Unsettled - A Baker's Right To Not Bake For A Gay Wedding

I've combined two topics in the title - but it seems to fit today's US Supreme Court decision.  But I did stop at the Anchorage Museum today and saw the Unsettled exhibit, which the Museum's website begins describing this way:

"Unsettled amasses 200 artworks by 80 artists living and/or working in a super-region we call the Greater West, a geographic area that stretches from Alaska to Patagonia, and from Australia to the American West. Though ranging across thousands of miles, this region shares many similarities: vast expanses of open land, rich natural resources, diverse indigenous peoples, colonialism, and the ongoing conflicts that inevitably arise when these factors coexist. . ."

The exhibit was POWERFUL with lots of interesting exhibits and I want to post about it more.  But I did want to give you a preview now as a way of showing the wide range of this show.  This first is from Sitka artist Nicholas Galinin, called THINGS ARE LOOKING NATIVE, NATIVE'S LOOKING WHITER.  This is merely a reproduction of it on the elephant sized elevator at the museum.  He had several other works that work striking that I'll put up later.

Below is Bolivian Sonia Falcone's Campo de Color

I don't ever recall an olfactory art piece in a museum before.  Here's Bruno Fazzolari's Unsettled scent.

As you can see, this was the only art piece in the exhibit that you were allowed to touch.  It wasn't bad.  You can buy it at the museum gift shop (the only art work in the exhibit you can buy) or for those of you not in Anchorage, at Fazzolari's website.

Did he name the scent for the exhibit, or did it get in because of the name?

Truly, there was something there to interest everyone.  Chris Burden's All The Submarines In The United States of America had model submarines suspended in the air.  There was a list of all their numbers and names on the wall, and notebook with a brief description of each.  It was opened to the page which included the USS Thresher.







Rodney Graham's Paradoxical Western Scene looked like a photograph (it wasn't) and the setting in Yosemite Valley with El Capitan in the background was definitely eye-catching.  And different from everything else.  You might even tempt the kids by telling them there's a chocolate room.

I'll add more from the exhibit in another post, but I wanted to get Anchorage folks' attention so they head down to the museum to catch this before it leaves in September.

The advantage for me of having an annual membership at the museum is when I'm downtown, I can take a break and spend time looking at one part of the museum without thinking about the $18 admission price each time.  Though it's only $15 for Alaskans, $12 for seniors, and $9 for kids.  Still that's steep for an hour visit to look at one section only.  And for members, there's a machine to scan your card and go in without having to stop at the front desk.  But remember to take a quarter for the lockers for you bulky stuff - but you get it back when you pick your stuff up.   So, with an annual membership, I can make many short trips to look at small portions of the museum without thinking about the cost.  For those who want to see this exhibit and not pay a big chunk of change - the museum is free on First Fridays (of the month) from 6-9 pm.

You can see more images from the exhibit at the link.



Well that doesn't leave much room for MASTERPIECE CAKESHOP, LTD. v. COLORADO CIVIL RIGHTS COMM’N, which is ok, since I haven't had time to read the whole opinion.  Conflicts between two protected rights is always tricky.  While I have posted about the issue of artists (photographers and wedding cake makers) and same-sex marriages and sided with the couples in the past, I could also see the baker's point of not wanting to help make something as critical as the cake for a gay wedding, if his religious beliefs truly found such weddings sinful.   I also didn't think it likely that too many same-sex couples would want anti-gay marriage businesses involved in their weddings anyway.  That post, by the way, looked at an argument that was comparing those situations with whether a kosher baker could refuse to cater to serve ham.   The case was chosen, if I recall correctly, to make a point, but I never thought it was the best case and apparently and 7-2 majority of the court didn't either and from what I understand, the decision very narrowly is focused on this particular baker and the particular decision by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

So, it would seem, the issue is still unsettled, as I say in the title.

Pink and Upside Down

It's amazing what one warm day can do.  Here on Bainbridge Island the daily highs were in the low 50˚s F (about 10˚C).  Then Monday it was up to 63˚F.  Yesterday it got to 73˚F (22˚C).  Today it's back to the 50s.  But after dropping off my little angel at school, there was new pink in the park.



This bit of rouge wasn't there yesterday morning.

























The reflections in the water also caught my eye once again.  This time I flip them so the reflection is on top.  It's always useful to rethink those things we take for granted.  Like right-side-up and upside-down.  Like reality and its reflections - after all, most everything we know about what other people think and feel, we know through reflection.  Through their words, their actions, their presence or absence.  The traces they leave behind.

This last one is hard to tell.  But if you flip your screen, you can tell.

These pictures are just a diversion tactic as I try to get back into the Graham v MOA posts (see tab above).  They are getting very technical now, so I'm working hard to figure out ways to get the point across - that these are really blatant problems with the testing -  without someone having to read everything.  It can get tedious.  But I'm hoping my analogies will tempt some to read the details.

We're also coming to an end of our visit with my granddaughter and her family.  We've had a wonderful time together.  She's bossy and demanding at times (but always with a smile if I push back at all) and other times just as sweet as can be.  Tomorrow night we're scheduled to be back home for a prolonged period of time.  I can't wait.  But leaving my sweetie is not easy either.

