tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56889083130722100082024-03-13T14:10:31.081-04:00Ice LabyrinthArt Science Alliance ... where science meets artAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-63770856481361018542014-04-22T14:04:00.000-04:002014-04-22T14:04:43.411-04:00Art from Earned ObjectsI was just notified of a grant award. Getting funded is an art, so I figure I should make art of some funds. My first attempt: An Origami Foraminifera. This must be the cell body ...<br />
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I wonder what it will agglutinate?<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-11232918265975714342014-03-30T11:00:00.002-04:002014-04-14T09:04:16.328-04:00Cosmic consciousnessMy second favorite thing to do in life: <u>visit an art museum</u>. (Well, maybe it's the third favorite thing to do.) It's always a magnificent walk through time that helps fill notebooks with thoughts and impressions for future pondering ...<br />
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Have you ever wondered why it is it that one gets pulled to certain artworks, while others get merely a glance? For example, while peering at the treasures in the Frick Collection or the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, I've had an unusual fascination with enamel plates by the "Master of the High Forehead."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking notes on the Master of the High Forehead's enamels</td></tr>
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This person, or group of people, made the 16th-century equivalent of "art for the masses." (In other words, it was affordable to people other than the clergy.) The name says it all - the faces depicted in these works have unusually high foreheads.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Circumcision of Christ</i>, enamel on copper plate, <a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/192737?rpp=20&pg=1&rndkey=20140330&ao=on&ft=*&what=Enamels&who=Workshop+of+the+Master+of+the+High+Foreheads&pos=2" target="_blank">Metropolitan Museum of Art</a></td></tr>
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The faces also have eerie-looking ringed eyes. Yuk! But for some reason I'm drawn to them, too.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eyes of the Master</td></tr>
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I've been trying to understand why these curious little plates garnered as much interest as masterpieces by El Greco and Kandinsky. I felt as though I <i>knew</i> the Master's work ... where did that feeling come from?</div>
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<i>ah <b>HAAA</b></i>! Now I remember: as young boy, my absolute favorite TV show was <i>Space Patrol</i> ("Planet Patrol" in the US). I've revisited this program thanks to Youtube. It turns out that the Neptunians - bad guys on <i>Space Patrol</i> - look a lot like the odd characters depicted by the Master of the High Forehead. It's no wonder why the Master's work held such fascination.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Neptunian (at right) keeps Marla, the Venusian secretary, captive</td></tr>
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I recall lectures in Psych 101a/b where it was postulated that the mind can reformulate embedded memories and project them as current feelings and impressions; this poorly-understood process was mystified and presented as "cosmic consciousness" (i.e., a consciousness of "the life and order of the universe") by late 19th century psychologists.<br />
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I wonder if the artists involved with crafting the Neptunians had ever seen works by the Masters of the High Foreheads? I'd love to have this conversation with them ... and with Richard M. Bucke.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com1Albany, NY, USA42.6525793 -73.756231742.4657718 -74.0789552 42.8393868 -73.4335082tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-28517605582574140742014-03-22T16:08:00.001-04:002014-03-22T16:08:42.154-04:00Surprise!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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I'm following up on the previous post, where porcelain fragments were ground to dust and then viewed at various scales. We always seem to focus on that's in front of us when viewing porcelain objects. That is where the "action" is - the form and texture of the piece and, perhaps most importantly, the glazed image(s). How often do we bother looking at what's inside or behind an object? (I never do.)<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUXPTkum20U/UxUxTjhJgiI/AAAAAAAABi8/_GTLCpUBJbM/s1600/porcelain+fragment+outside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUXPTkum20U/UxUxTjhJgiI/AAAAAAAABi8/_GTLCpUBJbM/s1600/porcelain+fragment+outside.jpg" height="252" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obverse of Christina's porcelain fragment</td></tr>
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When first examining Christina's donated fragments, though, I discovered something remarkable on what would have been the "reverse" of the piece - a foraminiferan called <i>Pyrgo</i>!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close-up of the fragment -- containing a <i>Pyrgo</i>!</td></tr>
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I don't know how it was formed -- maybe it was an oblong bubble in the ceramic slip that burst upon heating?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">False-color image of the ceramic Pyrgo</td></tr>
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I've spent some time pushing watercolors around with <i>Pyrgo</i> on my mind, but nothing emerged as impressive as what I found on Christina's fragment.<br />
