Because he is famous for some "wild" art and for his mental breakdowns late in life, many are not aware of the precise and powerful mind that Vincent van Gogh had, but his letters are ample testimony to that.
He was not just an intuitive artist, he applied a lot of knowledge and thought to art, both his own and others'. For example this was the first letter I happened to look up on that site.
"Speaking of Van der Weele, I remember saying to him about the picture which he got a medal for in Amsterdam - and this contrary to the opinion of others - that I greatly appreciated his having succeeded so well in preserving the unity of STYLE despite all the different things that appeared in it, and that it really and truly was a picture, i.e. something quite different from a realistic study from nature."
I suspect Vincent was amongst the pioneers of those appreciating the importance of seeing art as being something else than skillful copying of the world.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Offensensitivity
This is from the long defunct Bloom County strip, which was often really good.
It's a fascinating characteristic about us humans, how we are all the time bloody offended by things which really don't touch us at all.
It's a fascinating characteristic about us humans, how we are all the time bloody offended by things which really don't touch us at all.
Big Words app
My old pal Tim of MyMac.com has invented a new iPhone app, Big Words, which simply displays very big what you write.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Yes men and Dice men
Trailer for new Jim Carrey film Yes Man. I am not sure exactly how great it's gonna be, but it reminds me of the classic novel The Dice Man. Did you read it? Very unusual. I wonder how the heck I got hold of that at 16. Not because it was too subversive for that (though some might think so), but because I was not growing up in a bohemian environment exactly, though my mom had bohemianism as an ideal. Any non-mainstream culture I wanted, I had to rustle up for myself.
Dirk Gently fishes
If you have read Douglas Adams' wonderful book Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, you may remember the protagonist Richard MacDuff's theory that the forms and movements of nature could be translated into music by a computer. Well, lo and behold, somebody has done it.
The Worst Photograph Ever Made?
Teens and sex and taboos
I've been challenged on my position that kids should be educated about sex. Because it seems kids these days already know about sex, and earlier than ever, and surely that can't be a good thing... According to this report, many even have it in public. And that is "shocking" according to their expert.
These are complex issues. Apart from not trusting a group called "MomLogic" to make an unbiased and scientific survey, my feelings are thusly:
1) An unexamined taboo is damaging.
2) Education is always good. If it appears to be damaging, it is faulty or unbalanced or incomplete.
3) To know about something is not the same as being educated about it. You can learn to drive a car in five minutes, but it takes months to become educated about it.
4) We must be alert for emotional arguments. That something is shocking is not a valuable datum. Why is it shocking? Is there real damage? What should be done about it, and what will be the consequences of those actions?
5) Supressing the biological imperative has consequences.
6) Telling people, adult or not, that they are not allowed to do something will make it more interesting.
7) Education comes from the whole world, not just "parents or school". It comes from books, friends, TV, Internet, school, parents, etc etc. When it comes down to it, a person, even a child, is the only person who can educate him/herself. And they will.
---
Karen Rayne, Ph.D. said...
Thanks for your post, Eolake. I certainly agree with you about teenagers needing appropriate sex ed. Here's something I've written in the past:
I have been asked what I believe is important in sex education in the family. So here it is:
I believe that…
…parents have to talk to their kids about sex.
I believe that…
…everyone has sex, and should therefore know about sex.
I believe that…
…sex is not all bad, even for teenagers.
I go into each of those points in some depth here.
These are complex issues. Apart from not trusting a group called "MomLogic" to make an unbiased and scientific survey, my feelings are thusly:
1) An unexamined taboo is damaging.
2) Education is always good. If it appears to be damaging, it is faulty or unbalanced or incomplete.
3) To know about something is not the same as being educated about it. You can learn to drive a car in five minutes, but it takes months to become educated about it.
4) We must be alert for emotional arguments. That something is shocking is not a valuable datum. Why is it shocking? Is there real damage? What should be done about it, and what will be the consequences of those actions?
5) Supressing the biological imperative has consequences.
6) Telling people, adult or not, that they are not allowed to do something will make it more interesting.
