Tehching Hsieh, Noah Kalina, and the Art of Documenting Life

Quite some time ago I took a trip to the Nelson Art Gallery in Kansas City and viewed an Experimental Art exhibit. Most of this "art" probably doesn't deserve too many points on the art-o-meter. However, one piece did impress me. It was done by a guy named Tehching Hsieh. Mr. Hsieh took his picture on the hour every day for a year and documented his task with a time clock. The first day he showed up with a shaved head...he didn't cut it for the rest of the year, which allows us to watch it grow back as we view the pictures in movie format.

Last week on YouTube I discovered a similar experiment (I think I was visitor 5.7 million). This time a guy named Noah Kalina took his picture once a day...for 6 years (1/11/00 - 7/31/06).

I'm not exactly sure why this type of work interests me so much. If I allow myself to slip into a moment of over-analyzing...I think what's portrayed in these two projects is a picture of the brevity of life. "Art" such as this reminds us that years disappear into memories and the memories cruise along breaking every speed limit. Without any means to of applying pressure to the breaks we have little recourse but to be aware...be aware of friends, a spouse, kids, pleasantries, impleasantries...be aware of God's position in the mix.

There's something beautiful about living...about memories...about the sadness and happiness that one looks back on. Seeing a person's life literally flash before our eyes is different that watching It's A Wonderful Life, or viewing some other artistic expression of how life sneaks by us. The realness of seeing a human express themselves in this way is sobering. It reminds us to make good use of our days and hours. It reminds us of the wastefulness of discontent and worry. It reminds us of many things...


www.noahkalina.com

Bruce Springsteen On Tour: 1968 - 2005 by Dave Marsh

My Slow Slide From the UnReligious Right

A little over a year ago my wife had two seizures within an hour of each other. This was traumatic, but overall, I'd argue that it was a positive experience (although, one which I hope to never experience again).

A little less than a year ago I was exposed to what the health care world looked like to the non-healthy. Apparently my wife now has a "pre-existing" condition, which means that insurance companies laugh at you when you ask if they will cover this "pre-existing" condition.

It's a strange thing to have a health care system that only covers the healthy. Now, I'm fairly new to the health care debate, but I'd like to say that my "pre-existing" opinions are beginning to change.

Perhaps another example is more helpful. This week I listened to a lecture by a guy named
Arthur Jones. Arthur Jones is a Medical Doctor who has chosen to practice and live in Lawndale, Chicago. He's also the CEO of Lawndale Christian Health Center. Among other things, he told me that if a uninsured patient from Lawndale wants a hip replacement there's a 5 year wait.

A 5-year wait...? ...Excuse the stereotyping, but whenever the topic of socialized/universal medicine bears its head toward the conservative side of the political spectrum, the immediate comeback is "waiting in lines"...you've probably heard it before...if we have universal health care, we'll have to wait in lines for the doctor, etc. Is a 5-year wait is acceptable? My answer - No.

Two things immediately come to mind:
1) "They're poor, they deserve it." Many would describe that statement as pejorative. But, I think that's the attitude of many. If the poor and homeless worked hard enough, if they straightened up, they could get a job and get insurance. This may be 100% true, but is it 100% Biblical? Consider verses about the poor (Matt. 25). Consider the concept of grace and the strong focus on making what is un-deserved available for free. Additionally, in the Bible, God seems to be the one doing the judging, not us. So, whatever exists in our hearts excusing a system that ignores the poor should be dismissed.

2) The second thing that pops into my mind is very unscientific. However, I think there's an element of truth to it...perhaps small, but I think it's still there. What happens in a "universalized" world of medicine? What if we jam all the waiting periods into one big equation, averaging the "wait times"? What happens? Things definitely get better for the poor person in Lawndale. They probably get a little worse for me. My question is....who says my health care needs to be a) immediate, or b) cutting edge. Isn't their something right and moral in sacrificing a little so that others can be helped?

I don't have any answers yet. Only questions. However, my questions don't seem to have answers that align themselves nicely to political parties. In the past I've always thought of the Republican party as being Pro-Life. I'm not 100% sure I agree with that thought anymore. I'm also not 100% for sure I think universal health care is a bad idea...in fact, at the moment I'd need some convincing that it's not a good idea.