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The lesson? Sometimes "looking deeply" involves looking from all angles -- including from behind.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-61459355997762669352014-02-27T18:19:00.001-05:002014-03-12T17:35:19.679-04:00Seeing, Not Believing: Landscapes at Various ScalesI've had the pleasure of collaborating with some amazing artists over the years. One of my favorites is South African ceramic artist <a href="http://www.christinabryer.com/" target="_blank">Christina Bryer</a>. Her porcelain works comprise intricate geometric patterns. They are nothing short of stunning, and spawn comparisons with some of nature's most elegant architects (i.e., Foraminifera, of course). Another favorite is <a href="http://www.katherineglenday.com/" target="_blank">Katherine Glenday</a> (who wrote the poem recently posted <a href="http://www.icelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2014/02/of-hearts-and-red.html" target="_blank">here</a>). Katherine's ceramic vessels are materpieces of form and make beautiful music, too. A few years ago, both artists kindly donated some "kiln failures" for use in an art/science project but, sadly, what we had in mind didn't materialize. Nevertheless, I found them handy in other ways, per below:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broken fragments of porcelain art donated by Katherine</td></tr>
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I like to explore the concept of scale - it's part of my work as a scientist, but it's something that humans often have a hard time with. For example, temporal scales beyond about a century ("several lifetimes") are difficult to reconcile. We can't imagine vast stretches of time, such as a few million years in the past when our ancestral hominids roamed the earth. It's easier and more comforting to reject science and think in a young earth timeframe. (That's my rationalization for certain religious fundamentalist beliefs.)<br />
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Likewise, linear dimensions often baffle the mind. Under ideal conditions, most of us can see sub-millimeter objects. Smaller objects than that, however, become a leap of faith without the use of microscopes. To help young students understand the concept of scale (and or fun), I took a piece of porcelain and ground it to dust using a mortar and pestle. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It took about an hour to make dust out of Christina's pieces of ceramic</td></tr>
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I sprinkled this dust onto a polished aluminum "stub" and coated it with a thin film of gold to make the dust conductive. Using a scanning electron microscope, the powder looks like rocks and boulders strewn across a mountain highway following a landslide.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small pieces of dust at the sub-millimeter scale viewed by scanning electron microscopy</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Micrometer dust on millimeter dust</td></tr>
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And with a little more magnification, we see that each piece of dust is decorated with finer dust particles which are at the micrometer scale.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nanometer dust on micrometer dust</td></tr>
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And if we zoom in on each of the tiniest particles shown above, we see that they are, in turn, littered with even tinier particles. Using different instruments we could proceed down to the atomic scale, and with other types down to the subatomic. It's all there to be seen, and it's all <em>real.</em><br />
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In the same vein, it should be no leap of faith to appreciate that we can accurately date the age of the earth, or the age of the universe for that matter, and accurately chart the evolution of our species from life's simplest forms. Again, the evidence is all there to be seen, and it's real.<br />
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But this is not a lesson about belief. What strikes me here is that each microscopic landscape is a vista worthy of exploration and expression in the hands of artists. We just need the right tools to see with, and the skills to depict our findings in ways that are comfortable to live with. It seems so obvious that combining art and science is a powerful, straightforward way to educate young minds.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-43629753070408823482014-02-25T18:30:00.000-05:002014-02-25T18:35:55.896-05:00Of Hearts and Red<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Antarctica</span></span></div>
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by Katherine Glenday</div>
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Our thoughts form us</div>
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And like the forams</div>
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And the caddis creatures</div>
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We live in our</div>
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Patterned habits</div>
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I can run with this</div>
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And do</div>
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Away from text and fact</div>
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And the common herded wayfare</div>
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Of thought and learned behaviour</div>
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It is too dense for me</div>
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I am overwhelmed already</div>
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And the truth of it</div>
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Scampers off somewhere</div>
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And snarls in the brambles</div>
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Beneath the woods</div>
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Of a forest of trees</div>
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I would rather drop my sounding bells</div>
