Month / January 2013

by shannonchance

Mapping the Moving Dream

Venetikidis's dream for Dublin. (Image downloaded from http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/10/confusing-and-nonsensical-grandeur-dublin-transport/3657/)

Aris Venetikidis’ dream for Dublin transport. (Image downloaded from The Atlantic Cities.)

For an architect/urban theorist/planner like myself, Dublin’s transportation system seems to defy logic. I lack the adjectives to describe it.

But Eric Jaffe depicted the situation effectively in his October 2012 article in The Atlantic Cities.

His piece, titled “The ‘Confusing and Nonsensical Grandeur’ of Dublin Transport,” highlighted solutions posed by Aris Venetikidis, a skilled and clairvoyant graphic designer.

Apparently when Venetikidis arrived in Dublin, he was as perplexed as my sister and I about the lack of a comprehensive transportation network map. It’s a guide we look to in other cities when we want to travel around. We consider it essential.

Venetikidis let this frustration blossom into beauty. Like Colin Broderick, he too created a map of existing routes.

And then Venetikidis took this work a step farther.  He researched the history of past proposals. And he designed several new maps. They illustrate how various moves could improve transportation by making the network more coherent.

Jaffe’s article on the topic is worth a read… I thank Fulbrighter Amanda Burnhard for send it my way!

by shannonchance

Looks Like Tom’s been Busy!

The Cobblestone got a facelift over Christmas. (Photo from the Cobblestone's Facebook page.)

The Cobblestone got a facelift over Christmas. (Photo from the Cobblestone’s Facebook page.)

Evidentially, the pub got spruced up while I’ve been away.

Here’s an image posted on the Cobblestone’s Facebook page.

by shannonchance

Gathering in Ireland in 2013

Downloaded from The New York Times.

The New York Times‘s description of Ireland and image of the Cobblestone pub. (Downloaded from The New York Times.)

The New York Times just released its list of top “46 places to go in 2013.” Ireland showed up at #40. Not bad!  But in my book, it’s #1!

The image The New York Times selected to illustrate Ireland is none other than the Cobblestone pub. The Cobblestone is my own “home away from home” and it holds a very special place in my heart. I’d say it’s *the* place to go in 2013. I can’t wait to bring my guests to the Cobblestone for a true taste of Ireland, present and past.

The pub’s previous appearances in the New York Time travel section included: A Changing Smithfield Still Holds On to Dublin-Style Fun and The Cobblestone – Reviews and Ratings of Bars and Clubs in Dublin – New York Times.

In addition, The New York Time explains, this year Ireland is hosting “the Gathering.” According to the Gathering’s “About” page, “Ireland will open its arms to hundreds of thousands of friends and family from all over the world, calling them home to gatherings in villages, towns and cities.” You can view and create gatherings on its website.

I’m trying to do my part to help family and friends visit the Emerald Isle in 2013.  I look forward to welcoming those who’ve scheduled ahead: Kitty Lee and Patty, Pam and her husband Dave, mom and Ann Marie, my Dave, Toni and Giuseppe, Tarrah and Kelly in the months to come. Between guests and work it looks like I’m going to be very busy!

by shannonchance

The Magic Lens of Glen McClure

Photo of Glen McClure when he was featured in Insider's Passport. (Photo by Marshall McClure, downloaded from Insider's Passport.)

Photo of Glen McClure when he was featured in Insider’s Passport. (Photo by Marshall McClure, downloaded from Insider’s Passport.)

Alt Daily has just published a feature on Glen McClure and his spell binding photography — including images from Ireland, Italy, and Virginia. The feature includes over a dozen photos — just click “next” under the first photo to sequence through the photos and the article about Glen.

As for myself, the most meaningful of the set is the image of “Carl Alston-2100 Colonial Avenue.” That’s because I helped at the shoot where the photo was taken. It was Glen’s first street shoot, a genre in which he has excelled. I was the person who asked Mr. Alston if Glen could take his picture — and thankfully, Mr. Alston said yes. He was carrying a braille newspaper.

Dave and I were also with Glen this past September when he captured “Vortex-Letterkeen Wood-County Mayo Ireland.”

