Tag Archives: play

We Live in a Tetraverse

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Whenever you see a movie like the Matrix, data sets, information, and all storage are shown in cubes.

Even beyond the movies, it is clear that we represent the world on three axis: X, Y, and Z.

In the words of Joe Truss, these 3 axis are ‘necessary but not sufficient‘ to really understand the world we live in. We Live in a Tetraverse:

This is the first video in a series called ‘Book of Codes’, which over time you will help you discover for yourself the power you inherently have as a natural geometer. Join Joe and Dave Truss as they discuss the building blocks of a tetraverse… where the foundations of life, and everything in our universe is built around the unique geometric shapes that are comprised in the geometry of stacked and interlocking triangles.

The Book of Codes will awaken the natural geometer within you.

 

Some people spend their weekends watching sports… while the Super Bowl was on, I was putting the finishing touches on this video. That’s not a slag on anyone who enjoys watching sports, it’s just not my thing. What I do enjoy is nerding out and thinking about how I can use geometry to make sense of challenging ideas in mathematics and physics that are actually way beyond my capabilities to calculate and understand without the geometry. Thanks to Joe, I have almost weekly meetings on Sunday mornings to learn from him and to think deeply about the hidden geometry behind our universe and all life within it.

We record most of our meetings. This is hopefully the first of many we will share. While there are more videos to come, don’t expect them too soon… I only really get a chance to work on them on the weekends and editing video takes a lot of time. Still, I hope you enjoy this video, and as always, feedback is appreciated.

The ugliness of war

Last night we went to the play Forgiveness: A Gift From My Grandparents. It’s two juxtaposed stories of Canadians during World War II. The main characters are a Japanese woman from BC, and her family who are sent to an internment camp after the attack on Pearl Harbour, and a young Canadian from Quebec who joins the war, is sent to Hong Kong, and spends years in a a Japanese prisoner of war camp, first in China, then in Japan.

The story culminates into a dinner between her son and his daughter dating, and the PTSD suffering former prisoner of war being invited to dinner to meet her daughter’s boyfriend’s family in Medicine Hat, Alberta. This Japanese family lived here after they lost everything in BC, and had no reason to return when they were finally permitted to many years after the war.

It’s a story of family, love, and friendship through hard times. It’s also a story of patriotism, racism, and death. Yet humanity prevails. Ultimately it is a story of the ravages of war, the impact it has on those who fight, and also the civilians who suffer. It tells both of these sides of the story beautifully and leaves you feeling compassion for all the victims war… those who die and those who survive.

I am left reflecting on the fact that despite this being a Canadian story about World War II, it could also be a story about Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, or the Ukraine today. A story of war does not just come from history, there are similar stories happening today. Continuing and enduring stories of patriotism, racism, and death. They leave behind survivors that have suffered the ugliness of war. An ugliness that takes many lives and leaves both emotional and physical scars on those left behind. Survivors search for humanity in an inhumane world. We are fortunate if we do not face such hardships and we should be compassionate to those that do.

It was a beautifully sad play.

Culture and kids

I was visiting the Philippines back in 2010, my kids were 8 and 10. We went to the beach and immediately they wanted to build sand castles with me. I spent about 25-30 minutes playing then told them I was going to sit with their mom for a bit. I’d had enough. They wanted me to play longer.

Then a family with a mom, dad, and 3 or 4 year old kid came and sat near us. The kid had a shovel and her dad had a spoon, and they started playing in the sand. We stayed on the beach for well over an hour, probably closer to 2 hours and that dad was on his hands and knees or squatting next to his kid playing in the sand the entire time. I think they were speaking Tagalog so I didn’t understand the conversations they weee having, but this dad was engaged with his kid the entire time. During that time, I played with my kids in the sand for another 20-25 minutes.

I remember telling my wife that this guy was making me feel like a crappy dad. I was amazed how his little girl was the center of his attention for so long. It makes me wonder about how our culture and our upbringing influences the raising of our kids?

Visiting Thailand around that same time we stayed for a few days in a resort with tree house rooms near a national forest. The first morning we went to breakfast and there was a makeshift playpen, for a kid who wasn’t quite walking age, near where we ate. When we arrived at the restaurant, the owner was sitting in the playpen with the kid. He left when another worker came to tend to the kid. Then later we saw his wife doing the same thing. We assumed it was their granddaughter. My wife asked if this was the case and we were told no. One of the cook’s mother’s was sick and couldn’t take care of her kid, and so she had to bring her baby to work… they were just all taking shifts when they could so the employee could do her job.

One of the best parts of travel is seeing how some cultures differ from our own, and appreciating that their lifestyles include little things that we can learn from. And I think you can learn a lot about people by watching how they care for their kids, and kids in their community.

Playing with geometry (again)

I’ve already shared that I’m playing with geometry a lot with Joe Truss. We met on Zoom today and talked about living in a ‘Tetraverse’, a universe that is built on the structure of a tetrahedron.

