tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2187996475217645212024-03-07T00:08:50.475-08:00Imagined MembershipCAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.comBlogger136125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-53666853875021838042011-05-18T15:30:00.000-07:002011-05-18T15:41:46.838-07:00<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/An6PjEbjbDQ?hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/An6PjEbjbDQ?hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-3752172467492127432011-04-16T19:02:00.000-07:002011-04-16T19:06:31.265-07:00What will we call history in the future? The evidences? The Tale?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24d_nUJTandh-vJwKN-FMEsVt8YfATdBxA4Y9LH0qHIQt791iOvs_VmsO-x0N0028hxP259TVjEGgcKWRUAy3nxj_dmsi1gj5OfzLFnuuYP7bbj62K-hj8NDnv7FNyU9VfVDh3kV7bJs/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 533px; height: 495px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24d_nUJTandh-vJwKN-FMEsVt8YfATdBxA4Y9LH0qHIQt791iOvs_VmsO-x0N0028hxP259TVjEGgcKWRUAy3nxj_dmsi1gj5OfzLFnuuYP7bbj62K-hj8NDnv7FNyU9VfVDh3kV7bJs/s400/Untitled-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596367437362271250" border="0" /></a><br /><span jsid="text">"Memory, and yet deeper than memory: the memory of the trans-personal, the memory of time itself: it used to be called "history", but what will we call it in the future? The Accounts? The Lore? The Evidences? The Tale? Who knows. I for one won't be calling it "history". I want to fit our awareness of becomming into a bigger set of understandings than the mere idea of warring factions winning and losing battles with one another, then inventing a History to justify it.</span>" -PDCAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-7973354871020185112011-04-16T19:00:00.000-07:002011-04-16T19:02:39.110-07:00One month story- the beginning of time agenda<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9rUJiH01s7ivWt8_fGF8HeaglUMGLGGddHC1LdpIQgqUx-LJx8XkVvnVW6mP87dsEIkSAEVlbp6tPVznzqejr8uw04DH-SJ6T_tSAI8OJQ-N15ttzw4iQnMorbyOL4IwMUTxX9OCS8Jc/s1600/The+Only+February.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 536px; height: 412px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9rUJiH01s7ivWt8_fGF8HeaglUMGLGGddHC1LdpIQgqUx-LJx8XkVvnVW6mP87dsEIkSAEVlbp6tPVznzqejr8uw04DH-SJ6T_tSAI8OJQ-N15ttzw4iQnMorbyOL4IwMUTxX9OCS8Jc/s400/The+Only+February.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596366840533434866" border="0" /></a>CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-24722085516540874462011-04-14T22:50:00.000-07:002011-04-14T23:08:58.068-07:00The Social Practitioner:<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">A conductor</span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">Between an orchestra</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">And an audience</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">In a hall</span></p><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxPKpdQ747LUPN_k6sUv3PUjBVfnOzKTTsozEmdAqy0FxPP-vHFQueGkJAsov0OIPbsuzXGAIfsObnnj_b4' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /> <style>@font-face { font-family: "Times"; }@font-face { font-family: "Baskerville"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }p { margin: 14pt 0in; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">The conductor responds to two populations at once, and a physical space. Her first responsibility is to the orchestra. The relationship between the conductor and the orchestra will be referred to as relationship 1</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Baskerville;">,</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"> characterized by a performance, collaboration, interdependence, and a task.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">Similarly and differently: </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">The duty of the Social Practitioner</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">The common social practitioner carefully selects an audience who is different than the common ticket buyers, and this audience will be active within her new project. We will refer to this active audience as the <i style="">orchestra</i>. Though the social practitioner has invited the orchestra to perform, she is not going to entertain them, pay them, or control them. She invites the orchestra to define the project.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">It seems ridiculous that a social practitioner would work with an orchestra. For this reason we will refer to her as a <i style="">conductor—</i>so be it. The relationship between the conductor and her selected group of participants is based on a common goal—the project.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">We will call the public unveiling of the project the <i style="">concert</i>. In this model, the orchestra will be active and attentive in a situation where they are chosen for the quality of sound they produce and its relevance to the conductor’s song. The <i style="">conductor</i> often creates a structure for participation in or around a <i style="">rehearsal </i>schedule.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">The production of a <i style="">conductor</i> often begins with research based on personal interest or longing. Based on her quest, she will propose a program to an Institution or a Venue. She may or may not have been invited to submit said proposal.<span style=""> </span>In the proposal she defines the basic structure of the work— for the sake of this extended metaphor, she describes a series of songs performed by an orchestra over the duration of a weekend to Carnegie Hall. In her proposal, she informs the committee that her research has led her to these songs because of their rich and obscure history, for example, and because it originated in the town next to that of her great-great-great-grandfather. Her submission does not include the complex process of finding her orchestra, designing and negotiating how they will play their instruments, or that she does not actually know exactly how the piece will sound.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">As she holds auditions for the orchestra, she performs her chosen self, whether it is her ‘genuine’ self or another character. This self shifts with every project. The way a conductor models herself from the audition to concert sets the tone for the collaboration, representing the type of action, interdependence, rigor and comedy that the musicians will take on. Perhaps she wears a tuxedo to auditions.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">The conductor<b style=""> </b>unifies<b style=""> </b>performers, sets the tempo, executes clear preparations and beats, and listens critically in order to shape the sound of the ensemble. In rehearsal, she listens closely to the qualities naturally present in the sound of the musicians, always referencing her original research for guidance. She is attempting to invent a system for the people playing their instruments to create a sound that is entirely theirs, and simultaneously to honor the song and its context (which was written for different people, with different instruments). In the process of listening to the orchestra, the conductor develops an intimate understanding of the musicians, and she forms the arrangement of the song around their sound. A long series of rehearsals leading to a concert builds a complex relationship between the conductor and the musicians, and at best, interdependence happens. This relationship is represented by the staged re-enactment at the concert.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">On stage the conductor represents leadership and continuity, as it has been cultivated in rehearsal. The orchestra knows what to do when they are on stage. During the final performance, which we have been referencing as the <i style="">concert</i>, she gives visual cues to support and elevate feelings and sounds already familiar to the performers. If the conductor wasn’t there for the performance, the concert could go on. Why is she still there?</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Baskerville;">The language of the conductor in <i style="">concert</i> is typically created with body movements, specifically the waving of hands and wands. One hand often keeps tempo while the other might indicate pitch or punctuation.<span style=""> </span>Communication is non-verbal during a performance—this is a melodramatic performance of absolute leadership, but do not be fooled! She is not mute! In </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rehearsal"><span style="font-family: Baskerville; color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">rehearsal</span></a><span style="font-family: Baskerville;"> frequent interruptions by the conductor allow for verbal interactions. The face is also an important source of instruction—eyebrow manipulation and the force of the eye, as well as jaw action, indicate spirit and intensity. This language might offer cues for speed, tempo, or intensity. It is cultivated as a temporary dialect that is buried in a piece, specific to the song or the group of musicians. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Baskerville;">The conductor’s instructions and actions are most affective when they are consistent and clear, and when that happens, a form for the relationship between <i style="">conductor</i> and musician can be built, trusted, and manipulated. Good rapport is essential, so that the orchestra members feel comfortable and confident in their abilities to provide meaningful contributions to the collective sound. The orchestra performs as one, but individual musicians must be able to experience the music and play autonomously, so that they can practice at home.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Baskerville;">The relationship of the conductor to her live audience will be called relationship 2.</span><i style=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Baskerville;"> </span></i><i style=""><span style="font-family: Baskerville;"><span style=""> </span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">The audience sees the back of the conductor. The conductor does not perform to the audience directly, though her ticket sales and appreciation from her public will win her success and money. She speaks indirectly-- through the orchestra.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Baskerville;">In Relationship 2, the conductor deceives the audience. They accept an illusion: that this performance is a live collaboration between the orchestra and the conductor. Along with this concession, the audience also accepts that they do not understand the nature of the relationship between the conductor and the orchestra or the narrative behind the piece that they are witnessing. There is no trace of, nor an opportunity to question what the interpersonal conflicts or struggles were that led to this public presentation of the piece.