shift

May 23 2013

culture, current events, life, loss, travel

factories of death—a reblog

Image by GMB AKASH

“Today, I count myself blessed to have become a photographer. To be able to articulate the experiences of the voiceless, to bring their identity to the forefront, gives meaning and purpose to my own life.”

– GMB AKASH

I used to think reblogs were silly. I didn’t understand why people would post them. Were they too lazy to produce their own work? Or was it, sometimes . . . something else?

Today, I get it. Today marks history on Shift. This is my first reblog ever (well, sort of—I’m too much of a perfectionist to do things the normal way), and it is for a purpose.

Several months ago I discovered an amazing blog by an incredible photojournalist based in Bangladesh. His name is GMB Akash, and his work has been featured in more than seventy major international publications, including National Geographic, Vogue, Time, Newsweek, Geo, The Guardian, The Economist, and more. He has received more than sixty-eight international awards, and every post I’ve read since following his blog has taken my breath away, and even, occasionally, brought me to tears.

In “Factories of Death” and his previous post, “Low-priced Slaves,” Akash brings to life a tragedy that, for many of us, seems worlds away. The collapse of the eight-story garment factory building in Dhaka, Bangladesh last month, which left more than 1,100 people dead, is no longer making big headlines here in the States—or in many other parts of the world, for that matter. But that doesn’t mean the tragedy is over. Akash’s photos tell it all: A story of preventable heartbreak and horrible loss, of sadness, anger, strength, and resilience. The people featured are no different than you or than me. The people featured are just like you and me . . .

This is why, a few weeks back, I wrote “Let There Be Light.” This is why, sometimes, this world breaks my heart.

So please, please, please click on the links above. Please take a moment to check out Akash’s photos. You won’t be disappointed. I promise.

…

Thank you, GMB Akash, for giving a voice to those who have none. Thank you for your incredible work. The world needs more people like you.

…

“Factories of Death” (gmbakash.wordpress.com)
Behind the walls of Bangladesh’s garment factories (itv.com)
let there be light (jesscy.com)

…

Tagged Bangladesh, Dhaka, Economist, GMB Akash, National Geographic, Newsweek, United States, Vogue

May 20 2013

26 Comments

culture, current events, life, life at home, perspective

just like mommy

She took the room by surprise. Or maybe it was just me. I noticed her as soon as I walked in.

She had on hot pink shorts two sizes too small, and a bikini top over breasts two sizes too big. Across her back and on her arms and legs were tattoos; her ample girth jiggled as she walked. Even more interesting was her hair. Pixie length and bleach-blonde, her “locks” were pulled into pigtails that looked like sprouts coming out of the sides of her head. Earrings glistened from her ears.

Most noticeable, though, were her eyes. They were dark and masked by makeup and . . . bruises?

She was toting a three-year-old. Continue reading →

Tagged Breast, cigarette, Family, Harry Potter, Home, imitate, Mommy, Mother, Parent, parental influence, role model, Television, Women

May 17 2013

78 Comments

background, change, life, loss, love, personal

grandparents aren’t supposed to die

My Nana died tonight. I didn’t cry. I have, and I will. But I didn’t when I heard the news. Some things take a while to settle in.

Grandparents are the best!

It occurred to me recently that, in the span of six months, I have gone from having three living grandparents to, now, only one. It is something that was never supposed to happen, really. Grandparents aren’t supposed to die. They’re the ones who tickle you and tell you stories and sneak you treats when Mom and Dad aren’t looking. They’re the ones with gray hair and wrinkles and sparkly eyes and easy smiles. They’re the ones who age but don’t get old, who tire but are never too tired for you.

They are, and always have been, for eternity.

Until tonight. Continue reading →

Tagged Boots Randolph, death, Elvis, Family, Grandparent, Home, memorial service, Mom and Dad, Nana, Ohio, Parent, Shopping, Teddy Bear, yakety sax, yodel

May 15 2013

25 Comments

background, current events, life, loss, personal, perspective, religion

on death and living life to the fullest

There are so many things I want to write about right now. I have a long list of recent experiences to share, not to mention wanting to get back to things related to my time in Asia. But, sometimes, life gets in the way. We wish life was all sunshine and roses, but, unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.

