Friday, April 06, 2007
- Very much enjoying Punk Jazz, the Jaco Pastorious anthology. Far better than his albums, which are very composed, very produced and thus formal.
- If I were going to be an artist, I've always felt that I would be an Outsider artist in the sense of Art Brut. Not because I am insane, or self-taught, but because I don't believe other people will relate to my art's meaning or outlook. The best Outsider Art isn't a freak show, it succeeds in spite of being alien and incomprehensible. That's my only hope.
- All week long, I've been hearing the construction "I know this is going to sound stupid, but..." where in the place of "stupid" might be "arrogant," "unkind," "greedy" or "shallow." The thing is, it usually does sound that way. Moreover, it usually falls into a very strong characteristic of the speaker. ie. only arrogant people, whose life has forced them to acknowledge their own arrogance, use the phrase "this is going to sound arrogant, but..." I used to think that this construction meant, "this is going to sound bad, but it really isn't." I now think it means, "I'm going to be quite honest though I know my point of view is inappropriate."
- In the pattern language of presentations, the most common pattern is: Begin With A Disclaimer. This includes presenting your poems, your home, your work, yourself. It's kind of a refreshing ritual.
- I went to a Google Talk on Thursday and enjoyed myself so much that I am resolved to attend lectures at least once a week, if I can find enough good talks to support the habit.
- Someone mentioned to me this week how much they enjoy being able to imagine how things will taste. That is, when they're cooking, they relish being able to anticipate how certain combinations of flavors will work together. That's a very artistic approach to cooking; it made me realize that I approach cooking more like a craft. I'm always trying to understand why a cooking technique works well, or to learn traditional flavor pairings, rather than trying to be creative.
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