A Little Pre-Summer Interlude

Ok, so I've been totally neglectful of the blog for months.  And now it's almost Memorial Day, which means Summer is nearly upon us, and I have a huge backlog of stuff I've been doing, all the while thinking, "this would be good to put on the blog..."

And then I'm onto the next thing without taking any time out to stop and reflect and think about anything.  And then the next thing, and the next thing and the next thing.

Meanwhile there the blog sits in a big old months-long silent streak.

Going to try and break that streak right here and now with a fun little interlude that will hopefully help lead us into a fun summer of adventures and blogging about them.

Here (below) is an interactive panoramic photo I shot last summer, when I was in Chicago playing Uncle Nanny to my sister's kids and hanging around photographing buildings in the Loop in my spare time.  You can click anywhere on the image (once it loads its 5 mb - sorry about the size) and pan around almost a full 360 degrees.

Creatures of Prometheus 2nd Blogiversary

Today we are celebrating our 2nd Blogiversary here at Creatures of Prometheus!  Hooray!

If you haven't ever read my first post, which explains why I named the blog Creatures of Prometheus, now's your chance. Here's a handy link to make it easy. I just reread it and have to say, it is a fine little piece of writing.  Two years later, it really holds up. Beethoven, ancient mythology, and Ayn Rand, all wrapped up in a tidy little package, tied with a bow.

Last year I didn't do anything to mark the occasion, as I was thrown pretty suddenly into hand surgery in early February, and thus never got to it.  This time around, I want to mention some of the things I've written about, of which I'm especially proud, and in no particular order.

My series on John Lautner still gets tons of hits from Google image searches. I toured some of his houses last summer and wrote about 2 of them. I'm going to revive this series and add to it, because next Friday I'm going to Palm Springs with my friend LouAnne to tour the Elrod House, which ought to be pretty spectacular. I really really really really really hope they let us take pictures!

Back in 2010 I went on an epic 10-week road trip and helped build my greatest residential commission to date: the Tennessee House. Many of those posts are labeled under both categories, but not all of them are.  I'm so happy that I made the effort that I did to document both the trip and project. I will always look back upon that experience as one (of what will hopefully be many) of the highlights of my career.

I'm getting back into a lot more welding and making things here in the shop these days, so I'm looking forward to adding a lot of new stuff to those categories this year.

Studying Objectivism and contemplating its application to my life, and using the blog to work through my ideas and discoveries, gives me a certain type of fuel that is both intellectual and emotional. There are some really good insights in that category, and I hope to continue with more of those in the coming blog-year.

Along with Ayn Rand's work, I really enjoy digging into the writings and work of Louis Sullivan. He was such a profound thinker, it's really hard to overstate the importance of his writings.  I just discovered that all his posts aren't labeled, so I'll have to go in and fix that behind the scenes. My pictures of the Auditorium Building also get tons of hits from Google image searches, which is pretty neat, I think.

And, last but not least, the recipes posted under Paleo Food Intake Strategy also get tons of hits! Hopefully I'll be able to do more writing on food in the coming year also.

It's good to spend a minute going through the blog archives, because it makes me realize how much I've covered on the blog, and how much I still want to do!

Time to get busy!

Cheers!

Puppy Love: Valentine's Daisy Edition

Here it is, Valentine's Day, and I am completely remiss for not posting sooner about the new pup, Daisy. She came home to live with Paul and me (and Roomie) on New Year's Eve, making it 6 weeks that she has been part of our little household. I mentioned her in my 2011 Year In Review post, but that's been about it.

When I first saw Daisy at the pound, I pretty much knew she'd end up coming home with us. This was her mug shot, and a few pictures of her from the pound:

Reflections on Randsday

Today we're celebrating Ayn Rand's birthday, here at Creatures of Prometheus.  Harry Binswanger has come up with a really great way of marking the occasion: the creation of a new holiday, Randsday.  

To celebrate Randsday, you do something not done on any other holiday: you give yourself a present. Randsday is for getting that longed-for luxury you ordinarily would not buy for yourself. Or for doing that long-postponed, self-pampering activity you cannot seem to fit into your chore-packed schedule...On Randsday, if you do something that you ordinarily would think of as “fun,” you do it on a different premise and with a deeper meaning: that you need pleasure, you are entitled to it, and that the purpose and justification of your existence is: getting what you want—what you really want, with full consciousness and dedication.

Getting what you want, with full consciousness and dedication.  Getting what you really want, not just as a whim or an impulse, but, rather, getting what you really want out of your life.

Randsday is about pursuing your happiness. It's about recognizing that your life belongs to you, and only to you, and that you only get one, and it's short, and so you better get busy, because if you don't pursue your own happiness it's not like someone is just going to come around and hand you some.  You have to earn it.

So when you treat yourself to that special Randsday present (which, for me, is that Kindle Touch I've been wanting for weeks now), remember these words:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.  

Your life belongs to you.  Go live it.

Sam Maloof Exhibit at the Huntington

A nice collection of the work of iconic Southern California furniture maker Sam Maloof, along with many other artists and craftsmen in his circle, has been on exhibit at the Huntington since September; Roomie and I finally made it over there last Sunday to have a look and get inspired.

Maloof started out in the early 1950s, and this show presented examples of his work from private collections through 1985.  Below are my favorite pieces from the show, presented in roughly chronological order, which is the order in which they were displayed in the exhibit.

String Chair

I like this chair for its simplicity, low proportions, and the unexpected, fun shape of the rear legs. It makes me want to do something similar in steel as a study piece.

Going Dark to Protest SOPA & PIPA

Just announcing that Creatures of Prometheus will go dark tomorrow, January 18, 2012, along with Wikipedia, Google, Mozilla, reddit, and many other sites, to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act, and the Protect IP Act.

These two bills, now being considered in Congress, would represent a massive power grab by Washington, and would change the way the internet functions, forever.  If either of these bills becomes law, the government will have wide, new powers to shut down entire websites, immediately and without hearings, trials, or anything, based on simple (or wild) accusations of piracy or intellectual property misuse.  Apparently, you can even be shut down for linking to such alleged material - it doesn't have to be actually posted on your webpage.

This is NOT the way online piracy should be handled.

You can learn more here: http://sopastrike.com/

Educate yourself.  Write your congresspersons and tell them to oppose these draconian bills.  Lend your voice to the struggle.  Washington needs to know enough is enough!

-Earl

p.s. I'll be back later in the week, with an update on the new pup!

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UPDATE: I created this avatar for my facebook and twitter accounts; feel free to copy and use it!

2011 Year-In-Review at Creatures of Prometheus

Let's just say that my 2011 had its ups and downs. It certainly felt at times like I was having way more than my fair share of frustrations heaped upon me, but there were some really stellar moments as well.

Let's go month by month, Rational Jenn Style, through the year.