Wave Action

The scientific principle behind these videos captured my attention as I was exploring the Objectified blog (a recent documentary film by Gary Hustwit). The images do a far better job expressing the wave phenomenon than I ever could.

Enjoy...but before you do, turn down the volume because the frequencies used to create these patterns are somewhat obnoxious!

This next one is a cool, practical application for the same resonant effect.

The Blog's Odd Name...

As has become the tradition in this space, it's time for a new name. Again, I've selected one of many classic Latin phrases with an aim to find a message that is emblematic of my goals here.

This go 'round with the name 'nosce te ipsum' (roughly meaning "know thyself") has been a good cycle for the blog and I've seen readership increase little by little which, I'll egotistically admit, has been gratifying. So, my thanks go out to those who've frequented the spot and I hope that you've enjoyed the content. I'll keep it coming ... just for y'all!

For this next cycle, I've chosen the phrase 'audi alteram partem' as a thank you and a challenge to those of you who are visiting. It means "to hear the other side" and that is exactly what I am hoping will happen. Please, if you find something of interest and you have something to say, write a comment and I know it will add to the depth and diversity of the perspectives presented here.

Thanks again for your interest and for your future thoughts & sentiments.

The Objects of Our Lives

I had been waiting for this film to be released on DVD and, thankfully, it did live up to all the hype and glowing reviews. It was guaranteed that the film would have a smooth, stylish yet highly informative flow based on Gary Hustwit's previous film on the ubiquitous font Helvetica. In terms of career continuity, Hustwit has again taken the viewer on a thought-provoking journey into good design and the reasons for it, this time via an examination of the objects we encounter and use daily.

One aspect of the film, however, did leave me wishing for a more thorough treatment and that was the discussion of sustainability regarding the life cycles of these quotidian objects. More than ever, a valid concern for consumers of these objects (that is to say, all the products we allow into our experience) is what we will do with them once they've worn out.

Certain designers and critics featured in Objectified did address this issue. Bill Moggridge, of the design firm IDEO, expressed his firm's interest in the addition of value through the repeated use of an object so that as the manufactured product ages and becomes "broken in", its value to the user increases either due to increased functionality (i.e. stiff leather hiking boots) or because of sentimentality (i.e. an antique fountain pen used to compose a love letter).

Overall, the film was engaging and enlightening, even if you have only a cursory interest in design. It's a good time to try to spot the products that have crossed your path over the years and also to see whether you agree or disagree with the considerations and justifications behind their design.

Find out more at the film's official website:

Objectifed ~ a documentary film by Gary Hustwit

One Slick Compound

Yesterday I finally got around to applying an aquaphobic coating to my windshield (let's call it Rain "Y" for trademark purposes). The timing, as it turns out, was excellent; the rain poured down starting at about midnight last night and it is forecasted to continue steadily throughout the week.

Normally, I wouldn't be lauding a chemical product so enthusiatically, but I found that the transparent but greasy stuff worked amazingly well. This morning's drive to work, one that could have been anywhere from somewhat frustrating to downright perilous, was instead typical as ever thanks to my crystalline perspective.

The heavy rain drops beaded, gathered together, and at highway speeds made their way up the windscreen and over the top of the car with haste. In the diffused light of mid-morning, the droplets of water sparkled into my eyes as they moved swiftly across my field of vision, like little mercury marbles racing up the glass. If I focused too long on the sheeting action, sucddenly the rain seemed not to fall but to rise up in waves as though gravity had been locally and momentarily inverted.

Had I not been operating a vehicle, I would have been mesmerized by the flow of the shimmering spheres, letting them lull me into a drizzly trance. As it was, I arrived at work and found myself oddly appreciative of Minnesotan chemical engineers and myriad factory workers I'd never even met.

A Wardrobe in Need of Bolstering

It's a luxurious thing to think that we should be covering ourselves in new, and more importantly, unique ensembles of textiles every day. It is maybe a purely Western thing that has consequently seeped in reverse, against the stream of emigration, back to even developing countries where the notion is all the more absurd. In my case, the fundamental problem is a tad lighter: I keep wearing the same damn clothes over and over and I always have. What's worse is that I have pictures, decades worth, that indisputably prove this fact.

