One man is making beautiful reminders of love in unlikely places. One wall at a time.

In a world where it can seem like hate is winning, I'm glad he's playing for the other team.

 Lori White
10.05.15

Ever drive by a neighborhood* and think: "I wonder who lives here...?"

(*Or ride by! Shout out to bikes and public transportation!)

Artist Stephen Powers, aka ESPO, did.

A photo posted by Prose Appropos (@steveespopowers) on

And his answer to that question is truly beautiful.

http://marksurface.tumblr.com/post/40792735199/a-love-letter-for-you-philadelphia

<3

Powers is the man behind the "A Love Letter to the City" public art project.

http://marksurface.tumblr.com/post/41795971025/a-love-letter-for-you-philadelphia

It started in Philly and has since spread to cities around the world, from Baltimore to Dublin to Brooklyn to ... your town next?

When you're just passing through neighborhoods — especially in places that have a reputation as rough or violent, like West Philly or Baltimore, where "Love Letters" have popped up — it's easy to forget there are moms, dads, cousins, and grandmas living there.

http://marksurface.tumblr.com/post/41795340354/a-love-letter-for-you-philadelphia

Folks who laugh, who cry, who love, and everything in between.

And that's where Powers' project, which began in partnership with Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program, comes in. To remind us about love.

Noted. ;) Picture by me!

Yeah, it's cheesy, but kind of necessary. There are enough reminders of hate!

Powers is adamant that the art be about the people who live in the neighborhoods where he paints the murals. So, step one: Talk to the people and get inspired.

"I have to go to a city first and talk to people," Powers said to The Atlantic's CityLab. "Then, I try to make those conversations into visual communication. I liken what we do to being a visual sound system. We engage and we learn, and ultimately we head out to a wall and figure out what fits—in every way. Then we paint it. Painting is the easy part."

He says, "It's public art in the way it should be — working with the public."

regram parsons with one from @sredles24. for my man Milton Eager, words courtesy of Mr Chris. 20 years ago he moved in the neighborhood and not long after heard drug dealers shooting out all the car windows on the block. He had his kids lie down on the floor and he called the police. The police wouldnt risk sending officers to his block, instead they told him to move. People would ask Mr Chris why he wouldn move, and he said "I am here because its home" Thats a Baltimore Love Letter from Mr Chris to his community and from us to you.
A photo posted by Prose Appropos (@steveespopowers) on

In the Instagram, Powers notes:

" ... for my man Milton Eager, words courtesy of Mr Chris. 20 years ago he moved in the neighborhood and not long after heard drug dealers shooting out all the car windows on the block. ... People would ask Mr Chris why he wouldn move, and he said "I am here because its home" Thats a Baltimore Love Letter from Mr Chris to his community and from us to you.

There's nothing quite like reading love letters inspired by complete strangers written large (literally ... on a giant wall in bright paint) to make you realize that our human struggles are the same.

The first of these murals are visible all along the train path running through West Philadelphia, Powers' old hometown neighborhood.

http://marksurface.tumblr.com/post/41794565373/a-love-letter-for-you-philadelphia

But you can also see them from the ground.

I took that picture! From the ground!

And according to Powers' Instagram, even Pope Francis peeped his work as he rode the elevated train in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia, beautiful muse in well worn shoes. like the guy hauling away a handtruck of left over free water from the pope visit. Thank you Francis for hopping the El to see this refreshed for fall by Mike Levy, freshed in the first place by @thelossprevention
A photo posted by Prose Appropos (@steveespopowers) on

The caption reads:

"Philadelphia, beautiful muse in well worn shoes. like the guy hauling away a handtruck of left over free water from the pope visit. Thank you Francis for hopping the El to see this refreshed for fall by Mike Levy, freshed in the first place by @thelossprevention"

The aim of "Love Letter" is to take all the incredible humanity going on behind the walls of these neighborhoods and make it visible to everyone by putting it on the outside.

http://marksurface.tumblr.com/post/43164435219/a-love-letter-for-you-philadelphia

As Powers told BrainPickings:

"The art is secondary to bringing the community together and getting everyone to agree on something. The wall stands as testimony to a unified community, even if the artwork is completely boring."

