The Weather

After a wet and cool spring, south central Texas is hunkering down into its usual summer weather: dry (as in no rain), humid, hot. But, here's a nice memory from last week.

What I'm Making

Pieces and parts. In the mood to play with the glass -- and, apparently, no interest in creating functional or structured work, so ... here's the 2nd look at some work with powders:





Step 1: powder on clear



Step 2: take a look at combinations



And, here's a larger component I made by smashing a disaster firing (much fun! hammer and glass!!) and firing the pieces w/some clear and white frit. Lovely colors that looked muddy in the original but now have some room to breathe...

What I'm Reading

“Eco-Mind,” by Frances Moore Lappe, author of “Diet for a Small Planet.”  Just seeing her name takes me back to the 60s. Those of us back then who rejected over-processed food and an overly processed lifestyle were considered by almost everyone to be on the fringe of reality; so, it’s with a certain sense of smugness? that I note that, in the 21^st century, it’s almost normal to demand food grown without pesticides and to try to live with as small a footprint on the earth as possible.

Good for you, Frances, and thank you for all of your work. “Eco-Mind” is a great addition, most especially because it is not the diatribe against Big Bizness and Corrupt Government with a Shame On You chaser that you might expect.

Rather, Lappe, makes a strong and interesting case for the possibility that the environmentalists are suffering from the same cognitive dissonance as the naysayers who believe that technology-driven progress will be our savior.

 “…Lappe dismantles seven widely held messages that undermine our culture’s response to the global environmental and poverty crises. In each case, she challenges their limiting premises – or ‘thought traps’ – and offers instead contrasting ‘thought leaps’ that unleash our hidden power. This internal transformation marks the creation of our eco-mind.”

What I'm Reading

Walter Mosley, “All I Did Was Shoot My Man,” featuring Leonid T. McGill.

Mosley is the creator of the award-winning, popular Easy Rawlins mystery series; this is his 4^th book starring L.T. McGill, a middle-aged black former PI to the mob. McGill is going, has gone, is mostly on the right side of the law these days, but circumstances have a way of blurring the boundaries for him on a regular basis. McGill is a complicated man with Buddhist leanings, anger management issues, family problems, and the need to make a good living. He also has a fierce conscience and his internal stories spiral through attempts to make restitution to those he has wronged in the past to his obligations to his wife and children and, finally, to his heart that never lies. Fascinating characters and fast-moving convoluted noir.

L.T. McGill is always on his way home to his wife and children – two of whom are not his ‘by blood,’ but his wife’s and her lovers’. One of those two is his heart-child, Twilliam (Twill).