By Neale Van Fleet on October 4th, 2023
Snelson’s sculptures feel like they should almost not stand up, but work via an intriguing mix of tension and compression (Which Buckminster Fuller would later term ‘Tensegrity’).
Take, for example, this beautiful 60 foot piece, ‘The Needle Tower’, from 1968:
By Neale Van Fleet on October 3rd, 2023
Which came first—the parking spot or the pole? Either way, this seems like someone messed up.
By Neale Van Fleet on September 29th, 2023
The Pudding has an insightful little visual essay about the ongoing epidemic of loneliness. Socialization was understandably hit hard by the pandemic, but we still haven’t recovered to our previous levels. Lack of socialization can lead to a downward spiral, explained here:
in a cruel twist, loneliness makes us feel more threatened by social interactions – the very thing we need. So we crawl deeper into isolation, creating a cycle of loneliness. Former US surgeon general Vivek Murthy writes: “Over time, this vicious cycle may convince us we don’t matter to anyone and that we’re unworthy of love.”
Thanks, Lee!
By Neale Van Fleet on September 23rd, 2023
The other day someone asked me if my 10 year-old son enjoyed the fact that his school has a no-homework policy. My answer was ‘no, he doesn’t appreciate it. He’s never had it any other way’. I’m far from believing that the next generation isn’t grateful, but this is honestly the way things should be. My son is less stressed and has a lot more time to spend with his parents and friends, while still being a good student and getting a lot out of school.
Anne Thériault writes for the Walrus:
Kralovec tells me that there is no benefit to homework for elementary school students at all. A meta-analysis published in 2006 by Harris M. Cooper, distinguished professor emeritus at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, looked at all of the homework research that had been done in the United States between 1987 and 2003 and found that homework had “no association with achievement gain” in students from kindergarten through grade five.
By Neale Van Fleet on September 22nd, 2023
This stunning new sculpture at Storm King uses traditional African brick-laying techniques:
It uses a technique known as Nubian vaulting, developed thousands of years ago in the Upper Nile delta. Mudbricks can be laid at an angle rather than in the typical flat orientation, and the technique requires a fast-setting mortar.
The beautiful structure reminds me of an igloo, which obliges me to link to Doug Wilkinson’s unbelievable 1949 NFB film How to Build an Igloo.
By Neale Van Fleet on September 21st, 2023
Street art by unknown artist.
By Neale Van Fleet on September 18th, 2023
Title says it all.
By Neale Van Fleet on September 15th, 2023
This campy 1998 John Carpenter movie starring wrestler (Rowdy) Roddy Piper was a pure delight from start to finish. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, yet has some themes of media manipulation and people selling out the future of humanity to make a quick buck resonate more than I wished they did.
And the alien makeup, seen above, and only visible in the movie to characters wearing special sunglasses, still looks incredible. This movie is worth tracking down—rental on AppleTV was the only way I managed to find it.
By Neale Van Fleet on September 14th, 2023
The New York Times has an interesting piece about tiny houses being used to house people in need in Detroit. The houses are all different, and rented in a rent-to-own model that eventually end up being owned entirely by the occupants:
Gladys Ferguson, who is in her 60s and has severe arthritis, rents Cass’s yellow gabled house for $350 a month. (Seven years of her accumulated rent will eventually finance her outright purchase of the property.) “It’s just a gorgeous little thing,” she said. When she first entered the house for a preview, shortly before she moved in a few years ago, she sneaked away for a nap in the tucked-away bedroom. “That was the most serene thing you’ve ever seen,” she said.
While I don’t think this is the sort of solution that would be ideal in Montréal, which needs its own housing needs addressed through denser apartments, I appreciate that it’s a good solution for a sprawl-ier city like Detroit.
By Neale Van Fleet on September 6th, 2023
A teaser for Hayao Miyazaki’s upcoming film, his first since 2013.