Everything We Need To Understand The World And To Make Progress In Life Is Around Us Each Day

Here is a picture of supplies, parts, and tools that will be used for building and putting together things here in Houston.

I came across these items as I walking a few days ago.

This blog is a big believer that everything we need to understand the world is all around us each day—And that it is up to each us to make use of these tools.

Life is about everyday stuff done in a hard-working, creative, and hopeful way.

The work of creativity, getting things right, and justice is up to each of us.

Circumstance matters and we will likely need the help of others in what we hope to accomplish.

The role of circumstances beyond our control and the fact that we are all connected is central to the liberal and progressive view of the world.

We won’t always find the parts and tools that we need just laying out on the street corner and ready to go like we see in the picture.

The tools needed won’t be the same for every person.

But what we need to view the world in a creative and hopeful way and to move ahead is found each day in our relationships, in knowledge that is available from many sources, and from our own reserves of hard work and decency.

Ideas For Creativity And Communication

Here are what I see as seven possible guiding ideas and principles of creativity and communication for an individual looking to make an impact in the world with his or her views,talents, and effort.

1. The things we need to effectively and creatively express ourselves are all around us and are accessible if we make the effort.

2. The average person is able to understand more than they realize—Though they may not care enough to try to understand more.

3. No type of individual or group of people is by definition anything at all. You can best communicate with many people at once by viewing everyone as an individual.

4. Have the confidence to make judgments about people, places, and events. Of course you have a viewpoint about what you see in the world.

5. The metaphoric meaning or value of a word or deed is as significant as the “intended” purpose of a statement or action.

6. Everything is connected.

7. While circumstance and luck plays a big part in life, you’ve got to work hard on your own to be creative and to successfully communicate.

Seven Principles For Creativity And Communication

Here are what I see as seven possible guiding principles of creativity and communication for an individual looking to make an impact in the world with his or her views,talents, and effort.

1. The things we need to effectively and creatively express ourselves are all around us and are accessible if we make the effort.

2. The average person is able to understand more than they realize—Though they may not care enough to try to understand more.

3. No type of individual or group of people is by definition anything at all. You best communicate with many people at once by viewing everyone as an individual.

4. Have the confidence to make judgments about people, places, and events. Of course you have a viewpoint about what you see in the world.

5. The metaphoric meaning or value of a word or deed is as significant as the intended purpose of a statement or action.

6. Everything is connected.

7. While circumstance and luck plays a big part in life, you’ve got to work hard on your own to be creative and to successfully communicate.

Organic Chemistry Takes Place On Asteroids—Progress Can Be Made Even In A Hostile Environment

The excellent New Scientist Magazine reports that organic chemistry takes places on asteroids that are flying around in space.

(Above–The asteroid known as 951 Gaspra. Here are some facts about asteroids.) 

From New Scientist—

“For the first time, rocks from an asteroid have been shown to power the synthesis of life’s essential chemicals. The asteroid in question fell to Earth on 28 September 1969, landing on the outskirts of the village of Murchison in Victoria, Australia. Tests showed it was laced with amino acids and some of the chemicals found in our genetic material. The discovery suggested that space was not the chemically sterile place it was once thought to be, and that organic chemistry was widespread. It hinted that the molecules life needed to get started could have been produced in space, before dropping to Earth.”

I find this discovery encouraging. Positive–even “creative”— things can happen in an environment as hostile as outer space.

I don’t know about you, but I often feel I must be on the moon or in another galaxy because surely the dumb-assed and mean-spirited behavior I witness and read about each day cannot be of this Earth.

I’m glad that even in what might seem to be a void, hopeful things can happen.

So when you feel you are in a void of decency because of some barbaric public policy idea, or in an intellectual void because everything you are hearing makes so little sense, just think of all those asteroids flying around brewing up various chemicals and amino acids.

It is almost always possible to make some kind of progress.

Two Short Videos—The Creative And The Practical Are One In The Same And Draw Meaning And Substance From One Another

1. While politics and democracy are sometimes called the “art of the possible”, I feel these things are at core acts of creativity and imagination.

