Footnotes to a Conversation, May 30, 2022
Goodness! I have lots to share this week. Pour yourself a cup of tea and enjoy a long read :-)
Architects, Be Bold, Go Crazy
In an absolutely delightful critique, Nathan J. Robinson calls for a revolution in architecture:
“Are we forever doomed to do nothing but invent weird new shapes for the same boring glass buildings? Wow, a skyscraper that’s a big U! Wow, a wiggly one! Wow, one with differently sized rectangles! Wow, a twisty one! Wow, one that doesn’t go up in a straight line! All of these are marvels from a technological perspective, but that’s about it. They are dreary. They are culturally dead. They have no connection to the natural world … tourists come from all over the world to just to look at Hindu temples, Japanese gardens, the French Quarter, Venice, and Gaudi’s buildings in Barcelona … [contemporary buildings] do not amaze, enchant, or make the jaw drop. They lack the kind of intricacy that means you can stare at them endlessly and keep finding new things.”
But Robinson moves beyond critique to offer alternatives – and they’re outstanding (with lots of illustrations).
“Let’s see what wonders can be created if the rules are broken and we start up again where Art Nouveau left off. Study the past closely and take whatever you like from it. Or: let’s create places that are like playgrounds. With rope bridges and secret tunnels and slides. Why the hell not? We’re supposed to be able to produce more, and more efficiently, than ever before. So always add waterfalls, because the sound of flowing water is pleasant and will improve everyone’s lives. If no waterfalls, then your building is no good. There is no reason not to expand our imaginative capacities as far as they will go. Dare to dream of something that looks completely different to what you see all around you. Something dazzling and surprising. Something breathtakingly beautiful.” [Current Affairs]
The Sleeping Brain
I had a couple of vivid dreams this week. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the details, but I do remember they had complex plots, realistic dialogue, and colourful settings. Why can I maintain such vivid fantasies when I’m asleep but would find it impossible to sit down and write an equally compelling work of fiction? It’s very frustrating!
There are almost as many theories about dreaming as there are dreams. Some view dreams as random firing of neural processes “woven together to create a complex, multisensory hallucination”. Other theorists emphasize the creative potential inherent in dreams as they weave together disconnected memory fragments.
“It seems clear that the sleeping brain is somehow freed of constraints and can thus create whole sequences of free associations. This is not only useful for creativity, it is also thought to facilitate insight and problem solving. It may even be critical for the integration of newly acquired memories with more remote ones. In fact, this facilitated lateral thinking could, in itself, be the true purpose of dreams.” [Scientific American]
Realistic Settings
Perhaps it’s a result of the pandemic, but there seem to have been more television shows than usual than rely on an exotic setting to draw in viewers. It certainly worked with me, but some did it far more effectively than others. Murder in Provence (Britbox) is based on mysteries by M L Longworth, and the scenery in and around Aix en Provence is a delight. Unfortunately, the acting and dialogue are a complete disappointment – nary a word is spoken in French and all the actors have solid British accents. Signora Volpe (Acorn) has people speaking Italian with Italian accents. The main characters are English-speaking, but you really feel you’re in Italy, not just a stage set. And don’t worry – the scenery is still spectacular!
I’ve Been Reading . . .
. . . Dervla Murphy, the great Irish travel writer, has died. “She once told me it was the duty of the writer to enter into the lives of those they portray: ‘to sleep on their floors’, as she put it.” [The Guardian]
… a deep dive into jigsaws and the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship. What intrigued me was this comment: “The Harvard law professor and behavioural economist Cass Sunstein studied methods that would bridge the gap between liberals and conservatives. He found that one of the only activities that brought them together was jointly solving a crossword puzzle” or, as the author jokingly says, “jigsaw diplomacy”. [The Guardian]
Footnotes to a Conversation is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I also post occasional articles on other dates, including frequent book reviews and travel tales.
If you share my love of nature, check out EcoFriendly West, an online publication encouraging environmental initiatives in Western Canada, and Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces.