Speak UpA Former Division of UnderConsideration
The Archives, August 2002 – April 2009
advertise @ underconsideration
---Click here for full archive list or browse below
  
It Is So Amazing Here

The most extraordinary thing about spring is that you get to see beauty everywhere. Tulips peaking upwards…cheerful, sunny daffodils, the buds on trees unfurling as they slowly come back to life. Spring is unquestionably my favorite season. I’ve never really figured out why T. S. Eliot felt that “April is the cruelest month,” as I think it is rather the most hopeful and optimistic.

Consider this a happy post. Today there is beauty everywhere. There is innovation everywhere. There is humor everywhere. Design is all around us…yes, there is the wonderful everyday joy, but it is also in surprising places and inspiring gestures and hidden destinations. So on this still chilly early Spring day, let’s share…what are you finding amazing today? Can you share what you find wonderful?

Maintained through our ADV @ UnderConsideration Program
ENTRY DETAILS
ARCHIVE ID 2280 FILED UNDER Discussion
PUBLISHED ON Apr.12.2005 BY debbie millman
WITH COMMENTS
Comments
Jason T.’s comment is:

Wonderful Spring: time with my wife out of doors and in the warm sun; long walks with my dog; sitting under a tree; blue sky; fresh cut lawn clippings; swimming pools and diving boards; and jogging before sunrise.

On Apr.12.2005 at 12:46 PM
katharine’s comment is:

peaches. sitting in central park. frisbees.

On Apr.12.2005 at 01:04 PM
graham’s comment is:

wonderful is t.s. eliot's notion: burgeoning spring suggests to us a stirring of hope that while inherent and relentlessly unfolding in nature (as much as is death and decay in the relentless turning of the seasons) is only observed by us in very human terms-much like we'd attribute our own emotions to an animal -and really is always in the state of passing ('the world however didn't wait'-brecht: or perhaps like tantalus, spring as a reward that always remains just out of reach as the wheel turns) and is no longer-perhaps never was-inherent in our own nature. all from that one line. that's pretty amazing.

On Apr.12.2005 at 01:25 PM
Bryony’s comment is:

What is April?

Is it Apricots, Porcupines, Railroads, Isosceles triangles and Lentils?

Is it Ants, Parachutes, Robitussin�, Icograda and Lizards?

Is it Antipathy, Pleasure, Radicalism, Ippons and Lavatories?

Is it Artisans, Panic attacks, Romantics, Ideas and Limits?

Is it Adagios, Prudence, Rivers, Idiocy and Lagoons?

On Apr.12.2005 at 02:09 PM
MC’s comment is:

April is time for traveling... Just returned from a week in Barcelona. What a beautiful city! A unique mix of the old and new, so many colors, much to discover, so much inspiration.

It's a shame we only have 2 weeks vacation in the U.S. One learns so much through travel.

On Apr.12.2005 at 03:18 PM
ben’s comment is:

sundresses, short skirts...need a guy say more?

On Apr.12.2005 at 03:20 PM
Amanda Woodward’s comment is:

- smell of the first rain mixed with my neighbor’s wood stove

- digging in the dirt on the weekend and finding ladybugs

- scoping out various summer folk festivals to attend

- planning my first box garden in adobe illustrator

On Apr.12.2005 at 03:21 PM
Diane Witman’s comment is:

Being able to walk outside, leisurely.

On Apr.12.2005 at 03:28 PM
Elizabeth Boyle’s comment is:

Big, blue sky with lots of clouds.

New friends + old aquaintances who become new friends.

Spring mixes in itunes.

Great print design that is so beautiful you want to eat it.

On Apr.12.2005 at 04:15 PM
debbie millman’s comment is:

Liz--

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just relive last weekend over and over? though i think that weinberger might be jealous...