I especially love “Liquid Sky Inch Strand-County Mayo Ireland.” In fact, I purchased a copy of this image for Dave for Christmas a couple of years ago. Today, it’s proudly displayed in our dining room.

There’s also “Achill Island Ireland-ST Pattys Day Parade” that I’ve shown you before. And some treats I haven’t shared before:

“The Joy of Youth-Venice Italy” and

“Silver Strand-County Mayo Ireland” and

“Sheffrey Hills Light-County Mayo Ireland.”

by shannonchance

Thanking Heaven for Gordon and Ms. Bessie

The late, great Gordon Chance with his daughter-in-law Shannon Chance.

The late, great Gordon Chance with his daughter-in-law Shannon Chance. (Photographed by Gordon’s son, Dave Chance, in 2008.)

Two people have been on my mind these past few days — Gordon Chance and Bessie Clark. They’ve both passed away but help keep the fire going in my heart.

Gordon was Dave’s dad, who we lost last May. He and Christina loved to visit Williamsburg, so I’ve included a photo of the two of us enjoying a sunny day in that colonial town during 2008. Gordon was skilled with his hands. He was the knowledgeable and hard-working father of seven kids and grandfather of five. I assure you: he is sorely missed.

Gordon’s passing was completely unexpected. He died of a heart attack at age 64. We had no opportunity to wrap things up or to say good-bye.

That is completely different from the case with the other person on my mind — our former next-door neighbor — Bessie Clark.

Ms. Bessie lived on the other side of us from Thom and Beth White. She passed away about five years ago, at the age of 88. For about two years, in around 2005 – 2006, I visited Bessie in her home every evening. Her kids appointed me to this job because they live far away (Maryland, DC, and California) and because Bessie wanted to stay in her own home but needed someone close by to keep an eye.

My visits with Ms. Bessie generally lasted 20-50 minutes. I enjoyed them because she told such fascinating stories. I learned about what it was like for a colored girl (Ms. Bessie’s preferred term) growing up in the American south in the aftermath of slavery.

Bessie was born in North Carolina. Remarkably for that day and time, her mother owned her own house and farm. Her mother sent both of her daughters to college — although Bessie stubbornly refused. After a week on campus, she boarded a bus back home. Bessie had no interest in studying more, even though she’d garnered A’s in school; what she came to love most in life was being a mom.

The late Bessie Clark with her neighbor Shannon Chance

The late Bessie Clark with her neighbor Shannon Chance

In the period I visited, Bessie was going though a very important phase of life. She was reminiscing and reviewing all that had happened. She was coming to terms with pent up frustrations and left over worries. She held nothing back. She told of days working retail and of dealing with a difficult husband who she (somehow) managed to love.

During my own life, I have spent a lot of time with older folks. Because I’d heard stories repeated over and over, I assumed I’d have the chance to hear her stories again. I fully intended to ask Ms. Bessie if I could make notes when repetition began.

But I heard her life tales only once. My “second chance” never came.

When Ms. Bessie had resolved everything to her satisfaction, her story telling stopped. She wanted just to sit and watch TV. When she started watching static, I had to say something. I called her kids to intervene.

It turned out that Ms. Bessie had developed a brain tumor. She had to be hospitalized, and she could no longer live on her own. She was unwilling to live that way and, with piece of mind and conviction that she was ready, she determined not to tell anyone when she contracted a bladder infection.

I wasn’t too surprised. She wins my superlative for “most stubborn.” She’d threaten as much in years prior. She just didn’t want to live away from her home.

A Christmas card from Sam (Bessie's son) and Barbara Clark.

A Christmas card from Sam (Bessie’s son) and Barbara Clark.

Bessie’s children asked me to speak at her funeral. As an outsider to her community, I thought I’d feel out-of-place. But the congregation, which filled the sanctuary, welcomed me with open arms.

The thing that struck me most about the day was how incredibly appreciative the entire congregation was of teachers. They mentioned and praised teachers and the role of education throughout the funeral and the meal that followed it. Not only did I feel welcome, I also felt special and appreciated. I was able to share Bessie’s sentiments about the importance of various people who were assembled there to celebrate her life.

In my experience, small things can spark powerful memories. What brought these memories of Bessie rushing forth was a text that arrived from Dave in early December. Bessie’s son and daughter-in-law had sent us a Christmas card.