2. In political life, and in the larger sphere of our democratic freedoms and responsibilities, something is imagined as a desirable outcome and steps are planned to reach that goal.

3. Thought comes before action.

4. Also, in my view of politics and democracy, all people have the ability to understand complex things. People have more ability than they realize.

5. It is, of course, not a given that people will make the effort to try and understand complex things or that outcomes in a democracy will be positive outcomes. Believing in democracy can require a measure of nihilism.

6. What you can do about possible bad outcomes in society is do your best to be a part of society and the democracy.

7. With our minds, with effort and self-discipline, and with technology that is accessible to many, we can convey our beliefs in both a creative and practical manner. There is no contradiction between the creative and the practical.

8. There are few contradiction of any kind. Though to say this does not imply that we cannot hold strong beliefs.

9. At the top of this post are two short videos that I filmed in Houston. In each video I list a few points I’ve observed about democracy. It would not take you more than two minutes total watch both videos.

10. I made the videos with my little Flip Camera and have posted them on my blog that I get for free from WordPress.

The things we need are around us and they are accessible with effort and self-discipline. Every time is the right time to talk about freedom and democracy. All people can understand complex things and all places have value and meaning.  Good outcomes are never a given and people are often brutal. The creative and the practical are one in the same and draw meaning and substance from one another.

Eight Points About Democracy In Front Of A Car Demolition Lot

Here is a video I made a few days ago. I filmed this video in front of a car demolition lot near the Houston Ship Channel. This video lasts 58 seconds.

In this video, I list eight points I’ve observed about democracy.

These are not hopeful points, but you have to move ahead.

A car demolition lot near the Houston Ship Channel might not be seen by all as a nice place, but it is a place that has a purpose. All places have a purpose.

All people matter. All places have a purpose. You can believe these things and still have no illusions about the world.

Creativity can be found in expressing plain facts about everyday life in the places where everyday life occurs.

Here is a 72 second video I made on a Houston street corner listing other points about democracy.

A Self-Governing Coalition Involving Hard Work And Creativity Is Needed When Faced With The Hung Parliament Of Life

As I write this post, there is still a hung parliament in the United Kingdom.  This term means that no party or coalition of parties has a majority of seats in the House of Commons and no government can be formed.

( Above–The House of Commons in London.)

Since day-to-day life and the news of the day often offers metaphoric lessons, it is worthwhile to consider what one should do when facing the hung parliament of life.

When facing the hung parliament of life, we should endeavor  to form a self-governing coalition of hard work, personal beliefs, creativity, and strong relationships so that we can move ahead.

We should look for the coalition of things that work, both pragmatic and imaginative, that will enable us to do the things in life that we hope to accomplish.

We are able to rustle up the votes needed for success and accomplishment more often than we realize.

Here is an earlier post on finding the votes of hope to break the filibuster of anger and ignorance.

Street Corner Democracy—The Things We Need To Communicate Are All Around Us

Here is 72 second video I filmed a few days ago where I list 7 points I feel relevant to the consideration of democracy.

I made this video on a public street corner, with words that I wrote, and with an inexpensive Flip Camera, because the things we need to communicate and to be creative are all around us. They are accessible.

In the background you see a street sign, a stop sign and fire hydrant. We live in a society. For better and for worse, we are one person among many.

Seven Principles For Communication And Creativity

Here are what I see as seven possible guiding principles of communication and creativity for an individual looking to make an impact in the world with his or her views, talents, and effort.

1. The things we need to effectively and creatively express ourselves are all around us and are accessible if we make the effort.

2. The average person is able to understand more than they realize—Though they may not care enough to try to understand more.

3. No type of individual or group of people is by definition anything at all. You best communicate with many people at once by viewing everyone as an individual.

4. Have the confidence to make judgments about people, places, and events. Of course you have a viewpoint about what you see in the world.

5. The metaphoric meaning or value of a word or deed is as significant as the intended purpose of a statement or action.

6. Everything is connected.

7. While circumstance and luck plays a big part in life, you’ve got to work hard on your own to be creative and to successfully communicate.

