Those Who Know, Chuckle.
Making stuff: up, real, and nicely.
– Definition: n.; pronounced “DES-wuh-tude” or “de-SUE-uh-tude.” A condition of disuse.
– Used in a sentence: Unless we act to protect them, our Constitutionally guaranteed rights are apt to fall into desuetude.
– Why: It rolls nicely off the tongue. Besides, who actually says “disuse?”
– Definition: adj. Of a nature to excite terror; appaling
– Used in a sentence: “That’s the most terrible Hallowe’en costume I’ve ever seen.”
– Why: The current connotation of “terrible” as slipshod, sub-par, etc. really grinds my gears. Time to get back to roots and enjoy it as Webster and Funk & Wagnalls intended.
– Definition: adj. 1. Lacking craft or deceit; guileless; naive. 2. Natural; simple
– Used in a sentence: Her whole manner, from clothes to attitude, was perfectly artless.
– Why: A useful antidote to the snarky, cynical-chic times in which we live; the world might well be a happier place for its actualization.
– Definition: v.i. To feel joyful; be glad.
– Used in a sentence: Richard rejoiced when the Red Sox won the World Series.
– Why: It’s little used outside translations of the Bible, but addresses a HUGE part of life that we often take for granted. And the more we use it, the more it applies (one rejoicing leads to another).
– Definition: n one who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession
– Used in a sentence: “He is a true amateur of cooking.”
– Why: What I would like to bring back is the usage “an amateur of _________,” which makes the word synonymous with “lover.” What I would like to get rid of is the connotation of “amateur” as “slipshod; half-baked; amateurish.” Continue reading “Words to Bring Back: “Amateur””
IT’S THE SCARINESS OF THE blank screen. It’s the focused attention. It’s the mental sensation of assembling Tinker-Toy pieces into a coherent structure. It’s the way the hours fly by. It’s the nothing-else-like-it buzz (thank you, Stephen King). It’s the feel and click of the keys beneath my tapping fingers. It’s the occasional brain-wracking pause. (It’s also the occasional chortle.) Continue reading “Why I Love: Writing”
– Definition: n. An auctioneer’s shill
– Used in a sentence: “Some of these political rallies seem to reek of illicitators.”
– Why: It’s obscure, yes, but how many illicitators have YOU spotted recently?
“THAT’S NOT ONLY BRILLIANT — IT’S ‘why-didn’t-I-think-of-that’ brilliant.”
YOU MIGHT THINK WHITE FLAGS mean “Surrender,” but if you’re talking about Aaron Fein‘s “White Flags” art piece — all the world’s flags rendered full-size in white cloth and embroidery — you’d better not say so in a public forum, or I’ll reply:
(T)o me the whiteness connotes a sameness — on one level it doesn’t matter that they’re white so much as monocolor. White is also the simplest color — it reflects the entire spectrum, is purely non-differential, and leaves nothing out. All dyed cloth begins and ends in whiteness. (White is also a popular color for bedsheets, which addresses the artist’s point about the welcoming tent of Abraham: rest and comfort at the end of a journey. A journey that begins in difference but whose end is only reached by One.)
Anyway, just a few thoughts. I am completely gobsmacked by the beauty and simplicity (and perhaps sense of humor) about this project. Thank you Tablet for bringing it to us.
The project — which really must be seen to be appreciated; I doubt photos actually convey the sense and scope — is the topic of a nice write-up at http://www.tabletmag.com/arts-and-culture/77571/white-flags/. The artist’s website is http://www.aaronfein.com/.
LET’S MAKE THIS AN EXPLORATION of the landscapes of creativity — how does the creative experience feel to you?
Mentally, I’m all about visualization: perhaps it’s synesthesia, but even smells and sounds have a visual component for me. So I’ve always seen “the creative process” as starting with a curtain across half the universe. Every now and then, the curtain parts just enough to reveal an Idea.
It could be a series of images, even images of words. Now and then it’s a sound. But even the most abstract Idea carries a visual impression of girders and joists, ropes and scrim. Sometimes an Idea will be revealed a piece at a time, with a whole clicking into place almost audibly and palpably. If it’s long, like a story, it feels like a rope uncoiling from the other side of the curtain — a line which must not be allowed to grow slack.
Sometimes an Idea links up with something inside the rest of the universe. Other times it just sits there, gleaming, faintly pulsing, daring me to capture it in words on a screen or a sketch in a notebook. (If I don’t, it can fade within minutes.)
So let’s make this an exploration of the sense-scapes of creativity. How does the creative experience feel to you?
“BUILDING A BETTER MOUSETRAP IS one thing. Testing it is something else.”
HOW MUCH CAN YOU CHANGE something before it no longer resembles the original — yet still call it by the same name?
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