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| mud bricks drying in the sun screen shot |
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| the walled city of Shibam © Aneta Ribarska |
From the Ground Up
His Hour Upon the Stage
The first time I saw Alan Cumming was in a Sex and the City episode, in which he played a Dolce & Gabbana stylist called O. It was a small part, but he was terrific. And then, all of a sudden, I was seeing him everywhere: introducing public television programs, on The Good Wife (his American accent is so good that unless you knew he was Scottish, you would swear he'd never been east of Brooklyn), on The Colbert Report ...
His latest theatrical coup is in a version of Macbeth, currently on Broadway, in which he plays all the parts (story, audio interview): http://www.pri.org/stories/arts-entertainment/well-known-scottish-actor-alam-cumming-handles-all-the-roles-in-new-broadway-version-of-macbeth-13905.html
His latest theatrical coup is in a version of Macbeth, currently on Broadway, in which he plays all the parts (story, audio interview): http://www.pri.org/stories/arts-entertainment/well-known-scottish-actor-alam-cumming-handles-all-the-roles-in-new-broadway-version-of-macbeth-13905.html
This Isn't Your Tagger's Graffiti
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| by Eduardo Kobra, in São Paulo Blog de Milton Jung/Flickr |
Free for All
Here's a list of things you can get for free. Surprisingly, many are not lame and are things you might actually want and could actually use: http://www.mnn.com/money/personal-finance/stories/15-great-things-you-can-get-for-free
It's a Bird! It's a Plane! ... It's the QE2!!
At 1:59 p.m. PDT on May 31, an asteroid nine times larger than the cruise ship Queen Elizabeth 2 will speed past us at a safe yet comparatively short distance (the closest it will be for another 200 years or more). To commemorate the event, NASA will be streaming and televising some special events, starting May 30: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-177&cid=release_2013-177
Kosciuszko, Jefferson, and the Slaves
from delanceyplace.com:
In today's
selection -- the paradox between Thomas Jefferson's authorship of the
Declaration of Independence and his ownership of slaves. When he
drafted the Declaration of Independence Jefferson wrote that the slave
trade was an "execrable commerce ...this assemblage of horrors," a
"cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights
of life & liberties." Yet when he had the opportunity in 1817 due
to a bequest from Revolutionary War hero Thaddeus Kosciuszko, he did not
free his slaves. Jefferson owned more than 600 slaves in his lifetime
and at any given time approximately 100 slaves lived on Monticello. In
1792, Jefferson calculated that he was making a 4 percent profit per
year on the birth of black children. Jefferson's nail boys alone
produced 5,000 to 10,000 nails a day, for a gross income of $2000 in
1796, $35,000 in 2013.
"With five simple
words in the Declaration of Independence -- 'all men are created equal'
-- Thomas Jefferson undid Aristotle's ancient formula, which had
governed human affairs until 1776: 'From the hour of their birth, some
men are marked out for subjection, others for rule.' In his original
draft of the Declaration, in soaring, damning, fiery prose, Jefferson
denounced the slave trade as an 'execrable commerce ...this
Every Breath You Take
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| Great Falls, Montana, is one of the U.S. cities on the list. |
Seeing Suicide Differently
It's still one of those things that is talked about in whispers and hardly mentioned, if at all, in the families of its victims. The blame has been parceled out to parents, friends, teachers, even the victim him/herself. But what if we've been looking at it all wrong?: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23566-suicidal-behaviour-is-a-disease-psychiatrists-argue.html?full=true
Gratitude
This is the poem that appeared in my inbox today (from "Poem-a-Day," from the Academy of American Poets). Somehow, it seemed particularly apt for this glorious morning, mirroring in its peaceful and contented attitude the sunshine, the birds, and the breeze:
Variation on a Theme
by W. S. Merwin
Thank you my life long afternoon
late in this spring that has no age
my window above the river
for the woman you led me to
when it was time at last the words
coming to me out of mid-air
that carried me through the clear day
and come even now to find me
for old friends and echoes of them
those mistakes only I could make
homesickness that guides the plovers
from somewhere they had loved before
they knew they loved it to somewhere
they had loved before they saw it
thank you good body hand and eye
and the places and moments known
only to me revisiting
once more complete just as they are
and the morning stars I have seen
and the dogs who are guiding me
late in this spring that has no age
my window above the river
for the woman you led me to
when it was time at last the words
coming to me out of mid-air
that carried me through the clear day
and come even now to find me
for old friends and echoes of them
those mistakes only I could make
homesickness that guides the plovers
from somewhere they had loved before
they knew they loved it to somewhere
they had loved before they saw it
thank you good body hand and eye
and the places and moments known
only to me revisiting
once more complete just as they are
and the morning stars I have seen
and the dogs who are guiding me
Try Thai
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| the Grand Palace, built in 1782 bangkok.com |
The State of Politics
Elected judges write more clearly than appointed judges ~ except when they have a tight campaign ahead of them. This is only one of the interesting things writer Seth Masket learned at the recent State Politics and Policy Conference, held in Iowa City: http://www.psmag.com/politics/ten-cool-things-about-state-politics-you-probably-didnt-know-58601/
Women With Thoughts
