The most predominant response is probably a behavioral one. This bike is the one that I ride most often, have logged the most miles on, and have had the most pleasant experiences on. It’s extremely minimal (not many parts) and doesn’t require too much maintenance. As far as bikes go, it’s not terribly ‘pretty’ (just plain black components, chipped paint from lots of use) but that has the advantage of not drawing a lot of attention and letting me lock it up places without too much concern.

I thought about my other bikes and they definitely invoke a more ‘visceral’ response. My red italian or sparkly blue japanese are definitely more pleasing to the eye and much more of collectors items for those who are passionate about these things. However, none provide the same sense of security/reliability/sureness of my black bike. It’s a workhorse and I don’t have to be concerned too much about its function. I can simply just get on it and ride. Very simple and effective.

Of course, there’s also a reflective response with a bicycle as well. They can reflect that someone is active, environmentally conscious, or even ‘hip’ (specially with the fixed-gear bicycle scene). I’m sure some of the pleasure of this bike is probably reflective as well, but again, my other bikes would probably provide much more satisfaction in that regard.

The black bike is simply ‘my bike for me’. It gives me the freedom to go wherever I want to and doesn’t require much more effort than just getting on and riding. For that, I really enjoy doing so whenever I can!

here is an old fashion parking meter.

This bookcase has the behavioral qualities of holding and displaying these prized items nicely. It also has the visceral qualities of its unique shape (it’s not your ordinary rectangle but a square with square shelves) and assortment of items, items of different shapes, colors, and textures. Although the bookcase has these behavioral and visceral qualities, the bookcase is most beautiful in terms of its reflective quality; everything on its shelves has meaning. The books include some of our favorites, ranging from Irving, Didion, and Theroux novels to the Dalai Lama’s autobiography to our small running and baseball collection. The pictures are all framed (its not very often that I print and frame photos). And the various objects reveal hints of our respective travels and childhoods.

From last Monday’s “10 beautiful things” exercise and this week’s blog assignment I’ve found that I have a difficult time identifying visceral beauty. While the majority of the class’s post-its were placed in the visceral category, I placed most of mine in the reflective category. Perhaps it’s because I am not confident that these objects are of visceral quality to others. (Even though they’re of visceral quality to me). Most of these beautiful objects are personal objects: my retired running shoes, my bookcase, my mom’s cooking, my dog Sadie. And while many might be drawn to my bookcase full of special objects, I feel like they won’t find mine as beautiful as their own bookcase containing a Voltran action figure and photos of their dog named Sadie.

On a visceral level, I wouldn’t say that cashews are very beautiful objects. Moreover, while they are a nutritious food (high in essential fatty acids, B vitamins, fiber, protein, iron, zinc, and carbohydrate potassium), they are also high in saturated fat. In other words, from a behavioral perspective they are tasty and provide a plethora of health benefits, though only when enjoyed in moderate quantities. Despite this, I have chosen them to be my favored item (though I don’t claim them to be my favorite item)!

Picking out a favorite object is a very difficult task. My approach was to think about things that I value, so it makes sense that my item of choice appeals to me on a very reflective level.

When I think of cashews, I think of my grandpa in Taiwan who absolutely loves them. In the past when he’d come to stay with my family and me for long periods of time, our home would naturally be well-stocked with them. Furthermore, whenever any of my family living in the U.S. or I fly back to Taiwan, we always make a point to bring cashews with us.

Another tie that I have with cashews is that I can somewhat identify with the nut (not as in, my personality per se, though I guess it is occasionally apt). My brother once pointed out to me that my name sort of resembles the word (Karen Hsu -> KaHsu), and so it’s sort of become a nickname for me.

Now, I’m craving cashews!

(http://flickr.com/photos/37019106@N00/2240956021/)

Visceral
The earrings are high on their visceral aesthetic beauty. They are small and smooth and not at all gaudy. When the light catches them, you can see the glint of the diamonds and the varying greenish sparkle of the opal. They’re simple yet beautiful. Anyone can appreciate them on a visceral level. They’re shiny and eye-catching, especially when I wear a shirt which brings out the color in them (just like how the right shirt can bring out the blue in someone’s eyes).

