Reading Log: August 2019

Books that I read in August 2019

August 2019 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"The Genius of Birds," Jennifer Ackerman

“A Dangerous Man,” Robert Crais

"The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America," David Allen Sibley

“The City is a Labyrinth," Sarah Kate Istra Winter

National Wildlife Day

Fox Squirrel: photo by Cliff Hutson

Today, September 4, is also National Wildlife Day.

Reading Log: July 2019

The books that I "finished" reading in July 2019 

July 2019 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

“The Library Book,” Susan Orlean

"The Looking Glass War," John le Carré

“Observe, Collect, Draw!: A Visual Journal,” Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec

"Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen," Alton Brown

Speaking of July 2019

California Fan Palm: photo by Cliff Hutson

This past July was not only the hottest July but also the hottest month on Earth in recorded history.

Reading Log: May 2019

The books that I finished reading in May 2019

May 2019 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

“Celtic Empire,” Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler

“Nighthogs,” Stephan Pastis

“The Lost Art of Walking,” Geoff Nicholson 

Reading Log: March 2019

The books that I finished reading in March 2019

March 2019 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

“A Cook’s Tour,” Anthony Bourdain

Bourdain's account of traveling the world, eating local foods, and experiencing life with a very open mind. I am, for the most part, glad that it was him and not me as so many of his experiences seem very unpleasant.

“Doctor Who Scratchman,” Tom Baker with James Goss

This was a pretty good read. My main problem with it was that it is written as if someone was relating what they saw on TV the night before rather than it being an actual novel. 

“A Thief of Time,” Tony Hillerman

Last month I read "Spider Woman’s Daughter" by Hillerman's daughter Anne.  That book is based upon the characters first introduced in this novel; so I decided to reread it. My humble opinion is that it is the fr better of the two.

“Cooking for a Beautiful Woman,” Larry Levine

I seldom read memoir, but I found this to quite enjoyable. And, not just because my daughter is mentioned in it.

"W. E. B. Du Bois's Data Portraits Visualizing Black America," Whitney Battle-Baptiste, Britt Rusert

This was the highlight of the month. I have long been an admirer of the work of Edward Tufte in the presentation of information or data visualization. Little did I know that Du Bois, well known as an African-American writer, teacher, sociologist, and activist, was a leader in this field as well.  This book is a compilation of sociological charts, graphs, and maps from the 1900 Paris Exposition, created by Du Bois and his sociology students to illustrate the status of Black life in la fin du siècle America.  He was ahead of his time.

For "Firefly" Fans

Firefly was an American space Western drama television series which ran from 2002–2003.

Summer Glau

The Race: Part 1

Link

The Race: Part 2

Link

The Race: Part 3

Link

The Race: Part 4

Link

The Race: Part 5

Link

Serenity

As fans of Firefly know, it ended all too soon. The subsequent movie, Serenity (2005) was just not as satisfying for me.

Solar Powered Robot: photo by Cliff Hutson

Drawing a Blank

This Page

Blank Pages: photo by Cliff Hutson

One of the things that I have long found to be mildly annoying is coming upon a page in a publication that bears the imprint, "This page intentionally left blank." Because, of course it isn't. 

Aunt Dagmar

Then again, I have always taken to heart Aunt Dagmar's admonition, "If you don't have something to say, there is no need to open your mouth and prove it."

Tonight finds me up against my self-imposed deadline for publishing this blog and I am  pretty much clueless as to any vaguely interesting (even to just me) topic. So, I should stop right here with my own version of a page intentionally left blank.

Shakespeare 

"The rest is silence."  -  The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act V

SaveSave

Street Art

One of the simple pleasures in life is to grab a small camera and walk around town to see what art one can see.

Claremont

Pomona

October 2015 Reading List

The books I finished reading in October 20015

photo by Cliff Hutson

Wabi Sabi

It is hard to explain

Wikipedia tells us that the current meaning of Wabi connotes rustic simplicity, freshness or quietness, and can be applied to both natural and human-made objects, or understated elegance. It can also refer to quirks and anomalies arising from the process of construction, which add uniqueness and elegance to the object. Sabi is said to be beauty or serenity that comes with age, when the life of the object and its impermanence are evidenced in its patina and wear, or in any visible repairs.

The book, Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein  (Author), Ed Young (Illustrator), says that wabi sabi is a way of seeing the world and allows us to experience that feeling by following the journey of a little cat who sets out to find the meaning of her name.

In their own words

I very much enjoyed the book, even though I sense that my mind is wired such that I may not fully grasp a philosophy that is so deeply rooted in another culture. But, perhaps, that is wabi sabi in itself.

Anyway, I also suggest watching this short video of the author and artist talking about the process of creating the book.

