I have to remind myself that, at times, we may have to let our expectations, or dreams, die.

Labels: shared wisdom

Can you believe after years of citing articles and books and the like I still have to, and like to use citation generators???

The other night Greg pointed out that Avett Brothers' cover art for their latest release includes a philsophy of the album and an explanation of what the title means (I've included it below for those interested in reading it).

The more I listen to their music, the more I am glad that we invested in it!

The words "I" and "Love" and "You" are the watermark of humanity. Strung together, they convey our deepest sense of humility, of power, of truth. It is our most common sentiment, even as the feeling of it is so infinitely uncommon : each to proclaim these three words with his or her very own heart and mindset of reason (or lack thereof); a proclamation completely and perfectly new each time it is offered. Uttered daily and nightly by millions, the words are said in an unending array of circumstances : whispered to a newborn in a mothers arms; shared between best friends on the playground; in the form of sympathy -said by a girl to a boy, as the respect continues but the relationship does not. It is said too loudly by parents to embarassed children in the company of their friends, and by grown children - to their fading parents in hospital beds. The words are thought in the company of the photograph and said in the company of the gravestone. It is how we end our phone calls and our letters... the words at the bottom of the page that trump all those above it, a way to gracefully finish a message, however important or trivial, with the most meaningful gifl of all : the communication of love. And yet the words themselves have been the victims of triviality, a ready replacement for lesser salutations among near strangers, burst forth casually as "love ya." Truly? To what degree? Why, how much, and for how long? These are questions befitting of the stature of love, though not the everyday banter of vague acquaintance. The words have also been twisted by the dark nature of deceit : To say "I love you" with a dramatic measure of synthetic emotion; a snare set by those who prey uponn fellow humanity, driven to whatever selfish end, to gain access to another's body, or their money, or their opportunity. In this realm, the proclamation is disgraced by one seeking to gain rather than to give. In any case, and by whatever inspiration, these words are woven deeply in to the fibers of our existence. Our longing to hear them from the right place is maddeningly and simultaneously our finest strength and our most gentle weakness.

The album "I and Love and You" is inashamedly defined by such a dynamic of duality. As living people, we are bound by this unavoidable parallel. We are powerful yet weak, capable yet temporary. Inevitably, an attempt to place honesty within an artistic avenue will follow suit. This is a piece which shows us as we are : products of love surrounded by struggle. The music herein is, in many ways, readable as both a milestone and an arrival. A chapter in the story of young men, it bridges the space between the uncertainty of youth and the reality of it's release. The record is full with the quality of the question and response. As far as questions go, there are plenty-normally residing within the tone and delivery of the lyrics themselves, which, ironically, are sung with so much confidence. Among songs and thoughts so driven and purposeful, the most basic relatable doubt comes through with a resounding clarity. Outside of the eternal theme of romantic love, the album speaks thankfully upon a landscape of light-filled rooms, word-filled pages, time machines, forgiveness, singing birds, ocean waves, art ,change, confessions of shortcomings, and reasons to continue on. Hope and a cause for smiling follow naturally. In the midst of all this, there are allusions to the less-than-ideal conditions of life : the loss of memory, the inability to control temper, insecurity, indecision, jaded indifference, and the general plague of former and current weakness. "I and Love and You" is an album of obvious human creation, chracterized by it's best and it's worst. Emotional imperfection is a reality for those who recorded the piece, just as it is for those who will hear it. The conclusion of the song from which the title is taken admits that the words "I love you" have become "hard to say". And perhaps that difficulty is as common as it's counterpart. Perhaps the inability to say these heaviest of words is as much a part of life as the lighthearted candor of those who say them without any difficulty at all. And so it ends with the phrase whispered to and by those of us most defeated and most elated... I and love and you...

Zumba is the aerobics class I am signing up for these days. I think that Zumba can be the cardio workout to yoga stretching. It increases your heart-rate, teaches you how to dance (and sing), and it's incredibly fun and high energy! I'd recommend it to anyone, just make sure you watch your knees and other joints as it's a pretty high impact workout.

For what I have seen of student radicalism on various campuses over the past dozen years baffles and bothers me. It seems to be more a psycho-logical than a truly political phenomenon. There is a desperate quest for self-identity, an evident and acute involvement of one's political beliefs with all kinds of personal anxieties and neuroses, a consequent cheerlessness and truculence.

Lately I've been learning a lot about US debt and how money works in general, and it's been pretty interesting given my initial appeal to the subject. The truth is, I had to make a decision; that my cynicism and suspicion towards the economy-regardless of its bureaucratic and seeming abstract nature-is worth trying to understand and be informed about. I realize that I am a little behind in learning about this very big and important issue, but I also appreciate that having the desire and access to learn takes time too, just as learning how to use a computer and make use of an email account required curiosity and time.

One movie that has recently helped in this endeavor is I.O.U.S.A.. A documentary that has been informative and important to my understanding of the economy in that it speaks to our current economic times, some would say "crisis".


Another very helpful video, which has been out for a while, is Money As Debt. This video has helped me very simply understand where money comes from and how the system of money works. Is has also helped me wrap my mind around what is going on in the current economy.


Here is David Walker as a guest on the Colbert Report. Walker works for the Peter G. Peterson Foundation of which distributed the documentary film I.O.U.S.A..

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
David Walker
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Protests

Glamor Girl

I'm almost finished this book and will comment further when I am through reading it.

