Althouse: "It’s a very lonely occupation. There’s a lot of manual labour, which is good for me right now... I’m having a moment of getting to feel emotion at my fingertips."

June 14, 2017

"It’s a very lonely occupation. There’s a lot of manual labour, which is good for me right now... I’m having a moment of getting to feel emotion at my fingertips."

"If I’m not creating something, doing something, putting it out there, then I’ll just be creating scenarios of fiery demise in my mind."

Said Brad Pitt, quoted in "The rise of pottery and why we all need some soulcraft in our lives - even Brad Pitt" in the UK Telegraph, where I also learn that there's a TV show called "Great Pottery Thrown Down" in the UK.

I'm reading UK media this morning because of the Grenfell Tower fire. Odd then to encounter the "scenarios of fiery demise" in Brad Pitt's mind.

10 comments:

southcentralpa said...: Well, perhaps he's been winding down from his soulwork with Animal House, and was pondering the fate of poor Fawn Liebowitz...; 6/14/17, 6:23 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: At the risk of approving a celebrity's Navel-Gazing, I empathize with ""If I’m not creating something, doing something, putting it out there, then I’ll just be creating scenarios of fiery demise in my mind."

Not so much the "fiery demise", though. THAT is a little too High School Emo Kid.

I am Laslo.; 6/14/17, 7:58 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: There IS something soothing and soul centering about doing or making something tangible and creating with your own hands. Everyone should have such an outlet.

I used to do a lot of pottery and thought seriously about making that my major in college, until I came to my senses. After college I continued to 'throw' pots and formulate glazes. Upon moving multiple times, I gave that craft up because it required too much space for all of the equipment and the landlords didn't like it either :-D

Now, I still craft. Painting, knitting (which is soothing in a zen like way, compact, portable), quilting and gardening. All things which use your hands, body and artistic sensibilities.

Also instead of 'throwing' pots, I find that throwing Tupperware is a great stress reliever. You can't break Tupperware, that stuff bounces all around and pretty soon you realize how stupid you are being with no lasting effects on the environment. Soothing ....aaaaah.; 6/14/17, 8:08 AM
Wince said...: Althouse links a Fight Club ending without the subliminal full frontal cock and balls close up?; 6/14/17, 8:12 AM
Cooke said...: The Great Pottery Throwdown is terrific. I made a clay-snake mug at camp, but I've never thrown a pot, and I found it fascinating. As on The Great British Bake Off, Sewing Bee, etc., the amateurs are genuinely nice people who often help each other, the focus is on the making far more than on the competition, and the BBC puts in a few historical/educational background segments. Above all there's an obvious love of the craft--the male judge is Keith Brymer Jones, a burly guy who gets frustrated when contestants play it too safe and teary when someone makes something extraordinary for them. He also demonstrates throwing techniques which I find breathtaking.

There have been 2 series which I believe are now posted on YouTube.; 6/14/17, 8:16 AM
MayBee said...: I really enjoy making pottery, although I'm much worse at it than I imagined i would be. It looks so easy and graceful. But not when I'm doing it.; 6/14/17, 8:43 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Meade, from his days working in a pottery.; 6/14/17, 9:30 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: I remember seeing a stage production of "The Importance of Being Earnest" where one of the guys (Algernon?) exclaims to the other (Jack?) something like: "How can you be so calm at a time like this eating cucumber sandwiches?!?!?!?"

And the other guy (rather archly) says something like: "But one must remain calm while eating cucumber sandwiches to keep the mayonnaise from soiling one's shirt cuffs."

Scripts I've searched on the internet do not contain that exchange which means: (1) I'm misremembering; (2) I'm mis-searching; or (3) the lines were made up for that performance, maybe ad-libbed.

It's all a matter of great concern to me.; 6/14/17, 9:34 AM
mccullough said...: Tyler Durden; 6/14/17, 10:11 AM
Be said...: Strong Work. I still haven't found a chiropractor / PT as therapeutic and good as the one who went into chiropracty after being worn down by throwing pottery.

Work for the Hands is Good; can be especially helpful for those who need reminding that the appendages (head included) are attached to other things.

***

Mixed thoughts: The Ex from a rudely interrupted misty past didn't want me to watch "Fight Club," because of its 'terroristic' themes (this was just after 9/11). On the other hand, though I'd clearly and repeatedly told him about the childhood sexual abuse background, he still felt "Straw Dogs" perfectly fine. Shrug.; 6/14/17, 10:57 PM