We lost the mobiles
but kept the music boxes.
He pulled them out
while she studied Chinese with Grandma.
A pleasant dissonance,
two metallic tunes,
one at each ear.
䷴䷌
the wild goose gradually draws near the tree
-
Those things never helped them sleep.
-
The Lion King, Allers and Minkoff, 1994
I was underwhelmed when I watched it a few years ago.
I wasn’t overwhelmed this time.
But I enjoyed it.I still can’t shake my distaste of monarchical systems.
But I appreciated this story of growing up into responsibility.
And it resonates more with a growing boy in the house.Plus, it’s gorgeous.
Especially this spectacular rendition of I Just Can’t Wait to be King.
䷵䷧
Chalk up another #win for Disney+ high def.
I might end up a fan of musicals soon enough! -
OPM.35 Architect Skills
The Life of the Architect had an interesting podcast episode about critical skills for an architect.
I agreed with their list — critical thinking, communication skills, attention to detail, and 3D visualization. Admittedly I was a bit weak at 3D visualization, but the other three skills made me a good production architect (DD through CA).
Before listening to the meat of the episode, I jotted my own list of four key skills for a working architect, especially a young professional.
- Show up every day, fully. Be reliable and don’t let anything slip through the cracks.
- Learn how to research. We’re generalists so we’re always exploring unfamiliar problems. When starting out, it might be picking up an old set and applying the template to a project. After a while, you’ll be tasked with tricky building conditions or complicated regulations. If you don’t know, ask. Learn how to ask questions. I’ve met architects who dislike their telephones. This weakness has stunted their careers.
- Get comfortable being wrong. I’ve seen people freeze up at the blank page (often when drawing details). Don’t wait! Jump in! The solution is just a couple mistakes away. The sooner you make them, the sooner you’ll solve the problem.
- Learn from your mistakes. This combines the first three points. There’s no point in making early mistakes if you don’t learn from them. Past errors are the library for self research. And if you’re fully present at work, you’ll avoid repeating those old mistakes.
~
I would add one more skill from the Owner’s perspective (and to borrow a point from the podcast). As the Owner’s PM, I need my architects to communicate.
Everything an architect does is communication. Drawings are communication. Design is communication. Coordination is communication.
My biggest frustrations arise when the architect goes quiet or doesn’t follow through on their promises. Keep me posted early and often. Mistakes happen, no big deal, I’ve made plenty in your shoes. We’ll fix it together. But never keep me in the dark.
Life-safety is always number one. But let’s be real, everything else — including design — is secondary to communication.
~
Harold Geisler takes Plum Brook reactor critical, 14 June 1961 ~
Thanks for reading and please subscribe if you’d like the next letter in your inbox.
Justus Pang, RA
-
Walt Disney’s Melody Time, 1948
If you’re a fan of mid-century aesthetics, this is a must-watch.
If you enjoy the occasional surreal animation, it’s got that too.
(Check out Blame it on the Samba).I didn’t watch this as a kid.
Most likely better to skip this on a grainy VHS tape.
It was a treat to watch this on a big screen TV in high def.Too bad my kids won’t enjoy this for the first time as adults.
I wonder what they will enjoy in thirty-five years.Will their aesthetic pleasures follow mine?
Most likely the opposite.䷽
The quantity of cheap entertainment at our fingertips continues to boggle my mind. Even without Disney+ I’d still have the world of YouTube. But high def, guaranteed curation, and no ads are worth a small tax to the Mouse.
-
Chivalry, Neil Gaiman, BBC Radio, 2019
I listened to the BBC Radio presentation of this short story by Neil Gaiman.
I have an up and down opinion of his work.
I’m a huge fan of the Sandman series and have reread the series a few times and plan to reread them soon.During college, I was also a fan of his novels, Neverwhere and American Gods. However, I reread them a couple years ago and realized that I don’t enjoy his prose.
I adore his inventive worldbuilding, but his writing came off stiff in the repeat. Gaiman is the first author where I’ve soured on their prose. I’ve ready plenty of bad authors, but none who I liked enough reread their books a two decades apart.
Fortunately, Chivalry doesn’t have this problem. It’s a cute short story, set in a lovely little world, and doesn’t overstay its brief welcome.
Even if I’ve soured on his novels, it’s hard to go wrong in 45 minutes. It’s a charming piece with an insightful introduction sharing nuggets on the difficulties of a professional author.
Well worth a listen.
-
The boy speaks in first letters.
“H”
What?
He whispered “D – O – G – H”
Huh?
“dog house!”
He glanced at the sheet draped between the sofa and the coffee table.䷐䷏
following has supreme success
perseverance furthers -
The little man can concentrate.
He found a dustpan and a broom.
And thought it would be fun to sweep up leaves in the side yard.
At first with his sister, then by himself.
Quietly filling the compost bin.䷅
thus in all his transactions the superior man
carefully considers the beginning -
When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi, 2016
How can a first (and last) time author write so beautifully?
A lifetime of thinking.
About life and death.And doing.
Masters in English Lit.
Then becoming a Doctor, Neurosurgeon.The book is a powerful, emotional memoir.
A reminder that our days are not guaranteed.
Easy living won’t last forever.And the dying.
What brutally high cost for living.䷩䷂
This weekend, Jonathan Tjarks, a 34 year-old basketball reporter, passed away from cancer after writing this beautiful, haunting essay in March.
And Risk Parity Radio posted an episode about dying.The media gods clearly want me to examine mortality, which has never been a big concern before.
Let’s see where this goes. -
Shang Chi, Destin Daniel Cretton, 2021
This thing has great reviews, critically and popular.
I must be missing something.Stiff dialog and a convoluted plot gummed up the spectacle.
I really wanted to like this movie, but I don’t get it.Is it great for a Marvel Movie?
Maybe it’s being graded on a curve?
But wouldn’t be very Asian.
Even ABC. -
Fantasia, Stokowski, 1940
Of course the music is great.
But it used to be accompanied by grainy VHS images on a small CRT.Now, high definition streaming on the in-law’s 75″ TV.
The main characters are much as I remember.
But those backgrounds.
Now you can tell when the animators went for a sharp line.
Or meant to create texture.
Such detail!Intoxicating!
䷈䷼
Fantasia fit perfectly with our recent obsession with music animation. I’m question our new dinner habits. But at least this is highbrow stuff.
Disney+ has a quirk where their volume plays much quieter than other streaming channels. So we finally hooked up the TV to the amplifier. Now we have high quality sound to go with the high def image.
Living the high life.