June 8, 2014
October 21, 2013
October 14, 2013
people I spoke to today, in order, by first contact
wife
friend
workplace secretary
workplace superior
bakery employee
workplace colleague
workplace secretary
deli clerk
office receptionist
co-counsel (a lawyer)
co-counsel's paralegal
coffee-shop employee
workplace colleagues (2)
food-service workers (2)
wife's workplace superior
workplace janitor
grocery-store clerk
friend
workplace secretary
workplace superior
bakery employee
workplace colleague
workplace secretary
deli clerk
office receptionist
co-counsel (a lawyer)
co-counsel's paralegal
coffee-shop employee
workplace colleagues (2)
food-service workers (2)
wife's workplace superior
workplace janitor
grocery-store clerk
October 11, 2013
Saint Lucy Enthroned (ca. 1375) by Giovanni di Bartolomeo Cristiani
one of these angels does not take well to playing a supporting role for all eternity. she seems to be a stand-in for the painter.
perhaps the painter would be happy to learn that we do not esteem his painting out of any reverence for St. Lucy.
perhaps the painter would be happy to learn that we do not esteem his painting out of any reverence for St. Lucy.
October 10, 2013
old testament carpenters become Hank
a few months ago, an old friend of mine changed his name from Ithamar to Hank.
yesterday a newer friend of mine told me that her father, given name Chenoch, changed his name to Hank some years ago.
my old friend and my newer friend's father are both carpenters by profession.
yesterday a newer friend of mine told me that her father, given name Chenoch, changed his name to Hank some years ago.
my old friend and my newer friend's father are both carpenters by profession.
September 28, 2013
two stories about being shy
a young man I met this evening told me that he was shy as a child, but it took him some time to realize it.
once, on the crosstown bus to school, he and a group of friends were talking about baseball. there was a lull in the conversation.
one of the boys turned to him and said, why aren't you asking any questions?
he didn't know how to answer.
a few years later, one of the popular kids left sleepaway camp for a few days to get minor dental surgery. when the boy came back, he said the surgery had deeply affected him. he announced to the bunk that going forward he would be speaking more.
the young man acknowledged that the popular kid's announcement, he realized even at the time, was somewhat ridiculous.
thinking back, the young man said that the announcement and the question on the bus were important clues. they taught him that conversation wasn't something that just happened, that people had a choice about how much or how little to talk.
once, on the crosstown bus to school, he and a group of friends were talking about baseball. there was a lull in the conversation.
one of the boys turned to him and said, why aren't you asking any questions?
he didn't know how to answer.
a few years later, one of the popular kids left sleepaway camp for a few days to get minor dental surgery. when the boy came back, he said the surgery had deeply affected him. he announced to the bunk that going forward he would be speaking more.
the young man acknowledged that the popular kid's announcement, he realized even at the time, was somewhat ridiculous.
thinking back, the young man said that the announcement and the question on the bus were important clues. they taught him that conversation wasn't something that just happened, that people had a choice about how much or how little to talk.
September 23, 2013
my sister's exhibit
it's her first big exhibit. not in the exhibit is the ketubah, or wedding contract, that she did for me and my wife, although that document now strikes me as more public, more of the world, than before.
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| installation views |
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| ketubah, at home |
September 22, 2013
September 16, 2013
encyclopedia galactica, 'homo sapiens: neonates and children' (excerpt)
because the children's creative urges were otherwise irrepressible, authorities restricted access to artifact-making materials characterized by easy operability and low barriers to aesthetic realization.
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| spray paint for sale |
September 15, 2013
mystery begets mystery
no one could say what the name of this pizza place means. nearby, a church displays the shield of the trinity over the crossing.
September 11, 2013
my friend's brother
we were sitting indoors.
my friend's brother wriggled a winter glove over his right hand. with that hand he reached into a brown paper bag and took out an apple. he ate the apple.
someone said, what's with the glove.
my friend's brother said, my hand is dirty.
this happened some time ago. I realized today that my friend's brother, who at the time kept himself poorly, probably did not maintain clean gloves. and now he'd made his gloves dirty on the inside, too.
my friend's brother wriggled a winter glove over his right hand. with that hand he reached into a brown paper bag and took out an apple. he ate the apple.
someone said, what's with the glove.
my friend's brother said, my hand is dirty.
this happened some time ago. I realized today that my friend's brother, who at the time kept himself poorly, probably did not maintain clean gloves. and now he'd made his gloves dirty on the inside, too.
September 9, 2013
Lissa Pregnant (1973) by John DeAndrea
at a wax museum, the subjects take on familiar poses. the hope is that merely getting close to a high-stature person will confer upon us grace.
when the subject is less well-known we would like, to be stirred, a more thoroughgoing voyeurism.
September 8, 2013
science fiction koan (adapted)
the tree that grows on this side of the meadow grows on the opposite side. your strong hand is your weak one, your weak one strong. the heart is on the other side of the chest. the night sky is a reflection of itself.
in short, everything in the other world is exactly the same as here, only transposed, as though in a mirror.
the disciple said that if she lived in the reflected world, she would notice no difference. two things without a difference being the same, our world and the reflected world are the same.
the teacher said that she, the teacher, would notice no difference between our world and any other -- even one where red is green, light is dark, fast is slow. two things without a difference being the same, our world is every other.
in short, everything in the other world is exactly the same as here, only transposed, as though in a mirror.
the disciple said that if she lived in the reflected world, she would notice no difference. two things without a difference being the same, our world and the reflected world are the same.
the teacher said that she, the teacher, would notice no difference between our world and any other -- even one where red is green, light is dark, fast is slow. two things without a difference being the same, our world is every other.
September 6, 2013
miniature-golf hole designer
the man who designed the hole was milling around the course.
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people told him they liked it -- a soft incline of astro turf, and, halfway up the slope, a pinball flipper controlled by stepping on a red button on the ground.
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September 3, 2013
man with banjo, and friends
they ran over the snake with a truck, lopped off the head and were drying the body on same truck, to make jerky.
the man with the banjo said that as the snake dries, the bones get brittle and crunchy, easy to chew through.
they were selling the head for fifty dollars, and the rattle for ninety, to no one in particular.
the man with the banjo said that as the snake dries, the bones get brittle and crunchy, easy to chew through.
they were selling the head for fifty dollars, and the rattle for ninety, to no one in particular.
August 23, 2013
people I spoke to today, in order, by first contact
wife
deli proprietor
workplace secretaries (2)
bagel store employees (2)
workplace superior
workplace colleague
restaurant employees (2)
food-service worker
store clerk
friend
deli proprietor
workplace secretaries (2)
bagel store employees (2)
workplace superior
workplace colleague
restaurant employees (2)
food-service worker
store clerk
friend
August 21, 2013
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