Why Is A Mallard Drake's Head Green? Or Sometimes Blue/Purple?

If mallards weren't so common, we'd all go nuts when we see them.  The iridescent green head is so striking, and the white right around the neck!  But familiarity breeds, maybe not contempt, but loss of sensitivity to their beauty.

But sometimes, in different light, the head looks blue or dark purple.  (I really would have cropped this to just show the water patterns, but since I need to show you a blue/purple head, I left that in too.)

I thought I'd find out how this works - the color change.  I didn't quite, but I found an interesting blog post at the Nature Niche that not only talks about the color change, but also about mallard drakes whose heads stay blue.

While watching the ducks on a pond at Crystal Lake Fish Hatchery (Shasta County CA) one mallard caught my attention. The head of this mallard was blue. Because the iridescence and color of birds is affected by the angle of observation, I watched this particular mallard for nearly fifteen minutes, yet the blue color never varied. This was not a blue-green color nor was the mallard’s head simply “dark”  due to shadows – the head was a constant, beautiful, rich blue. On occasion I hear about a blue-headed mallard and have even seen mallards whose heads seem blue in certain light. But the blue head color proves in reality to be brilliant green when the duck moves. No matter how this duck moved or how the light changed, its head was blue. I wondered why?

He doesn't claim scientific proof, but did collect some research online.

According to Nina G. Joblonski  in her book “Living Color”, the intensity of the mallard’s  iridescent green head feathers is related to the level of testosterone, higher levels of this hormone resulting in brighter green color. But since a non-breeding or eclipse male has a nondescript brown head similar to the female, where does a blue head enter the picture?

But, Steve, you still haven't explained why sometimes green and sometimes blue/purple in the same bird.  I didn't find the answer exactly, but here's something on butterflies:

The combination of a butterfly's structural and pigmented color can create interesting effects. For example, if you saw a butterfly with yellow pigment underneath a structure that creates a blue iridescent color, you might see a green shade, made by the merging of the two colors. Or depending on your viewpoint, you might see blue, yellow, green or a combination of the three. Your view would change as the butterfly moves its wings and the light enters at different angles.

These shots come from my walk around the park yesterday after dropping off my granddaughter at her pre-school.  Unlike the other day when the good pictures were hiding in the grey, yesterday they were right out there daring this photographer to try to catch them.  I'll offer a few where I got close.

First I caught the flattened reeds floating in the water.   But then I saw the sun was floating just below.  You can see where the two pictures would overlap if I combined them, but I'll leave them separate.  It forces you to look at both pictures a little more carefully.

A little later, the sun dared me to shoot it straight on, not as a reflection.

This robin was holding its ground.

There are also signs of humans in the park.  (Beyond the folks walking their dogs or jogging and the benches etc.)

And this rhododendron bush that was blooming despite the delayed spring weather.

This was all on Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from downtown Seattle.

Blue And White

These are two Mexican shallow bowls and three candle holders that we brought back from my mom's house.  Each has its own unique pattern.  They were small (about 6 and 3 inches in diameter respectively) and easy to pack.  And their colors and patterns pleaded with me to take them.  Looking at them makes me feel good.


And when we got home I thought about a post I'd started before about all the blue and white items we have.  Is there something special about these colors?  Is it just us or are lots of other human beings particularly fond of this combination?

I took pictures of other objects we have with these colors.  I looked for some answers, but didn't find much.  There's lots of stuff on color wheels and color combinations, but white isn't in most color wheels.  Finding info specifically about blue and white was more difficult. But I'll put in what I found.  Maybe Mark, if you see this, you'll have more to add.




   Here's a Chinese vase, and that leads to the origin of this color combination.   From the Blue and White Porcelain page on Wikipedia.

"In the early 14th century mass-production of fine, translucent, blue and white porcelain started at Jingdezhen, sometimes called the porcelain capital of China. This development was due to the combination of Chinese techniques and Islamic trade. The new ware was made possible by the export of cobalt from Persia (called Huihui qing, 回回青, "Islamic blue"), combined with the translucent white quality of Chinese porcelain.  Cobalt blue was considered as a precious commodity, with a value about twice that of gold.[4] Motifs also draw inspiration from Islamic decorations.  A large portion of these blue-and-white wares was then shipped to Southwest-Asian markets through the Muslim traders based in Guangzhou."

This Thai bowl surely originates from the same Chinese tradition.















And this Japanese vase as well.





















But what about this Portuguese plate that was a present from close friends of my wife's parents who were always so good to us?
















And here's a Japanese cup and saucer made for the US market that has a completely different look.

And here's a very American bowl that is basically blue and white, but adds a few other colors.

Were you getting the sense it was only pottery?  I was.  But here a couple blue and white shirts.

As I was photographing all this I was reminded of how wide the range is of what we call white and what we call blue.


But I still hadn't found much on why people like this combination.


This short introduction from  From Houzz   succinctly repeats the Wikipedia info and adds some aesthetic reasons for the color combination.

