Waxing Poetically: News and Lifestyle with a Twist of Poetry

This is a little preview of one of my posts on my new blog Art from the Outskirts For more join me there regularly as I explore both the limits and the wonders of the various arts.

The Psychological Aesthetics of Sexual Attraction as Artistic Appreciation

A Commentary by Michael LaPenna

“Introduction”

It begins innocently enough: A young man gazes from across the room at a little diner in suburban Chicago. His eyes have fixed themselves upon the seemingly angelic presence of a vibrant, young, women in a gently draped pink, cotton blouse and white, Capri pants that both appear to fit quite well with her body’s contours. She has features that he’s rarely seen: richly carameled skin, and wavy, black hair that falls to the nape of her neck. All the while he can’t help but notice that her hair has the faintest indigo tint in the room’s light. As she turns her eyes toward him, the young man notices her familiar dark brown, walnut shaped eyes quite craftily and symmetrically woven into her face. Her nose is kitten-like and her mouth’s lines seem to invite him to conversation with her…and so the young man carefully approaches the women.

“Hi” he says. She looks calm back at him. “Dave?” she asks. Moksha” he exclaimed!
“How are you?” I knew it was you!”
Oh, I’m pretty well, I’d say.”
“Babe, c’mere! You remember Moksha from the figure drawing class? Ya know… the model.”

“Dressing Table” Pino Dangelico

Has this type of scenario ever happened to you? Have you noticed someone so striking that you couldn’t help but think of that person as a kind of art? Every line, curve, dip, dimple and indentation was almost palpably pleasing to you If so, you may, like me, be the type of person who occasionally visits art galleries, paints, writes, etcetera. On the other hand, you might be like a lot of folks on the planet who simply know what they like in any object, whether that object be a painting, a flower or yes…even a person! Do I risk credulity or misogyny in assuming this? Many if not most of us have likely admired aesthetic niceties, but more often we think the word aesthetic itself belongs tagged on to a piece of furniture as in “The craftsmanship of that chair is amazing!” or “This house looks Victorian.” or in the look of a particular film as in “That movie reminded me of a Hitchcock film.” But the world actually means specifically that which relates to the perception of beauty in art or nature. In this sense something that looks a particular way, feels, seems or reminds and so forth is expressed aesthetically. In other words, it is a that part of us which is not confined to rigid definitions of beauty, attractiveness or ugliness within the strictures of scientifically precise measurements. Whereas a person can know what the standard of beauty is mathematically, symmetrically and with regard to markers of health such as coloration or body mass index, there are those aspects which never quite conform to the prescribed definitions given by science such as Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky expressed in his 1864 novella Notes from the Underground When the Underground Man declared, “I admit that twice two makes four is an excellent thing, but if we are to give everything its due, twice two makes five is sometimes a very charming thing too.” In the same way, art is objectively placed far beyond the mechanics of science. Sometimes attraction is as well.

Stay tuned for Section 2!

This one is something I came across in my email this morning. It eloquently discusses how fully content people seem to function similarly and are in general, just some great tips to a better life. This is just a little something I wanted to drop into the blog for kicks. . this is all based on Abraham Maslow’s psychological studies of highly mentally healthy people. Enjoy and wax poetically! Feel free to Digg or stumble this!

“Atomic Holiday Self-portrait”

As some of you know, last week I posted my views on the general absurdity of human free will when juxtaposed with the instincts found in animals. So today I follow that piece with a comment on a study published in Scientific American today that points to evidence that many philosophers and scientists don’t believe in free will and believe instead that all decisions are arrived at solely because they are influenced by previous actions or events or experiences.

The article summed up a scandalous little study by psychologists Kathleen Vohs at the University of Minnesota and Jonathan Schooler at the University of California at Santa Barbara wherein two groups of subjects were given two passages to read from the popular scientific analysis book The Astonishing Hypothesis by biochemist and Nobel laureate Francis Crick, (he discovered the double helix composition of DNA with James Watson). One group read a passage saying, “‘You,’ your joys and your sorrows, your memories and your ambitions, your sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules. Who you are is nothing but a pack of neurons.” On neurological influence it continues,“…although we appear to have free will, in fact, our choices have already been predetermined for us and we cannot change that.” The second group was ask to read a passage about the nature of consciousness that lacked any mention of free will. The participants then filled out a survey on their beliefs about free will.

