prodigies
from a statement by artist james mundie: “my on-going series of drawings called prodigies features portraits of ‘anomalous humans’ (sometimes called monstrosities or freaks) in contexts borrowed from artworks of centuries past. in the spirit of the circus or carnival sideshow, where even a three-legged man would be re-invented to appear more interesting, i have created new ‘histories’ for my subjects in which fact and fancy are liberally mingled. the resulting images confront the viewer with something that at once seems familiar, humorous and startling.” fun. via drawn!
For Her Reading Pleasure
Actually everyone likes a good vibrator, so I submit a history of the device for all your reading pleasures.
i stem language with hope of (0)
and point devices, closing the works of a plasma moon- a bit of the nonist after being run through the exquisite cadavulator. it’s a dada style automatic cut-up creator. found it at language is a virus among their many “toys, games, and gizmos to inspire your creativity.” they also offer some nice short articles on various writing techniques.
celestial mechanics
came across this project which is right up my street. it’s called celestial mechanics. the artists have worked with accurate tracking and protocol statistics to create 3-D models of airborne systems such as communication satellites, weather balloons, GPS navigational satellites, news helicopters, etc, to create a planetarium show of human activity in the skies. very cool, would love to see it at the rose center, though what i really want to see detailed high quality animations of is the clouds of space junk swarming around the planet. be sure to check out the images as well as the video.
yankee doodle do or die
the following text and watercolors are from the oct 1971 hardcover edition of american heritage magazine which i picked up recently. the watercolors are all by peter copeland, the text excerpt was written by harold l. peterson. they made up a feature called dress parade, a portfolio of american fighting men which i particularly like. copeland’s caricatures are fantastic and it seemed a fitting post for independence day, or as fitting as i can manage.
the american provincials looked ridiculous. they had no military bearing. their formations were ragged, and they argued with their officers. in about 1755, if tradition is to be believed, dr. richard shuckburgh has expressed the redcoats’ derision of american soldiers by writing “yankee doodle” and setting it to an old british tune. when lord percy marched out of boston to rescue the british force that had struck a hornet’s nest at concord on april 19, 1775, his musicians played the song in derision, but fell silent on their nightmare retreat. and the tune took on entirely new meaning when victorious americans played it as they marched into boston, and later as one british army surrendered at saratoga and another at yorktown. the country bumpkins had triumphed over the best of professionals, and had accompanied victory with a self-deriding song.
in a real sense “yankee doodle” set a style for the way america’s non-professional warriors have regarded themselves ever since. far from resenting the jibes of their amateur status, they have gloried in them. unlike most other world powers, the united states has never had an elite military caste. in times of emergency all able bodied m ales have been expected to serve their country. for that reason the outlook of the average fighting man has remained essentially that of a civilian, and he has been quick to note the anomalies of his position and the idiosyncrasies of his fellows.
the article goes much further but that will do by way of intro to copeland’s watercolors. click all (including the thumbnail above) for large versions. enjoy.
a private in the continental army, 1779.
a new york state rifleman, 1809.
a light or “horse” artillery man come infantry man for lack of horses, 1809.
a captain of the american navy, 1812
member of the washington grays militia of Philadelphia, between 1815-1846
an enterprising seaman battling the grog-ration cuts of 1842
one of the “always ready” dragoons with his handy “old wrist-breaker” saber, 1848
federal army sergeant cavalryman, 1863
volunteer cavalryman of the virginia sussex light dragoons, 1861
private in the rough and ready guards of north carolina, 1861
a note on the watercolors: they were selected by the american heritage editors from a collection of 24 prints called american fighting men which was published later in 1971 by the new york graphic society in a limited edition. love to track one of those down. hope you all enjoyed them!
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what don’t we know?
science magazine is celebrating it’s 125th anniversary with a special “nonist” issue… well not exactly but they describe it thusly- think of it as a survey of our scientific ignorance. humble, honest, and to the point wouldn’t you say? to achieve this they outline 125 questions which are driving scientific research today. they go on to say we are acutely aware that even 125 unknowns encompass only a partial answer to the question that heads this special section: what don’t we know? dandy.
it’s a nice extensive section with many scientific nuts to chew on. some of the questions include: what is the universe made of? what is the biological basis of consciousness? how much can human life span be extended? how does earth’s interior work? are we alone in the universe? how and where did life on earth arise? how are memories stored and retrieved? what is the structure of water? why do we sleep? why do we dream? what is a species? what are the evolutionary roots of language and music? what is the nature of gravity? etc etc. like i said many topics of interest.
