February 22nd, 2006
• Our hometown newspaper abruptly drops the “Dilbert” daily comic strip.
• During live curling coverage, a student at the gym says, “That’s a sport you could still do when you’re 50.”
• As if it isn’t already difficult enough to deter people from corrupting good identity programs, Google actually encourages others to produce versions of their logo that are really bad.
• A shocked cousin Shirley announces that she’s lost her job with Relizon, following its acquisition.
• Officials release more details about Governor Fletcher‘s complications of pancreatitis.
• Student leaders at the University of Washington reject a memorial to “Pappy” Boyington.
• A village in Germany is swamped by liquid pig manure.
• Local Arts Commissioners name Jennifer Brummett their Citizen of the Year.
Posted in Current Events | Comments Closed
February 21st, 2006
She’s done it! Mombo has a second entry at her site. Right now it looks as if she makes one each year, but I’m sure that won’t last for long. She’s really started out on an enjoyable note for me—comics and games—and it doesn’t get much better than that (unless she starts reminiscing about toys)!
Posted in Blogging, Family, Mombo, Playtime | Comments Closed
February 20th, 2006
It took longer than I expected, but my drawing for the Housing Authority was a pleasure to execute. The illustration technique I used was directly inspired by my favorite masters of pen and wash—Jack Unruh, Ken Dallison, Joe Ciardiello, and Alan E. Cober. Dallison is known for his automobiles and Ciardiello for his portraits, but all of them have worked with great breadth of subject matter. I’ve marveled at their skill for decades, but they have a similarity of approach that is close enough to my own capability that I can relate to how they visualize and have learned from their prolific examples. Unruh is exceptional—equally adept at rendering people, places, and the natural world—and I could die happy if I gain a fraction of his ability. Cober, who, of the four, actually did die (happy I hope, although much too young), holds a special place in my personal history. At the height of our indecision concerning what to do about the crumbling situation at Wright State, Dana and I had the opportunity to question him at a workshop. He counseled us to trust and follow our instincts, so the two of us got out together. He was a great adviser to hundreds of talents over the years, and I’m grateful to have been one of them.
Posted in Art, Craftsmanship, Creativity, Dana, Education, Gratitude, Personalities, Priorities, Studio | Comments Closed
February 19th, 2006
James and I were laughing about the excessive hype that has surrounded Bode Miller, the faltering American skier, and got into a good conversation about behind-the-scenes commercialization of various Olympic personality types. When humble, dogged, amateur-style athletes prevail over the high-exposure, corporate-style athletes, marketers don’t think they have as much to work with, so often stick with an Olympic failure if their image investment still solves the demographic equation.
Dale Earnhardt’s attitude that a second-place finisher is just the “first loser” may resonate strongly with most gold-medal contenders, but the world of celebrity endorsement is different, and always will be driven more by overall persona than actual competitive results. That’s why you can expect advertising executives to be much more attracted to a cute snowboarder‘s impulsive screw-up than a veteran skier‘s credo of Olympic longevity—
“Spend a lot time on the hill, spend time training, and then, if you work hard over a long period of time, with a lot of focus, good things will happen to you in the end, and… use your head while you’re having fun.”
Posted in Business, Current Events, Family, James, Personalities, Priorities, Sport | Comments Closed
February 18th, 2006
Man with his car in the ditch, waving sadly as he waits for a tow truck.
400 yards of footprints in the fresh snow, to find two brothers at Still-house Spring.
One of Dadbo’s last ‘coon boxes, rotting in a treetop along Sledding Hill Road.
Four tofu burgers frying in a skillet, beside a pot of Mombo’s vegetable soup.
Frank the long-shot candidate, grinning broadly from his campaign card.
The veteran Norwegian biathlete, collapsing to his knees at the finish line.
Chalkboard calculations and a Honchovian decision to define the day’s effort.
An ancient wheelbarrow and a gutted Gravely, rusting in the cluttered barn.
Tiny newborn bunnies, nestled for warmth in a bunting of mother’s fur.
Dana’s cranberry coffee cake, golden brown and fresh from the oven.
