via Chemin Faisant (fabulous tumblr):

 

“A serious and good philosophical work could be written consisting entirely of jokes.”
- Ludwig Wittgenstein 

On Well-being

By Ilse Crawford:

Wellbeing deserves to be given equal billing to our economic aspirations… because the one without the other does not add up.

Read the entire essay here, it's very good.

On the Limits of Memory

"...the new science of memory tells us that remembering is just that: a story. Memories are not stashed away, fully formed, in the vaults of the brain; they are constructed, when needed, according to the demands of the present. And they are soberingly fragile as a result. You can have vivid memories for things that never happened, and you can come away with only the sketchiest recollections of events that actually did." More here.

This is very appealing to me, and probably the basis for a lot of my art. (Some new drawings coming soon, by the way!)

images via square america.

I knew it all along.

Les choses sont contre nous -- "Things are against us."

 Photo via "The Haunted Household" by Christopher Niemann

Resistentialism, people. I swear, I spend half my time at my drafting table looking for the pencil or eraser I was just using. It sneaks off and hides underneath books and papers. Sometimes it quietly jumps to the floor and very carefully rolls itself into the spot that is least reachable. I know this for a fact. Ever wondered why your kitchen utensils always jam the drawer and keep it from opening? Inanimate objects conspire to make your life more difficult, that's why!

This is the nearest English translation I can find for the basic concept of Resistentialism, the grim but enthralling philosophy now identified with bespectacled, betrousered, two-eyed Pierre-Marie Ventre. In transferring the dynamic of philosophy from man to a world of hostile Things,’ Ventre has achieved a major revolution of thought, to which he himself gave the name ‘Resistentialism’. Things (res) resist (résister) man (homme, understood). Ventre makes a complete break with traditional philosophic method. Except for his German precursors, Freidegg and Heidansiecker, all previous thinkers from the Eleatics to Marx have allowed at least some legitimacy to human thought and effort. Some, like Hegel or Berkeley, go so far as to make man’s thought the supreme reality. In the Resistentialist cosmology that is now the intellectual rage of Paris Ventre offers us a grand vision of the Universe as One Thing – the Ultimate Thing (Dernière Chose). And it is against us.

Report on Resistialism, Paul Jennings, The Jenguin Pennings, 1963, reprinted from Town & Country (USA). 

More on this most serious subject here and here. Via Boing Boing.

On Determination and Cheerfulness

As I look out on my yard, which is chock-full of dandelions, I decide to use them as a model for survival. Here's my philosophical guide, from Richard Reynolds and The School of Life (I highly recommend you read the whole thing, it's short):

Taraxacum officinalis - the posh name for dandelions – even sounds unpleasant, like a demanding letter from HMRC. They are the definitive weeds but they are far from weedy. Dandelions are determination incarnate. “Be brave as a lion”. Fine. But “Be determined like a dandelion.” It’s not an ancient Chinese proverb, but it should be...

 

It’s the nature of a dandelion’s determination that is so infuriating to the lawn layer but of value as a guide to modern life. It puts down deep roots. Determination requires the confidence that comes from being grounded. This way you’ll be more resistant to the bluster above ground and able to grow and spread.

Besides, it's the basis of our tortoises' diet.

With this in mind, I am putting on some music and heading off into the studio.

What it is

Wabi-Sabi
I was first introduced to the concept of wabi-sabi in 1977 by my college boyfriend who was taking a Japanese brush painting class from Shozo Sato.  I have always been attracted to this way of understanding things, even if my western-mind understanding is imperfect. This is an interesting essay on the subject.

Perfectly imperfect. Beautifully transient/unconventional/intimate/simple. The evocation of nature. Also, it can be something so homely it turns all the way around into beauty. Here are a few images that evoke the feeling for me:

photos from top: zoe palmer; billyblue22 at etsy; painted metal at etsy; localamishfarms.com; national geographic;  robert parkeharrison