If you do not know Hosea, he was a prophet that lived during a time of decline as Isreal slowly fell into chaos and into Assyrian hands. Interesting, the prophets could have been writing about our present world wide recession.
In his book, The 12 Minor Prophets by George I. Robinson, the author explains Hosea in relation to the times he was living in. What struck me as interesting was the similarity to Hosea's time and the recession is are now in the grips of feeling. The angst Hosea feels for the crumbling Jewish nation rings powerfully in today's ear if we are willing to listen through all the information being thrown at us in this age.
If you are Christian or Jewish, the first chapter of Robinson's book will be an eye opener. The relationship between sin at a micro level and a country's fortunes on a macro level are stunning.
Copyright 2009 by Frederick Cornwell Sanders. All rights reserved.
20070129
Personality is Design
I do not think we approach seeing personalities this way. But, we are designed to be the way we are. Whether it is the environment, activities, interests, or physical makeup, none of us is alike. This helps to distinguish what in our make-up is changing or is constant as we try to better ourselves.
20070125
Design of the Morning
If you think this is about the sunrise, it happens earlier than that. Lately, I have been waking up before dawn. I am finding it to be a great time to get in touch with God, my higher power, and the Universe. In the silence of the morning, the quiet has a great concentrating effect on me. I am enjoying reading and thinking.
Ususally I am up due to nature calling, but it may be hard to go back to sleep. If my mind is spinning with ideas, I turn on the light and get my day started. There is always time for a nap later.
I am learning not to fight my body so much when it want to get up and think or do something. The time is usually productive, and I know the day has started on positive footing.
Ususally I am up due to nature calling, but it may be hard to go back to sleep. If my mind is spinning with ideas, I turn on the light and get my day started. There is always time for a nap later.
I am learning not to fight my body so much when it want to get up and think or do something. The time is usually productive, and I know the day has started on positive footing.
20070124
Design of a Coffee Cup
The other day I received a Starbucks coffee cup with a dark roast I usually get to keep me awake way past my bed time. I began to notice the amount of information on the cup. Most ignore all this stuff, but it fasinates me.
There is the logo, the legal 'it is hot' statement, assorted boxes for the barristas to add ingredients, a statement about recycling, The Way I See It #198 quote, more legal opinion about the opinion, the manufacturer's information tucked under the cup, the manufacturuer's information on the lid, Patent Office Number, etc.
If our world is more complicated, it is all shown on the Starbouck's cup. We live in a corporate world that is heavily legal as shown by the mention of Solo, NBC, Starbucks, and lots of legal language. People are busy, we so add reminders to the workers to check to correct box and circle the correct code. The client gets to be entertained and informed while drinking their concoction. There are codes the manufacturers know, but they seem secret to me. We find where the cup is made, yet the States are a pretty large place, so it is not that specific. Coffee is hot we are told two times in case we have no common sense. It is made of recycled materials, but now that it is used for food, it cannot be recycled any more.
Simplicity is gone from our world. Everything has to be noticed. The cacaphony of messages boils down into white noise where nothing is really seen, but the weight of the sensory assault numbs us into thinking we need more drama in our lives.
There is the logo, the legal 'it is hot' statement, assorted boxes for the barristas to add ingredients, a statement about recycling, The Way I See It #198 quote, more legal opinion about the opinion, the manufacturer's information tucked under the cup, the manufacturuer's information on the lid, Patent Office Number, etc.
If our world is more complicated, it is all shown on the Starbouck's cup. We live in a corporate world that is heavily legal as shown by the mention of Solo, NBC, Starbucks, and lots of legal language. People are busy, we so add reminders to the workers to check to correct box and circle the correct code. The client gets to be entertained and informed while drinking their concoction. There are codes the manufacturers know, but they seem secret to me. We find where the cup is made, yet the States are a pretty large place, so it is not that specific. Coffee is hot we are told two times in case we have no common sense. It is made of recycled materials, but now that it is used for food, it cannot be recycled any more.
Simplicity is gone from our world. Everything has to be noticed. The cacaphony of messages boils down into white noise where nothing is really seen, but the weight of the sensory assault numbs us into thinking we need more drama in our lives.
20061010
Manon Reviewed
Well if you were one of the lucky ones to be captivated by the LAOpera performance of Manon by Jules Massenet, then you were astounded by the Sunday matinee at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. From the updated setting in the 1950s, the razor sharp lighting, and to the steamy performances of Villazon and Netrebko, we all soaked up alot first class work by this company.
Opera works best when all its parts are well oiled, so to speak. LAOpera seems to be better and better fine tuned as each production rolls off the assembly line. While some of the new operas are exquisitely staged, it is the older operas that just knock your socks off with a polish and performance that makes me feel like I am staring at a 1930s Cord displayed in all its awesome glory.
This Manon has a wonderful 1950's concept that seems to translate well until the death scene the prison death seems over done for the time. But, it is a small point after you have been captivated by scenes, acting, lighting, and singing that seems to sparkle like an Ozzie and Harriet's kitchen. Even the costuming works to bring you into 50s Paris of haute couture, post war jubilance, and the destruction of money that modern society says is love. This undercurrent commentary elevates the performance from well performed to stellar.
Some of us do not have the knowledge of some of the opera buffs, but you cannot mistake the performances of Rolando Villazon and Anna Netrebko for anything but magnetic. Their attraction for each other, their marriage, and their almost exhibitionist performance placed the parts of Manon and des Grieux into a mind warp of scandal and properity. Few will forget the des Grieux's letter being held by Manon as slowly pulls it along her body as her lover reads every mushy, loving phase.
