Smarter content than is mainstream acceptable,
but splendid nonetheless! A new blog maintained by an old friend: Camels with Hammers.
On vacation and away from the internet
In the meantime, here is an interesting photo gallery of environmental advertising.
Spaceport! More on Dubai:
This site (Dubai Architecture) better illustrates the rate of change and scale of Dubai's recent commercialization with before/after pictures, and details of the change.
Dubai: going crazy with the architecture!
Dubai is trying to make some money off of international tourism. Check out some of this design and architecture.
The struggle to right oneself
The photography of Kerry Skarbakka.
These photos are taken with wires in an entirely controlled environment. The photographer often uses himself as the subject due to the discomfort and potential danger of the work. The struggle to right oneself. His other exhibits are worth checking out as well.
These photos are taken with wires in an entirely controlled environment. The photographer often uses himself as the subject due to the discomfort and potential danger of the work. The struggle to right oneself. His other exhibits are worth checking out as well.
The artist and the fundamentalist...
...arise from societies at differing stages of development. The artist is the advanced model. His culture possesses affluence, stability, enough excess of resource to permit the luxury of self-examination. The artist is grounded in freedom. He is not afraid of it. He is lucky. He was born in the right place. He has a core of self-confidence, of hope for the future. He believes in progress and evolution. His faith is that humankind is advancing, however haltingly and imperfectly, toward a better world.
The fundamentalist entertains no such notion. In his view, humanity has fallen from a higher state. The truth is not out there awaiting revelation; it has already been revealed. The word of God has been spoken and recorded by His prophet, be he Jesus, Muhammad, or Karl Marx.
Fundamentalism is the philosophy of the powerless, the conquered, the displaced and the dispossessed. Its spawning ground is the wreckage of political and military defeat, as Hebrew fundamentalism arose during the Babylonian captivity, as white Christian fundamentalism appeared in the American South during Reconstruction, as the notion of the Master Race evolved in Germany following World War I. In such desperate times, the vanquished race would perish without a doctrine that restored hope and pride. Islamic fundamentalism ascends from the same landscape of despair and possesses the same tremendous and potent appeal.
What exactly is this despair? It is the despair of freedom. The dislocation and emasculation experienced by the individual cut free from the familiar and comforting structures of the tribe and the clan, the village and the family.
It is the state of modern life.
- Steven Pressfield (War of Art, 2003)
The fundamentalist entertains no such notion. In his view, humanity has fallen from a higher state. The truth is not out there awaiting revelation; it has already been revealed. The word of God has been spoken and recorded by His prophet, be he Jesus, Muhammad, or Karl Marx.
Fundamentalism is the philosophy of the powerless, the conquered, the displaced and the dispossessed. Its spawning ground is the wreckage of political and military defeat, as Hebrew fundamentalism arose during the Babylonian captivity, as white Christian fundamentalism appeared in the American South during Reconstruction, as the notion of the Master Race evolved in Germany following World War I. In such desperate times, the vanquished race would perish without a doctrine that restored hope and pride. Islamic fundamentalism ascends from the same landscape of despair and possesses the same tremendous and potent appeal.
What exactly is this despair? It is the despair of freedom. The dislocation and emasculation experienced by the individual cut free from the familiar and comforting structures of the tribe and the clan, the village and the family.
It is the state of modern life.
- Steven Pressfield (War of Art, 2003)
Current opinion of marriage
I say "current" because it has been known to change.
Here is a post I made on a friend's private page in response to the question,"why do people marry".
Marriage has little or nothing to do with the individuals involved and everything to do with a society that created the convention. It's nothing more than a statement and subsequent label. But the two are important. Marriage tells other possible mates to keep their distance and allows for secure breeding conducive to child rearing (the security). Less instinctive, but still entirely due to societal influence, marriage says to friends and family how much a couple cares. It's kind of like a facebook wall conversations, a public display pretending not to be. You're more likely to keep your vow if people or deities are in on it (the convention). Finally, due to tradition, married couples themselves actually buy into its meaning, so it creates a nice temporary high; a pat on the back. It's all B.S. but when most everyone buys into it, and our existence is inescapably tied to "everyone", it becomes really important. I'd marry/will marry if I find someone I want to spend the rest of life with (and they don't laugh at me when I ask).
Here is a post I made on a friend's private page in response to the question,"why do people marry".
