4.28.2009
Spider Mum
Hmm, well, I just do not update this often enough. And I was resolved to do better this year! We'll see if I can't improve on monthly updates. Here's a cool spider mum flower.
3.15.2009
Genesis and Moderation
I've been thinking about the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis of the Pentateuch. The traditional interpretation is that humanity was cast out of paradise for disobeying God's law. However, the literal events and how they translate to parables for early civilizations is more interesting.
The book of Genesis has its origins in the Sumerian myth of a man called Adapa, who is called to account for his ill deeds by the god Anu, which results in the loss of the chance for immortality. The Pentateuch changes the myth of Adapa into another tale, known as the story of Adam and Eve. There is but a single rule in the Eden, where nothing is for want and all is plentiful: do not partake of the fruit from the tree of knowledge. Everyone knows what happens next.
The "Tree of Knowledge" does not represent the omniscience of a god but the pursuit of civilization. Once expelled from Eden, Adam and Eve learned how to tend fields and care for livestock. They became "civilized." The fruit of the tree signified a much more terrible thing than knowledge, it was the nexus between endless suffering (modernity and civilization) and complete contentment (Eden, where all is plentiful).
Interestingly, no physical threat prevented eating of the tree, it wasn't covered in razor-wire or some mythological equivalent. It was attainable and available at all times. The tree represents the opportunity to consume beyond our means. We lived in a place for which every possible thing was available, but chose instead to consume more than even an omniscient being could provide. The only rule of this paradise was simple: exercise self-control of consumption.
Now we can understand a simple maxim: the way to sustainability and happiness is abstemiousness; fail this and humanity shall toil endlessly in suffering until it can reclaim that lost knowledge. Eden is, of course, the earth. The tree of knowledge is the belief that one can have all things without losing anything, and the toils of man are the result of the eating of the tree. Genesis tells us, quite obviously, that godly knowledge is the realization that our suffering is a lack of self-control.
You don't need to look far in western civilization to realize that we are the very opposite of "self-control." In fact, our entire culture is predicated upon the belief that you can have what you want, when you want it, and damn the consequences. Yet, we find ourselves more unfulfilled, more wanderlust, and more lonely. Yet, the answer has been there for millenia: the knowledge of the gods is that humanity cannot find happiness and plenty until it can recognize the need for self-control.
Barring some great change in civilization's trajectory, the earth is as pristine now as it ever will be. It is our Eden. Within this tiny blue sphere is the capacity for total fulfillment, a place in which all basic human needs might be met. There is only one rule to sustain this Eden and it is the very same rule as that ancient Eden. Until we can follow it, we are doomed to toil in the ever growing, outcast wastes.
The book of Genesis has its origins in the Sumerian myth of a man called Adapa, who is called to account for his ill deeds by the god Anu, which results in the loss of the chance for immortality. The Pentateuch changes the myth of Adapa into another tale, known as the story of Adam and Eve. There is but a single rule in the Eden, where nothing is for want and all is plentiful: do not partake of the fruit from the tree of knowledge. Everyone knows what happens next.
The "Tree of Knowledge" does not represent the omniscience of a god but the pursuit of civilization. Once expelled from Eden, Adam and Eve learned how to tend fields and care for livestock. They became "civilized." The fruit of the tree signified a much more terrible thing than knowledge, it was the nexus between endless suffering (modernity and civilization) and complete contentment (Eden, where all is plentiful).
Interestingly, no physical threat prevented eating of the tree, it wasn't covered in razor-wire or some mythological equivalent. It was attainable and available at all times. The tree represents the opportunity to consume beyond our means. We lived in a place for which every possible thing was available, but chose instead to consume more than even an omniscient being could provide. The only rule of this paradise was simple: exercise self-control of consumption.
Now we can understand a simple maxim: the way to sustainability and happiness is abstemiousness; fail this and humanity shall toil endlessly in suffering until it can reclaim that lost knowledge. Eden is, of course, the earth. The tree of knowledge is the belief that one can have all things without losing anything, and the toils of man are the result of the eating of the tree. Genesis tells us, quite obviously, that godly knowledge is the realization that our suffering is a lack of self-control.
