Engaging the Senses

Shiny things. What is it about shiny things that grab our attention. Why choose shiny instead of dull, sparkling instead of drab? I suspect it has something to do with the long history of evolution of humanity as a species. I suspect it hits the deepest part of the brain; something like: 

"Hey, Sam! I think the water's this a'way. See that little bit of shine over yonder?" 

Look at this lovely waterfall. Here we get the swishing sound of the rushing
water, the smell of the water and the moss-covered rocks, the texture of
the rocks themselves, the smell of water and greenery, and I'm sure
the taste of the water would be wonderful and cold. 

Yes, that ability to find water by the sparkle of sunlight on the shiny arcs of liquid is a very human thing. I choose sight, because our sense of smell is rather dismal. There are animals who would be able to smell the water from long distances away, but humanity evolved into sight-operated entities with sound augmentation. We see, we hear and finally we smell and we taste. Sometimes touch comes into the equation too. To be truly satisfied on all levels, we must totally engage all of these aspects of being human. Think about it. 

The more senses are engaged in a project or event, the more you'll
be involved in it and the happier you'll generally be. Think about
attending a concert. You hear the music, you often drink a beverage
while listening, You see the musicians and their stage show. You
smell the people next to you and the singed smoke from any
pyrotechnics, and you touch the person dancing next to you. It's
a total experience. 

Two of the major products I sell are beads and jewelry. They are often sparkling, with a sheen from the lights and a color that is augmented by the colors that hang nearby. Although sound doesn't often play into jewelry, there is something intensely satisfying when pouring small beads onto a beading surface so they are ready to use in a project. It's a "swish" type of sound, a small rattle at a low pitch. There's no taste, and no smell for either jewelry or beads, the materials they are made from are inert. I suppose there's a back-of-the-mouth metallic tang if I put tongue to metal, but jewelry is rarely (if ever) made for tongue and taste. Touch is big, though. A good piece of jewelry, a beading project in the making, these are items that beg to be stroked, fondled, and hefted. 

This is an item entitled a "Jade Fondling Stone". I'd probably be
calling it a "worry stone", but the concept is the same. Just look
at it. doesn't the light texturing of the larger stone invite
the hand? Isn't that indentation just asking to be caressed? Stone
and other natural materials are popular because they beg to be
fondled and stroked. 

Think about it for a moment as you go through your day today. How many of your senses are you engaging at any given time? Vision is almost always a basic, but touch and smell certainly come into play often during an average day. Try to engage your senses more fully today. Pay attention to your reactions to sight, smell, sound, taste and texture. See how many ways you can experience that cup of coffee or that book from the shelf. Deepen your appreciation of the depths of your humanity and find that water sparkling far away in the distance. Happy Friday, I'll be back tomorrow. 

Celebrating the Little Things

Sometimes it's the little things that make life better. Yesterday I indulged. While shopping at the grand emporium named "Target", I added a few things to my cart. Underwear. "Underwear?" you might be asking. "What's so darned enabling about underwear?" 

The first set I ended up with were cotton hipsters
by Hanes. I like the brand - they fit well, they
launder well, and they seem to be able to
take hard wearing through the gym and my
daily life. 

I had a customer in my store within the past week who told me that she went through her closet every six months and if there were items she didn't wear or didn't want any more, she bundled them together and gave them to a few friends who then passed them on farther if the gift wasn't appreciated. She said all of this while pulling her charge card from her Michael Kors handbag. 

I resisted telling her that my closet held items decades old and that I was pretty happy I hadn't gotten rid of old clothing after I lost my weight because I had a ready-made "new" wardrobe available to me without having to spend a ridiculous amount on new clothes. (I guess it's pretty obvious that while I adore fashion, I'm not a clothes-horse and I like to be thrifty.) 

I got five pairs of assorted Auden-brand undies. This is one
of the styles I ended up with. It's rather cute, but still a
bit modest because I am over 60 - reality dictates a bit
of modesty at my age. 

