The Lardner Report

Unleash your creative superpowers!

How Art Derails 1000 Years Of Animal Instinct

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Worth watching to the end.

“Rasta” the rare Hungarian Vizsla slowly stalks a frozen wolf-like figure on a golf course (though it turns out to be a coyote). This is real time, not slowed down.  The slow creep toward the sculpture actually took about 6 minutes, cut down to a bit over 2 minutes. The shot is shaky because it was recorded on an iPhone.

Notice Rasta’s “aha moment” when, upon discovery of the ruse, he seamlessly shifts into “play mode” and fetches his ball.

Historically the Vizsla is older than most breeds and its existence can be traced back to the 10th century.  Through the years the Vizsla has held a rare position among sporting dogs – that of household companion and family pet. Experts say The Vizsla is a natural hunter endowed with “an excellent nose and an outstanding trainability.” Although they are lively, gentle-mannered, demonstrably affectionate and sensitive, “they are also fearless and possessed of a well-developed protective instinct.”

Primitive stone etchings, estimated 1,000 years old, show the Magyar huntsman with his Vizsla and falcons.

The Art of Letting Go

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It is with heavy heart that I share the news that the delicate nest lovingly built by our rufous hummingbird mother (photographed in the previous post) fell victim to a fairly wild winter storm 4 days ago. Nothing remains of her artful home after a two-week vigil over her tiny eggs.

I know it’s nature. I understand that it’s the cycle of life. But it still hurts to watch her work so devotedly, so tirelessly, with no return on her investment.  Still, the pure joy she brought me – and our home – seems immeasurable. Just by being there every day (only flying out occasionally to nourish her petite 3-inch frame) gave us a daily sense of wonder and appreciation. I must have checked on her and the nest 15 times a day, valium through the little peephole in our front door. She was the first task in the morning, and my last stop at night.

Then, when I opened the door to find her home ravaged by the wind, I felt as though I had been hit in the gut. It has taken a few days to emerge from my funk, but I take comfort in knowing some hummingbirds live anywhere from 3 – 10 years. So there’s always a chance she’ll be back.

In her honor, I post this inspiring nature video of another (successful) hummingbird nest with two siblings coming to life — and taking flight for the first time. I could take a cue from their mother — and learn how to gracefully let go.

 

The Art of Living: My Friend Bill Hall

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Nashville weatherman Bill Hall (left) with me and anchor Dan Miller, circa 1980. Photo by John Bills

He never touched paintbrush to canvas, or molded a lump of clay in his hands. He never tried to bend and mold steel to his will, but just because of the way he lived his life, and did his work, Bill Hall was an artist.

Hall, who died yesterday, was the longtime weatherman at WSMV-TV in Nashville. I only worked with him for 5 years, but it was a time I will never forget.

If you didn’t live in Nashville in the early 1980s, then you probably never heard of Bill Hall. If you did live back there, and back then, Bill Hall was kin.  He was a member of the family, a treasured friend invited into the homes of tens of thousands of Tennesseans every night.

They loved Bill because he was one of them. One of the most highly rated newscasts during Bill’s tenure was the night he asked viewers how to get a mouse out of his house. His ability to connect through his gentle style and easy humor, made the outpouring of affection at the news of his passing heartwarming, yet totally unsurprising. He was adored.

I used to sit next to Bill, and my co-anchor Dan Miller on the set every nexium night, as a young news anchor learning my craft. They made it seem so easy. It wasn’t. Like any art form, broadcasting always looks simple in the hands of the gifted. The subtleties of performance, and miracle of unselfconscious communication are elusive to most, but not to Dan, and not to Bill.  Both of them are gone now, but the lessons they taught me by example, served me well as a newscaster and they still serve me to this day.

Art at its best, is the purest form of connection.  It makes you feel, it makes you think, and it leaves you richer for the experience. Bill connected with his audience in a way that somehow left them feeling more at home, even in their own homes.

This is a blog about art, creativity, and inspiration.  Bill was certainly creative, and to me, and many, many others he was inspirational.  Was he an artist?  Well, if great art helps define our humanity, why can’t the humanity with which you live your life rise to the level of art? I think it can, partly because Bill Hall was my friend.