Self Made Man

I stumbled across the following sculpture done by Bobbie Carlyle. It is one of the best pieces of art I have seen. In fact I think it is probably one of the only pieces of scupture that I have seen that appears to have a message I can understand and share.


Bobbie Carlyle Self Made Man Sculpture, Loveland Colorado Sculptors

There is an interesting double message here. One, that man makes himself. That ultimately man must be responsible for what he becomes. Any end is achievable, since man has the power to make himself into anything. Since this rests with him, the will, actions and beliefs of others play no part. Second that man's work is his life. This man is a sculptor. Being a sculptor he makes himself from stone. A writer makes himself from words. A musician from music. There is no seperation between work and life. What a man is, comes from what a man does. If you hate your job, it stands to reason you must hate yourself. I read the following review of a biographical movie about Frank Lloyd Wright: This Is Not a Movie Picture Book, January 5, 2005 Reviewer: SomeGuy (Chicago, IL USA) I bought this dvd thinking that I wanted to see homes that Frank Lloyd Wright built, but this dvd does that no justice. This is a documentary of Frank Lloyd Wrights life, not a movie about his work. I do not suggest buying this unless you want to know about the man, not his work. The great irony is that his life is his work. And his work is his life. Many people believe that Howard Roarke from Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead is based on Frank Lloyd Wright. I don't believe Rand ever supported this or refuted it. Donald Johnson has even written a book about this theory. You can't seperate a man from his "true work" without destroying the man. Great men know this. That's why great men are always doing what they are passionate about. I don't know Bobbie or what motivated her to create "Self Made Man". I believe it is in answer to the question "What is man's purpose?". Clearly the only purpose man can have is to create himself.

Law to make iTunes compatible with Microsoft

Law to make iTunes compatible with Microsoft

This is one of the most absurd stories I have read in ages. I don't understand why anyone elected to office would think this is a priority for them. I hate when people use "protection of x" as their reason for doing something.

Which consumers are actually suffering from this problem. How many examples can we think of where "software/content" doesn't interoperate with "hardware". Gillette has over 70% market share in disposable razors. Should they be forced to allow their blades to work on all disposable razors. Or tjeir disposable razors to work with anyone's blades. Maybe we should force electric shaver manufacturers to make my disposable blades work with their shavers.

This argument is instantly indefensible once you spend even a minute discussing it. This seems obvious. And shocking that you could convene a congressional hearing in which someone wouldn't say "Pardon me Mister Speaker, but isn't the obvious conclusion of this train of thought complete insanity, and thus this hearing both a sham and a complete waste of tax-payers money?".

But you don't hear that. Instead they complain about how "Apple didn't take their invitation seriously." I would be greatly disillusioned if Apple did take it seriously.