In Biology lecture we start off with two important concepts in physiology: 1) form follows function; 2) homeostasis. The first makes me think about architecture, the second, psychology (mainly emotional homeostasis as a supplementary necessity for survival).
There is one slide on tissues, defined as "assemblies of similar cells that perform a specific function". If society was a body (Hobbesian Leviathan?), what kind of tissue (or cell) would I be? (Of course, I still agitate from time to time over "not specializing"). Maybe I am a stem cell, having read that they "give rise to red and white blood cells". I like the idea of giving rise to things/people.
There is another slide on the human skeleton (yeah, I'm in baby bio), defining it as "the rigid framework muscles contract against to move". That reminds me of the lecture from yesterday, how market systems (muscles) need a strong government (rigid framework) in order to work.
In the taxi to the Waldorf I am passing by the Met, and I see a sidewalk vendor setting up wire sculptures, stars and shapes and such, for the tourist-folk. I think about the differences between art and craft, and it seems to me that the distinguishing factor of art is the thought behind it, and the unadulterated desire to say something about the world. (I want my photography to say something and it doesn't really, at least not enough.) I think the same distinguishing factor separates art from artifact, although history endows artifacts with the ability to say things about a world gone by, blurring the differences between the two. Hm.
So my face is all done up and my hair nicely curled and I am thinking about the frivolity of make-up. I know some people don't see the point (well it is kind of like art, because it's like drawing on your face!), but for me, make-up is a "special event marker", not unlike what a low-maintenance guy does by throwing on a clean shirt or a nice pair of slacks or combing his hair for once. It's a (welcomed) break from routine, an acknowledgment that the pending event holds some significance. You can argue that I could do something other than drawing on my face, but I like that artistic element of it.
I wonder sometimes if I'll get to a certain age where it starts becoming socially accepted that I put on a face. Like, "you're aren't young enough to be fresh-faced anymore." Or when make-up just starts becoming a part of my work wardrobe (along with pantyhose and hair put-up). But maybe not.
That night, at the after-party to the Ball, I am talking to Stephen and I ask him what his ideal job would be, if money were no object. He said fireman, and I related (Red Cross, disaster relief), saying that I understood the need to be active in that way. For me, it's not so much about helping people, but about giving my life away.*
*The ideal state of belonging to everyone and no one at the same time (?)