Hannah Arendt was a very interesting woman. Not always right, but always interesting. German director Margarethe von Trotta, endlessly fascinating herself, thinks Arendt is interesting enough, in fact, that she made her the subject of a movie. Perhaps unfortunately for Arendt's memory, she chose to focus it on that woman's coverage of and subsequent book about the 1960 trial of Nazi Adolf Eichmann in Israel. Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, as you can imagine from the title alone, was ... well, "controversial" would be a major understatement (story, clip from film): http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/movies/hannah-arendt-directed-by-margarethe-von-trotta.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&src=dayp
50 Years of Remembering the Forgotten
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| screen shot from Amnesty video |
For more information about AI, see (website with video; CAUTION: the video, while animated, is pretty raw) http://www.amnestyusa.org/about-us/amnesty-50-years/50-years-of-human-rights/shining-a-light-on-human-rights-for-50-years
A Little Extra Perk
Grrrrrramarian
Chaser the border collie is one special dog. She can pick up differences in sentence word order, for example, "to ball take Frisbee" vs. "to Frisbee take ball": http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/350585/description/Dog_sniffs_out_grammar
The WIMP Factor in Dark Matter
It sounds like the title of a new James Bond movie, but Darkside 50 is actually one of 25 experiment-based searches around the world for dark matter. We believe that dark matter makes up one-fourth of the energy in the universe but, so far, have been unable to prove its existence. This particular experiment is based on the theory that dark matter is made of WIMPS (weakly interacting massive particles) (story, video): http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/science/130524/on-location-video-mystery-universe-dark-matter
The Good Son
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| Vijay Kumari screen shot |
More Power to Ya
Trees are being grown and cut down in the southern U.S. to feed power plants in the U.K.: (video): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22630816
The Mighty Maricopa
from wisegeek.com:
The most poisonous insect is considered to be the Maricopa harvester ant, which is native to Arizona. A fully grown Maricopa harvester ant is about 1.2 inches (3 cm) long, and its venom is more toxic than those of bees, wasps, scorpions or snakes. In fact, a person would have to be stung by a honeybee more than 12 times to equal one sting from a Maricopa harvester ant. These ants cling to their prey and inject a venom containing toxins that can destroy tissue. About 350 stings from these ants could be enough to kill a person who weighs 150 pounds (68 kg).
More about poisonous insects:
The most poisonous insect is considered to be the Maricopa harvester ant, which is native to Arizona. A fully grown Maricopa harvester ant is about 1.2 inches (3 cm) long, and its venom is more toxic than those of bees, wasps, scorpions or snakes. In fact, a person would have to be stung by a honeybee more than 12 times to equal one sting from a Maricopa harvester ant. These ants cling to their prey and inject a venom containing toxins that can destroy tissue. About 350 stings from these ants could be enough to kill a person who weighs 150 pounds (68 kg).
More about poisonous insects:
- The first recorded death caused by a poisonous insect was in the 26th
From the Archives: Listen to Your Mütter
Most of my posts are not time-sensitive, and most of them link to
very wonderful things. Because I don't want anyone to miss out on them, I
will occasionally re-post some of my favorites, like this one:
Welcome to Philadelphia's Mütter Museum, home to preserved fetuses, dried skin, and other fascinations, including part of Einstein's brain. Be sure to check out the "Guess What's on the Curator's Desk" and "Mütter Minute" videos (plus, at the online store, you can get an umlaut button and a replica of Dr. Koop's bow tie)!: http://www.collegeofphysicians.org/mutter-museum/
Welcome to Philadelphia's Mütter Museum, home to preserved fetuses, dried skin, and other fascinations, including part of Einstein's brain. Be sure to check out the "Guess What's on the Curator's Desk" and "Mütter Minute" videos (plus, at the online store, you can get an umlaut button and a replica of Dr. Koop's bow tie)!: http://www.collegeofphysicians.org/mutter-museum/
Giving Testimony
Journalist Anna Badkhen writes of her visits to an Afghan village in The World Is a Carpet: Four Season in an Afghan Village." She is trying, she says in this interview, to give a face to the people whom too many of us have seen only through the windows of military vehicles. "To stretch out on a boiled wool rug in Oqa next to a camel herder who is
chatting away on his cellphone as an American F/A-18 fighter passes
overhead is to lean over the rim of a temporal chasm where millennia
condense and unfurl," she says. "It gives you a bit of vertigo": http://harpers.org/blog/2013/05/the-world-is-a-carpet-four-seasons-in-an-afghan-village/
Eddie Izzard's Verbal Wizardry
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| the fabulous Mr. Izzard Z Space |
My very favorite comedian ~ one of my top 5, maybe 3, of all time (FWIW) ~ sits down to a spot (almost literally) of lunch on the eve of his Force Majeure World Tour and dishes about fear, food, fitness, and multilingualism: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2013/06/eddie-izzard-comedian-world-tour
Keeping It Private
As those who care to, become more sophisticated about tapping into private communications, those who care for them not to are trying to stay at least one step ahead. Thanks to quantum mechanics, they may be succeeding (and P.S., kudos to The Economist for yet another great headline!): http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21578358-eavesdropping-secret-communications-about-get-harder-solace
Of Love and War
Fast and Serious
What Would Darwin Do?
