mondrian: Star Wars minimalism
Guardian columnist Oliver Burkeman presents a tidy, provoking reflection on the latter-day manifestations with romanticising youth which really makes the alternative, natural consequence—that of growing up and growing old, appear especially bleak.
So much coddling emphasis is put upon one’s prime—as defined by marketers—that to be past it in any sense and by any sight is taken to be a sign of defeat, instead of a hallmark of grace, maturity or conviction. Rather than repairing to the nostalgic and familiar, the doom and gloom and even appealing to the hypochondriac in us as the media is either a projection or reflection—for fear we might be told we can’t keep dreaming (a measure of escapism is keen and dandy but not a whole culture of remakes, prequels and re-hashing), or becoming a retiring curmudgeon, being an adult to a big extent, I think, is about confronting the dissonance with one’s life as it is and one’s life as it should be and being able to recognise (and receive) contentment.
I learnt from a friend that over the weekend, and with much contention culminating in celebration, that the atomic reactor near my former place of work was brought off-line (Bericht nur auf Deutsch) as part of sweeping energy-reforms in Germany.
I called the distant but highly visible installation our Cloud-Maker with a bit of assuaging dark-humour to make it seem a little less looming and threatening. The cooling towers did in fact figure prominently in the skyline of the town but I am not certain that this poster for a fun-run was composed with the same spirit (it looks more like wide spread panic). I understand that there are plans to convert the moth-balled unit into a museum that documents the potential risks associated with atomic power and underscore the alternatives, but as the world’s demands for power have grown quite insatiable, I am not sure what to think. I wonder if a schedule of other shut-downs has already been released and whether they are proceeding as planned. What do you think? Maintaining the lifestyle that one’s accustomed to of course has its costs, just like with the possible environmental and commercial trade-offs associated with dismantling present infrastructure.
cat fancy: collection of Wikipedia articles involving legendary felines
