<![CDATA[Phillip Le

<![CDATA[Phillip Le - Blog]]>Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:17:02 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[SBYF PROJECT: WE'RE LIVE]]>Sun, 08 Apr 2012 02:44:03 -0500http://www.philliple.com/2/post/2012/04/sbyf-project-were-live.htmlAfter two seasons of work, trial and error, learning and dedication, here they are:

SBYF Project and Secret of the Spaces

]]><![CDATA[ON PRACTICING]]>Sat, 17 Mar 2012 15:44:23 -0500http://www.philliple.com/2/post/2012/03/on-practicing.htmlIt’s understandable. You don’t want to cross that line. Maybe you’re afraid of what you’ll become. But without making that leap, you won’t get to where you're trying to go. No one wants to harbor anger and hatred in their hearts and I don’t think that’s what you want from your art. I don’t think your art is asking that of you either. What your art most certainly is asking of you is for conviction. Conviction in what you are doing, conviction in your actions, conviction to the moment. It asks you to give yourself over so that movement, thought and action act from the same place. Some people would say to be “whole” or “unified” or in “oneness.”

Well, yes, of course. Why be speak so tritely. How else is there to act?

When your teacher tells you they suggest you do something, they’re not suggesting at all. Saying “I suggest,” is simple courtesy, a small gesture allowing you some face. When they tell you you should work on something, work on it. When they show you a technique, they’re not asking you to do it similarly, they’re asking you to strive to do it exactly. Listen kids, hearing isn't even half the battle—and thinking about doing—that's the detriment.

Do. Practice. When you're unable to practice specifically then think strategically and intelligently. Ask yourself why you were asked to perform a technique in that manner. It doesn't matter if YOU are right or wrong--stop thinking about you; it's about WHY. Why the technique was designed that way and whether or not you can replicate it intelligently.

Re-engineer it. Don’t parrot. What are the mechanics? What are the advantages? What subtleties are you missing and why is it important to extract them? Simply thinking from the limited view of right and wrong will generally bring you dismay.

Of course I’m doing the technique right, because how could I be wrong?

Of course I’m doing it wrong because I’m never capable of doing things right.

See how futile these lines of thinking are? Just do. With conviction.

So perhaps you have to tap into that anger. More likely than not you need to face the fear. And you do that by becoming something greater than the idea of yourself. Because in the end, you're really nothing. Does that make you angry? Good. Let's start there. Get angry. Blind yourself a moment so you’re no longer muddled by you. How? For one, don’t just hear your teacher. Listen.

Or as my teacher says: Practice without expectation. ]]><![CDATA[I REMEMBERED:]]>Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:44:02 -0500http://www.philliple.com/2/post/2012/02/i-remembered.html"You are a mole in a foreign land. Some day you shall tell it true and full. For now, eat well, blend in."

From Matthew Ross Smith ]]><![CDATA[SHORT TERM SATISFACTION OR LONG TERM QUALITY AND LOYALTY?]]>Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:09:44 -0500http://www.philliple.com/2/post/2012/02/post-title-click-and-type-to-edit.htmlI get it. Metrics are important and I know that in order for me to become more than just a digital metaphor for the fresh coat of paint on whatever the latest device happens to be, I need to perform and show value in a clear and measurable fashion.

"Long before the cash register was even invented, businesspeople intuitively knew that cultivating relationships with loyal customers was key to long-term success. Yet still, even in 2012, there is no end of companies who find ways to pull short-term profits out of their customers, at the expense of the longer-term customer relationship."1

The short-term works great, especially if you want to bolster up immediate numbers. But I am more interested in the lasting quality of the crafts I buy, interested in developing into an artist and designer that brings lasting (if everlasting isn't any option) quality to the forefront of any product I'm interested in backing.

"We want to know your name. If our goal were to sell something to everyone, we would no longer be selling to shepherds; but only to sheep. We'd lose our edge and our designs would lose their originality and charm. We don't want to be a common name in everyone's home, but certainly in a few."2

Roderick McMullen; Usability Is King For Your Product. Here's How We Can Finally Measure It
David Munson; Owner and Founder of Saddleback Leather

]]><![CDATA[VALUE OUR CRAFT]]>Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:39:25 -0500http://www.philliple.com/2/post/2012/02/value-our-craft.htmlI guess people, even the non-creatives, are starting to realize the importance of design. It’s just they don’t see it’s worth in dollars. The smart ones do. It’s up to us to change that value-balance by valuing ourselves. ]]><![CDATA[WHY TECH SPECS RARELY MEAN MUCH TO ME]]>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:56:52 -0500http://www.philliple.com/2/post/2012/02/this-is-why-tech-specs-dont-usually-take-hold-of-me.htmlWhat does it mean to design experience? The artists and crafters of our digital lives owe all the credit due to them. But what else do we experience when we find interest in a product, when we release our own product?