My underwear, however, was looking rather sad, so I determined to find a few new pairs so that I could toss out some of the old. (Used underwear is NEVER passed on, except to the trash. Generosity has its' limits.) After cruising the aisles (and asking for directions to the correct area in the newly remodeled store) I discovered the correct department. I found a sensible, reasonable and comfortable set of six everyday undies, and then found a display of fancy-dancy undies for a great price - $20 for 5 pairs. SCORE! I chose five pairs, bringing my total new undies quantity to eleven. 

After laundry, they now reside in my drawer, happily rolled up for decision-making ease. It seems silly to be so excited about underwear, but having a few new panties made me happy all day yesterday. I guess sometimes it's those little things that are the icing on the cake of life. Have a glorious Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow, just in time for Solstice. Summer is coming! 

Why I Think the New Project Runway Works

Tonight is the final episode of Season 17 of Project Runway. You know where I'll be - perched at my computer, watching the episode and writing tomorrow's post about the show. I fully admit I'm a Project Runway aficionado (aka addict), and it's always fun to share fashion with my readers. The show has come a long way over the years, but this year was truly groundbreaking. It featured a new host, a new set of judges and a new mentor. It also featured a new, more edgy workroom and runway. All in all, I think it's been a fun move and most of it has been for the better. 

I admit, I'm a total Christian Siriano fan girl. I've been following
his fashion for years and actually get phone notifications when
his latest Runway showing is on-line. He doesn't hit with
every outfit, but he's got some good stuff in his collections. 

I admit that I was worried when the season began. There was no more Heidi or Tim or Zac. It seemed as if the foundation had been ripped from the show and the fires of scandal had burnt the franchise to the ground. But out of those ashes rose a phoenix, and I think the show weathered the flames and came out stronger than ever. 

Karlie Kloss came to Project Runway from a highly
successful modeling career. She's got friends and
relatives in high places, so you never know who
she might be able to get into or onto the Runway. 

The host of the show sets the tone of the show and Heidi ran things with a gloved, iron fist. Karlie Kloss has a bit softer tone but she's highly respected as a model and very in-touch with today's social media and audience. I think she's settled into the host position very well and works smoothly with the judges. 

Brandon Maxwell is a character and he isn't
afraid to voice his opinion, even when an
outfit is walking the runway. He's a lot of fun. 

There are three standard judges this year, and occasional guest judges. That format hasn't changed, but the composition of the judges has. Instead of Zac Posen, we have Brandon Maxwell, a designer who has been at the forefront of recent fashion, especially with his four different outfits for Lady Gaga at the latest Met Gala. The other new face in a judges chair is Elaine Welteroth. She's young, edgy, and I always look forward to seeing how she's wearing her hair - different every week. They are joined by long time judge Nina Garcia who is now the editor-in-chief of "Elle" magazine. A definite step up from "Marie Claire".  

Elaine Welteroth was a complete unknown for me, but I'm
liking what she brings to the show. She's edgy, unafraid
to express an opinion, and pushes the designers to be
open for more possibilities and interpretations. 

The mentor may have been the most controversial move but it's the one that I think worked extremely well. Instead of Tim Gunn - a wonderful mentor and guide, we have Christian Siriano - former contestant and winner of Project Runway, and successful fashion designer. He has a more rounded look at the show and the fashion industry, having been a previous contestant who went on to success. He can advise the designers not only on their look, but also on the little touches that will make a garment marketable or walk the runway successfully. He's also not shy about pointing out previous criticisms that should be taken into account by each designer. 

I've been a Nina Garcia fan for a long time. She's to-the-point,
articulate, checks every detail, and is the judge you most
want to impress because she doesn't impress easily. I'm
delighted she moved over to Bravo along with the show. 

I declare the re-vamp of Project Runway a success. It took a little bit to jell, but the judges are working well with each other, and Siriano is "making it work". The mandate of differently sized models and even a trans model (who ended up being the most popular model), was also great. It's about time fashion catches up with its end-audience. I'm looking forward to tonight's finale, but I'm also looking forward to Season 18 whenever it airs. Project Runway isn't dead, it's survived and grown stronger and more relevant. I'm not the only one feeling positive about the changes. If you're interested, here's a link to an analysis by "E! Online". 

