Pancreatitis
Not familiar with this? I will give you a brief description: Its an inflammation of the Pancreas. Man, I should have been a doctor, look at me pullin' out them five cent words! On the serious, this is very very painful. The person dealing with this cannot digest anything. Fluids are given through an IV, and the pain medication dries your mouth. so you have to use a sponge to keep your mouth from drying out. Again pancreatitis is very difficult to get through.
My friend, was released from the hospital and was looking really good for a week long hospital stay, in fact i had seen her go through this several times. i stayed with her in the hospital the first time she had a bout with this. (This most recent fight was number four) But it amazes me what the body can endure and still progress. She has to make some big diet restrictions, but all in all, she is rebounding very nicely.
The Marrying Kind
So I am ordained. And I will performing my first wedding ceremony (most likely my last) for two of my friends in August. I stayed with them on this trip, and I have to say that I am a bit nervous about this ceremony. Not because of the bride and groom, but because of the sheer magnitude of this event. 200 people, Chicago, etc. etc. I want this to go as smoothly as possible. So i sat down with the bride-and-groom-to-be about how they wanted the ceremony to go.
Bottom line: short and sweet. so i won't be able to employ my signature four-hour mass that accompanies the nuptials. If anybody would like that version of my wedding ceremony let me know. But I have come a long way since my original stance of marriage being a forced component of society. But over the years i have matured (sort of) and came to understand that marriage doesn't have to be a state or religious sanctioned requirement. in the most basic of contexts it is two people publicly declaring their lifelong partnership with their loved ones. my friends in this case know they don't HAVE to be married, they want to, and i am honored that they would have me as their officiant.
not bad for a pathetically single thirtysomething.
Gordon Matta-Clark
I did manage to get a couple of hours in at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) on Saturday. My original intention was to go around and take in a number of different installations as the MCA has a very well put together building and history. After making my way into the first installation, i was locked in. i spent the next two hours in the works of Gordon Matta-Clark.
I am the first to admit that I know very little when it comes to the art world, but i don't let that lack of knowledge keep me from discovering artists. i don't have the background to walk in and go, "oh i see they are influenced by this, this, and this." however i know what peeks my interest. and Matta-Clark did in a big way.
In the 70's he was known for his series of "building cuts" where he challenged the modernist architectural approach. he would cut up houses and buildings and provide new perspective on space and light. some of you may already be familiar with his work, but i never took an art or architecture class, so i found all of this fascinating.
i picked up a book at the museum and have read through his history as an artist. now of course i want to dig through the rest of his work and his influences. I found his perspective and approach to be mindblowing, and honestly it is making me look differently at how i perceive and create my own art.
unfortunately matta-clark died in 1978 from pancreatic cancer, so we will never know the where the extent of his work could have reached, but we know that the work he did leave us has influenced many artists and architects over the years.
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