Accidental Drawings: Control-Shift

Is it still vorticism if I am using archaic command line programming tools?

Diametrically Opposed

Some will conclude that the title of this post concerns the contents of the post, they will claim it is self-evident, but for me it seldom is so black and white, in truth, I know precisely what I am referring too and it will never be conferrable in such an imprecise medium and from such an inherently flawed mind. The title is an explicit reference relevant at only a particular space and time. Only I will know this explicit reference… everyone else will have to speculate.

I am thinking about Art and Science. What traits do they share? What traits distinguish them? I think, in my simplistic view and in as few words as possible, that considering what constitutes each will reveal the answers to these questions:

• What constitutes Science? — observation, hypothesis, test (repeat).
• What constitutes Art? — observation, hypothesis, express (try not to repeat).

What do you think?

Additional ruminations that expound the issue:

• the best Science is: clear, strict, beautiful (mathematically), time-tested
• the best Art is: ambiguous, forgiving, beautiful (subjectively), time-tested

Mathematics is a tool, maybe even a medium.

That’s that, but now let’s wade into how my mind works:

I originally set down these considerations when considering the marriage of Religion and Politics in our contemporary America. I was thinking about the danger of such a close relationship, how alienating it can be for those with different beliefs, views, etc., and I started, in my mind, a revolt against the marriage. I launched into eloquent speeches, in my imaginary world, mind you, about the importances of the separation of church and state, the historical precedent that describes the descents such endeavors can lead to, and, as I am wont to do, I took this fancy to the nth degree by postulating what my detractors might say against me. Despite the obvious and empty claims of un-Americanism, they attacked my support of the marriage of Art and Science, and used it to take apart my arguments for the divorce of Religion and Politics. It was effective and I was normalized and defeated. Naturally, this lead me to reconsider my imaginary support for the marriage of Art and Science, so I started thinking about Art and Science.

my entry for Phil McAndrew’s contest

Herzog’s Stroszek. I love that movie. That’s me as Bruno.

Go here for more info on his contest. Due Date: Tomorrow (March 23rd).

Browse around Phil McAndrew’s site, I have a drawing of his on my mantle!

I don’t normally draw, but when I do, it is usually for a comic:

• March 5th 2007 for no particular reason (seriously)
• The Euphonium Story (which was for a mix)
• My Cosmology
• Brownies (which was wrapped around a box of vegan brownies I made for a friend)

Rattling Thoughts

On a recent trip to my nation’s capitol for the annual winter meeting of my country’s society of astronomers, I caught the capitol subway train, or The Metro, to several locations. I sought exotic lunches, devilish dinners, and even, on two occasions, cups of hand poured drip brew coffee. My mouth waters when I recall the barista gently pouring the scalding hot water over the single-origin estate coffee grounds. And the aroma floating over the counter to my anxious taste buds.

Anyway, snapping out of that delicious reverie and back to the point, the metro seems to be in a constant state of disrepair, or is it repair? Throughout my journeys I found many escalators out of service, and I was made to walk up or down a frozen escalator. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining because of laziness. Sure I’m lazy, but even when an escalator is properly functioning, I seldom stand still. Which is probably why I have trouble on non-moving escalators.

It is a very disorienting experience. It is as if my momentum has a memory and when I step on an escalator, it propels me in the proper direction to maintain my stability. How many times did I stumble as I entered the non-moving escalator? Every time. I wasn’t even drunk, yet.

So what is up with all the escalators in the capitol metro? Are they collapsing under the weight of my country folk? I recall no such problems on my travels and metro riding experience in Europe. Similar long escalator paths exist in Paris, Praha, and Stockholm, yet I cannot recall such a state of disrepair? Perhaps it is a skewed observation, but I think I spent more time riding in Europe than I did in DC.

Another curious note about the capitol metro, “music”. The squeals and bumps, sounds of friction, as the people conveyors operate is akin to an atonal, non-melodic, post-modern orchestration, where the cavernous escalator shaft play the role of a clamshell bandstand.

Collective Subjective Condition

The work of Antony Gormley:

Listen to this short clip of him speaking on the BBC Forum:

H and I were recently at the Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids Michigan. There is a Gormley there, it is a life-sized human figure in rusted, weathered, iron silently standing in the elements among the shrubs. I imagined that after the park closed, it would come to life, walk about the park, with a trail of rust detailing its jaunt.