zEDz Online Digest

Issue # 44 ~ Thursday, 18 May, 2000

"In a day, one idiot can leave a trail of stupidity a mile long." --Zedwaldo

Zeditorial

"Professionals, Amateurs, and Artists"

According to the working definition of Psychology, a Psychologist is one who practices the science of the study of behavior. I study the behavior of humans and animals and other things, so does that make me a Psychologist? Hardly. A real Psychologist, in the mind of most people, is a professional. A professional is a person who usually has the training and the position to practice his or her expertise. In other words, they have the job and they get paid for it. So, as a Professional Psychologist, I am neither. But I still like to observe. When it comes to offering advice, that is a bit more tricky. If I could only take my own advice, I recon I would be in great shape. But I often find myself involved in the next best thing, giving advice to others. It's pretty simple. All you have to do is listen until you fathom what it is that the other person wants to hear, then tell them what they already know anyway. A person could become famous for doing this... hmmmm... I think several people already have. Are they professionals?

I am an amateur chess player. I make that distinction due to the fact that there are professional chess players in this world. Any serious chess player will tell you that the definition of a professional chess player is one who derives all of his or her income from playing chess (they also include chess players who write). There is no shame in being an amateur in the chess world. Some of the best players are amateurs. Not everyone has the time and energy and talent to rise to the top where the big bucks are in exclusive international chess tournaments. So most of us who love the game are amateurs.

So what does all of this mean? I would think that a person should love what they do, be they an amateur or a professional. This, to me, would be a measure of success and personal satisfaction. The hat trick here would be to blend the two loves together... you know, to get paid for doing what you love to do.

And now I come to the Artistic part of this zeditorial. My Artist's Magazine calendar lists no less than eight famous artists' birthdays this month. So far I have made note of one, now I have seven more to feature. This week I will focus on three. The first, Joseph Stella, was an Italian immigrant, who came over on the boat and had the traditional view of the Statue of Liberty as his first look at America. He grew to love New York, which in turn, grew to love him. His paintings are considered as American as humble pie. Next I focus on Georges Braque, the other cubist. No, no... not Castro's best friend, but the guy who did the funny faces before Picasso. A lot of people know about Picasso, but art students will tell you that he wasn't the first... check out Mr. Braque. And, speaking of Cubism, I found the subject live and well... so well, in fact, that I've included a few links. Lastly, there is Jasper Johns, the first living artist that I believe I've featured here. The guy left his handprint on so many things that I cannot do justice to the list in this short piece of writing. (and yes, he also wrote poetry) All the links are in the art section below.

Have a Wonder-Filled week!

;-)

Poetry

To Catch Your Smile

There is that famous moment,
when your smile reaches it's peak;
Whenever I see it's dawning,
it is that moment which I seek.

As fragile as a butterfly,
I dare not touch it's wings;
When I see it take to flight,
Some place inside me sings.

The beauty that the moment holds,
impressed upon my soul;
Causes me to shift my view,
and make it's sight my goal.

Pardon me if I make a bribe,
or offer an incentive or two;
It's only just to tickle your heart,
and catch a smile from you.

Copyright © 2000 E.D.Griswold (aka Zedwaldo), all rights reserved.

Check out my poetry connection:
Poetry House of Zedwaldo
[freshly updated, with a great links section]

;-)

JOKES?

MONKS

The monastery out in Wessex was having a bit of a hard time with its cash flow, because of the dwindling number of monks available to help with all the work of the group. Brother Andrew and Brother Patrick suggested opening up a fish and chips stand down on the motorway, right next to the scenic vista area so popular with tourists. The venture was going well, and one day a tourist asked the monk on duty, "Are you the fish friar?" "No, sir," retorted the brother, "I'm the chip monk."

Thanks to http://www.keepahead,com

Lost in Flight

After a long, bumpy flight, our passengers were glad to finally land. They disembarked, and the other attendants and I checked for items left behind. In a seat pocket, I found a bag of home-made cookies with a note saying "Much love, Mom." Quickly, I gave the bag to our gate agent in hopes it would be reunited with its owner. In few minutes, this announcement came over the public-address system in the concourse: "Would the passenger who lost his cookies on Flight 502, please return to the gate?"

Thanks to http://www.jokeseveryday.com

JOKE-LINK of the Month:

Heard a good one lately? Clue me in, throw me a bone. I'll take suggestions. Write one yourself and Email it to me. If I like it, I may feature it here.

Links and URL's

Joe Pringle... Couch Potato of the year? http://hee-hee.com/pg1pi11.asp?RG=1&RI=83

ART ~ LINKS

Joseph Stella
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery: http://sheldon.unl.edu/HTML/ARTIST/Stella_J/SSI.html
Reynolda House: http://www.reynoldahouse.org/treecact.htm (nice music here)
Carnegie Library, The Pittsburgh Portraits: http://alphaclp.clpgh.org/CLP/exhibit/stell.html

Georges Braque
Sweet Briar College: http://www.artgallery.sbc.edu/highlights/braque.html
Artloft: http://www.artloft.com/braque.htm (you can buy prints here)
Tate Gallery: http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/GetSearchResults?sid=1864000548
Hemingway's Paris: http://www.mala.bc.ca/~lanes/english/hemngway/braque.htm

Cubism
This is a great link (not only cubism, but other styles are explored here): http://library.thinkquest.org/17142/dynamic-movements/cubism.htm
A Treatise on Cubism: http://www.ziplink.net/~rothko/cubist.htm
World Wide Arts: http://wwar.com/ (you will need to do a search here)

Jasper Johns
Artcyclopedia: http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/johns_jasper.html
A perspective by the Christian Science Monitor: http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1998/02/04/home/home.3.html
NY Style Magazine: http://www.nystyle.com/asp/magazine/magdetail.asp?Article=169
Philadelphia Museum of Art: http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/exhibits/johns.shtml
WWW Pop Art: http://www.fi.muni.cz/~toms/PopArt/Biographies/johns.html
Masterworks: http://www.masterworksfineart.com/inventory/johns.htm
Sculpture Exhibition: http://www.menil.org/johns.html
The United States of Jasper Johns: http://www.zolandbooks.com/books/united_states_of_jasper_johns.htm

;-)

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