If we were not convinced, here comes the Act III, Scene II in the church where the scenery plays a prison to each characters' thoughts, yet ends up being the prop that restarts their love affair all over. Manon, is dressed in symbolic couture red, while des Griuex's gray robes seem like a moth trying to resist the flame of Manon's apology.
But, what caught my ear was an aria of des Grieux as he sings of his lone place now that Manon has left him and God is his light to forget the past. His conviction seems assured, but minutes later he is surprised by the destructive force that is Manon. Manon as the operatic mammon corrupts all around her as shes spins a confection of doom she seems addicted to wherever she goes. Without money, she dies. And, real love is part of her last breathe as she relizes what she has done.
What a worth while time courtesy of the LAOpera!
Opera works best when all its parts are well oiled, so to speak. LAOpera seems to be better and better fine tuned as each production rolls off the assembly line. While some of the new operas are exquisitely staged, it is the older operas that just knock your socks off with a polish and performance that makes me feel like I am staring at a 1930s Cord displayed in all its awesome glory.
This Manon has a wonderful 1950's concept that seems to translate well until the death scene the prison death seems over done for the time. But, it is a small point after you have been captivated by scenes, acting, lighting, and singing that seems to sparkle like an Ozzie and Harriet's kitchen. Even the costuming works to bring you into 50s Paris of haute couture, post war jubilance, and the destruction of money that modern society says is love. This undercurrent commentary elevates the performance from well performed to stellar.
Some of us do not have the knowledge of some of the opera buffs, but you cannot mistake the performances of Rolando Villazon and Anna Netrebko for anything but magnetic. Their attraction for each other, their marriage, and their almost exhibitionist performance placed the parts of Manon and des Grieux into a mind warp of scandal and properity. Few will forget the des Grieux's letter being held by Manon as slowly pulls it along her body as her lover reads every mushy, loving phase.
If we were not convinced, here comes the Act III, Scene II in the church where the scenery plays a prison to each characters' thoughts, yet ends up being the prop that restarts their love affair all over. Manon, is dressed in symbolic couture red, while des Griuex's gray robes seem like a moth trying to resist the flame of Manon's apology.
But, what caught my ear was an aria of des Grieux as he sings of his lone place now that Manon has left him and God is his light to forget the past. His conviction seems assured, but minutes later he is surprised by the destructive force that is Manon. Manon as the operatic mammon corrupts all around her as shes spins a confection of doom she seems addicted to wherever she goes. Without money, she dies. And, real love is part of her last breathe as she relizes what she has done.
What a worth while time courtesy of the LAOpera!
20060927
Design of the Day
Well it should not surprise anyone when I say that we have good and bad days. I am not sure why we have them, but I think it is partly due to the pace of our day. Frantic pace rarely produces a "good" day in my opinion. When something goes wrong, we say that the day was not "good." When the day is too boring; the day is not thought of as a "good" day.
I think my best days are the ones with a balance of structure and accomplishment. They seem to end with a positive outlook. They are days that a sense of peace pervades the deeds and actions.
Today is a good day as most are. We remember the bad days maybe because they get fewer in number as we progress into our better days. It is just a suggestion. Yet, even a gray day can be 'good' when compared to a black day.
I like my house to face east to brighten my day. A "good" day is usually brighter, yet there have been some stormy days that were "good" as in different. I remember a "good" day when we lived in Kansas City and the tornado threats were present, but the clouds were awesome columns with lightening passing through clear blue sky. The winds excited the air. You knew an adventure was about to happen for this teenager. That was a "good" day. The weather front came through, and we hid in the basement. My Mom was out shopping in the Country Club Plaza with a good friend. We wondered how they were doing near the center of town. We listened to the radio for weather updates while the war of weather carried on above us. We were all safe. It was a "good" day.
I think my best days are the ones with a balance of structure and accomplishment. They seem to end with a positive outlook. They are days that a sense of peace pervades the deeds and actions.
Today is a good day as most are. We remember the bad days maybe because they get fewer in number as we progress into our better days. It is just a suggestion. Yet, even a gray day can be 'good' when compared to a black day.
I like my house to face east to brighten my day. A "good" day is usually brighter, yet there have been some stormy days that were "good" as in different. I remember a "good" day when we lived in Kansas City and the tornado threats were present, but the clouds were awesome columns with lightening passing through clear blue sky. The winds excited the air. You knew an adventure was about to happen for this teenager. That was a "good" day. The weather front came through, and we hid in the basement. My Mom was out shopping in the Country Club Plaza with a good friend. We wondered how they were doing near the center of town. We listened to the radio for weather updates while the war of weather carried on above us. We were all safe. It was a "good" day.
20060926
Russian Easter Overture
There is a setting and mode in the Russian Easter Overture that always seems attractive to me. I am not sure if it is the lushness of the strings and horns, the playfulness of the woodwinds, or and etheral quality, yet it seems to foster a strong sense of mystery and fantasy in my thinking. I often use music to incite creative thought and projects. This piece continues to provide a strong connection with any creative muse I may have watching over me. Artists using music in the creative process is not unusual. I am glad there is the opportunity to use music to generate my drawings because it helps alot. When I am not particularily creative, music can jump start the creative process better than other stimuli.
Design for Reference
Wikipedia has been interesting me lately. Even time I do research I seem to end up there. I guess that is an endorsement. It does not hurt Wikipedia that they seem to be at the top of the search pile.
INITIVM III deadline
For all you artists, composers, and writers, the deadline for submissions to "The Tree" is 31 December 2006.
Whether you are considering the tree is to be used as a metaphor or the real thing, your creativity is encouraged.
Whether you are considering the tree is to be used as a metaphor or the real thing, your creativity is encouraged.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
