the elvis of birds, seen again!

This is earth-shaking news if you’re a birder: ivory-billed woodpecker flies back from the dead. Nobody had seen one of these crow-sized, black-and-white wonders since 1944, but one has been videotaped in a wooded corner of Arkansas. I stayed up late playing with my computer synth, so I’m too pooped to bloviate. But here’s to the Good Lord bird (because those who see it say “Good lord, look at that bird!). Huzzah!

Filed under bio, but Lost And found would make sense too, heh.

posted by tbuckner on 04/30 | tech & science - bio | | permalink
“chi?” chiedete

the deconstructing lichtenstein thing recently resurfaced over at drawn! which got me thinking about pop-art… mainly how i never much liked any of the artists i’d come across who were crammed into that category… with one glaring exception that is: valerio adami. (though to be honest i never really thought of him in terms of a pop-art.) “who?” you ask. he’s an italian artist who came up in the 50’s, made a decent sized splash in the 70’s, and who today is most likely to be filed under the “one of the most talented artists no one’s ever heard of” category, which is unfortunate, especially considering how relevant his style would seem in today’s circles, if not his subject matter.

posted by jmorrison on 04/30 | sights & sounds - art | | permalink
an american heresy

evidently al gore delivered a speech in washington on wednesday. salon is offering the full text which they’ve titled an american heresy, in which gore characterizes the gop push to dismantle the current filibuster in the senate as part of “a larger movement to undermine the founding principles of the united states.” i realize most of us feel so battered by the endless stream of disingenuous rhetoric coming from on high that we go into a kind of defensive coma on hearing proclamations about our “founding principles.” there were certainly “founding principles,” there must have been, it just so happens that no one seems to care what they actually were, only what agenda, no matter how counterintuitive, can be invoked in their name. i think this piece is worth a read if for no other reason than to remind us, after last nights bush press conference, that intelligent sentences can actually be strung together, in english, on such subjects. i’ve excerpted a section below which touches on the ever escalating trend of pandering to religious zealots, a dagger that’s particularly close to my heart.

posted by jmorrison on 04/29 | news & views - op ed | | permalink
what ever happened to machines that think?

interesting new scientist article. “clever computers are everywhere. from robotic lawnmowers to intelligent lighting, washing machines and even car engines that self-diagnose faults, there’s a silicon brain in just about every modern device you can think of. but can you honestly call any machine intelligent in a meaningful sense of the word?” i’d have to say no, but then i have some doubts about human intelligence as well.

highbrow gets the bozack!

you know, sometimes blogging about all the cultural, philosophical, artsy, and old dusty type shit i’m drawn to gets a bit heavy on the eyelids. thought today i’d link some music related stuff. first off: mastermix.org (via waxy) which offers up some fine, authentic, 1980’s mixes in mp3 format. think kiss f.m., grandmaster flash, herbie hancock, man parrish, etc. get em’ while they’re hot. been meaning to do this with my old w.k.c.r. stretch and bobbito tapes… but well… on to the next thing… for some close up history check out jayquan’s the foundation. he’s got some great tapes, but not available yet. for some more music check out the hype machine an aggregator of tracks posted on audio blogs. speaking of which…

posted by jmorrison on 04/29 | sights & sounds - music | | permalink
art of the apparatus

this evening i found a hole in the internet, or at very least my search-fu failed me spectacularly. i was planning on doing another installment of in search of this time on anamorphosis… no perceptually distorted dice. though i found almost nothing worth sharing on the subject (i’ll keep at it) what i did find was well worth the effort. the physics museum of the university of coimbra. absolutely incredible. “this Museum houses an unrivalled collection of scientific and didactic instruments from the 18th and 19th centuries. The patrimony consists exclusively of instruments used in the Physics Cabinet of the University of Coimbra since its origin in 1772.” and when they say unrivalled they ain’t kidding. this collection makes the plastic molded, chip crammed, gadgets we all lust over seem positively vulgar. aesthetically at least. here is an index of the collection (be sure to click the thumbs for larger images and in some cases technical drawings.) here are some quicktime movies of instruments, and hell, why not take a virtual tour? highly recommended.

