Monday, June 30, 2003


Weekend Update
Michael: Just a few items that cropped up over the weekend: Re my posting on Fathers, Sons and the Hulk,... posted by Friedrich at June 30, 2003 | perma-link | (2) comments

Saturday, June 28, 2003


Qualia, Neuroscience and Art
Michael: Thanks for putting me on to another paper written by Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and William Hirstein, “The Three Laws... posted by Friedrich at June 28, 2003 | perma-link | (12) comments

Friday, June 27, 2003


Yogaguy
Friedrich -- As part of the Hindu phase I'm treating myself to during my California vacation, The Wife and I... posted by Michael at June 27, 2003 | perma-link | (13) comments

Sandra Goldbacher and Her Pet, if Unconscious, Theme
Friedrich -- You know those oddball art experiences, the ones where you find yourself reading an artwork completely differently than... posted by Michael at June 27, 2003 | perma-link | (15) comments

Find and Replace Justice
Michael: I was reading the New York Times article on the Supreme Court’s rather libertarian decision on gay rights (which... posted by Friedrich at June 27, 2003 | perma-link | (11) comments

Thursday, June 26, 2003


"The Italian Job"
Friedrich -- A critic I know refers to dumbass movies with no imagination or sensitivity as Meatball Movies. (Rennie Harlin... posted by Michael at June 26, 2003 | perma-link | (9) comments

Wednesday, June 25, 2003


Fathers, Sons and the Hulk
Michael: I went with my teenaged daughter to see “The Hulk” last night, and I’m kind of glad I did.... posted by Friedrich at June 25, 2003 | perma-link | (7) comments

DVD Review -- "Frida"
Friedrich -- We caught up with Frida, the Julie Taymor-directed biopic about the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, with Selma Hayek... posted by Michael at June 25, 2003 | perma-link | (11) comments

Policy Break: Legal Mysteries
Michael: As you remember, I spent a fair amount of time and effort looking into affirmative action and wrote up... posted by Friedrich at June 25, 2003 | perma-link | (27) comments

The Book-Besotted
Friedrich -- Have you had a chance to eyeball the comments on the "Writing a Book" posting? A fascinating collection.... posted by Michael at June 25, 2003 | perma-link | (34) comments

Tuesday, June 24, 2003


Hidden Capacities
Michael: There’s a fascinating piece in the New York Times of June 22, “Savant for a Day” (which you can... posted by Friedrich at June 24, 2003 | perma-link | (12) comments

Monday, June 23, 2003


Surfin' Ignominy
Friedrich -- After my four-hour group surfing lesson yesterday, I can guarantee that no Blowhard will ever again be welcome... posted by Michael at June 23, 2003 | perma-link | (10) comments

The Evo-Bio of Impressionism, Part I
Michael: In many posts since we started this blog we’ve predicted that evo-bio would begin to impact how we view... posted by Friedrich at June 23, 2003 | perma-link | (4) comments

Sunday, June 22, 2003


Writing a Book Redux
Friedrich -- Our posting from a few weeks back entitled "Tacit Knowledge -- Writing a Book" was linked to by... posted by Michael at June 22, 2003 | perma-link | (3) comments

Saturday, June 21, 2003


Prisoner's Dilemma: Inmate Art
Michael: A story in the L.A. Times of June 21, “Inmate Artists Won’t Be Brushed Off,” discusses the effects of... posted by Friedrich at June 21, 2003 | perma-link | (7) comments

Friday, June 20, 2003


California, Religion and Art
Friedrich -- Every time I come to California, it happens. A few days pass, and my stern, Northeast mental wranglings... posted by Michael at June 20, 2003 | perma-link | (19) comments

Religion, Politics and Temperament
Michael: Some time ago you mentioned in a posting that you (at least half jokingly) attributed the persistence of religion... posted by Friedrich at June 20, 2003 | perma-link | (6) comments

Free Reads -- Diana Cambridge on Writing
Friedrich -- Chris Bertram (of Junius, here) was kind enough to email along a link to a good piece by... posted by Michael at June 20, 2003 | perma-link | (1) comments

Wednesday, June 18, 2003


Kem Nunn 2: Writin'
Friedrich -- More musings prompted by my reading of Kem Nunn's surf-noir novel Tapping the Source. Yesterday I scratched my... posted by Michael at June 18, 2003 | perma-link | (23) comments

Aesthetics: Dude, Where's My Flying Car?
Michael: I came across this little gem the other day on, of all places, a NASA website for children: Have... posted by Friedrich at June 18, 2003 | perma-link | (11) comments

Tuesday, June 17, 2003


Kem Nunn 1: Neo-Noir
Friedrich -- I’m out in California for some vacation weeks, and in recognition of this happy fact I’ve lined up... posted by Michael at June 17, 2003 | perma-link | (15) comments

Half Baked Notions, Redux
Michael: A paragraph from your recent posting, Some Half-Baked Notions I Couldn't Figure Out How to Fit in Other Postings,... posted by Friedrich at June 17, 2003 | perma-link | (5) comments

Monday, June 16, 2003


The Evo-Bio of Kate Hudson Movies
Michael: Thanks for holding down the fort while I was away vacationing last week in Hawaii. You cranked out some... posted by Friedrich at June 16, 2003 | perma-link | (11) comments

Saturday, June 14, 2003


Free Reads -- Matt Ridley on Genes
Friedrich -- I'm sure this is nothing more than a sign of how shallow I am and how short my... posted by Michael at June 14, 2003 | perma-link | (0) comments

Some Half-Baked Notions I Couldn't Figure Out How to Fit in Other Postings
Friedrich -- * American pop culture is like junk food. Here and there, some of it's fun and good. Here... posted by Michael at June 14, 2003 | perma-link | (9) comments