Behavioral
On the behavioral level, an object with high aesthetic quality would function well. In the case of earrings, the main function is for them to stay in your ears. I’ve had many occasions where an earring with french hooks slips out of my ears, leaving me with only one, useless without it’s twin. These earrings, however, are studs with backings so they stay in my ears very snugly. I’m never paranoid that they have fallen out and, unlike with my other pairs, I do not constantly feel my earlobes to make sure that they’re still there.

Reflective
I have a lot of jewelry, it’s the one accessory I really love. For some people it’s shoes, for others it’s purses. For me, it’s jewelry (mainly earrings and necklaces/pendants). What really makes these earrings a favorite object of mine is the reflective processing that takes place, how they makes me feel and the meaning behind them. One of my closest friends (we’ve known each other for almost 10 years now) gave them to me as a birthday present. She specifically looked for a beautiful pair that had both of our birthstones, the diamond (for me - April) and the opal (for her - October) so we would always be connected. Now, even though we’re so far apart (over 2,000 miles separates us), I feel a little bit closer to her just by wearing them. What I love most about them is the thought she put into finding the perfect pair that had both of our birthstones. I never would have thought of that. Ever since I got them, they’ve become the pair I wear the most. My favorite pair. The one that I will pass on to my daughter (you know, hopefully) when the time is right (hey, wouldn’t it be great if she was born in October, now that would be fate).

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My favorite object is my #34 Hakeem Olajuwon jersey, a relic my mom bought as a birthday present when I was in the 5th grade, the year the Houston Rockets won their first NBA Championship. At $39.95 from Champ Sports, I thought this was an immensely expensive, rare, and exquisite item — not for its visceral qualities, though some may appreciate the bright red hues and decade-old lettering, nor did I plan on using it functionally as exercise wear, unlike the professional basketball players who wear these breathable mesh uniforms daily — but on the reflective level, owning an exact replica of clothing that Hakeem Olajuwon wore for almost his entire career, was an incredible prize and privilege.

I became a fan of the Houston Rockets four years prior, and from the moment I saw Hakeem spinning, dancing, diving in the lane, blocking every shot, I was hooked. As a 2nd-grader, my readership of the Houston Chronicle was exclusive to the sports section, much to the chagrin of my father and brother. The off-seasons were torturous, when the only NBA action could be found in “transactions.” I never missed a game, whether they were shown on TV, or the clock-radio in my bedroom at night. And after heartbreaking double-overtime playoff losses to the Seattle Supersonics, the Rockets finally overcame underdog status to achieve their first championship. Ironically, these were the only games I did not see live, as I was in Korea for the summer (my mother’s idea), and the O.J. Simpson chase served to dominate NBC’s airtime.

Though others may find an NBA jersey to be aesthetically pleasing on the visceral level, especially when draped on a body with ~5% body fat, it is at the reflective level that this object holds value for me. I still wear my Olajuwon jersey to every Rockets game I attend, bringing along the old “Believe It! Again!” placard hailing back from 1995, the year of the Rockets’ second championship. My fanaticism for the Rockets goes far beyond what many can comprehend, but this 12-year-old #34 Hakeem Olajuwon jersey is an easy manifestation of all the years, sweat, tears, blood, and pain that has gone into following the same team through turmoil, disappointment, triumph and victory.

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/8693/gorocketsvv5.jpg

“It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain he fell madly in love with him” - that’s how the book began. I was browsing random books on display at a street sale and those words seemed to have a captivating effect on me. The book was Catch-22 and I bought it. I had heard the term being used in common parlance, but never heard of the book itself. Over the next few days, I read the whole book cover-to-cover blown away by its brilliance, and only to start all over again.

