Saturday, 28 December 2013
Sunday, 8 December 2013
Baby Blog
I am so bad at this blogging business! It's the main reason for this post- I typed an 'e' into google chrome and was reminded of this project. Sad, but I'm now nearing the end of an incredibly hectic semester. To get back on track: I'll share a list of five things I am really into at the moment, and hopefully post again soon!
^ THIS SONG, which sounds an awful lot like this OTHER SONG I love:
- I have a few draft posts about my neighbours, not so sure how much I actually want to post about them BUT, I am used to sending pizza guys to the back door for deliveries... the recent arrival of a dude "dropping off a safe" for a person whose name he did not know was a little weirder.
-Excited to attend d.talks: "let's talk about boundaries" this week - public space and parkour discussion all in one? A dream for me!!!
-this guy, because how do you become such a skilled limbo-er???
I have been posting a bit more on my tumblr, so feel free to check out my internet inspiration board!
^ THIS SONG, which sounds an awful lot like this OTHER SONG I love:
- I have a few draft posts about my neighbours, not so sure how much I actually want to post about them BUT, I am used to sending pizza guys to the back door for deliveries... the recent arrival of a dude "dropping off a safe" for a person whose name he did not know was a little weirder.
-Excited to attend d.talks: "let's talk about boundaries" this week - public space and parkour discussion all in one? A dream for me!!!
-this guy, because how do you become such a skilled limbo-er???
I have been posting a bit more on my tumblr, so feel free to check out my internet inspiration board!
Friday, 13 September 2013
Rambling about nature, etc.
I managed to find a home! I managed to survive my first ever (four month long) full time office job! I am back in school and eagerly awaiting my biology lecture - so I've got 35 minutes to tell the internet about my life.
Summer was okay. Not good, not great, but definitely okay. Some highlights include seeing/being slightly involved with Wreck City, a demolition-inspired art project that took over five houses in Kensington. Did some drawing, started on a music video for Noah's band. Read many books, started my independent research project. Went camping in Banff National Park, ventured into a cave and did some very mild hiking, though I wish I did more. I've always considered spending time in nature important, and reading Alain de Botton's book "Religion for Athiests" in May really drove that point home. He celebrates religion's ability to humble humans, and natural phenomena as one major way for secular individuals to appreciate the true scale of life. As in, you're teeny tiny and your little brain can't even comprehend the sheer size, physical force and time span of mountains, the starry sky, the ocean.
Or at least mine can't. But, as a city dweller sans car, I do not spend a lot of time in raw nature. There are all sorts of reasons - no time, no companions, no money, why expel pollutants for my selfish aim of "connecting with nature?"All pretty valid, I think, and fortunately Calgary's got a pretty great network of parks so I'm not totally nature-deficient. It's pretty confusing, I think, to be a person who cares so much about some abstract planetary ideal, and yet also one who gains a sense of calm and serenity from exploiting nature's virtues.
I suppose the fact that the latter is true should be reason enough to "save nature." Of course, this demands a "how?" Is my car-free, reusable water bottle, vegetarian lifestyle the right path? Should I be doing more? Or is it so inconsequential that I could become a self-sustaining organic farmer with no ties to modern society and still watch the world fall into the pit of doom and gloom we've been promised?
Researching for an environmental geography class, I found a woman called Jenny Price. Hearing her interview on Generation Anthropocene felt like golden rays were shining right down on my head, complete with some sort of angelic "AHHH." Price is deeply committed to the environment, and to environmental justice, yet the emphasized point of the episode is "stop saving the planet." She's aiming for a reconceptualization of nature- because it is all around us, even in the most urban settings. Concrete is the combination of raw inputs by a creature called human, and the same can be said about every other element we've manipulated to serve our purposes.
Her interview also ties in with religion, as she uses the term "lapsed environmentalist" in discussing the near-religious fervor so common to the green movement. As someone who has never had a religion, I feel pretty confident saying I approach this idea in a way which does share marked similarities with religion. Consumption habits are influenced, it's deeply tied to my understanding of the world, physically and psychically, and the associated values are deeply tied to what I consider moral or just.
This turned into a bit of a ramble but it feels good to get these thoughts out of my brain. There will likely be many more posts with related content, but for now, class time!
Summer was okay. Not good, not great, but definitely okay. Some highlights include seeing/being slightly involved with Wreck City, a demolition-inspired art project that took over five houses in Kensington. Did some drawing, started on a music video for Noah's band. Read many books, started my independent research project. Went camping in Banff National Park, ventured into a cave and did some very mild hiking, though I wish I did more. I've always considered spending time in nature important, and reading Alain de Botton's book "Religion for Athiests" in May really drove that point home. He celebrates religion's ability to humble humans, and natural phenomena as one major way for secular individuals to appreciate the true scale of life. As in, you're teeny tiny and your little brain can't even comprehend the sheer size, physical force and time span of mountains, the starry sky, the ocean.
Or at least mine can't. But, as a city dweller sans car, I do not spend a lot of time in raw nature. There are all sorts of reasons - no time, no companions, no money, why expel pollutants for my selfish aim of "connecting with nature?"All pretty valid, I think, and fortunately Calgary's got a pretty great network of parks so I'm not totally nature-deficient. It's pretty confusing, I think, to be a person who cares so much about some abstract planetary ideal, and yet also one who gains a sense of calm and serenity from exploiting nature's virtues.