Marriage has little or nothing to do with the individuals involved and everything to do with a society that created the convention. It's nothing more than a statement and subsequent label. But the two are important. Marriage tells other possible mates to keep their distance and allows for secure breeding conducive to child rearing (the security). Less instinctive, but still entirely due to societal influence, marriage says to friends and family how much a couple cares. It's kind of like a facebook wall conversations, a public display pretending not to be. You're more likely to keep your vow if people or deities are in on it (the convention). Finally, due to tradition, married couples themselves actually buy into its meaning, so it creates a nice temporary high; a pat on the back. It's all B.S. but when most everyone buys into it, and our existence is inescapably tied to "everyone", it becomes really important. I'd marry/will marry if I find someone I want to spend the rest of life with (and they don't laugh at me when I ask).
Steven Pressfield on "Resistance"
It's about as close to inspirational literature as I feel comfortable reading, but I'm finding The War of Art by Steven Pressfield to be amazingly helpful.
The first section of the book focuses on artist's block or what Pressfield labels "Resistance". I've always, and most recently, had a serious blockage problems when writing. I always do a hundred smaller tasks surrounding the actual goal at hand, I get up countless number of times to get snacks or drink. I stop to web surf or check my e-mail.
Here are some excerpts:
Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet. It is the root of more unhappiness than poverty, disease, and erectile dysfunction. To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It makes us less than we are and less than we are born to be.
Resistance cannot be seen, touched, or smelled. But it can be felt. We experience it as an energy field radiating from a work-in-potential. It's a repelling force. It's negative.
Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work. It will perjure, fabricate, falsify; seduce, bully, cajole... It will take any form if that's what it takes to deceive you.
Procrastination is the most common manifestation of Resistance because it's the easiest to rationalize.
Sometimes Resistance takes the form of sex...because sex provides immediate and powerful gratification. When someone sleeps with us we feel validated and approved of... of course not all sex is a manifestation of Resistance. It goes without saying this principle applies to drugs, shopping, masturbation, TV, gossip, alcohol, and the consumption of all products containing fat, sugar, salt, or chocolate.
Resistance seems to come from outside ourselves... [but] is not a peripheral opponent. Resistance arises from within. It is self-generating and self-perpetuating. Resistance is the enemy within.
The first section of the book focuses on artist's block or what Pressfield labels "Resistance". I've always, and most recently, had a serious blockage problems when writing. I always do a hundred smaller tasks surrounding the actual goal at hand, I get up countless number of times to get snacks or drink. I stop to web surf or check my e-mail.
Here are some excerpts:
Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet. It is the root of more unhappiness than poverty, disease, and erectile dysfunction. To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It makes us less than we are and less than we are born to be.
Resistance cannot be seen, touched, or smelled. But it can be felt. We experience it as an energy field radiating from a work-in-potential. It's a repelling force. It's negative.
Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work. It will perjure, fabricate, falsify; seduce, bully, cajole... It will take any form if that's what it takes to deceive you.
Procrastination is the most common manifestation of Resistance because it's the easiest to rationalize.
Sometimes Resistance takes the form of sex...because sex provides immediate and powerful gratification. When someone sleeps with us we feel validated and approved of... of course not all sex is a manifestation of Resistance. It goes without saying this principle applies to drugs, shopping, masturbation, TV, gossip, alcohol, and the consumption of all products containing fat, sugar, salt, or chocolate.
Resistance seems to come from outside ourselves... [but] is not a peripheral opponent. Resistance arises from within. It is self-generating and self-perpetuating. Resistance is the enemy within.
Cellutations @ Sumner McKnight Crosby Jr.
The following pictures will be included in Cellutations, an exhibit running at the Sumner McKnight Crosby Jr. Gallery in New Haven CT.
These two I took myself:
These second two were taken by my sister, Lauren.
The exhibit will most likely include hundreds of submissions and is more for fun than prestigious. But Shhhh, don't tell Tyler. It makes him feel special to have his photography on display. The exhibit will run from June 1 to July 10. Here is a link for anyone interested in submission.
These two I took myself:
These second two were taken by my sister, Lauren.
The exhibit will most likely include hundreds of submissions and is more for fun than prestigious. But Shhhh, don't tell Tyler. It makes him feel special to have his photography on display. The exhibit will run from June 1 to July 10. Here is a link for anyone interested in submission.
