Vonnegut turns the last page….

RatcliffeBlog—Mitch’s Open Notebook: Vonnegut turns the last page….

I just now learned via Mitch’s blog that Kurt Vonnegut has died. Very sad.

His gentle humor inspired me as a young adult. My son Chris has become as voracious a reader as I was at his age. I’m compelled now to create a care-package of Vonnegut books to send to him in Chile. That is probably the best thing I could do to honor Vonnegut’s memory.

I actually had the pleasure of attending a lecture by Vonnegut, ironically at Texas Tech when I was a student there. He was wonderfully entertaining and very informative. He spoke as well as he wrote. There are several passages from his books which are firmly lodged in my imagination, particularly from Deadeye Dick, Slaughterhouse Five, and Galapagos. They spring into my thoughts constantly and make me smile, or ponder.

Goodbye Mr. Vonnegut.

Love notes from my Alma Mater

Little known fact about me: I graduated from Texas Tech University in 1985.

I attended Tech specifically to study under a professor by the name of Frank Cheatham. Frank taught Design in a method that can only be described as “brutally efficient.” I have a lot of respect for Frank. He was a VERY difficult (but excellent) man to learn from, as he demanded that students *think*, and develop the conceptual skills required, not just the technical ones that are taught in most design programs. Frank had a strong will and ironically those that RESISTED him actually did better in the long run. I was one of those resistors. If you were weak willed, you would basically just do what he implied and your work reflected “Frank” rather than “you.” This meant that you would be unready to stand alone in an intellectual and conceptual way in an industry that was based entirely on intellectual concepts Your ability to promote and defend your ideas became your measure of success.

I argued with Frank a LOT. But it served me well. To illustrate his “brutality” the best example is just number of students. I started the program with approximately 95 other aspiring students, FOUR of us graduated. I’m sure every student experienced the “you should change your major” speech from Frank Cheatham. When it came it felt like a devastating attack on your core values, but in reality it was a challenge for you to defend them. Google tells me that Frank Cheatham died in 2003.

Anyway, I enjoyed my time at Texas Tech, but I do not have any particular fondness for the institution itself. It was merely the broker between myself and the source of my *actual* education, which came from Frank and other faculty there, such as James D. Howze. I met some great peers there too, and still stay in touch with a few other Tech alumni from time to time*… but I have no real affiliation/affection for Texas Tech, or Lubbock. It was just a place I spent four years, got an education, and left.

Texas Tech does have some Ninja-elite Alumni finders though, because they never fail to track me down… no matter where I move. It isn’t like I let them know when I move. I have never sent them a dime, at least after my last semester there in 1985! But they track me down and send me newsletters, credit card offers, invitations to football games, etc. They even found me when I was in the UK!

They’re a 2nd tier University, with a serious inferiority complex, driven by history and location. Every state has one of those, such as the cow college here in my home state. They just try harder because of it. Of course in some situations effort will never get you to rise above your true limitations. Like black roots on a bad hair dye job, the reality peeks out around the shiny polish applied over everything.

I received a communication from the Texas Tech Alumni today… an email newsletter. In it, was this verbatim series of headlines:

CNN Spotlights Recovery Program
Business School Ranked 3rd in Big 12
Meat Evaluation Team Wins National Title
Experience Gourmet in Lubbock

Sigh. What can I say?

* If you were in my class in Design Communications, or shared space in the first floor, short wing of Clement Hall between 82 and 85 let me know!

Chuqui 3.0: Instead of buying a zune…

Chuqui 3.0: Instead of buying a zune…

“Thinking of buying a zune? Well, surprisingly enough, according to Amazon, 10% of the people who looked at a Zune instead went off and bought a 16×10 two person camping tent. That’s either a lot of tents, or a really small number of views and sales. I know which I’m betting on.”

After I got over my shock of seeing Chuq von Rospach post a blog entry at some other time than a-minute-before-midnight (an in-joke between us), I chuckled at his quote above.

I remember last year before the Zune launch and every media outlet was posing the question “Will this kill the iPod?”… I said, over and over (never here, but in other blog comments and various mailing lists) that the Zune would be a non-starter. A failure. The “Bob” of this decade.

While Tech Punditry isn’t my gig, I felt pretty confident on this prediction.

Looks like Amazon has sold about 100 of ’em. 😉

Reasoned Discourse.

OK, so it is unedited, and over half an hour long, but well worth the listen.

Here are two grown men, with diametrically opposing viewpoints, having a reasonable discussion. One is an official of the Anglican Church, the other a noted Atheist and author. Note how they allow each other the room to state their viewpoints without interruption of condescension.

Here in America, land of the 1st Amendment, this sort of thing just doesn’t happen on TV. Instead our short attention spans and W-inspired “you’re either with us or against us” mentalities demand shouting matches and near, if not actual, fisticuffs. With everything wrapped up but no real progress made before the next commercial break. Witness the three-ring circus that has become of the 24-hour “news” channels. Sigh.

I wish I could discuss “big issues” with people I know. Unfortunately I can’t, since reasoned discourse is practically dead these days. I prefer to engage in discussion, not argument. I don’t want to raise my voice to be heard, nor be shouted down by those I know, even know and love. Therefore I choose to remain silent and not share my views very much. It is a shame.