Today we spoke about how this Tetraverse would (and does) affect gravity and wheels spinning on axis. Then I went back to my magnetic ball and rod 8-frequency tetrahedron that I built a few weeks back and played some more. It’s late and I’m not going to try to do a synopsis of the intricate patterns I saw. What I do want to say is that it’s fun to play in a space where I am constantly learning both by being taught and by discovery.

It’s amazing what we can learn through play.

Make believe

Halloween isn’t just for kids. Sure they get most of the candy and attention, but a lot of grown-ups wear costumes for work and for parties… and while some complain, many get right into it. Doesn’t matter if you’re a pirate, a ghoul, a celebrity, a superhero, or a favourite movie character, the makeup, costume, and accessories are donned with excitement, and even pride.

It’s not just a costume, it’s a chance to play make believe like when you were a kid. No, you aren’t fully immersing yourself in your character, but you are reminding yourself of that time in your life. You are getting a little piece of your childhood back.

And it’s fun (if you let it be fun). So if you didn’t have fun with it this year, that’s on you. Next year put a little more into it. Let yourself enjoy the youthful playfulness of dressing up. Play make believe for a night and escape back into your inner child for just a few hours. For a little extra fun, make your own costume rather than buying one. Add some creativity to your play.

Live performances

I could never do it. Step on stage night after night and perform the same set of lines. It’s not something I would want to do. Tell me I have to present some information to 1,500 kids in a school gym, easy. Give me 5 lines to act in the same scenario and I’m a mess. I’ll give you a performance similar to a cardboard cutout of myself. And, I’ll probably mess up 2 of the 5 lines.

But put me in the audience and I’m in awe of the dramatic artists on stage. I get swept up in the performance. I am in awe of the the performers sharing their craft. And while I am someone who rarely watches all but a handful of favourite movies more than once, I can watch a live performance again and again.

Yesterday, in front of a very small audience, I got to watch my daughter in a musical for the first time in 2 years. Opening night is often a bit shaky, but her and her 2nd year cohort really nailed the performance, it was wonderful. Their creative interpretation of the play, with minimal props, was clever and imaginative, and the performers all hit their marks.

I will miss tonight’s performance for a (digital) open house event at my school, and then catch the closing performance tomorrow night. And I’ll probably enjoy the performance more than I did last night. That’s the power of a live performance, and I love to watch. I also love the joy it brings my daughter, but I never want to be on the stage myself. My role is in the audience.

When the street lights came on

How many of us Gen X kids stayed out until the street lights came on? That was the signal to head hone for bed. Until the street lights came on, all your parents knew about your location was that you were somewhere in the neighbourhood…. somewhere.

Kids today, their parents always know where they are. This isn’t that new. Even us X’ers didn’t let our kids have this freedom. We grew up in an era when news reports started telling us what a bad world we live in. Unsafe. Dangerous for kids.

Now we are locked down in a way that really limits kids freedoms even more. Where are you going? Who are you seeing? Are they all in your small bubble of friends? Coronavirus has locked us all down and limited where we go and who we see.

This is really tough for kids. They don’t have any equivalent experience of being out until the street lights turn on. They don’t have a place to be unsupervised by adults… not to raise hell and cause trouble, just to be kids.

How much of their time is organized. Even fun is organized… soccer practice, dance classes, music lessons, are all put in the calendar. Play is scheduled, like recess and lunch at school, every free moment isn’t really free at all.

I think we need to find ways to give kids some of the freedom we had as kids, when we could stay out, unsupervised, until the street lights came on.

Live performances

Last night we went to see a play called ‘Noises Off’ at the Stanley Theatre in Vancouver. It was a clever, funny play, but I didn’t enjoy it very much. Still, I was amazed by some of the performances. It was a play filled with physical comedy and I could see the commitment to character by the actors.

I do not enjoy singing or acting, but I’m in awe of those that love it and are good at it. I love to see performers thrive in front of an audience, to watch them feed off of the energy a good audience. When I watch my daughter act or sing I see her in her element. I see a performer.

The applause wouldn’t be enough for me to do the same performance night after night. I don’t understand the appeal. I don’t even like watching my favourite movies over again without a long gap measured in years. Live performances are things I will attend, but not anything I’d ever want to do.

I tip my hat to talented artists that feed off of a live audience. I think that our desire to entertain and be entertained is part of what makes us a unique and self aware animal. The fact that I don’t want to be an entertainer does not take away from my admiration of those that do.

The MASTER of LIVING

James-a-michener-master-of-living

This quote seems very Zen Buddhist to me and I think the image goes well with it. I don’t think this is about blending work and play, I think it’s about finding joy in everything you do, and if your work is also a joy, then it isn’t something you clock in and out of. I’m interested in what others think of this quote?

Photo, ‘Behind Buddha’, taken at the Famen Temple near Xi’an, China.