The book speaks to me on so many levels. It is, though usually contested by whoever I’m arguing with, the funniest book written and a masterpiece of satire. The numerous characters in the book are beautifully sketched, with unmatchable style and consistency. Halfway through the book, when it seems like it is heading for a tragic end, the ending in itself instils so much hope. Though it is often pigeonholed as another anti-war book, I think it satirizes many contemporary dilemmas equally well.

Thinking about it, my liking towards the book is mainly reflective. I was probably 18 when I first read it, and quite impressionable. One thing that attracted me to it was that I identified myself with the pacifist tone of the book. The complex, non-chronological storyline, with lot of parallel and intertwined proceedings woven together so perfectly is another quality of the book that attracted me to it.

On a behavioral level, the book gets better every time I read it. Because of the complex narrative, there are bound to be things like inside jokes and allusions that weren’t caught in a previous reading. It is one of those books that you can open on any page and start reading and you’ll be immediately engrossed in it.

After weighing for a while about what my favorite object was, I decided that I have too many of them. This book is one that had a great impact on me, and one that I’ll always cherish. Here’s a poster of catch-22 that was used for marketing it when it was released.

(full image: http://www.nickrabinowitz.com/images/full/stockpot.jpg)

On a visceral level, it’s a simply beautiful thing - the red/orange enamel on the outside evokes fire and warmth, the dimensions are pleasing (it has a circular footprint, of course, but with the top off, its profile is almost a perfect square), the handles are almost cute (like the arms of a stumpy anime character), its edges are rounded and smooth to the touch, and it’s pleasantly heavy when you pick it up (it’s made out of heavy-gauge stainless steel). When I first got it, the inside was cream-colored; now there’s a brown tone that rises inside in parallel with the ombre fade from red to orange on the outside.

It’s the kind of object you could love even if you never cooked with it - but on a behavioral level, it’s great for cooking. More specifically, it’s great for one particular task: making stock. The heavy steel and tall, narrow shape mean that it holds heat extremely well; you can leave it on a burner set to the lowest setting and it will eventually come to a nice simmer as the heat builds up. The raised lip and inset cover mean that little or no liquid will evaporate if the cover is fully on. It’s wonderful to cook with because you can rely on it completely, know that it won’t burn or boil over. Making stock is an almost meditative, long process of pulling flavor out of ingredients that might otherwise be discarded, and this pot makes it relatively easy.

It’s ironic that in some ways the main reflective connotation I have with this pot, given its pricey brand, is one of thrift and efficiency. I bought it as a present for myself, the first Christmas after college, which was my first Christmas on my own. I bought it for $35 (a steal! marked down from $125!) in a day-after-Christmas sale; it was one of the first pieces of good cookware I bought for myself. So owning it is wrapped up in thoughts of thrift - how cheap it was, how little money I had at the time, how well it preserves the heat applied to it, how its sole purpose is to take the carcasses and offal that most people think of as garbage and turn them into something wonderful. For me, at least, that vision of perfect economy is beautiful.

At the behavioral level, these sandals perform better than any piece of footwear I have ever owned. Even after months of daily use my feet continue to feel as thought they are walking on tiny pillows. Despite their appearance the straps are deceptively strong and the smooth light soul is unexpectedly durable. They have never given me blisters, the straps don’t stretch and the light bottoms reflect the summers’ heat. Additionally, because I can wear them with anything and they are perfect for traveling and this is important to me. The pleasure I take in wearing these is reflected over and over again.

These shoes please me at the reflective level as well. They come from a company that is part of the Eco-Partners Network, uses only water-based adhesives in their factories and has long-term relationships with their suppliers; these practices correlate with my personal values. Other people who know about Earth Footwear may understand this when they see me using this product. They would also be able to look at this object and see how warn it is and how the used soles have had dirt ground into them over the months. Such an examination would truthfully imply my tendency to walk long distances over varying terrain. These shoes also remind me of those long walks and the new people and places I have seen on them.

http://www.earth.us/shoeDetail.asp?Gender=women&cat=2&offset=24&ID=1808