If you went to public school in the U.S. you may recall picture day. For some kids, it was a day to shine in fine outfits, those normally reserved for church or holidays. My mom also did her best to send me to school looking decent that day. The on-going problem presented itself not on picture day but on the day when the prints were delivered.

It was a much anticipated moment; "Did I blink? Where there boogers? Was my hair sticking up?". These and other childlike doubts ran amuck as the overpriced prints were handed out. The photos inevitably came out fine, and my mother would be satisfied for that school year. The most embarrassing issue, though, was the fact that as I slid the prints out of the envelope, I would almost always be wearing on that day the very same clothing I had been wearing when the images were made.

I guess it was not enough to worry about during the first couple of coincidental "mirror image" moments. Other kids would notice (if I allowed the coincidence to be picked up) and before true, hormone-induced self-consciousness had set in, I wasn't all that perturbed. However, as grade school turned to junior high, high school, college and the official picture-taking opportunities grew, I noticed that what was once an infrequent happenstance had become a distinct trend.

Literally every time I had a picture taken, the image would reflect my attire at that moment and in future. So, as it turned out, my identifying documents then had an unmatched representative realism. If I were pulled over for speeding, I'm not sure if the officer would notice, but I'd be wearing the same striped shirt as on my driver's license. It was the same instance with my passport; I'd come to a customs official in an airport, and there I was, just as I appeared in the photograph.

I suppose it's remarkable that I'd have this innate, inadvertent skill of choosing the exact ensemble to represent myself in images as I would in person. After all, I stood in person to be photographed, right? It's almost as though I'd established a personal uniform, like we all do, but maybe this trend should alert me that my uniform has become just a little too uniform.

Blooms

Sitting here with a vase full of lilies. Orange ones, a few cut tall. When I brought them home there were three blooms open. Several others remained tightly shut like the part of a screw driver that bites the bit from three sides.

Now, seven flowers have spread out wide, pistils loaded with rusty pollen. One has gone as far as shedding all its petals, foregoing wilt, nature giving up under a spiraling force of gravity. What once flourished in glory and fullness is now a stalk of a stamen without protection. Its brothers and sisters still lean and reach for the light. In this inside air, there's not a chance that the pollen will ever find its target. Their attitude, nonetheless, is inate, if futile.

The first blooms suffer the effortless throws of entropy. Late blooms stand firm, as if inviting the world to embrace, petals outstretched like estranged friends approaching a happy reunion. But the artificial scenario is inescapable. The end will be in decay, maybe with a pungent smell, maybe not. Natural beauty, faint hints of honey and lightness and suppleness, becomes wrinkled, a withered pile of shriveled arms and hands. Still honor and memory balance in the air, as though the thought of the bloom alone were enough to yield a smile.

Chiasmus for the Rest of Us

As a Libra, and in keeping with the current blog title about introspection and self-knowledge, it's time to delve into a little literary device called chiasmus. Why? Just for fun...and because it's a rhetorical technique that is still used often even though it's ancient in origin. Even connections to Christ on the cross have been made to the format of chiasmus, so it carries its weight.

Any dictionary will tell you that chiasmus comes from the Greek "χιάζω or chiázō" which means "in the shape of the letter X". According to Wikipedia.org the device is used in speech and in prose to achieve a kind of parallelism of thoughts and to establish a sense of balance (hence my zodiacal connection).

My own introduction to chiasmus came from its more recent, but still historical usage, in African American literature of the 19th and early 20th centuries. I've never quite been able to devise any decent 'chiasmi' of my own, so I'll borrow from the masters to illustrate its power and eloquence when employed correctly and efficiently.

Here we go with a some examples I enjoyed from the wikipost:

"Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind." John F. Kennedy

"You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man." Frederick Douglass

"I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy." Tom Waits

"Well, it's not the men in your life that counts, it's the life in your men." Mae West

"In peace sons bury their fathers, but in war fathers bury their sons." Croesus

This last is partuicularly appropriate for our times. Chiasmus can be succinct or befuddling. Sometimes the phrase's meaning jumps off the page and other times it requires some turning over in the mind. In more contemporary uses, like the Tom Waits quote, quirkiness and humor are what make the chiasmus form ring so truthfully.