<span style=""> </span>There is willingness among the audience to misunderstand, or not understand, and then to witness the results of a possibly long-term collaboration.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Baskerville;">To the orchestra, the concert performance acts mainly as evidence and evaluation of the work accomplished rehearsals; but to the audience, the performance is the only thing. As we have previously discussed, the function of the on-stage relationship between the conductor and the orchestra is to make the performance of conducting-- specifically, the management of the group on stage-- look dramatic and vital when, in actuality, the orchestrated performers already know very well what to do. The conductor is making the rhythm of the music and the sounds visible for all to see, though she must look as if she is primarily performing this dance for the orchestra, who are playing along with the facade that they are fully dependent upon the arm-waving cues to inform the spirit and pace of the piece. Thus, the conductor’s body faces the orchestra, while her back is to the audience. The audience needs this. Their evaluation of the choreography of the rhetorical instructions to the orchestra is based on the quality of the sound produced. They understand the symbolic presence on stage of the conductor. They are happy to see her back as she reenacts her work.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Baskerville;">With her back to the audience, the conductor turns her face away from those that buy the tickets.<span style=""> </span>Her work on stage is to signify her real work, which is finished now. She is not valued for her personality, her stage presence, her choreography. The sounds produced through her labors are not about her.<span style=""> </span>She did not write the music that is being played. The conductor did not create a sound by rubbing things together, blowing or plucking anything. Is she a musician, is she an organizer, is she a performer, or is she just a figurehead?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">Her relationship with the space will be called relationship 3.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">The space where the orchestra is seen is always a place, sometimes even an entity, with specific expectations and requirements, a relationship to a funding source that might necessitate a bureaucracy as well as an architectural form. The form affects the performance and experience of the orchestra with specific aesthetic and sound qualities.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">As described in relationship 1, the process of developing an orchestral project began for the conductor when she sent a proposal, possibly unsolicited, to an Institution or Venue that she has been following, in this case Carnegie Hall. Based on their mission statement it seemed they might support projects like hers. She was seeking fiscal support and a place to rehearse, perform. She was also seeking a publicity campaign, managed by the marketing department, funded by the Institution, with access to the large mailing list.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">The conductor knows that the space affects the meaning of the performance. The qualities of the physical space, as well as its history, attract a specific type of audience.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">Our conductor must transform out of her role as orchestra leader when she interacts with the Institution or Venue. She must perform the role of a responsible, organized, and accomplished professional. In this character, she must clearly explain her project (playing a few songs from the town next to her great-great-great-grandpa’s village) in a way that the administration will appreciate and understand as practical, organized, and relevant to their mission statement.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;">The negotiation between the creative processes within the orchestra and the bureaucratic rigidity of an Institution trains the conductor as a diplomat. The self-promotion, communication, inspiration, collaboration, and relationships that develop all the while with her back to her audience is a performance of many selves and for many audiences. The social practitioner who is the conductor, who was accidentally trained as a diplomat, is moving through borders that define function, class, attitude, and intention. She is always being something. She is probably always running a little late.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Baskerville;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Baskerville;"> </span></p>CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-67799342281028275162011-04-14T20:46:00.000-07:002011-04-14T21:31:02.784-07:00Is it Time?<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzLfofKkTvoNAjAW6Hu0fKbHVJrK7T3YvSRbZ8VD_cfSpSWVI8mTqa6TndQ0l67ybgZ8dr9UO50VXlhz9la4A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-4977802427024200622011-04-14T20:02:00.001-07:002011-04-14T20:04:11.684-07:00what may or may not be happening<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMmTPcAOnhVZmHbCMrWwWqvxPI3NvsHezFJOAUD_yiYO2WSShpKm4NEgm4OBJSbyHT9AY4XmSI_a0X1o_aLcGDpqH9ifr3SMaNhcDDUaXPUsh1IOiPyWrTW5Neg47cB6TTUm_eWw0aew/s1600/facebookref.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 455px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMmTPcAOnhVZmHbCMrWwWqvxPI3NvsHezFJOAUD_yiYO2WSShpKm4NEgm4OBJSbyHT9AY4XmSI_a0X1o_aLcGDpqH9ifr3SMaNhcDDUaXPUsh1IOiPyWrTW5Neg47cB6TTUm_eWw0aew/s400/facebookref.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595640507570833234" border="0" /></a><br /><img src="file:///private/tmp/cthornton.Caches/TemporaryItems/moz-screenshot.png" alt="" />CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-23271625462487973712011-04-12T10:12:00.000-07:002011-04-12T10:16:56.079-07:00Legal forms<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.awakeninthenow.com/aitn/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/draft_lens7700811module65018471photo_1256524790freedom.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 399px;" src="http://www.awakeninthenow.com/aitn/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/draft_lens7700811module65018471photo_1256524790freedom.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />"But if you recognize that nature too has rights, and (if you provide) legal forms to protect and preserve those rights, then you can achieve balance."<br /><br />I don't know.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.genocidepreventionmonth.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Free-Legal-Forms.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 625px; height: 415px;" src="http://www.genocidepreventionmonth.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Free-Legal-Forms.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br />Read more: <a style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153);" href="http://www.canada.com/document+would+give+Mother+Earth+same+rights+humans/4597840/story.html#ixzz1JKW6wCWo">http://www.canada.com/document+would+give+Mother+Earth+same+rights+humans/4597840/story.html#ixzz1JKW6wCWo</a><br /></div>CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-173791484040592582011-04-09T00:41:00.000-07:002011-04-09T00:42:04.868-07:00Why Wikileaks is an art project by V.Vale<div style="margin: 0px;"><span><b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span>1. MESSAGE FROM YOUR EDITOR, V. VALE: Earlier we advocated, "Give Pfc Bradley Manning The Nobel Prize!"As our specialty is TRULY ALTERNATIVE HISTORY & CREATIVITY, just for fun we will now advocate that WikiLeaks, probably all along, has been THE MOST IMPORTANT **ART PROJECT** OF OUR TIMES (late 2010-2011).</b></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span><b><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>So: Why is WikiLeaks an ART PROJECT? 10 Reasons...</b></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span>1. </span>The INTERNET is the most important NEW ART TERRITORIALITY encompassing the dimensions of TIME and IMMEDIATE REFLEXIVITY, whose aesthetics & technologies are slowly being deduced, deconstructed, reconstructed and recombined...</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span>2. Art Makes You Think, Redefine, </span>Recategorize, <wbr>Reassess, Recontextualize, & Reevaluate. Art Changes the Way You Look at the World. Art Changes the Way you Draw Boundaries, the way you Frame "Reality." So does WikiLeaks.</div><div style="margin: 0px;">3. What WikiLeaks has exposed makes one REthink the entire media/communications landscape, and illuminates the tropes of the backroom secrecy that has dominated politics since the world began.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span>4. Art questions power dynamics, power relationships, and exposes hidden agendas and imperatives while adding emotional/aesthetic backgrounding. Gericault's painting of "The Raft of the Medusa" illuminated and immortalized a scandalous cover-up of the time; WikiLeaks exposes manifold cover-ups of our time which go viral.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span>5. WikiLeaks represents a populist, bottom-up, information-sharing technology revolution reflecting the Do-It-Yourself, Anyone-Can-Do-It Punk Principle. Punk Rock was the social-critical art movement of its time, and WikiLeaks is continuing that imperative...</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span>6. Art predicts, foreshadows and adumbrates future social change, and so, hopefully, does WikiLeaks.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span>7. Duchamp stated that "The Spectator completes the Work of Art." Numerous spectator/contributors continuously are completing the ongoing Art Project that is WikiLeaks...</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span>8. New technologies make New Art possible. If the Internet is today's most futuristic art medium, then WikiLeaks embodies the cutting edge of art criticism and theory, but from an Empiricist rather than neo-Platonic orientation...</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span>9. WikiLeaks embodies a crazy-quilt, non-centrist, satirical-sardonic public facade, just as 21st-Century Art is characterized by continuous border-crossings and new hybrid-forms embodying dark humor and philosophical skepticism...