...Minimalism Essential Essays Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus Also by The Minimalists Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life Also by Joshua Fields Millburn Falling While Sitting Down: Stories As a Decade Fades: A Novel More Info TheMinimalists.com JoshuaFieldsMillburn.com Published in 2011 by Mins Publishing Copyright © 2011 by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus All rights reserved, though it would be appreciated if youʼd tell other people about this book if you enjoy it, whether you paid for it or not. Let it be known that any profits from this book will most likely be spent on coffee and/or burritos. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Minimalism: essential essays / Joshua Fields Millburn, Ryan Nicodemus. — 1st ed. ISBN-10: 1-936-53945-1 ISBN-13: 978-1-9365394-5-1 1. Title. 2. Minimalism. 3. The Minimalists. 4. Simplicity. 5. Self-improvement. Feel free to take pieces of these essays and replicate them online, but please give a link back to www.theminimalists.com along with it. If you want to use more than a few paragraphs, it would be great if you’d email theminimalists@theminimalists.com and let us know what youʼre up to. Contact Information: Joshua Fields Millburn Ryan Nicodemus email: theminimalists@theminimalists.com web: theminimalists.com Cover photo by Mick Evans and Hillary Hopkins Cover design by Colleen McCulla Formatting by Chris O’Byrne at ebook-editor.com Special thanks to four people who helped make this collection appreciably...
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...Minimalism Essential Essays Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus Also by The Minimalists Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life Also by Joshua Fields Millburn Falling While Sitting Down: Stories As a Decade Fades: A Novel More Info TheMinimalists.com JoshuaFieldsMillburn.com Published in 2011 by Mins Publishing Copyright © 2011 by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus All rights reserved, though it would be appreciated if youʼd tell other people about this book if you enjoy it, whether you paid for it or not. Let it be known that any profits from this book will most likely be spent on coffee and/or burritos. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Minimalism: essential essays / Joshua Fields Millburn, Ryan Nicodemus. — 1st ed. ISBN-10: 1-936-53945-1 ISBN-13: 978-1-9365394-5-1 1. Title. 2. Minimalism. 3. The Minimalists. 4. Simplicity. 5. Self-improvement. Feel free to take pieces of these essays and replicate them online, but please give a link back to www.theminimalists.com along with it. If you want to use more than a few paragraphs, it would be great if you’d email theminimalists@theminimalists.com and let us know what youʼre up to. Contact Information: Joshua Fields Millburn Ryan Nicodemus email: theminimalists@theminimalists.com web: theminimalists.com Cover photo by Mick Evans and Hillary Hopkins Cover design by Colleen McCulla Formatting by Chris O’Byrne at ebook-editor.com Special thanks to four people who helped make this collection appreciably better...
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...Abstract Expressionism developed after the end of World War II. Due to the outrage, desperation of the post war along with alienation and loss of faith led artist to explore different kinds of art. Hence, abstract expressionism began in New York in the 1940's -1950's as a sign of rebellion. The two modes of this new form of art in the United States are Action Painting and Color Field Painting. Action painters wanted to portray paint texture and the movement of the artist hand by dripping and splashing paint. Color Field Painting were mostly focused on the color and shape to create more peaceful and spiritual paintings which was a more mythic type of art. Paul Jackson Pollock also known by only Jackson Pollock was considered an action painter. I chose Pollock because he was a major figure in the movement of Abstract Expressionism and the New York School among other colleagues. He wanted his painting to be portrayed for what they were and eventually started numbering his art pieces rather than naming them. Willem De Kooning was also known to influence the New York School and was considered an action painter. I chose him mainly because his wife also became influenced by the arts and became an action painter herself. He was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon Johnson. Mark Rothko was considered a Color Field Painter. I chose Rothko for this type of abstract expressionism since he was one of the artist in New York that was...
