Category Archives: Blog

In Appreciation of Simplicity

“You have to be confident to dare to be simple” was the first line that got my attention in this very well-thought-out video from The School of Life.

The first example they use to support the claim is the pressure one may feel in a fancy restaurant to order something out of the ordinary or well… fancy. It has happened to me and probably to most of you out there. All you want is a greasy burger but the occasion calls for something “sophisticated”.

Why is that we may ask?

Being simple can make you vulnerable.

This is true for most of the choices we make, from our wardrobe to our favorite movies and books. We often choose what is popular or acceptable or “sophisticated” in favor of what we genuinely like.

But simplicity is really an achievement.

It certainly is. Simplicity stems in part from a state of “not having to impress others“.

This is especially important when a creative individual creates something not to impress but rather to facilitate evolution or further creation.

It follows from a hard-won clarity about what matters.

The art lies in concealing the art.

Dieter Rams, the subject of the video, chose to design products that improved people’s lives rather then design spectacular things to promote his own glory.

Such modesty stems from a lack on anxiety about being ignored.

We have almost a primordiale instinct to distinguish ourselves from others. In the animal kingdom, when it comes to procreation, standing out is often equated with survival. This isn’t always true in the world of design and function.

We complicate things because we want them to appear “interesting” and…

We don’t readily tell other people that we are a bit stupid.

We often conceal our confusion even to ourselves by complicating what is not complicated. The answer however lies in understanding our own confusion and designing things so they are simple and intuitive.

All the intensity, focus, high standards and the pursuit of integrity that is found in art can be brought into the realm of everyday design. And this is where it stands more of a chance of effecting people.

Here is the video:

Milwaukee’s Race for City Hall

Amidst one of the most divisive presidential primaries in recent history, the city of Milwaukee turns its eyes toward the exercise of democracy at the local level. This year’s mayoral election is gearing up to be as polarizing as what we have seen in the national landscape.

Today’s debate was hosted by the good people of the Public Policy Forum. The incumbent, Mayor Tom Barrett, faced the challenger, Alderman Bob Donovan, a 16-year veteran of the city’s Common Council. Opening remarks were done away with and the first question came before the small contingent of electors had fully settled. “What will your top three priorities be in your first one hundred days?

Mayor Barrett spoke about jobs, new developments and took the opportunity to bash the City of Chicago “for having to borrow $220 million to make its pension payments”. In contrast “his city” did not, thanks to “the strong fiscal stewardships we’ve had for the last 12 years”. As if Rahm Emanuel wasn’t having a hard enough time as it is, his counterpart in Milwaukee has chosen to throw him under the bus while seeking reelection.

Continue reading Milwaukee’s Race for City Hall

What I am Watching This Evening… YouTube.

YouTube can be a great educational tool. Here’s what I’ve stumbled upon this evening.

Nerdwriter1 talks about internet art and how machines perceive differently than we do.

Vox teaches us how the Oscar’s voting process ends up awarding bland movies. Incidentally, they use the film The King’s Speech as an example. A film I found to be extremely dull and devoid of any creative joy. It was one sterile set-up after another. It was not a bad movie, it was the perfect bland movie, carefully tailored to follow all the rules and not offend anyone (especially from a visual stand point). Watching it probably felt like reading one of those books written by a machine in George Orwell’s 1984. I stopped considering the Oscars a good gauge for quality a long time ago, the Vox video made sense.

Continue reading What I am Watching This Evening… YouTube.

Quotes From Zen in the Art of Archery

Selected quotes from Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel.

The story goes something like this: Eugen Herrigel, a German teaching and living in Japan, set out to understand the meaning of Zen. Realizing it cannot be studied but only experienced, he decided to learn about it through the practice of one of the arts “touched” by Zen, Kyudo (Japanese archery). Out of his experiences came the book Zen in the Art of Archery.

This was one of the first book I read on the subject. Given the choices made by Herrigel later in life, it is unclear what he took away from these experiences.

As I understand it, talking about Zen has a tendency to confuse things. What makes this a worthwhile read is not the author’s interpretation of what Zen actually is (or is not) but rather the fact that it is one of the earliest books to expose the Western public to Zen. It spawned a century of speculation and countless books on the subject.

Continue reading Quotes From Zen in the Art of Archery

Nietzsche’s Super-Human Explained

After reading Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra years ago,  I felt that Nietzsche had been greatly misunderstood by some . In a few cases, the concept of the Übermensch or Super-human (Overhuman, Superman etc.) has been misappropriated to justify wickedness.

Recently I stumbled upon a video that provides a very simple interpretation of this idea.

