1.) "Science is the art of creating suitable illusions, which the fool enjoys or argues against, but the wise man enjoys for their beauty or ingenuity, without being blind to the fact that they are human veils and curtains concealing the abysmal darkness of the unknowable." - Carl Jung
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
A talk on string theory. It's interesting to read some of the comments to the video on the main site, here: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/brian_greene_on_string_theory.html
1.) Noah, this is great! Remember the Hot Date Theory? (apparently we neglected the cyclical nature of the whatness of things.)
(the "'sexy son' model" at the bottom of the page is not what one might think)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexy_son_hypothesis
(the "'sexy son' model" at the bottom of the page is not what one might think)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexy_son_hypothesis
1.) Bob Dylan's art, which as I understand it is mainly from '89-'92, is now on display and is selling for quite a bit and quite quickly.
http://www.bobdylanart.com/index.php?section_id=3 and
http://www.halcyongallery.com/index.php?section_id=1
http://www.bobdylanart.com/index.php?section_id=3 and
http://www.halcyongallery.com/index.php?section_id=1
Friday, July 25, 2008
1.) Cuttlefish.
Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida belonging to the Cephalopoda class (which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses).
Cuttlefish possess an internal structure called the cuttlebone, which is porous and composed of calcium carbonate, to provide the cuttlefish with buoyancy. Buoyancy can be regulated by changing the gas-to-liquid ratio in the chambered cuttlebone. Each species has a distinct shape, size, and pattern of ridges or texture on the cuttlebone. The cuttlebone is unique to cuttlefish, one of the features contrasting them with their squid relatives. Cuttlebones are traditionally used by jewelers and silversmiths as moulds for casting small objects. They are probably better known today as the tough material given to parakeets and other caged birds and snails as a source of dietary calcium.
Cuttlefish are sometimes called the chameleon of the sea because of their remarkable ability to rapidly alter their skin color at will. Their skin flashes a fast-changing pattern as communication to other cuttlefish and to camouflage them from predators.
Scientists have speculated that cuttlefish's eyes are fully developed before birth and start observing their surroundings while still in the egg. One team of French researchers has additionally suggested that cuttlefish prefer to hunt the prey they saw before hatching.
The blood is pumped by three separate hearts, two of which are used for pumping blood to the cuttlefish's pair of gills (one heart for each gill), and the third for pumping blood around the rest of the body.
Cuttlefish have ink, like squid and octopuses. This ink was formerly an important dye, called sepia. Today artificial dyes have replaced natural sepia. However, there is a modern resurgence of Jewish people using the ink for the techelet dye on their Tallit strings.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuttlefish
(I'm sure there are better movies out there but there are some neat moments to this one.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2.) And how on earth could I resist posting this?!:
The cuddlefish:
Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida belonging to the Cephalopoda class (which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses).
Cuttlefish possess an internal structure called the cuttlebone, which is porous and composed of calcium carbonate, to provide the cuttlefish with buoyancy. Buoyancy can be regulated by changing the gas-to-liquid ratio in the chambered cuttlebone. Each species has a distinct shape, size, and pattern of ridges or texture on the cuttlebone. The cuttlebone is unique to cuttlefish, one of the features contrasting them with their squid relatives. Cuttlebones are traditionally used by jewelers and silversmiths as moulds for casting small objects. They are probably better known today as the tough material given to parakeets and other caged birds and snails as a source of dietary calcium.
Cuttlefish are sometimes called the chameleon of the sea because of their remarkable ability to rapidly alter their skin color at will. Their skin flashes a fast-changing pattern as communication to other cuttlefish and to camouflage them from predators.
Scientists have speculated that cuttlefish's eyes are fully developed before birth and start observing their surroundings while still in the egg. One team of French researchers has additionally suggested that cuttlefish prefer to hunt the prey they saw before hatching.
The blood is pumped by three separate hearts, two of which are used for pumping blood to the cuttlefish's pair of gills (one heart for each gill), and the third for pumping blood around the rest of the body.
Cuttlefish have ink, like squid and octopuses. This ink was formerly an important dye, called sepia. Today artificial dyes have replaced natural sepia. However, there is a modern resurgence of Jewish people using the ink for the techelet dye on their Tallit strings.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuttlefish
(I'm sure there are better movies out there but there are some neat moments to this one.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2.) And how on earth could I resist posting this?!:
The cuddlefish:
1.) "You gonna sing that song about robin's eggs and diamonds?" Bob had asked me on the first day of rehearsals.
"Which one?"
"You know, that one about blue eyes and diamonds..."
"Oh", I said, "you must mean 'Diamonds And Rust', the song I wrote for my husband, David. I wrote it while he was in prison."
"For your husband?" Bob said.
"Yeah. Who did you think it was about?" I stonewalled.
"Oh, hey, what the fuck do I know?"
"Never mind. Yeah, I'll sing it, if you like."
- Joan Baez, AND A VOICE TO SING WITH, 1987
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamonds_%26_Rust_(song)
"Which one?"
"You know, that one about blue eyes and diamonds..."
"Oh", I said, "you must mean 'Diamonds And Rust', the song I wrote for my husband, David. I wrote it while he was in prison."
