Exploring the Big 5 abstractions is proving an interesting challenge. Turning my attention to happiness, I found some interesting websites: Happiness Academy World Happiness Foundation happiness.com https://www.dayofhappiness.net/ https://happinessday.org/ outlines 10 steps to Global Happiness: They define global happiness this way: Of course, none of those definitions actually define happiness which I contemplated a bit inContinue reading “Grief in Happiness and Happiness in Grief”
Category Archives: art
Do Our Ideas About Beauty and Ugliness Change When We Close Our Eyes?
This morning I did a search for “the ugliness in beauty” and found a couple of really interesting articles: The Biological Response to Beauty and Ugliness in Art [Excerpt] by Eric Kandel 2012 from Scientific American Experiences of Ugliness in Nature and Urban environments by Fatima M. Felisberti from International Association of Empirical Aesthetics TheContinue reading “Do Our Ideas About Beauty and Ugliness Change When We Close Our Eyes?”
The Ugliness in Beauty and the Beauty in Ugliness
I thought about continuing last week’s study of love and apathy, there is so much to think about and explore, but I decided I’ll let that simmer as I continue through my planned overview of the big five. This week I’m looking at the ugliness in beauty and the beauty in ugliness. Remember back inContinue reading “The Ugliness in Beauty and the Beauty in Ugliness”
How to Capture the Love in Apathy and the Apathy in Love
Contradictory Abstract Nouns Since I finished studying Calvino’s Six Memos, I had to decide which contradictory abstract nouns to dive into this week. I printed out an extensive list of abstract nouns and started thinking about grouping them to narrow down the list. I went back to Feurbach’s list of “Legitimate Aspirations” that I talkedContinue reading “How to Capture the Love in Apathy and the Apathy in Love”
Calvino’s 5th Memo: Multiplicity – The finite in the infinite and the infinite in the finite
“Literature remains alive only if we set ourselves immeasurable goals, far beyond all hope of achievement. Only if poets and writers set themselves tasks that no one else dares imagine will literature continue to have a function. . . . the grand challenge for literature is to be capable of weaving together the various branchesContinue reading “Calvino’s 5th Memo: Multiplicity – The finite in the infinite and the infinite in the finite”
Visibility: Fantasy in Reality, and Reality in Fantasy
This week I’m looking at Italo Calvino’s fourth value of literature: Visibility. After reading the lecture, I still wasn’t sure what he meant by “Visibility,” but after some time with my dictionary, I think I figured it out. Visibility, or visibleness, can mean “conspicuousness” or “conspicuity”–which I like the sound of–which means: Easily discovered, seen,Continue reading “Visibility: Fantasy in Reality, and Reality in Fantasy”
Calvino’s 3rd Memo: Exactitude – Crystal & Flame
I’m continuing to find inspiration in Six Memos for the Next Millennium by Italo Calvino. This week I’m looking at Exactitude and Vagueness as contradictory abstractions. Let’s start with some definitions: exactitude: precision, accuracy, meticulousness vagueness: unspecific, imprecise; obscure, hazy, shadowy Calvino uses the symbols of crystal and flame, so I decided to start there.Continue reading “Calvino’s 3rd Memo: Exactitude – Crystal & Flame”
The Values of Literature
Last week I stumbled upon Italo Calvino’s Six Memos for the Next Millennium which are a series of planned lectures about literary values he was working on when he died. He died before he finished writing the sixth. His six values of literature are: Lightness, Quickness, Exactitude, Visibility, Multiplicity, and Consistency. In each of hisContinue reading “The Values of Literature”
Contrasting Abstractions: The next phase in my study
The Writer’s Games have ended! I sent in my final story yesterday. Guests have left. The family is busy. I might get a full day to myself. And the sun is out. 😎 Hope and Despair Last week, inspired by some abstract art books: Abstraction in Art & Nature by Nathan Cabot Hale Abstracts InContinue reading “Contrasting Abstractions: The next phase in my study”
The Mixed Mercies of Sleep
Mercy I’m finding this study of abstract nouns fascinating. We think we know what these words mean, but the more I study them, the less clear they become. When I dive into their definitions, I always find something surprising. Mercy has a very interesting definition: compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy,Continue reading “The Mixed Mercies of Sleep”
Experience Writing 