A sunny drive through country

April 20, 2002

A sunny drive through country and community. There is a clarity to the light. Perfect shadows. Primary colours are glowing. Out the bus window is a baseball game. Little League. The pure purple team against the pure orange team playing on a vivid green and beige background. Each boy is a uniform height. In the few seconds I have to see the picture there is a pitch and a hit. The bright white ball arcs like it has a tracer beam behind it and the orange and purple move into action. Such poetry. The school colours of the home team must be purple because the light standards on the roads near the school are the same pure violet. My eye trails them down the street and away from the diamond.
Sometimes these moments of clarity almost scare you. You want the same clarity in every moment. You want the best parts of this culture we’ve created. These scenes fade into tract housing, strip malls, and power line towers. Square shapes that don’t make sense against a world based on curves. Why has our economy dictated that we build such shit? Is there any reason why things built within the parameters of a budget should, therefore, be ugly? My city has been destroyed by disposable stucco expanses meant to convey a sense of California calm. The excuse is, “that is what people want”. Why do we “want” to impose a culture that is inappropriate to our environment? Doesn’t this make people feel like they’re always trying to be somewhere else but never quite getting there...always inadequate and shabby? The pattern repeats and repeats again without any options. I think that our declining emphasis on beauty in architecture and town planning will ensure that Prozzak becomes a staple at every meal. Potatoes, coffee and Gleemonex. Can we take our cues from nature and build things that look more like they grew out of the land? Sure. Its easy. Instead our arrogance makes us believe we have better ideas than the simple ones. People would lose their jobs if we changed anything. Apple made a computer that looks like a flower and watch how uncomfortable it will make some people. There are some who don’t believe that beautiful things can be functional. Humans can’t do that?

note: Milwaukee’s crowd did the town proud. First time for the Kids in this limestone city. The people had been waiting. One of the best shows in the loosey goosey department. I felt relaxed and was able to really enjoy each element. The Cathy's “Is He?” sketch was the best ever and “Joymakers” (encore) nearly took the lid off the Riverside theatre. Never been to St. Louis before and I’ve just woken up here. I always like that feeling.