sustenance
Henry Darger: In the Realms of the Unreal
#henrydarger
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Darger
hats off for the tip from
The Perfect City
David Byrne is spot on with his thoughts for a perfect city:
A Talking Head Dreams of a Perfect City
The Wall Street Journal, September 11, 2009
By David ByrneThere’s an old joke that you know you’re in heaven if the cooks are Italian and the engineering is German. If it’s the other way around you’re in hell. In an attempt to conjure up a perfect city, I imagine a place that is a mash-up of the best qualities of a host of cities. The permutations are endless. Maybe I’d take the nightlife of New York in a setting like Sydney’s with bars like those in Barcelona and cuisine from Singapore served in outdoor restaurants like those in Mexico City. Or I could layer the sense of humor in Spain over the civic accommodation and elegance of Kyoto. Of course, it’s not really possible to cherry pick like this—mainly because a city’s qualities cannot thrive out of context. A place’s cuisine and architecture and language are all somehow interwoven. But one can dream.
>>> read the rest via DavidByrne.com
Michael Pollan and The Botany of Desire
Author Michael Pollan says:
The tulip, by gratifying our desire for a certain kind of beauty, has gotten us to take it from its origins in Central Asia and disperse it around the world. Marijuana, by gratifying our desire to change consciousness, has gotten people to risk their lives, their freedom, in order to grow more of it and plant more of it. The potato, by gratifying our desire for control, control over nature so that we can feed ourselves has gotten itself out of South America and expanded its range far beyond where it was 500 years ago. And the apple, by gratifying our desire for sweetness begins in the forests of Kazakhstan and is now the universal fruit. These are great winners in the dance of domestication.
The Pines : Tremolo
The Pines‘ latest album, Tremolo, has earned some great reviews fresh out of the chute, including
Penguin Eggs, which reviewed it in this month’s issue:
Potent, poignant, minimalist country from Iowans David Huckfelt and Benson Ramsey (son of Greg Brown sideman Bo, who produced this record). The duo spin spare, haunting melodies and imagistic words over deceptively gentle intertwinings of acoustic and electric guitar, stand-up bass, keys and drums.
But song after song, with soft, wearied voices, they reveal a lyrical world view both thoughtful and tough, keenly attuned to harsh realities and the glimpses of consolation that peek through the solitude and loss inherent in life. “We surrender, just to survive/ But no matter how hard you try/ No, you can’t put the tears/ Back into your eyes,†Ramsey sings (with the help of his dad) on Shiny Shoes. What’s remarkable is how such an unsentimental outlook is married to music at once so fragile, so gravid and, ultimately, beautiful. If I were a betting man, I’d say watch for this album on a lot of critics’ top 10 lists for 2009.
The Rules
I was reading Michael Dahn’s blog the other day and found this particularly worth re-posting here:
“We can only lose what we cling to!â€
– BuddhaMany of us live by a set of beliefs accumulated over the course of our lifetime. We use these rules to navigate the possibilities of life. Some of them are positive rules that save us (e.g. “Don’t touch a hot stoveâ€) but some of them are limiting (e.g. “I can’t do it. It’s too hardâ€). Sometimes we have to stop and ask ourselves if the limitations in our life are self-imposed or actual. I believe that many times the rules by which we find ourselves constrained are self-imposed.
When life appears to be unfair, when bad things happen to good people, this is when you have the opportunity to give up or to change the rules of the game. It’s these game changing moves that enable you to conquer your fears in new and creative ways. You can change the rules of the game in several ways, here are but a few:
1. Change your beliefs: I live by the mantra that “nothing is impossible, the impossible just takes longer.†Why is it that we limit ourselves by what we think is impossible? Why do we obey the rules of our belief when our opponent does not? Why is it that we enable others to walk over us? Only by changing your belief can you break down the barriers that you have constructed and consider the possibility of out-of-the-box innovation.
2. Change the rules: In life many of us abide by a path that we feel has been laid our for us or is predestined to occur. We get frustrated when we feel deviations from that path in the same way we feel the rumble strip on the edge of the road. These path barriers move us in a direction that we “feel†is the “right path.†We cling to our path because it has been a part of us for so many years. Only when you accept variance in your path are you free and open to new possibilities. By accepting change and alternative outcomes we free ourselves to new futures and alternative happiness.When we stop clinging to self-imposed beliefs and prescriptive paths we free within ourselves the possibility of the impossible.
Here are a few new rules that you may want to consider.
1. “Be the change you want to see in the world.†– Mahatma Gandhi
2. Do Something
3. “To thine own self be true.†– Shakespeare
4. Our lives are the stories we tell ourselves.
5. Don’t live by anyone else’s rules, go make your own.
Malecha
This is our pal, Pat.
After having lived in Little Port Walter (known by those in the know as Club Fed) for a few years, our pals Pat and Jen have moved back to Juneau with their little boy, Bruno.
