Saturday, November 14, 2015

Bright Shiny Art work of Science fiction and Tom Hanks

Don, so sorry to hear about your afflictions with shiny objects that whiz, burr and beep!
Reading you, you sound about as bad as most of my students! I think that at one time I might have had a tendency toward bright shining gadgets - but I lost it along with an assignment and my calendar. I decided not to ever chance it again.

Living in the mountains as a child, we didn't have satellites  that enabled us to communicate with the rest of the world. Telephone service was often regulated to the town, with long distance available at the hotel. My dad had a slightly newer version of your grandfather's shortwave AM /  FM radio which we listened to. We finally got a black and white TV in 1960 which didn't work if there was a storm. I learned how to hike, fish, what to do if lost in the mountains (which I seems bound to do on a regular basis). I also learned how to pack mule, pan for gold, dig for gold, and sell crystals and rocks to the tourists that came in on the train.  We didn't have central heat - we stayed warm on winter nights with our feet close to the chimney for warmth.  I wonder if these are the "good old days" so many people refer to.

I had an interesting discussion this week with a younger instructor at school. She was complaining about her students not knowing how to do an internet research. She said that at their age, she was doing card catalog searches.  At their age I was learning how to use a slide rule so I could do fractions. Now I feel really really old.

Recently I had the opportunity to go to an art exhibit showcasing the work of Kristi Backman. I've been following Kristi and her work for the last couple of years but I have to admit that this recent show was, for me, phenomenal! Using the science fiction phrase xenoarcheologist - an archaeologist of current culture, (a contradiction) Kristi put together a showing of strange face masks, light weight standards and garish shields of a culture from the future; a made up culture. Using a new fiberglass technique she has developed, Kristi is able to create large and medium sized sculptures that hang comfortably on the wall.

The fiberglass technique enables her to maintain a light weight structure that is surprisingly strong and durable. It also takes paint well and allows her to use a combination of different materials ranging from metal, to fabric, to wood, fiberglass... Check it out! Her pieces are for sale if you're interested.

We saw the movie Bridge of Spies last week with Tom Hanks. The movie was about the events leading up to the exchange of a Soviet spy for U2 spy plane pilot, Gary Powers.  As that was one of the things that we listened to the radio, it was interesting to get more back story. Several of the instructors I work with felt the movie was slow and cumbersome. Both my significant other and I felt it had the same intriguing story-building that Hitchcock was well known for. Bridge was not as masterful in the story department as a Hitchcock movie, but the intrigue was there and definitely the building of the tension to the climax. If nothing else, it proved to both of us that Tom Hanks is still watchable - even at his age.

Recent events have led me to "seek relief  furnished by profanity" as prayer wasn't fast enough. Twain got that one right! And recent conversations with our children have led me to believe that they were living a totally different life than the one they experienced with us at the same time as they grew up. I'm not sure where they got their stories from or if the stories were even theirs!

Hope you had a nice Thanks Giving, Don. Ours is in a couple of weeks. We finally have measurable snow - slush actually. I have what is left of my garden covered - not sure how much will survive the cold. I'm hoping the onions will be okay - we'll have them at Thanks Giving. I'll dig the potatoes up this weekend before the dirt in the containers freezes.

Actually it looks like you're getting better at adding pictures, Don! Yes, the formatting is a bit off, but the pictures are were they are suppose to be. New gadgets provide new learning which keeps the "little grays cells" busy growing new connections. I think you're putting off dementia until you're at least 90. Sad to say, for younger generations, new gadgets often keep the little gray cells from growing new connections. I wonder why.

I had an interesting conversation about Wikipedia - think I'll investigate it.

Time to get back to the grading and report writing.





Carolyn



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