Rite of Fancy

Criticism happens.

As a photographer, I occasionally get evaluations of my work.

Recently I got one that stung.

After a view indignant rants (in the privacy of my studio and without an audience). I then took a few Zen moments, collected myself and looked again at this latest analysis of my work.

I reminded myself what  Nita Leland wrote in The New Creative Artist 

 "A rejection doesn't necessarily indicate a piece is bad, only that the standards used for evaluating the work are different from yours"

I could see where his points of complaint were,  I complemented him on his eye and thanked him for his feedback.

I would like to point out my displeasure in the tacky manner in which I received the assessment.  Les Giblin writes in The Art of Dealing with People the rules of a successful criticism,  the first rule being, do it privately (versus a public comment in an online gallery, attached to the very image itself).

For that transgression,  I am using the retort of my be…

A short summary of the book Gentleman's Agreement: Exposing anti-semitism by pretending.
Questions I pondered while reading Gentleman's Agreement: Should silence be considered bad manners?
Why do we fear what is different?
My thoughts about Gentleman's Agreement: How often was I silent?
I won't be again.

I had just recently attended a luncheon where there was a sort of etiquette crisis.

Our luncheon consisted of a couple of sauces and our table noticed it  next to impossible to successfully pour out of a gravy/sauce boat and not leave a dripping, soiled trail.

We chatted about this, the entire table somewhat stumped about this particular problem.

It is quite uncomfortable when you are unmannerly, particularly in public.

After the luncheon I  dove in to research, specifically with the question "how exactly to pass around a sauce boat and not make a dribbling mess around the table."

This question appears to be the conundrum of many, and most suggestions were "do the best you can" or "try tilting it to the side as you pour"

In other words, sauce boats are horrid things and no one has any idea on how to save the tablecloth..


Not one to quit, I kept digging, finally finding the book "The Butler Speaks" by Charles MacPherson.




Ta Da! A Gravy/Sauce boat…

A short summary of the book Wishful Drinking:
Hi! My name is Carrie and I am an addict with a mental illness.



Questions I pondered while reading Wishful Drinking: If one in four people have a mental illness - why are they such a secret?
Doesn't everyone have at least one vice?
My thoughts Wishful Drinking: It takes courage to put hats on your skeletons and invite them to dance.
Bonus points to Carrie for making the dance funny.