The Things We Need To Be Creative Are All Around Us

I made the poster you see above to show that the things we need to be creative are all around us.

Our minds. Our relationships. Our beliefs.  Accessible technology.

The things we need to be creative are all around us.

A Video—Connect Your Relationships To The World Around You

The video above, which runs just over two minutes, was made first for my friends to view. I’ve decided to run it on the blog as well.

The video is about how a friendship that may seem to exist in isolation, is in fact connected to the larger world. It’s about how we can apply creativity to our relationships and see that we are linked to each other in ways we may not always think about.    

In some respects this video is a continuation of the theme I discussed in my first blog video. (Please click here to see that video.) I feel that if you speak to people in an intelligent and plain manner about day-to-day things, that you will find creativity and optimism.

The video above makes specific reference to my friend Tejal. Below is a picture of Tejal. This post is not so much about Tejal as it is about a larger point, but it’s great to be able to get her in the blog.    

Reading About The Panic Of 1873 In Front Of The Enron Building

This video is called Reading About The Panic of 1873 While In Front Of The Former Enron Building. It is the second video on the blog. This video is about three minutes long.

Please click here to see the first video on this blog.

I view the ability for average person to make a video as an updated kind of folk art. Here are various definitions of folk art. One idea of folk art is people without any artistic training creating something with the tools they have at hand.

All people are able to express themselves in some creative way.

Here is information about the impact of the Panic of 1873 in New York. This article discusses what the 1873 crisis had in common with the current economic distress. 

There were issues of banks and credit and greedy speculation.  

Here is a good essay about the impact of the Panic of 1873 in Illinois.    

Here is the Panic of 1873 for kids from PBS.

The book I read from in the video is The Age of Lincoln by Orville Burton. 

Here is a chronology of Enron events from USA Today. 

Here are a series of articles about Enron from the Houston Chronicle.

Here is a history of Enron from the Canadian Broadcasting Company.

In the video, the sun is partially on my big head while the other portion of my head is in shadow. This makes my head somewhat like this drawing of the Earth—Part light and part dark. Here is an explanation of daylight.  Here is an explanation of night time on the Earth.

Thanks for reading Texas Liberal. Please feel free to offer a comment. If you like the blog, please forward the link. A blog grows one reader at a time.

Big Texas Liberal Blogging Announcement & Innovation

Hello Blog Reading Public!

I’ve purchased one of the small Flip Cameras because I’m going to film videos and post them on this blog from time-to-time.  I have many ideas for these videos—Though as yet these ideas are not fully formed.

( Update–Here is the link to the first video I recorded.)

(Above–19th Century camera. This would be a bit bulky to carry around. Here is some history of 19th century photography.)

Over the next week, I’m going to think what I would like to say, do and film in my videos. I’m going to test the camera both inside and outside to see how it works in various settings and how well it records sound. Later this week, I’m going to go to Galveston, Texas, on the sunny shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and film my first videos.  

(Below–A movie camera of a type still in use. It is an Arricam ST. This camera is a bit elaborate for what I plan to be doing. Think of the batteries it must take. ) 

Because I want to do the videos right, I’m going to post on a reduced basis for the next week or so here at Texas Liberal. There’s only so much time I can spend blogging while keeping my job and spending time with the excellent wife. 

I’ll post a picture or something else short and easy.  Despite these short posts, I urge regular readers to still visit the blog as often as possible. The higher my blog traffic each day, the better I feel about the collective judgement of those I share the planet with.

(Below–A disposable camera. Hopefully you’ll feel that this blog merits more than one use.)

Texas Liberal has averaged 1645 page views a day since the first of the year. I have the goal of being the largest individually operated political blog in Houston and in Texas. I’m also a featured political reader blogger at the Houston Chronicle. (And I post on things other than politics as well.)

( Below–This self-portrait of one Robert Cornelius from 1839 is said to be the first picture of a person ever taken. Will anything I do last 170 years?)

