Art, History & Design
Our invitation to Thanksgiving dinner was ……. not. We found out too late to make any sort of dinner reservations and I’m not cooking a turkey for two people, so I bought a chicken and we are going to drive about and take some photos and then cook the chicken. Which is fine but, people? YO.
From Dr. Charles Raison at CNN:
When the holidays bring heartache instead of joy, I think they do so because they stand as an unforgiving yardstick against which we measure our losses and troubles.
If no one reminds us, we can sometimes overlook the fact that loved ones are gone, or that our lives are filled with painful conflict in exactly the intimate areas that should be sources of strength and comfort for us. But then along come the holidays, imposing upon us once again a template for what happiness and interpersonal success is expected to look like.
It can be hard to measure up. It is far easier to overlook the death of loved ones when you don’t have to stare across the holiday table at their empty places. It is far easier to pretend that family trauma or conflict don’t exist when you are far away and on your own.
But the holidays force us to either return to painful family interactions or to fully own our isolation and spend the season alone.
It is a terrible choice. I’ve treated many patients over the years who reliably became depressed during the holidays out of dread of having to interact with their families. On the other hand, the silence of Christmas morning on one’s own carries its own unique pain.
I never cease to be amazed at how often both emotional well-being and mental illness hinge on how we negotiate these types of impossible choices. Because the choices really are often insoluble and the losses are often so actual …..
This past Saturday we wandered down to Conowingo Dam to watch some eagles. The first thing we saw was THIS:
AND THIS:
…holycrapwhat…..
But there were eagles. And vultures!
photo by D. Klapholz
photo by D. Klapholz
But the best thing, the very best thing, I saw all day was …. TRIXIE!
TRIXIE!
“Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that are highly scripted. You are supposed to spend it with other people — especially with family. All jokes and sitcoms aside, you are supposed to want to spend it that way.”
Table for one, please. A solo Thanksgiving. From NPR in 2012.
The comments section is truly required reading.
Looking at another work week dealing with the drama and unrelenting annoyance of the working class white male grievance attitude. Times two.
The number one reason to go to the Siege. WILLIAM THE AUSTRALIAN CATTLE DOG.
William! the Australian Cattle Dog
Why? Two phone screens and an in-person interview with 5 people. Rolling along like gangbusters. He likes them. They seem to like him. He wants the job and is clearly in the hunt. He is promised a final interview at the Director level and now? Nothing. Radio silence. “If you don’t hear from us in 2 weeks please call me”, says the HR representative. He hears nothing. He calls to try and schedule the interview. “I’ll get back to you within the hour”, says the HR rep. And again, nothing. He waits another week and leaves a voicemail asking for a return call regarding the interview. So. much. nothing.
Why does this happen? It seems to happen all the time and not just to him. Is this the new job process? You lie to job candidates because you don’t want to be honest and say you have hired someone else after you have promised an interview? Why would you tell him definitively that he is a serious candidate and you definitely ….. “definitely” ….. want him back for the final interview. Do you know you hurt people emotionally when you pull these stunts?
He is seriously disappointed because he wanted that job.
Your lack of communication = lack of respect. Shame on you.
I have to say I really enjoyed drawing the corn. The tutorial on how to draw a corn cob is from Noupe.
illustration for an eco report
I am dead tired of the blame and responsibility game. The phrase, “I didn’t say you were responsible, I said we were going to blame you”? Yeah. That one. Designers create art. We are not responsible for your content. That? Is on you. It is why you sign off on the contract or the artwork or the job sheet or the email that says, “Okay! This is good to go!” If you didn’t like the color choices don’t complain after the job has been printed. If you hate the photo choices why didn’t you speak up when they were submitted for approval? If there is an error in your copy then you should have hired an editor. When you don’t like “your vision” as a finished product? Just remember that it is your vision because you interjected yourself at every turn and vetoed the judgement of a professional designer. That ugly baby is yours. I’m just the midwife.
Even worse, the whole process is inorganic.
You don’t touch the artistic mediums. You don’t sit in front of a live model. You don’t grind pigments, or mix colors on a palette, or dirty your hands with ink, charcoal or paint. There is no sound of a pen scritching across paper or a brush swirling in a water pot. Even charcoal makes a sound if you listen. All you hear is click, click, click.
Should everyone have an opportunity to be creative? Absolutely. But what has been lost is that professional grade artwork is not just a matter of personal taste and a canned template. Designers really do go to school. There really is a whole curriculum where we learn about color and type and composition and how to use the software and how to produce the finished product. And, we have talent. That intangible that even Adobe can’t give you no matter how much money you spend. All things are not equal when it comes to skill, talent and artistic vision.
The place where I work is actually sorta astounding in terms of workplace safety. And not in a good way.
Our building has no potable water. I work on the second floor and the only running water is in a workroom that is filled with chemicals including a chemical spill that has been left on the floor until it has dried into a green scum. We do have a water cooler which provides drinking water which is the good news.There is also no bathroom on our floor. I have to go to the first floor for that. And it makes you wonder when you wash your hands, since the water isn’t potable, what you are carrying along with you that can contact your food when you eat your lunch.
There are no fire sprinklers in the building. The building is old and therefore falls under a grandfather clause where it isn’t required. One would hope that a concern for employee safety would trump ‘required’ but not here.
The second floor has 2 forward exits on either side of the room. There is no back exit. If the first floor is aflame? I guess we had better hope the fire decides to concentrate itself at one end of the floor so we can use the other side of the floor to exit. Especially scary since the first floor has a heavy amount of flammable products including chemicals, so I kinda doubt the fire will be kind and set up shop in one corner so we can get out on the other side.
Just say we have that fire (a horrible thought) and the second floor employees and the first floor employees get out the front of the building. Directly in front of us is the gas pump where the organization’s vehicles gas up. Directly to the right of us is a propane refueling station for vehicles that run on natural gas. Again, I hope that fire is polite and the firefighters are fast because 50 feet from the front door is an explosion waiting to happen.
Let’s recap — no fire sprinklers, lots of flammable materials, no alternate back exit, and within 50 feet of a gasoline pump and a propane refueling station. NICE WORK FOLKS.