Restaurant Visit

Restaurant Trip (Zaffiro's in Mequon)

Timeline of Events:

- arrived at about 100 PM, sat at the bar
- made note of dreary-sounding light jazz music being pumped through the speakers
- made note of only a family of four and an elderly couple occupying the restaurant - I thought this interesting as there seemed to be at least one person of each stage of life (toddler, child, young adult, adult, senior)
- ordered turkey panini and a diet pepsi - small talk made with the waitress, with whom I was prior to this visit acquainted
- after putting in my order, the family paid their bill and left, leaving quite a mess behind on the table - more than I would argue was reasonable for them to have left
- Made some more small talk and banter with other staff members I was acquainted with before this visit
- about 15 minutes later my meal arrived, which I promptly began to eat
- I noticed a relative mediocrity to the food - not amazing, but done well enough and with enough care that I didn't think it worth it to complain
- it smelled of grease and fat despite a lack of leakage on my hands, but a single bite confirmed my olfactory system's theory - there was far more grease than I anticipated
- as I tried enjoying my meal, I observed a large poster of painted bricks with a "Zaffiro's" logo on the west wall of the restaurant - I thought it and the plastic ferns tacky
- while eating, an older gentleman entered the restaurant, sat at the other end of the bar from me, and ordered a beer
- after a final chatting engagement, my waitress brought me my check after about half an hour to 35 minutes from my initial arrival
- I left a $10, leaving her a healthy tip with it
- after saying a few more goodbyes, I left and returned home




Questions:

1. What are the connections between food, art, and culture?

There is a vend-diagram-style relationship, with each component influencing the other. There is an interrelationship between the three - art influences how food is created and the process used to create it, as well as utilizing culture to influence how we think of food. Culture drives art to new, unexplored territory, and dictates what defines "good eating". The linkages go on and on.

2. What are the connections between food, design, and culture?

The same as those connections with art, food, and culture, but more narrowly focused on particular elements of art, not the general practice.

3. Where do you find design in this "context"?

As a component of art, design, in this "context", is in everything all around us, wherever we go. Any more narrow a definition begins to drag in particular cultural perspectives that distort the discernment of design from being understood.

4. How do you define design?

Design is the markings of something created by an artist - the residue of creation and ideation, usually tangible, but sometimes not so much.

5. How do you define art?

Art is anything that gives an individual's life meaning.

6. Are the definitions separate or do they overlap? In what way? Describe.

Design is a microcosm of art and as such, the two concepts overlap with design residing in art's frame. They are intrinsically tethered - one cannot exist without the other. Art cannot be made without some sense of design philosophy on the part of the artist and design cannot be left behind unless art is being created. In addition, design helps fuel ideation and the creation of new art, which in turns produces more design. By these two definitions, art and design are cyclically bound by their natures.

"How To Look At Halos" Notes

- the 22 Degree Halo is a brownish-blue corona that forms around the sun and/or moon when water suspended in clouds freezes
- these mostly occur in colder regions or during winter time

It is interesting that the interior arcs of these halos will never exist all in the same sky at once - the rarity of these phenomena is so profound that Elkins supposes some people merely hallucinate their own viewings of the halos (but surely there is a more qualitative scientific reasoning for their scarcity?)

I am intrigued that although Robert Greenler's book extensively maps the formation of these halos and their arcs, he fails to make a distinct connection in the most famous recording of the phenomena in the 18th century by Tobias Lowitz.

I think, as Elkins, that the mysterious and undiscovered elements of these halos creation and existence lends them a provocative voice. It speaks wonders to how we look at things that sometimes the less known about something makes it more appealing to us. If we could reason through how all these arcs are created and map out how, when, and where they would form, it would perhaps dull their effect on us.

On the other hand, an inability to explain such a phenomenon does not automatically bestow value on it as an art. It could also be said that whatever  appeal is lost as a result of a comprehensive understanding of these arcs' formation is compensated by our newfound ability to realize and understand our environment. That is to say, by understanding the process we better appreciate the product.

"Naked" Walk Information Map

Information Map and Elkins Questions

Elkins Questions:  
1. Why does Elkins choose to open a piece that is intended to open peoples' minds with a waking dream awash in paranoia and confusion?  
2. Is the key to appreciating the extraordinary in the every day simply a matter of knowing what to look for?  
3. Are we to believe that we also benefit from understanding the "badness" of the world that might be hidden right before our eyes? That is to say, are we better off because we can no longer romanticize the galloping of a horse because we now know the true nature of its movement?