-d

On Apr.12.2005 at 04:21 PM
Elizabeth Boyle’s comment is:

*smile*

my head's still stuck back there, in spite of everyone else around me trying to drag me into the new week!

hope you had a safe flight back! you missed a perfect sunday, but i'm sure you had a perfect sunday anyways :)

xox

On Apr.12.2005 at 04:37 PM
Jeff Gill’s comment is:

Magnolias

Watching my lawn being mowed for the first time this year and anticipating a whole summer of not mowing, of not dying of allergies, of enjoying my family on Saturdays. �10 every 2 weeks can buy a lot of joy.

On Apr.12.2005 at 05:27 PM
Michael Surtees’s comment is:

walking outside with good muzak and a camera

On Apr.12.2005 at 05:39 PM
Rob’s comment is:

Watching my three-year old son throw the ball southpaw.

On Apr.12.2005 at 08:01 PM
marian’s comment is:

well, i have just left the land of pink and green, where trees are blooming, and all that shit, to come to the land of brown and grey. i'm in saskatchewan, home of dirt.

what's the beauty here? my new game is to drive the empty streets as fast as i can while avoiding the potholes! not easy, as they are deep and many, but a gal's gotta find a little joy where she can.

On Apr.12.2005 at 08:16 PM
David Weinberger’s comment is:

though i think that weinberger might be jealous...

Would've loved to have been there but I wasn't invited

On Apr.12.2005 at 08:33 PM
Sonyl’s comment is:

Starting yoga while it's still light out and taking the sun down during practice. That is, of course, if I get out of the office in time to go.

On Apr.12.2005 at 08:55 PM
elizabeth boyle’s comment is:

touché!

On Apr.12.2005 at 09:24 PM
Calvin’s comment is:

~sigh~ the first sun-burn of the season is upon me...wonderful words of a season that has yet to be captured by them...i'm guessing t.s. elloit just had some bad allergies...?

On Apr.12.2005 at 09:52 PM
RavenOne’s comment is:

WHEOOOO! It's APRIL and NOT SNOWING!

Someone keep their fingers crossed, I like the weather!

On Apr.13.2005 at 01:33 AM
Matilda’s comment is:

I second Jeff Gill with the magnolias now that I live in a place where spring actually arrives in April and not sometime in mid-May (like in Montreal). In Montreal, April is quite cruel: warm and balmy one day, freak snowstorm the next.

On Apr.13.2005 at 09:44 AM
Pesky Illustrator’s comment is:

Stumbling into the comments late: Is this the cruelest month thread? Whew!

an added list:

-Spring brings new cat barf on the persian carpet

-Sunny days outside while working weekend on a foolish, foolish deadline inside

-Pollen by the bucketful

-Mosquitos that make Lestat look like an amateur

>> Cheer up! Summer's next...

On Apr.13.2005 at 10:01 AM
JonSel’s comment is:

Aside from sunny days at Yankee Stadium (for which I'm extremely grateful), I'm thankful when the tax bill comes in less than what I thought it would be! Off to the Apple Store...

On Apr.13.2005 at 11:05 AM
Jeff’s comment is:

The time for tax refunds (hopefully), the cherry blossoms, and my cats to finally be able to lay in the sun again so their fur is all warm when I pet them.

Oh, and this is when all the good bands start playing outside for free. That's always a plus.

On Apr.13.2005 at 11:39 AM
Rob’s comment is:

More thoughts to add:

Tax refund!! (yes, thank you, virginia, there is a santa claus)

A cafe with free wireless and sidewalk tables (on the sunny side of the street)

The smell of the grass being cut in the park.

The crack of the bat, the roars of the crowd, as the boys of summer return from the rites of Spring.

On Apr.13.2005 at 11:42 AM
Jim D.’s comment is:

Biking to work...

D.C. cherry blossoms at their absolute peak...

and a HOME baseball game in the nation's capital!

On Apr.13.2005 at 01:46 PM
Kevin Lo’s comment is:

In Montreal, April is quite cruel

Matilda, nice to see a fellow montrealer (or at least ex-montrealer) here. Yes, Montreal can be quite cruel but it also makes it all the more amazing when spring does break.