"The unforeseen cost, of course, is that those extra features hurt usability.

But we know all this. There is plenty of literature on the subject, and good usability is table stakes for a modern product. If your product isn't usable, your business is in a dangerous position. Maybe you can get by in the short term by boasting your killer feature set; but the fact is that if people can't figure out how to use your bells and whistles, you're going to feel it on your bottom line sooner or later."1

And that goes for everything. The packaging is a part of the user experience, the customer service is a part of the user experience, the instructions are a part of the user experience, the purchasing, and of course, using the product is a part of the user experience. It’s not a feature-fest, it’s about the experience.

Design should be invisible.

Roderick McMullen; Usability Is King For Your Product. Here's How We Can Finally Measure It

]]><![CDATA[TO LOUIE JACK-MAN SIFU]]>Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:53:29 -0500http://www.philliple.com/2/post/2011/11/to-louie-jack-man-sifu.html

Hard is the Journey Gold vessels of fine wines, thousands a gallon, Jade dishes of rare meats, costing more thousands, I lay my chopsticks down, no more can banquet, I draw my sword and stare wildly about me: Ice bars my way to cross the Yellow River, Snows from dark skies to climb the T'ai-hang mountains! At peace I drop a hook into a brooklet, At once I'm in a boat but sailing sunward... (Hard is the journey, Hard is the journey, So many turnings, And now where am I?) So when a breeze breaks waves, bringing fair weather, I set a cloud for sails, cross the blue oceans!

]]><![CDATA[A NIGHT TALKING WITH MOM]]>Tue, 15 Nov 2011 01:35:56 -0500http://www.philliple.com/2/post/2011/11/a-night-talking-with-mom.html
"Mom, you're getting old, please stop working overtime," I lightly scolded. "Besides, don't you ever get bored?"

She candidly responds in Vietnamese: "How can you be bored when you have a purpose?"

The matter-of-factness took me back. It startles me even now in its simplicity, especially because she truly believes it.

And that's my mother. A 5'2" Vietnamese woman who quips wisdom and whimsy without knowing she does either. Working since she met her sponsor family at age 18, still working every hour she can get her hands on. Hotels, sewing factories, engineering facilities, her GED. Mother's come a long way since she's hit these shores.

"I get tired. But then I remember. The tiredness goes away when you have vision."

As a modest woman she's paid her dues to the open opportunity presented by this country. She doesn't see her working days ending anytime soon and still, she works hard. Because damnit there's just no other option. This is life.

Even as her kids are rounding well past a life's quarter, "I work for the family," she tells me. Talk about realigning perspective. ]]><![CDATA[FOLLOW-THROUGH]]>Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:19:07 -0500http://www.philliple.com/2/post/2011/11/follow-through.htmlThe old adage, "follow your dreams," was only half right.

The saying should be "Follow through with your dream."

That's the only way to get things done. ]]><![CDATA[A THOUGHT ON POSTCARDS EP RELEASE PARTY]]>Mon, 07 Nov 2011 23:38:04 -0500http://www.philliple.com/2/post/2011/11/postcards-ep-release-party.html

The Spaces Between Your Fingers Project (The SBYF Project) has a simple mission: reconnecting. Tangibly with your senses, with rewarding awkwardness and fresh supplication. Digital preservation and sharing of wisdom between generations may make sense for posterity, but collecting wisdom the old fashioned way, that makes sense for the soul.

And so it made sense Matthew Ross Smith wanted to share his POSTCARDS live. I'm glad he did. Having heard the EP in all it's stages, it wasn't until Friday night's performance that I realized Matthew's objectives to help reconnect was as much to reconnect with ourselves as it was to reconnect with others. When we go out to shake hands and share stories we are forced to constantly reflect and assess the wisdom gained and the wisdom given. This is conversation.

What would you say if you had the chance to send a message back to a previous version of yourself? What would you do then had you known what you knew now? And would you be the same person if a “future you” saved you from heartache, but spoiled all the mystery? The fun of POSTCARDS is in it's ability to invoke these questions. Matthew may have written them for himself, but the postcards speak to everyone.

If you missed out on the release party, you can always head over to matthewrosssmith.com for a chance to hear an artist reflect on such things in his own way. On the road putting faith in strangers, in the idea they all had something to teach him, he learned to also put the question to himself. His postcards, the music acting as his reminders of where he’s been, of where he’s headed, was his way of doing it. And in the process having some fun.

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