Now, we don’t get to see them as often as we’d like but seeing as you’re visiting us @ Lofto this week, we’ve dedicated today’s post to you : )
We’ve missed you!
Some cool facts about Pat:
Subsequent to being a Rasmuson Fellow, Pat initially worked as a research analyst at the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission where he reported on aspects of diverse Alaska fisheries including Pacific cod, weathervane scallops, Pacific herring, and horsehair crab. Since 2001, Pat has worked as a research fishery biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service at the Auke Bay Laboratory in Juneau. In his primary role, he studies the effects of commercial fishing on benthic habitats. These studies, utilizing both submersibles and scuba, have varied objectives from simple habitat typing to manipulative studies identifying effects of trawling at varied intensities.
Pat is also involved with other work that is attempting to determine growth rates of two species of sponge and two species of coral. These studies will help managers understand habitat and fishery interactions and allow for sustainable fisheries.
Those interested in checking out some of Pat’s work can find a good start here.
Some cool facts about Jen:
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Timeline : Cereal
Who doesn’t have a favorite cereal?
A cornerstone of so many childhood breakfasts, cereal has had quite a history:
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Galactic!
Our fave pizza place in MPLS is making quite a splash all over.
Good thing, too, because they serve delicious pies made with fresh, organically grown ingredients all produced within 30 miles of here.
Go Galactic!!!
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Powderhorn Empty Bowls
Our pal, Jennie the Potter, works with a group of other folks on Powderhorn Empty Bowls, a community-based, volunteer-driven organization who’s goal is to eliminate hunger from the neighborhood in and around Powderhorn Park in MPLS.
They throw each and every bowl by hand. Then, for an in-kind donation they fill your bowl with homemade soup. Eat the deliciousness and then keep the bowl. The funds generated go to neighborhood resources to help put an end to hunger in MPLS. They have already made a significant impact in their short history so far.
This is the stuff this country SHOULD be more about.
You can check out their great work [and donate!] at powderhornemptybowls.org
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DJ COOKS
My good pal, Samuel Pixley is spinning records on the West Coast and sent me a Grand Poobah of a mixtape cassette just like the way we used to do it. This boy’s crazy old school to a fault, carrying the load of vinyl to each gig in Portland.
His act is SO old school, he “don’t even got no email addy, website or none of that shiat.”
To make it more accessible [read : so i can listen to it on the portable music device of my choice] while i walk around town, i’ve taken the liberty of dumping it to a digital format so i can share it with all three of you reading this ; )
If you like, you can download the just-over-an-hour-long-mix here in one, big ole file – great for dancin or ridin or cookin. It compliments the chef.
Patience, patience…it’s over 70MB large.
Welcome back, Kotter, indeed.
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why Frank Black is a god among men
Oh – stop
With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
Try this trick and spin it, yeah
Your head will collapse
But there’s nothing in it
And you’ll ask yourself
Where is my mind [3x]
Way out in the water
See it swimmin’
I was swimmin’ in the Caribbean
Animals were hiding behind the rocks
Except the little fish
But they told me, he swears
Tryin’ to talk to me, coy koi.
Where is my mind [3x]
Way out in the water
See it swimmin’ ?
With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
Try this trick and spin it, yeah
Your head will collapse
If there’s nothing in it
And you’ll ask yourself
Where is my mind [3x]
Oh
With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
Oh
Try this trick and spin it, yeah
Oh
Oh
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Another Eureka Moment!
If you had to wear a knee brace every day you’d definitely want to wear one of these.
Funny how these simply wonderful ideas elude us for so long :
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Talk about a knee-jerk reaction. Scientists in the United States and Canada said on Thursday they have developed a unique device that can be strapped on the knee that exploits the mechanics of human walking to generate a usable supply of electricity.
It generates enough power to charge up 10 cell phones at once, the researchers report in the journal Science.
you can [read more of the reuters article] too.
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It’s been REAL he says…
our mentors in the lost art of pumpkin-carving, Dave n Sarah, have left their j-o-bs to travel around the world in 365 days.
yep, sucks to be them ; )
Dave left the following words of wisdom for his colleagues at RealNetworks after 7 1/2 years working down on Elliott [taken from his blog, davethegrinch.net]:
* I’ve had more managers than offices
* I’ve had a lot of offices
* I started as an immigrant, became a resident and left a citizen
* I’m surprised I wasn’t fired
* Flexible work schedules make flexible employees
* Free pepsi and coke is not an effective tool to boost employee morale
* Beer apparently is
* Life balance is not defined by how many hours one spends in meetings versus the hours one spends in their office
* Why bother holding a meeting when the decision has already been made – send a memo or something
* Becoming a VP doesn’t automatically make you Bill Gates
* I’m surprised how many people love taco salads
* The quality of software engineering is directly proportional to the quality of the software engineers’ management.