the trophy room

sculptor michael combs has a new show up at the parrish art museum in southampton, a site specific instillation, called the trophy room. the museum blurbs the show on their own site this way: “combs focuses on the ultimate male retreat, the “trophy room,” where masculinity, aggression, and acquisitiveness converge in a compelling commentary on social and environmental concerns.” that’s all true, if a bit antiseptic and coy. i made the trip out to southampton a couple of weeks ago to see this temple to masculinity for myself. no small feat if you know me.

posted by jmorrison on 04/24 | sights & sounds - art | | permalink
4473 ounces of prevention

while researching a post on another subject altogether i got sucked down an internet sinkhole. that sinkhole was the u.s. national library of medicine’s history of medicine database. specifically their archive of 4473 medical, warning, and public service posters from around the world. i never did gather the info i’d set out to, nor did i make it past the first thousand images in the archive, but it’s o.k. it was worth it. see below for a sampling.

posted by jmorrison on 04/23 | sights & sounds - art | | permalink
war or peace?

article from a magazine called science & spirit (whose mission is to “explore the integration of the scientific and spiritual aspects of our culture in a way that is accessible and relevant to everyday living”) in which a science writer answers the question, “what is the most important unsolved scientific problem?” in his opinion: war. its bi-line: “neither doomed to violence nor peaceful by nature, we are shaped by the civilizations we create. modern society spends a good deal of time, effort, and scientific resource on finding better ways to wage war. what if we directed just a fraction of that energy toward finding a better way to wage peace?” pretty interesting though he does express a very naive desire for the u.s. to “establish a kind of manhattan project aimed at solving (the problem of war) once and for all.” he must have missed george c. scott’s speech from patton. whoops! now where is that… (sounds of rummaging) here you go.

posted by jmorrison on 04/22 | news & views - op ed | | permalink
bill mauldin: up front

site member tbuckner was kind enough to send me a wonderful, hardback, 1945 edition of a book called up front by a recently deceased cartoonist named bill mauldin. the book is about the infantry in world war two, in which maudlin served. he offers lot’s of insight into the life and days of an infantryman, but as he states himself, “my business is drawing, not writing, and the text is pretty much background for the drawings.” and it’s chock full of his evocative and funny/sad one panel comics. i thought i’d share a few of them with everyone

posted by jmorrison on 04/22 | sights & sounds - books | | permalink
pope smear

I’ve been predicting Cardinal Ratzinger would be the next pope, and ha, right again. (there’s a certain type of personality that gets hir rocks off whenever proven right, even over the smallest detail; it’s a vice; I’m one of those). Anyway, he’s a jerk. Check out this op-ed piece from the last day or so: ratzinger, what an appropriate name. He says he’s a uniter (where have we heard that before?) but I bet he drives people out of the catholic church like a stink bomb.

posted by tbuckner on 04/20 | news & views - op ed | | permalink
the science of pure motion

paraphrase: “kinematics (the study of pure motion and a forerunner of modern design theory of machines) flourished in the 19th century as machine inventors learned to transmit information and forces from one element in a machine to another. steam and water-based machines generated circular motion which was limited in its application. practical inventors as well as mathematicians took up the challenge to create devices that could convert circular motion into noncircular, complex, three-dimensional, intermittent motions. thousands of mechanisms were invented, designed, and built, nurturing the widespread use and manufacture of machines.” if that peaks your interest check out this gallery from cornell university of franz reuleaux’s kinematic models. if that tickles your fancy head straight

over to the kinematic models for design digital library (or kmoddl) which is the mother load of kinematic goodness. or at very least click the thumbnail. enjoy.