Our President is a fan -- I've heard him use chiasmus more than once in speeches on the campaign trail -- but then again so are folks like Regis Philbin and your next door neighbor, probably when he's trying to sound wise from over the fence.

So, I declare, chiasmus for them and chiasmus for the rest of us!

Selected Prints

For anyone interested in printmaking, from lithographs and mezzotints to intaglio and drypoints, here is a sample of some incredible work all found at the Davidson Galleries Contemporary Print & Drawing Center. I was floored by the sheer volume and quality of work in this immense collection out of Seattle, WA. Enjoy this sampling, but definitely visit the site itself and explore for yourself.

Lotta Pyykkönen ~ There was no bio available at Davidson Galleries, but I'm guessing this artist is Finnish. Immediately, I notice a parallel to the austere Scandinavian landscapes of Gunnar Norrman previously featured on this blog.

Peter Milton ~ Back in school, a printmaking instructor alerted me to Peter Milton's work and, based on the size and pricing of his work, he may be one of the most prolific and profitable artists currently working the medium. His intaglio almost certainly involves photographic techniques judging from the level of layering in the highly detailed compositions. The following is the bio offered by Davidson Galleries:

Peter Milton is a major force in the printmaking world. Using etching and engraving techniques, Milton often spends a year or more to create his large and complex images. At Yale University under Josef Albers, Milton developed a concern less for the surface appearance of objects, but rather for the explication of their underlying, substantive qualities. Milton conveys meaning through a contextual environment of people, places, and moments in time.

Milton’s imagery frequently draws on elements from the late 19th and early 20th century English and French literary world. Rendering such imagery in a rich tonal scale of black and whites, Milton manages not only capture the mood of another era but also mid-century cinema. He cites among his major influences Ingmar Bergman and Fellini. With time and reflection, a narrative in Milton’s densely symbolic and historically referential images unfolds. Milton has received numerous awards for his prints, has a published book titled Peter Milton: Complete Prints 1960-1996, and is in every major museum collection.

Ben Moreau ~ Again, Davidson provided no biographical info on Moreau. His work, with its comic book/superhero humor, speaks for itself though.

Robert Marx ~ This artist's work very much reminded me of Ralph Steadman's loopy, sketchy style that he used in illustrations for his collaborations with the late Hunter S. Thompson. See the bio provided by Davidson Galleries below:

Robert Marx is part of a small group of important American figurative artists who comment on what it means to be human in an inhuman age. A kindred spirit with such great but often overlooked social protest artists like Leonard Baskin and Leon Golub, Marx's work speaks only to those who wish to be challenged by an artist's idea --those who seek an intense and enduring dialogue with works of art. One of America's most important exponents of the north European expressionist tradition that goes back to Bosch, Grünewald, and Bruegel, Marx's work explores the futility of trying to bring universal order or give conclusive meaning to the human condition.

Shigeki Tomura ~ Again, there are echoes of Gunnar Norrman in terms of the vastness of the landscapes but with a more classical sensibility. Glean more insight from the Davidson Galleries bio below:

The fine, intimate scale drypoints and etchings by Japanese print artist Shigeki Tomura offer spaces of quiet contemplation, where the viewer has an opportunity to pause and reflect.These serene rural landscapes depict a natural world untrammeled by human development; we find only oblique acknowledgement of a human prescence - a pathway or a thatched roof. Tomura’s imagery conveys a stillness in time, but in this quietude, there is a lightness and an implied sense of soft movement - the rustling of wind in the trees, the whisper of thawing snow, or the first drops of rain on leaves. The artist reminds us to recognize and appreciate these poetic moments in the normal context of our lives. Tomura was born in 1951 in Aomori Prefecture, Japan.He studied drawing and printmaking at the IWATE University from 1970 - 1976.Tomura has exhbited in many international print competitions and has earned many rewards for printmaking, including the prestigious Medal of Honor at the Small Graphic Forms Exhibition in Lodz, Poland.This is the first exhibition of his work at the Davidson Galleries Contemporary Prints and Drawing Center since 2000.