The envelope itself was endearing. They way they addressed it — to Dr. and Mr. David Chance — reflects many of their values. To them, education and formality are important.

My life is better for knowing them and for having spent those years learning from Ms. Bessie.

So today, I smile to the Heavens, thankful to have known these two fabulous people. And thankful for the legacy they left behind for their families, the world, and me.

by shannonchance

What to See in Dublin?

St. Patrick's Cathedral has marvelous exhibits and spectacular Evening Song.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral has marvelous exhibits and spectacular Evening Song. (Image from the Cathedral’s website.)

My aunt Kitty Lee is coming to Dublin soon for a visit, along with her friend Patty. They asked:

Are there websites we should check out before we arrive in Dublin for planning our days when you are working or do you have things to suggest?  Neither one of us is big on museums.  We prefer to see the sights and experience the culture.  Obviously we have to visit the Cobblestone Pub with you 🙂. Did you mention some cathedrals in Dublin?  We wouldn’t mind visiting/touring one of them.

With their preferences in mind, Dave and I quickly assembled a list of sites I think they should see in Dublin.

Dublin Castle as seen from the garden of the Chester Beatty Library. (Image from Dublin Attractions.)

Dublin Castle as seen from the garden of the Chester Beatty Library. (Image from Dublin Attractions.)

We have also found these sites interesting:

Main Reading Room of the National Archives in Dublin (Image from blog by Librarinista.)http://librarianista.tumblr.com/post/3918081339/reading-room-national-library-of-ireland-dublin

Main Reading Room of the National Archives in Dublin (Image from blog by Librarinista.)

There are many sites in the city I haven’t yet seen. (When I looked through one of my three Dublin guides just before Christmas, I realized that I haven’t seen half of the Dublin sites they list.)  I’ve been wanting to visit:

Header from the Jeanie Johnson web site.

Header from the Jeanie Johnson web site.

by shannonchance

And the Award for Most Ambitious goes to: Tony Brown!

Shannon Chance and Tony Brown incognito.

Shannon Chance and Tony Brown incognito.

My friend Tony Brown is always, always, always into something new.

He orders and reads dozens of books each month and he knows all the latest news. Every time I talk with him he’s discovered more about his favorite topics — and he has also almost always launched a major new initiative to boot.

This month’s initiative is a new online video library that gives (okay, sells) people access to 40 years worth of his TV shows. It should be up and running any time now.

To put it simply: Tony is a journalist, producer, and writer. He hosted PBS’s longest-running series, Tony Brown’s Journal. He even organized the first event where Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his famous I Have a Dream speech. That happened in Detroit.

Tony Brown at his news desk.

Tony Brown at his news desk.

Since I’ve been noting superlatives lately I have to say that, without doubt, Tony is the most ambitious and most entrepreneurial person I know. He’ll soon be turning 80, but he’s energetic, witty, and always on the go. He lives as if there’s not a moment left to spare.

And he questions everything.

I met Tony on graduation day the year he joined Hampton University’s faculty. He was the new Dean of the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications. His keen sense of intellect had me hooked from the get-go and I made the effort to spend more time with him. It made good sense to me:  he was a dean and I was studying higher education administration. I wanted to know what begin a dean was like. I learned about that and much more. I considered Tony a mentor then and I still do to this day.

Tony had been living in NYC since 1970 and hadn’t owned a car since then, so I offered him a ride home once a week or so. On the way, I’d hear his take on life and find out what new things he’d discovered about health and/or the history of world religions. We’d stop for groceries and I’d learn more about healthy eating.

The cover of Tony's book What Mama Taught Me.

The cover of Tony’s book What Mama Taught Me.

A 1998 interview with Tony, printed in the Los Angeles Times under the title Vitamins Are TV Host’s Secret Weapon, provides a sense of our regular conversation. His knowledge of health has expanded since that article was written.

I don’t get to drive Tony any more. He bought his own fancy new wheels — a sports car even faster than mine. But I do remember with fondness driving Tony to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get him a learner’s permit for driving. He was miffed he’d had to study! After all, he knew how to drive….