A few weeks ago, when we got to about 5 celcius, people were out basking in the sun, the dogs, babies and pretty girls were out and everyone was smiling. We had a beautiful weekend but the last few days have been a bit frigid... but soon...

I'm happy to be back in a city where you can meet and greet random strangers in the street and talk to them about your zine.

On Apr.13.2005 at 10:23 PM
Matilda’s comment is:

Kevin, it's true that Montreal is great when spring finally decides to appear: people get friendlier, they get out more, and there's a party atmosphere on the island. But I also find that spring lasts for about 4 days in Montreal: it's grey and slushy (aka winter) then it's mild and sunny for the aformentioned 4 days (if it isn't interrupted by a sudden snowstorm) after which the hot, humid summer begins in full tilt. The trees explode with foliage and everything, including people, race to come alive because the season is so short.

I hope you're having a great time in Montreal, though. I miss it, especially this time of year...

On Apr.14.2005 at 08:16 AM
M Kingsley’s comment is:

Debbie, my dear, are you having a f__king great April?

;)

On Apr.14.2005 at 03:34 PM
BlueStreak’s comment is:

MK, that's the f__king funniest thing I've seen all day. It really is f__king great!

On Apr.14.2005 at 04:12 PM
Bryony’s comment is:

MK, that's...

I wonder if MK will start going by Margaret....

Oops! Maybe I should have posted this under Baby Names My Wife and I Have Rejected?

On Apr.14.2005 at 05:10 PM
debbie millman’s comment is:

kingsley--

yeah it is exactly like that. exactly. yes, exactly. it is also because i live by these f'in rules.

i think we need to watch our potty mouths...

On Apr.15.2005 at 09:47 AM
Tan’s comment is:

Aloha...you guys will be jealous, but I'm actually on vacation this week, so I'm emailing you from a condo on the beach on the west side of Maui, in Kapalua. Just got here Thursday, and it's taken me until today to really start to unwind and de-stress.

Everything is wonderful here. The air is fragrant, the sky and sunsets are incredible, and life has a slower rhythm all its own. The island is magical.

Yesterday, I saw sea turtles and puffer fishes snorkeling, got buried in the sand by my kids, drank fresh cane and coconut juice at a roadside stand, and watched the sunset on the beach w/ my wife. It is so amazing here.

No watch, no cell phone, no emails. Aaahh.

Wish you could all be here. I'll post photos when I get back.

On Apr.16.2005 at 03:24 PM
Pesky Illustrator’s comment is:

Tan, I've put stamps on my forehead: I'm going' to Maui! LOL

On Apr.16.2005 at 03:31 PM
graham’s comment is:

"I saw sea turtles and puffer fishes snorkeling"

now that's amazing. little tiny snorkels . . .

On Apr.17.2005 at 06:02 AM
govinda’s comment is:

Eliot might have been influenced in his gloominess by having a wife who was slipping noisily into insanity.

That and his viewpoint that we're none of us Hamlets, more fit to fill a scene, so that the grand notions of spring as the time that all nature throws down whatever else it's doing in order to breathe inspiration into the poet (as in the first 18 lines of 'The Canterbury Tales,' upon which the opening of 'The Wasteland' is ironically based), well, that's a little too grandiose for him.

On Apr.18.2005 at 10:55 PM
Armin’s comment is:

> now that's amazing. little tiny snorkels . . .

I just find it odd that puffer fishes would need snorkels. I mean, I marvel at the technical achievement of a functioning tiny snorkel, but I think fish wouldn't benefit from such an invention.

Now, how's my spring going?

The latest developments were a nasty cold during a business a trip. I dropped my laptop and now it's in the repair shop. The subway ride home last night was packed, warm and with no place to seat. Getting bumped in the head with the realities of starting to think about buying a home. Trying to find money somewhere to produce a few Speak Up pieces this year. My favorite, weekend-comfort pair of jeans are now officially unwearable due to lengthening holes in unwanted areas.

I love it.

Seriously.

Okay, and it's been fucking beautiful outside.

On Apr.19.2005 at 08:46 AM