Good idea or bad idea, something needs to be changed. As a Christian I'd like to support and vote for things that align themselves with the Bible. Call me a slow learner, but I'm becoming more and more aware that neither party fits in well with that alignment.

"And If You Find Yourself in the Dark..."

Yesterday at the library I looked up from the computer I was using because I heard a mildly panicked voice from the front desk. Apparently an elderly lady had fallen, she had a handkerchief over her mouth, I'm not sure if she was bleeding. I tried not to give it too much attention, because I didn't want to get sucked into the situation.

The library has a homeless guy who sits in a chair most of the day and nods off or blows into his fingers or laughs to himself. I never talk to him, because he smells bad. And, I don't know what I'd talk to him about. I guess I could ask him his name, but no one else talks to him either, perhaps they would think bad of me talking to him.

My wife and I took a vacation last summer to Florida. We got to our hotel and due to a Priceline mishap, they only had one room available to us, it was one with a handicap accessible bathroom. We took the room, but I didn't want it. It was disturbing to me to be reminded of uncomfortable situations every time I went into the bathroom. I didn't want to think of anything troublesome on my vacation.

All of this goes to show what the filth of selfishness looks like. I can only assume that other people are like me. I've become aware lately of how much I choose to remove the hurting, sick, homeless people of the world from my life. I'm not sure why this is. Maybe I feel like my life is hard enough without adding any more difficulty to it by interacting with others who have hardships? I'm not sure that I have any good excuse, I think it's pretty much selfishness.

"Then the righteous will answer him, saying,

'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?'

And the King will answer them,

'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'"
-Matt. 25:37-40

My IPod artist of the week - M. Ward

He only sings when he's sad...and, he's sad all the time, so he sings the whole night through. Yeah, he sings in the day-time, too.

...those are lyrics from an M. Ward song called Vincent O'Brien. It's one of my top 10 favorite M. Ward songs and the inspiration of this blog's title (from a misheard lyric). The lyric I shared above is a pretty good thesis statement for Ward's music. It's sad stuff. But, it's simple, and its simplicity speaks loudly...at least, it does in my ears.

Lately, my ears can't get enough of Ward's scratchy, old-timer voice. If my wife had similar feelings toward the guy, perhaps my ears would get an even greater dose. ...who's complaining, though...nobody wants too much of a good thing.

Another song on my top 10 list, Deep Dark Well:

Deep, dark well
It's a deep, dark well
It's the deepest and the darkest well that i have ever found
Hear me calling you from deep down

Well i had wishes, i had dreams that i could not tell
So i dropped my silver dollars down that wishing well

Deep, dark well
It's a deep, dark well
It's the deepest and the darkest well that i have ever found
Hear me calling you from deep down

Well I’ve had visions, I’ve had dreams that could not come true
'Cause I leaned too close, that's when i fell in to my..

Deep dark well,
It's a deep dark well
It's the deepest and the darkest well that i have ever found
Hear me calling you from deep down

He sings the chorus three times...the only changes in the song are the two verses, which offer only a hint of the story. The rest is for the listener to fill in. It's a song about putting all your eggs in one basket and then being stuck in a desire that won't come true. It reminds me of the Springsteen lyric, Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse. There's one other clue in the song, "Hear me calling you". Maybe it's a plural you, as in, he's deeply depressed and calling for anyone to hear him. Or, maybe it's a singular you, and he's calling out to the woman who left him.

...also, Ward's PostWar is one of the best albums of 2006.

Here's some M. Ward YouTube love:





M. Ward lyrics (In case you're too lazy to type those 2.5 words into Google)

Opening Night

After too much mental struggle over the pretension of having a blog, I've succumbed to some strange tangent of my pride and clicked the buttons that make me a proud blog owner. I'd rather not have a blog, I'd rather admit that I'm above such things and that I realize my lack of original thought. But, in reality, my brain has this habitual lie that it feeds me which says...you have mountains of new ideas and everyone will flock to hear them.

So, my conscience/pride forces me to throw out the disclaimer that apologizes for subjecting the internet blogging world to more needless ramblings. What can you do?