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...Minimalist contentions: Fight Club Introduction Chuck Palahniuk is one of the most influential American fiction writers who emerged in the 1990s. His debut novel, Fight Club (hereafter: FC) reached cult status after the film adaptation by David Fincher was released in 1999, and widespread and divided critical reception was soon to follow. Much of the current debate about Fight Club focuses on the political implications of the text, but most often recourse to it by way of referencing the film. These arguments usually question or celebrate the transgressive potentials of the book (Giroux; Mendieta), or address issues of masculinity brought into the fore by their literary and cinematic representations emergent in the same decade (Tuss; Friday). However, few, if any, have addressed the literary aspirations of the text and its author. Although none of the approaches to the thematic concerns of Fight Club are unjustified, in the argument that follows I will suggest that conclusions drawn and critical judgments passed have been hasty, and not only failed to take into account the formal aspects of story-telling, but that the narrative features of Palahniuk’s text have largely went unexplored, and constitute a blind spot of the reception. Critics condemning or acclaiming the novel, and, indeed, many a cultic reader of Palahniuk ignored Fight Club as a literary narrative, and have inadvertently been repeating the catchphrases of the text, either reinforcing or trying to undermine what...
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...Facing the Deeper Meaning In an essay Poetry for Students, Sharon Kraus analyzes “Facing It”, a poem written by Yusef Komunyakaa. She covers the importance of minimalism, identity along with experience, irony, confusion, and ambiguity. First, she speaks of how “simple” the “minimalist monument” truly is, yet it holds a deeper meaning. Kraus explains that on first glance, it seems that people, including the speaker, are only looking at the monument with its reflective surface and dark, simple design. However, upon delving more into the hidden meaning, representations, and thoughts you come to find out that the speaker is not peering solely at “actual people and things” in the reflection. While this monument is “unlike traditional” pieces, the monument posses a “message.” A message that you, the looker, the admirer, are “among the fallen,” and that not only are you scanning your gaze so carelessly across...
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...In the short essay, “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau, he believes that people should not take part in injustice, but that they do not need to be compelled to actively promote a more just world. There is a difference between these two concepts and a reason Thoreau exemplifies the moral distinction. To begin this thought, the author states that doing nothing is just as unacceptable as doing the action the person is against. Thoreau says, “...but it is his duty, at least, to wash his hands of it, and, if he gives it no thought longer, not to give it practically his support” (2). This emphasizes that even if a person were to do the minimalist action to stand up for what they believe in or against an act they oppose, it is still an improvement to not doing a single action. For...
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...”At Night” by Andre Dubus. Essay The only thing in life, you can be completely sure about, is that you have to die some day. It is certain knowledge, and it applies to all living creatures on Earth. Still it’s hard to understand and accept, especially when it is your close friends and family it concerns. “At Night” is a short story there describes time-consciousness connected to death. How you are trying to accept and realize the fact that we all have to die, because it is the most natural thing in the world. And when you are conscious about you and your love ones morality, you will try to pre-pare yourself by planning what you will do in the situation, where death will take over, and you stand powerless behind. The story has minimalist traits, which means, that there are a lot of empty places you have to fill in as a reader. The reader is an active part in the interpretation, and can be understood as the mean-ingful connecting link between the text and reader. It demands therefore an in-depth analysis if you want to understand the deeper significance. The story is written in past tense and it has a third person narrator, which gives a distance effect. The main characters doesn’t have names, they are just called “she” and “he”, and that also creates a sort of distance between the reader and the characters, where the distance can express the fact that the wife is trying to plan the futures unpredictability. The wife ”always knew she would be a widow” (quotation)...
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... Both eras demonstrate interests regarding the past, Buddhist principles, and tradition but have different influences. Beginning the Kamakura period, the war between the Taira and the Minamoto families concludes in 1185, resulting in the significant work Tale of the Heike (Varley, 91). The Tale of the Heike reflects the developing value towards documenting and reflecting on the past, as well as ongoing nationalism (Varley, 91). It continues acting as a guideline for further historical documentation (Varley, 108). Buddhism also continues holding significance to society, with new medieval aesthetics and Kamo no Chomei's publication Hōjōki (Varley, 92; 93). The Buddhist path towards Amida Pure Land expresses light pessimism about negative life events and "deprived beauty" (Varley, 92; 93). One major negativity Buddhism expresses is...
