Monday, November 10, 2008

Zen Monday: #24


On Zen Monday you experience the photo and tell us what it's about, rather than me telling you what to experience from viewing it.
There's no right or wrong.
If the photo evokes something in you, that's all it is.

37 comments:

ben wideman said...

pretty close to my house right there! If I had to tell you what this picture meant, I'd say it would be faster for me to walk :)

USelaine said...

Episode #78 of the Red Shoe Diaries begins with Matilda waiting for her bus to the secret trysting location...

Pat said...

I am struck by the woman who appears to be distancing herself as far as possible from the sexy lingerie ads, which make most of us feel physically inferior to the babes who sport the scanty bras and panties. She's ignoring them, too, by looking the other way.

And you thought she was just looking for her bus..!

Thanks, Petrea, for your comments. I've been neglecting my blog checking, but will get back into the swing of things!

Anonymous said...

The sidewalks are in need of steam cleaning

HearkenCreative said...

Headlines from today's Pasadena Star News: "Ridership on buses still rising" and today's L.A. Times: "Los Angeles-area private schools feel the pinch."

Actually, it makes me want to get back to commuting on my bike. I had to stop a few months ago when I broke my arm. Bikes, buses, Gold Line, anything it takes.

And it looks like the bus really likes hitting that curb...

Thérèse said...

Oh well I don't care at least my shoes are matching the painted curb.

Anonymous said...

why public transportation always seems like a bad idea. I'd rather walk on my hands than sit in there.

Anonymous said...

I hate sexy or violent bus ads. I'd look the other way too, if I had to sit there.

Dina said...

Well, I can tell it's not in Jerusalem. That ad would not last half an hour before it was de-faced by the religious zealots.

Anonymous said...

I just can't look at those ads. I'd NEVER fit into the clothes and I don't want to feel like a slut popping out of them!

Oh G-d, I can't look at the ground either, it's dirty, littered and yuck.

When IS that bus going to get here? Dang it, I'm late, where IS it?

Maybe I'd better walk after all. It's ONLY 14 miles!

Chuck Pefley said...

Interesting bunch of comments and observations ... I'm thinking how much I currently miss t-shirt weather :)

Susan C said...

"If I look this way, maybe Bebe baby won't see me."

Cafe Observer said...
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Cafe Observer said...

KB, besides walking on you hands or feet, you might want to try a horse. But, avoid riding around El Molino.

Patrizzi Intergarlictica said...

minus Western Dental building
minus red curb
minus bus stop structure
minus asphalt and trash
equals one beautiful native woman
under golden light and shadows

HearkenCreative said...

Miss Havisham: priceless & transcendent.

Vanda said...

I wish there was a subway or light railway directly connecting Pasadena with Burbank. I also wish there was a streetcar running down on Riverside Blvd. Buses are really yucky in this town.

My impression of Bebe that it is overpriced slutware.

Anonymous said...

Of course she's transcendent, she's been drinking Aass Bock. Oh God, now she's breaking into song.

frazgo said...

I won't listen to you
I won't
I won't
I'll turn my back and not talk to you any longer Harvey

(myabe I shouldn't have read Miss H's current post about the psychiatrist first, you think?)

Margaret said...

When I looked at the picture, I didn't even notice the Bebe advertisement. It wasn't until I read the posts that I clicked back and saw it. To me, the photo evoked a sense of sadness and loneliness.

Vanda said...

Actually, the photo reminds me of the time when I moved to LA. Straight out of college I was carless, penniless, was living in Thai Town, and had to rely on buses.

I also spent a long stint careless and penniless in the midwest, and I can say there is a distinct culture of public transportation. Instead of taggers, the St. Louis bus system has preachers. They would get on the bus, stop at the front and start praising the lord, and all that jazz.

Vanda said...

Eh, I meant to say carless and not careless in the second paragraph. The two are rarely interchangeable.

Cheltenhamdailyphoto said...

Ooooh I love this idea of a Zen photo. Are we allowed to steal the idea? LOL !

Well!....This lady in the pic is totally unimpressed by the scantily-clad ad. ladies. She is concurrently pondering the fact that her earring has made her ear sore again whilst thinking if HE doesn't cook tonight, she's decided they just won't eat. See what he does then. lol.

Jane Hards Photography said...

I really must learn to drive!

sjan said...

Hey, that's my neighborhood. That little building has been there for at least 20 or 30 years...so to me that picture means...home!

Cafe Observer said...
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Cafe Observer said...

The woman is caught between a rock, hard place, & her anxiety: does she want to get back on a bus, or into see the dentist.


I've passed this place a bunch. But at the moment can't place where. My guess is either on Walnut or Los Robles....

Christie said...

Still waiting. I remember waiting for a bus while in South America and hoping that it would just come soon. I hope she had a pleasant day to wait and was occupied by pleasant thoughts as well.

Tash said...

So I'm back (took a peak from work earlier today) - she's just WISHING the bus to appear & get her where she needs to be & she's so used to that routine, she pays no attention to anything else around her there

Petrea Burchard said...

C.O., it's Los Robles. Good eye.

Welcome, Margaret! Nice to see you here.

Sometimes it seems there should be a winner. Miss Havisham wins for transcendence today, don't you think? (Thank you Loren, I like that word.) And Altadena hiker would win the cynical jokes prize. Or maybe we'd just call it the LOL trophy.

Lynn, I see no reason why you can't do Zen Monday. I guess I came up with the idea but you know something? The guy who invented the web gave it away, so who am I?

The idea is that in Zen, learning is gained through experience rather than through books and lectures. On the day I post the Zen photo, I post no copy about the photo, not even a title, so people can experience the photo by itself. I try to make it a photo that poses a question or presents a quandary.

Have at it. Let me know when you do it!

John Sandel said...

What is the sound of one shutter snapping …?

Anonymous said...

The never-ending wait versus the never-ending hope

The the glitter versus the truth

West Coast Grrlie Blather said...

It's funny how I can't respond to this photo in a zen-like fashion because I know exactly where it is. That woman is waiting for the 687, I believe.

Petrea Burchard said...

Bernie, I hope she didn't hear me.

Welcome, Le Mystique. I left a comment at your blog.

WCGB: Maybe she was meditating?

Anonymous said...

Hi Petrea,
Thanks for the comments.
I am glad you too were impressed by the two lines of Hazrat Rabia Basri. A muslim Sufi saint from Basra Iraq, she wrote the lines around 1400 years ago.
The language I used below the English lines is Urdu - national language of my country Pakistan.

English surely is a blessing...

Anonymous said...

To me, the lady looks so sad... She really doesn't want to be there. She's probably thinking about everything she needs to do once she gets home.

The joys of survival. :-)

Petrea Burchard said...

Le Mystique: I don't know if English is a blessing, but I feel blessed that we're all communicating. If it takes a common knowledge of English to do it then yes, English is a blessing. I'm especially grateful for the internet. THAT's a blessing!