7) Education comes from the whole world, not just "parents or school". It comes from books, friends, TV, Internet, school, parents, etc etc. When it comes down to it, a person, even a child, is the only person who can educate him/herself. And they will.
---
Karen Rayne, Ph.D. said...
Thanks for your post, Eolake. I certainly agree with you about teenagers needing appropriate sex ed. Here's something I've written in the past:
I have been asked what I believe is important in sex education in the family. So here it is:
I believe that…
…parents have to talk to their kids about sex.
I believe that…
…everyone has sex, and should therefore know about sex.
I believe that…
…sex is not all bad, even for teenagers.
I go into each of those points in some depth here.
Recent Robin Williams
Sarah Palin, the love child of Ronald Reagan and Posh Spice?
I wonder if John Cleese is in a wheelchair for real?
I wonder if John Cleese is in a wheelchair for real?
Coffee and dough
Coffee and dough.
"We went into his kitchen, where he proudly displayed his brand new, Swiss-made, fully automatic espresso machine, for which he’d slapped down a cool $945 at an online store...
It must be nice to be able to afford a high-end, fully automatic espresso maker, I mused aloud. Dave’s response snapped me to attention.
“Actually, I can’t afford not to own one,” he said.
I thought he was joking, and asked what he meant.
“Think of it this way,” said Dave. “Do you and your wife drink at least one double latte each a day?”
That level of consumption is barely above survival threshold, I admitted.
“OK, consider this: One double latte costs three dollars at a coffee shop, so your outside coffee-drinking habit comes to six dollars a day for you and your wife. That’s $2,190 per year in after-tax dollars,” Dave extrapolated."
That's just one example. Of many people don't have a late every day, and are aware of the cumulative cost. But many do, and aren't.
One of my sisters live with her man and two kids in a large house with large rooms, in a pretty exposed landscape. Being a thin-blooded creature like many women, she likes to keep the house nice and toasty, . So I asked her what their heating bill is. She said she didn't know. I asked her husband. "No idea" was the answer.
They are both hard-working people with upper-middle class jobs, and paying the outrageous Danish taxes (50-68 percent). How can they not know about their heating bill!? Maybe it's a place where they could save lots of money and have more time for leisure and the kids? But this kind of thing is far from unusual.
Maybe it's just too scary to think about. This at least is what is suggested by sites such as the excellent Motley Fool. It's like a snake in the living room. If you walk real quiet and don't think about it, maybe it won't wake up.
"We went into his kitchen, where he proudly displayed his brand new, Swiss-made, fully automatic espresso machine, for which he’d slapped down a cool $945 at an online store...
It must be nice to be able to afford a high-end, fully automatic espresso maker, I mused aloud. Dave’s response snapped me to attention.
“Actually, I can’t afford not to own one,” he said.
I thought he was joking, and asked what he meant.
“Think of it this way,” said Dave. “Do you and your wife drink at least one double latte each a day?”
That level of consumption is barely above survival threshold, I admitted.
“OK, consider this: One double latte costs three dollars at a coffee shop, so your outside coffee-drinking habit comes to six dollars a day for you and your wife. That’s $2,190 per year in after-tax dollars,” Dave extrapolated."
That's just one example. Of many people don't have a late every day, and are aware of the cumulative cost. But many do, and aren't.
One of my sisters live with her man and two kids in a large house with large rooms, in a pretty exposed landscape. Being a thin-blooded creature like many women, she likes to keep the house nice and toasty, . So I asked her what their heating bill is. She said she didn't know. I asked her husband. "No idea" was the answer.
They are both hard-working people with upper-middle class jobs, and paying the outrageous Danish taxes (50-68 percent). How can they not know about their heating bill!? Maybe it's a place where they could save lots of money and have more time for leisure and the kids? But this kind of thing is far from unusual.
Maybe it's just too scary to think about. This at least is what is suggested by sites such as the excellent Motley Fool. It's like a snake in the living room. If you walk real quiet and don't think about it, maybe it won't wake up.
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