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...artistic display at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery of Hanne Darboven titled, “Clockwise from right”, proves to bring light upon the thoughts of Friedrich Nietzshe. One of Nietzsche’s important topics includes the idea of a rational and intuitive man. This essay will explore the question of whether Nietzsche was right when he said that it is important to live an extra-moral life. In a society where there are many practical careers, such as accountants and scientists, it is difficult to reach back to the ancient Greek society to understand how the rational and the intuitive once blended together in a flourishing society. However, there could be a way in which the rational can become more intuitive. Nietzsche’s claim that the rational could make an attempt at becoming more intuitive in today’s society holds true. Hanne Darboven was a German artist who is primarily known for her systematic charts, sequences of numbers, and her long strands of looped forms that evoke handwriting. Before becoming an artist, Darboven first trained as a pianist, and in the 1960s she studied graphic design in Hamburg, Germany. In 1966, Darboven left Germany for New York, where she met and exhibited with several artists of the burgeoning Minimalist and Conceptual art...
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...Shawndocee Grant 11/05/15 Short Essay #3 K. Juarez Film 1010 “Snow on tha Bluff: Keepin’ It (Neo) Real…ism” Curtis Snow conceptualized in the simplest manner his life and the lives of others residing in the 103-Beat of Atlanta when he stated, “We just still. Still smokin’. Still drinkin’. Still takin’ care of chil’ren or whatever. Still strapped… We just still” (Russell & Knittel, 2012). In such a minimalist expression of ones lifestyle the same goes for capturing the essence of life for these residents. Director Damon Russell wanted “real” and what better way to pay homage to the genre of Italian Neorealism than using its primary sources. From the incorporation of the storyline set amongst the poor and the working class to the film being...
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...John Doe MU 010 Blues and Hip Hop Essay Comparing the Blues and Hip Hop To the inexperienced listener, the blues and hip hop might appear to be worlds apart musically and culturally. While these two genres are almost a century apart in their formation, they actually share numerous qualities in terms of musicality, culture, and purpose. The blues is a predecessor to hip hop and is one of the biggest influences on what hip hop became. Both genres inherited many musical elements from traditional African music, both genres are very referential to songs and artists who came before them, and both serve as outlets of expression for disenfranchised African Americans. While both genres have expanded and diversified as they’ve matured, both began with a minimalist sound. This means there was not an overabundance of instruments being played. The blues could simply be a single performer with an acoustic guitar, but often included a band consisting of a drummer and bass player as well. Hip hop could simply be a rapper performing with a prerecorded backing track, but often included a drummer, bass player, guitarist, and/or disc jockey. Unlike big bands or large ensembles, both genres’ emphasis was usually on a single performer while the other musicians were simply a backing band. In class we watched an interview with Eric Clapton where he said the blues appealed to him because it seemed like “one man against the world.” For the blues is was usually the singer/guitar who grabbed the...
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...Edward Steichen who took over the MoMA in 1945, provided a landmark show in 1955, The Family of Man, which presented photography as a giant three-dimensional photo essay through which visitors could wander (Kelsey 268). Steichen’s curatorial methods suggested that photography in the art museum should feature not the aesthetically refined and personally expressive individual print, but rather a selection of images that could impart a clear message to a broad public (Kelsey 268). This photographic exhibition was considered the greatest of all time, and included 503 pictures from 68 countries (Kelsey 270). Connecting the bond between the camera operator and the photograph made way for calling into question the traditional model of authorship in the fine arts (Kelsey 270). Steichen celebrated photography as a universal language, capable of bringing the world together. He purposed that photographic art required no...