Think Grammar
Those of us with a particular affinity for words and how they go together sometimes clench our teeth at the way the English language is changing these days. But beyond the everyday/every day errors and the death of the verb "lie" (as in to recline) and the adjectives "few" and "fewer," there is now the nounification of adjectives to contend with (OK, and what I just did there is called creativity!): http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/ideas/robert-lane-greene/adjectives-nouns
Homestyle
First of all, if you're at all into architecture, design, and/or decorating or if you're thinking about remodeling or renovating or rebuilding your home, you should know about the website houzz. It's an amazing resource. Here's a particular story about home styles. Call it House 101: http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/10734164/list?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u286&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery4
Eye Q
A new kind of IQ test is based on the theory that more intelligent individuals are better at ignoring distractions and thus are more able to focus. You can try it out yourself (story, test): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-video/10076355/US-scientists-unveil-new-IQ-measure-take-the-test.html#disqus_thread
It Colors Your Thoughts
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| Quadriplegic Heide Pfützner painted this picture via computer. |
Dude Looks Like a Lady
Why was a certain male in the Copper Age (about 5,000 years ago) buried like a woman?: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8433527/First-homosexual-caveman-found.html
Salt of the Earth
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| Camels as transport may soon be a thing of the past. Siegfried Modola, Reuters |
Conjunction Junction
Through May 27, you can see three planets close together in the sky ~ Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter. It's called a triple conjunction, and the next one that's as tight as this one will be in 2026 (story, video): http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/05/130524-mercury-venus-jupiter-huddle-space-science/
A Delicious View
Another great one from my inbox (see "Dancing With the Daffodils," April 2013), courtesy of poets.org and Poem-a-Day:
Muffin of Sunsets
Muffin of Sunsets
by Elaine Equi
The sky is melting. Me too.
Who hasn't seen it this way?
Pink between the castlework
of buildings.
Pensive syrup
drizzled over clouds.
It is almost catastrophic how heavenly.
A million poets, at least,
have stood in this very spot,
groceries in hand, wondering:
"Can I witness the Rapture
and still make it home in time for dinner?"
Who hasn't seen it this way?
Pink between the castlework
of buildings.
Pensive syrup
drizzled over clouds.
It is almost catastrophic how heavenly.
A million poets, at least,
have stood in this very spot,
groceries in hand, wondering:
"Can I witness the Rapture
and still make it home in time for dinner?"
The Chess-Player's Guide to the Galaxy
(First of all, remember that May 25 is Towel Day! See "Towel Day ~ May 25," below.) And now to the matter at hand, which revolves around NASA scientists creating a computer simulation of galaxies in order to determine how they grow. Creating the simulation is a bit like playing chess, according to Alyson Brooks, an expert in galaxy simulations at the University of Wisconsin, Madison: "For each point in time, we have to figure out how a given particle ~ our chess piece ~ should move based on the positions of all of the
other particles."
What Brooks and the rest of the team found is that cold gas spirals along filaments into the center of the galaxies, where it's transformed into new stars: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-174&cid=release_2013-174
What Brooks and the rest of the team found is that cold gas spirals along filaments into the center of the galaxies, where it's transformed into new stars: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-174&cid=release_2013-174
Dead Man Talking
Cotard's Syndrome is a rare disorder in which the individual truly believes that he/she or part of him/her has died. One woman who had it died of starvation because she reasoned that, as she was already dead, she didn't need to eat. Recently, for the first time, scientists were able to scan the brain of a person with Cotard's: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23583-mindscapes-first-interview-with-a-dead-man.html?full=true
And wouldn't you know that Mental Floss would have a story about this? Of course it would!: http://mentalfloss.com/article/50197/plight-living-dead-10-case-reports-cotard%E2%80%99s-syndrome
And wouldn't you know that Mental Floss would have a story about this? Of course it would!: http://mentalfloss.com/article/50197/plight-living-dead-10-case-reports-cotard%E2%80%99s-syndrome
The Fungus Among Us
Germophobes may want to skip this one. Not so very long ago, we were introduced to the many and varied types of bacteria that call our bodies home. Now, it's the turn of the fungi: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23584-thriving-fungi-at-home-on-a-human-hair.html
Born To Hand Jive
Just in time for the summer travel season, a guide to hand gestures around the world (video): http://www.theatlantic.com/video/archive/2013/05/around-the-world-in-hand-gestures-a-video-guide/275863/
Inner-City Portraits
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| screen shot |
Photographer Will Steacy traveled from big-city airport to business center, taking respectful and illuminative pictures of people and structures along the way with his old-school box camera. The result is a series of collages called "Down These Mean Streets," in which Steacy juxtaposes his photographs with newspaper clippings and other media. It was shown at the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center and has been made into a book (story and video): http://whyy.org/cms/fridayarts/
Chimborazo?