</span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span>10. The purpose of Art is to Inspire, Enliven, Enlighten and Expand Aesthetics. That's exactly what WikiLeaks does by the sheer, perplexing beauty of its Anti-Authority, Anti-Totalitarian Information Revolution-Which-Anyone-Can-<wbr>Contribute-To...</span></div>CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-15692624574678118522011-04-04T15:02:00.001-07:002011-04-04T15:02:53.904-07:00My work<style>@font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <p class="MsoNormal">If I just keep prying things, this whole thing might fall apart.<span style=""> </span>Or else nothing will happen, again.<span style=""> </span>No one saw me prying.<span style=""> </span>I was hiding because I knew other people who really know the hows and whys of prying would just laugh at me and my last of strategy for bringing the whole thing down.<span style=""> </span>So while I am prying, I am covering up my work with my forearm, ever so subtly, just in case an expert comes by and shows me a better way.<span style=""> </span>That would be the worst.<span style=""> </span>Because then they would save me from all this prying, which was supposed to take all my energy for the next long while, which is so much better than finishing this prying, bringing the whole thing down, and being left with nothing to do, and a false sense of accomplishment.<span style=""> </span>I want to feel the process of discovery within the bringing of this shit to its knees, but the truth is that I know that other people are already working on it and doing a great job.<span style=""> </span>And they really enjoy the work.<span style=""> </span>They’ve invited all their friends to help them, and they are drinking coronas while they chip away—they are celebrating because they have almost finished.<span style=""> </span>I hope they don’t see me, because my progress is so slow, and I would be so embarrassed that I thought I would do all this work myself.<span style=""> </span>I just got here with this screwdriver and I started wedging it into shit, and I assumed that I would finish, somehow, though I hadn’t visualized the way that that would happen.<span style=""> </span>Maybe I don’t know what it is to finish prying things off, but it’s probably not going to make that big of a difference either way.<span style=""> </span>I just wanted something to keep myself busy with, with a sense of progress and great benefits until I am done working.</p>CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-3460599290610187762011-03-31T14:48:00.000-07:002011-03-31T17:40:40.593-07:00Telling Time To Go Back<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4kxESziAYEVwvh0-gTNr_hlVJG5CGjpTnmgn49V1bXjPsjuI-0sVNrnI5wGXFUdzRJyLCu-Ac2gjBbwaH9t9ZKHlI-U92UYbjT309WQn4JvjR0IWAPgGyZ1GFF6xLeWHliSrxRatl0nE/s1600/april.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4kxESziAYEVwvh0-gTNr_hlVJG5CGjpTnmgn49V1bXjPsjuI-0sVNrnI5wGXFUdzRJyLCu-Ac2gjBbwaH9t9ZKHlI-U92UYbjT309WQn4JvjR0IWAPgGyZ1GFF6xLeWHliSrxRatl0nE/s400/april.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590364705196601778" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL1do-4r65nq1Q1MJmXj1rWQMvjamnoscgqQOA-r9NU5Wfzs2m1o1D_jIAy1zxq3jsrL5y_ZHFT-NXZJ2MoOQcEtppuEOXZCgvnKmLMssmYooarEaXPwsdlJATtgo8GqKMwfce2kXvOWk/s1600/calendartoprint1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL1do-4r65nq1Q1MJmXj1rWQMvjamnoscgqQOA-r9NU5Wfzs2m1o1D_jIAy1zxq3jsrL5y_ZHFT-NXZJ2MoOQcEtppuEOXZCgvnKmLMssmYooarEaXPwsdlJATtgo8GqKMwfce2kXvOWk/s400/calendartoprint1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590364702249021282" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0KGVhw-MLQDGSMPjADEUOjeE6Icd4bKsoqSIv6fLqaw5UmkdewJoPJs6bFIXDMRlDhbY9E4Y3F7QAACHGqW4etRohqEg9Veoa1aFBVoi8agfMmjKc9vUgNXrWBAN374hF81dYc_Bt7c/s1600/blankestcalendar.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0KGVhw-MLQDGSMPjADEUOjeE6Icd4bKsoqSIv6fLqaw5UmkdewJoPJs6bFIXDMRlDhbY9E4Y3F7QAACHGqW4etRohqEg9Veoa1aFBVoi8agfMmjKc9vUgNXrWBAN374hF81dYc_Bt7c/s400/blankestcalendar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590364690605487346" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8sFg5jr6ZmlGJxQFcv7Q927IsJiDV_Q6DeIbbi3GSXS2Hi4TaFHWbM1dFMObm9JskOFr7VYXnXakzhnkCeG1o0rrzJuFxYOKJvFhQK5buq5v5K5JsMR44kNkMm8oD3v6ppt2gIWgCMzs/s1600/aprilforevent.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 291px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8sFg5jr6ZmlGJxQFcv7Q927IsJiDV_Q6DeIbbi3GSXS2Hi4TaFHWbM1dFMObm9JskOFr7VYXnXakzhnkCeG1o0rrzJuFxYOKJvFhQK5buq5v5K5JsMR44kNkMm8oD3v6ppt2gIWgCMzs/s400/aprilforevent.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590364688947613682" border="0" /></a>CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-34214907518773996662011-03-19T16:19:00.000-07:002011-03-19T16:50:11.187-07:00What is it. It is imagined, it is not anything.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuARDv0U3XCFZaFpOzR65YrKmtElx5fg3mmOZoxXDAasZHE52Gq56anCbp8VKlrUtXX1i-9JXrJ2S2Z1BIGfYKcBCQ1KLgQBidgbfh6OSSy9XQ_gVaDONoOGOKdi0KrxHXK01B3LYFxRo/s1600/Imagined-Communities-9781844670864.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 275px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuARDv0U3XCFZaFpOzR65YrKmtElx5fg3mmOZoxXDAasZHE52Gq56anCbp8VKlrUtXX1i-9JXrJ2S2Z1BIGfYKcBCQ1KLgQBidgbfh6OSSy9XQ_gVaDONoOGOKdi0KrxHXK01B3LYFxRo/s400/Imagined-Communities-9781844670864.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585935952159665330" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqmUA-eMjF7Ne2699F-Wv170GPzBImos-emOeC7ZfiEGyAScRWXhVjdspHz_JFei8UkZXjazg9O5SHjHYBfE0u5RJG3NsHkqysgtGsH8NeEyXbbxgUhQ6nzhYF6gJCwXboCk0XWkn0SDs/s1600/imaginedrelationships.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 274px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqmUA-eMjF7Ne2699F-Wv170GPzBImos-emOeC7ZfiEGyAScRWXhVjdspHz_JFei8UkZXjazg9O5SHjHYBfE0u5RJG3NsHkqysgtGsH8NeEyXbbxgUhQ6nzhYF6gJCwXboCk0XWkn0SDs/s400/imaginedrelationships.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585935949385405266" border="0" /></a><br /><div class="header"><h2 class="me">na·tion</h2><span class="pronset"><span id="nonfav"></span><span class="show_ipapr" style="display: none;"><span class="prondelim">/</span><span class="pron">ˈneɪ<img class="luna-Img" src="http://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.png" alt="" border="0" />ʃən</span><span class="prondelim">/</span> <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/IPA_pron_key.html" target="_blank"><img class="luna-Img" src="http://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif" border="0" /></a> <span class="pron_toggle" style="display: inline;"><a class="pronlink" alt="Toggle for Spelled" title="Click to show spelled">Show Spelled</a></span></span><span class="show_spellpr" style="display: block; margin-top: 8px;"><span class="prondelim">[</span><span class="pron"><span class="boldface">ney</span>-sh<span class="ital-inline">uh</span><img class="luna-Img" src="http://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.png" alt="" border="0" />n</span><span class="prondelim">]</span> <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/Spell_pron_key.html" target="_blank"><img class="luna-Img" src="http://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif" border="0" /></a> <span class="pron_toggle" style="display: inline;"><a class="pronlink" alt="Toggle for IPA" title="Click to show IPA">Show IPA</a></span></span></span> </div><div class="body"><div class="pbk"><span class="pg"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">–noun</span> </span></span><div class="luna-Ent"><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">1.</span> </span></span><div class="dndata"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">large</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">body</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> </span><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/people">people</a><span id="hotword">, <span id="hotword" name="hotword">associated</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">with</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">particular</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">territory,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">that</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">is</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">sufficiently</span> </span><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/conscious">conscious</a><span id="hotword"> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">its</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">unity</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">seek</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">possess</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">government</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">peculiarly</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">its</span> <span style="cursor: default;color:transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword" >own:</span> </span><span class="ital-inline"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">The</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">president</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">spoke</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> </span><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/the">the</a><span id="hotword"> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">nation</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">about</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">new</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">tax.</span> </span></span></div></div><div class="luna-Ent"><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">2.</span> </span></span><div class="dndata"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">territory</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">country</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">itself:</span> </span><span class="ital-inline"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span style="cursor: default;color:transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword" >nations</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">Central</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">America.</span> </span></span></div></div><div class="luna-Ent"><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">3.</span> </span></span><div class="dndata"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">member</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">tribe</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">an</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">American</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">Indian</span> <span style="cursor: default;color:transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword" >confederation.