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...Alan Badel English 100/Major Essay #2 Professor Raymond Morris 23 October 2015 The Fight Club Aims to Free Individuals from Society’s Emasculating Shackles Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club is an exciting fictional novel that will hold the audience captive following three revolving main characters in Marla Singer, Tyler Durden, and the narrator himself as they take the reader through confusing twists and perspectives, while providing a most revealing closure. Although the title suggests an exclusive organization focused on violence, the novel describes the emasculation of man in today’s modern age of consumerism, societal associations and family structure along with the main and sub-characters’ exercising of power and submission to power as evident throughout the novel. Chuck Palahniuk’s values illustrate in the novel how humanity is being enslaved by the power of consumerism, brought to general awareness a new mental disorder, and how he portrayed the narrator having experienced or enacted numerous anarchistic efforts in the hopes of being freed from the confines of an industrialized and necessity-driven society. It should also be noted that several rebellious acts were performed by the fight club members and subsequently members of Project Mayhem in order to gain notoriety and power in response to being economically and socially subdued. To understand the novel’s numerous projection of emasculation, masculinity will need to be established. Man’s foundation of masculinity...
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...Arch. Possible Final Essay Questions Compare and contrast the archaeological remains of Israel and Judah during the Divided Monarchy. Israel 1) List at Karnak-Sheshonq writes names of all the cities he conquered on wall of temple-emulates T3. -Samaria-capital of Israel during 8th and 9th centuries. Has buildings that look like Megiddo’s Proto-Aeolic capital- denote Divided Monarchy. Columns that look Greek. -Ivories-inlaid furniture. A lot of it burnt. Mesha Stele- Mesha King of Moab, mentions King of Israel and Omri & Moab, and possibly House of David. Shalmaneser III-Monolith Inscription-853 BCE Black Obelisk of Shal. III- contains Jehu on it (calls him son of Omri, even though not true) -Megiddo Water Tunnel -Cuneiform Inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser III (744-727BCE) -Megiddo III-looks like exact Mesopotamian Palace (Assyrian City) Judah -wine and olive presses in 9th and 8th centuries -Ekron Inscription (604BCE) names Philistine kings and talks of Sennacherib’s campaigns. -Assyrian Stele from Ashdod-captured by Sargon II in 711 BCE -Prism of Sennachrenib -Hezekiah’s Water Tunnel (701BCE) and the Siloam Inscription, how we know it is Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Compare and contrast the Neo-Assyrian destruction of Israel and its aftermath with the Neo-Babylonian destruction of Judah and its aftermath. Is either of them similar to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem? 2) Assyrians were in control of the ANE with TP3 annexing Israel to his lands....
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...Stress Management Purpose: To learn practical skills to identify stressors and utilize resources to manage stress Objectives: This workshop will give you the tools to effectively: • identify stressors • place stressors in categories: internal & external • identify stress management resources • manage stress and maintain control Benefits: Participation in this workshop will help you: • identify and cope with stressors in your school life and at home Supplies: Some supplies are optional or can be substituted for other material • Paper and pens/pencils for every participant • Post-Its, a white board or chalk board and a marker or chalk • Copies of the “Stress Scenario” handout) • Copies of the “Stress Reliever Tips” handout Part 1 (20 min): Introduction / Purpose, Objectives, Benefits / Ice Breaker 1. Introduce yourself to the participants by stating your name, city, occupation and an interesting fact about yourself. 2. The purpose of this lesson is to help participants identify stressors and to provide tools to cope with stress which will improve overall performance in academics (or anywhere else in the participant’s lives). 3. Begin the icebreaker: “Demonstrate Please.” This icebreaker is for 5-8 people. Instructions: a. Have the participants form a circle sitting down. b. Pass out one piece of paper and a pencil to everyone. c. Have the participants write down both something he/she likes to do and something he/she does not like to do, but have them keep this piece of information...
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