Posted in Dadbo, Dana, Family, Home, Mombo | Comments Closed
February 17th, 2006
• I flipped away the afternoon again at the Rotary Club’s annual Pancake Day, where I foolishly tried to expand my exalted reputation by attempting to make a cake with the shape of a Salvation Army Shield. I blistered the edge of my hand on the hot griddle and experienced the same agony of defeat as poor Lindsey Jacobellis. After that, Dana and I went into the city for the Gallery Hop, so I could participate in the reception at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. The “Art of the Alphabet” exhibition was a hit with all ages, and the original print of my letter H was the second one to sell. Steve Houston of Texas bought it for his daughter because all of the images present in the montage held significant meaning for him and his family. Quite remarkable.
… graybeard prospector …
Posted in Art, Community, Dana, Food, Letters, Personalities, Sport | Comments Closed
February 16th, 2006
A wise man once said, “There is nothing trivial about hat loss.”
My nerves were on edge today, until I retrieved from Centre’s lost-and-found collection the blue hat that once belonged to a man named Joe Wood.
Posted in Angst | Comments Closed
February 15th, 2006
Sunday’s gathering at Mack’s cabin was cancelled due to weather, so we didn’t get to hear the invited speaker—an evolutionist who is also a devout Catholic. Indirectly related to that, I discovered that Deepak Chopra posted his views on the debate between Intelligent Design and Evolution at intentBlog.
The responses to his opinion are not surprising. For some, it solidifies their regard for his keen ability to articulate emerging concepts that integrate science and religion. For others, it just reinforces their attitude that he’s one of the more popular con artists on the new-age scene.
This subject holds some interest for me, but, like the debate over abortion, the endless argumentation rarely moves beyond tedium. The fixed mindsets of the energetic allow little room for moderate viewpoints.
Posted in Blogging, Personalities, Social Science | Comments Closed
February 14th, 2006
• We started another day together, when it was her turn to bring me a cup of coffee, and before long we were listening to Charles Matkin say, “Change comes over time, with hard work, focus, and repetition.”
• I told her to shun me until I broke the spine of my illustration assignment from the Danville Housing Authority. The only reason these things are ever difficult is because they come so few and far between.
• During my pool workout, as I finished a 200-yard sprint, she was already done with her walk and stopped by to watch me.
• I was over the hump on my ink drawing when she invited me to share her delectable dinner of butternut and Greek lamb chops. We toasted our enduring affection—spare, yet fully formed, like a bonsai.
• We started another year together, when it was time to stuff 2005 into the archives and breathe again. If we can get through something like that, side by side, perhaps we can still tackle our dreams.
• Long ago, they stuck us in a basement office together, so we made the most of it—for a lifetime.
HAPPY VALENTINE’s DAY to my “partner in all things.” I love you, forever…
Posted in Dana, Holidays | Comments Closed
February 13th, 2006
• She might’ve been my first teacher; I might’ve been her first student.
• We took the stage together, faced the crowd together, and danced in the hot lights together. We didn’t get paid, but it was “show-biz” all the same. We were an “act”, and we quit at the top of our game.
• Speaking of games, our first ones didn’t come in boxes, across a wire, nor on a disc. We invented them, and we’ve been “players” ever since.
• Together, we observed the strange world around us, and the language available was insufficient, so we made up our own vocabulary to augment it. We shared it with those who would listen, and it met with their approval. They made their own contributions and helped pass it on to a new generation.
• She blazed a trail of achievement, so I followed it into the peaks of the high country. “I can do this, too,” I thought, so I blazed a trail of experimentation, but my trail descended into the bogs of the low country. During my journey back, she never lost faith in me, nor placed conditions on her love. She always remains the teacher, through her joys and her heartaches, and now I’m only one of those who follow her trail. It’s never been an easy trail, but it’s always been a good one. Blaze on, my lifelong companion. Blaze on.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my “big sis.” I love you, forever…
Posted in Birthdays, Joan | Comments Closed
February 11th, 2006
Just minding my own business when the 2006 Winter Games had me without warning… like getting caught by a gooey frog’s tongue.
I should’ve seen it coming.
Posted in Sport | Comments Closed
February 11th, 2006
It seems like I’m not the only one trying to get on top of their personal productivity. And—guess what—it’s not about trying.
One of the Brits at PigPog boiled it down to the basics:
• The best way to get things done is to do them.
• The best way to do them is to start doing them.
• A system is of no help at all with making you want to do things.
The last one is key. The methodology is secondary to the motivation, which has to drive the whole thing, otherwise, one has to take a deeper look at the underlying list of life objectives.
