Genius and Mediocrity
21.10.2011 § 1 Comment
Merriam Webster listed a new trend word after Oct 6, 2011: “Mercurial” it says:
Many reports on the death of Steve Jobs – a man known for exceptionally high standards and an unconventional approach to business – described him as mercurial.
Mercurial means “characterized by rapid and unpredictable changes of mood.” It can be used to mean “temperamental” or “volatile,” but also suggests versatility.
It must not have been easy to keep up with Steve Jobs. He was a genius. « Read the rest of this entry »
Steve Jobs
20.10.2011 § 2 Comments
Stanford Commencement Address
The recent outpouring of grief dedicated to a business leader demonstrates that the admiration of celebrities has diversified over time. Say 50 years ago, weren’t singers and movie stars the ones who had fans? Later, there were sports figures, and now anyone can have fans: a princess, a politician or a businessman. It is all about publicity. Jobs appeared frequently in front of the press, developers and the public in general to introduce new products and expound upon his vision for the future. He became a public personality who followed his dream, the combination of whose talent and story became an icon to many people worldwide.
The commencement speech Steve Jobs gave at Stanford in 2005 is worth publishing in many places to inspire all of us. I will just quote some of it here: « Read the rest of this entry »
New World Symphony
17.10.2011 § Leave a comment
I remember when my older boy Leo was in high school; he would have his string quartet practice at our house. Leo invested in a bunch of Antonín Dvořák’s string quartet sheet music, and the quartet played gigs throughout their senior year. The sheet music was expensive, and they had just earned enough to cover the investment when they split up to go to college.
It just so happened that I had to remodel my house during my sons’ adolescent years, and I built a light maple floored room with a 14-foot pitched ceiling. The room reflected sound so well when it was completed that the boys used to call it the Echo Room. However, the room provided a good venue for their music practices and I got to listen to live music. They were no professionals, but they were good enough for my amateur ears. I enjoyed those pieces and was pleased to discover and learn more about Dvořák. Before, I had only known of his symphony no. 9, the New World Symphony. « Read the rest of this entry »
Weaver’s Knot
05.10.2011 § 2 Comments
When I interview a person for a textile design job, I want to see their portfolio and test their color sense with the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-hue test. I want to know how well they can draw, how fluent they are with computer drawing tools, and how sharp their color senses are. I suppose other professions test a variety of things depending on their trade. I just learned that one of the tests for weavers is how fast they can tie a weaver’s knot.
So what does a weaver’s knot do? « Read the rest of this entry »
Woven-Words 