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Below a frozen sea</div>
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And watch with my long distance heart</div>
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As my friends swim them down</div>
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To sing an angelus</div>
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On the ocean bed</div>
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Here all things are weighed</div>
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In the company of creatures</div>
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Who build their hearts on the sleeves</div>
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Of their houses.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-76078558195131096412014-02-25T15:26:00.000-05:002014-02-25T16:41:14.238-05:00Dreaming of iceWinter at last! Besides the snow and cold, there's lots of ice. With proper footwear and care, ice is a lovely substrate. I spent many years walking on sea ice with Yaktrax on my sneakers, or CCM Tacks on bare feet playing ice hockey. (Aside: The former got me much further in life than the latter.)<br />
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While walking in the parking lot at work, I noticed dozens of curiously-shaped ovals, circles, and irregular ellipses of white adorning the pavement. They were crusts of salt that outlined the location of briny puddles from motorists driving on salted roads.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A dried salty puddle (left); Explorers Cove shoreline (right)</td></tr>
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Close inspection of these white lines brought back memories of the Explorers Cove shoreline as seen from a helicopter. Even in a parking lot one can find unexpected dreamscapes.</div>
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A few blinks, though, snapped me back to reality. The underground parking lot with surprising outlines of white now feels dank and ugly. Sadly, looking at these salty shapes now ignites images of respiratory linings discolored by tar and other products of tobacco smoke.</div>
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Sometimes an eye for detail is a damnation.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com0Albany, NY, USA42.6525793 -73.756231742.4657718 -74.0789552 42.8393868 -73.4335082tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-3315458202486746932014-02-13T18:28:00.001-05:002014-02-25T17:51:48.237-05:00Turning nomenclature on its side<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today it's snowing like it should be during winters in Albany - some predict as much as two feet (~61 centimeters) will coat the ground. Slippery under foot, slippery under treads, I'll need some traction to walk home from the lab tonight. Which got me thinking about feet and how we, as biologists, name things. Many types of single-celled organisms have structures that serve as "feet" at the functional level. But when naming body parts, structure seems to trump function. Don't ask me why - this is probably a rule made by the ancients. Unfortunately, when I talk to young students about the work we do, the terms used in the lab seem strange and unfamiliar. Like the term "pseudopods," which literally translates to "false feet." The term "aperture," which is a hole in the shell, is another one that glazes over young eyes.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Structural definitions imposed on a shelled protist</td></tr>
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One theme I've been touching on lately is that protists like forams use these "feet" for feeding as well as locomotion. Sort of like a dog holding a bone (or chewy chew treat) with its feet while it happily muches, belly on the floor. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terms turned sideways</td></tr>
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I wonder if adding a little humor will help give kids get both the structural and functional concepts? But then again, they'd have to know what "maw" and a "paw" are. Ugh, it's time to brave the weather and slide home on foot ...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-6166726160955527412014-01-13T18:43:00.000-05:002014-02-25T17:50:48.691-05:00Art/science collaboration - summary of some past workI just completed another collaborative research proposal with some <em>really</em> smart colleagues. The application includes a novel art/science collaboration to help promote scientific literacy. Let's hope it gets funded!<br />
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While digging through the blogosphere to prepare my cv for the application, I came across a wonderful post that summarized a <a href="http://watersihaveknown.blogspot.com/p/dna-science-art-music.html?showComment=1389647212259" target="_blank">past project</a> with New Zealand artist Claire Beynon. Its various pieces and the people it involved reminded me of the tiny threads of cytoplasm (i.e., pseudopods) that foraminifera use to go about their business.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><img border="0" closure_lm_918934="null" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6fxOAp-8bqo/UtRiC3P947I/AAAAAAAABgM/b-Jyk76fMjY/s320/Intact+A+rara+pods.jpg" gua="true" height="213" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></em></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>The Antarctic foram </em>Astrammina rara<em> with its cytoplasmic network extended on a glass dish. The ramifying pseudopods are likened to an art/science collaboration, with the body of creative work encased by an elegant shell.</em></span></strong></td></tr>
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Daydreaming about the trajectories of its individual components (i.e., the many poems, musical pieces, and artworks that were generated) drew imagined parallels to organelles saltating within these pseudopods. And looking at this body of work as a whole, packaged within its posted "shell" - well, it really seemed to be no less than a live foram!</div>
