Third Sentence Thursday 2014-01-02: Washington Square

Posted on 2014 Jan 02 by Kat

In a country in which, to play a social part, you must either earn your income or make believe that you earn it, the healing art has appeared in a high degree to combine two recognised sources of credit.

Washington Square, Henry James (1880), p. 1.

Washington Square is the first book on my 2014 Mount TBR Challenge list. Originally published as a magazine serial, it struck my fancy for two reasons. First, I love the way James uses language. Like many 19th c. authors, his words demand to be read out loud; they taste good. Second, the setting for the story is a brownstone on Washington Square North in New York’s Greenwich Village, within spitting distance of my brother-in-law’s NYU faculty apartment.

Washington Square North

Henry James looks at family life and relationships with a peculiarly intense lens. The rigidly domineering father, the clueless wimp of a daughter, and the interfering relatives and friends would be irritating in real life, but are fascinating character studies when clothed in James’ elegant prose.

The “sources of credit” that the author ascribes to the healing art?

  1. “It belongs to the realm of the practical”
    The doctor may be a scholarly sort, but his remedies are quite specific and generally useful.
  2. “[I]t is touched by the light of science”
    Science was a big deal in America in 1880. The year’s newsmakers included Thomas Edison and Pierre Curie, and the journal Science was first published that February.
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Wordless Wednesday: 2014-01-01

Posted on 2014 Jan 01 by Kat

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New Year’s Resolution #1 for 2014

Posted on 2013 Dec 31 by Kat

purr more, hiss less

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Do you see the glass as half full or half empty?

Posted on 2013 Dec 06 by Kat

For a while, back in the last decade, interviews for freelance contracts (and for full-time jobs, I assume) were loaded with pseudo-psychological trick questions. One I remember vividly involved a 5-inch high water glass with about 2 inches of water in it.

half empty half full

When asked whether the glass was half full or half empty, the candidate picks their preferred alternative. The half-full optimist gets the job, of course, while the half-empty pessimist is dismissed to consider the error of her ways.

I had a serious problem. I knew which alternative I should choose to get the project contract. But…but…the glass sitting on that desk didn’t fit either situation. It wasn’t half full, it was roughly 40% full. It wasn’t half empty, either, it was 60% empty. What should I say?

If I’d been interviewing for a tech writing job in a research lab, I would have been tempted to say that initial observation indicated the glass was less than half full, but a simple series of experiments would settle the issue, and we could probably get a grant for the study.

This wasn’t a research lab, though, it was a company that provided payroll and benefits management services to other corporations. Strict dress code, rule-driven work environment, hierarchical management structure. I thought for a bit, then asked the interviewer how her manager would answer that question.

I got the job.

~

For a more scientific speculation on the half-full vs. half-empty dichotomy, see this XKCD cartoon:

http://what-if.xkcd.com/6/

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Mindful Monday: As SLow aS Possible

Posted on 2013 Dec 02 by Kat

Time.
Before/After.
Early/Late.
Deadlines.
Stress.

It’s hard to be mindful when your life is deadline-driven. Clients think they need everything yesterday. Assignment instructions always include ASAP: As Soon As Possible. Taking time to smell the flowers can feel like negligence or failure, lack of motivation to accomplish something important.

I’m intrigued by a piece that John Cage composed in the mid-1980s: “ORGAN^2/ASLSP.” (ASLSP = As SLow aS Possible.) Cage never said exactly how slow it was supposed to be played; duration was left to the performer. The first performance lasted 29 minutes. Others have lasted well over an hour.

After Cage’s death in 1992, a group of musicians, musicologists, philosophers, and at least one theologian began discussing just how slow “As SLow aS Possible” could be. The result? A performance on a makeshift organ in the medieval church of St. Burchardi in Halberstadt, Germany. At any given time, the organ contains only the keys and pipes required for the notes currently being played, with pieces being added to or removed from the instrument as needed. The proper keys for each cord are held down by rocks or other heavy objects, and an electronic blower maintains air pressure to keep the notes sounding without interruption.

The performance began on September 5, 2001, with several counts of…silence. The first chord began on February 5, 2003. The chord changed in 2004, and the next change was in 2006. Each movement lasts approximately 71 years. The entire performance is expected to finish in the year 2640 (assuming we still maintain the same system for counting/naming years).

Time.
Before.
After.
Early.
Late.

What kind of magnificence could we produce if we forgot about time and allowed ourselves 639 years to accomplish something?

———-

For more information about the project, see:

http://www.theclassicalgirl.com/john-cage-as-slow-as-possible/

http://blog.longnow.org/02008/10/02/as-slow-as-possible/

To hear the current chord, visit http://www.aslsp.org/ and click the Play button under Aktueller Ton in the right sidebar. (No rush. It will sound until the next chord plays on September 5, 2020.)

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