</span> </span></div></div><div class="luna-Ent"><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">4.</span> </span></span><div class="dndata"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">an</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">aggregation</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">persons</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">same</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">ethnic</span> </span><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/family">family</a><span id="hotword">, <span id="hotword" name="hotword">often</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">speaking</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">same</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">language</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">cognate</span> <span style="cursor: default;color:transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword" >languages.<br /><br /></span></span><div class="header"><h2 class="me">coun·try</h2><span class="pronset"><span id="nonfav"></span><span class="show_ipapr" style="display: none;"><span class="prondelim">/</span><span class="pron">ˈkʌn<img class="luna-Img" src="http://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.png" alt="" border="0" />tri</span><span class="prondelim">/</span> <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/IPA_pron_key.html" target="_blank"><img class="luna-Img" src="http://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif" border="0" /></a> <span class="pron_toggle" style="display: inline;"><a class="pronlink" alt="Toggle for Spelled" title="Click to show spelled">Show Spelled</a> </span></span><span class="show_spellpr" style="display: block; margin-top: 8px;"><span class="prondelim">[</span><span class="pron"><span class="boldface">kuhn</span>-tree</span><span class="prondelim">]</span> <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/Spell_pron_key.html" target="_blank"><img class="luna-Img" src="http://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif" border="0" /></a> <span class="pron_toggle" style="display: inline;"><a class="pronlink" alt="Toggle for IPA" title="Click to show IPA">Show IPA</a> </span></span></span><span class="pg"><span id="hotword"><span style="cursor: default;color:transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword" >noun,</span> </span></span><span class="pg"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">plural</span> </span></span><span class="secondary-bf"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">-tries,</span> </span></span> <span class="pg"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">adjective</span> </span></span> </div><div class="pbk"><span class="pg"><span id="hotword"><span style="cursor: default;color:transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword" >–noun</span> </span></span><div class="luna-Ent"><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span style="cursor: default;color:transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword" >1.</span> </span></span><div class="dndata"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">state</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">nation:</span> </span><span class="ital-inline"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">What</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">European</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">countries</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">have</span> </span><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/you">you</a><span id="hotword"> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">visited?</span> </span></span></div></div><div class="luna-Ent"><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">2.</span> </span></span><div class="dndata"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">territory</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">nation.</span> </span></div></div><div class="luna-Ent"><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">3.</span> </span></span><div class="dndata"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> </span><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/people">people</a><span id="hotword"> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">district,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">state,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">nation:</span> </span><span class="ital-inline"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">The</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">whole</span> <span style="cursor: default;color:transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword" >country</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">backed</span> </span><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/the">the</a><span id="hotword"> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">president</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">in</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">his</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">decision.</span> </span></span></div></div><div class="luna-Ent"><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">4.</span> </span></span><div class="dndata"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">land</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">one's</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">birth</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span style="cursor: default;color:transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword" >citizenship.</span> </span></div></div><div class="luna-Ent"><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">5.</span> </span></span><div class="dndata"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">rural</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">districts,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">including</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">farmland,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">parkland,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">and</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">other</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">sparsely</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">populated</span> <span style="cursor: default;color:transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword" >areas,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">as</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">opposed</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">cities</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">towns:</span> </span><span class="ital-inline"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">Many</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">city</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">dwellers</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">like</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">spend</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">their</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">vacations</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">in</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">country.</span> </span></span></div></div><div class="luna-Ent"><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">6.</span> </span></span><div class="dndata"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">any</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">considerable</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">territory</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">demarcated</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">by</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">topographical</span> <span style="cursor: default;color:transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword" >conditions,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">by</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">distinctive</span> </span><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/population">population</a><span id="hotword">, <span id="hotword" name="hotword">etc.:</span> </span><span class="ital-inline"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">mountainous</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">country;</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">Amish</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">country</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">Pennsylvania.</span> </span></span></div></div><div class="luna-Ent"><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">7.</span> </span></span><div class="dndata"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">tract</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">land</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">considered</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">apart</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">from</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">any</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">geographical</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">political</span> <span style="cursor: default;color:transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword" >limits;</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">region;</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">district.</span> </span></div></div><div class="luna-Ent"><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">8.</span> </span></span><div class="dndata"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">public.</span> </span></div></div><div class="luna-Ent"><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">9.</span> </span></span><div class="dndata"><span class="labset"><span class="ital-inline"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">Law</span> </span></span><span id="hotword">. </span></span><span id="hotword"><span style="cursor: default;color:transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword" >the</span> <span style="cursor: default;color:transparent;" id="hotword" name="hotword" >public</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">at</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">large,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">as</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">represented</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">by</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">jury.