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Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Sow the wind...

Reap the whirlwind. (Or as Ultravox has it, "Reap the Wild Wind." I've been on a mild Ultravox kick. I prefer the proto-cyberpunk John Foxx version to the more techno-romantic Midge Ure version, but I like that too. I'm leery of the latter-day Foxx-less and Ure-less incarnation, and have stayed away so far.) But is it wind depicted in this tie (from Peachick, hand made in Korea from 100% polyester), or water? Viewer consensus says water, and the swirl-ending flourishes do resemble traditional Asian representations of waves, the best-known of which is undoubtedly Hokusai's "In the Hollow of a Wave off the Coast at Kanagawa" (ca. 1831), a.k.a. "The Great Wave," number one of his Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji (which actually contains 46 prints). I'm not suggesting this tie is in Hokusai's league, but it has an interesting design that far outclasses its base material.

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