"Blue and white is a popular color scheme steeped in history. This classic color palette dates back to the ninth century, when cobalt-blue pigments were used to create motifs on white pottery and porcelain in China. During the 18th century blue and white printed fabrics began popping up in France. 

Blue and white is an appealing combination because it is a very serene palette that looks natural to most people. In design it creates a feeling of elegance and simplicity that is unparalleled."

"Unparalleled elegance and simplicity."  Did the writer just make that up, or is there something more concrete to support that conclusion?

The Anthrotorian, in a post on blue and white in Greece, adds a political reason for the combination:

It wasn’t until 1967, when a military government was in power in Greece, that the other colors disappeared for good.  Thinking that the blue and white showed unification, and supported their political agenda, this government mandated that all buildings must be repainted in blue and white if they weren’t already.

When you do internet searches, you get hits that are vaguely related, but really take you off in a completely different direction.  Like this Harvard Law School paper on the history of the regulation of lipstick from 3500 BC to the present.  I think it showed up because, in addition to more traditional reds, Egyptians used a blue-black lipstick.

For more focus on color, here's a favorite post, from 2011, Are Color Distinctions Natural or Culturally Created? More on Language and How We See the World?

Dream Thoughts

I had amazingly real dreams yesterday morning - well I only remember the last one before waking - but I know there were more.  I attribute this having had a dish with lots of (store bought) mushrooms the previous night.

I can see everything vividly still, though the images are fading.  The colors were rich and I could see every detail.  But when I was telling my wife about the dream I realized that while there were conversations in the dream, I couldn't recollect voices the way I could the visuals.  As I think back to other dreams, I know I generally do see in color (and I've heard that not everyone does), but I don't remember hearing sounds they way I see things.  I know they were there, I know that people spoke or that there was music, but it's more like telepathy in my memory that actual hearing of sounds.

I have to pay attention in future dreams.  Do I actually hear sounds but they fade faster than the visuals?  What about smells?  (And I realize as I write this that I can say, "I can't hear sounds" but I can't find the equivalent word for this sentence, "I can see ______."  'Sights' doesn't fit as well as 'sounds' does in the first sentence. Nor 'images.'   Is there an English word that fits there that I'm just blanking on?

As I think about this, there is one exception to the absence of sounds.  There have been times when the clock radio has gone off while I'm still sleeping/dreaming and the voices on the radio mingle with my dreaming and actually redirect my dreams until I wake up and realize the sounds were from the radio.  But those are actual, external sounds I'm hearing in my dreams, not dream sounds in the way that I see the dreams.



OK, now that I've said what's on my mind, let me see what the internet can add to this.

My first search term was:  "Hearing sounds in dreams like seeing things"  resulted in titles related to simply hearing voices, in real life, not in dreams.

Then, 'Dream Sounds' had music for dreaming, but also this from dreamwell which matches my experience:

"Sounds are one of the most invasive things into our dreams.  But rather than wake us up, sounds often become incorporated into our dream, the external sound woven into the fabric of the dream as though it really belonged there."

This person writes, not as though these are her first person experiences, but as though this is a general rule, but she offers no references or evidence of this.  But it does match my experience.  And does 'Dreamwell' refer, as I first thought, to a well from which you get dreams?  Or is it meant more like the term "Sleep Well"?



Next:  "Do People Hear In Dreams?"  At Experience Project people answer the question, "In your dreams (night), do you see/hear/smell/feel/taste?  [This site has those disgusting ads with pictures and tabloid questions, so beware.]  Some commenters say yes, they see, hear, feel, smell.  Not much on taste.  One person wrote:

"There were scents, colors, people talking, and I could remember what they said quite often. The only thing I don't remember is taste. "

I know there was talking and other sounds in my dream, but I don't remember 'hearing' the sounds in the way I saw things.  I just know they were there.  But I still have visual memories of the dream, but not aural ones  By that I mean, I can remember what was said, but I can't hear it, while the images I can both still remember and see. 

Related to all this is a book I've just finished reading A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki in which dreams play a major role.  While there were provocative ideas in the book, overall I found myself impatient for it to end.  If it weren't for my book club, I might not have finished it.  I'll try to put more up about it because there were lots of interesting ideas.  It was an ambitious project, but I don't think she quite pulled it off.  Just mentioning it now because of the importance of dreams in it.  In one case she seems to use a dream to change what is happening in another part of the world.  It didn't work for me. 

Leaving LAX - Light Games

These are all straight from the camera, no photoshop and in chronological order from taxiing to take off.  I like the latter ones best. 

The red comes from the decorative light tubes where the airport road connects with Sepulveda.

I have no idea why the blue lights in the foreground look stable while the background lights reflect the slow shutter speed and the planes movement.  

These shots remind me that what we see is that tiny part of the world that our eyes are wired to capture and our brain is wired to interpret.  With different eyes, we'd see different things and know different things.  For example, what if we didn't see skin pigment, just whether people were benevolent or threatening. 

A Lesson In Green

Words from Meditiation on Breath by Arnoldo Garcia

Can you tell we've had rain?  But we're getting a lesson in green. Photos mostly from our back yard, except two from our trip.