Posted in Priorities | Comments Closed
February 10th, 2006
• Opening a statement from the Social Security Administration did not get my day off on the right track, and it began to go downhill from there. Fortunately, I was able to recover a bit by putting some good sales moves on the Republican candidate for Boyle County Judge Executive, who will definitely need a high-credibility graphic image as part of any success campaign to unseat the entrenched incumbent. After that, I attended the opening of “4 Seasons — 4 Directions,” Kathleen’s inspiring collage exhibition at Danville’s Community Arts Center. By evening, Dana and I were in Berea with Lee and David, eating delicious Thai food and learning English Country Dance—so the day ended fully back on its proper rails.
… graybeard prospector …
Posted in Angst, Art, Business, Community, Dana, Dance, Food, Friends, Political Affairs | Comments Closed
February 9th, 2006
I did it! For the first time in many moons, I attacked the massive tower of storage boxes that was metastasizing in the corner of our meeting space. To be honest, it had steadily grown like a Schwitters Merzbau until my continuing to call the area our “conference room” had become an irritating exercise in self-delusion.
Posted in Art, Personalities, Priorities, Studio | Comments Closed
February 8th, 2006
Last April I wrote, “If I make a mistake and publish a typo, everybody feels bad, but nobody has a funeral. I’m not an architect. My designs can’t fall down and kill anybody.”
Well, let’s take another look at that. Even though I haven’t made much money at it in recent years, I still consider myself a cartoonist, and, if you haven’t noticed, people are now actually getting killed over a few cartoons.
I remember writing a report in high school about this “ungentlemanly art,” after I’d sent a batch of correspondence to famous editorial cartoonists. Paul Conrad, at the beginning of his long career at the Los Angeles Times, sent me a friendly letter with helpful details that became my favorite among the replies. (As a result, I always felt a personal connection to him, and was elated several years later when Los Angles mayor Sam Yorty failed to successfully sue Conrad, who drew Yorty dressed in a Napoleon suit.)
After that project opened my eyes to political opinion, I’ve never underestimated the power of a cartoon, but this current situation borders on the absurd. In the words of Doug Marlette, “…the world has, in fact, become a cartoon.”
Posted in Art, Current Events, Personalities, Political Affairs | Comments Closed
February 7th, 2006
During his dialysis treatment on Saturday, it was discovered that Bruce had a fever, so the doctor decided to admit him back into the hospital for observation and a new course of antibiotics.
His wife did not let his mother know for two days.
Ok, I’ve typed and published it, but I’ll admit to first having reflected on the Four-Way Test of Rotary International—
• Is it the TRUTH?
Yes.
• Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Accuracy does not equal fairness, but there is no intent to be unfair.
• Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Don’t count on it.
• Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?”
Truthful exposure is not always appropriate, but eventually most facts are made plain, and benefits accrue in the long run to those who accept accountability.
Whether or not I flunked the famous test is subject to individual interpretation. Please read the collection of entries about Bruce for a record of my sincere thoughts and feelings during his lengthy illness.
Until further notice, it might be best for everyone involved if
“Uncle John” suspended continued commentary on this particular subject.
We now return this log to its regularly scheduled wisdom.
Posted in Blogging, Family | Comments Closed
February 6th, 2006
In Memoirs of a Geisha, the main character reflects on the advice of her mother, who taught that water, with time, can cut through the hardest rock, and, when blocked, will always find another way.
Why is it that everywhere I shift my attention, I’m reminded of the power of persistent, repetitive action? Is the universe using the method itself to make sure the concept gradually penetrates my stubborn personality?
When I look over the past dozen years or so, the most noticeable change I can recognize in myself is the transformation to high physical activity from a sedentary mode. It wasn’t initially inspired by a dream. Rather, it grew out of an apprehensive realization that I undoubtedly carried the same predisposition to heart disease that had claimed my father’s life. Out of weakness came strength—increment by increment, workout by workout, mile by mile.
So, there I have it. Out of my weakness to believe that I could achieve without grinding, habitual effort my dream—a dynamic life on the land, making art from a studio in the Knobs—can come a new practice and ritual which is the only course that will ever take me there. Yes, there will be obstacles and inner resistance. At times, the water will need to find an alternative path, but there is no alternative to the necessity of the “drill.” No other way than through the power of focused routine, and a life of productive habit.