I'll be back tomorrow with the final episode of Season 17 and the announcement of the winner. In the meantime, have a wonderful Thursday and be fashion forward today - just for the fun of it. 

Weeds - Milkweed, Bugs and Butterflies

Weeds, generally, are a plant that gardeners pull out of their gardens and plantings. Weeds are, by definition, a "...wild plant growing where it is not wanted and in competition with cultivated plants...". I'm not so sure I consider the area behind my store's back door to be "cultivated", but I do have "weeds" that I encourage, and others that I pull out. I pull out the large dock plants that grow to 3-4 feet high, spread 30,000 or more seeds over the area each year, and can wait up to ten years to germinate. They're rather obnoxious and the last thing I need is another allergen. 

Milkweed has these characteristic pink puffball blooms and
large smooth-edged spade-like leaves, growing off a
single large stem. Once I cleared away the other weeds, my
milkweed grew quickly. 

There is one weed that I actively encourage, however. (If I encourage a weed to grow, does that make it a cultivated plant and not a weed at all?) That weed is milkweed, and I encourage it because it is beloved by butterflies and bees - two flying critters that we need for flowers and pollination. I have a good crop of milkweed growing next to my backdoor at the shop, and last week I cleared away a lot of the junk weeds to allow my milkweeds more space and more sunlight. They're thriving now. 

This is my ooky red bug and it makes me shiver a
little bit, even in virtual form. It's segmented so
it might be a type of beetle, but I'm really not sure.
It's big, it's red and it's scary! 

One thing I've noticed about the milkweed, though, are these red beetles. They're rather ooky. They're actually big, approximately one inch or close to 2.5 cm in length. They freak me out a bit - maybe because of the color. In nature, often the bright colors are signals of poison or other noxious elements in something that would otherwise be a feast for a bird or a critter. 

I thought my bug might be a milkweed bug, like these two, but
I didn't see the characteristic X on the back of my bug, and I don't
think my bug can fly either. Milkweed bugs can fly - EEEK! 

Still, if the butterflies and bees enjoy my milkweed, I guess I can live with the ooky bugs too. I'd like to get rid of the last of the large dock plants, but I have to get past the red bugs to get to them. Do you think the dock plants have hired the red bugs to act as their weedy body guards? I suppose anything is possible - LOL. 

I love butterflies, and if they love milkweed and this particular weed
helps them, I'm all for growing it behind my shop. I may as well allow
some minimal cultivation of a weed for the sake of a bit more
beauty in the world. 

We're under heat advisory today with high actual temperatures making the day feel like more than 100 F degrees. That would be ok - hot but ok - except we're also having some high humidity. Sauna here we come! Have an excellent Friday, I'll be back tomorrow. If you know anything about my ooky red bugs, please let me know. 

Continuing Thoughts On Vision

Yesterday I discussed sight - vision more specifically whirling around color. Today I'm continuing that thought with general sight and vision. More specifically, how the environment is perceived by different species.

Dogs are missing the red/green spectrum, so their
vision is similar to some forms of human color blindness. 

The dog's vision as diagrammed above should look vaguely familiar to those who read yesterday's post about color blindness. In some ways, your dog sees very similarly to some forms of human color blindness - missing the red/green portions of the spectrum. There's still plenty of depth perception, but it's also one good reason why many breeds of dog are scent driven instead of visual hunters.

Cat's don't have a deep color sense, but that night
vision! OMG! So wonderful! 

How about our other major domestic companion - the cat? Cats are also missing a lot of the components that allow humans to see such a deep spectrum of colors, but their night vision - that's wonderful and deep. Where a human will stumble around in the dark, the cat sees all.

Bees see more into the ultraviolet, but less into the red. Take
a look at the next two pictures for what bees see. So wonderful! 

Bees see into the ultraviolet, but lose some of the red spectrum. What really interests me is that bees also see the electrical field generated by the flowers they prefer. In addition, the flowers themselves have developed patterns that extend into the ultraviolet and aren't perceptible by we lowly humans. The flowers need the bees, so they have an additional and more alluring raiment than what people can perceive.