If you like this blog, please forward the link. A blog grows one reader at a time.  Please also feel free to add me as a friend on Facebook. My name is Neil Aquino and I live in Houston. My profile picture at the moment is a boat stuck on land after Hurricane Ike.

Thank you for reading Texas Liberal. If you have any ideas for my videos, please offer a comment.  

(Below–A Flip Camera just like the one I now have. I hope I do a good and creative job with my videos. Please visit Texas Liberal very often and see how I am doing.) 

Ragtime Musician Scott Joplin—A Rough Road To Travel In Many Respects

Below is the profile of Ragtime musician Scott Joplin (above) from the book Who’s Who In The 20th Century. This book was published by Oxford University Press. Mr. Joplin lived 1868-1917. 

“Born in Texarkana, Texas, Jopin won several local piano contests before turning his attention exclusively to the syncopated piano style known as ragtime. A strong influence on the stride piano style of Fats Waller,ragtime became a precursor of Jazz. The first two pieces called rags were written in 1897-98: two of Joplin’sbest known, “Original Rags” and “Maple Leaf Rag” were written in 1899. The latter was so successful that a publishing company was formed on the strength of it, and a million copies of the sheet music were soon sold, Ragtime became nationally popular and for a time Joplin achieved his ambition of wealth and fame…However, he he aspired to create a more serious school of ragtime composition although the style does not sustain extended forms. He also wrote two operas…and started an opera company based on ragtime. None of these ventures succeed…These failures , the ravages of syphilis and the declining interest in ragtime combined to lead to his early death in a mental house. He wrote about fifty piano rags, of which many are subtle and stylish compositions as well as delightful period pieces.”

Black people of high creativity long had a very rough road to travel in America. Please click here for Texas Liberal posts on the great actor Ira Aldridge and the writer Paul Laurence Dunbar.

For Mr. Joplin, beyond the barriers his skin color presented, he was also hindered by the artistic limits of his music. You don’t have to know much about either ragtime or opera, to wonder about an opera made from rag music.  

My guess is that Mr. Joplin did the best he could against the obstacles he faced. 

Here is more information about Mr. Joplin. 

Here is more information about Ragtime music.

I Tipped The Kid Who Handed Me A Burrito $5 Because I Felt He Shared My Outlook And Might, With Time, Share My Values

 

A few days ago I ordered a burrito from the drive-up window of a Mexican take-out place here in Houston.

I drove up to the window after I made my order and the person working was a kid of maybe 17.

I assessed him based on my own experiences and outlook.

I felt this young person was someone who might have a creative temperament and nature. Also, he seemed kind.

This view was based on the entirety of his appearance and the way he spoke and carried himself.

I have a sympathy for the creative temperament and I took a liking to this person.

I felt he did not have the libertarian streak often found in younger creative-minded people. I felt he was someone who would pay his taxes.

It takes confidence and quality to have both a distinct personality and to have the willingness to accept that you are one person in a society of many.  

I asked the young man where he went to school. He said he was a high school junior.

I asked him what he hoped to study in life. He said he might wish to study art.

I said I ‘d  already thought that might be the case. He asked me why I’d reached that conclusion.

I tried to explain in the limited time before the next car drove up to order a burrito or a taco.

I said, in essence, it was the whole of his appearance and the way he spoke.

When I mentioned the part about how he talked, he said, without (much) defensiveness, that he was learning English.

I did not have time to say I was not referring to his accent and that I did not care what language he spoke.

The best short reply on my part would have been that he spoke with gentleness and with the suggestion of intellectual substance.   

I gave the kid a $5 tip for handing me the burrito and said maybe it would help him buy an art book.

The young man seemed to go with both the conversation and the tip.

I did not tip him $5 because I’m a great person.

I did it because we must have loyalty not just to our friends and family, but also to those who share our general perspective and outlook and who, in the case of a younger person, might come to share our political and societal values.  

This kid seemed to be on the right side of the aisle. It’s often a hostile world and we all need the support of kindred souls.      

The painting above is a self-portrait of the 17th-century artist Artemisia Gentileschi.