Platypus of Truth

John Mark Reynolds over at The Scriptorium Daily admits to experimenting with Victorian garb at the office in this article .  Kudos to Dr. Reynolds for pushing boundaries and reclaiming the older aesthetic.

Prufrock tells us that he has "measured out my life with coffee spoons."  I have measured out my life with blog posts. With December coming on, we will soon witness seven years of "The Platypus of Truth."  Looking at the post history, it seems like 57 or so posts a year has been average.  2007 was a particularly bad year for posting.  2010 and 2011 have been better.  This seems to fit as in 2007 I was struck down with a particularly nasty medical problem that left me in constant and drastic pain.  In 2010, I moved to a much less stressful position in a more laid-back area of the country an experienced a corresponding relaxation of my symptoms.  Since 2006, posts have mostly been about whatever I was reading, playing, or watching at the time.  There have been a few forays into poetry and literature as well.  Readership has been modest with a few spikes where a post was fortuitously linked to by a popular site. What does all this add up to?...

John Mark Reynolds over at Scriptorium Daily notes the death of the wristwatch and muses a bit about the role of conspicuous consumption and nostalgia for the beauties of a vanished age.  Perhaps I have read amiss, but I do note just the slightest tinge of fatalism in the good professor's voice.  It seems inevitable in late modernity that the old, functional, and beautiful should be replaced by the new, functional, and ugly.  Is this really so?  Well, no.  The professor does point out that wristwatches became a jewelry piece every bit as much as the pocket watch had been.  If this is true, then might there be hope that one day our cell-phones will become as aesthetic as a Rolex?  It's a good question, but I can think of another.  If the old item remains functional and beautiful, why can't we as a society choose to retain it? Walking sticks remained an essential part of any gentleman's wardrobe for centuries thought they served little practical ...

So, I like whiteboard art.  I use it in the classroom and post it on my blog.  I've been working on my craft for several years now, and thought it might be time to record a few thoughts. Whiteboard art is a limited medium.  Expo markers, my preferred tools of the trade, only come in about twelve colors (at least that I can find.)  They don't admit of blending in the way that chalk or pastels do.  The fact that adding a new line to an existing line with an Expo marker can erase it also provides some unique challenges to drawing and shading.  Filling in solid objects is a real bear. Given these constraints, whiteboard art lends itself to cartoons, pointillism , and impressionism .  Getting into the right mindset for the latter two techniques can be a little rough at first, and I recommend stepping back from your work frequently in order to get a sense of the overall effect.  Spending some time with a volume of impressionist paintings also helps....

 All Images Copyright James R. Harrington 2011

I was able to attend the annual Providence Classical School Pursuing Wisdom Colloquy this weekend.  This is the first Providence Colloquy I've attended.  As with all events that Providence hosts, the Gala in particular, I was thoroughly impressed.  Below are some of the things that impressed me in bullet point: -The plenary speaker was Dr. Ronald Grosh, whom I've heard speak before.  Dr. Grosh is always a great catalyst for discourse, and this time was no exception. -The coffee house and all the catering for the event was truly first-rate.  The Providence parents are smart, capable, professional, and run an extremely tight ship.  The speakers' dinner was also excellent in terms of food, location, service, and the extended amount of of time given to the speakers to socialize, re-energize, and network. -Quite a number of Providence students were present working behind the scenes to make things happen.  They were well-dressed, polite, and efficient....