Juxtaposition of three things...

From the New York Times: René Morel, Master Restorer of Rare Violins, Dies at 79He was one of the greats whose careful handwork was responsible for sustaining much of the world's best music.

Also from the New York Times, The Machine That Makes You Musical is an article about how iPad applications allow the machine to be used to simulate a variety of musical instruments. It is certainly a wonderful thing to think that everyone should be involved in making music, or loving music, and playing music with others from around the world, but is it OK that that music be played without effort and without skill? Is that how we can best arise as skilled and creative human beings?

A third interesting component is that the company that makes Guitar Hero has announced that it is going to discontinue the product. It was introduced in 2005, and had children across the US pretending they were rock stars while strumming along, not making real music, but pretending to do so. It was a high profit item for some time, but as sales have fallen, the company is moving on to other things.

Can you see some interesting things in this juxtaposition? Are there cultural values at risk? It is said that human culture must arise anew within each generation. Perhaps in the long run we will be left fiddling around on real fiddles, with our own musical inclinations having been abandoned by developers as they race along to new profits.... Perhaps a good thing. It is best when human culture is hands-on and arises within the agency of our human hands.

Today in the CSS woodshop, 4th, 5th and 6th grade students made toys and the high school students turned wood and cut dovetails.The first dovetailed box is complete as you can see in the photos above.

My advice?

Make, fix and create...