Once again, I must read the words of Emerson and let them sink in—
In chemistry, the galvanic stream, slow, but continuous, is equal in power to the electric spark, and is, in our arts, a better agent. So in human action, against the spasm of energy, we offset the continuity of drill. We spread the same amount of force over much time, instead of condensing it into a moment.
Once more.
And again…
Posted in Art, Dadbo, Exercise, Family, Movies, Nature, Nonfiction, Priorities, Time | Comments Closed
February 5th, 2006
The overdue arrival of winter weather kept our annual Super Bowl Sunday mountain bike ride up in the air until midday. No additional precipitation and a sliver of blue sky tipped the balance, so we gathered in Forkland to face the four-knob challenge. Ben, Brian, and the other hard climbers took off in a fast pack. By contrast, the rest of us set out at a pace that gave us a shot at finishing the day in one piece. With a double layer of socks and running shoes, I wasn’t surprised that my toes still went numb at times, but I wasn’t expecting the wind chill to cut through my neoprene scuba-diving gloves (one of the best gifts Jerome ever gave me). Let’s just say it was brisk out there, but I never really found myself second-guessing the choice to go through with the ride. With great companionship, a stunning vista of remote, snow-clad woods, abundant running creeks and cascades, plus the opportunity to test the value of my recent gym workouts, it was an envigorating, worthwhile afternoon, and proves that cycling can be a rewarding fitness activity in Central Kentucky any time of the year.
Posted in Exercise, Family, Friends, Nature | Comments Closed
February 4th, 2006
Twyla Tharp makes clear throughout her invaluable book that creative consistency can only be achieved when the artist pushes beyond talent and desire to infuse work with an ethic of ritual. Not even skill, imagination, research, or planning will compensate for the lack of a daily habit of constructive focus. Emerson calls it “drill.”
Both of them describe a level of disciplined concentration with which I have personal experience, but only for relatively brief spells in my life. I’ve always felt relieved to settle back into a more multi-dimensional frame of mind. I never understood how the focused state could be harnessed as a positive habit pattern because I wasn’t convinced there was any reason to do so. My self-image as a hard worker coexisted with a misplaced desire to indulge my aversion to structured, regimented, predictable behavior. I built an entire lifestyle around it, but, to be frank, I haven’t built much else.
I was talking to my brother James last night and when he asked what was going on with me, I replied without thinking, “You should read my blog.”
I knew it was lame as soon as I said it. His not unkind reply was that he just didn’t have the time. I wasn’t surprised, but I still carried a vague sense of disbelief for the rest of the night until I finished Emerson’s “Power” before bed.
The one prudence in life is concentration; the one evil is dissipation: and it makes no difference whether our dissipations are coarse or fine; property and its cares, friends, and a social habit, or politics, or music, or feasting. Everything is good which takes away one plaything and delusion more, and drives us home to add one stroke of faithful work.
The thinker likens the severe limiting of miscellaneous activity to an orchard-man’s pruning which “forces the sap of the tree into one or two vigorous limbs, instead of suffering it to spindle into a sheaf of twigs.”
It’s not too late for me to take the step from knowing to doing. Typically for me, it’ll be easier said than done. Twyla would stomp her foot and shout, “Begin!”
Now that I’ve convinced everyone to stop reading this blog, I’d better quit. Or perhaps I should revisit my own misgivings from my very first entry over a year ago.
Posted in Blogging, Creativity, Family, James, Nonfiction, Personalities, Priorities, Time | Comments Closed
February 3rd, 2006
This is one of those moments when I think that I didn’t begin to get a real education until after the age of 50, when I finally settled for me as a teacher.
Me said, “It’s not too late to learn how to think.” I answered, “Ok, Me. Let’s get started.”
Joan was kind enough to make some of Joe Wood’s books available, and there was one I accepted with particular seriousness—“The Conduct of Life,” a collection of essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Perhaps true book-larnin’ doesn’t take place until one can center on an idea or theme after confronting it from multiple directions.
A good start, but there’s little chance a revelation will be internalized until put into actual practice.