"For your husband?" Bob said.
"Yeah. Who did you think it was about?" I stonewalled.
"Oh, hey, what the fuck do I know?"
"Never mind. Yeah, I'll sing it, if you like."
- Joan Baez, AND A VOICE TO SING WITH, 1987
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamonds_%26_Rust_(song)
Thursday, July 24, 2008
1.) Clayoquot Sound:
Old-growth logging plan sparks war-in-woods threat
B.C. could see a return to protests and blockades in world-renowned Clayoquot Sound as a forestry company prepares to log an old-growth forest in the Hesquiat Point Creek watershed - the first time a company has begun logging in such a “pristine” valley in nearly 20 years.
And this time, first nations and environmentalists - allies in the 1993 protests - are on opposite sides.
(I saw an abridged version of this article in the Vancouver Sun or the Times Colonist as well.)
Old-growth logging plan sparks war-in-woods threat
B.C. could see a return to protests and blockades in world-renowned Clayoquot Sound as a forestry company prepares to log an old-growth forest in the Hesquiat Point Creek watershed - the first time a company has begun logging in such a “pristine” valley in nearly 20 years.
And this time, first nations and environmentalists - allies in the 1993 protests - are on opposite sides.
(I saw an abridged version of this article in the Vancouver Sun or the Times Colonist as well.)
Sunday, July 20, 2008
1.) Butoh (舞踏, butō) is the collective name for a diverse range of techniques and motivations for dance inspired by the Ankoku-Butoh movement. It typically involves playful and grotesque imagery often performed in white-body makeup but there is no set style. Its origins have been attributed to Japanese dance legends Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno.
The first butoh piece was Kinjiki (Forbidden Colours), by Tatsumi Hijikata, which premiered in 1959. Based on the novel of the same name by Yukio Mishima, the piece explored the taboo of homosexuality and ended with a live chicken behind held between the legs of Yoshito Ohno (Kazuo Ohno's son) and Hijikata chasing Yoshito off the stage in darkness. Primarily as a result of the misconception that the chicken had died due to strangulation, this piece outraged the audience, and resulted in the banning of Hijikata from the festival where Kinjiki premiered and established him as an iconoclast.
In later work, Hijikata continued to subvert conventional notions of dance. Inspired by writers such as Yukio Mishima, Lautréamont, Artaud, Genet and de Sade, he delved into grotesquerie, darkness, and decay. Simultaneously, Hijikata explored the transmutation of the human body into other forms, such as animals. He also developed a poetic and surreal choreographic language, butoh-fu (fu means "word" in Japanese), to help the dancer transform into other materials.
While Hijikata was a fearsome technician of the nervous system influencing input strategies and artists working in groups, Ohno is thought of as a more natural, individual, and nurturing figure who influenced solo artists.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butoh
The first butoh piece was Kinjiki (Forbidden Colours), by Tatsumi Hijikata, which premiered in 1959. Based on the novel of the same name by Yukio Mishima, the piece explored the taboo of homosexuality and ended with a live chicken behind held between the legs of Yoshito Ohno (Kazuo Ohno's son) and Hijikata chasing Yoshito off the stage in darkness. Primarily as a result of the misconception that the chicken had died due to strangulation, this piece outraged the audience, and resulted in the banning of Hijikata from the festival where Kinjiki premiered and established him as an iconoclast.
In later work, Hijikata continued to subvert conventional notions of dance. Inspired by writers such as Yukio Mishima, Lautréamont, Artaud, Genet and de Sade, he delved into grotesquerie, darkness, and decay. Simultaneously, Hijikata explored the transmutation of the human body into other forms, such as animals. He also developed a poetic and surreal choreographic language, butoh-fu (fu means "word" in Japanese), to help the dancer transform into other materials.
While Hijikata was a fearsome technician of the nervous system influencing input strategies and artists working in groups, Ohno is thought of as a more natural, individual, and nurturing figure who influenced solo artists.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butoh
Saturday, July 12, 2008
1.) Police wake people in the middle of the night - September 25, 2005 St. Ann's Academy, Victoria (video)
http://www.loveandfearlessness.com/new_tc_vid_1.html
http://www.loveandfearlessness.com/new_tc_vid_1.html
Saturday, July 5, 2008
The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (1803 de Goya)
(or look at this painting)
(Saturn devouring his son...which is more potent? (scroll down at that site) de Goya's or Rubens'?)
1.) This gave me a good laugh:
The Last Judgment [1535-1541: in The Sistine Chapel] was an object of a bitter dispute between Cardinal Carafa and Michelangelo. Because he depicted naked figures, the artist was accused of immorality and obscenity. A censorship campaign (known as the "Fig-Leaf Campaign") was organized by Carafa and Monsignor Sernini (Mantua's ambassador) to remove the frescoes. When the Pope's own Master of Ceremonies, Biagio da Cesena, said "it was mostly disgraceful that in so sacred a place there should have been depicted all those nude figures, exposing themselves so shamefully, and that it was no work for a papal chapel but rather for the public baths and taverns," Michelangelo worked da Cesena's semblance into the scene as Minos, judge of the underworld. It is said that when he complained to the Pope, the pontiff responded that his jurisdiction did not extend to hell, so the portrait would have to remain.