</span> </span></div></div><div class="luna-Ent"><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">10.</span> </span></span><div class="dndata"><span><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/country+music" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">country </a><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/music">music</a><span id="hotword">. </span></span></div></div></div><br /></div></div></div></div>CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-89840734886296137732011-03-15T21:59:00.000-07:002011-03-15T22:06:09.981-07:00My belly was my sun-dial<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoShw5TCl6pI8jKSkM9QOKCcn2IYxmMNc6Bf8oH5U5G_nXfe6qbgoaa0aRSwiGHMDIJB-AS_jVanMtXM9EMqCCUlqbGpOazOHD99m5bp-nlNlMdbww8UlazKbhcZX5vBMiyEsU3tD4xU/s1600/sundialoclock.gif"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoShw5TCl6pI8jKSkM9QOKCcn2IYxmMNc6Bf8oH5U5G_nXfe6qbgoaa0aRSwiGHMDIJB-AS_jVanMtXM9EMqCCUlqbGpOazOHD99m5bp-nlNlMdbww8UlazKbhcZX5vBMiyEsU3tD4xU/s400/sundialoclock.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584539278830737730" border="0" /></a><br />The gods confound the man who first found out<br />How to distinguish hours! Confound him, too,<br />Who in this place set up a sun-dial,<br />To cut and hack my days so wretchedly<br />Into small portions. When I was a boy,<br />My belly was my sun-dial; one more sure,<br />Truer, and more exact than any of them.<br />This dial told me when twas prper time<br />To go to dinner, when I had aught to eat.<br />But now-a-days, why even when I have,<br />I can't fall-to, unless the sun give leave.<br />The greater part of its inhabitants,<br />Shrunk up with hunger, creep along the streets!<br /><br />Plautus (d. 184 B.C.)<br />p. 28 of The Discoverers, Daniel BoorstinCAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-20866867033661940722011-03-14T13:04:00.000-07:002011-03-14T13:08:00.471-07:00There is nothing left for imagination<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rzqMljEPdd8?fs=1" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="295" width="480"></iframe>CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-53989424491408389052011-03-13T03:15:00.000-07:002011-03-14T15:42:17.375-07:00Sympathies, an open proposal.Open proposal: Sympathies, an event that is aware of so many other events.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Sympathy</span> is:<br />1. Sameness of feeling<br />2. action or response arising from this<br />3. agreement in qualities, harmony, accord<br />4. a mutual liking or understanding arising from the sameness of feeling<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKDy1HkqfEpF2yQHPUAncUrUtoKao7LCYeF_J5VbiG6-z0d7OGxkiYK-v8YoHxbPCVmT0afPqLZZg53F2WG70uC6i2z5UyI_oARyZwVTI2PfngxcGJ_cwnxKAedPsXTCm75Oi6FBoNfI/s1600/sympathies3.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKDy1HkqfEpF2yQHPUAncUrUtoKao7LCYeF_J5VbiG6-z0d7OGxkiYK-v8YoHxbPCVmT0afPqLZZg53F2WG70uC6i2z5UyI_oARyZwVTI2PfngxcGJ_cwnxKAedPsXTCm75Oi6FBoNfI/s400/sympathies3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583506484407409154" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Sympathies</span> are:<br />Events where we gather to show our fiercest sympathy. We hold signs without words. The posterboard and the language is replaced by mirrors. We amble, we look, we sympathize.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Don't think <span style="font-style: italic;">Hallmark Card Sympathy</span>, think about how you feel about<br />Egyptian Revolutionaries, Wisconsin Workers, Planned Parenthood Supporters. <br />Question the 'form' of 'protest' in your life. How do you deal with the savageness that so many other people experience when you are comfortable, and maybe even happy? <br />Is it possible to design a new form for our own rebellion?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">How.</span> As training, I would like to hold a series of walks for people who are captivated, frightened, worried, and unclear about what to do about so many overwhelming upheavals in the world. With mirrors as our protest signs, we will walk and think about what we are and where. We will look at things, see ourselves where we are, see what others see, and look at eachother. We show or feel sympathy for what we see when we see it, where we are. Meanwhile we think of those who are breaking, or almost broken, revolting against forces as big as nations and tsunamis. For many people who are only surviving recent events, there is no meanwhile to take notice of, meanwhile is a privilege. Let us celebrate the meanwhile, offer sympathy, and focus in on the wonder and the disaster of everywhere we are. <br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" >fellow feelings, of like feelings.<br />1. Sameness of feeling<br />2. action or response arising from this<br />3. agreement in qualities, harmony, accord<br />4. a mutual liking or understanding arising from the sameness of feeling<br />5. The entering into or ability to enter into another person's mental state, feelings, emotions<br />6. In physics, a relation or harmony between bodies of such a nature that vibrations in one cause a sympathetic vibration in the other<br />7. In physiology, a relation between parts of the body of such a nature that a disorder in one induces a disorder in the other<br />8. A supposed tendency of certain things to unite or act on eachother.</span>CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-91374808274950044752011-03-12T22:39:00.000-08:002011-03-12T22:43:41.441-08:00Actual Products Intensify Print Quality<h2 id="post-270"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Today I attended an afternoon workshop at SF Camerawork led by Ariel Goldberg, sponsored by Nonsite Collective. This is what happened to me:</span></span><br /></h2>This trip was fraught, as it was only a picture in a picture in a picture, and no one knew who would ultimately be looking at the photos, the final images from the outside.<span style=""> </span>Only we know that the print quality gets better when the product is in the image, or rather when there is a product, not just an imagined one or a referenced one, but a real 4 color product.<span style=""> </span>Its either that or it’s a sense of responsibility that will help the image quality improve.<span style=""> </span>Take ownership of this experience and get into the photo’s shoes, try to sympathize with the paper quality or the texture of the vinyl, and have the self discipline to understand how hard it must be to print on such a low thread count.<span style=""> </span>Feel how impossible it must be to exist with so much tooth that even the simplest image gets distorted when it is merges with you.<span style=""> </span> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The distracting part of all this is that from the get go, no matter if there is ever paper or vinyl, there is or was a photographer, or we hope that there was, and they will never experience texture.<span style=""> </span>But what if the camera was just set on automatic, and if it even cleans its own lenses?<span style=""> </span>What if all the cameras now clean their own lenses?<span style=""> </span>If the lens is always clean, and the photos are always taken at the right time, or every time, on a schedule, then is there nothing behind this photo, is it just a trace of the automation?<span style=""> </span>And the self healing, self sufficient, selfless photographer who never has to take a picture, who can’t even properly dirty the lens?<span style=""> </span>If looking at photos is a mechanical process, which seems to be the case, and taking the picture is too, and they clean their own lenses, then what are you doing?<span style=""> </span>If we enjoy the look of taking photos, the ethos, the freedom of association, the inside jokes and the body language, then we would also probably really enjoy the cleaning of the lenses.<span style=""> </span>It’s good to be needed, you know?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I would like to step up to the podium.<span style=""> </span>I would like to propose a camera club, where we all focus on the maintenance of the camera.<span style=""> </span>We turn off the auto clean function and we enjoy the cycle of the dirtying of the lens, and then of course we enjoy the cleaning of the lens, which we do by hand, with two hands and a handkerchief, just like before time.<span style=""> </span>The lens is so transparent when we clean it, and it could be totally self satisfied, but the truth is that you can’t stand to leave it alone.<span style=""> </span>Don’t let it clean itself, because once it is clean, it becomes everything it could ever be, its total potential is maxed out, and then where else does it have to go?<span style=""> </span>There’s nowhere but up to go until you’re at the top, and then you are pure, clean, alone.<span style=""> </span>And it’s just a lens, and that is not the life worth seeing through.<span style=""> </span>This clean lens obsession and maybe eventually the camera needs to consider whether the lens is a healthy part of its body, or if it should be removable.<span style=""> </span>Its amazing what goes into an automatic image of chance, the lens must be so clean, it must almost not be there. </p>CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-51748964285427580202011-03-11T13:04:00.000-08:002011-03-14T13:07:02.500-07:00The Language of the Socially Good<style>@font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <p class="MsoNormal">The community of the untold story: it takes one individual to advocate on behalf of the artisans and create the mission. To create new formulas to institute a new training strategy of healthiness, a system of health by a team from a team of doctors, scientists, artists and film makers. A 2 prong effort with everyone in the field, creating outreach to create funding.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Why is this so hard?<span style=""> </span>Inspired by health issues the investment of wonder is on the market.<span style=""> </span>Imagine being a family of real environmental nightmare strategy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">First, identify creative leaders of the community where everyone is watching.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The successful transition and what was exciting is you’ve removed the teaching barriers-- we took him to the intrenational market problems strategy. 25 community members transitioned to prohibit development, trading in the field, developing with the other, softer voices for the long term benefit of design training.