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| National Geographic Society |
Video of the last few, white-knuckling moments of the Geography Bee, hosted by the inimitable Alex Trebek: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/culture-places-news/geobee2013-final-vin/
Under the Sea
As Sebastian sang to the little mermaid, "Just look at the world around you/Right here on the ocean floor/Such wonderful things surround you/What more is you lookin' for?" Indeed. Humans are finding the ocean floor more wonderful than ever these days ~ as a new place to mine. Apparently, there is an abundance of nodules ~ gold, copper, manganese, cobalt, and other metals ~ to be had, and thanks to new technology and the lure of high prices, the rush is set to start soon: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22546875
'I'm Borrrrred'
- "Research your family tree; interview parents and grandparents.
- "Start a neighborhood newsletter; interview interesting persons.
- "Create a recipe for a new food dish and prepare it for your family."
Towel Day ~ May 25
“A towel, [The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy] says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.” (from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
So, you see, it's really quite important, and you don't want to be left out. Find out what's going on around you on May 25: http://towelday.org/
And P.S., Don't panic.
Just Because: 'The Metamorphosis'
I've been going through some of my old books, trying desperately to winnow some out. Which to keep? Which to give away ~ and to whom? Most are paperbacks, so they're not worth much in that way. But in every other way, to me, they're worth a lot. They're worth the knowledge and the creativity, the beauty of the phrases and thoughts within, and they're worth the memories I have of reading them. One of the best is The Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung), by Franz Kafka.
Kaftka, of course, wrote many novels and short stories, of which Metamorphosis, first published in 1915, is perhaps the most well-known. Lengthwise, it's more like a short story. Some call it a novella. Because Kafka wrote in German, there is some question about exactly how certain key words should be translated, for example, the creature into which the protagonist has been transformed, and about the effect of the difference in sentence structure between German and English. Either way, here's the beginning of The Metamorphosis (as translated by Willa and Edwin Muir):
As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. He was lying on his hard, as it were armor-plated, back and when he lifted his head a little he could see his dome-like brown belly divided into stiff arched segments on top of which the bed quilt could hardly keep in position and was about to slide off completely. His numerous legs, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk, waved helplessly before his eyes.
What has happened to me? he thought. It was no dream. His room, a regular human
Kaftka, of course, wrote many novels and short stories, of which Metamorphosis, first published in 1915, is perhaps the most well-known. Lengthwise, it's more like a short story. Some call it a novella. Because Kafka wrote in German, there is some question about exactly how certain key words should be translated, for example, the creature into which the protagonist has been transformed, and about the effect of the difference in sentence structure between German and English. Either way, here's the beginning of The Metamorphosis (as translated by Willa and Edwin Muir):
1
As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. He was lying on his hard, as it were armor-plated, back and when he lifted his head a little he could see his dome-like brown belly divided into stiff arched segments on top of which the bed quilt could hardly keep in position and was about to slide off completely. His numerous legs, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk, waved helplessly before his eyes.
What has happened to me? he thought. It was no dream. His room, a regular human
The Autism Advantage
A German software company is actively recruiting autistic individuals. "Only by employing people who think differently and spark innovation
will SAP be prepared to handle the challenges of the 21st Century," explains company executive Luisa Delgado: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22621829
Book It
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| a cafe in Forks, Washington ericnvntr. |
The Truth About Cat & Dog People
Would it surprise you to know that, at least among the more than 80 million people who took this survey, dog owners are slightly more likely to be male and cat owners female? Probably not. But how about this: Cat owners are 17% more likely to have a graduate degree, while dog owners are 15% more likely to be extroverts. Apparently, too, cat people tweet more but dog people are more likely to own iPhones (infographic): http://blog.hunch.com/?p=50354
Cash Advance
From delanceyplace.com:
In today's selection -- almost all of the increase in the world's per capita income -- an astonishing 37-fold increase -- has happened in the last 250 years:
"In terms of the total economic history of our species, the world of the [stone-tool-making hunter-gather tribe such as Brazil's] Yanomamö is the very, very recent past. If we use the appearance of the first tools as our starting point, it took about 2,485,000 years, or 99.4 percent, of our economic history to go from the first tools to the hunter-gatherer level of economic and social sophistication typified by the Yanomamö [see the chart below]. It then took only 0.6 percent of human history to leap from the $90 per capita ... economy of the Yanomamö, to the $36,000 per capita ... economy of [today's] New Yorkers.