It reads: "Knocked on your door / legs tired back sore / migraine fur sure / nor more I swore / you smile I'm cured." Photo also by me.

All of his murals are about one thing: LOVE.

Powers told CityLab:

"Yeah, I'm a romantic! Duh! I'm jealous of musicians, jealous of how music is a medium people integrate into their lives in a way they rarely do with art. I like to think of myself as a visual blues musician — I'm painting love songs. When you pick up a guitar, what else would you want to play? Everything is for love. It's the original motivation for everything. Exclamation point."

Whether you've been in love before, love your mom, or only figure out what love is like by listening to old Motown songs, every human can relate to LOVE.

Photo taken by me.

That's why these murals are so brilliant.

West Philadelphia, where Powers is from, is a bit rough around the edges, and not many folks from outside of West Philly tend to go there.

And if you don't know people, how can you see them as your neighbors?

In a world where we're sometimes so removed from each other, where we watch the news of mass shootings, riots, war, and sadness from behind our individual computer screens, Powers' murals are there to remind us all of just how similar we all really are.

Ain't it the truth. This pic also taken by me.

We all love exploring. We love beauty. We love. Period.

http://marksurface.tumblr.com/post/43162359469/a-love-letter-for-you-philadelphia

In a world where there are far too many reminders that hate is alive and well, I'm grateful for Powers' work. It's a reminder that love is behind every wall, in every neighborhood, and in every heart.

<3

humanity and culture culture art stephen powers espo philadelphia love letter to the city public art baltimore brooklyn murals
Most Shared

Florida City forecloses on man's home after fining him $30,000 for not mowing his lawn.

Youtube

Should a man lose his home because the grass in his yard grew higher than 10 inches? The city of Dunedin, Florida seems to think so.

According to the Institute of Justice, which is representing Jim Ficken, he had a very good reason for not mowing his lawn – and tried to rectify the situation as best he could.

In 2014, Jim's mom became ill and he visited her often in South Carolina to help her out. When he was away, his grass grew too long and he was cited by a code office; he cut the grass and wasn't fined.

France has started forcing supermarkets to donate food instead of throwing it away.

But several years later, this one infraction would come back to haunt him after he left to take care of him's mom's affairs after she died. The arrangements he made to have his grass cut fell through (his friend who he asked to help him out passed away unexpectedly) and that set off a chain reaction that may result in him losing his home.

The 69-year-old retiree now faces a $29,833.50 fine plus interest. Watch the video to find out just what Jim is having to deal with.

Mow Your Lawn or Lose Your House! www.youtube.com

florida dunedin lawn mowing jim ficken
Cities

Michelle Obama named 'most admired woman in the world,' because of course she is.

The world can't get enough Michelle.

Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube

The world officially loves Michelle Obama.

The former first lady has overtaken the number one spot in a poll of the world's most admired women. Conducted by online research firm YouGov, the study uses international polling tools to survey people in countries around the world about who they most admire.

In the men's category, Bill Gates took the top spot, followed by Barack Obama and Jackie Chan.

In the women's category, Michelle Obama came first, followed by Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie. Obama pushed Jolie out of the number one spot she claimed last year.

Unsurprising, really, because what's not to love about Michelle Obama? She is smart, kind, funny, accomplished, a great dancer, a devoted wife and mother, and an all-around, genuinely good person.

She has remained dignified and strong in the face of rabid masses of so-called Americans who spent eight years and beyond insisting that she's a man disguised as a woman. She's endured non-stop racist memes and terrifying threats to her family. She has received far more than her fair share of cruelty, and always takes the high road. She's the one who coined, "When they go low, we go high," after all.

She came from humble beginnings and remains down to earth despite becoming a familiar face around the world. She's not much older than me, but I still want to be like Michelle Obama when I grow up.

