Return … to the grind.
I’m currently working with Mike on new projects for a Barchael show. I’m very excited about the prospect of a show and new work. Unfortunately, it means most of my free time needs to be accounted for and the start is a bit slow. However, I’ve gotten a couple of the projects under way. Now, I need to price some stickers and t-shirts and plan to do a photo shoot tomorrow.
Otherwise, I’m in a Max/MSP/Jitter class and am very excited to finally be able to learn this program. Last fall I spent a lot of time trying to figure out who knew how to use it. Luckily, now I’ll be using it in a week or two. Also, I’ve found a couple more programs which function the same way, one of which is free. Until we get into the program in detail, I need to finish a small exercise on an MIT version of the program for kids. It’s an interesting idea to create a program that teaches kids how to program. It’s well done.
As an aside, we had an interesting visiting artist come speak to the ReMix culture class on Thursday. I enjoyed the work and was impressed to realize that I had heard him on NPR a number of years ago and had referenced that piece, without knowing anything about him or the rest of his work.
A few nights ago, I met with Mike and Don about putting together a collaborative group as part of our Stationary Bicycle Group. It’s like the group within the group. Assuming we have some free time soon, we will need to set up some events for the bikes. Right now, we are the only three who own them.
Today, I’m meeting with Mike to go find some props for our photo shoot. I may need to set up lights and things so we can photograph tomorrow. I think I’ll feel a bit more accomplished once the photos and accompanying vector files are under way.
Avoiding productivity and sleep
Classes started today and my early start this morning has left me feeling a bit loopy. I have so many things to do, or to start, and somehow I find pleasure in avoiding these things and letting my mind wander. In that wandering, I found these:
Kierkegaard
I know very little about Søren Kierkegaard, but with my recent discovery of a number of his quotations, I need to change this. Here are a few I really resonate with (found here):
• “Once you label me you negate me.”
• “The thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to find the idea for which I can live and die.”
• “Irony is a qualification of subjectivity”
• “Above all do not forget your duty to love yourself.”
• “The presence of irony does not necessarily mean that the earnestness is excluded. Only assistant professors assume that.”
• “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
• “The more one suffers, the more, I believe, has one a sense for the comic. It is only by the deepest suffering that one acquires true authority in the use of the comic, an authority which by one word transforms as by magic the reasonable creature one calls man into a caricature.”
Together again
Barchael had a very productive evening of food, beverages, and ambitious planning for multiple projects. These are all in the planning phases, but here is a sneak at one, which should be put into action soon. Please keep checking the site, as we should have some new postings in the not-so-distant future.
The Flat Earth
I’ve been interested for a while in the role of conspiracy theories in relation to myth. I find something fascinating about them as a means of making sense from the vast world around us. As ridiculous, or plausible, as some may seem, the persistence of these stories illustrate the ever-present human need to rationalize the unknown. I came across this one in the news today.
