Monet in his 70s

Yesterday, we went to see an art exhibit of Claude Monet’s later years at the Kimbell in Fort Worth, TX.

I wasn’t able to see all of it because I suddenly got sick and needed to go home. But what I did see was really gorgeous.

I was especially moved and inspired by the first part when his style changed. It was following the loss of his second wife and son. And at the start of WWI. He was in his early 70s by then.

The audio commentator said he had “a renewed passion to paint.” His style became “almost expressionist.”

His bold brush strokes and vivid colors gave me the feeling he was almost desperate to get his ideas down quickly, like he knew life was short and there was no time to waste.

Did the chicken design the egg?

This morning on CBS This Morning one of the news anchors referred to something as having been “designed by nature.”

So when they say something was “designed by nature” which part of nature did it? Which thing designed both itself and all the rest? Or did different parts design other parts? The birds designed the bees, maybe. A spider designed the flies.  And did the chicken design the egg, or was it the egg that designed the chicken? I guess whichever one came first designed the other one.

“Intelligent design” is always ridiculed in the liberal media. But in recent years I’ve noticed an increasing use of the word “design” when they talk about the natural world. They never include the word “intelligent” however.

The word “design” implies a designer. It takes planning and thought and problem-solving skills to design something. All of that requires intelligence.