Bees actually see the electrical field of their flowers. Just
look at that lovely and specific three points of focus for the
flower on the left. The flowers on the right show the ultraviolet
patterns and colors of the flowers that the bee perceives. 

Here, the flower on the right is how the bee would see this
lovely bloom. That total change of color that becomes visible
in the ultraviolet is pretty nifty. 

There's so much more written about vision out there. (Want a quick article? Just follow this link.) Some snakes have a special receptor allowing them to see into the infrared - heat sensing. Some deep water fish can actually see into the red spectrum and scientists question why, since red is a color that rarely appears at those depths. My question becomes, "If our world is visited/was visited by alien races from other worlds, what did the visitors see? How did they perceive our world?" So many books are written that center around interactions between alien beings and humans, but would that even be possible? How would we perceive each other? Have a wonderful Friday!

Because Pretty is Sometimes the Best Wake-up Medicine

I'm in the mood for pretty today (and the fact that I'm running 30 minutes late because I went virtual shoe shopping has nothing to do with today's blog subject at all ... yeah!). Therefore, because I'm in the mood for pretty, I'm sharing pretty with all of you on a rest day for Le Tour. Don't forget, you baseball fans, the All-Star Game will be played tonight in unusually cold Minneapolis (normally we're about 20-30 degrees hotter at this time of the year). Think of me when you see our pretty baseball stadium. So... pretty.

I'll start out with this artwork installation. "Trash" by Joel Gross
challenges your perceptions of visualization by making the
shadow image completely from trash. 

This Art Noveau  VW bug is actually factory made. I don't
want to think about the extra weight of the filigree decoration, but
I really like the car. Pretty!  

These fabulous colored pencils are by Jonna Pohjalainen  from Finland.
She took aspen logs and made them into giant colored pencils
against the landscape. Fabulous and pretty. 

Flying Butresses by Theo Jansen is one of his fabulous kinetic
sculptures that creep along the beaches of the Dutch coast. I know
I've shown his sculptures to you before, but if you're not familiar with
his amazing work, check out this You Tube video (or one of many more
on You Tube) as well as lots of pictures. Amazing - and pretty. 

Just a reminder that changing your own perspectives will often
change your views of the world. 

So, to conclude this short photoblog, try to look at things a bit differently today. Embrace change, lean over and look at the world upside down, maybe find some rose colored glasses to look through. But look at your surroundings and see the pretty. There is beauty in everything, even the ant crawling across my floor which shouldn't be inside my house at all *sigh*. Happy Tuesday, everyone, I'll be back tomorrow with another blog and Stage 11 of Le Tour de France.

Here's a Sexuality and Comfort Question For You...

An acquaintance of mine (J) was recently given tickets to see Cher by her husband who accompanied her to the concert. She's a huge Cher fan, he's not, but he knew his wife loved the singer and wanted to give her an experience that she would remember for the rest of her life. So they dressed appropriately (she's quite the glam queen) and saw her while they were on vacation a couple of weeks ago. I happened to see J recently and asked her how the concert was.

"Fabulous," she gushed.

"And how about his Imperial Badness? Did he enjoy the concert too?"

"Well...not so much."

Cher, now in her upper 60's, is still a very attractive woman and
a rare talent in the field of entertainment. 

On further inquiry, it was revealed that the reason IB didn't like the concert wasn't the quality of Cher's performance. No, the reason IB didn't like the concert was because of all the gay men seated in the rows directly ahead of them. Apparently having a large group of gay men "...twittering and gesturing and dancing..." directly in front of him brought his hetero-armor to the front.

She continued her explanation and said that although he normally was not a demonstrative person in public, he put his arm tightly around her shoulders, pulling her against his body, and held her there for the duration of the concert as if to say "I'm not gay. I came with a woman, not a man."

Public displays of affection are fabulous. I didn't feel that IB's actions
were a PDA, however, rather almost a heterosexual battle stance. 

I was amazed, to tell the truth. That he would feel so threatened by homosexuals in close proximity to him floored me, and it got me to thinking...