Over the years, Tony has written many insightful books. My favorite of them is What Mama Taught Me: The Seven Core Values of Life. If you’re in the market for an interesting take on American history — an inspirational lift — I highly recommend this “self-help” book. After all, it’s written by someone who is undeniably healthy, wealthy, and wise.

The Crab Shack on Virginia's James River.

The Crab Shack on Virginia’s James River, where we love to go for fish.

by shannonchance

Blog Tips 3: Finding your Blogging Niche

An image downloaded from Blogging Help http://cpd.nottinghamhighblogs.net/2011/02/07/blogging-help/

An image downloaded from Blogging Help.

This is the third of a four-part series on blogging. The full set includes:

  1. Why Blog about your Fulbright Experiences?
  2. Choosing and Adapting to your Blog Platform
  3. Finding your Blogging Niche
  4. Publicizing your Fulbright Blog

Blogging can be a daunting task. Fortunately, it’s not too hard to get your self on track to a successful — and rewarding — Fulbright-blogging career. You can lay a strong foundation by considering: what niche your work can fill, what voice you will develop, what look and feel your site will have, and how you can get the most intellectual payback out of your own work. This blog discusses how.

Niche / Topic

Is there some subject you love to tell others about — or a unique perspective you can offer the world? (As your dissertation advisors would have said: is there a hole in the on-line knowledge base that you can help fill?)

If you’re a Fulbright, you likely have a specific area of expertise that you can help others understand!

There is a group of blog-writing Fulbrighters in Ireland this year. We all started by saying we’d describe our year-long experience. That alone is something of a niche… but being event more specific can give a blog more ump. We all sensed that and we each defined some sort of focus: design and photography (for me), language prowess (for Amanda Burnhard), and family growth (for the McDonald family).

An important consideration in defining your niche is that the straightforward diary approach necessitates posting a good deal of personal information (that is, if it is to intrigue a soul). So, when you think about it, you may decided you are more comfortable blogging about the subject you are teaching or studying during your Fulbright.

Know that if you’re teaching as a Fulbright, you’re already practicing the art of explaining ideas to a new audience. Why not break it down a little farther still, and post some intriguing concepts in a way that a general audience can understand?

If you’re researching as a Fulbright, this experience can help you learn to write in more interesting ways.

A cartoon about blogging, posted on the blog Ghost Stories and Haunted Placeshttp://ghoststoriesandhauntedplaces.blogspot.com/2010/12/year-of-blogging-and-time-for-me-to.html

A cartoon about blogging, posted on the blog Ghost Stories and Haunted Places.

In case you’re still puzzled about how to find your niche, the ETSY Blog Team recommends these simple steps:

  1. Follow your Passion! Write down topics that you would like to talk about, grab a pen and paper and list 20 or so activities and Hobbies that you like {Crafts,Photography,Cooking}.
  2. Narrow down your List! Would you be happy if working on this was your daily job? Do you have any particular skills or knowledge in that field? For Me, Love to write! It makes me happy! So I will write on my blogs for as long as I can.
  3. Access your Competition! As a mom Blogger myself, I can assure you that there are a lot of other “Mom bloggers our there”. That doesn’t get me down, It just make me want to succeed more and more with my blog. It makes me want to be Unique! To Write my own content and in my own way. I advise you to do the same!
  4. Know the Purpose of your blog! Is this your personal blog? Or Business? Are you wanting to make money from your blog? Or do you plan on making money in the future? {Coming soon a post about how to make money blogging}.
  5. Still Don’t have a Niche? Not a problem! I know a lot of successful blogs that write about something different everyday! There is nothing wrong with that! It’s your Blog so make it yours and write about what you are passionate about.

Voice / Tone

It’s important to identify who your audience is likely to be so you can work to engage them.  For me, knowing who I am talking “to” helps make the writing more fun. And, as The Blog Maven rightly asserts, “If you sit down to write a post and you leave your personality at the door, you’re selling yourself – and your readers – short.” I completely agree!

Note that your audience may grow and change over time (your blog’s stats feature can help you determine if it’s changing). That’s much of the fun of being a Fulbright. In the past couple months I’ve run into dozens of people — both in Dublin and at home — who have read my blog and want to know more about some topic or other that I introduced on it. As I said before: that helps me know I’m doing my (cultural-exchange) job!