Magazines and Hip Fat
Friedrich -- A quarter of an hour at a crowded, chic local magazine store has left me pondering a few... posted by Michael at June 14, 2003 | perma-link | (14) comments

Mini Link-o-Rama
Friedrich -- Life's been busy, I've been even more disorganized than usual ... So just a quick once-over today. *... posted by Michael at June 14, 2003 | perma-link | (1) comments

Friday, June 13, 2003


Ripped From the Pages of Friedrich's Sketchbooks...
Michael: This little doodle dates from the era when my girls were young enough that I had both Barbie dolls... posted by Michael at June 13, 2003 | perma-link | (4) comments

Free Reads -- William Berlind on Itunes
Friedrich -- We aren't the only people gnawing over the question of how the digitizing of almost everything may be... posted by Michael at June 13, 2003 | perma-link | (4) comments

Free Reads -- Lawrence Osborne on Che Guevara
Friedrich -- Che Guevara: idealistic and charismatic, the James Dean of revolutionaries? Or a spoiled, ineffective, vain man whose escapades... posted by Michael at June 13, 2003 | perma-link | (5) comments

Thursday, June 12, 2003


Guest Posting --Stephen Bodio on Writing
Friedrich -- Tons of good thinking, reacting and writing in the comments to the posting below about writing a book... posted by Michael at June 12, 2003 | perma-link | (6) comments

The Frame Around the Picture
Friedrich -- The Wife and I caught a couple of movies the other night, one right after the other. First... posted by Michael at June 12, 2003 | perma-link | (14) comments

Everything You Wanted to Know About Design
Michael: When researching Carl Rungius for my posting on his retrospective, I came across this rather snappy animated introduction to... posted by Michael at June 12, 2003 | perma-link | (2) comments

Browsing and Scanning
Friedrich -- Dept. of "You Know It's True Just From Looking at the Products But It's Always Fun to Hear... posted by Michael at June 12, 2003 | perma-link | (8) comments

Tuesday, June 10, 2003


Free Reads -- Postwar architecture
Friedrich -- Two terrific finds, both of which I ran across thanks to David Sucher's superb new blog, City Comforts,... posted by Michael at June 10, 2003 | perma-link | (3) comments

Guest Posting -- John Leavitt on art students
Friedrich -- John Leavitt, a student at the School of Art and Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology, dropped... posted by Michael at June 10, 2003 | perma-link | (2) comments

Critical Standards
Dear Michael: After our own Blowhardy examination of the Louis and Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cinncinnati (which... posted by Friedrich at June 10, 2003 | perma-link | (2) comments

Monday, June 9, 2003


Diversity on Campus -- NOT
Michael: One of our correspondents sends an interesting tidbit about ideological “diversity” on campus: Professor Mike Adams at Univ of... posted by Friedrich at June 9, 2003 | perma-link | (11) comments

Saturday, June 7, 2003


Tacit Knowledge -- Writing a Book
Friedrich -- Another posting in my very occasional series concerning the rules of thumb that people in the arts work... posted by Michael at June 7, 2003 | perma-link | (186) comments

Friday, June 6, 2003


A Fistful of Dinars
Michael: I was going through some of my old emails today and noticed two that seemed somehow connected. Both emails... posted by Friedrich at June 6, 2003 | perma-link | (3) comments

Blockbusters, Week 2
Friedrich -- Interesting article in today's WSJ by John Lippman, their new L.A. showbiz reporter, discussing the way blockbuster movies... posted by Michael at June 6, 2003 | perma-link | (18) comments

Free Reads -- V.S. Ramachandran
Friedrich -- From a BBC 4-sponsored talk given by Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, Director of the Centre for Brain and Cognition... posted by Michael at June 6, 2003 | perma-link | (7) comments

Thursday, June 5, 2003


Torn from the Pages of Friedrich's Sketchbooks
Michael: Again, as I threatened, I’m sharing some of the contents of my sketchbooks. Both of my examples today are... posted by Friedrich at June 5, 2003 | perma-link | (5) comments

Wednesday, June 4, 2003


Psychological Suspense
Friedrich -- I caught a good French movie the other night -- Claude Miller's Alias Betty. From one point of... posted by Michael at June 4, 2003 | perma-link | (18) comments

Schizophrenic Science
Michael: When you were leafing through a magazine, did you ever wonder if the editors ever read the whole publication?... posted by Friedrich at June 4, 2003 | perma-link | (5) comments

Tuesday, June 3, 2003


Computers, animation and drugs
Friedrich -- Are you looking forward to seeing the new Pixar "Nemo" movie? I am, if only sorta. I'm not... posted by Michael at June 3, 2003 | perma-link | (22) comments

Rungius, Hunting and the Roots of Art
Michael: I’ve written a couple postings on the topic of the “primitive” issues that lurk underneath our modern notions of... posted by Friedrich at June 3, 2003 | perma-link | (11) comments

Monday, June 2, 2003


DVD Review -- Drumline
Friedrich -- I am one sorry arts buff and one sorry American, I confess it here and now. Why? Because... posted by Michael at June 2, 2003 | perma-link | (6) comments

Outsider Art--Watts Towers
Michael: Being the worst tourist in the world, after twenty years in Southern California I finally made my first visit... posted by Friedrich at June 2, 2003 | perma-link | (7) comments

Sunday, June 1, 2003


The Anti-PPP Party
Friedrich -- Do you understand Primarily Political People? ("PPPs," I think of them as.) I don't. I mean, I do,... posted by Michael at June 1, 2003 | perma-link | (12) comments

Manny Farber
Friedrich -- I know you read Manny Farber's film criticism back in our movie-nut college days, but I forget whether... posted by Michael at June 1, 2003 | perma-link | (2) comments