Those who live in glass houses...

...build sliding walls! The Sliding House was built by an innovative architectural firm. They specialize in bizarre and unique buildings designed to be functional as well as aesthetic. Making designs that stand out and cause people to pause is no easy feat. This site, which focuses on unique architecture goes into more detail along with a video. Creating functional art is a noble cause. Too many things are boring because it is cheaper to mass produce straight lines and average products. Homes are no exception. I've checked out many homes over the years and have not been impressed. Many of the big, expensive homes in the great neighborhoods have very little design in them. They leave it up to the resident to add design via interior decoration. Rarely do I see a grand Victorian fireplace complete with dark carved wood mantles and marble inlay. I am told it is too expensive to do. Yet, I know there are cheaper ways to reproduce such aesthetic designs. Faux marble and molded statuary aren't as good as the real thing, but at least it is an attempt at design. Walls with real wood instead of dry wall are another design element that has been lost. I don't mean the ugly wood paneling from the 60's through the 70's either. Architecture, like literature is an art form that begs for new innovative ideas from unique, talented individuals.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead

Why computers are important.

The following video illustrates a point. Outside of the obvious inspirational aspect of this amazing team, it also show just how important computers can be. Since supporting computers is part of my livelihood, I hear many comments of how computers are monopolizing everyone's time. Maybe, but they are a valid tool for so many things. In medicine, communication and so much more, computers are just now embarking on an amazing frontier. Its hard to imagine life before them. Like TV, computers do take up a lot of the average persons time. However, what matters is what you do with it. The technology isn't the culprit. The user can make productive choices with what they do. Here's to the amazing communication devices which open up the world to people who depend on them. Caring, thinking, intelligent individuals who, without the aid of the computer, would otherwise not be able to communicate.

Library refuses to censor

A library in Effingham, Illinois voted to deny a request to remove Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott from the teen section's shelf. Amy Hibdon requested the book be removed due to the physical and sexual abuse the character is subjected to in the book. Her 15 yr old daughter checked the book out and was upset by the content according to Hibdon. She feels the book is too graphic for teens. The book is written from the perspective of a 15 yr old who is kidnapped and imprisoned at the age of 10.

“This is the first formal censorship request that has reached this point in the past eight years, according to Library Directory Jeannie May,” reports the Effingham Daily News. (the article contains a spoiler for the book, it gives away the ending) May told the board any decision made would set a precedence for the future. “I’m opposed to censorship,” said board member John Latta. “It is up to parents to censor the material they are reading, not the library.”

Is is right for libraries and book stores to deny access to material that is deemed controversial by conservative groups and parents? Should the parents, themselves, take the role of censor when it comes to their children's reading material? Many parents and groups are afraid that if some material is made accessible their innocent children will be exposed to bad information without the parents even knowing about it. Even worse, their children could be traumatized. This is why they advocate a form of censorship. They want to protect today's youths from graphic, controversial and corrupt text. On the other side of the coin, there are parents who want their kids to be well informed. How can they make educated decisions if they do not have exposure to both sides to an issue? Should there be warning labels or a form of ratings for books like music albums? Bad things happen, looking the other way isn't the answer. Exposing the bad issue can be the first step to creating an awareness and possibly even stopping it. Should it be left to the adults? Maybe, but one thing is for sure, kids will become informed one way or another whether you want them to or not. Should we not make sure the information they get is accurate?

There is one author I've spoken to who is related to a family who overly protected their kids. "I've seen what can happen to children who are protected too much. They become naive and gullible adults who lack a true ability to function in the tumultuous real world. My cousin grew up without any exposure to bad things. He was unable to get and hold a job because the world scared him too much. He was scared of everything because he was always taught that the world is bad and can hurt you. His family never allowed him to read or watch anything remotely negative. Now, as an adult, he still lives at home afraid to leave. His parents simpy write it off as autism, which, I know he is not because he has never been diagnosed. I know why he is the way he is."

This, of course, is an extreme example. However, the issue of censorship is as old as time and won't be going away any time soon.

Fahrenheit 451 gets a new look

The Ray Bradbury novel, Fahrenheit 451, which was publish in 1953, is now being released in a graphic novel format.
The artist who adapted the novel, Tim Hamilton, says he initially found the idea of taking on such a well-known book, intimidating. Hamilton did not collaborate with Bradbury, but he did get some sense of what the author thought the book should look like. Bradbury supports this interpretation of his story as he did the movie in 1966. In fact, he has given his full backing to the graphic adaptation. For Bradbury, a comic book collector since age 9, the idea is exciting.
"Buck Rogers came into my life in October of 1929," he says. "So you see, I have a strong interest in illustration, and a graphic novel is part of my life."
Bradbury was inspired to write Fahrenheit 451 after, at the age of 15, he saw images of books being burned in Hitler's Germany.
"It killed my heart and killed my soul," he says, "and the memory of Hitler burning the books caused me to sit down and write Fahrenheit 451."
With the latest book regulations, the idea of book burning isn't impossible to imagine. Bringing the story to a new medium will also attract a new generation of readers. Being politically, socially and actively aware of what is going on in the world is waning in much of today's youth. Bringing back the "good fight" and sparking a social conscious is an admirable thing to do. There are many such books awaiting to be resurrected in this and many other new forms today. Reading for pleasure is great. When the written word causes the reader to pause, if only for a moment, and think about a social injustice or new idea, then something wonderful has happened.