Another cell phone tirade
Something I wrote recently after a backpacking trip in the Smokies.
Unprotected sex, motorcycles, and the wilderness: why cell service should be geographically limited and people left to the consequence of their own stupidity
Quick Quotes 3
Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride, and the man of genius and the aristocrat are frequently regarded as eccentrics because genius and aristocrat are entirely unafraid of and uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd.
- Edith Sitwell
The Internet is like alcohol in some sense. It accentuates what you would do anyway. If you want to be a loner, you can be more alone. If you want to connect, it makes it easier to connect.
- Esther Dyson
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
- Voltaire
- Edith Sitwell
The Internet is like alcohol in some sense. It accentuates what you would do anyway. If you want to be a loner, you can be more alone. If you want to connect, it makes it easier to connect.
- Esther Dyson
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
- Voltaire
Bill Maher:
agree or disagree, he's asking thoughtful questions, he's being honest with himself and his audience.
Maher on terrorism:
Maher pwned by Kasparov:
More:
Bill Maher and Dennis Miller on free speech
Bill Maher on Jesus Camp
Maher on terrorism:
Maher pwned by Kasparov:
More:
Bill Maher and Dennis Miller on free speech
Bill Maher on Jesus Camp
It's Friday night
Online reaction time test. The average reaction time in an experiment like this is likely to be about 1/4 second (0.25 sec.)
Best Foreign words!
Many languages, have words that do not translate directly into English without long explanations. A familiar example is déjà vu. But there are plenty of more obscure words, just as useful as déjà vu.
- l'appelle d'vide (French) - The urge to jump from high places, into a canyon, etc.. literally, "the call of the void".
- Litost (Czech) - a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery.
- Mamihlapinatapai (Yaghan) - A look between two people that suggests an unspoken, shared desire.
More:
Favorite untranslatable words
20 unusual words (BBC)
10 coolest foreign words
In Other Words (book)
- l'appelle d'vide (French) - The urge to jump from high places, into a canyon, etc.. literally, "the call of the void".
- Litost (Czech) - a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery.
- Mamihlapinatapai (Yaghan) - A look between two people that suggests an unspoken, shared desire.
More:
Favorite untranslatable words
20 unusual words (BBC)
10 coolest foreign words
In Other Words (book)
What is a Foreign Trade Zone?
Whenever I travel north on Interstate 81, up near Dublin, VA, I see a sign "Foreign Trade Zone". I've wondered what it was but never got around to the research. Here it is:
1. What is a Foreign Trade Zone?
2. FAQs about FTZs
3. List of Foreign Trade Zones by state
1. What is a Foreign Trade Zone?
2. FAQs about FTZs
3. List of Foreign Trade Zones by state
Fact: the brain processes
...written language differently than spoken. Information absorbed through television or audio alone is comprehended and remembered differently than information from print media.
Observation: Print media remains the visible backbone of our country’s collective zeitgeist. Daily television/radio news shortens and summarizes the reports and written studies of scholars. Movies simplify books and graphic novels. Worthwhile media of any type begins as print, be it a script, story board, or written proposal.
Conclusion: Multi-media forms remain heavily dependent on print while simultaneously contributing to its obsolescence. Unless current trends change, the decrease in budget and sale of written material will eventually cause declining quality in dependent (all) non-print mediums and a shallower depth of human intellect as an average.
Conclusion: Support Reading Rainbow. Support Imagination Library. Support your local libraries. Pay your children by the page to read things you deem worthy. Read a book every once and a while. Buy a book every once and a while. Read.
Observation: Print media remains the visible backbone of our country’s collective zeitgeist. Daily television/radio news shortens and summarizes the reports and written studies of scholars. Movies simplify books and graphic novels. Worthwhile media of any type begins as print, be it a script, story board, or written proposal.
Conclusion: Multi-media forms remain heavily dependent on print while simultaneously contributing to its obsolescence. Unless current trends change, the decrease in budget and sale of written material will eventually cause declining quality in dependent (all) non-print mediums and a shallower depth of human intellect as an average.
Conclusion: Support Reading Rainbow. Support Imagination Library. Support your local libraries. Pay your children by the page to read things you deem worthy. Read a book every once and a while. Buy a book every once and a while. Read.
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