What is good?

Everything is design. The work of Paul Rand defined modern design.

A short retrospective film created more than 20 years ago for American design icon Paul Rand's induction to The One Club Hall of Fame, by LA-based design studio Imaginary Forces, encapsulates a few of Rand’s greatest insights. The audio for the piece came from a 1997 interview, "Conversations with Paul Rand". As a designer, I was very aware of Rand's work (not to be confused with American politician Rand Paul), but wasn't as familiar with his writing or teaching. Born Peretz Rosenbaum in 1914, in Brooklyn, Rand (who later changed his name either due to misspellings or to avoid bias) took a $25 certificate course at the Pratt Institute to study art. Today, a semester at Pratt can cost $30 K. After extending his studies at the Parsons School of Design (another revered school) he began his career in 1932. This is really the very early days of design as a profession, from graphic design, industrial design, to interior design, when design specialties began appearing. This generation of designers created the practice and principles that define those professions today. Apart from being an influential designer, Rand was also a remarkable teacher. His belief that design should be visually pleasing as well as functionally effective drove his work for magazines, advertising and most memorably, logo design. His many mantras, such as “Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations,” demonstrate that he also had a knack for capturing heady ideas in a simple, concise fashion.

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Losing my religion

Arlin Marshall (1955), photo by Bob Mizer, from, "Beefcakes and monkeys: Bob Mizer's muscle men" via The Guardian. Needless to say, my beefcake days are either well behind me or far ahead.

Me: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It’s been a week since my last workout, and I accuse myself of the following sins: I've been indulging in chocolate and ice cream bars and carelessly ingesting carbs.

Gym Priest: Alright, my child, say five "Our Fathers" for your penance, track your eating habits and nutritional intake with an app on your phone, don't forget to take 5 mg of Creatine with a glass of water each day, write down and plan your exercise goals for the week, and remember to stay hydrated.

Me: Thank you, Father

I have genuflected at the altar of weights in great hopes of altering my weight, but I'm stuck and feel like I'm going backwards. I've been trying so hard to get back into "game shape" to do this charity ride by focusing on more difficult rides, biking wherever I go, and hitting the gym for resistance training. Yet, the only resistance I'm getting is from my body. They say, "Use it or lose it," meaning, I assume, the more you use your legs, the longer you'll be able to use them - like a sort of muscle generator. Lately though, rather than getting stronger, it feels like I'm wearing myself out. Aren't there only so many miles my knees can take before the warranty is void? I'm not just feeling worn out, but I feel like I'm wearing out. Not fully broken, but limping towards the finish line.

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How to Remain Positive

You can buy the vibe at TeePublic.

After another silenced spring for Leafs' fans, I've been thinking how not to let it get me down. I proposed finding a nice cave with a contemplative view of nature. With cave prices being what they are these days, an alternative might be to find a way to improve my attitude. A quick Internet search led me to the Mayo Clinic's page on Stress Management. I'd like to share some of their insights, if I may.

It begins like this:
Identify negative thinking.
Focus on positive thinking.

Well, that was easy. Unfortunately, we know the human mind doesn't work that way. You can't just tell someone who is worrying, not to worry and assume your work here is done.

Here is a list of actions to make your outlook more positive:

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Seen in April

A dog and a robot become fast friends.

Last One Standing UK
Prime Video
Ha! Why is everything funnier in a British accent? This reality show contest fills a room with comedians who attempt to not laugh at the shenanigans of their counterparts. The first one to laugh is kicked out, the last one laughing is the winner. This show has American and Canadian versions, but the British one is superior… because of those accents!

Robot Dreams
Crave
Oh, do you remember that night in September? A lonely dog living in New York City orders a robot companion. They become fast friends until an incident at the beach separates the two. This animated film, without dialogue, says a lot about relationships, friendship, memory and moving on. 

Saint-Pierre SO1
CBC Gem
Like Murdoch Mysteries in the 21st century, on a French Island off the southern coast of Newfoundland. It's a little hard to believe so many murders happen in a place that had only a single shooting during the rum-running days, but suspend disbelief and enjoy the view.

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Propagandanista

Propaganda? Advertising? Art?

"All art is propaganda.", or so wrote George Orwell.

"All art is political", so said Mao, or was it Hitler? Or Donald Trump?

"(The Movie industry) is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!"
Ah, yes, that was The Great Pumpkin.

The origin of the word propaganda comes from the efforts of the Catholic Church to "propagate" the faith. From Congregatio de Propaganda Fide in 1622. Thus, in simplest terms, whatever messages and meaning you wish to promote, and how you do it with material you create and disseminate, artistic or otherwise, is propaganda. Radio broadcasts, music, theatre, film, art, advertising… think of all the possible swag you can get from a conference. That's propaganda. It took on a negative connotation when governments created extensive information programs, especially between the Great War and World War II. That political relationship and the advent of the profession of Public Relations cast a malodorous pallor over the word and the tactic of using any means necessary to inform (or more particularly, to misinform) the public.

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Private Peeps

My funny dicks.

I stood before the customs agent as neutral as I could. A blank piece of paper. Like an unthreatening swath of undyed muslin. I took nothing, I gave nothing. I had been fairly anxious about going through US customs for a work trip given everything being reported and rumoured. The anxiety was soon quelled by boredom after several frustrating lineups. If the anxiety doesn’t get you the boredom will. After two or three benign questions, I was directed to stand in front of a camera, remove my hat and glasses and stand still. My photo was then taken. No one asked me. I was told.

A similar thing occurred coming back in Toronto going through Canadian customs. Remove your hat and glasses and hold still for your unrequested portrait. Then the kiosk produced a small portrait of me on a slip of thermal paper. In the week in between those photos my picture had been taken numerous times by work colleagues at restaurants or by the government of California as I drove south on the 101 as I tried to avoid the toll lanes. Who knows how many other times I was in the background of someone else’s photos or surveilled by some other government’s camera.

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Headphones & Hoodie

Image from user louisponce on Midjourney.

“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”

I’ve entered a new phase of my work-life balance, in that I’m really trying to find a balance that is more life-life. I am spending far more time calculating when work can end and life can begin. Scientists have speculated that life began about 4.5 billion years ago, but for me I’m ready to kick off in the late afternoon, early evening at the latest. Yes, I’m spending a lot of my time matriculating when I can retire.

I say “retire” but I really mean stopping working for someone else and starting doing the things I want to do for once. How many years do you have to keep doing someone else's projects before you can start working on your own? Of course, I ask this from a place of privilege. I've worked for over 30 years and for many of those years I've contributed to retirement savings plans and other investments. Some years (the 2008 financial crisis say) a lot of those savings were wiped out, and other years economic downturns have wreaked havoc on those plans. That's sort of what's happening now. Economically speaking, "Orange" is the new red; a chaotic American administration is destroying markets and all of my savings are in those markets. Also, it’s not a good time to have Canadian dollars and portfolios of stock made up of companies that are leaking value with every fart from below the 49th parallel. The losses are such that I should probably put the retirement abacus aside and focus on getting back to work.

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