“In its ineffectiveness, architecture shares in the bathos of gardening: an interest in door handles or ceiling moldings can seem no less worthy of mockery than a concern for the progress of rose or lavender bushes… sarahendren.com/2024/06/0…

I am certainly watching Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s trajectory with interest.

An excellent panel of unusually sharp presentations on liberal education, civic education, and the purpose of the university. Conference host ASU SCETL is interesting all around. www.youtube.com/watch

Spent all weekend re-orging and spring cleaning. Finishing with a trip to the goodwill donation center in the next town over from me, which is conveniently near the only decent bbq in a many-mile radius

I have officially entered the sandwich era of middle age — and I’d like a better metaphor?

Student move-out season in Boston-Cambridge is a whole mood.

A shower brush on the brick sidewalk, its bristles smashed to oblivion

Finishing up an academic paper about the unproductively vague affirmations of interdisciplinarity and the framework I’ve developed to help sharpen what’s happening in my work.

three yellow bars form a graphic on a black slide, the top of which says disposition of artist (poetics), then language of design (utility), then house of engineering (big tech)

With my youngest’s scout troop at the local city council meeting. (He’s seated, out of frame.) We were warmly welcomed. So good.

A scout speaks at the mic in a city council meeting, while council members look on.

Still over here astonished at the deep challenge (twofold, at least!) of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. It’s not just “hold your views with humility”: sarahendren.com/2024/05/2…

an unconditioned whole

“If more thinkers were willing, like William Egginton, to extend and elucidate the philosophical implications of physics in the actual physics classroom, we’d quickly realize much more of the so-called interdisciplinarity that so many of us claim to want. But the mastery of calculations is just easier in the end…” I wrote about Egginton’s new book on Borges, Heisenberg, and Kant: sarahendren.com/2024/05/2…

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Zadie Smith bringing the wisdom as usual: shorturl.at/qxIS2

So glad to see this call for “time to build” submissions from The New Atlantis. I have too many ideas! Due date June 17: www.thenewatlantis.com/publicati…

a black and white drawing of two funnel shapes holding up a banner that reads, in cursive, “who hath”

Upon meeting another wide-eyed and middle-aged pedestrian on the sidewalk, early spring burst of blossoming life, this half-conversation exchange: “Do you see—?” “I know, it’s—” “I just, green—.” (clutching heart) “Everywhere.”

Teaching takes a lot of energy; it also keeps a person disciplined and specific, resistant to sweeping generalizations about The Youth. Glad for it.

Reading aloud David Chang’s memoir, Eat a Peach, to 14 yr old Malcolm. He enjoys the sweary diatribes about running a restaurant. I was moved by the chapter with strikethroughs and revisions made plain.

A page from Chang’s book shows text that would flatter his self image struck through with a line, and in red type, the new text telling something more true.

Curious if folks have honest thoughts about new Buckley doc, out now on PBS and an archival beast to tame, thanks to my husband who was editor. No talking heads! But so important, useful in this election cycle, etc.

I never tire of design school detritus. World under construction!

Three shelves in a design studio laden with piles of foam core architectural models, all crowded and akimbo

not that kind of constraint: sarahendren.com/2024/05/0…

first goslings sighting along the River Charles!