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One thing is for sure: art/science collaboration is an effective way to ignite the imagination ...</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-10167158756305019922013-11-22T15:15:00.000-05:002014-02-25T17:49:25.989-05:00Updated Cereal Killer"Art is never finished, only abandoned." This quote is credited to Leonardo da Vinci and it appears he's right. At the last minute I flipped all the metazoan prey upside down so they looked dead at the hands (er, arms) of <em>Notodendrodes</em>. The piece was gifted to the staff of Health Research, Inc. after giving a talk about our research projects. They are displaying it in their lunch room, which seems fitting. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-py6VZ8kbg1s/Uo-5hVkeLnI/AAAAAAAABfQ/z48DE0QJ8ro/s1600/cereal+killer+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_72625="null" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-py6VZ8kbg1s/Uo-5hVkeLnI/AAAAAAAABfQ/z48DE0QJ8ro/s320/cereal+killer+2.jpg" height="320" width="240" wta="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cereal Killer as it appears on display at Health Research, Inc.</td></tr>
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I don't want to abandon "Cereal Killer" until it's in a better frame. And then there's "Cereal Killer II" to work on, now that I've figured out how to make these things ... Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-44840608227613871702013-11-14T17:24:00.000-05:002014-02-25T16:37:50.584-05:00Cereal KillersMy colleagues and I give dozens of art/science talks to audiences ranging from 1st graders to senior citizens. They seem to enjoy stories about diving under the ice, watching penguins play, and how we go to the bathroom when it's minus 20. But when it gets to the science, do they really understand the important implications of carnivorous single-celled organisms? Don't ask me where the thought came from, but perhaps a play on words, together with an interesting piece of "art," would help. Ergo, I sat down to illustrate a <strong><em>cereal killer</em></strong> foram. First step: buy a bunch of cereal and resist the temptation to eat it all in one sitting. (I love cereal!)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preparing the palette</td></tr>
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I have scads of Japanese rice paper left over from the spitball amoeba project. Might as well adorn it with rice crispy cereal (plus other cerealicious shapes, sizes, and colors). NOTE: I consulted the literature and concluded that this is the first time a foraminiferan collage has been made out of cereal. I hope it becomes a new movement ... <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moving breakfast around</td></tr>
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Artist friends often mention the satisfaction it brings to "push around paint." I fully understand what they mean. It's also rewarding to squirt around glue, and brush around cereal. Lots of fun!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wu09B0C1-Qo/UoVFuEXMYEI/AAAAAAAABe8/kn66kfpm1i8/s1600/cereal+killer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_377844="null" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wu09B0C1-Qo/UoVFuEXMYEI/AAAAAAAABe8/kn66kfpm1i8/s1600/cereal+killer.JPG" height="320" width="249" zsa="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cereal killer with metazoan prey - just like in nature! (Well, artistic license with the bugs.)</td></tr>
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In the end, I depicted <em>Notodendrodes antarctikos</em> with plastic metazoans adorning its branches. It's not accurate, of course, but it was fun to make and serves to illustrate the concept: single-celled carnivores littering the seafloor, eating small invertebrates. Sometimes silly examples can spawn serious discussion that lay audiences can grab hold of and tear apart.</div>
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Just like a <em>Notodendrodes</em> with a juvenile starfish. Or me with five boxes of yummy cereal to eat!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-55898246896438381322013-11-06T18:18:00.001-05:002013-11-07T12:08:46.054-05:00Spitball Testate Amoebas <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-udsl4_C5W5A/UnqiGXfe7bI/AAAAAAAABcU/cGh6RXq35WM/s1600/BVAP+amoeba+award.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_178369="null" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-udsl4_C5W5A/UnqiGXfe7bI/AAAAAAAABcU/cGh6RXq35WM/s320/BVAP+amoeba+award.jpg" width="320" zsa="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Award-winning amoeba art!</td></tr>
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For a couple of years now, I've been pondering what to do with a roll of rice paper that Grandma Bowser gifted to me before her death. I often imagine her watercolors swirling on the paper's surface, leaving behind shapes of leaves, stems, and flowers. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qGcW6RRE9oY/UnqiKP_vV1I/AAAAAAAABcc/9rTEU1lb5jQ/s1600/granny+paper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_178369="null" height="269" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qGcW6RRE9oY/UnqiKP_vV1I/AAAAAAAABcc/9rTEU1lb5jQ/s320/granny+paper.jpg" width="320" zsa="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Granny's "vintage" Unryu paper</td></tr>
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It is old, foxed, and fragile paper - not very useful as a paint substrate. How can it be put to use? Out of nowhere, the schoolboy in me remembered how fun is was to shoot spitballs out of an empty <em>BIC</em> pen. I started making spitballs out of granny's paper and realized they could be used to sculpt the shells of foraminifera and other agglutinating critters. I cut the paper into small squares, soaked them in water, and started making spitballs of various sizes and shapes.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Spitballs before baking</td></tr>