In any group of women, you're probably going to have several women
who are not heterosexual, or at least who are not exclusively heterosexual.
I don't find that to be a problem or a reason for me to feel
uncomfortable within the group. Is my feeling of comfort that unusual? 

As a woman who has friends and relatives who are either gay or lesbian (and a few transgender), I have never felt threatened by them in any way. To be clear, I'm a female who is 100% heterosexual. There's no longing or desire hidden deep within me for a female to share my bed or my life at all. But I also have no issues having females or males who are gay as friends, or going out on the town with friends of any sexuality. I'm just not threatened in that respect.

I have to ask, so I'm throwing out the question. Is IB's reaction common? Do males feel more threatened by close proximity with homosexuals than females do with lesbians? Do they mind the thought that someone may be admiring their body who is of the same sex? Personally, although my body is nothing much to look at now, I was always happy to be thought of as attractive when I was younger and more slender. In fact, as a teenager and young woman I was striving to be attractive, so acknowledgement by my peers as well as the opposite sex was welcome. Do you, as a female or a male, feel threatened when someone of the same sex looks at you admiringly? Would you feel threatened in a similar situation as IB found himself in?

Why does IB's reaction seem to be a modern day version of donning
plate armor against an enemy incursion? 

So please share your thoughts on this. Do you feel threatened in any way if someone of the same sex compliments you? Do you feel on edge if you are in a group of gay people of the same sex? How about if those gay people are of the opposite sex? Still threatened? Or not? Give me your reactions and arguments because I'm really curious if IB's reaction was over the top (as I feel it was) or if my lack of reaction unusual or also over the top in the opposite direction.

Happy thoughtful Tuesday...

Happy Friday - Examining Perspective and Illusion

I have a lot to do in the next hour, so I'm going to do a photo blog today. What will I find to share? I never know until I start hunting...

Sometimes you have to look right at something to see it properly. 

This is called The Hidden Tiger illusion. Do you see it? All
answers will be at the end of the post. This is illusion (A). 

This is called the Cafe Wall illusion. It is a visual illusion - one
of many I have seen through the years. This is an excellent example
of the eyes playing tricks on us. (B)

This is a common perception illusion called the Necker Cube. (C)

And for a final offering, this lovely illustration...

The Inside Out Window illusion. (D)

OK, now for some explanations and a link. (A) The Tiger Illusion - read his stripes. They say "The Tiger Illusion", don't they? (B) The Cafe Wall Illusion - The light and dark bricks must be in staggered rows with each brick surrounded by a mortar of a color between the two brick colors - in this case, grey. The lines are actually completely parallel, but they appear askew. (C) The Necker Cube - The line drawing is ambiguous and in no way tells the viewer which plane is forward and which is behind. On the lefthand drawing, most people perceive the lower left as being in front, but not everyone sees it this way. What I found really interesting was that a man who had been blind from birth but who regained sight at age 52 did not perceive the ambiguity that most people do. (D) More ambiguous perspective in this. Do the windows open out or are they swinging in? You choose your preference in this lovely drawing.

Are you interesting in exploring more optical illusions? There's a great website here. Indulge yourself in some fun with the clickable links on the bottom left of the page. Many of these are optical illusions that require movement to visualize, so I didn't put them into today's post, but they're worth clicking on and checking out.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Questioning Obesity - What is Your Perception?

Yesterday one of my LJ friends posted a very basic statement about obesity and perception. I want to pull that topic out and look at it a bit more closely today. 

Time to examine a topic of societal interest. Life isn't just fluff and bunnies, after all. 

The basic topic had been the increase in obese children and how it concerned him. All to the good! Obesity is a world-wide problem that will affect the health and well-being of 1000's of children and adults. He said the following paragraph: 

One has only to walk down the main street of this small town to see that a large percentage of children, teenagers and adults, especially females, are grossly over-weight. And the number seems to be growing. Why? Is it the wrong type of food, lack of exercise, or just plain laziness? It cannot be healthy and must at some stage become very embarrassing, especially for young girls.