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In our workshop these drawings, a local production, as well as the safety or luxury of time. It shows the deep connection to place she was inspired by herself. <span style=""> </span>The challenges were being fused with and the strong market funding dried up, challenging for sustainable funding to keep this continuing for the community.<span style=""> </span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">For the innovative on going dynamic as well as models, sociologists, better prepared to tackle the community from the field.<span style=""> </span>If you can’t sustain yourself, you can feel the life, its made by hand from the plan to the land, from the soil to the market, this is coming of age.<span style=""> </span>Preserve these rich traditions, learning how to create new models of reproduceable engagement to a deeper appreciation of stones and connection to culture of community, desiring celebration.</p>CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-14883790729396504652011-03-11T12:27:00.000-08:002011-03-11T12:30:55.741-08:00Social Craft Explanation// We are going to Bangalore<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzqPaz9uMj0M-8yLO3iYOnSkpJXLWTWq8arCSCpjjMkYmi5vD2cX_-9Q0eZH9eyPzSSfNuP7PFR5UaexnhmE_3ZCTZ6mmE84K9OYsMAGZQu-BVvZOuIpGUObP4d3QKfCwgb085tmCKwa4/s1600/contract.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzqPaz9uMj0M-8yLO3iYOnSkpJXLWTWq8arCSCpjjMkYmi5vD2cX_-9Q0eZH9eyPzSSfNuP7PFR5UaexnhmE_3ZCTZ6mmE84K9OYsMAGZQu-BVvZOuIpGUObP4d3QKfCwgb085tmCKwa4/s400/contract.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582922312579039554" border="0" /></a>Lets now look closely at Social Craft.<br /><br />Social Craft is a framework and a method of valuing and studying the<br />minutia of every day experiences.<br />Please take out your magnifying glass. While holding it in your left<br />hand, stick your right index finger through the center of the glass.<br />Hold it up to your eye to examine this experience.<br /><br />Through the use of magnifying glasses we can see what we often only look at...<br />By observing the experiences that we often take for granted, we stand<br />to learn more of their truth and essence. If we magnify our daily<br />routines and use them as sources of physical, mental, emotional, and<br />social learning, education becomes universally available and equal.<br />Social Craft honors the syllabus of your life. Your life begins at<br />home.<br /><br />When I think of how I do what I do, it all goes back to what I saw and learned from<br />home. I had to clean underneath the table as well as the top of it, and now, not<br />coincidentally, I find myself looking underneath everything I do. I find my interests<br />to be in finding and attending to hidden details, shining them up or deciding to leave<br />them hidden. I don’t think it is a stretch to say that my love of secret details and my<br />thoroughness has come to be out of a rigorous weekly Saturday house cleaning.<br /><br />Home is our first curriculum. It is where we learn many of the<br />systems for navigating life. We think it is the best place to start<br />to study and to practice social craft. To formalize the home as a<br />site of learning, we will study its physical structure, its relation<br />to the body, and its ritual use. Our class will build and use a house.<br />Its use as a site of learning will make it a home.<br /><br />The discussion of ‘ home’ in India is complex, and cannot be parsed<br />without acknowledging the domestic laborers that cohabit with many families. There is<br />a movement in Bangalore to unionize private household workers, and from afar<br />this seems to be a cultural phenomenon that is currently being questioned in<br />the media and the art world. The domestic labor industry extends to<br />many homes- not just of the rich, but across most social strata from<br />lower middle class and above, wherein maids, cooks, and caretakers complete the<br />concept and experience of Indian family life.<br />In speaking to friends in India, I have learned that these workers are not considered to<br />be employees nor family members, but rather are seen as an undefined aspect of the<br />household.<br />We are interested in understanding the social aspects of the Indian home and<br />acknowledging the expertise that accrues in the process of developing and keeping it as<br />a viable enterprise. Not only witnessing, but taking an objective look at domestic labor-<br />- valuing it as a formative part of human development and education-- will no doubt have<br />an impact on how participants see their own relationship to home and home workers.<br /><br />To begin our exploration of home and work, we will hire 4 local experts, versed in<br />homemaking. They are a real estate agent, a vedic architect, a matriarch, and a<br />builder. We will hire and compensate them as adjunct faculty through<br />Srishti, opening up the question of class and academic status. We hope to see their homes<br />and seek their assistance in building a house, understanding its maintenance<br />and practices, and finding the art and education inherent in it. We<br />are working with srishti to devise a method of payment and contracts<br />that value them as a professor-- offering them the opportunity to<br />be professionally validated, and paid in a way that legitimizes their work with us to the<br />government and the institution of srishti, or not.<br /><br />We will meet with students daily to build a home, devise home<br />practices and to explode these as valuable learning experiences and<br />art practices. The radical nature of inserting the home inside a<br />school campus, as a physical structure and as a method for learning,<br />is not only poetic but speaks to the historical<br />synthesis of education from the home and the family.<br /><br />This home/school will happen through daily classes, where students and<br />experts become immersed in the design and building of a physical<br />structure, which will house the class. The daily maintenance of the<br />house generates a learning environment that encompasses the classes<br />collective idea of home. This idea will be informed by active<br />research and documentation of local housing and domestic politics.<br />We will invite Bangalore to a weekly series of open house events, where members of the<br />class will perform their research, exhibiting the functions of the home on campus.CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-71031602235125178592010-09-26T19:59:00.000-07:002010-09-26T20:04:59.299-07:00Manifest my Destiny (shopping list)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMGn0F_jZ4oNscwCTOdg_CHOx4JoGqHXAEaapQT_Gy2HRaiwmb-_FJywyueFazSHCLpmQ0bwfE8z7Ug8kCuP3AS3EIZMpfKYdAs-zjxyWbm28R22iNXF2noaOzpAtrVHbbla-67-6OEwg/s1600/IMAG0145.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMGn0F_jZ4oNscwCTOdg_CHOx4JoGqHXAEaapQT_Gy2HRaiwmb-_FJywyueFazSHCLpmQ0bwfE8z7Ug8kCuP3AS3EIZMpfKYdAs-zjxyWbm28R22iNXF2noaOzpAtrVHbbla-67-6OEwg/s400/IMAG0145.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521423371334344578" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLdI1Jp4HLhkb14Ax8W42Ndp7XhbWMjQMLvIzcG9RvpEVBFsIrkv6BxyyYguAngmSldKAEe9Cl9TK6JVITd3NzlkEm6RiHzOn9KUxYS1LKzOVdB0sqKqRju5e6PAZoi7p1TCXjMgJMwlk/s1600/IMAG0150.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLdI1Jp4HLhkb14Ax8W42Ndp7XhbWMjQMLvIzcG9RvpEVBFsIrkv6BxyyYguAngmSldKAEe9Cl9TK6JVITd3NzlkEm6RiHzOn9KUxYS1LKzOVdB0sqKqRju5e6PAZoi7p1TCXjMgJMwlk/s400/IMAG0150.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521423384770926994" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7puIUO_VbTvITtObD5GaJsP4IUJlXzhSopgyfoGL_BT7Raacqu2RIjf_FnMyB44bW7D2z6VairVb_hL1_9OeiK6HEX7vkOgyYBlFljtN1_RiPMIO5RSsQpnOTZSkFYzyHrV5fIT-uCfs/s1600/IMAG0147.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7puIUO_VbTvITtObD5GaJsP4IUJlXzhSopgyfoGL_BT7Raacqu2RIjf_FnMyB44bW7D2z6VairVb_hL1_9OeiK6HEX7vkOgyYBlFljtN1_RiPMIO5RSsQpnOTZSkFYzyHrV5fIT-uCfs/s400/IMAG0147.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521423363181980194" border="0" /></a><br />Since arriving on the west coast, I have been overwhelmed by the spiritual 'vibrations' so common in the vocabulary of pedestrian speech. For example, on many occasions I have been told to 'manifest' what I want to experience in my life. I was instructed to be specific and ask for exactly what I want from the universe.<br /><br />With critical awareness of spiritual capitalism, I have laughed for and with the people who bought commercially successful products including the book and video called 'The Secret' -- with the hope that they could break a hidden code of mind over matter. I like the notion that people desire to feel such freedom, responsibility, and control in their lives. Also, I don’t want to miss a great opportunity to get all the stuff I want, so I thought I would try out this potential new tool.<br /><br />As a way to get settled in my new neighborhood, acclimate to a new culture, and to remain efficient, I installed a shopping list on various electric poles and trees on my new block. The shopping list varied from posting to posting and included between 10 and 20 of the needs listed below. <br /><br />I designed this posting with respect to hidden indigenous codes, so I intuitively offered the passerby ‘freedom of response’. In the ‘spirit’, I listed two ways for people to help me manifest what I need through donations or through the gesture of burying a tab to help me get what I want. I also gave an option for needy people to wish for what they need by using one of these tabs for themselves.<br /><br />Here is the entire list of needs as displayed on the posters:<br />1. old analog or electric typewriter that works<br />2. working sewing machine<br />3. excellent boyfriend who bikes<br />4. electric kettle that works<br />5. good haircut (I have a terrible one in need of repair)<br />6. cordless drill with a good battery<br />7. nice old couch<br />8. good writing desk and chair<br />9. rich soil to start a garden<br />10. crock pot or rice cooker<br />11. new bike seat<br />12. old manuals or how to books with illustrations<br />13. old chandelier (working or not)<br />14. battery powered hot glue gun<br />15. house plants<br />16. tea pot<br />17. car repair services<br />18. small and medium size wheels for a bike trailer<br />19. copious amounts of fresh vegetables and fruits<br />20. a friend to go exploring with<br />21. water proof fabric/sail fabric<br />22. saw horses<br />23. old wood<br />24. record player<br />25. baking pans for bread<br />26. a great travel mug<br />27. battery powered lighting<br />28. ancient books of poetry with illustrations<br />29. magic lessons<br />30. light, aluminum 6 foot ladderCAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-84446558984264878762010-05-23T07:00:00.000-07:002010-05-23T07:15:31.433-07:00rockThe word poet in this professorship of poetry is a very general term for a person who puts things together in an era of great specialization wherein most people are differentiating or "taking" things apart. Demonstrated capability in the integration of ideas is the general qualification for this professorship.