My 500 Things

Friday, September 14 2007 | Send to a friend

My 500 Things

Chris McNaught - see his spacious place >>

Less is more: it's a well-worn mantra, but not one that gains a lot of traction in our super-sized culture.

This summer, Chris McNaught had an idea. Inspired by a woman who had winnowed her possessions to a paltry 300 items, Chris decided to make an inventory of his own stuff. He counted all the items in his house and garage, and noted them on a spreadsheet. The result: Chris owned 2,000 items.

So he decided to clean house. The process isn't over, either, and he's continuing to make some key decisions - including whether or not to keep a childhood teddy bear.

Chris says that his home these days is simple, uncluttered, and filled with only the most meaningful items from his life. Having given away more than half of his possessions, Chris is well on his way to owning no more than 500 things.

Music heard in this story: Counting 51 to 100 by by Obie Leff for the album Count With Me! - Kindergarten; 1234 by Feist for the album The Reminder

The view from the bottom

Brooks De Wetter-Smith with a penguin - larger >>

Brooks de Wetter-Smith has always been in love with Antarctica. He can't really pinpoint why. He is a flutist by profession, as well as an accomplished amateur photographer. He decided to combine all three passions into one major lifetime journey - he took an extended trip to Antarctica.

Brooks took many photos on his journey. He's now working with a composer to create a new multi-media chamber music ensemble for the flute, based on the photos he took in Antarctica.

Ice Tunnel -
larger >>

He joins Dick Gordon in the studio to share stories of what he saw, and improvise music on the flute to demonstrate how he 'translates' images into music.

• Find out more about Brooks' work
• See some of Brooks' Antarctica photos here, here and here

Music heard in this story: several selections from American Horizons by Brooks de Wetter-Smith and Ulrich Koella

POEMS FROM YESTERDAY'S PROGRAM

Yesterday on the program, Dick Gordon talked to Andrea Nakayama and Matthew Dickman about the time Matthew was a "manny" in the Nakayama household. Matthew shared two poems during the interview. You can read those poems here.