better luck next time, maybe we could have a go

Does knowledge breed tolerance? Truly evil acts are only committed via extremely detailed information – but is that knowledge?

JTB?

The truth will set you free. Interesting.

**

Yesterday I visited the interactive 100 Pounds of Clay exhibit at the Orange County Museum of Art. Basically a sculptor placed 100 pieces of heavy, colored clay on separate stands. The viewer is invited to take a piece, create something, and replace it.

I highly recommend the experience. It was very...tangible.

**

Also at the museum was a collection of photography ranging from Ansel Adams to Andy Warhol. This included 1970's photography by Robert Heinecken (who doesn't appear to be on Wikipedia, so I'm not sure he actually exists). Phase one of Heinecken's photos were of smiling, happy couples dressed identically. Phase two was of the same couples – still smiling –in similar, but not identical clothing. Both sets of photos were surrounded by words -- the explanation of a marriage experiment that he had photographed, which, again, I'm not certain actually occurred.

Basically the experiment was an attempt to improve marriages by creating a sense of unity/teamwork. The hypothesis was that the American divorce rate was so high because couples were constantly being pulled in opposite directions and involved in separate activities. The solution? Isolate them with a bunch of other struggling couples and stick them in identical clothing to create a sense of unity.

Apparently this worked so well that upon reentry, many of the couples had a hard time readjusting to "normal" clothing. Hence phase 2 of the photos: couples in similar but not identical clothing, trying to wean themselves off of their unified clothing fix.

I'm still not sure if this was documented reality, a satire, or a thought.

**

I once heard an acquaintance described like this:

"She's the type of person that if everybody in the world actually became a little more like her, the world would honestly be a better place."

I believe this to be true about my father.

**

I'm thinking of making a list of banned mirrors in my life. It might be easier to make a list of approved ones, though. The topper of that list is our sink mirror – it is spacious, specious, and makes everyone look like Princess Di.

**

Quote of the Day:

Sally: I have just as much of a dark side as the next person.
Harry: Oh, really? When I buy a new book, I read the last page first. That way, in case I die before I finish, I know how it ends. That, my friend, is a dark side.

People who skim novels drive me a little crazy. So do people who read the end first, though that possibly stems from a traumatic childhood experience.

**

My sisters went to the public part of the royal wedding in Sweden. Princess Victoria married her personal trainer who she met at the gym. Below is a picture of crowds waiting for a glimpse. (courtesy of Hannah Stewart). I can't decide if I would rather be the royalty who finds love in the most bourgeois of places, or the random towns person who serendipitously falls for the heir of a country.