"Zooming in for a more granular look into the past 15,000 years reveals something even more surprising. The economic journey between the hunter-gatherer world and the
In today's selection -- almost all of the increase in the world's per capita income -- an astonishing 37-fold increase -- has happened in the last 250 years:
"In terms of the total economic history of our species, the world of the [stone-tool-making hunter-gather tribe such as Brazil's] Yanomamö is the very, very recent past. If we use the appearance of the first tools as our starting point, it took about 2,485,000 years, or 99.4 percent, of our economic history to go from the first tools to the hunter-gatherer level of economic and social sophistication typified by the Yanomamö [see the chart below]. It then took only 0.6 percent of human history to leap from the $90 per capita ... economy of the Yanomamö, to the $36,000 per capita ... economy of [today's] New Yorkers.
"Zooming in for a more granular look into the past 15,000 years reveals something even more surprising. The economic journey between the hunter-gatherer world and the
Summer Reading
Barnes & Noble is giving children a free book when they read eight: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/summer-reading/379003570?cm_mmc=Targeted-_-Product%20Solo-_-130522_TD_PRS_KIDS_BOOK_SOLO-_-summ3
Beauty on the Inside
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| fancy footwear: contestants and guard David Maung |
I'll Drink to That!
 |
| the Flaming Moe, from The Simpsons |
Gender in the Lab
The stories of six female scientists whose work was crucial to discoveries and advancement in the field but whom you've probably never heard of: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130519-women-scientists-overlooked-dna-history-science/
Now, THAT's Shelf Life!
Gold miners in Ontario, Canada, were getting wet. Water was seeping out of the bedrock, and when that water was tested, it was found to be at least a billion years old and probably a lot older. Now scientists are hoping to find some ancient microbes in it: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/16/in-canadas-ancient-water-new-life/
The Evolution of Religions
It's a law of evolution: Those that can't change with the times won't survive. This includes religions, which seem to most of us to be the most immutable of our institutions. Yet, at one point, Catholic priests weren't celibate and Muslims couldn't use radios or telephones. Copernicus suffered the wrath of the Church when he said the sun, and not Earth, was the center of the universe, and Gandhi used the British attitude toward Indians to explain the injustice of looking down on a class called the Untouchables. So how does a religion change and bring its adherents with it?: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22250412
Not the First Time
Moore was hit by a killer tornado once before in recent memory, in 1999, but this week's was worse. Here are the basics of tornadoes and Tornado Alley ~ everything you've been wondering in the wake of Oklahoma's disaster (story, video): http://theweek.com/article/index/244456/oklahoma-citys-ferocious-tornado-what-you-should-know
The Bank of Zs
A short daily nap helps us bounce back from a sleep deficit better than a weekend sleep-in will. So does a little planning: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324102604578494872502357516.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_health
High Fructose Cornundrum
It's in frozen pizzas, yogurt, cereals, salad dressings, sodas, even many pasta sauces. We've all heard the warnings about high fructose corn syrup, and since it's so prevalent in most of our diets, wouldn't it be great to know if these warnings are based in fact? While this article may not exactly help us figure that out, it does contain interesting and enlightening information about the sweetener: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/350460/description/Sweet_Confusion
Scanners
If it's important to you, for one reason or another, to know who owns the brand you're buying ~ and I mean, who really owns it ~ you might be interested in Buycott, a free app that will give you just that information based on your scan of the item-in-question's bar code. And in the interest of full transparency, here's the story behind the app: http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2013/05/14/new-app-lets-you-boycott-koch-brothers-monsanto-and-more-by-scanning-your-shopping-cart/
Home, Sweet $190-Million Home
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| David Ogilvy & Associates, Christie's International Real Estate |
The Sins of the Father ...