By blogging regularly, adjusting your tone and pace, and determining what you and your audience most enjoy, you’ll find your own blogging voice. Will you, for instance, “speak” slowly and precisely or quickly and casually on your blog?

Tony Teegarden posted the following helpful advice, saying If you want loyal readers:

  1. Stand for something
  2. Provide good, quality content (helpful & useful)
  3. Be unique in your voice (delivery)

Some benefits of a unique voice are:

  • You attract readers of like mind
  • You become more engaging
  • You build more trust with your audience
  • You have a higher chance of turning readers into customers
  • You have a lot more fun doing it (enjoy the process)

Look / Format

Once you have determined your tone and favored subject matter, you can chose a blog template to match. Some template are designed for words — others for video, photography, or visual portfolios. This is your opportunity to coordinate the look, feel, and content of your site. I felt lucky to find a weathered looking template in green and blue that reflected the title I’d chosen, Ireland by Chance.

Old fashioned travel diary posted on Bill Sharp's blog http://billsharp.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/cr-journal-page-16.jpg

Old fashioned travel diary posted on Bill Sharp’s blog.

Get More Mileage

Clearly, as a Fulbright, you’re an extremely busy person! You’ve got to find ways to get the most mileage possible from your time. I reiterate: You simply must get more out of this task than just meeting CIEE’s expectation that you build a blog.

It’s too good an opportunity to waste!

Please take the time to ask yourself upfront:  What do you want to learn?

I wanted to learn about writing for a popular audience. I also wanted to share what I’d be seeing, doing, and thinking with family and friends. I wanted to have a colorful record of my adventures — and perhaps a legacy of sorts.

Other Fulbrigters are at work creating their won legacies. One is using her Irish blog to practice their language skills and another to record her family’s development….

Amanda Burnhard‘s blog is called From Montague to Galway: A Blog about Our Year in Ireland, Studying the Irish Language. It gives her a venue to practice writing in the Irish language. She posts everything in Irish and then, below that, in English.

Amanda’s blogging helps her connect to the people she’s meeting in Galway. It also helps people back home understand her experiences living abroad. But more importantly — in the big scheme of things — Amanda and her husband Jonathan are helping preserve use of Irish language and knowledge of traditional music. Amanda’s blog thus represents a contribution to humanity’s knowledge base about the Irish-speaking parts of Western Ireland. How cool is that?

Leonardo da Vinci "Anatomical drawing of hearts and blood vessels from Quaderni di Anatomia vol 2; folio 3v" http://www.art-prints-on-demand.com/kunst/leonardo_da_vinci/Anatomical_drawing_of-hearts_and_blood_Leonardo_da_Vinci-1.jpg

Leonardo da Vinci’s “Anatomical drawing of hearts and blood vessels from Quaderni di Anatomia vol 2; folio 3v” (Image downloaded from Art Prints on Demand.)

Another interesting thing we can learn from Amanda (the Fulbright) and Jonathan (her husband) is how to use a team approach. Jonathan is active on Facebook and he brings their Fulbright-related experiences to that venue.  Amanda has chosen a more reflective working environment. She limits her social media activity to the blog. (Incidentally, Amanda posted a blog about staying at my apartment while I was out of town before Christmas, and an earlier entry that included a photo of Dave and me.)

Scott and Christine MacDonald developed yet another approach. Christine (the spouse of a Fulbright) is the one blogging about their Fulbright experience. Her blog is called A Year in Ireland. Christine’s blog provides a glimpse of what it is like to bring a family along on the Fulbright journey — something Fulbright Ireland encourages and endeavors to support.

In parting, I’d like to note that Leonardo da Vinci made regular practice of journaling. What an incredible legacy he left us in his journals!

So let us proceed boldly in our blogging adventures, my Fulbright friends, in hope that journaling will help us create a better world and inspire others to do the same.

A page from Leonardo DiVinci's journal, downloaded from Ashley Foden's blog http://ashleyfodendesigns.blogspot.com/2011/10/sketchbook-examples.html

A page from Leonardo da Vinci’s journal (downloaded from Ashley Foden’s blog).

by shannonchance

Fulbrights at “Work”

Because I blog about the experiences I’m having much more often than about than the research I’ve been doing, people sometimes ask me if I’ve been getting any work done at all.  The answer is, emphatically, YES!