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I then baked them at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. Nicely browned and quite hard, they seemed like an excellent building material worthy of amoeboid architecture.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x6ihyX3Y-to/UnqiOL2MswI/AAAAAAAABco/hFvre9dUZ9s/s1600/dried+spitballs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_178369="null" height="87" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x6ihyX3Y-to/UnqiOL2MswI/AAAAAAAABco/hFvre9dUZ9s/s320/dried+spitballs.jpg" width="320" zsa="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spitballs after baking</td></tr>
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The first agglutinated shell I made was destined to be donated to the Lake George Arts Project's "<a href="http://www.lakegeorgearts.org/BVAP.htm" target="_blank">Black Velvet Art</a>" fundraiser party. This organization hosted several of our art/science collaborative exhibitions in the past (<a href="http://www.lakegeorgearts.org/Snails_and_Trails.htm" target="_blank">Snails and Trails</a>, <a href="http://www.lakegeorgearts.org/raising_the_fleet.htm" target="_blank">Raising the Fleet</a>) and I owed them a piece of amoeba art. The shell was mounted on a piece of granny's paper soaked in India ink. The shell aperture was fashioned from a piece of black velvet. (I resisted the temptation to paint a fluorescent Elvis in there.)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xtKUyiXoQfo/UnqiasutN2I/AAAAAAAABc0/Xwuv-av7o5o/s1600/LGAP+amoeba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_178369="null" height="232" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xtKUyiXoQfo/UnqiasutN2I/AAAAAAAABc0/Xwuv-av7o5o/s320/LGAP+amoeba.jpg" width="320" zsa="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Agglutinated spitballs</td></tr>
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I liked the organic feel of the piece, but thought it did not fit the party's theme, which was "shine." (I went dressed as a moon<strong><em>shine</em></strong>r - felt mighty comfortable in that roll, too!) The black velvet seemed lost on the blackened paper, too. How to dress up this piece? <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--JYYt5bQMzY/UnqigazdEmI/AAAAAAAABdA/R29b4vwKcEc/s1600/transillluminated+amoeba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_178369="null" height="204" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--JYYt5bQMzY/UnqigazdEmI/AAAAAAAABdA/R29b4vwKcEc/s320/transillluminated+amoeba.jpg" width="320" zsa="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amoeba shell on blue rice paper</td></tr>
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I made a second agglutinated shell, this time mounting it on blue-dyed paper containing embedded tinsel. When backlit, all the colors in the paper appeared quite stunning. But it just didn't look good in reflected light. Now what? I needed to make the spitball sediment grains "shine," and decided to try silver gilding them. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aT9KzFC18G4/Unqikn1NvLI/AAAAAAAABdI/6wvQ6MbMYNQ/s1600/guilded+amoeba+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_178369="null" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aT9KzFC18G4/Unqikn1NvLI/AAAAAAAABdI/6wvQ6MbMYNQ/s320/guilded+amoeba+1.jpg" width="320" zsa="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silver gilded amoeba</td></tr>
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Yuk, it still didn't look right. I once melted a silver tea kettle on an electric stovetop, and remembered how lovely the silver Dali-like droplets looked draped against the heating element. So I painted each grain with blue-black gouache.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1o2SEU9Pdls/UnqiqZSpIeI/AAAAAAAABdM/H9YRib2rD0I/s1600/blackened+amoeba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_178369="null" height="227" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1o2SEU9Pdls/UnqiqZSpIeI/AAAAAAAABdM/H9YRib2rD0I/s320/blackened+amoeba.jpg" width="320" zsa="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I thought it looked better painted black</td></tr>
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In the end, a friend graciously purchased one of the two Lake George Amoebas donated to the fundraiser. Later that evening, I thought about the many decisions that went into the creative process, each of them inspired by memories of granny and the other artists I've been fortunate to know. And also guided by mistakes I've made in the lab. <br />
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Lots of mistakes - some of them worth repeating with paper.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-63618761418837746442013-05-23T20:03:00.004-04:002014-02-25T18:29:14.212-05:00Floridaminifera<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;">Although regarded as marine creatures, Foraminifera (forams) are found just about everywhere it's moist ... or at least their genetic signatures can be found in DNA samples obtained from moist places, like river edges and other freshwater habitats. But the sea pulls at us, and its rich abundance of forams visible to the naked eye titillate interest. Even outside Antarctica, I've been very curious to learn why certain species are abundant in "peculiar" oceanic places.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">One foram that lives in a truly odd place is <em>Shepheardella</em>. It makes a living in the Florida Keys snaking in and out of the flesh of solitary fan seaweed.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CFuDzx5MEGs/UZ6ph_o98RI/AAAAAAAABaE/kmsajixqWk0/s1600/dried+fan+seaweed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CFuDzx5MEGs/UZ6ph_o98RI/AAAAAAAABaE/kmsajixqWk0/s320/dried+fan+seaweed.jpg" height="320" width="252" ya="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><em>Dried specimen of a fan seaweed, probably </em>Avrainvillea nigricans</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">"Snaking" is an appropriate verb to describe <em>Shepheardella</em>'s motion, because it is shaped like a snake. A tiny red snake.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vuBaRbDqgKU/UZ6qU2ZLRmI/AAAAAAAABaQ/3S06IWPRhRw/s1600/shepheardella+scale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vuBaRbDqgKU/UZ6qU2ZLRmI/AAAAAAAABaQ/3S06IWPRhRw/s320/shepheardella+scale.jpg" height="302" width="320" ya="true" /></a></div>