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| Libby Phelps at Tammy Faye Bakker's memorial, 2007 Megan Phelps-Roper |
Your Screen, Only Better
The story of the augmented reality glasses you may find yourself using in the not-too-distant future and how they started out at one company and ended up at a startup (note to self: opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a pretty cool Kickstarter project!) (story, slideshow, video): http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/18/4343382/technical-illusions-valve-augmented-reality-glasses-jeri-ellsworth-rick-johnson
Park Here
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| Charles Jencks's Universe Cascade in the Garden of Cosmic Speculation |
What a Tangled Web
From wisegeek.com, interesting info about spider silk:
"Spider silk is a fiber that is spun by spiders, and although seven types of silk can be made, no spider is able to make them all. The silk is actually a protein made from amino acids called glycine and alanine, and each particular type of silk is used for different purposes. Dragline and minor silk typically are a smoother texture and are used for building webs, and attachment silk is used as an anchor. Other types of spider silk are sticky and used for trapping prey. These include the viscid and
"Spider silk is a fiber that is spun by spiders, and although seven types of silk can be made, no spider is able to make them all. The silk is actually a protein made from amino acids called glycine and alanine, and each particular type of silk is used for different purposes. Dragline and minor silk typically are a smoother texture and are used for building webs, and attachment silk is used as an anchor. Other types of spider silk are sticky and used for trapping prey. These include the viscid and
Dylan Had It Made
A French researcher who's checking such things out found that women are more likely to give their phone number out to a dude with a guitar. (In earlier experiments, he found that an expensive car [duh] and a firefighter's uniform also help): http://www.spring.org.uk/2013/05/the-incredible-dating-power-of-a-guitar-case.php
BC History
Angelina Jolie carries the BRCA1 gene. What is that, and why did it cause her to make the drastic decision to undergo a double mastectomy?: http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/14/tracing-breast-cancers-history/
It's the Maker Faire!
The 2013 Maker Faire is going on this weekend (May 18-19) in San Mateo. For those who are intrigued but can't be there, here's a brief rundown of some of the special attractions, with links: http://art.broadwayworld.com/article/Bay-Areas-Maker-Faire-2013-Announces-New-Attractions-and-Over-900-Makers-20130517
Rhapsody in Blue
Apparently, we are all very conventional in our subconscious matching of music to color. "Surprisingly," says Stephen Palmer, a vision scientist at UC Berkeley and lead author of a paper on the subject, "we can predict with 95 percent accuracy how happy or sad
the colors people pick will be based on how happy or sad the music is
that they are listening to" ~ and this predictability crossed cultures: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2013/05/17/bach.blues.our.emotions.match.music.colors
The Camel Question
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| the Dromedary © enchantedlearning.com |
And btw, if the first place you think about when you think of camels is somewhere in the northern part of Africa, think again (story, video): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22522695
Just Because: 'Faces of the Enemy'
A new exhibition at the British Library defines "propaganda" broadly, as "any communication designed to change the way we think or to alter our behaviour" (story, video): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22569913
It put me in mind of a book I stumbled across many moons ago, called Faces of the Enemy: Reflections of the Hostile Imagination, by Sam Keen. It is more about what we usually think of when we hear the word "propaganda," and much of it has stayed with me and come back to me time and again, especially in these post-9/11 years. It begins like this:
Look carefully at the face of the enemy. The lips are curled downward. The eyes are fanatical and far away. The flesh is contorted and molded into the shape of monster or beast. Nothing suggests this man ever laughs, is torn by doubts, or shaken by tears. He feels no tenderness or pain. Clearly he is unlike us. We need have no sympathy, no guilt, when we destroy him.
In all propaganda, the face of the enemy is designed to provide a focus for our hatred. He is the other. The outsider. The alien. He is not human. If we can only kill
It put me in mind of a book I stumbled across many moons ago, called Faces of the Enemy: Reflections of the Hostile Imagination, by Sam Keen. It is more about what we usually think of when we hear the word "propaganda," and much of it has stayed with me and come back to me time and again, especially in these post-9/11 years. It begins like this:
Part 1
Look carefully at the face of the enemy. The lips are curled downward. The eyes are fanatical and far away. The flesh is contorted and molded into the shape of monster or beast. Nothing suggests this man ever laughs, is torn by doubts, or shaken by tears. He feels no tenderness or pain. Clearly he is unlike us. We need have no sympathy, no guilt, when we destroy him.
In all propaganda, the face of the enemy is designed to provide a focus for our hatred. He is the other. The outsider. The alien. He is not human. If we can only kill
Stout and Square
Many of Heineken's bottles were put to good use, and as he had intended, as the building blocks for a Buddhist temple: http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/buddhist-temple-built-from-beer-bottles.html
The Prattle of the Prairie Dog
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| © Scott Carr/National Geographic Stock |
King of Pain
It's here, going by the euphemism "Active-Denial Technology." The U.S. military has it, and a police department near you may be getting it soon. It's a very long-range (as in, hundreds of meters) weapon that inflicts what is described as unbearable pain by shooting microwaves that make the victim feel as if he/she's being burned (story, videos): http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews/2013/05/police-could-soon-get-their-hands-on-the-u-s-militarys-pain-ray/
Just Because: 'The Future Is Something'
Back in April ~ National Poetry Month, don't you know ~ I signed up for a Poem-a-Day via email. Who knew it would continue beyond that month? But after getting this entry, I'm glad it has.
