Friday, January 23, 2009

Week in Review
























Of course...we gotta admit this Obama thing is powerful to witness. Not just him, but the fans, the mania. It is 0 t0 60 in 10 seconds...it just seems to have this power. People see him and get taken over by this emotion that I haven't seen before. I can't pretend to understand his politics, I simply voted for him because he looked cool, but others in the know seem to think he is onto something.
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There is probably a lesson here with the Obama thing, but I can't find it. It is just a phenomena to stand back and witness. The lesson occured the previous week on the east coast, when the pilot Chesley Sullenberger III landed a U.S. Airways jet in N.Y.'s Hudson River. A flock of birds, mother nature itself, clog up his engines. They fail. He is near the city, he needs to land the plane. Tell everyone we are having a crash landing. The attendants instruct the passengers to put their heads between their knees. Life jackets on. The plane lands on the water, the people get out on the wing, ferries come and pick them up. It's done. They didn't really have time to freak out. Everyone lived. Did anyone think this was a realistic option?
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Want to apply for the Guggenheim? Ahhh, I might not win.
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Want to do something odd in a photograph? Oh, the subject will say no...
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This guy did land a passenger plane in the river and it worked better than anyone would have imagined. The lesson is in there somewhere.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Optimism from Archibald? Wow! Alright!

Timothy Archibald said...

Emily- I appreciate you contributing, but I really do think this entire blog is about optimism, escape and positivity, post after post. This one above is just more heavy handed. You know?

Anonymous said...

Interesting thoughts about Obama and the pilot. I do think you might have the lessons turned around though. The pilot was forced to land the plane--he had limited options or choices. No one thought Obama would win 18 months ago, but he made a choice to move forward in spite of doubt, fear, and small odds. He had a choice not to run for office, but he chose to because he saw the possiblity of something better for him and his country. Isn't that the lesson you see in the pilot's actions?

Timothy Archibald said...

Anony-
Interesting...I guess it is all how you choose to view it. The Obama thing, for me, is more about a reflection of how far the country has come, how far things have evoloved to allow a majority in the US ( not just hipsterville SF) to vote him in.

The jet plane incident had more metaphorical power: a fake bird ( a plane ) being downed by real birds ( mother nature) and then a human ( the pilot) landing it in mother nature...and mother nature embracing the landing. Do I think the pilot was ...like...a genius? Probably not...he was most likely as good as many of them, but luck was on his side...and he tried.

I can't really hold my own with any political discussion, but I can talk about artsy metaphors alot.

Anonymous said...

BTW, zero to 60 in ten seconds is not very fast...I know you drive a family van and all and it all seems rather prontossimo.... but my son, naked on a skateboard, on a hill, might reach those speeds faster and quicker than those afore mentioned...

Anonymous said...

Prontissimo that is...scusi..,.!

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