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<em><span style="color: #666666;">Shepheardella snaking in and out of a piece cut from fan seaweed.</span></em></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OY4rS5i4KuA/UZ6rEm4mEyI/AAAAAAAABaY/6oSY9RlZsds/s1600/shepheardella+isolated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OY4rS5i4KuA/UZ6rEm4mEyI/AAAAAAAABaY/6oSY9RlZsds/s320/shepheardella+isolated.jpg" height="133" width="320" ya="true" /></a></div>
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<em><span style="color: #666666;">Here is what it looks like stretching out on a glass Petri dish, the way scientists usually study such specimens.</span></em></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zS3Snvy9GCY/UZ6rY-JHZuI/AAAAAAAABag/LmQlAiVMWlI/s1600/shepheardella+SEM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zS3Snvy9GCY/UZ6rY-JHZuI/AAAAAAAABag/LmQlAiVMWlI/s320/shepheardella+SEM.jpg" height="186" width="320" ya="true" /></a></div>
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<em><span style="color: #666666;">The scanning electron microscope gives us some idea of what its world really looks like, snaking through thickets of algal flesh.</span></em></div>
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<span style="color: black;">I think <em>Shepheardella</em> is telling scientists that we spend too much time <em>in vitro</em> and not enough time <em>in vivo</em>. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-15103401692150233712013-05-09T17:32:00.000-04:002013-05-09T17:32:03.627-04:00A Tribute to Ray Harryhausen<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v_QB-7tNNHg/UYwUVUdnTOI/AAAAAAAABZo/pVHYbevKoko/s1600/noto_argonauts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" mwa="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v_QB-7tNNHg/UYwUVUdnTOI/AAAAAAAABZo/pVHYbevKoko/s400/noto_argonauts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<em>Jason wouldn't have stood a chance ...</em></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-22384349604251983882013-04-22T16:28:00.000-04:002013-04-23T22:21:59.232-04:00HAPPY EARTH DAY 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weathered boulders near Bay of Sails, Antarctica</td></tr>
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Earth is a beautiful place filled with creatures that harvest photons, exploit chemical gradients, and consume the bodies or byproducts of other creatures. Each organism (or perhaps more properly, each colony of organisms) grows, reproduces, ages, and dies. In the process, they cycle elements and, for a time, leave their signatures. This dynamic process is what we call life. As so many luminaries have said before, Earth is truly a <em>living</em> planet. Many of us contemplate this concept each April 22nd.</div>
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Antarctica illustrates most, if not all, aspects of the living Earth: from undersea environments teeming with micro-, macro-, and mega-scale organisms, to physical forces slowly eroding boulders left behind by the last ice age, liberating elements and exposing new habitats for life. One need only sit (or float) and take it all in. Compared to <em>our</em> world, the "physical" seems more "physical" here and life seems more resilient.</div>
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Nothing is fragile, except the unprepared human. And, at times, even the "prepared" human psyche. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-13485670059556158332013-04-10T15:10:00.002-04:002014-02-25T17:52:26.867-05:00Beginnings ...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>As an undergraduate, I never thought much about the parallels between art and science. It took a pal of mine - Anthony Tassarotti - to lead me down that path. At the time, I was a student in Sam McGee-Russell's electron microscopy class, and "Tony" was deeply involved with photography. When he saw some of my micrographs, he went into the darkroom and started making some "crazy prints" (my words at the time).</strong></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0vG3_Z9I28U/UWW4YlZ5vsI/AAAAAAAABY4/eAoNWrEeWgo/s1600/SAMTONY+4blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bua="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0vG3_Z9I28U/UWW4YlZ5vsI/AAAAAAAABY4/eAoNWrEeWgo/s400/SAMTONY+4blog.JPG" height="181" width="400" /></a></div>
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<em>Anthony's rendering of a carbon-platinum shadowed latex sphere</em></div>
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<strong>You never know where friendships will take you!</strong>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-65892980655012210242013-03-22T12:33:00.001-04:002013-04-08T11:08:33.907-04:00The mind of an artistAn artist colleague once remarked that if I was to understand how artists think, I need to reverse roles in life. With a perplexed look, and a "huh? what does that mean," he suggested that I try working in the lab wearing my scuba suit. The next day I followed his suggestion ...<br />
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Showing up for a day's work, ready to experience the artist's mind.</div>
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Most of the day involves paperwork (sigh).</div>
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But occasionally I get to use fancy equipment, like this low voltage scanning electron microscope ...<br />
