In the forests of the southern highlands, a short drive from where I live, up and over the Illawarra escarpment, you will find a unique resident. The Glossy Black-Cockatoo is the smallest of Australia’s five Cockatoo species, attaining a length of only 50cm when fully grown. Vibrant red and yellow markings on its cheeks, tail and wings characterise its plumage. Among all the cockatoos, and possibly all birds, the Glossy Black-Cockatoo is unique in that it feeds exclusively on the seeds found inside the cones of the she-oak tree. In fact, some Glossy Blacks are known to feed on only one particular tree over the course of their life. The Glossy Black-Cockatoo is a specialist.
Ryan: Everything you write seems to tap into a kind of Zeitgeist. Just five, six weeks ago my wife and I were staying with kinfolk connections in south-west Florida. Headley - though born in the St Vincent & Grenadines archipelago was raised from age five on Trinidad & Tobago. A huge hurricane went through where he had lived - destroying everything - evacuated to Trinidad as refugees. One of his high school class mates is now a Professor (Psychology) at Yale - he became an engineer (Long Island Railroad Co) a sister went nursing in England - married a close second cousin of mine - the family connection. Headley is a genius - plays the steel drums, was a Toastmaster club President, was President of the south-west Florida British Motor Car Club, writes, is a Mobile Public Notary (he goes to the need) - I am covering just a little of his wide-ranging abilities and interests - a specialist kind of generalist. I began my teaching career qualified to teach English and History though in my first appointment to Hay War Memorial HS in south-west NSW - I had to "teach" Library and junior Mathematics and other bits and pieces. After a few years - only within my qualifications range. My wife and I travelled. I did some courses and the English teaching slipped into TEFL - in Madrid, then in München. Back in Australia - a year in Mudgee - I taught widely as a relief teacher from Year 2,3 to upper senior high level - then to the big city and across the secondary curriculum as a relief teacher. While studying and gaining further qualifications - teaching adults, teaching teachers (as an Education Officer) then to further developments - finally my wife gained a position in Port Stephens and I slid out of a Ministry position back into the Dept of Education - appointed to her school - as ... (roll of drums) a Generalist appointment. Meaning the principal could fit me into whatever role he might decide. Fortunately he was a reasonable man - there was an opening in the English & History faculty - so there I was placed. I have purchased the book on Cricket (or not only on Cricket) - shall read it to-day on my train journey from Morisset to Central and on to Circular Quay to meet up with friends for lunch. Merry Xmas/Season's Festives - to you - thanks for your essay gems through this past year. (PS - as it were. In Ottawa on a table in front of a bookstall I found Edmund de Waal's latest book - Letters to Camondo - and bought it - my wife and I seeking an eatery further along Elgin. Passing back to our accommodation - a book launch was in progress - a chap - Frutkin (b 1948) A collection of Essays. I've just purchased that, too. So much to read and think about. He was a US chap - now Canadian - a draft resister - not wanting to murder those his government wanted killed. Admirable man!
Hi Ryan. Zooming in, zooming out. Zooming in and out at the same time and holding the importance of that perspective. What a fine balance. When not in survival mode that is.
That's my take on your writing this essay. I really enjoyed it knowing a lot and little about some of the motifs in it. I read Jim's response too. It's almost required reading with the post.. All the best with the break.
The whole algorithm-silo thing is so limiting. Sometimes I recall the early days of internet searching -- remember AltaVista? -- and how the search results were often a mixed hotch-potch of exciting irrelevancies. That was before the machines learned to give us what we were looking for.
For a long time I tried to encourage the various architectural offices that I worked for to invite specialists from other areas into our design meetings. For example - a pianist, a dancer, a doctor, a drummer. Actually there was always great interest when I mentioned this idea - but it didn't ever happen. I thought how interesting it would have been to work with a variety of knowledge ....how much we could have learnt from each other, and what interesting ideas may have formulated for healthy, happy designed spaces.
Thanks for your writings Ryan. This is actually the first one I have listened to.
Ryan: Everything you write seems to tap into a kind of Zeitgeist. Just five, six weeks ago my wife and I were staying with kinfolk connections in south-west Florida. Headley - though born in the St Vincent & Grenadines archipelago was raised from age five on Trinidad & Tobago. A huge hurricane went through where he had lived - destroying everything - evacuated to Trinidad as refugees. One of his high school class mates is now a Professor (Psychology) at Yale - he became an engineer (Long Island Railroad Co) a sister went nursing in England - married a close second cousin of mine - the family connection. Headley is a genius - plays the steel drums, was a Toastmaster club President, was President of the south-west Florida British Motor Car Club, writes, is a Mobile Public Notary (he goes to the need) - I am covering just a little of his wide-ranging abilities and interests - a specialist kind of generalist. I began my teaching career qualified to teach English and History though in my first appointment to Hay War Memorial HS in south-west NSW - I had to "teach" Library and junior Mathematics and other bits and pieces. After a few years - only within my qualifications range. My wife and I travelled. I did some courses and the English teaching slipped into TEFL - in Madrid, then in München. Back in Australia - a year in Mudgee - I taught widely as a relief teacher from Year 2,3 to upper senior high level - then to the big city and across the secondary curriculum as a relief teacher. While studying and gaining further qualifications - teaching adults, teaching teachers (as an Education Officer) then to further developments - finally my wife gained a position in Port Stephens and I slid out of a Ministry position back into the Dept of Education - appointed to her school - as ... (roll of drums) a Generalist appointment. Meaning the principal could fit me into whatever role he might decide. Fortunately he was a reasonable man - there was an opening in the English & History faculty - so there I was placed. I have purchased the book on Cricket (or not only on Cricket) - shall read it to-day on my train journey from Morisset to Central and on to Circular Quay to meet up with friends for lunch. Merry Xmas/Season's Festives - to you - thanks for your essay gems through this past year. (PS - as it were. In Ottawa on a table in front of a bookstall I found Edmund de Waal's latest book - Letters to Camondo - and bought it - my wife and I seeking an eatery further along Elgin. Passing back to our accommodation - a book launch was in progress - a chap - Frutkin (b 1948) A collection of Essays. I've just purchased that, too. So much to read and think about. He was a US chap - now Canadian - a draft resister - not wanting to murder those his government wanted killed. Admirable man!
Hi Ryan. Zooming in, zooming out. Zooming in and out at the same time and holding the importance of that perspective. What a fine balance. When not in survival mode that is.
That's my take on your writing this essay. I really enjoyed it knowing a lot and little about some of the motifs in it. I read Jim's response too. It's almost required reading with the post.. All the best with the break.
The whole algorithm-silo thing is so limiting. Sometimes I recall the early days of internet searching -- remember AltaVista? -- and how the search results were often a mixed hotch-potch of exciting irrelevancies. That was before the machines learned to give us what we were looking for.
For a long time I tried to encourage the various architectural offices that I worked for to invite specialists from other areas into our design meetings. For example - a pianist, a dancer, a doctor, a drummer. Actually there was always great interest when I mentioned this idea - but it didn't ever happen. I thought how interesting it would have been to work with a variety of knowledge ....how much we could have learnt from each other, and what interesting ideas may have formulated for healthy, happy designed spaces.
Thanks for your writings Ryan. This is actually the first one I have listened to.
Have a happy break.