You don't need to look far in western civilization to realize that we are the very opposite of "self-control." In fact, our entire culture is predicated upon the belief that you can have what you want, when you want it, and damn the consequences. Yet, we find ourselves more unfulfilled, more wanderlust, and more lonely. Yet, the answer has been there for millenia: the knowledge of the gods is that humanity cannot find happiness and plenty until it can recognize the need for self-control.
Barring some great change in civilization's trajectory, the earth is as pristine now as it ever will be. It is our Eden. Within this tiny blue sphere is the capacity for total fulfillment, a place in which all basic human needs might be met. There is only one rule to sustain this Eden and it is the very same rule as that ancient Eden. Until we can follow it, we are doomed to toil in the ever growing, outcast wastes.
3.08.2009
Tiny Pine
Just a little tiny pine I found that had somehow survived the ice and snow of this winter. I was captured by the gnarled surroundings that it had chosen to inhabit.
2.20.2009
Whew, Music
Lately I've been getting heavily into Ladytron's latest album, Velocifero. It's dark and heavy, almost oppressive. I highly recommend it.
They have a page at www.LadyTron.com
They have a page at www.LadyTron.com
1.19.2009
Integrated-Color
Today I had the chance to meet (again) with Derrick at Integrated-Color, in Massachusetts. They produce a fairly awesome product called Color-Eyes which allows for the profiling of your capture device, and can significantly improve the rendering of color.
So much of my commercial work involves handling near-neutrals and near-whites, and I have been very frustrated at the workarounds I've had to invent in order to get the reproduction out of my camera that I want. I've probably spend fifty hours on it and still have limitations that I just can't overcome with out of the box profiling software.
I do think my methodology is sound, but it still results in increased perceptual noise, and trade-offs along the channel curves that I don't want to make, both in the specific dimension and in full volume.
More on this later, and hopefully some examples! It was very informative. I met Derrick through PIA-GATF's 2008 Color Management Conference, which in itself was a fantastic primer and great exposure to a lot of vendors that I didn't know existed.
If there's one issue I have with the pre-media industry, it's the lack of marketing to photographers, who (while not being particularly fluid) need color controls, often at a very high degree of specificity. Lacking the ability to manage these transformations has made my life miserable, and I'm sure it's making other photogs' lives miserable as well.
So much of my commercial work involves handling near-neutrals and near-whites, and I have been very frustrated at the workarounds I've had to invent in order to get the reproduction out of my camera that I want. I've probably spend fifty hours on it and still have limitations that I just can't overcome with out of the box profiling software.
I do think my methodology is sound, but it still results in increased perceptual noise, and trade-offs along the channel curves that I don't want to make, both in the specific dimension and in full volume.
More on this later, and hopefully some examples! It was very informative. I met Derrick through PIA-GATF's 2008 Color Management Conference, which in itself was a fantastic primer and great exposure to a lot of vendors that I didn't know existed.
If there's one issue I have with the pre-media industry, it's the lack of marketing to photographers, who (while not being particularly fluid) need color controls, often at a very high degree of specificity. Lacking the ability to manage these transformations has made my life miserable, and I'm sure it's making other photogs' lives miserable as well.
12.30.2008
Faux Daguerrotypes
I'm working on a process to make mock daguerrotypes (given that metals cost a freaking fortune these days), and I'm making a note of it here, so that I don't forget.
I WILL get better at updating this for 2009. 2009 sounds like a good year.
I WILL get better at updating this for 2009. 2009 sounds like a good year.
12.18.2008
Hot Joe!
I am fortunate enough to have a full time carpenter to call on for small projects, particularly sets and surfaces. He created several beautiful cherry surfaces, and in the process of testing one, about the only prop I had within reach (I was feeling lazy) was the cup of coffee in my hand.
I love the rich texture of this wood (and this particular stain). I just want to covet it. It's like melted chocolate. Water-base finish too, the results of which aren't usually very impressive, but in this case, it came out great (he's a superb craftsman). Check it out:
I love the rich texture of this wood (and this particular stain). I just want to covet it. It's like melted chocolate. Water-base finish too, the results of which aren't usually very impressive, but in this case, it came out great (he's a superb craftsman). Check it out:
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