Here is something I just read from the essay called “Power”—
When Michel Angelo was forced to paint the Sistine Chapel in fresco, of which art he knew nothing, he went down into the Pope’s gardens behind the Vatican, and with a shovel dug out ochres, red and yellow, mixed them with glue and water with his own hands, and having, after many trials, at last suited himself, climbed his ladders, and painted away, week after week, month after month, the sibyls and prophets. He surpassed his successors in rough vigor, as much as in purity of intellect and refinement. He was not crushed by his one picture left unfinished at last. Michel was wont to draw his figures first in skeleton, then to clothe them with flesh, and lastly to drape them. “Ah!” said a brave painter to me, thinking on these things, “if a man has failed, you will find he has dreamed instead of working. There is no way to success in our art, but to take off your coat, grind paint, and work like a digger on the railroad, all day and every day.”
Posted in Art, Education, Family, Joan, Nonfiction, Personalities | Comments Closed
February 2nd, 2006
We are led to believe it’s not advisable to drink by yourself, but there are times when I think that if one is to ever drink at all, the best option is to do it alone—totally alone—Ulysses S. Grant upstairs in his room with the door locked alone.
Posted in Angst, Wine | Comments Closed
February 1st, 2006
— Month of January workout totals: Swim-5; Bike-2; Run-2; Lift-8; Yoga-13
— Most who know me are aware that I ran—this is where I always have to stop and clarify or say something like “traversed under my own power,” since “ran” is not appropriately descriptive nor entirely accurate—50 miles on my 50th birthday. Later that same year I finished the Chicago Marathon under five hours. That’s my experience with long-distance running. At times I wonder why I didn’t keep it up, but usually I just wonder why I still feel any need at all to stay in running, biking, and swimming condition to be within striking distance of performing a triathlon. Well, it’s important to cross-train, I tell myself, and besides, staying in triathlon shape is not extreme, it’s just what I consider the baseline of physical fitness. I used to think of extreme as my friend who completed over 80 marathon runs, including one in all 50 states and all 7 continents (yes, I know, Antarctica). Or maybe extreme could be defined as competing in “Ironman” triathlons—a 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride, and then a 26-mile marathon on top of it, all in one day. And then I heard about the Hardrock Hundred, a 100-mile race that takes place in the mountains of Colorado. Is that extreme or what? Actually there are those who don’t think that’s enough of a challenge, and push the idea of extreme out to the borderlands of madness—the World Championship Quintuple Iron Triathlon. Believe it or not, that’s a distance equivalent to five Ironmans. There’a guy from Louisville who did it. He finished seventh, with a time that set a new U.S. record. A 12-mile swim, 560-mile bike, and 131-mile run. After four days, nine hours, and 40 minutes, he hobbled across the finish line, his body well into the process of cannibalizing his own muscle tissue. Do you think that’s extreme? Now try this—next November there’s a race in Mexico that requires ten Ironmans in ten days, and the Iron Kentuckian is thinking about an attempt. When I heard that I thought about the Athenian warrior Phidippides, who ran what’s considered to be the first marathon in the year 490 BC. He expired. We’ll keep you posted.
— The previous blurb brings to mind a recent article in Money Magazine that one of our clients brought to our attention. Jason Zweig explains in “The Thrill is Wrong” that the new science of “neuroeconomics” is helping investors understand that brain metabolism may cause us to make bad money decisions in much the same way we make bad decisions about food, drink, drugs and sex. Maybe they should add exercise to that list.
— After delivering my finished exhibition print to the Carnegie Center, Dana and I had a nice carnitas dinner in Lexington and then settled down to watch a late screening of Memoirs of a Geisha. I knew I’d enjoy it—actually, much more than Marshall’s “Chicago,” even though it’s garnered less acclaim—as I knew I’d enjoy “The Last Samurai,” because I can easily overlook the flaws in a picture like this. When the production design for a Japan-based story is this awesome, I can never leave the theater disappointed. I must make a note to check out any movie with set decoration by Gretchen Rau. It bothered me that they cast the two female leads with Chinese and Malaysian stars, but I think I was bothered more by the idea of it, going into the theatre, than during the feature. Ziyi Zhang deserved an Oscar nomination. It’s a powerful story, probably a better book, and almost worth the outrageous ticket price. Ken Watanabe is excellent once again, and I always get a kick out of seeing Mako pop up with his trademark scowl, even for less than a minute of screen time.
V & S
Posted in Dana, Exercise, Food, Friends, History, Movies, Nonfiction, Personalities, Studio | Comments Closed