Last December, my family lost our grandfather on my mom’s side. He was a gruff man who built his legacy on a tow yard. I wrote about the experience here. Now, it looks like we may be losing my grandmother, “Nana,” too. Nana has spent more time in the hospital than out of it since my grandfather’s death, and just recently everything has gone downhill. Presently doctors are trying to keep her comfortable at a hospital in Ohio. We’re not sure how much more time she has to live.

Upon hearing the news last night, my brother Derek, who is himself a talented writer, sat down and penned (with a few minor edits) the following thoughts:

On Death and Living Life to the Fullest

By Derek Cyphers

Whatever happened to passing peacefully in one’s sleep? Is one of the few drawbacks to advancements in medicine that we can now prolong life further than it was meant to, ultimately leading to more suffering over time? At least for our family, this has probably been the hardest part. My first exposure to this came with our paternal grandmother, who fought cancer bravely, and painfully, for nine years before finally succumbing in 2003. More recently, it was our grandfather on our mom’s side, who was a shell of his true self due to mental and physical decline by the time he passed this last December. Continue reading →

Tagged Asia, God, Grandparent, Henry Ford, Jesus, Religion and Spirituality, Rob Bell, Scott Harrison

May 13 2013

56 Comments

culture, current events, life, life at home, personal, perspective

heartless, or . . . ?

I was being compulsive. Again. I’ve told you I’m a clean freak, right? Well, I am, and today it was about my car. I’d just gotten it washed after my trip to San Francisco (more on that later), and now, next door at Chevron, I was wiping dirt off of the engine under the hood.*

As I was working, I suddenly became aware of a car right behind me.

“Excuse me. Miss?”

I turned around to see a large Hispanic man leaning out of an old tan Buick. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt despite the warm weather and a thick black mustache over pale lips. A dark-haired woman sat in the passenger seat beside him. Continue reading →

Tagged Buick, Buick Century, California, Homelessness, Metro Areas, San Francisco, San Francisco Bay Area, United States

May 10 2013

44 Comments

background, culture, current events, life, personal, perspective

the end of the world as we know it

Why is it that mankind is obsessed with its own destruction?

No, no. I’m not talking about drugs and alcohol; not talking about cigarettes or fatty foods, either. I’m not even talking about adrenaline. I’m talking about entertainment.

I never watch T.V. and almost never watch movies. During the three years I was in Asia, I stepped into a movie theater all of about twice. Things haven’t changed much since I moved home. Despite the fact that I live just across the street from a theater, I almost never go. Yes, yes, I know. There are a lot of great films out there. On the whole, though, well . . . Let’s just say I’d rather be reading or writing or riding my bike.

This past Sunday, however, I made an exception. My brother invited me to see Iron Man 3. I hadn’t seen my brother or his girlfriend in weeks, so, despite the fact that Iron Man 3 isn’t really my kind of movie (though I do love Robert Downey, Jr.), I decided to go. Continue reading →

Tagged After Earth, Asia, Care Bears, cinema, Film, Ghost, Google, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, media violence, San Francisco, Thor The Dark World

May 07 2013

4 Comments

background, change, personal, writing

why “shift”?

Today is a bit rushed. I have several posts in draft, but recently have been working on updating Shift. In particular, I’ve made quite a few changes to my menu. If interested, check out my “about” section where there are now three sub-items, including one that explains in greater detail why I chose the name Shift. I’ve also dedicated a page to my rock climbing story beneath “top posts,” and well . . . Just check it all out. I promise you won’t be disappointed. (Well . . . Maybe I shouldn’t make such boasts. But I can at least say I’m happy with the way my blog is slowly coming together!)

Much love to you all,

Jessica

Tagged Climbing, Commercial Gyms, Guides and Schools, Idaho, Indoor, Recreation, Rock climbing, United States

May 06 2013

39 Comments

background, college, personal, poetry, quotes, writing

a poet who didn’t know it

I used to think I couldn’t write poetry. To me, poetry has always meant rhythm and rhyme (versus free verse), and I didn’t think I had it in me. As I have continued to write more and more, however, I have found that, maybe, I was wrong.