Next both groups were given 20 arithmetic problems to answer on a computer but due to a “glich” were also told that they must press the space bar in order that the answer not be shown for them to be able to cheat. Still, no one would be able to tell if they did. The results were that those who read the anti-free will passage cheated considerably more than those who read the consciousness-centered section and the amount of cheating by each person directly correlated to the to the responses on each corresponding survey. Therefore the readings proved influential, but why? The researchers believe that the doom and gloom of the anti-free will rationale may have driven Group One simply not to care, or at least to be less inclined to do so.

Yet beyond the study, there was no conclusive evidence to tell how the results pan out over any longer term. Also, the general moral habits or beliefs of the participants prior to the study are unknown. However after preforming cross-cultural studies, research shows people overall desire to want to think they are free moral agents. Further the study illustrates more people believe in free will than in determinism. But what does this really suggest?

First, there is the argument that all decisions are determine by previous actions, events, experiences and so forth. This seem only logical. A person must be influenced by all he encounters in some way, as in “It’s raining, so I won’t go swimming today,” or “I was bitten by a shark last time, so this time I’ll be more careful.” This is nothing new… is it? The more pertinent question is “What is the nature of consciousness?” or “Why are people aware at all?” People definitely have choices they can make as far as they are aware of them but that does not mean objectively that they choose those choices, but it definitely means they think they do.

Ultimately, this seems like a circular debate. From where I sit, it’s very similar to arguing whether reality is the same for all people or if the individual is just dreaming it. It is in fact, all based on perception and anyone with half a brain knows that only testable principles such as gravity, social norms and cause/effect relationships can ever be debated. Free will is defined as the ability to make choices. Humans clearly do make choices. The subjects in the study made a clear and conscious choice whether to cheat on the tests they were given. The question scientists seem to be posing is whether people’s perception of their autonomy is somehow fated by something outside of their knowledge such as nature or even God.

Any further debate just seems pointless. Even if people don’t understand the true nature of their wills, as long as they are conscious of the choices they make and believe they are free and autonomous, maybe that’s all that matters. Rather it could just mean there is a debate regarding what the concept of free will means. Basically it comes down to what causes people’s will and has nothing to with the process itself…. Your brain will still function regardless of any of this. I wouldn’t lose any sleep.

Wax. Don’t dryclean.

In my view, when it comes to beliefs and perspectives, no one is really one thing or another and neither is he or she completely defined as one group, party, culture or experience because all people only have their own unique point of view from which they draw conclusions that really cannot be “known” by anyone but through specific experiences.

The video below argues very deliberately that conformity is in fact a kind of deformity of logic by which nothing is ever questioned, examined or debated effectively because of the belief holders’ unwillingness to waver on ANY stance even when there is evidence to the contrary. In plain English, only a willingness to be proven wrong enables a person to be right. The speaker is Gennady Stolyarov II of one of my favorite today.com blogs The Progress of Liberty. He is featured in my previous post listing my favorite today.com blogs.

Why You Will Disagree With Me and Why This is Not a Problem by Gennady Stolyarov II

This one is a little boggling, so take your time and wax rationally in your comments.

Hey, Folks! I’m happily and rejoicingly able to inform you that the new blog Art from the Outskirts has been approved! It will be up within the next two days and I’m hoping will be a great success. My goal is to present the arts from unique and some what otherworldly perspectives. By doing so I mean to showcase work that may push your minds a bit further than you would have thought possible before arriving at the “outskirts.”

Let me emphasize that I do not wish to conflate or confuse the term “outskirts” with the “edge” that has dominated popular culture with its overextended and exploitive lexicon of commercial soft drinks, movies, music - and those goth kids on your block who are ravenously starving for that moment when their overworked, barely apparent parents say, “hello” to them. Rather, I refer to that place in art that makes us cringe and smirk with the same first glance or listening. It is in truth, that part of us that wants to “go there” with out any fear of what may lie ahead which interests me most. Art from the Outskirts‘ objective is to take that random detour you’ve always considered but never taken.

So join me, won’t you? You’ve always wanted to come along and now you can! I promise the worst that will happen is that you should gain a well-exercised mind! You might even wax poetically!

Coming up: Oscar Wilde’s Lecture to Art Students and What it Means Today

It’s been a while since I last gave you a poem to digest. So tonight,the piece below is a dedication to the Rap, Poetry and Music Club and Slam team of the college of SUNY New Paltz (RPM) and to all the writers and bloggers that compose my readership who believe fervantly and passionately in the power of words. The setting is in a lounge area where my friends and I shared some of our deepest hopes and concerns through verse every Tuesday night.

“These Walls: A Dedication”

Forever and ever!

Waxy, waxy everywhere and just enough to think!

The paradox of free will and freedom to choose good versus evil is surely an age-old dilemma since the very beginning of existence from all angles, the question of why we do what we do, and why we make the decisions we make . It’s all very strange and disconcerting. The following argument was initially my attempt to solve this problem but in the end, it was all much more a comedy than a solution. It contrasts animal instinct against human ingenuity and makes the case that though we human beings do have the ability to make logical choices, that can never assure that we will decide to do so.

In the Biblical Garden of Eden when God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the two were inevitably tempted toward it, with wide-eyed, childlike precociousness and when given a pass by the guile and tricks of the serpent, they felt it reason enough to throw all God’s rules aside even when God had told them verbatim they would surely die. Both Adam and Eve risked death to embrace the most base and immediate desires, rather than listen a logical argument which if followed though would guarantee eternal life with no further thoughts, questions, instructions or payment needed. Now that’s a deal that seemingly not even the most ravenous game show player could refuse (even if Howie Mandel were hosting).

Yet, somehow, someway, somewhere in the deepest, blackest recesses of our minds, we human beings will still reach the forbidden fruit. We are often the the ones to laugh at danger. While the the other creatures retire to the comfort of their caves, holes and nests, We wrestle alligators and hunt bears for the thrill. While the birds of the sky fly south to escape the harsh air of winter, we prodigious, fun-loving and earth-walking homosapiens who have not even the slightest natural ability to fly, volunteer to jump out of planes and “almost” die by allowing gravity to hurl and tumble our bodies to ground and at the proper time, pulling open our “death saving” parachute in order that we prevent our untimely (but quite likely under normal circumstances) deaths; and While the unwitting beasts of the wild instinctively scavenge for the proper food to best fit their nutritional daily recommended allowances, humans fumbling though their refrigerators will say a hardy, “f*** you” to the broccoli on their left and instead snatch up the “one third of a baby cow” angus burger to their right. Finally, lest we forget the paradox of human relationships. Unlike Johnny Bumble Bee and Felicia Fox who are likely in search of the strongest, smartest and healthiest mates in the hive or pack, the young men of our time often notice that the ladies love the bad boys, dropouts and beer swillers.

The examples are many and though this post is partly in jest, it is nevertheless based fully on real life observations. The anguish and absurdity of this shot essay is factual and shows freedom of choice might actually be a kind of cosmic joke. If so, God, or at the very least, nature is awesomely hilarious!

In closing Below is the parable “Good God, Evil God” by Khalil Gibran from his book The Madman to put all the points discussed together without making anyone’s brain short out. Read it carefully and with much thought. See what meaning you can take from it. What does it say to you about the nature of man? What does it say for man’s concept of God?

“The Good God and the Evil God”

The Good God and the Evil God met on the mountain top.

The Evil God walked away cursing the stupidity of man.

Keep waxin’ folks! I’ll be here.

Hello, My Blogheads! I’m writing to invite you all to my new blog that is currently pending review. It will be an all arts-based blog called Art from the Outskirts featuring the most unique, innovative and sometimes little-known art, music, performance and creative literature of today. Everything from interviews and biographies to gallery reviews an musical masterpieces will be fair game.

The site will be broken down into several segments:

Profiles will feature a bio of a particular individual or group to make an impact in any of the arts.

Perspectives will tell the artist’s vision though his or her own lens.