* Halloween should be a national holiday
* August R’n’R is a good idea only if you plan to not achieve anything in August
* For a company on the bleeding edge of the digital information revolution, submitting paper forms to report vacation seems kind of quaint
* Rebranding websites and players for “partners†is never a good or profitable idea
* It’s just entertainment on the internet, nobody is going to die if it doesn’t launch on time
* Deadlines should only be decided upon when at least one person knows what should be delivered on that deadline
* There are worse places to work than RN however complacency is not an excuse to stay
***
cheers you two – safe journey.
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Lifetime Dog
“A lot of people tell me I’m living their fantasy life,” Katz said. “There are a lot of frustrated, alienated people who just aren’t doing what they want. I think that’s sad.”
Katz has done what many frazzled urbanites can only dream of doing: He chucked a spirit-sapping life in suburban New Jersey, bought a picturesque farm and an assortment of amiable animals and started a new life where the air is sweet and the stars shine bright far from the city lights.
Most people need a catalyst to provoke such dramatic change. For some, it’s a divorce. For others, a brush with life-threatening illness. For Katz, it was a maniacal dog named Orson.
In his new book, “A Good Dog: The Story of Orson,” Katz chronicles the life and death of the lovable but troubled border collie that transformed his life. It continues the story begun in Katz’s last book, “A Dog Year,” now being made into a movie starring Jeff Bridges as Katz.
Katz refers to Orson as his “lifetime dog.” It’s a term that many dog-lovers understand.
“Lifetime dogs intersect with our lives with particular impact; they’re dogs we love in especially powerful, sometimes inexplicable, ways,” he writes in “A Good Dog.”
you can read the rest of the article here.
We love you Jon and thanks for writing a story worth the weight of its words.
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Growing up with Newsweek
Newsweek loves to feature articles about Autism.
People love to buy Newsweek and read articles about Autism.
If the following cliche’ is true [about Autism] then most of the world is Autistic only they don’t know it yet:
Work is play and play is work
Sound like anyone in YOUR neighborhood?
When was the last time you didn’t schedule something? when was the last time you did something “spontaneously” and it was fun? when was the last time you played, really played without having to work at it?
if we’re not careful about our obsession with time management and commitment to “careers” we may all be in for more and more future generations of Rain Men and Rain Women who are engineered to think fun is being at the office until sunrise and work is going to the park [ugh] again.
how weird is this “are you a workaholic” quiz on Forbes.com?
WHAT IF [humor me here for a moment] it’s unhealthy lifestyles like ours that generation after generation give rise to abominations such as Autism?
Did you know that Autism does not exist in Native cultures, such as Native American, Native Alaskan, Aboriginal, etc? Not a single trace exists in these cultures. Well, maybe if they continue to participate in our culture long enough they will, too!
WHAT IF, collectively, we are killing off our collective consciousness [ie imagination] by exercising mostly only those “muscles” that work and watch tv or some such other unimaginative recreation? at what age does imaginative play stop? what was it 20 years ago? 50?
PLEASE. DON’T JUST SIT THERE READING NEWSWEEK.
THINK ABOUT IT.
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Ladies and Lords, we present Black Blondie
This morning where i work a very cool thing happened. instead of the usual mid-week ughs around eightish Black Blondie set up and played one of their earliest-in-the-morning gigs ever and ever so slowly, hypnotically melted and rendered the sleek yet somewhat stiff corporate environs into one that had me thinking of how subtle the glass tower we were in was gently swaying in the wind.
as they played more and more the trance [and the wind outside] gained strength and everyone within earshot [which is nearly the whole place as a staircase dominates the center ceilings of each of the four floors connecting them all with a huge vortex for the sound to travel through beautifully] became fully entranced and stared out the window if even for just a moment to watch wind move through the city below blowing city street things up on thermals and dancing them like in American Beauty.
And smile they did. I saw many warm, relaxed faces today. Amazing what starting the day off with real music does.
so, let me tell you how i much i really like it just as it is — a live experience. thus, i understand their judicious use of patience, savoring the sound they’re creating and not muscle-ing the recording process.
and as if that wasn’t enough to make the day a total fucking standout, a and i went to see them again later in the evening at the Triple Rock. the sound in the Triple is perhaps unrivaled in the cities.
is it any wonder i babble incesantly on about the music in this town?
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Thanks, Pierre!
Homer Simpson would love the newest taste sensation in minor league baseball: the doughnut burger.
We kid you not. The Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League promised to create “Baseball’s Best Burger” in time for the team’s opener in late May. And they appear to have succeeded.
The ballpark sandwich will include a hamburger topped with sharp cheddar cheese and two slices of bacon — all between a “bun” made of a sliced Krispy Kreme Original Glazed doughnut.
[more...]