Overall, Shift is not a blog about poetry. It’s a blog about travel and ideas and perspective. I still have much to share, and I am loving the conversations arising out of posts such as “Success, or Something Like It” and “Let There Be Light.” But, as my tagline aptly states, the only thing constant is change, and that’s true for writers, too. We all go through phases, and I hope readers don’t mind that I am now also sharing some of my poetry.

Recently, I created a “Poetry” section for my menu to make locating my poetry a bit easier. In doing so, I remembered one of my favorite quotes from one of my literature classes in college. This led me to looking up more quotes on poetry, and, voilà, this post appeared.

Can you guess which quote is my favorite? Which is yours?

1.

“Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.”

– Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 – 1822) Continue reading →

Tagged Charles Bukowski, e.e. cummings, Edgar Allen Poe, Emily Dickinson, Free verse, G.K. Chesterton, John Keats, Kahlil Gibran, Leonardo da Vinci, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Plato, Poetry, Robert Frost, Robert Graves, W.H. Auden, William Blake, William Hazlitt, William Wordsworth

May 04 2013

42 Comments

current events, life, personal, perspective, writing

the elation of validation

I recently sent an email to my local newspaper editor. In it, I apologized for a few small errors that I’d made in some articles I’d written for him. The articles were about local businesses that will be showcased at a local Home and Garden Show this weekend. They went to print this past Monday, and a few of the business owners were not happy with what I had written.

As I mentioned in a previous post, although I knew I’d done a good job (the editor published my articles almost exactly as I had written them), I was devastated by the negative feedback. I knew I needed to develop thicker skin, but my mistakes, especially the preventable ones, really bothered me.

Tonight, the editor wrote back. This is what he said: Continue reading →

Tagged Business, edit, editor, Freeware, home and garden show, Monday, Negative feedback, newspaper, Shareware, Windows

May 03 2013

46 Comments

life, nature, personal, poetry, travel, writing

on and on you go (take two)

Please don’t hate me! I was not content with my first version of this poem. Something about the third stanza (and a few other things) just didn’t fit. So I revised it, and here it is. Most of you know by now: This poem is dedicated to “wind.”

From here to there and everywhere,
on and on you go.
I hear you there, or is it there?
Your face, you’ll never show.

O’er sea and over mountain,
continent and plain,
from Asia to the Balkan:
the world is your domain.

At times I’ve seen you angry,
you howl and wreak havoc.
It’s then I shiver meekly,
and stand in awe, dumbstruck.

But when you’re sweet, you’re lovely;
you caress my soul.
Your whispers soft and balmy,
you can take me whole.

And though I cannot touch you,
on wings you fly me high,
to places where I knew you,
under another sky.

…

Which version do you prefer?

…

Image: Pinterest

on and on you go (jesscy.com)
the visitor (jesscy.com)
little birdie (jesscy.com)
headphones (jesscy.com)

…

Tagged Africa, Asia, Balkan, editor, European Union, Greece, History, perfectionism, Poetry, Recreation, take two

May 02 2013

27 Comments

life, nature, personal, poetry

on and on you go

From here to there and everywhere,
on and on you go.
I hear you there, or is it there?
Your face, you’ll never show.

O’er sea and over mountain,
continent and plain,
in Africa and Asia . . .
The world is your domain.

Sometimes you get angry,
you howl and growl a lot.
You know it is quite silly—
I’ll not move from my spot.

But when you’re sweet, you’re lovely;
you caress my soul.
Your fingers full upon me,
you can take me whole.

And though I cannot touch you,
on wings you fly me high,
to places where I knew you,
under another sky.

…

Tip: Read aloud. ;)

Image: Pinterest

the visitor (jesscy.com)
little birdie (jesscy.com)
headphones (jesscy.com)

…

Tagged Africa, Asia, Business and Economy, Cape Town, Nigeria, Recreation, Rome, United States, world

Apr 30 2013

71 Comments

current events, disappointment, life at home, personal, perspective, writing

school of hard knocks

I cried yesterday. I never cry.