<br />Buckminster Fuller<br />|<br />|<br />|<br />V<br /><br />The most notable distinction between living and inanimate beings is that the former maintain themselves by renewal. A stone when struck resists. If its resistance is greater than the force of the blow struck, it remains outwardly unchanged. Otherwise, it is shattered into smaller bits. Never does the stone attempt to react in such a way that it may maintain itself against the blow, much less so as to render the blow a contributing factor to its own continued action.<br />John Dewey<br />|<br />|<br />|<br />V<br /><br />TODAY<br /> <br /> Oh! kangaroos, sequins, chocolate sodas!<br /> You really are beautiful! Pearls,<br /><br /> harmonicas, jujubes, aspirins! all<br /> the stuff they've always talked about<br /> <br /> still makes a poem a surprise!<br /> These things are with us every day<br /> even on beachheads and biers. They<br /><br /> do have meaning. They're strong as rocks.<br />Frank O'HaraCAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-80870606805273238482010-03-03T15:55:00.001-08:002010-03-03T15:55:30.965-08:00Grad school advice from FacebookGradschool? San Francisco? Opinions please!<br />February 20 at 2:49pm Only Friends · Comment · LikeUnlike · View Feedback (16)Hide Feedback (16)<br />Neil Freeman<br />Neil Freeman<br />Yes. Yes.<br />February 20 at 3:12pm ·<br />Matthew C. Wilson<br />Matthew C. Wilson<br />insufficient information for opinion generation<br />February 20 at 3:22pm ·<br />Paul Tyree-francis<br />Paul Tyree-francis<br />once you told me that you hated san francisco because it was like disneyland. i think you may like it there, however. especially the ocean and the dinosaur botany. but grad school? i always recall the verseless animal collective song with the chorus 'you don't have to go to college'. which school?<br />February 20 at 5:14pm ·<br />Carissa Carman<br />Carissa Carman<br />whoot whott. It's great! there!<br />February 20 at 5:35pm ·<br />Jon Byler<br />Jon Byler<br />only if they are paying. not worth the time if they make you pay. someone will pay for talent like you.<br />February 20 at 5:47pm ·<br />Jenny Zhang<br />Jenny Zhang<br />return on investment?<br />February 20 at 6:02pm ·<br />Erin Marie Sickler<br />Erin Marie Sickler<br />I think the MFA is essentially the carving out of significant time and space to perform the following activities:<br />*doing a whole lot of work badly, or, if not badly, without the pressure of being good<br />*engaging with a supportive and critical body of peers<br />*establishing a relationship with a mentor(s)<br />*getting a seal of approval from an institution... See More<br />*being able to put more emphasis on core art practice versus day job (perhaps setting up unrealistic expectations about life after grad school)<br />*being given an edited, and therefore more manageable (or censored), depiction of the relevant strains of art right now<br /><br />If you don't want these or can get them without paying for it, no need. If you want them or cannot, might be a good idea.<br /><br />San Francisco--unequivocally thumbs up!<br />February 20 at 6:14pm ·<br />Neil Freeman<br />Neil Freeman<br />Erin - I think that's a really good summing up of any grad school, and especially MFAs.<br />February 20 at 6:38pm ·<br />Jesi Khadivi<br />Jesi Khadivi<br />Where? CCA? Are you there now? I have some artists to recommend that i just discovered. I think one of them just completed an MFA there. Maybe she has insight? Why SF?<br />February 20 at 6:39pm ·<br />Carolyn Soling<br />Carolyn Soling<br />I agree with Neil and caressa. Yes yes. San Fran is wonderful.<br />February 20 at 6:52pm ·<br />Beat Valley<br />Beat Valley<br />have christine put you in touch with jess wallen, she's trying to get in a program for curation at CCA right now<br />February 20 at 6:54pm ·<br />Sofía Olascoaga<br />Sofía Olascoaga<br />wow!! tell us more! i'd love to retake erin's critical bullets and work on... which school/program? say say besos<br />February 20 at 7:23pm ·<br />Diego Leal<br />Diego Leal<br />nope.<br />February 20 at 10:44pm ·<br />Cassie Thornton<br />Cassie Thornton<br />ok. it's CCA MFA in social practice... thanks for all the opinions! i just applied on a whim last weekend, late, and the welcome mat rolled out for me. i think the decision depends a lot on what happens with funding.<br />February 21 at 1:09pm ·<br />Matthew C. Wilson<br />Matthew C. Wilson<br />Hope everything works out w/ CCA, but, if not, check out Portland State's MFA in Social Practice... might be cheaper. The program is less established, I think, but as a city, I'd take Portland over SF any day.<br />February 21 at 8:01pm ·<br />Maya Erdelyi-Perez<br />Maya Erdelyi-Perez<br />for selfish reasons, yes> for you...could be really good but difficult too. I like Erin's breakdown. She sounds like she knows whatsup. we will talk more.<br />February 26 at 6:26pm ·CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-62545329846990838842010-03-03T15:52:00.000-08:002010-03-03T17:31:44.985-08:00Advice is beautifulHow do people get into Whitney and Guggenheim for free? Do they offer secret artist memberships like MoMA?<br />9 hours ago Only Friends · Comment · LikeUnlike<br />Jesi Khadivi<br />Jesi Khadivi<br />press pass. with the whitney there is also a pole around the corner where people put their stickers when they leave. not sure if anyone is still doing that, but they were when i lived in nyc!<br />9 hours ago ·<br />Neil Freeman<br />Neil Freeman<br />Or you have an old employee card from another museum. Then you lose your wallet so that you don't have it anymore.<br />8 hours ago ·<br />Matthew C. Wilson<br />Matthew C. Wilson<br />museum admission hacking...<br /><br />when walking to the whitney, look for other people walking on the street with whitney stickers and ask if you can have their sticker. good call on the pole -- ppl also leave them on the wall outside of the bldng.<br /><br />the whitney is usually pretty cool about not having your museum id w/ you. just tell them you are an intern at museum X. and when they ask you what department have your answer ready.... See More<br /><br />guggenheim, more difficult. they want a picture id to go w/ your museum id that just has your name (not that hard to make one if you want to use mine as a template :). if you go w/ someone else who has an id, they can probably get tickets for you both.<br />8 hours ago ·<br />Mario Hinojosa<br />Mario Hinojosa<br />i used to work at the financial arm of the Guggenheim, when you get back let me know and I'll get you some tickets...<br />7 hours ago ·<br />Diego Leal<br />Diego Leal<br />the pole isnt there anymore, err. the pole is but they clean the stickers off now. but you can always just tell the people coming out that youre an artist and would like their sticker. they are always happy to give it to you!<br />6 hours ago ·<br />Akiko Ichikawa<br />Akiko Ichikawa<br />These suggestions are all really great!<br />3 hours ago ·<br />Akiko Ichikawa<br />Akiko Ichikawa<br />@Jesi, Matthew, Diego: As of two days ago, the Whitney was using a photo of the pole on their website as an advertisement for the Biennial, to show how popular it was, how many people were going (and so how you should too. Advertising 101: bandwagon tactic.) As of today, it's no longer up. The Whitney probably realized how outré they would seem, promoting the use of the pole they are now careful to clean off everyday!<br /><br />Douglas Paulson<br />use your union card and secret handshake. if it doesn't work threaten that the union will get kick their asses. if that doesn't work: GENERAL STRIKECAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-8963406178336936292010-01-31T07:17:00.000-08:002010-01-31T07:58:08.537-08:00The art movement of education?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxR73lBVEAZ5p5VARBSK6gfdNKv9B4wXEHKT3ZPrlZid4MBmXzlDwQewZZxFQFT8lz2YMX-O7jGZndMB453Xmp_zakMm-xZzhUhl71HUz2BpB_enngNfdS5tC5Bn0Id-Vwl01wIjpnOdU/s1600-h/kidsintozombies.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 397px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxR73lBVEAZ5p5VARBSK6gfdNKv9B4wXEHKT3ZPrlZid4MBmXzlDwQewZZxFQFT8lz2YMX-O7jGZndMB453Xmp_zakMm-xZzhUhl71HUz2BpB_enngNfdS5tC5Bn0Id-Vwl01wIjpnOdU/s400/kidsintozombies.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432924493858020354" /></a>CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-73243575627871777092010-01-31T07:16:00.000-08:002010-01-31T07:17:37.287-08:00Elizabeth Warren<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVL7QY0S8A&feature=related"></a><br /><br />So the awesome facts in this video: we spend less on food, clothing, and technology now than in the 70's. <br />Parents would rather live near a nuclear test site than a bad school district. People are buying into schools.CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-89077926397937288832009-01-04T21:15:00.001-08:002009-01-04T21:16:55.403-08:00God darn grad school statementOne winter day in Finland I took a walk into a big forest with a mushroom expert. After 15 minutes with my head down following a network of puddles, I looked up and didn't see Miyuki. The sun was about to set for the next 20 hour stretch of night. I couldn't see the edge of the forest where we entered and any sounds I made were instantly absorbed by the trees and moss. I had never been so scared. My sense of direction was confused by my anxiety, so I closed my eyes and spun around until I felt that I was facing the direction I came from. I ran in that direction for only a few seconds and the road appeared. The dehabilitating fear was wonderfully humbling.