Thursday, January 16, 2014

Epigenesis may now be my (un)official religion

I've been on twitter since the kickstarter project in May. I was told I needed to use every social media tool at my command. What I found out was social media tools only work if you are already famous.

I have shaved back on my twitter output after reading some of my tweets and realizing I come across as a drunken asshole. That might be because whenever I posted a text message, I was drunk.

I'm also starting to realize that most people on twitter aren't all that shiny to begin with. I had an opportunity to engage in a (I kid you not) "twitter fight club" event. Twitter fight club is an oxymoron. It sounds like annoying little birdies pooping and cheeping in mid-air, little pin feathers flying about - something that pretty much begs for a shotgun intervention.

Honestly, how can you have any kind of a worthwhile discussion in an SMS format, when the internet can barely provide one through the more expressive bulletin board system?

In any case, after checking out the profiles of the participants, I realized they were all unpleasant, miserable assholes. Which is to say, the very flower of public intellectualism and academia. So, no, pass, and, in words the twits may be more likely to comprehend: "Fuck off".

I am just going to use twitter for pictures and announcements, which is the intended use, right?

Actually, I think George Clooney is correct that famous people that use twitter are morons.  They should let their publicists do twitter for them.

Plus, the twitter app was making my already unstable HTC POS phone even more unstable. I've had to factory reset it twice. If it weren't free, I'd be annoyed.

Come to think of it, I probably come across as a drunken asshole on blogger as well. Thing is, on blogger I've always been sober, so I'm not quite sure how to deal with that realization.

Thing is, in the philosophical contest between epigenesis and preformationism, I've come down firmly in the epigenesis camp. Meaning, in practice, or at least as an informal unwritten rule, I will never do anything more than a first draft in my essays. In other words, any order that unfolds will have to unfold in the unfolding. That was kind of the unspoken ground rule in choosing a random walk theme. If it happens, it's gravy.

Epigenesis has distinct disadvantages. Without a solid plan, things can go pear-shaped quite rapidly. Drains can be circled. Thorny paths plunged down. Take my fiction writing. It suffers from being (partially revised) first draft stuff. And, since I am basically quite lazy, very few risks are taken in the narrative, because messy situations require thought to contrive and resolve. Rereading the stuff, it's all quite boring.

Still, working from just the kernel of a plan is exciting. If only I put more effort into it. Speaking of which, things are going swimmingly with the bronze figures. I've managed, at breaks in the studio schedule, to sneak in and invest the wax pieces in ceramic shell.
Seventh Dip and Stucco Investment

Seventh Dip and Stucco Investment
At this rate, I'l burn them out tonight, which is ahead of schedule. There are still contingencies and complications which can hose up the plan, but that's epigenesis for you! That's why it makes a great religion.

Thursday night update: Shells are burnt out and I may cast metal tomorrow. My camera does not handle heat well.

Without flash (kiln temp 1245F)

With flash (same temp)

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