Enjoy

September 2015 Reading List

The books I finished reading in September 2015

September 2015 Reading: photo by Cliff Hutson

Blackwing Slate

New Notebook

Blackwing Slate: photo by Cliff Hutson

I really did not need another notebook at this time. There are already a few in my stash waiting to be used. But, they tossed in two extra pencils, a Blackwing and a Blackwing Pearl, into the deal so how could I refuse that offer?

Three Palomino Pencils: photo by Cliff Hutson

The Palomino Blackwing Pearl is said to be softer than the Palomino Blackwing 602 (which comes bundled with the notebook), but firmer than the in the Palomino Blackwing. I guess that the Pearl should be the one that Goldilocks would prefer. Now that I have all three, I should probably do some sort of a side-by-side comparison. But, I am not sure if I have enough discrimination to do a bang up job of that.

Inside Cover: photo by Cliff Hutson

The back page of the journal is kind of interesting. It caused me to hunt down my 30th anniversary edition Jaws DVD. Sure enough, there is what looks like a Blackwing 602 clutched in the jaws of Matt Hooper (see #16) in the scene on the dock where he identifies the first shark.

My plan is to use the Slate to take over from the "What Did I Eat Today?, A Food Lover's Journal" which was such a disappointment. The Slate may not be "guided", but I am certain that it is going to serve me a whole lot better as a journal.

On Hanging Artwork

One Simple Rule

This afternoon I was about to drive the nails for hanging a newly framed reproduction of the renowned design Falling Water, Mill Run, PA by Frank Lloyd Wright when it occurred to me that there might be some rules about this sort of thing. So I stopped my work and spent some time perusing the internet. Sure enough, there is a rule.

The consensus is that the right height for hanging art is 57″ high on center. The center being the middle of the piece, of course. So, it turned out that I was going to be about an inch too low for the Wright. Then I measured this poster of Picasso and Duchamps which I hung a couple of weeks ago and was very happy with the result - it was right on the mark. A photo I hung last week deliberately to be at my eye level was too high. But, I am above average height.

Running through the house with my tape measure I was surprised at how often, through chance or whatever, this mark had been adhered to, give or take an inch. Conversely, things that have been unsettling are much too high. The 57 inch standard is based on average height, in an average room. Many of us might have to vary it based on our own heights or our plans were the artwork is to be placed. But, it seems to work in most cases.

Validation

Validation is Not Just for Parking

Austin Kleon's excellent book Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative makes a point that when you put something out into the world, you have no control over how people will react to it. Therefore, you should not care. Yet, he goes on to acknowledge that when people say nice things about your work it is a good feeling.

This past weekend I got to experience that feeling after I posted this photograph, of some pencils I recently purchased, to Flickr.

"Colorful" by Cliff Hutson

The number of "favorites", and comments it received was truly heartening. It seemed that every hour my iPod pinged showing that there had been activity on the photo. I had never experienced that before, and I have been on Flickr since October 2005. 

The thing of it is, that while I like this photo or otherwise not have put it on Flickr, I do not consider it one of my best. But, then Flickr's users have long amazed me. My most viewed photographs, of late, have been of apples; the fruit, not the computer; instead of my wildflower or food photography. However, the most viewed to date has this shot of basil, which I really love.

"Basil" by Cliff Hutson

By the way, here is the link to my photostream, just in case you want to take a look at my oeuvre. 

Portrait of an Old Man as an Artist, Part 1

Rat #1 by Cliff Hutson

Showing My Work

“Art is good for the soul.”  -  Edythe Broad

Art has long been a fascination of mine. One of my childhood memories is writing and illustrating a book about tadpoles which had a series of adventures based on Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.  But, I never drew very well and whenever I had to take an “art” class going through school I always finagled my way in to ceramics, art history, or (of course) photography rather than try my hand at drawing or painting where I would be judged on my efforts.

The desire to draw never was never completely submerged, though, and when I recently read a couple of books that were richly illustrated with drawings that could be described as primitive, if not crude, I dared to think  that I might be able to do as good as that. Now, I am sure that the people who did this work are highly talented and could probably work in any style they choose. Many comic strip creators have shown that they can hold their own in other genres. But, I figured it was worth a shot and, at my advanced age, picked up a couple of children’s books on drawing, some pens and pencils and am going to give it a go.

Rare Cat by Cliff Hutson

These three sketches are my first attempt at this endeavor. As noted, I have no designs on becoming an artist, but hope to get to a point where the viewer can tell the difference between a cat and a dog; or a rat and a Chihuahua. It is probably much too soon to show my work, but this sets the baseline and I am actually pleased with them in my way.  Also, by doing this I gain incentive to keep at it and see if can avoid totally embarrassing myself in the future.

It is said that creating art is a wonderful way to stimulate one’s brain, thereby improving well-being and health. I guess it pretty well accepted that taking on new challenges is one way of staving off the decline in cognitive abilities and memory that many of us experience in old age. And, as I am so untalented in this area, drawing will be particularly challenging to me.

Sleepy Cat by Cliff Hutson