L'Avenir est Quelque Chose
L'Avenir est Quelque Chose
by Dobby Gibson
All day for too long
everything I've thought to say
has been about umbrellas,
how I can't remember how
I came to possess whatever weird one
I find in my hand, like now,
how they hang there on brass hooks
in the closet like failed actors,
each one tiny or too huge,
like ideas, always needing
to be shaken off and folded up
before we can properly forget them on the train.
Most of my predictions are honestly
just hopes: a sudden sundress in March,
regime change in the North, the one where Amanda
everything I've thought to say
has been about umbrellas,
how I can't remember how
I came to possess whatever weird one
I find in my hand, like now,
how they hang there on brass hooks
in the closet like failed actors,
each one tiny or too huge,
like ideas, always needing
to be shaken off and folded up
before we can properly forget them on the train.
Most of my predictions are honestly
just hopes: a sudden sundress in March,
regime change in the North, the one where Amanda
HoTell All
From the best way to complain at the front desk to what bellhops have against Bernard Sadow, 10 well-kept (and not-so-well-kept) hotel secrets: http://mentalfloss.com/article/50569/10-hotel-secrets-behind-front-desk
Sailing Among the Stars
On May 31, the QE2 will be making its way past Earth. This particular QE2, of course, is an asteroid ~ and it's about the length of nine of those luxurious liners: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-163&cid=release_2013-163
After the Fall
The horrendous tragedy in Bangladesh in which more than 1,100 people lost their lives when a clothing factory collapsed reminds us all that inexpensive clothing doesn't come cheap. Here is a list of nine companies that are trying to turn the situation around by improving that country's safety standards: http://www.ecouterre.com/sustainable-fashion-brands-that-produce-ethically-in-bangladesh/ethical-fashion-bangladesh-people-tree/?extend=1
Fire Eater
A new fire retardant for cushion foam seems to snuff out the flames without the use of toxic chemicals: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/350377/description/Flame_quencher_offers_less_toxic_approach_to_fighting_fire
The Way of the World
Time-lapse views of various areas from Landsat satellite images, 1984-2012. You can clearly see, for example, the course of Amazon deforestation and the growth of Las Vegas, among other points of interest: http://earthengine.google.org/#intro/LasVegas
In Praise of the Pencil
From delanceyplace.com, a book excerpt including everything you ever wanted to know about the modern pencil but didn't think to ask. (And to see how today's pencil is made, check out this video: http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/how-its-made/videos/how-its-made-pencils.htm )
"The modern pencil was invented in 1795 by Nicholas-Jacques Conte, a scientist serving in the army of Napoleon Bonaparte. The magic material that was so appropriate for the purpose was the form of pure carbon that we call graphite. It was first discovered in Europe, in Bavaria at the start of the fifteenth century; although the Aztecs had used it as a marker several hundred years earlier. Initially it was believed to be a form of lead and was called 'plumbago' or black lead (hence the 'plumbers' who
delanceyplace.com 5/15/13 - an homage to the humble pencil
In today's selection—with the pencil increasingly marginalized by technology, we reflect on its relatively recent origin in the army of Napoleon Bonaparte. At least by the reckoning of one scientist, a single pencil can draw a line 731 miles (1178 kilometers) long:"The modern pencil was invented in 1795 by Nicholas-Jacques Conte, a scientist serving in the army of Napoleon Bonaparte. The magic material that was so appropriate for the purpose was the form of pure carbon that we call graphite. It was first discovered in Europe, in Bavaria at the start of the fifteenth century; although the Aztecs had used it as a marker several hundred years earlier. Initially it was believed to be a form of lead and was called 'plumbago' or black lead (hence the 'plumbers' who
Cockroach Casserole
By now we've all heard that the UN is recommending that we consider adding insects to our menu. Here are some of the most popular: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130514-edible-insects-entomophagy-science-food-bugs-beetles/
Be in the Smithsonian
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act in 2014, a group of agencies, nonprofits, and others are sponsoring several events, including a photography contest. Entries are being accepted through Sept. 3. Winning photos and some of the Highly Honored pictures will be on exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. For more information: http://www.naturesbestphotography.com/wilderness.php
2-ish
Good news for anyone working on the conjecture that there are an infinite number of primes that are two units apart (like, for example, 3 and 5 or 17 and 19). Yitang Zhang, of the University of New Hampshire, has whittled the provable difference between these primes down from infinity to 70 million, and he did it using provable methods: http://www.nature.com/news/first-proof-that-infinitely-many-prime-numbers-come-in-pairs-1.12989
'It Becomes Art'
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| Correa's Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur, India (1986-92) screen shot |
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| Correa's House at Koramangala, Bangalore, India (1985-88) screen shot |
Oh, Hell
