narrated by little children and animated with children's art

i'm warning you... it'll do your heart in

Posted via email from jsb

Jago at work in his studio (with secret technique)

via jago.posterous.com

ever wonder how Jago does those incredible illustrations in the JSB? It's not exactly painting. It's not exactly computer generated. All those textures. It looks like oil. And yet... Well when I asked Jago how he did it, he said they were top secret techniques.

But I've spotted him. In his studio. And with one of his obviously key secret techniques. Right there. On his lap. For all to see.

Posted via email from jsb

reading a book

OK I just completely love this and am now singing it all around my apt...

actually, i'm going to make it "writing a book" and use it to fend off those dysfunctional relatives that Ann Lamott talks about who pull up their chairs in a semi-circle behind you whenever you dare to sit down to write and breathe on you their coppery breath... (Ann Lamott in Bird By Bird in case you haven't read this life-saving book)

OH and PS

just updated my website featuring my extra exciting most new book: HOW TO GET A JOB BY ME THE BOSS (written by that same 6-year old narrator who brought you HOW TO BE A BABY and HOW TO GET MARRIED). there are some never before heard of tips which makes it a MUST HAVE...

Plus the new extra wondrous JESUS STORYBOOK BIBLE LARGE FORMAT EDITION (exactly the same only larger--and with a reader's ribbon)

now be quiet

can't you see? I'm writing a book....

60 year old mother

Albatross

via NYT

she's the oldest wild bird in the US

and she's a new mother

she's very good for her age isn't she?

plus she has a good name: Wisdom

plus here are some Albatross facts for a wednesday:

• they lay one egg a year
• they have about 35 babies in their lifetime
• they often take a year off from parenting (see above)

How To Smile

via NYT

When I was taking a French conversation class at the Alliance Francaise a couple of years ago one of the most interesting things I learned from my wonderful French French teacher (aside from the language) was that the French don't smile.

At least not the way Americans do.

And in fact if you smile at them as you pass them on the street, you creep them out.

This seems like an essential thing to know before visiting France. How had I never heard this before? (Had I known this, clearly my French speaking career might well have taken off.)

This NYT article is all about smiling and lips and teeth and faces. But here's the quote that leaped out at me about the not smiling/smiling thing:

"So you know," the Russian reporter informed Paula Niedenthal, "that American smiles are all false, and French smiles are all true."