Her memoir, Becoming, may end up being the best-selling memoir of all time, having already sold 10 million copies—a clear sign that people can't get enough Michelle, because there's no such thing as too much Michelle.

Don't like Michelle Obama? Don't care. Those of us who love her will fly our MO flags high and without apology, paying no mind to folks with cold, dead hearts who don't know a gem of a human being when they see one. There is nothing any hater can say or do to make us admire this undeniably admirable woman any less.

When it seems like the world has lost its mind—which is how it feels most days these days—I'm just going to keep coming back to this study as evidence that hope for humanity is not lost.

Here. Enjoy some real-life Michelle on Jimmy Kimmel. (GAH. WHY IS SHE SO CUTE AND AWESOME. I can't even handle it.)

Michelle & Barack Obama are Boring Now www.youtube.com

michelle obama michelle obama birthday obama barack obama
Most Shared

France has started forcing supermarkets to donate food instead of throwing it away.

via EarthFix / Flickr

What will future generations never believe that we tolerated in 2019?

Dolphin and orca captivity, for sure. They'll probably shake their heads at how people died because they couldn't afford healthcare. And, they'll be completely mystified at the amount of food some people waste while others go starving.

According to Biological Diversity, "An estimated 40 percent of the food produced in the United States is wasted every year, costing households, businesses and farms about $218 billion annually."

There are so many things wrong with this.

First of all it's a waste of money for the households who throw out good food. Second, it's a waste of all of the resources that went into growing the food, including the animals who gave their lives for the meal. Third, there's something very wrong with throwing out food when one in eight Americans struggle with hunger.

Supermarkets are just as guilty of this unnecessary waste as consumers. About 10% of all food waste are supermarket products thrown out before they've reached their expiration date.

Three years ago, France took big steps to combat food waste by making a law that bans grocery stores from throwing away edible food.According to the new ordinance, stores can be fined for up to $4,500 for each infraction.

Previously, the French threw out 7.1 million tons of food. Sixty-seven percent of which was tossed by consumers, 15% by restaurants, and 11% by grocery stores.

This has created a network of over 5,000 charities that accept the food from supermarkets and donate them to charity. The law also struck down agreements between supermarkets and manufacturers that prohibited the stores from donating food to charities.

"There was one food manufacturer that was not authorized to donate the sandwiches it made for a particular supermarket brand. But now, we get 30,000 sandwiches a month from them — sandwiches that used to be thrown away," Jacques Bailet, head of the French network of food banks known as Banques Alimentaires, told NPR.

It's expected that similar laws may spread through Europe, but people are a lot less confident at it happening in the United States. The USDA believes that the biggest barrier to such a program would be cost to the charities and or supermarkets.

"The logistics of getting safe, wholesome, edible food from anywhere to people that can use it is really difficult," the organization said according to Gizmodo. "If you're having to set up a really expensive system to recover marginal amounts of food, that's not good for anybody."

Plus, the idea may seem a little too "socialist" for the average American's appetite.

"The French version is quite socialist, but I would say in a great way because you're providing a way where they [supermarkets] have to do the beneficial things not only for the environment, but from an ethical standpoint of getting healthy food to those who need it and minimizing some of the harmful greenhouse gas emissions that come when food ends up in a landfill," Jonathan Bloom, the author of American Wasteland, told NPR.

However, just because something may be socialist doesn't mean it's wrong. The greater wrong is the insane waste of money, damage to the environment, and devastation caused by hunger that can easily be avoided.

Planet

Single dad asks his daughters for fashion advice before a date and strangers on social media responded with some helpful suggestions.

The world is dark and full of terrors, but every once in a while it graces us with something to warm our icy-cold hearts. And that is what we have today, with a single dad who went viral on Twitter after his daughter posted the photos he sent her when trying to pick out and outfit for his date. You love to see it.




After seeing these heartwarming pics, people on Twitter started suggesting this adorable man date their moms. It was essentially a mom and date matchmaking frenzy.

Keep Reading Show less
Family