The Fulbright program IS about doing scholarly work.  But it’s also about learning. It’s about making the space in our lives to get to know other people and how they do things… to remove ourselves from the ordinary humdrum long enough to learn something that’s radically new to us as Americans, but not new at all in other places.

Fulbright scholars DO have lectures to give, papers to write, and projects to conduct.  But in the end, the most valuable part of our experiences overseas rests in the friendships we make and the respect we build for each other’s culture.  That, I see, as my primary mission.

This type of cultural give-and-take is evident in the images I brought back from Tanzania — so I’ve decided to share a few here. Most are from the 2005 Fulbright-Hays program I conducted for college students from the US and Tanzania. You can also read about a lecture I gave on the topic of African architecture.  I’ll be delivering that lecture again in Belgium this spring….

Kelly Thacker (a student who was studying student affairs in Kansas) learned about urban design by working Tanzanian and US architecture students.
Here, Emmanuel James (from Tanzania) and Lauren Doran (a Virginia Tech landscape architecture student at the time) discuss strategies for city design.
We worked inside the architecture building (shown here) at the College of Lands and Architectural Studies.
But we learned a world more about life than just urban design.
We learned how Tanzanians celebrate weddings and funerals.
How they care for their young and old people.
How they have built traditionally…
…used their resources…
…and buried their dead.
We saw Christians and Muslims living side by side in harmony.
And noticed differences and similarities in the way humans live.
As one specific example, we developed new appreciation for the role of water in living, and…
…in design.
by shannonchance

Thom White and his Magical Plot

Shannon stressing over her paper.

Shannon stressing over her paper. (Dave snapped this photo to tease me about my laptop set-up. My back was killing me; I had to stand!)

After the second day in a row of rigorous paper writing, I was delighted when our architect-neighbor Thom dropped in to say hello.

He brought a tin of coffee in thanks to Dave for sitting his pets. And his visit reminded me I’d wanted to post photos of The Plot he designed for downtown Norfolk.  It’s located on the unused but prominently located site-of-a-stalled-development project.

It was beautiful place to behold on the morning of the solstice, when Dave and I arrived in downtown Norfolk for breakfast with our friend Wayne Ringer.

Thom White is an up-and-coming young architect. (Yes, you heard me right. Young. Architects are considered young until they hit their 50s.)

Architects Thom White and Shannon Chance.

Architects Thom White and Shannon Chance.

Thom and his business partner, Mel Price, have been shaking up the design scene in Hampton Roads the past couple of years. (For all you out there who think I get my genders confused, Mel’s name appears to be short for Mary Ellen… and yes, Leslie Lee IS a man!)

Thom and Mel’s young firm, WPA, has been doing such great work – in addition to an admirable level of community service – that they’ve recently snagged a number of very prestigious design contacts.

A couple years back, Thom was part of the Emerging Leaders in Architecture program sponsored by the Virginia AIA. They did interesting an interesting community service project in Richmond. Back home in Norfolk, people saw the opportunity to spruce up a rather ratty-looking site that lies smack in the middle of downtown. A number of buildings had been torn down over the years to make way for boom-time development that never commenced. The site was left dormant and lonely.

A kind gift and note from the Whites.

A kind gift and note from the Whites.

Thom and Mel dreamed up a temporary solution and “Hundreds of volunteers have worked with the Downtown Norfolk Council to turn the vacant two-acre plot of land into a park, complete with Wi-Fi, vendors, entertainment and other attractions,” according to WVEC, a local TV station aired a story on it.

On the morning of December 21st, The Plot was simply magic. If you’re in the neighborhood, you should stop by the D’Egg diner for a meal and take a stroll through Thom’s magical Plot.

I was captivated by the Plot the morning I arrived on December 21.
The lighting and the sky brought warmth to the place despite the chilly December temperature.
A dramatic sky hung over Norfolk, and Portsmouth (in the background, across the river) as well.
Dave and I enjoyed a hearty breakfast with Wayne Ringer, at D’Egg.
And when we emerged, The Plot was as lovely as ever.