you might notice that some of the questions i included here seem oddly basic, stuff you feel almost certain you learned in 7th grade science. that’s the beauty of this list in a certain way. it highlights just how tenuous our understanding of the world, the universe, and ourselves really is. i think it’s healthy to peel back the layers of human hubris and self satisfaction occasionally as reminder of how young we still are, how inexperienced, and with all we seem to have achieved, how far we still have to go in our quest to understand “the big questions.” of course it also points out how much potential for scientific achievement is still hovering all around us. these questions all represent “opportunities to be exploited” as one of the contributors puts it.
by way of deeper (and characteristically sophisticated) commentary on the 125 questions we offer the short photoplay below-
for related reading science magazine’s sister publications, science of aging knowledge environment, the signal transduction knowledge environment, and next wave are also offering some special anniversary content. enjoy, all ye seekers of questions yet to be answered.
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the jade flute
contentment
when you ask why i dwell here docile among the far green hills, i laugh in my heart. my heart is happy.
the peach blossom watches the river running but remains content. there is a better heaven and earth than the busy world of men. -li po
picked up a little book published in 1960 called the jade flute. chinese poems in prose. the title says it all. the book has no info so i don’t know when these poems were actually written. no matter. thought i’d share some anyhow. here are more for you unironic, wily, and knowing nonists…
a neglected wife
a window opens and a beautiful woman looks out. her eyes are wet as she looks at grass turning green before her house, at willows in new leaf along the river. in times past, when she looked out, she sang.
when you own a treasure you must know how to keep it. my friends, yours has two beautiful legs: be careful, or it will run away! -mei chang
the world around us
dread lord, do not wave your scepter: it is bejeweled. dear dancer, do not whirl your scarves: they are orchid-flowered. pale poet, do not flaunt your heart: it is radiant with love.
our world cares only for unenchanted things. -li po
best happiness of all
i am old and i am bored. i was never very wise and my mind has never walked much further than my feet. only my forest, my forest… i go back and back to wander there.
there blue fingers of the moon still play my old lute. there wind scatters clouds and comes down to flutter my robe.
you ask me what is the best happiness of all? in the forest it is sweet to hear a girl singing on the path, after she has stopped to ask her way, and thanked you with a smile. -wang wei
picking lotus
the harvest moon is burning on the waters of south lake. drifting alone, i lean down to pick white lotus lilies.
fierce desire pulls me… i yearn to tell them of my passion. alas, my boat floats away at mercy of the moving current. my heart looks back in sadness. -li po
the shadow of a leaf
alone in her room a girl embroiders silken flowers. she hears a flute afar. she shivers… dreaming a young man is singing to her of his love.
from the sunlight slanting through the paper window, the shadow of an orange leaf falls on her breast. she closes her eyes… dreaming a young man’s hand is opening her robe. -ting tun-ling
the blue robe
bring me no more flowers. bring me only cypress boughs to shroud my face.
after sunset in the mountains, i will put on my blue robe with long sleeves, and go out to sleep among the bamboos that she loved. -tu fu
the willow leaf
that maiden, dreaming at her window-ledge, leaning on her soft white arms…
i do not love her for her great mansion on the shore of the yellow river. i love her because she has let fall, floating down into the stream, a little willow leaf.
i do not love the east wind because it carries to me the scent of those peach-trees that are like snow on the mountains. i love it because it has carried the little willow leaf to my boat.
and the little willow leaf… i do not love it because it reminds me that soft spring has come again. i love it because the dreaming maiden has picked a name on it with her needle, and because that name is mine. -chan tin-lin
the women of pa
up here at pa, the river shoots like flying arrows. let a boat be caught and it’s swept off a thousand miles before the current quiets down.
oh you women of pa! how lucky for us your husbands must pole up this might river to get home. -li po
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could there be anything further from fireworks?
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mama don’t allow no firecrackers in the house
everybody loves fireworks!
unless you’re terrified of them!!!
they jolt your nerves like reading sentences
with too many exclamation marks!!!!!
either way, this festive holiday video clip is for you!!!!
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the following text and watercolors are from the oct 1971 hardcover edition of american heritage magazine which i picked up recently. the watercolors are all by peter copeland, the text excerpt was written by harold l. peterson. they made up a feature called dress parade, a portfolio of american fighting men which i particularly like. copeland’s caricatures are fantastic and it seemed a fitting post for independence day, or as fitting as i can manage.