mysterious, plentiful, and space faring: tardigrades

file this post under; “things i must surely have learned in school but at some point forgot, or more likely forgot instantly during a flurry of doodling, note passing, and brooding.” this particular offshoot of that huge category concerns some fascinating little buggers called tardigrades. I’m slightly embarrassed to say my re-introduction to tardigrades, or “water bears” as they are commonly called, came from a less than high-brow source, namely: the fortean times. they have an article in their science section of this month’s issue. they are very tiny (typically 0.3 to 0.5 mm). they are extremely widespread being found across the planet. They live in mosses, lichens, and liverworts. a few species live on plants in fresh water. they have a mouth, head, brain, legs, eyes, nerves, claws, and muscles, their control of which is precise in that they move like “higher animals.” what is most interesting about them, however, is that they are nearly indestructible.

posted by jmorrison on 04/17 | tech & science - bio | | permalink
announcing the first nonist activity book

the first in our series of activity books, the old testament edition, is complete. we are very proud to offer you these 15 pages as a free download, including 5 pages to color, a maze, a rebus story, a mad-lib, a “find the hidden picture,” a word search, and fun do-it-yourself project (answers included for your young ones.) it’s our way of giving back to the community, of doing something for the children, and of bridging the gap between us (the atheists, the agnostics, the nonists) and our righteous brothers and sisters of faith. all content is drawn directly from the old testament so it is safe, educational, and hopefully will provide good clean fun the whole family can enjoy! please see below for previews of each activity page and links to the full printable version.

posted by jmorrison on 04/16 | announcements | | permalink
the book meme strikes

there has been this blogger book meme making the rounds for a while now. don’t even know where it originated anymore. i’ve seen it on many a blog i visit. was beginning to think no one was ever going to get around to passing it over our way, but matt over at eye of the goof was kind enough to think of us so with no further adieu… a few pointless book related questions, answered!

posted by jmorrison on 04/15 | sights & sounds - books | | permalink
the right stuff?

not sure if anyone noticed the announcement of the “x-prize cup and personal spaceflight expo” recently (or xpc&pse.) it’s to be an annual event cosponsored by the x prize foundation and the state of new mexico (yes, home of the alien humping city of roswell. tin foil hatters start your engines). the description of the “personal spaceflight expo” leg of the event sounds fun. i imagine it as a mixture of 1940’s world’s fair (in no small part because of the accompanying illustrations), smithsonian n.a.s.m. exhibit (with better lighting and a good thorough vacuuming), and sci-fi convention (it’s in new mexico for titor’s sake!) the x-prize cup section is an expansion of the ansari x-prize including a slew of different competitions. i really love the idea and love the spirit of the thing. i can’t help but wonder though if there are enough rebel millionaires to fill 5 days worth of racing forms? seriously. the sponsors say, “think of it as a cross between champ grand prix racing, the america’s cup, and the olympics!” let’s hope there are enough qualified folks with “the right stuff” otherwise it might end up being more of a cross between wacky races, yogi’s space race and scooby’s all-star laff-a-lympics. here’s hoping.

proud and insolent youth incorporated

not sure if this story was big news these past couple of weeks but it is extremely odd and deserves mention one way or the other. evidently a graveyard shift policeman named david mobilio was shot three times and killed on november 19th of last year. beside the body, someone left a “don’t tread on us” flag. it was a killing that might have never been solved. that is, until a confession appeared on the Internet. a confession in the form of an anti “corporate irresponsibility” manifesto. from that manifesto: “prior to my action, i formed a corporation under the name ‘proud and insolent youth incorporated,’ so that i could use the destructive immunity of corporations and turn it on something that actually should be destroyed.” essentially the killer, andrew mickel (pictured), a student at a liberal arts college, incorporated before the killing to shield himself from prosecution. his ultimate goal? a revolution against the united states government. here is the story via the washington post, and here is the text of the manifesto. apologies if this is old news to everyone. but wtf? thoughts on this?

posted by jmorrison on 04/13 | news & views - headlines | | permalink
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