Mikio Watanabe ~ See the bio below provided by Davidson Galleries:

Mezzotint artist Mikio Watanabe was born in 1954 in Japan and currently lives in France. He is most known for his elegant, evocative black and white nudes. In these images the artist alternates between full figures and the sensuous ambiguity of closer cropped body parts. The female figure emerges out of the rich, velvety black shadows. Watanabe skillfully manipulates the subtle gradations of gray that are available in a mezzotint with careful burnishing and scraping of the plate. More recently Watanabe has added flora and fauna subjects, using multiple plates for the color. These new works have the same quality of grace and delicacy found in his nudes, but are playful in spirit.
This is Watanabe’s first solo exhibition at Davidson Galleries. His works are part of the permanent collections of the Bibliotheque National in Paris, the Central Academy of Art in Kuala Lumpur and the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Michael Barnes ~ I don't think these figures (more like creatures) are supposed to be humorous, but for me, there's a playful element to them. The cornbelt must hold some mysterious inspiration for Professor Barnes. See bio below:

Michael Barnes, Illinois, studied printmaking at the University of Iowa and is now Associate Professor, Head of Printmaking at Northern Illinois University. His lithographs are from his most recent series featuring strange hybrid creatures he calls The New Breed. This series addresses the human desire to control and possess.

One Brand of Philanthropy

Disclaimer: By no means is this an endorsement of the work of Russell Brand.

In his recent Comedy Central special, the crass British comedian Russell Brand made one point that I found rather astute. The joke he framed as "Reciprocal Altruism" or thereabouts.

He commented on giving to the homeless and how that generosity is generally not the end of the action but is instead meant to garner a type of cosmic reaction. More correctly, the kindness of giving a dollar or two to a homeless person is, for some, more a form of "karmic" insurance, where one good deed might sort of cover the giver for the rest of the day, thus bestowing a reciprocal amount of good luck for the remainder of the day.

I thought that idea was clever and amusing, but also farily poignant. Is that the only reason we give, to feel good about ourselves? This notion may even apply to large scale philanthropy. You can be sure that Bill and Melinda Gates are feeling pretty lucky considering what they give to the world's impoverished and underserved communities, and they rightly should feel pretty good about it. He's the epitome of extreme dorkiness in most circles, but in the karmic sense, he's like an ancient repository of good luck waiting for the right juncture to be used to the greatest effect.

Indeed, it's a cynical view of doing good deeds, but I did get "a bit of a laaff" out of it.

Cicero's 'Civiliter'

Upon the suggestion of a dear wise friend, I've undertaken a course of much-needed 'catch-up' in regard to my liberal arts education, specifically in the realm of ancient Greek philospohy and its bleedover into Roman schools of thought.

My friend recommended Cicero, whom he himself regards as a rhetorical and oratorical friend, as a start. I suppose it might sound strange to think of an ancient superstar speaker and thinker like Cicero as a friend, but you just have to know the person doing the recommending.

After scratching the surface only, one concept of Cicero's has taken my breath away and it is that of civiliter. Michael Grant, the translator of the Cicero: Selected Works I've borrowed, states that the word itself has no direct translation in modern English, but its meaning approximates:

"like a citizen, like an educated Roman, like a civilized man living as a member of his community."

And Grant continues to assert:

"Among those of the world's codes of behaviour which are within the bounds of practicability, few if any deserve more careful consideration than Cicero's."

So, it may be for this reason that my friend has suggested the much lauded and oft-emulated Cicero to start my literal re-education.

More on the man, Cicero, and the notion of civiliter later.

New Name, New Cycle

Since the last go 'round, the title 'per volar su nata' has stood here as a mantra to really make this thing fly and for the most part, it has some air under it now, mostly hot air, but bouyant and flavorful nonetheless.

This time around, I'll go with 'nosce te ipsum' - Latin for "know thyself" - so as to treat the blog as a reflection of my own thoughts and interests (just for fun and as a tiny salute to my family heritage, I've included the original Greek in the title). Taken as a whole, the content and commentary in this collection of posts is gradually helping to illuminate my own dreams and fascinations.

And so, onward.

Chucky en la Ciudad de la Primavera Eterna

If this were Twitter or Facebook, I'd be reporting:

Sitting here listening to Chuck Prophet's new album ¡Let Freedom Ring!

The "making of" story is a good one -- see what I mean by checking out the video.

