Ten Things - Part 10

Oh. OK.

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10
TELL THE TRUTH.
The rabbit joke is relevant because it occurred to me that looking for a cabbage in a butcher’s shop might be like looking for ethics in the design field. It may not be the most obvious place to find either. It’s interesting to observe that in the new AIGA’s code of ethics there is a significant amount of useful information about appropriate behaviour towards clients and other designers, but not a word about a designer’s relationship to the public. We expect a butcher to sell us eatable meat and that he doesn’t misrepresent his wares. I remember reading that during the Stalin years in Russia that everything labelled veal was actually chicken. I can’t imagine what everything labelled chicken was. We can accept certain kinds of misrepresentation, such as fudging about the amount of fat in his hamburger but once a butcher knowingly sells us spoiled meat we go elsewhere. As a designer, do we have less responsibility to our public than a butcher? Everyone interested in licensing our field might note that the reason licensing has been invented is to protect the public not designers or clients. ‘Do no harm’ is an admonition to doctors concerning their relationship to their patients, not to their fellow practitioners or the drug companies. If we were licensed, telling the truth might become more central to what we do.

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Actually, on what may be a related note, today I saw "The Globe Mysteries". It was a version of the old (medieval) mystery plays, or dramatizations of Bible stories, condensed down to a select few including: Creation, Cain & Abel, Noah's Ark, Abraham & Isaac, the Birth of Christ (along with a very odd comic interlude about stealing a sheep), Miracles, the Crucifixion, Resurrection/Ascension to Heaven, and the Last Judgement. The choice of the play had to do with the year's theme, that of The Word of God. It was a little strange, though, to be watching a play of Bible stories that wasn't actually about the Bible or the stories. It was just a play. The performance came off as hollow and wordy (fortunately, the Angel Gabriel was really hot*) - this was a piece that misrepresented itself, I think. Mystery plays cannot really be produced as if they were "just" plays; they are far too intrinsically bound up in the intent to teach religion to be shown without the religion. This show rang false, even though it was very cleverly staged - it was a piece that was untrue to itself and therefore could not be true to any audience (to - ironically - borrow a Polonius moment). We must tell the truth to ourselves in all that we do as well as to others.




*Why, yes, I did happen to end up on the side of the "damned" during the Last Judgement.


For the last time

Just Because

OK, I'm excited.

Get familiar with my new town here.

It's Not the End, Again

In which we shall see: Some ramblings and mental perambulations which, ironically, come to no real conclusion.

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Hey! It's July! When did that happen? June was here, then gone, and it didn't even say goodbye! I'm not really ready for last month to be over - couldn't we discuss this? I'll probably be fine, once I get my head around it... Honestly, though, a little finality would be nice!

*Leaves for a moment to go change the calendar*

OK, I'm ready now. Just had to square that away.

People are funny, it seems to me, about this idea of "closure". I've used it as an excuse for years: "Well of COURSE we should have desert, the meal needs closure!" - but what is it really all about? It's odd, sometimes, how we have difficulty moving forward if we don't have a "The End" sign first. I've been thinking about this lately, and wondering how much difference it makes. For example, by all reasonable accounts or expectations, a relationship is over (we've all been there). The spark is gone, you've grown apart, you haven't talked since his birthday... a month ago... and yet the relationship isn't completely finished until there is an actual, verbal, face-to-face break-up. Does the break-up introduce new information, or somehow give you permission to move on? (For me, in one memorable instance the break-up did in fact introduce some new and painful information that I would have been much happier without. Closure was ABSOLUTELY overrated.)

We seem to have a deep-seated need for a "button", a "tagline", some indication that things really are finished. I HATE books that leave me turning the last page back and forth (as if additional print will magically appear) muttering, "Wait - that's IT?!?" An excess of closure can have a similarly exasperating effect - "Honestly, get it over with... um, Shakespeare, old buddy, I'm pretty sure we already saw this scene twice, we don't need to hear about it again! Done, already!" It's kind of like presents under a Christmas tree - everything should be wrapped just so, each gift should be inclusive unto itself for maximum satisfaction, and eventually the packages should all be distributed so we can move on to the homemade cinnamon rolls. We don't seem to like dangling possibilities of any kind, and have difficulty tying them up without help.

I am an action-girl (by which I mean, "not patient") and I like answers and conclusions to present themselves neatly, ASAP. This may be a by-product of my reading habit - I read exhaustively and continually, and pretty quickly. I really don't have to sit in suspense for long, because I know I can keep reading until I get to the ending. (Don't ask about my track record with the Twilight books.) Recently, however, I have found myself in a situation where I haven't been able to get any clear answers, though not for lack of attempted manipulation (er, "trying"). Slowly, I've been seeing that it might be all right if I never get the answer, that my future happiness is not going to be determined by the acquisition of this one piece of knowledge, and that I am allowed to make the decision to let things go without help or permission from anyone else. It's a weird feeling. Kind of loose, and nebulous... and fluffy... Like I said, weird. And a little liberating, too - I don't have to wait for someone else to make up their mind and take action before I decide what to do next. I don't have to be dependent on outside forces to finish or wrap up my own thought processes, pack them away, and move on to something new. I don't have to have closure. It's OK not to cut people out of my life (impose "closure" on them) - I can let them fade out, or just wait and see what they do next week, and then make a new decision based on what I have decided to do in the meantime. If I'm done watching the movie, it's OK to walk out. If I didn't like the way the book ended, I can spend a few minutes coming up with a more satisfactory conclusion - OR I can mentally shrug, put the author on my "maybe not, next time" list, and pick up the next volume in my stack (ideally, after having gone out for a run, met up with some friends, and put in a load of laundry. Balance, or something).

I guess this means I really don't need dessert after all. Wow. Now THERE'S a concept.

Watch out for falling turtles,


Cyd

Day 10 - Good Morning

For no real reason (which is the point), I present:



Weather permitting, I'm off to the Timpanogoos Cave and the Alpine Slide with my sister and her family. (Between the hikes and the four kids, this should count as at least four days' worth of exercise.) "Goals Re-Evaluation" post coming soon.