Because of the weird way in which my local paper works (it’s a tiny paper), content I write often appears online before it appears in the printed edition. This can be both good and bad. It is good when I am eager to see what the editor has done with my work—usually he changes very little, of which I am proud. It is bad, however, when I have made a mistake and someone catches it, but, alas, it is too late to make changes before the article goes to print.

That is what happened this weekend. Continue reading →

Tagged Art, Business, hard knocks, Mountain Democrat, Organizations, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Publishing and Printing, real-life lesson, United States, Writers Resources

Apr 28 2013

63 Comments

culture, current events, life, loss, perspective, religion

let there be light

“You will be remembered. Stay strong Boston.”

…

It’s been nearly two weeks since the bombing at the Boston Marathon. Nearly two weeks since two alleged terrorists killed three people and injured 264 others at one of the world’s oldest and most beloved annual events. Nearly two weeks since chaos erupted and an entire city was shut down to find the imposters. Nearly two weeks, and I have yet to say a word.

I haven’t mentioned Boston.

Why?

Is it because I am heartless? Am I too busy writing articles to concern myself with the plight of marathoners far, far away? Too busy talking to birds and making up poems about the night sky to worry about things like death and destruction? Too busy pondering life to take stock of what’s happening in it?

Or is it . . . something else? Continue reading →

Tagged American Cancer Society, Bangladesh, birds, Boston, Boston marathon, casualties, civil war, death, marathon, Martin Richards, Moscow, night sky, Syria, United Nations, United States

Apr 25 2013

18 Comments

current events, life, nature, poetry

the visitor

Here she comes o’er top the hill,
robed in dewy, beauty white.
Seeing her, it is a thrill,
she’s always such a pretty sight . . .

And when she comes,
we mark the clock;
beneath her glow,
in whispers talk.

And wish we that
she wouldn’t leave,
but stay with us
just one more eve.

But on she goes,
and there she’s gone.
And we, alone,
at break of dawn.

…

Image: Pinterest

…

Tagged Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Fáilte Ireland, full moon, lunar, moon rise, National Park Week, visitor, Yosemite National Park

Apr 22 2013

51 Comments

current events, life at home, personal, perspective, writing

good writing takes time

This is why I will never participate in NaNoWriMo.

Ever.

A few months back I got an email from a lady who was in charge of the advertising for a local home and garden show. She’d gotten my name from the editor of my local paper, who I’ve written for before. She needed a writer for some twelve to fifteen articles for a special tab on the show’s vendors that would appear in the paper just prior to the event.

Of course I said yes.

In the following weeks she gave me four names. I began making phone calls, trying to set up interviews and schedule photo shoots. I accomplished these and still hadn’t heard from her about the rest of the vendors. I assumed I would have plenty of time.

I was wrong. Continue reading →

Tagged April, Article (publishing), Arts, Boston, deadlines, Editing, Friday, journalism, NaNoWriMo, quality, quantity, WordPress, Writer Resources

shift

because the only thing constant is change

factories of death—a reblog

“Today, I count myself blessed to have become a photographer. To be able to articulate the experiences of the voiceless, to bring their identity to the forefront, gives meaning and purpose to my own life.”

– GMB AKASH

just like mommy

grandparents aren’t supposed to die

on death and living life to the fullest

On Death and Living Life to the Fullest

heartless, or . . . ?

the end of the world as we know it

why “shift”?

a poet who didn’t know it

Can you guess which quote is my favorite? Which is yours?

the elation of validation

on and on you go (take two)

Image: Pinterest

Related articles

on and on you go

Image: Pinterest

school of hard knocks

let there be light

the visitor

good writing takes time

Follow “shift”

because the only thing constant is change

“Today, I count myself blessed to have become a photographer. To be able to articulate the experiences of the voiceless, to bring their identity to the forefront, gives meaning and purpose to my own life.”

– GMB AKASH

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