Continue reading Nietzsche’s Super-Human Explained

Amazon Storywriter: Free Cloud-based Screenplay Writing “Software”

I took my first steps in the world of screenwriting back in 2001 using Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000. Later I switched to Final Draft and remained a happy camper until 2013…

Enter the amazing Google Chromebook!

It didn’t take me long after getting my Chromebook from Amazon for around $300 to fall in love with it.  In many ways, it felt like it represented the future of computing. A world where everything is in the clouds and hardware is only used to interpret information.

Continue reading Amazon Storywriter: Free Cloud-based Screenplay Writing “Software”

The Zen ‘everyday mind’

The Zen ‘everyday mind’ described as ‘sleeping when tired, eating when hungry’, or, in other words, knowing what one’s real needs are. Like a bamboo leaf, it bends lower and lower under the weight of the snow. Suddenly the snow slips to the ground without the leaf having stirred. The distinction between action and result disappears. The hands and feet are the brushes and the whole universe is the canvas on which the Zen mind depicts his life. The constant present moment.

(Extrapolated and rearranged from the works of Eugen Herrigel, Michael J. Gelb and Ryōkan Taigu.)

Purchase the book Zen in the Art of Archery by clicking here.

Purchase the book Body Learning by clicking here.

The Sushi of Japan: Narita’s Edokkozushi

Perhaps you’ve heard the name before, Narita is Tokyo’s largest airport and if you’ve been to Japan, chances are you’ve landed there. To most, the little town of Narita is nothing but a blur flashing by the windows of the bullet train to Tokyo. Those brave enough to take a chance on this magical little place are in for a pleasant surprise.

Edokkozushi is a one-of-a-kind dining experience. This hole-in-the-wall is touted by the locals as “one of the best Sushi restaurants in Japan”. Finding this restaurant isn’t easy but well worth the effort. The best place to start is the Narita JR train station. Walk away from the station past the taxi loading zone and downhill toward the red wooden bridge. Take a sharp left onto an alleyway before you get to the bridge. Edokkozushi is half a block down on the right.

Continue reading The Sushi of Japan: Narita’s Edokkozushi

Watch Noise Matters

Watch Matias Masucci’s independent movie Noise Matters on Amazon Instant Video, ReelHouseIndieReign or YouTube. Now available for streaming to rent or own from $1.99

Watch the movie NOISE MATTERS now on Amazon Instant Video streaming service.Watch the movie NOISE MATTERS in HD now on ReelHouse streaming service.Watch the movie NOISE MATTERS now in HD on IndieReign streaming service.

An Independent Society production. WATCH THE TRAILER:

Feel like getting the word out about Noise Matters? Share this page on your favorite social media platforms with one click!

Noise Matters is a satire on the relationship between fame and integrity in a world of eccentric characters brought together by their passion for using trash and everyday objects to create live “noise” to adoring audiences.

This mockumentary, Noise Matters, follows the lives of a professional noise artist, an abstract painter, a social agitator and a recording engineer who form the noise band “Shame On You”. Their troubles start when their manager, Captain Monroe, a con artist conspiracy theorist, insists on having them record an album splitting the band between “noise puritans” and the fortune-seeking opposition. The story explores the implications of creative undertakings within a group and its impact on personal integrity.

The cast of Noise Matters includes Matias Masucci, Ugo Bianchi, Bret Roberts. Joey Capone, Dean Delray, Brian McGuire, Kevin Dorian, Circus-Szalewski and Frank Payne.

http://www.noisematters.org/

FULL CAST: Matias Masucci, Ugo Bianchi, Bret Roberts, Joey Capone, Dean Delray, Brian McGuire, Kevin Dorian, Frank Payne, Circus-Szalewski, Pollyanna McIntosh, Angela Sarafyan, Mona Lee Goss, Ken MacFarlane, Nika Williams, Johnny Skourtis, Angel Fajardo, Gene Richards, Dominique Dorian, Hans Holm, Nicolai Dorian, Brock Branan, Barbara Magnolfi, Tripp Simpson Rezac, Cam Powell, Dan Finkel, Chad Herman, Joey Baldwin, Luciano Mancinoni, Val Snyder, Josh Inch, Austin Jeffcoat, Gregory D. Jeffcoat, Robert Wilhelm, Tuccillo Dodovacles, Tim Hochmuth, Delphine Perroud, Cheryl Currie.

CREW: Sebastien Hameline, Matias Masucci, Hans Holm, Artemio Caballero, Stefania Rosini, Barbara DiCocco, Lee Cantelon, Tanya Miller etc. etc.

ORIGINAL SONG by Veronica Bianqui