In Review will give be my personal take on a particular work and will likely be the most first person oriented of all the sections.

In A Picture in Words I will write a short piece based solely from my analysis of a single picture.

Beyond these, I’m really just opening myself to whatever little muse may come my way. But until that time comes, I’m very content to wax poetically! Stay tuned!

The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting today that a federal judge has ruled from a 2005 suit filed by several Christian high schools that the University of California is fully permitted to disallow credits from any high school courses whose texts propagate the infallibility of religious arguments in place of empirical or historical evidence and do not allow critical thinking.

According to District Judge James Otero of Los Angeles, he does not begrudge any school the right to teach religion, but draws a clear line when arguments of Biblical infallibility are stated as facts in the text. Examples include Biology for Christian Schools which unabashedly opines on the first page that “if (scientific) conclusions contradict the Word of God, the conclusions are wrong” and Christianity’s Influence on America which according to one UC professor on the course review committee, the primary text, published by Bob Jones University, “instructs that the Bible is the unerring source for analysis of historical events.” UC standards deny credit from any courses which include religious doctrine as fact and exclude current scientific theory.

Christian schools claim that UC’s code infringes on religious freedom. “It appears the UC is attempting to secularize private religious schools,” said attorney Jennifer Monk of Advocates for Faith and Freedom. Yet, UC does allow texts which advocate religious views when used in a companion or supplemental capacity for analytical purposes. Judge Otero also made it clear that he felt that after review, the plaintiff presented no evidence and Christian school students were being denied admission into UC based on their religious orientations or personal beliefs.

It appears as if this kind of thing is happening - where religious beliefs creep into text books and squash, pummel, mutilate rational thought all too often. I was personally unaware that this was major issue. Even as a believer in Biblical teachings, I’ve always appoached the Bible from the context in which it was written and have very quickly and easily found that while it contains brilliant philosophy in my view, it has absolutely NO science in it whatsoever and any historical data therein must be verifiable outside of Biblical texts in order to carry any weight at all. As for the Bible’s infallibility, a consensus as has yet to be settled - and while as a practicing Catholic I fully believe the Truth of God is infallible, I still find interpretations of what that Truth is to be varied at best.

With that said, I have taken Courses in which religious text were to be read as literary works, such as The Inferno, Fear and Trembling and even the Bible itself. I can only tell you that reading the books this way allowed me to have a clearer understanding of what I believe and any restriction on free thought would have probably crippled my faith rather than uplifted and sustained it. Any such prohibition, to me, turns God into some kind of magical, Orwellian Big Brother clone. The very idea makes me want to vomit a bit. Faith by indoctrination is no different than slavery and mind control. Christian’s: If you really want to teach people the Gospel say, “This is what I believe” and leave the rest to your students… PERIOD!

Love
When you think of China, what comes to mind? You might think of something well-known or partially stereotypical such as fried rice or kung-fu, even acupuncture. But did any of you think of eight- minute speed dating? Did any of you think of a romance course? Well if not, the video below may surprise you.

The video below is a documentary on the romantic struggles of single Chinese men and woman who just want to find a good mate. I found this clip while checking my Youtube account this morning and I thought that you, my adoring public, (as I say that with my tongue nestled firmly in my cheek) might enjoying watching it and probably noticing that although the world’s cultures may be oceans apart at times, love is something that any one of us can relate to no matter the distance that separates us.

When watching, keep in mind that the Chinese, as with many Asian cultures, live in the humble traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism among others. Therefore, self-control, and restraint of impulsive actions is preferred over the outgoing, carefree approach to dating prevalent in the West. Chinese often rely on their ability to pick up nuance rather than express too much emotion and this makes dating a tough task. Couple this with the booming economy and late work hours and the chances to meet that special person become even fewer.

Overall, this video opened my eyes to thinking about Chinese culture in a new way. I felt as if the people in it could be my friends and that we’d get along fairly well. On a side note, I noticed that while China’s communist government may not allow free elections, civilian life is still very free.

Watch the video and feel very free to leave a long comment or two. This one may surprise you, but moreover it may even cause you to wax poetically!

(Watch the video).