The genitalia in the fresco were later covered by the artist Daniele da Volterra [in 1565], whom history remembers by the derogatory nickname "Il Braghettone" ("the breeches-painter").
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_chapel#Michelangelo
and:
Vatican approves breast-feeding pictures of Virgin Mary
I'm not kidding: this article was published June 24, 2008.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2.) Bill Henson is an Australian photographic artist. He recently faced controversy for an exhibit displaying nude teenagers.
On 6 June 2008 it was reported in The Age that police will not prosecute Bill Henson over his photographs of naked teenagers, after they were declared "mild and justified" and given a PG rating by the Office of Film and Literature Classification, suggesting viewing by children under the age of 16 should only occur under parental supervision.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Henson
I kind of like his photos, controversy aside. You can click on the link below to see his works. The more controversial photos are not previewed: you must click on one that is (example Untitled #1) and then click on the photo to go to the next (example Untitled #2).
http://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/artists/18/Bill_Henson/
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
3.) Finally:
(1868 from Harper's Bazaar)
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modesty#Body_modesty
The Last Judgment [1535-1541: in The Sistine Chapel] was an object of a bitter dispute between Cardinal Carafa and Michelangelo. Because he depicted naked figures, the artist was accused of immorality and obscenity. A censorship campaign (known as the "Fig-Leaf Campaign") was organized by Carafa and Monsignor Sernini (Mantua's ambassador) to remove the frescoes. When the Pope's own Master of Ceremonies, Biagio da Cesena, said "it was mostly disgraceful that in so sacred a place there should have been depicted all those nude figures, exposing themselves so shamefully, and that it was no work for a papal chapel but rather for the public baths and taverns," Michelangelo worked da Cesena's semblance into the scene as Minos, judge of the underworld. It is said that when he complained to the Pope, the pontiff responded that his jurisdiction did not extend to hell, so the portrait would have to remain.
The genitalia in the fresco were later covered by the artist Daniele da Volterra [in 1565], whom history remembers by the derogatory nickname "Il Braghettone" ("the breeches-painter").
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_chapel#Michelangelo
and:
Vatican approves breast-feeding pictures of Virgin Mary
I'm not kidding: this article was published June 24, 2008.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2.) Bill Henson is an Australian photographic artist. He recently faced controversy for an exhibit displaying nude teenagers.
On 6 June 2008 it was reported in The Age that police will not prosecute Bill Henson over his photographs of naked teenagers, after they were declared "mild and justified" and given a PG rating by the Office of Film and Literature Classification, suggesting viewing by children under the age of 16 should only occur under parental supervision.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Henson
I kind of like his photos, controversy aside. You can click on the link below to see his works. The more controversial photos are not previewed: you must click on one that is (example Untitled #1) and then click on the photo to go to the next (example Untitled #2).
http://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/artists/18/Bill_Henson/
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
3.) Finally:
(1868 from Harper's Bazaar)
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modesty#Body_modesty
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
1.) So you've popped new, corkscrew-shaped, compact fluorescent lightbulbs into every lamp at home. Fingers crossed, your next electrical bill will shrink now that those wasteful incandescent lights are gone.
However, the funny-looking fluorescents pose a pollution problem. Their energy savings may be ecofriendly, but each bulb contains enough methylmercury to poison a small lake. As with electronics waste, there's no national antidumping law. It's illegal in seven U.S. states to put household fluorescents in with the rest of the trash, but finding where to recycle bulbs can be a pain.
It is important to note that the amount of mercury released by one bulb can exceed U.S. federal guidelines for chronic exposure. Chronic however, implies that the exposure takes place over a long period of time. One time exposure to a trace amount of mercury is unlikely to be harmful.
The first step of processing CFLs [Compact fluorescent lamp] involves crushing the bulbs in a machine that uses negative pressure ventilation and a mercury-absorbing filter or cold trap to contain mercury vapor. Many municipalities are purchasing such machines. The crushed glass and metal is stored in drums, ready for shipping to recycling factories.
from http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9696168-1.html
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_bulbs#Environmental_issues
However, the funny-looking fluorescents pose a pollution problem. Their energy savings may be ecofriendly, but each bulb contains enough methylmercury to poison a small lake. As with electronics waste, there's no national antidumping law. It's illegal in seven U.S. states to put household fluorescents in with the rest of the trash, but finding where to recycle bulbs can be a pain.
It is important to note that the amount of mercury released by one bulb can exceed U.S. federal guidelines for chronic exposure. Chronic however, implies that the exposure takes place over a long period of time. One time exposure to a trace amount of mercury is unlikely to be harmful.
The first step of processing CFLs [Compact fluorescent lamp] involves crushing the bulbs in a machine that uses negative pressure ventilation and a mercury-absorbing filter or cold trap to contain mercury vapor. Many municipalities are purchasing such machines. The crushed glass and metal is stored in drums, ready for shipping to recycling factories.
from http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9696168-1.html
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_bulbs#Environmental_issues
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
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