The classification of the European era between the decline of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance as the “Dark Ages” is now rejected by most modern historians.During the early Middle Ages, significant literary and educational advances (especially during the period known as the Carolingian Renaissance) were made, including the foundations of the modern university, as…
Category
Design
Authority, power, domination & intimidation is what dictators, kings & emperors have used to subjugate & oppress their people for centuries. So why do parents do the same thing?
Authoritarian leadership–whether at home or in the classroom–means that the control is in the hands of the adult leader. It has been researched and proven for decades how ineffective maintaining control through power is. Authoritarianism often creates fearful and subservient children and/or rebellion. … I have come to the conclusion that parents over the years…
To Think Is To Forget: Joshua Foer’s Moonwalking with Einstein
Perhaps, as Borges concludes in his story, “It is forgetting, not remembering, that is the essence of what makes us human. To make sense of the world we must filter it. To think,” Borgese writes, “is to forget.” I am currently enjoying Joshua Foer’s book Moonwalking with Einstein. It is a book about memory, specifically…
Gerard Manley Hopkins: As Kingfishers Catch Fire
As king fishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame; As tumbled over rim in roundy wells Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name; Each mortal thing does one thing and the same: Deals out that being indoors each one dwells; Selves — goes…
Designer James Victore On Truth Telling
Q: You mentioned that a lot of people write and tell you how much they’ve been impacted by your work. What do you think touches people so profoundly? A: I don’t know. I got a message from someone this morning telling me he liked the way I told the truth. Q: How do you think…
A Joyful Celebration (of Killing?)
Joyfully celebrating the killing of a killer who joyfully celebrated killing carries an irony that I hope will not be lost on us. Are we learning anything, or simply spinning harder in the cycle of violence? The quote above comes from Brian McLaren’s initial reaction to the news of Osama Bin Laden’s death. I don’t…
One part Rushdie, one part sweet typographic poster: To understand me you’ll have to swallow a world.
Poster design by Brett Thurman
Robert Henri on Good Composition
Good composition is like a suspension bridge; each line adds strength and takes none away…Making lines run into each other is not composition. There must be motive for the connection. Get the art of controlling the observer – that is composition. Quote and painting above from Robert Henri, prominent founder of the Ashcan School in…
But for you who fear my name
But for you who fear my name, The Son of righteousness will rise With healing in his wings. And you shall go forth again, And skip about like calves Coming from their stalls at last. Excerpt from the song But For You Who Fear My Name by The Welcome Wagon, written by Lenny Smith. Painting…
The Most Foundational Discipline
“Solitude.” “It is the most foundational of the disciplines of abstinence, the via negativa. The evangelical passion for engagement with the world is good. But as Thomas à Kempis says, the only person who’s safe to travel is the person who’s free to stay at home. And Pascal said that we would solve the world’s…