Littery Remains (II)
'BEGINNING ORIGAMI' by I.D.Maen : A Review
Few people living can remember (a case of Alzheimer's or perhaps short attention spans, but where was I?), remember those dark days prior to the Internet & the now near-ubiquity of websites-for-everything-under-the-sun (& over it for that matter), when PAPER reigned supreme.
I.D.Maen's 'Beginning Origami' (B.O. for short) harks back to a time before books were even invented. Someone (history has not recorded his or her name) had recently had the bright idea for PAPER (clay tablets were getting too damned heavy to lug around , especially with the advent of long-distance travel), but didn't really know what to do with it. Writing was old hat of course, though no-one took it that seriously & it was never truly popular until the biro democratised the whole cumbersome & somewhat élitist process, which hitherto had involved the slaughter of innocent fowl & an inordinate amount of feather-plucking & potentially-dangerous sharpening of quills. But I digress...
This innovative unboxed set entitled 'Beginning Origami' (not to be confused with the better-known, best-selling book 'Origami for Beginners' by a different author & publisher) dispenses with the traditional (but staid & rather conventional) covers & binding. Instead, what Maen so brilliantly & originally presents us with is a collection of loose leaves & we're not talking boring old Autumn here.
Suffice it to say, 'Beginning Origami' is a must-buy (shame it's out-of-print). Don't take my word for it, read the blurb:
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(with subtitles)
Each kit contains approximately umpteen sheets of poor quality paper to fold, crumple into a small ball, tear up, throw away or otherwise dispose of as you see fit.
NEVER MIND THE WRITING, FEEL THE PAPER!
A hundred and one uses! If you thought paper was just for covering walls, starting fires, & wiping your arse with, you've obviously been missing out.
ORIGAMI (pronounced origami) is the inscrutable oriental ancient art of taming paper tigers. A money-making hobby; a powerful martial art (disarm your opponents using only your fingertips); a simple yet effective way to attain total unexcelled Enlightenment: Origami is all these things & more.
Hours of fun for those with nothing better to do with their time!
Amaze your friends with the manifold shapes you can create out of pieces of paper, not merely planes (anyone with a degree in aviation can do that) but birds (the crane, whose wings flap when you yank its tail), bees & a whole menagerie of animals (extinct & endangered species included), trees, council houses (as well as privately-owned ones), home computers, intercontinental ballistic missiles, fully working models of the Ptolemaic Universe...you name it. You'll find the blue-prints here, & some in other colours too.
Rival God in sheer inventiveness! Break the ice at parties!
BEGINNING ORIGAMI WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER!
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Phew! With a write-up like that, what can your reticent reviewer say? One slight quibble: the WORDS are fairly average (there are none that can't be found in a reputable dictionary) & their meanings are completely unnecessary. But ultimately, all that mars this close-to-perfect work & detracts from our unalloyed enjoyment of it are the annoying & distracting ink-marks on the otherwise immaculate PAPER.
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RAVING REPORTER
Foot note:
ENTOMOLOGYETYMOLOGY:According to some sources, the word ORIGAMI derives from the Japanese 'ORU' (to fold) & 'KAMI' (paper - as well as spirit), which just goes to show that someone can't spell proper!
