Sunday, November 29, 2009
Spirits in the cloud
It should be announced at the outset of this blog that a) I have little to contribute, and b) I have strong opinions. Also, c) I love using Heather's pottery, but I know almost nothing about it or any other art.
I saw a great movie over Thanksgiving break, Sullivan's Travels, which I thoroughly recommend. Here, I hope, is the trailer:
It's an interesting picture about the function of art and the responsibilities of artists, meant more to provoke laughs with some thought than to proclaim anything - but there are a few proclamations in there. It was somewhat recently referred to in the Coen Bros. O Brother Where Art Thou, so there are a number of people besides me who find it has currency and relevance.
Speaking of the Coens, I saw their latest, A Serious Man, and laughed a lot, and would recommend it as a good picture for a rainy day - both smart and clever, and only very occasionally too smart or clever for its own good. I also recently saw George Clooney's new picture (Clooey was in O Brother, of course) Up in the Air. Also good, and more amusing than anything he's done lately (though I haven't seen the Fantastic Mr. Fox as of yet) but I'd give it merely a "pretty good picture." I think it attempts to do the same thing that Preston Sturges tried more succesfully in Sullivan's Travels - to light-heatedly address tough circumstances, and to make the audience laugh first, and perhaps consider questions, but not provide answers. It is only somewhat effective at this - I think the writer/director (e.g Sturges) is too ambivalent and too restrained and evenhanded in his treatment of both characters and themes. I will say, as a former St. Louis resident, the airport has never, ever looked better. It may be Clooney's presence that improves his surroundings, but I think the director has a good eye, and a good mind, and a good understanding of his story's structure, and a good understanding of his characters - but I don't think the story works, and I'd recommend he watch Sullivan's Travels to see how to tell a story, take a stand for asking questions, and still provide a subversively moral core to the final product.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
What's this?
Welcome, fair reader, to The Wedging Board: a place for two people from Boston - and an occasional guest - to discuss movies, the urban experience, arts, culture, daily consternations, and general musings.
To begin - a definition - courtesy of wordsmyth.net
Wedging - transitive verb of wedge
Definition 1. to split or force apart with a wedge (often fol. by open, apart, or the like).
Definition 2. to fix firmly in place with a wedge.
Definition 3. to force or thrust into a narrow space.
As one of the Bostonians responsible for this blog is also a potter, the title came from the use of a wedging board in the work of ceramics.
A more specialized definition, from Wise Geek
Wedging is a process which is used to prepare clay for working.
What's interesting - to this potter at least - is that clay is prepared differently depending on its use. When you work on the wheel, the clay is worked in a circular motion, similiar to kneading bread. This process works the moisture into the clay evenly, and also places the molecules in a circular pattern - perfect, for being worked on the wheel. In contrast, for tile work - where the piece needs to lie flat - the clay is prepared by slicing the clay, stacking it on itself, and stacking again. This way the molecules will lie on top of one another, rather than in a spiral pattern. This is more fitting for work that is intended to lie flat.
The other Bostonian responsible for this blog was pleased with the title because it sounded like the phrase, whose definition - also courtesy of wordsmyth.net is:
a board having the alphabet and the numbers 1 through 10 printed on it, and a smaller board on casters which supposedly moves beneath one's fingers by power of spirits to spell out messages.
Happy reading!
To begin - a definition - courtesy of wordsmyth.net
Wedging - transitive verb of wedge
Definition 1. to split or force apart with a wedge (often fol. by open, apart, or the like).
Definition 2. to fix firmly in place with a wedge.
Definition 3. to force or thrust into a narrow space.
As one of the Bostonians responsible for this blog is also a potter, the title came from the use of a wedging board in the work of ceramics.
A more specialized definition, from Wise Geek
Wedging is a process which is used to prepare clay for working.
What's interesting - to this potter at least - is that clay is prepared differently depending on its use. When you work on the wheel, the clay is worked in a circular motion, similiar to kneading bread. This process works the moisture into the clay evenly, and also places the molecules in a circular pattern - perfect, for being worked on the wheel. In contrast, for tile work - where the piece needs to lie flat - the clay is prepared by slicing the clay, stacking it on itself, and stacking again. This way the molecules will lie on top of one another, rather than in a spiral pattern. This is more fitting for work that is intended to lie flat.
The other Bostonian responsible for this blog was pleased with the title because it sounded like the phrase, whose definition - also courtesy of wordsmyth.net is:
a board having the alphabet and the numbers 1 through 10 printed on it, and a smaller board on casters which supposedly moves beneath one's fingers by power of spirits to spell out messages.
Happy reading!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)