<br /><br />The contrast between this fear and all previous fears before caused a realization that I have lived a protected life with a narrow spectrum of experience-- limited by my identity and my urban dwelling. My disorientation seemed unremarkable in the context of the daily lives of the Finnish people I related the story to, and I learned to accept that other people's realities have different extremes. A goal of mine is to be able to work independently from the comfort and stability of controlled situations provided by my nationality and my upbringing in order to interact with realities of extreme contemporary experience and to create my own. In search of these situations I confront the unknown with planned unpreparedness. I seek extremes where I can ask questions and develop work based on the answers. The systems I have developed for inquiry include writing and distribution of surveys, offering free collaboration/pedagogy, and meeting one-on-one with people. My interrogation techniques are designed to unravel people's private and public experience (first to themselves, second to me) in order to get a larger sense of what is happening.<br /><br />When I arrived in rural Finland last winter for an art residency, I forgot my boots. My unpreparedness forced me into a search that took me into several Finnish homes and provided the unintentional research I needed to begin my project. I believe in the openness of a traveller without the right gear. This vulnerability creates opportunities for me to move within a community and to begin to prove my legitimacy and interest in a place and its people. You might call this my discreet system for free education.<br /><br />Although I arrived with the least appropriate footwear, I travelled with what I needed to improvise some kind of self-legitimation. I have found that my introductions and inquiries are easier if I look like an authority, so I often make a title for myself that is supported with paperwork and business cards. Assuring people of my employment by an institution or a concept in town or elsewhere helps create an image of me as a person who belongs. I used this system to begin navigating the town of Haukivuori, Finland when I had to search for winter boots to borrow. This necessity created the chance to invite people for a free introductory consultation from one of the staff at my consultation firm in the forest—Future Unincorporated. With business cards and a list of complimentary services, I began to build what became a tight schedule and a full rolodex.<br /><br />To further legitimize my place in a town, I have often worked to secure, build, or find a space where I can invite the public and can curate a situation that will nurture the kind of intimate conversation that I need for my project. In Finland, I began to wander through fields and forests in search of lightly used building structures that could accommodate the needs of a small corporation. After a few days of searching I found an abandoned well-house that was less than a mile from a major road. With minor renovations like wall paper, unblocking the insulation that was blocking a potential skylight, and creating a new floor, I was able to move my desk and waterpoofed cardboard office equipment into the building. Less than two weeks after my arrival in Finland, I was beginning to accept clients for free introductory consultations. We ate cake and coffee until we couldn't feel our toes or see eachother in the dark afternoon, and I learned about what these Finnish ate for breakfast-- which led to the origin of the foods, the significance of tradition, the impact of globalization, and the state of agriculture in the town. By the end of the consultation I had a sense of what each client saw in the future, and after a few weeks I was a hub for information, gossip, and I felt that I had found a place in the community.<br /><br />In the past this type of built or found structure and the situation that develops inside of them have become a supplementary parasite (a parasite wouldn't live without the place and the place secretly needs the parasite) to what I find in a town, where I can offer complimentary services as a teacher, collaborator, or consultant. I become professionally adaptive-- I offer services that accent, emphasize, or critique--and always supplement the place.<br /><br />The first project that could be characterized by its supplemental parasitic qualities was the Infinite Museum, which was located in a shack that I built onto the side of the HVCCA in Peekskill NY. I was inspired by the relationship between idea and failure in the work of architect Le Corbusier, so I wanted to realize one of his ideas that was never totally realized: the museum of unlimited growth. <br /><br />I proposed an addition to the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art as a gesture to begin a constant outward building process in the spirit of Le Corbusier. I built a canvas covered shack onto the side of the museum building, and that became the Infinite Museum. I hired myself to run an outreach program and began to offer classes throughout the town for youth and seniors that were around themes of attempting failure.<br />My mysterious presence in the institutions of the town as an interested outsider-- suddenly offering workshops to people who did not ask for them, was grounded by the fact that I was working for the Infinite Museum. In one class for elderly women we built modernist renditions of the home they remembered most fondly, and it was difficult to convince some of my simple intentions, but my briefcase of brochures and business cards with the address of the museum signified my authenticity.<br /><br />The role of the artist in a highly interactive social practice often seems to be that of a professional organizer with clear motivations and a clearer mode of very directed research, evaluation, and implementation. My sense is that this streamlining makes for sterile and predictable work that is too practical to be magical, and so specific that the audience is denied flexibility in interpretation. I hope to transcend the utilitarian aesthetic I have developed as I have followed in the footsteps of artists, activists and architects who necessarily developed skills to organize and activate the public for political purposes. Now that we have seen the large network of individuals that supported the election of Obama, I want to be part of a new phase of socially interactive artwork that builds on the success of those grass roots tactics using a new language of materials and brave experimentation with aesthetics. A very observant and responsive public is needed to expand on the success of the campaign, and the systems developed in art will become the models for how to do this—but I want to see more radical modes of implementation, and less conservative processes. In a time of political and economic desperation, art can be the thing that reminds people how to be keenly critical of their reality.<br /><br />My next project will incorporate some of the physical remnants of the American recession to prove that physically and conceptually, when there is a depression, a space is created. Using frozen spaces that have lost their function or purpose due to the global financial crisis—an empty office space, a foreclosed property, or an abandoned construction site—from 4 cities, I will create a community redesign center. The center will be a temporary found or built structure in each town that will act as a design laboratory where the public will be invited to come and reimagine the fortune of the community by suggesting a practical form and use for the empty place. Using architectural modeling as the principal method for idealistic re-landscaping, community members will be led to develop macquettes and drawings for the repurposing of frozen spaces in their town so to stimulate their community. There will also be workshops from local community members with expertise in handicrafts and other practices that maximize resources in creative ways to support a lifestyle that can withstand economic fluctuations.<br /><br />Many of my projects have been successful, but many of them have been underdeveloped or feel unresolved due to my independence from institutional support. I have many large ideas that I would like to pursue with the support of a grad school community at UCSD. In this type of work, I have often, if not always, been alone in the field. I do most work solitarily in order to maintain my powers of camouflage and nearly silent imposition because I have desired total immersion in new places and communities. However, I would like to pursue larger projects with more human support for the development and critiquing processes as well as more collaboration and feedback in the field. I am interested in continuing to develop projects and systems that are recognized within and outside of the art world, that expose opportunities for people to engage in new types of observation and interaction with their society. While at UCSD I would like to pursue the completion of several of my projects with the help of specific faculty members, each who I feel have a body of work and/or a sensibility that has informed my development as an artist.<br /><span style="color:#888888;"> </span>CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218799647521764521.post-54759682227651554832008-10-03T11:02:00.000-07:002008-10-03T11:11:29.465-07:00Peter Doig Acrylics<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhb6Irdfv5dxynqJgu3Ofab4JCx2bxeEbHkDmnjCyHOtimxE7uJeqjLHkuL5oSrgq5ujjw71O7aCbMuPVUeq4UA4WgjU8jH6WRqjA9qfyyiE-H6AsSI2Vb_5vVAhXLDKwjmav80emTuZc/s1600-h/IMG_0798.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhb6Irdfv5dxynqJgu3Ofab4JCx2bxeEbHkDmnjCyHOtimxE7uJeqjLHkuL5oSrgq5ujjw71O7aCbMuPVUeq4UA4WgjU8jH6WRqjA9qfyyiE-H6AsSI2Vb_5vVAhXLDKwjmav80emTuZc/s400/IMG_0798.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252990376186120610" border="0" /></a>Yesterday I did my first full set of acrylics. For those of you who don't know, 'acrylics' refer to the false nail extensions a gal can put on her nails. I bought a bunch of supplies, not quite knowing how they all went together, but I managed a full set, including some 'gel' toppins. So basically I gave this girl 3 inch extensions to her finger nails, and I also gave them a real robust look with a heavy coat of thick hard coating. I am sad to say I do not have a photo of this momentous step in my life and art practice, but I do have what you see above: a painting of Peter Doig's painting called '100 Years Ago' that I painted/collaged onto a large false thumb nail. I have to say it was a successful first experiment, and I was happy to donate it to the collection of Nick C. Herro on this, his 26th birthday. I think he will wear it with pride. Now the kids at the salon have started to make a real scene everyday. Nails are getting did, and I am happy to say that the quality of conversation is getting better as the nail doin skills improve. Yesterday I found out that two of the girls who are regulars in my salon have close family in Iraq. All sorts of stuff is coming out over the salon table.CAThorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13188976437287644187noreply@blogger.com0