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... or the Albany high-voltage transmission electron microscope ...</div>
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It was hard to see anything through a fogged scuba mask.</div>
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Dejected and less inspired about understanding artists, I return to the lab. Sorry, Jan, it's better to collaborate with artists than it is to think like one ...<br />
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(Thanks to Amanda Andreas for taking these photos and tolerating my humor)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-78972295992802617882013-03-21T17:19:00.001-04:002014-02-25T15:23:21.742-05:00Palms and incongruent connections<div>
I've been reading <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/heronallen/">Edward Heron-Allen's </a>book <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Language-Hand-Exposition-Principles-Explained/dp/1443713651/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232312324&sr=8-6">The Language of the Hand</a></span>, which was published in the late 1800's -- a time when palmistry, phrenology, and other pseudosciences were popular. Although such practices have been falsified by modern science, this rational biologist shamelessly admits to getting a thrill each time he cracks open a fortune cookie. Imagine how I would feel if this legendary foraminiferologist read my palm?<br />
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Mental sparks fly while reading Heron-Allen's text, and wildly incongruous connections are made. If afforded the opportunity to talk with him today, it seems likely that the discussion would center on how he reconciled his early years as a palm reader with his later years as a scientist. If he defended palmistry as a science to the end, then I would have to point out that the body is riddled with lines and patterns. Why restrict psychoanalysis and fortune-telling to those of the hand?</div>
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I'm curious: Notice the lines around the eyes of a young Sam Bowser: </div>
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<img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_L2UB67zlmHw/SXTR5YasUkI/AAAAAAAAAtc/t1sqbuYJB-c/s320/youngSam.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293086245804331586" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 270px;" /><br />
These lines are physically closer to his spirit center; they should, by such proximity, be more revealing than those on his palm. (As I explore methods of meditation and related healing approaches, I've noticed that this sort of logic has been employed throughout the ages.)<br />
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<li><strong>Did they predict the years he would spend squinting in Antarctic summer sun?</strong></li>
<li><strong>Did they predict the chiseled grimaces of trigeminal neuralgia (TGN)?</strong></li>
<li><strong>Did they predict years of billowing mad-scientist laughter?</strong></li>
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Perhaps these lines are simply the consequence of his genetic stock. (Some say he has his granny's eyes. Should this also be true for the lines of his hands?)</div>
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Those lines around his eyes have become more exaggerated over the years, and are now seen to possess certain bird-like attributes. Further curiosity: What do these crow's feet foretell?</div>
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<li><strong>More squinting in the Antarctic sun? </strong></li>
<li><strong>More episodes of TGN? </strong></li>
<li><strong>More unbridled laughter?</strong></li>
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<img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_L2UB67zlmHw/SZb6WCa4jOI/AAAAAAAAAuo/3WFgPRYKIWc/s320/crowsfeet.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302700867789032674" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 94px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Eye lines revealed using highly sophisticated imaging algorithms, from images obtained while: (1) smiling, (2) resting, (3) experiencing unbearable pain, (4) laughing like a madman. Notice that the contrast of the eye lines accurately reflects emotional status. Note also that eye lines deflect at different angles relative to their resting position. I'm sure that all of this can be formulated into a new, highly "scientific" way to interpret the psyche and predict the future. Let me know if it's already been done - I don't want to waste my time!</span></span><br />
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These lines also mirror the patterns made by pseudopodia extended by foraminiferan protists. Perhaps this means that I will be a benthic foraminiferan in my next life? (No, I've made other plans.) Or perhaps I was simply destined to study these organisms...<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_L2UB67zlmHw/SZcDRbRI-DI/AAAAAAAAAu4/xQQ9-tezdJ4/s320/foram_and_Sam.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302710684164356146" style="display: block; height: 166px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /><em>Pseudopodia extended by the foraminiferan protist</em> Allogromia laticollaris<em>, initially photographed using differential interference optics, but then subjected to the same imaging algorithms used for enhancing eye lines. As can be seen by the concordance of pseudopodial patterns with my crow's feet, it's clear that I was destined to be a foraminiferologist!</em></div>
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This exercise proves to me that curiosity can lead to some strange connections. When depicted with skill, some might even call these connections art. In my hands, however, they seem more of a time sink. That is, until this <em>Doctor of Philosophy</em> improves his social status and makes some money by interpreting eyelines of the elite, as his hero Heron-Allen did so many years ago.</div>
