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The Kindness of Every Split-Second
[Image: display window of "mini-prints" taken with the Fujifilm Instax camera (originally from the Photojojo store). See note at bottom of post for more.] From whiskey river: You know what I believe? I remember in college I was taking this math class, this really great math class taught by this tiny old woman. She was [...]
It’s Right in Front of You
[Image: unretouched photograph of an anamorphically-painted building interior, by French artist George Rousse; I found it here. As suggested at that site, be sure to see the video about Rousse's "Durham (NC) project." And while you're at it, check out the similar but sometimes entire city-sized work of Swiss artist Felice Varini. I couldn't decide which artist's work to [...]
PBS: Dogs Decoded
Every dog owner thinks he knows how his or her canine companion thinks. I doubt that many dog owners already know everything covered in this single one-hour program on PBS’s Nova series, (re-)broadcast last night. Here’s a brief intro: Watch Dogs Decoded on PBS. See more from NOVA. Sample tidbit: genetically, via mitochondrial DNA (passed down, [...]
Happy Birthday, the Erstwhile “Music” Television
MTV turned 30 years old at a minute past midnight today. After a voiceover saying,”Ladies and gentlemen: rock and roll!” and some promotional pieces, they overturned the music business with their very first video: The Buggles, and “Video Killed the Radio Star.” Lyrics: Video Killed the Radio Star (The Buggles) I heard you on the [...]
The Whole Sweet World Is a Garden
[Video: Rowlf and Fozzie collaborate, after a fashion -- and much to their surprise -- on an instrumental version of "In an English Country Garden"] From whiskey river: The thing about Zen is that it pushes contradictions to their ultimate limit where one has to choose between madness and innocence. And Zen suggests that we [...]
Ineffable
[For information about this image, see the note at the foot of this post.] From whiskey river: There it is; the light across the water. Your story. Mine. His. It has to be seen to be believed. And it has to be heard. In the endless babble of narrative, in spite of the daily noise, [...]
It Calls Me On and On
[Image: audio-animatronic scene at the 1960s-era Disneyland "Carousel of Progress" display. See yesterland.com for more information and a larger version of this image.] From whiskey river: The Bones (excerpt) …Shells were to shut out the sea, The bones of birds were built for floating On air and water, and those of fish were devised For [...]
Don’t Answer the Door. They’re Wearing… Gloves.
[Hat tip to the Speak Coffee to Me blog's consistently brilliant selections in its Ad of the Week series]
Updates: Watson on Jeopardy!
If you were interested in the subject at all, you’ve probably read all about it already. But for what it’s worth, I updated my “What Is Hubris, Alex?” post of a couple days ago with three longish comments recapping the three nights’ programs. The first one is here; scroll down on that page for the [...]
Midweek Music Break: Madeline Kahn
Not only was the late Madeline Kahn almost unnervingly funny; she could seriously unhinge me with her voice. Says a writer for the Metropolitan Opera Guild’s Opera News: That note! Madeline Kahn’s sustained “Ah!” on A-flat, the first volley in Victor Herbert’s “Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life” and the climax of Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein [...]