(italics are my addition)

This is part of an advertising campaign for strongforlife.com. Obesity is a
problem at any age, but more children than ever are obese.  That
obesity is caused by many factors, though, not just the buffet line in the ad above. 

Now, I really don't have a problem with society perceiving obesity as an issue that is on the increase. My friend is absolutely correct - it is an epidemic in our modern society and the reasons for obese people are myriad. But I did call him to task about his words "especially females" and "especially for young girls". I called him on his terminology, because I think there are an equal number of obese males out there as females. His response was: 

Yes of course obesity and ballet are relevant to both sexes. I was very much aware of that as I was writing. ... But one must admit that one notices girls and women more than boys and men in both cases.

(once again, the italics are my addition)

Like father, like son? Obesity is not just environment and
food choices. Basic body type is genetic.
I will never be 5' 8" tall with a very low body mass index.
My personal genetic profile won't allow me to be
taller than 5' 6" and gives me a propensity to gain
weight in my midsection. 

I'm not posting this to embarrass my LJ friend at all. Some of what he was discussing truly merited comments and thought. But I am curious and throwing this out to my LJ friends. Do you notice obese females more readily than obese males? How about in children? Are the girls the first to catch your eye, or do you just notice all obese children and then mentally separate them by sex. 

Would you be more likely to ignore the weight of these
women if they were nicely dressed in finer clothing that
suits them more than the tank tops and denim? 

I do think that often obesity is forgiven and overlooked more often in males than in females. As a female who is overweight, perhaps I'm more conscious of it because I wish I was back to my weight of twenty years ago. But I've worked with obese males in the past, and their weight problems seem to often disappear under the carpet of a well-cut pinstriped suit. 

Santa Claus is one obese businessman who has made his
weight a positive instead of a negative. Can you imagine
an obese tooth fairy though? 

I know that obese children have a difficult time through school. My nephew was seriously overweight throughout school and was teased and ridiculed for years. He finally found acceptance on the football field where his weight was suddenly seen as an asset instead of a problem. 

So I ask all of you. Is society more apt to focus on an overweight female than a male? Are overweight males given more leeway and societal understanding for their physical appearance than a similarly overweight woman would be given? And how about you? Are you overweight? Have you ever received snubs or been ridiculed for your weight? I'm opening this topic to discussion, please share your experiences and feelings with me. 

Happy Friday! 

Challenges to Perception

Back to the Minnesota Institute of Art and three very different sculptures for you to look at today. These pieces are made from vastly different materials and really have nothing in common except that I love them and the skill and vision that allowed them to come to life. So instead of dwelling on all of the computer crap that just didn't work right yesterday, I'll share beauty because it's always so much better to concentrate on the positive...

Marble Sculpture - Veiled Woman

First is the Veiled Woman. This marble sculpture stops me in my tracks every time. I look closely at it from all angles and the skill of the carver leaves me breathless. It's all marble - every bit of it, and it's a single piece, and at an angle, you see the translucent veil but not the eyes - those only come clear when you look straight at it. It is, pure and simply, magnificent.

This is made from brass and iron - truly stunning, if a bit macabre.

Going from the sublime to the ridiculous, I offer this wonderful funerary floor lamp. After all, whose home wouldn't be complete without their own funerary items. The decoration on this large item is what pulls me to it time and time again. This was made in the days before death was closed behind glass walls and electronic equipment. This was made when people walked with Death walking next to them. Death was a familiar companion, not a best friend, but understood and accepted as a part of life. Certainly food for thought.

Isn't she amazing? An exercise in perception and

how there is so much more to initial looks. That

symbolism works on living people too - always look

deeper, they'll surprise you with their depth.

And finally, a study in perspective and vision - The Queen. When you look at this sculpture face on it looks like it is made from wire frame, soldered, wrapped and manipulated to give the regular patterning. A lot of work and a heavy item that required the sacrifice of much copper. But...then you walk around her and realize the truth in the packaging. She is made from carefully cut and positioned recycled corrugated cardboard that has been cut to allow the v's of the corrugation to show through at exact angles, giving you the fabulous frontal view. I applaud this artist. What incredible vision.

So there you have it - some beauty to start your Thursday off right!