As Prophet's sound becomes more and more palatable for the masses, his sentiment keeps him apart from the mainstream. It seems hopeful that he'll finally be able to cash in without selling out in terms of sound or message. The majority of comments out there reaffirm that the prolific Prophet is a most underrated artist. Regardless, Chuck Prophet is becoming ever-wiser along the pitfall-laden path of the American songwriter, and as a pure rocker, he's just as raw and raucous as ever.

Clearly, the vibrancy of Mexico City has soaked in and Chucky himself admits he'll never be the same!

Disclaimer: Dimestore Wisdom Has Its Cost

Shouldn't we be calling this "Dollarstore" wisdom now? Whatever the name, these casual truths and observations have there place and sometimes, it seems, I think that place is here.

Admittedly, we're all wise and simultaneously naïve, so the net gain is nearly negligible. Does that mean I shouldn't comment here on the state of American malaise, consumerism, simple pleasures, or the like?

The answer to that and other questions posed here is of no real consequence. Therefore, I'll continue to spout off on whatever I dare and the lack of comment on any of it will speak more to its worth than could the words themselves.

In other words and with significantly more brevity, "Boo-hoo!"

Life is Banal: Isn't that Fabulous?

Typically, life is mundane and you probably didn't need me to alert you to the fact. Just think of the vast and numerous economies that have been fabricated and marketed to alleviate the excruciating boredom that some folks live with daily. I've been lucky in the sense that my mind tends to wander, taking me places via curiosity, thankfully keeping me from any kind of debilitating, introverted implosion. Others, the not-so-lucky sorts, have succumbed to the sirens of sulking and self-loathing. I've been that sort before, too.

So, life can be pretty boring. Fine. Taking out the trash, scooping the cat litter, walking the dog, doing the dishes -- they're all tedious and tiresome and if you let them, these tasks and the inherent drudgery could just be the ballast that sinks you into some form of interminable depression.

But if you try, and it's not that hard, you'll see that the sum of these activities, these daily challenges and chores, is life, and in some strange sense, that's a relief. There can be a subtle, quiet pleasure in the simplicity of it all. What's more, if every single day were filled with monumental events like graduation, marriage, childbirth, and the like, then just imagine the pressure that would befall you every morning. For me, the relief is in the satisfaction of knowing that today will hold at least some mild excitement. But, even if it doesn't, that's not going to be all that bad.

Maybe at the heart of all this is the midwestern sentiment expressed so succinctly in the following, oft-uttered reply to most greetings:

"How ya' doin'?" someone will ask, and you'll reply, "Not too bad."

And that's the honest truth. Really, life could always be a good deal worse. In Sweden, the sentiment has its own dedicated word -- lagom -- which means something close to "good enough". Okay, but clearly some out there are not going to settle for just fine and dandy and they're going to want more.

This brings me to the next attitude that people adopt to make it through the day, one I can relate to, but only barely. I'll call it the slant of the "hyperbolic sharer". This is the guy who comes back to work on Monday and when people ask about his weekend, he goes into some envy-inducing monologue about how spectacular were the things he did:

"It was fabulous. We took out the sunfish and criss-crossed the bay, doin' like six or eight knots, and just had a tremendous time! My kid did an amazing job at the tiller! You should've seen her! Just wonderful! How about you? What did you get up to?"

That's just fine; I'm happy for the guy, sincerely. But, did you notice all the exclamations? This is the person who's living life while consciously making every day something to rave about and brag about, like he or she had been just plain waiting for you to ask. I have nothing personal against this type of person, but this guy really makes it tough to measure up when you start to tell about your walking the dog or taking the kid to the playground.

Along with the happy-go-lucky, glass-half-full optimism of the "hyperbolic sharer", there is an accompanying sense that this person is better than you as a result of his or her actions which are always so supremely excellent and thus deeply gratifying and fulfilling on every level. When we converse, we compare ourselves to one another, consciously or not, and mostly this is natural and harmless. However, when the joyful, ego-maniacal narcissists come around, they can have a fairly toxic impact on others who aren't so self-assured.

In the end, if the Swedes were to weigh in between the aficionados of banality and the self-promoting embellishers, you probably could guess what they would say. Some statuesque blonds would smile, only slightly, and calmly suggest:

"Follow the Buddhists on the Middle Way and be happy...but not too happy. Lagom."