I suppose the fact that the latter is true should be reason enough to "save nature." Of course, this demands a "how?" Is my car-free, reusable water bottle, vegetarian lifestyle the right path? Should I be doing more? Or is it so inconsequential that I could become a self-sustaining organic farmer with no ties to modern society and still watch the world fall into the pit of doom and gloom we've been promised?
Researching for an environmental geography class, I found a woman called Jenny Price. Hearing her interview on Generation Anthropocene felt like golden rays were shining right down on my head, complete with some sort of angelic "AHHH." Price is deeply committed to the environment, and to environmental justice, yet the emphasized point of the episode is "stop saving the planet." She's aiming for a reconceptualization of nature- because it is all around us, even in the most urban settings. Concrete is the combination of raw inputs by a creature called human, and the same can be said about every other element we've manipulated to serve our purposes.
Her interview also ties in with religion, as she uses the term "lapsed environmentalist" in discussing the near-religious fervor so common to the green movement. As someone who has never had a religion, I feel pretty confident saying I approach this idea in a way which does share marked similarities with religion. Consumption habits are influenced, it's deeply tied to my understanding of the world, physically and psychically, and the associated values are deeply tied to what I consider moral or just.
This turned into a bit of a ramble but it feels good to get these thoughts out of my brain. There will likely be many more posts with related content, but for now, class time!
Friday, 23 August 2013
Been a bit derailed by a surprise house-hunting expedition, and while I'd like to, don't have time to post the art I have been working on right now - soon I hope! Here are some good sounds to listen to on a Friday at your desk job when your computer keeps malfunctioning, and a really sad "lost cat" poster I have had for years and just scanned to PDF so I can keep it for many more.
Matthew Dear - Beams: https://soundcloud.com/ghostly/sets/matthew-dear-beams
Matthew Dear - Beams: https://soundcloud.com/ghostly/sets/matthew-dear-beams
Friday, 9 August 2013
space
Another thing I like to think about is space. I do not refer to galaxies or black holes- these are also fascinating, but mostly beyond my comprehension. I tend to concern myself with the physical space we occupy. Recently, I moved to a new neighbourhood and so have been getting to know my new "public figures," and my internship has even earned me the title "Space Accountant" at the local coffee shop. I'm in the early stages of a research project on the legacies of the Olympics in Calgary's public realm, too! The way humans use space, how we make it "ours," basic territorial instincts, and how we define public space as a society are often on my mind. This makes me think that my "real" job title, Space Analyst, is apt... though in reality, it involves very little of the analyzing I describe, and a lot more spreadsheets.
To be honest, though... the reason I am posting about space right now? This album is tooo good:
Nicolas Jaar makes good electronic music and this is the first full length album I've heard. I am a sucker for the slow percussive style and weirdo samples. Also recommend his track "Mi Mujer" for walking around and bopping your head.
To be honest, though... the reason I am posting about space right now? This album is tooo good:
Nicolas Jaar makes good electronic music and this is the first full length album I've heard. I am a sucker for the slow percussive style and weirdo samples. Also recommend his track "Mi Mujer" for walking around and bopping your head.
Thursday, 8 August 2013
Intro
I've spent maybe too much time in the last few years considering the dichotomy of production and
consumption. Following graduation from a Fashion Design and Marketing
program, nearly all potential career paths consisted of convincing
others to consume items I, or another, had produced. I couldn't stop
asking- is this the role I am meant to play in this world? Does a
human's life- their work, actions, relationships- boil down to this? One
consumes or is consumed?
This post is not the answer to these questions. I am still, and likely always will be, investigating what it means to be human. This is my first post on this blog, and a new attempt to communicate with the world. The name is inspired by Charles Maier's "empire of consumption," which I have apparently been living in for my entire life. I have never known anything else, but it seems like 50 years is long enough for an empire which has harmed so much of our planet and so many of our minds.
I consume and I produce- both quite regularly in fact, and I hope to share some of this with you. More important than those factors might be my existence, because I can think of nothing I've done more persistently than exist. As I am still trying to figure out how to wield my powers of production and consumption in a way which allows my prolonged and happy existence, I thought it might be useful to express some of my thoughts in a public forum. So, this is it! Here it is! I'm going to invite some of my friends to post too, because I think all sorts of people might have interesting things to say about existing. For this reason, I also invite your comments, questions, etc. I will even give you posting abilities if you promise not to say anything mean or untrue.. anyway, thanks for reading!!
This post is not the answer to these questions. I am still, and likely always will be, investigating what it means to be human. This is my first post on this blog, and a new attempt to communicate with the world. The name is inspired by Charles Maier's "empire of consumption," which I have apparently been living in for my entire life. I have never known anything else, but it seems like 50 years is long enough for an empire which has harmed so much of our planet and so many of our minds.
I consume and I produce- both quite regularly in fact, and I hope to share some of this with you. More important than those factors might be my existence, because I can think of nothing I've done more persistently than exist. As I am still trying to figure out how to wield my powers of production and consumption in a way which allows my prolonged and happy existence, I thought it might be useful to express some of my thoughts in a public forum. So, this is it! Here it is! I'm going to invite some of my friends to post too, because I think all sorts of people might have interesting things to say about existing. For this reason, I also invite your comments, questions, etc. I will even give you posting abilities if you promise not to say anything mean or untrue.. anyway, thanks for reading!!
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