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Imagine Dr. Bowser telling wealthy, curious souls their fortunes while they wink at him!(?)</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-39335531450401874222013-03-18T19:52:00.000-04:002013-03-21T15:40:00.661-04:00The sheer joy of Antarctic Subaquatic Garbage CollectingSometimes things fall into holes and are presumed lost forever. Over the years, people working at Explorers Cove have dropped coins (for luck?), hand tools, cameras, nails, screws -- all sorts of things -- into dive holes. As divers, we enjoy discovering and recovering these "lost" items. It gives us a sense of satisfaction being Antarctic Subaquatic Garbage Collectors.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u7i5062vmDM/UUed8b_S_RI/AAAAAAAABWY/B3oE3BGmf5M/s1600/luckypenny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" psa="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u7i5062vmDM/UUed8b_S_RI/AAAAAAAABWY/B3oE3BGmf5M/s320/luckypenny.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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One time I found a penny on the seafloor (it was heads up) and gleefully handed it to Werner Herzog upon surfacing. Another time, Doug Coons and I recovered a 15-ft Jiffy Drill flight. (<a href="http://icelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2008/11/bit-stuck.html" target="_blank">See this post</a> on how they sometimes get hopelessly stuck in the ice and ultimately drop to the seafloor.)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-frfgC90lTXU/UUef3t6B6MI/AAAAAAAABWk/vPWNJ_frkBw/s1600/cecil+UW+shovel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" psa="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-frfgC90lTXU/UUef3t6B6MI/AAAAAAAABWk/vPWNJ_frkBw/s320/cecil+UW+shovel.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Nothing can express the joy of Antarctic Subaquatic Garbage Collecting more than this picture of Cecil recovering a "lost" shovel. We used it for the rest of the field season, too!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-7591690097923869512012-12-10T20:59:00.000-05:002012-12-10T21:08:23.060-05:00Out of the fog - a trip to Double Curtain Glacier<div style="text-align: left;">
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">One of our most interesting sampling sites is situated at the base of Double Curtain Glacier </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">in the Ferrar Valley</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">. The sea ice there is usually very thick (7 meters or more), and the transition region is littered with many hundreds of scallop shells and the freeze-dried remains of other benthic critters lifted to the surface.</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><b>The seafloor at this site is stark, dominated by anchor ice as well as large boulders that gather Antarctic moss while they roll down the steep slope of the adjacent hill. A lens of supercooled fresh water from the nearby Ferrar Glacier freezes instantly when a drill bit makes contact, confounding efforts to fashion a dive hole. It's a magnificent place to lay down tools, open eyes, flare nostrils, and taste the cold air. </b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><b>When sea fog rolls in, I'm struck by the solitude of working in Antarctica. Isolation triggers shivers more often than the temperature does.</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zIL2M0tTHPI/Ty3rpTYI6fI/AAAAAAAABRc/fApjp4neQDk/s1600/2%2Bdouble%2Bcurtain.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705475397756971506" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zIL2M0tTHPI/Ty3rpTYI6fI/AAAAAAAABRc/fApjp4neQDk/s400/2%2Bdouble%2Bcurtain.jpg" style="display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;">Sea fog rolls into the Ferrar Valley, obscuring our dive site near Double Curtain Glacier</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0000ee;">A few sparks of light on Double Curtain Glacier as the sun sets</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Looking back toward the Ferrar Valley, wondering where my coworkers are ...</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SnOeJ5SBpPo/Ty3rpG9_zYI/AAAAAAAABRQ/gAr-dr0GryE/s1600/1%2Bdouble%2Bcurtain.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705475405663194898" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4q2Q5juZbiM/Ty3rpw1ITxI/AAAAAAAABR0/Ua9X3IhcAWA/s400/4%2Bskidoo%2Bin%2Bfog.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 224px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Tense moments later, their Skidoo light appears from the fog ...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><b>Why does this particular trip stay close to mind? There are times when Antarctica stabs the heart in very fundamental ways, and begs you to ask if your companions are safe.</b></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-18129622485441311992012-07-26T14:04:00.000-04:002012-07-30T10:17:31.472-04:00Perfect Hole Followup<div style="text-align: justify;">
For many years now, I have included at least one artist on our Antarctic research team. The argument for this practice was recently presented at the SCAR meeting in Portland, Oregon (see: <a href="http://bit.ly/NoExpectationsSCAR" target="_blank">Scientists should consider an artist when selecting field team members</a>).</div>
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Sometimes these artists have a lot of prior experience (e.g., Steve Alexander - scientist, diver, and photographer; Shawn Harper - diver, photographer; Henry Kaiser - diver, musician, and videographer), but in other cases they have less (e.g., visual artists <a href="http://www.clairebeynon.co.nz/Antarctica_new/Antarctica_home.html" target="_blank">Claire Beynon</a> and <a href="http://www.lauravonrosk.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Laura Von Rosk</a>). