Science and Art, A 'Perfect' Marriage: RSVP by June 15th

Science and Art, A Perfect Marriage: RSVP by June 15th


I am finding a new passion for Theoretical Physics and Thought Experiments. I think the responsibility of the artist has become to link the two, using the physical surface of the canvas or other (non)material surface as outlet to chip away at notions of reality and human nature. Most if it's wrong, "or not even wrong."

You don't have to be good at math to understand (minimally) theoretical physics.

Anyone can understand how a cat in a box (Schrodinger) can be both alive and dead at the same time, but can everyone understand it mathematically?

I think I too may have an undiagnosed brain condition that doesn't allow me to remember dates and figures...

Animation might be a good way to project these ideas. Anyone out there want to teach me how on a computer (first draw them, then put them on a screen so one can push 'play')? A certain sibling of mine has gotten quite good at this....hmmm

Alright, so I have been out of the game here for a little while- but I promised my brother I wouldn't apologize for anything on this blog, so I won't.

There have been some pretty big changes in my life as of late. Or rather, the changes will begin to take affect this coming Monday. As many of you know, I currently work at a medical non-profit that does continuing medical education. Its not anywhere near my dream job, but whatever. Actually, my "dream job" is to not have a job at all and be financially independent, paint, write and take photographs during my waking hours and sell my work (i.e. professional artist). This is what I am meant to do. Anyone want to give me $10,000? I am convinced that if I had $10,000 I could turn it into a million dollars within ten years and then I would live off of the interest. 10 years is a long time to get out of the office, but its not as long as a lifetime.

I really don't think I am cut out for the office lifestyle. In my mind, I feel like an ape in a china shop. Is that a quote from something? I am sure I am not the first to use that simile.

Cary Tennis over at Salon said in his post today, "The 'office' is a diabolical laboratory of the human soul in which the mind is extracted from the body and used as a discrete computing cell in a vast engine of commerce. In the course of adaptation, the human personality is subjected to unholy stresses similar to those experienced by apes in a cage." I like that explanation.

I do have to say though, that I am good at it. Mainly because i am detail oriented and have a compulsive need to complete tasks in one sitting. So alas, this is where my life is right now.

Starting Monday, I will be working at a well known university in Washington, DC at the School of Music working partly as the assistant to the dean, partly as a development director, and partly as a PR coordinator. My office has my name on the door. Its permanent, its a for sure thing. Slightly bigger salary, tuition benefits (I can work towards getting a master's), bigger responsibilities, bigger learning curve. Yes, it is a step up from my current job. But is it a step up in the direction I want to be going? Not really. Not at all. The biggest attraction is free tuition at this VERY expensive school. The drawback to this attraction? They don't offer any master's programs that are creative in nature (does Architecture count?), and music is not my forte. Though, I have had fantasies about being the lead singer in a grunge band. What? You can't picture me doing that? meh.

I do believe that it will be an enjoyable job for the most part, and I am genuinely looking forward to it. Change is a good thing.

The other thing that is changing soon is that we are moving out of our roach infested apartment building where the front door lock is broken every other day, into a nice, two bedroom, gorgeous apartment in Georgetown. Yes, that's what I said, Georgetown. Our next door neighbor (literally) is Bob Woodward. I am not bragging, I am just trying to convey a sense of bewilderment. Never, have I ever, imagined that I would live in Georgetown. This is the neighborhood where Condoleezza Rice meets Scooter Libby for coffee (well, not anymore). Don't get me wrong- it has never even been a desire of mine to live there. It just sort of happened. People in Washington vy for apartments in Georgetown. People will pay exorbitantly high rent to live there. It is in demand so much, that network television should do a show in the same vein as American Idol, but with people competing to get an apartment there.

I wont go into how this came about, but lets just say it fell into our laps. Actually, the new job did too. And these two things happened on the same day. It's strange how life works. Isn't there a saying that things come in three's? I am still waiting for the third thing.

Also, I am considering discontinuing this blog all together. The theme doesn't really make any sense does it? I started out the blog, not really knowing what it was going to be about, so it ended up being about everything. A part of me wants to start fresh, with a whole new blog with a more streamlined theme. I haven't completely made up my mind though. Any suggestions?

Inland Empire

David Lynch's new film, Inland Empire

What can one say about this movie?

I saw it a few weeks ago at the a AFI theater in Silver Spring, Maryland and I felt very inspired and creative when I walked out of the dark theater into the snowy and quiet afternoon. It takes a while for all David Lynch's movies to set in, but this one more so.

It is an incredibly long movie- about 3 hours I believe. David Lynch movies are designed to make you squirm in your seat, but since this one was so long it made you squirm even more. The only negative thing I can say about this movie is that it was so long that it made me conscious of how long it was and towards the end I found myself thinking, "When is this going to be over? I am getting a bit tired of sitting in this chair."

First of all, I have heard rumor that the way he filmed this was different from how he goes about producing his other movies. What he did supposedly, was just got a bunch of actors together and started filming whatever came up with no concrete or particular plan in mind. They did this for THREE YEARS, just filmed what they felt like filming. At the end of that three years, David Lynch somehow put scenes together and made a story out of it. I find that absolutely brilliant. I am a painter, and one thing that I aways strive for is to show the process of painting in the paintings themselves. David Lynch has found a brilliant way of doing that with this movie, by implementing the movie making process backwards. It definitely shows. To me, this is creative genius.

Don't assume that this would make the movie more confusing than his other films. That would be a natural assumption, since most of his movies are very confusing plot wise. And since he created this film in a non linear fashion, it would seem obvious that this would be even more confusing. Quite the contrary, I found this film to be less confusing than his others.

This film was David Lynch in his prime. He is an old man now, and his has finally met his mark. Laura Dern was fascinating. I have a new found respect for her. Whenever I thought of Laura Dern before, I always thought of blockbusters like Jurassic Park. Now though, I admire her brevity and sophisticated charm.

What this movie made me think about most of all, was the classic idea of "The world is a stage." All of his movies get to that on some level or another, but I really felt it on this one. When I took the bus home after seeing it, I stared out the window at the snow and decided that there are two ways to see one's personal world and environment. My life at that moment could be mysterious and horrific (there could be strange things going on out there in the snow- some strange human like creature hiding behind a lamp post- staring at me as I rode by), or it could be calm, peaceful and beautiful. I like both options, to be honest with you. Either one makes life more interesting and reflective. What if one were to live their life this way- by seeing from one of these two perspectives constantly- taking turns between the two? What kind of interesting roads would that take you down?

Another important idea to note is, all of the characters in Inland Empire, at least all of the female characters (there were many) are representations of aspects of the female psyche that resides in each and every female I know, including me. A woman's inner life is complex and fascinating. It would be a shame to reduce women's innards to simplistic and logical emotions like we do in our day to day lives (its much easier that way), because they are much more than that. Always.

Last but not least, symbology. Many would believe that Lynch's bizarre and absurd films are filled with symbolism and people will rack their brains for months trying to figure out what he was trying to get across. However, I do not think Lynch deals in symbolism at all. I think all of these meanderings and train of thoughts he takes us though, are simply that; meanderings and trains of thoughts. They represent themselves, and nothing else. In order to get though Inland Empire, it is important to go with the flow of scenes and plot turns. You just have to let Lynch take you for a ride, and trust that where he is taking you is going to be strange and entertaining- and will leave you with a little bit of a different perspective on life.

The next movie that should be arriving in my mailbox (Netflix) is a Lynch movie I have never seen, called Wild At Heart starring Laura Dern (yay!) and Nicholas Cage. I will let you know how it turns out.