One of those periods where life runs away with me and other things fall away. A busier period than usual. In the middle of the worst of it, I felt oversaturated and exhausted. After the fact, not too bad? There’s a lesson in there.
All started on Sunday night a couple weeks ago, random dinner out at a new place… before leaving the next morning for a three-day work retreat the next morning. (One big adjustment: my wife travels for work much more often than I do, so it felt weird to be the one leaving her behind.)
Our company went up to MASS MoCA, and took over the museum. What a treat to have a place like that to ourselves. One morning, after a 5am wake-up, I got to have a James Turrell piece all to myself for a while. The huge Sol Lewitt collection was probably my fave, though.
Came back to reality and been playing catch-up since then. But I lucked into a concert on Friday with Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion at BAM. Really awesome performance. Loved how they played with lamps, and used the instrument blankets to build out the set as the show went on.
Last Saturday and Sunday, I took a two-day workshop about weaving at the Textile Arts Center. I know how to use a loom now! Started from yarns, measured out the warps, strung it all up, and then played with different patterns.
Mission accomplished for me: I have a much, much deeper appreciation for the history of the tradition, and the incredible labor and thoughtfulness that goes into this craft. And I’m really happy with how my little sampler turned out:
Maybe it will move from casual exploration to a classic hobby?
I continue to be Twitter-less or Twitter-lite these days, keeping it desktop-only. Yesterday I put it back on my phone, stayed up too late scrolling for nothing in particular… and then woke up and immediately started scrolling for nothing in particular lol. It’s amazing to watch the casino addiction re-form so quickly – deleted again!
Books
Rainbows End. Library loan expired. Guess I gotta buy it now.
Winter’s Heart, cont.
Articles & Episodes & Twoots
Designing for constraints in education. “We have to design for the standard days not the ideal ones.”
Mississippi Schools Are Better Than Yours. “Painting the Deep South as an embarrassing cultural backwater is one of the last socially acceptable forms of prejudice among elites.”
3 thoughts while pushing a wheelbarrow.
“If the United States had matched the rate of improvement in road safety since the 1970s seen in, for example, the Netherlands, Sweden, or Spain, it would have prevented 2 out of every 3 road deaths.”
Appreciating the architecture and optimism of Radio City.
Music
Inspired by the concert, dived back into Shaw/Sō again, all strongly recommended…
- Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part
- Partita for 8 Voices
- Ringdown, Lady on the Bike and Ghost
- Fleishman Is in Trouble OST
- Glenn Kotche: Drumkit Quartets
Also played:
- Žibuoklė Martinaitytė, Ex Tenebris Lux. String orchestra texture and swells.
- Francisco Mora Catlett, Outerzone. Free-spirited jazz and noise.
- Howie Lee, Event, Fact, and Those which are emphasized. Glitchy electronic patches and samples and explorations.
- Harald Grosskopf, Synthesist. German electro!
- Songs from the Kitchen Disco: Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Greatest Hits. Listened to this after hearing “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)” on the dancefloor.
- Leyla McCalla, A day for the hunter, a day for the prey. Haitian-inflected folk.
- Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer, The Melody of Rhythm. It’s an interesting mash-up from insanely talented people, but I don’t think it’s a successful one?
Movies
State of Play. Fun re-watch. Journalism can be really compelling – underdogs, persistence, troublemaking.
Practical Magic. Totally charming! Really enjoyed it, and appreciated how many odd little turns it took, and tension drawn out from people who aren’t sure why they’re behaving the way they are. And briefly, one of the best road trip scenes you’ll ever see.
The Order. Really like this one, too. A crime drama that’s not quite gritty or grim, just… worn down? (And maybe I need a mustache again…)
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Desert sandstorm shootout is really cool, the chase scene with the little yellow car is still perfect, and so is the fight in the narrow alley. Warming up for the grand finale.
TV
The X-Files, s4e16 “Unrequited“. Vietnam vets again!
Reacher, s3e4. Reacher is too sociopathic. I’ll still finish the season, I think.
CSI: Miami, s7e18.
Mark Larson 