Hell, Hades, underworld, Pandemonium, land of eternal damnation, inferno ~ whatever you call it, you know you don't want to be there. Herewith, 10 things about Hell (and very few come from the Bible): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22512160
Going Down
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| the Spiveys' house AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli |
The Rebirth of the Midwife
"There's too many drugs, too many C-sections, too many inductions, and then there's not enough post-partum care." This, in a nutshell, is what midwife Ina May Gaskin feels is wrong with the typical hospital birth ~ and I, having been through that process, definitely agree. (It's one of those "if I'd known then what I know now" moments for me.) Fortunately for them and their babies, more mothers-to-be are turning to this ages-old way of giving birth. As one young mom who was awaiting the birth of her third put it, "I just don't think that birth is an illness that needs to put me in the hospital" (and thank you to my friend and new midwife Heather for finding this!) (video): http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50146659n
Sun, Sun, Sun, Here It Comes
Wake Up and Hear the Music
We all know that "music has charms," as William Congreve put it. One of those charms, besides "sooth[ing] the savage breast," is waking people from their comas. Here's a list of 11 songs that did (story, music videos): http://mentalfloss.com/article/50547/11-songs-brought-people-out-comas
And here's the origin of the quote about music, from Congreve's play The Mourning Bride (1697):
Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
I've read, that things inanimate have mov'd,
And, as with living Souls, have been inform'd,
By Magick Numbers and persuasive Sound.
And here's the origin of the quote about music, from Congreve's play The Mourning Bride (1697):
Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
I've read, that things inanimate have mov'd,
And, as with living Souls, have been inform'd,
By Magick Numbers and persuasive Sound.
A Hive in the City
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| Trey Flemming and his bees Evan Robinson |
P.S., If you're at all interested in beehavior (sorry ~ had to do that) and the science of beekeeping, I highly recommend both of these videos, but especially the interview with Trey Flemming of Urban Apiaries. The man really knows his bees!
A Modern-Day Scribe
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| Phillip Patterson at work screen shot |
Now that he's gone through the whole book, what does he think? He answers with a question: Do you believe everything you read? "I would sometimes be sitting and writing," Patterson says, "and all of a sudden, it's like the top of my head opens up and I understand, suddenly, how small our beliefs are" (story, video): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22487280
The Fire This Time
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| WNY Trails |
The Art of Taking Things Apart
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| Blackberry, 2007 © 2013 Todd McLellan |
It takes a curious person to want to take things apart, but it takes a creatively curious person (with perhaps a touch of OCD?) to want to arrange the pieces methodically and artistically and take pictures of them (story, slideshow): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/12/disassembled-tech-things-come-apart_n_3246170.html
Know How To Fold 'Em
There is, apparently, a science behind the perfect fold. Wonder if it works with fitted sheets?: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130510-nature-maths-better-origami
Just Because: 'The Naked and the Nude'
This poem, one of my favorites, is by the English poet and writer (and so much more) Robert Graves (1895-1985). You may be familiar with his novel I, Claudius, which was made into a superior and popular BBC TV series. Now, without further ado, I bring you The Naked and the Nude:
For me, the naked and the nude
(By lexicographers construed
As synonyms that should express
The same deficiency of dress
Or shelter) stand as wide apart
As love from lies, or truth from art.
Lovers without reproach will gaze
For me, the naked and the nude
(By lexicographers construed
As synonyms that should express
The same deficiency of dress
Or shelter) stand as wide apart
As love from lies, or truth from art.
Lovers without reproach will gaze
The Seriously Funny Ms. Winstead
The story of Lizz Winstead and how she gave birth to The Daily Show, Air America Radio (with Al Franken), Lizz Free or Die: the Book, the Career, the Life, and now, a planned documentary about the state of women's health care: http://www.citypages.com/2013-05-08/news/the-life-of-lizz-winstead/
The Mysterious Electric Pencil
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| by Edward Deeds courtesy Harris Diamant & Neville Bean |
There was once, in the first half of the 1900s, a man named James Edward Deeds who was an artist ~ but only for the time he was incarcerated in State Hospital No. 3. His story ~ and the story of how his artwork came to the attention of the larger world ~ make for fascinating reading. His drawings seem at first glance full of a simple naiveté, but it is an innocence that belies the harsh and sad reality of his life: http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2012-09-14/news/electric-pencil-edward-deeds-outsider-art-mental-illness-harris-diamant-springfield-state-hospital-missouri-electroconvulsive-therapy/?ref=navigation
Wet Town, Dry Town
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| former resident and tour guide Norma Berg in Epecuen AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko |
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