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  • Fireflies and Manhattan

    2007-07-22 5:27PM / 標準BLOG / 會員可以看
    17個評論

    I had the most unusual afternoon during my last visit to NYC. One afternoon, I was walking from 20th street uptown to attend a play reading, then suddenly, at the corner of 8th ave and 28th street, I saw a man carrying an umbrella in one hand, while his other hand  was palm up. He was trying to protect a firefly from some light drizzle. At first I thought that this man must be a bit cuckoo. It wasn't until I looked closely that I actually saw this firefly, hovering 3 inches above his palm. The sky was getting gray and dark, and this man had become the temporary caregiver to a dainty firefly.  I was mesmerized. This was as surreal as a Fellini movie. As I walked a few feet further, right at that magical corner, I saw hundreds of fireflies, fleeting in and out of small hedges in that small piece of green in front of a tall apartment building. Everything seemed so contrary to my expectation. Who would have thought that there would be a quiet tranquil piece of green in front of a drab 40 storey building along 8th Ave? I had to stop and take this moment in. Then a woman stopped beside me and said, "Isn't this amazing? I always stop when I see the fireflies". I asked her if this is a common sight. She said "Yes, they only come out right before sunset.,and when it's quiet". I said " That's strange, it's such a noisy corner to me, with all the cars honking loudly either at the passersby or at the car in front..." She said, "but they have a different sensibility, they just feel the quietness of their space, they don't hear what we hear." Wow, I suddenly realized what "true quietness" meant - got to learn from the fireflies... Right then, I was yanked out of a Zen moment by several loud thunderclaps, then drenched by the pelting rain. I began walking briskly uptown, my eyes caught up by the dramatic silhouette of tall buildings against the ghostly sky. Occupants standing in front of their tall windows, looking down, watching us "crazy pedestrians" running for shelter from the heavy rain. I could not take my eyes off these ominous shadows - I wonder who looked more crazy at that moment, "us" who were running like mad dogs for a better shelter on the wet pavement or "them" who were secretly gazing, trapped behind their safe windows, wishing they could join in the running, the crazy commotion, the frenzy, the feeling of the wet, hard rain and the smell of refreshed city  air...

BLOG評論 (17)

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  • joyceshih
    藝術家空間 Joyce Shih
    留言於2007-10-16 12:43PM [举报]
    what a beautiful visual! It's almost magical. Being mindful and present is almost forgotten or taken for granted - much like your other blog when you were in the plane taking in the clouds.
  • Shuriken
    Shuriken
    留言於2007-09-18 3:57AM [举报]
    WoW!
  • dydiguo
    dydiguo
    留言於2007-08-26 5:38PM [举报]
    it is a really nice experience
  • Flagday
    Flagday
    留言於2007-07-26 8:45PM [举报]
    Not to turn something beautiful into something else, but I was just watching the documentary "Insectia" and the host highlighted...one of the fireflies' unique abilities.  The firefly's glow is "cool light" which emits light and not heat, something we humans are just starting to replicate.  Considering our energy dilemma, it would seem to make sense to develop this potential.  This is an excerpt from an on-line article I thought you'd enjoy.   I wonder if this has any application in the film/theater world?   

    "END OF BULB CULTURE."  This trend is a boon for Sheila Kennedy. An architect and Harvard University professor, Kennedy is the woman in charge of New York's two-year, $20 million East River revitalization project, and she's at the forefront of finding practical uses for so-called cool light -- the type that will illuminate the river's shore. Unlike traditional light, which is created by heating an incandescent filament until it throws off light-producing photons, cool light is made by using natural light or electricity to "excite" molecular crystals embedded in luminescent pigments or special light-emitting diodes.

    One advantage of cool light is that it's much more efficient than the traditional man-made variety: Like a firefly, it gives off nearly 100% of its energy as visible light. By comparison, a light bulb gives off 10% light and 90% heat. And because cool light is, well, cool, it can be embedded into architectural materials such as fabric, glass, wood, acrylic, and plastic -- creating new interfaces between the physical world and digital technology.

    "Cool light represents a new paradigm in illumination," says Kennedy. "It's the end of bulb culture." Kennedy and her husband/partner Frano Violich are working on cool-light implementations for customers that include office-furniture maker Herman Miller, Dupont (DD ), the U.S. Energy Dept., and Harvard Law School.
  • RenRen
    RenRen
    留言於2007-07-25 11:04AM [举报]
    Thanks for sharing that experience with us. You're so good with words...I can almost picture a man with his umbrella and the firefly.
  • derektsang
    藝術家空間  曾國祥
    留言於2007-07-25 4:19AM [举报]
    Thanks for sharing such an unique experience ...the images are amazing, and you are right...it's so Fellini and even Tarkovsky like...
  • normyip
    藝術家空間  葉偉誠
    留言於2007-07-24 11:41PM [举报]
    elizabeth, the story is warm and telling. thanks for sharing that experience with us.
  • amy_sycheng
    amy_sycheng
    留言於2007-07-24 4:00PM [举报]
    I wish I was there as well :)
  • stephen
     stephen
    留言於2007-07-24 1:15PM [举报]
    This reminds me of the last time I was in Central Park jogging around the lake when it began raining and thundering. I cut the trees next to the the baseball diamonds when a ton of fireflies began flying out of the trees -- running through them was like running through a whirlpool of stars -- really memorable moment...
  • elavndrc
    elavndrc
    留言於2007-07-24 10:35AM [举报]
    that sounds like a nice experience..it rained today in the city too - but it was more dreary..sometimes rain makes the city all different..hard to explain.  But yea there are quite a lot of fireflies out here..i remember when I was younger - there would be so many of them when we had bbqs..we'd sit outside and just watch them.
  • butter
    butter
    留言於2007-07-24 3:39AM [举报]
    It must have been quite a moment and sight to behold at an unexpected locale.  I've only seen the odd firefly now and again in my travels around the city but never anything like what you describe.  You are lucky to have witnessed this.  Nature can be so wondrous and unexpected when experienced in the middle of the city like this.  We were just marvelling recently at a birds nest in a tree in our apt. complex.  The mother nested in there with her lttle ones for about 3 wks. or so.  It was fascinating to watch.  It seems that they've moved on recently though.  The nest is still there but no birds.
  • elisabeth
    elisabeth
    留言於2007-07-24 12:02AM [举报]
    When I was younger, I always thought fireflies were surreal creatures until my brother brought me firefly seeking one night. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a group of them hoovering above a bush near the railroad tracks by our house. I don't see them often but they always seem to appear when the night is quiet.
  • rottendoubt
     rottendoubt
    留言於2007-07-23 5:56PM [举报]
    that is really amazing.  i also stop when i see fireflies.  haven't seen them in such a long time tho...
  • wendycheng
    藝術家空間 Wendy Cheng
    留言於2007-07-23 6:28AM [举报]
    I love the images. I have always wanted to shoot interesting light sources like fireflies. I think it would make a beautiful image for a short film. Especially in a place like NYC.
  • Flagday
    Flagday
    留言於2007-07-23 2:07AM [举报]
    A surreal experience, a confluence of unexpected events, and a lovely lovely story.
  • elizabethsung
    藝術家空間  孫芳
    留言於2007-07-23 1:00AM
    It was an incredible experience!
  • musicnote
    musicnote
    留言於2007-07-22 11:06PM [举报]
    I could picture this in my mind from the way you described it. It must have been a pretty sight.

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  • I was born and raised in Hong Kong and came to the US to study dance at Juilliard when I was 17. After graduating I took up acting and studied with several teachers in NY...

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