I've recently discovered the growing popularity of the eco-friendly holiday, and that is to vacation locally. Vacationing locally is in all measures more economical, cuts down on ones footprint, supports the development of local businesses and community relationships, and just sounds less stressful (doesn't it?). If a resident of the Kitchener/Waterloo region I recommend you book a local holiday get-away with Little City Farm in Kitchener (hat-tip Katrina VandenBerg).

Hope, George Frederick Watts (1817-1904)

In commemoration of their anniversary my cousin and his girlfriend are on their way to O. Noir, a restaurant that offers a truly unique culinary experience.

A wonderful example of knowing your neighbors:

With more than 27-hundred murals, Philadelphia is the mural capital of the world. Listen Up traveled there recently, and uncovered stories of how this particular art form is bringing healing -- to artists, and to entire communities. A unique mural arts program is there literally blanketing the town with public art. And the impact is proving transformative.

Labels: Social Justice

I loved this post by Jack Cheng mostly because it reminded me of the art of discipline in response to our given and finite time, always a feat!*  

I finally watched Into the Wild and found it quite enjoyable, especially as it related to the  humanity's ideas and questions of which I have grown to love so much. 

I've been following Cool Hunting for a while now and get all giddy when they post new video entries.

This is their most recent post, and I think it is beautiful; a story of joy at work. And I dedicate it to Petra Zantingh, one of my art professors from Redeemer, who if I remember correctly was quite a fan of typography.


I dedicate this one to Karen VanMinnen, the wife of a friend, and maker of creative quilts.


I'll stop here, this one goes out to Nicole Cornish, friend of the family, performer, and a lover of dance.

Today was the first time I used my Macbook speech services. I needed another person to read my cover letter, as a final form of editing, and Victoria, my system voice, read it aloud to me. This service, in my opinion, is just wonderful and sooo full of potential.

Right now is crunch time for my research as I begin to write. What I find most difficult is that it's nearing the end of the academic year, the weather is much brighter than it has been in such a long time; and I can't help but entertain thoughts of going outside, swinging through the breeze on my hammock, taking walks, and just 'being'. Evidently this is when I need the most amount of discipline as I have to present within a matter of weeks. What has been of help to me is Mr. Mann's blog post which asks What are you doing? and offers a page that can help one, me in particular, refocus.  "Catch the drifting as it happens, refocus, then repeat as necessary.  That's it." -Merlin Mann

Time and Attention: wonderful presentation.

I heard about this book, Sleeping Naked is Green, and was intrigued.  I followed up and discovered that the author, Vanessa Farquharson, has a blog and has catalogued much of the green initiatives implemented in her life.

One glance down the Easter aisle at any grocery and you'll see packages of colored marshmallows in the shape of bunnies or baby chicks-these are Peeps. I've blogged about them before and not because I particularly enjoy eating them but of my fascination with the annual Peep Diaroma contest. This contest is an intensely creative event and now that submissions have been entered I can't wait until April for the results.  

After seeing this I can't imagine that anyone would have an excuse for being bored.

I have always been fascinated by books and blog posts that discuss the many aspects of a good presentation. People that write about this topic are often concerned with the related subtopics of the informed use of power point and the oft unconsidered concepts and use of design and it is these two areas that I am interested in learning more about. Here are some books and virtual places that I have enjoyed learning from regarding this subject matter:

Edward R. Tufte’s Presentation Tips
Nancy Duarte's Silde:ology
Back of the Napkin
Guy Kawasaki known to me for his 10/20/30 Rule
Steve Jobs Presentation Elements
Garr Reynolds' Presentations Zen and Gates and Jobs by Zen

The problems cannot be as easily reduced as the critic Gatto of Dumbing Us Down claims:

True attention for Simone Weil:

Consists of suspending our thought, leaving it detached, empty, and ready to be penetrated by the object; it means holding in our minds, within reach of this thought, but on a lower level and not in contact with it, the diverse knowledge we have acquired which we are forced to make use of. Our thought should be in relation to all particular and already formulated thoughts, as a man on a mountain who, as he looks forward, sees also below him, without actually looking at them, a great many forests and plains.

Although people seem to be unaware of it today, the development of the faculty of attention forms the real object and almost the sole interest of studies...Every school exercise, thought of in this way, is like a sacrament

I've watched this through a number of websites and just love it!

"Would it be appropriate for me to recommend that the students actually read the text that they are writing about?"

Response:

"Why don't you just write 'next time read the pages in-between the front cover and the back cover of your book' at the bottom of their paper"

I am going to assign these two articles this week for my book discussion. I share them here because I think they are interesting regardless of whether or not you're in my class. Enjoy!

The Porn Myth

What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage

Pittsburgh City Paper

PGH's Post Gazette

I have visited a number of the places listed in these articles, specifically, Oh Yeah! Ice Cream & Coffee Co.. I tried Ethan Clay's Love Birds concoction, which, if I remember correctly, was a swirled mixture of sweet cream ice cream, cardamom and rose water. It smelled like roses and the taste was subtle, somewhat companion to the spice and flavor of chai. The atmosphere was very creative and I was gleefully excited that I happened to stop in during the cafe's bombastic yoga event-I almost busted out my latest yoga move, one-legged king pigeon pose-Ow! Both the free space movement environment and the menu selections and suggestions were truly inspiring and I'll definitely be going back!

This is the project that my research is concerned with.

More to come...

Today officially marks the beginning of my CAPSTONE project...