You're never too old or too young

I hear people say "I'm too old [young] to do..... People limit themselves by self established rules based on miscellaneous guidelines by unknown masses. When these same people see someone succeed they rationalize. "They're lucky, rich, talented, etc." What drives anyone to do anything? It all comes down to motivation and perseverance. The really successful ones have passion. A passion goes way beyond motivation. It is what drives someone to do something that they love. They do it for love and no other reason. Success tends to happen on its own. Children are taught to use their imaginations when they are very young. As they begin to grow, they are taught to use their intellect. A well rounded person uses both. Modern public education tends to stifle the natural creative side of a student. Art is considered an expendable subject when budgets are being made. Its no wonder that today's society is full of disgruntled people. The Tony Award winning actress Carol Channing set up a foundation to preserve the arts in the schools. As a senior citizen, she is very active with her work. She knows, personally, how important artistic release is to a young mind. She refuses to let age hinder her passion.
Then there's Alexa Kitchen. She has been drawing comic books and graphic novels since she was five. Actually, as soon as she was old enough to hold a crayon she was creating. Her parents recognized her passion and actively supported it. She had enough material for a book by the age of six. She has since been published with her latest book "Grownups are Dumb" out next month.
Alexa is now ten years old and shows no sign of stopping. What's the difference between her and other talented kids out there? Well, she was never told she was too young or that she couldn't do it.
There are so many "dream stoppers" out there that it boggles the mind. A dream stopper is someone who tells you to get your head out of the clouds, face reality and loves to use the word "can't". Too many people listen to them and too many people are them.
Like our current President of the U.S. , anyone can be anything they choose to be if they set their minds to it. If they have a passion for something good, they should follow it. No one can tell you who you are, only you can do that. So here's to dreams in all their lovely, creative forms.

Book Burning?

In this day and age you would think that the subject of book burning wouldn't be in the headlines. The Milwaukee branch of the Christian Civil Liberties Union and three plaintiffs are seeking the right “to publicly burn or destroy by other means” Baby Be-Bop, a book on the coming out of a gay teen by Francesca Lia Block. They are asking for $120,000 in damages after being “exposed” to it in a library display. The row over Be-bop, described by CCLU plaintiffs as “explicitly vulgar, racial and anti-Christian” blew up in April. Four members of the library board were suspended for refusing to remove the book and two others from the young adult section of the West Bend Community Memorial Library prior to the books being formally reviewed. The plaintiffs, all of whom are elderly, claim their mental and emotional well-being was impaired by seeing the book on display. One has to wonder if these people actually read the book.
In the book, "Dirk is beaten by gay bashers but steadfastly clings to the possibility of finding love," notes Salon. The book also uses "offensive" words... n*gg** and f*gg*t (I wouldn't want to be banned by spelling them out.) To a group calling themselves the West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries, that's enough to harm children. Of course, Mark Twain used the first word in his (sometimes banned) books. When the library ignored the original request for removal, the CCLU came in with the lawsuit. They say it uses racist and explicit terms and promotes discrimination. In fact, the book uses the terms to expose such things. It attributes the "bad words" to the antagonists in the book in order to illustrate how wrong such irrational bias is. The American Library Association addresses the issue here.
Book-burning didn't go out with the Inquisition. It was practiced as recently as WWII by another belief-system, Nazism - i.e. the belief in world domination by a master Aryan "race". There will always be those who want to "protect" the world from "bad things" and those who fight to preserve free speech. Sure, there are really bad things out there which a civilized world does not need, like murder, racism, oppression, etc. However, if there are no laws being broken and no harm being done to others, where do you draw the line? Sometimes you have to expose the "bad" in order to fight against it. Fortunately, so far, the library is winning the fight. Unfortunately, it is a huge expense that didn't need to be taken on right now. The money could have been used for new books and library updates instead of fighting a nuisance suit which, if won, will not make the library "pure" by the CCLU's standards anyway.

Time stands still for no man

Getting back to my normal routine isn't easy after a vacation of spontaneous gadding about. Waking up very early is the hardest part. I came across some interesting alarm clocks which, I thought, might make my getting up a little easier, or at the very least more interesting. My favorite was the polite alarm clock. The Polite Speaking Alarm Clock "reproduces the subtle wit employed by P. G. Wodehouse's most famous character, the valet Reginald Jeeves." In fact, it plays back 126 wake-up messages in the voice of Stephen Fry, such as "Excuse me sir, I'm so sorry to disturb you, but it appears to be morning... very inconvenient, I agree... I believe it is the rotation of the Earth that is to blame, sir." At $99.95, it is a bit pricey, but unique nonetheless.
Then there's the vibrating pillow that does what you’d expect, it vibrates. It not only works for the hearing impaired but also for the couple who wake up at different times in the morning. With this handy gadget, the one who gets to sleep in a bit later doesn't have to be disturbed by the partner's alarm. It is also a less shocking way to wake up. So is the Wind Chime clock which wakes you up to soothing chimes. If that isn't good enough, try waking yourself up. There's the alarm clock which allows you to record your own voice.
My son has an alarm clock that employs a whirligig which is ejected into the air when the alarm goes off. The sleeper must retrieve the flying wheel in order to stop the alarm. This works on the same principle as the Puzzle Alarm clock which ejects 4 puzzle pieces into the air when it goes off. It's guaranteed to get you out of bed. Not surprisingly, this alarm isn't used too often.
There is a website dedicated to clocks as entertainment. Albert Einstein said that time is an illusion, why not measure it creatively? Illusion is just another form of reality since we all have our own perspective to reality. Our senses perceive the world around us. Then our brains interpret the stimuli. I may look at a garden and see the beautiful flowers whereas another person may see the green grass or the weeds which long to be pulled. Yet another may see the sprinklers which are begging to be ran through. Time is the same way. Waking up time is way different than evening time. I like gadgets that entertain as well as perform a useful function.
Waking up with ease helps you start the day with a smile, or at the very least, without the normal aggravation. This eliminates the usual stress involved in waking up. Then, you can start your day with a clear, creative mind.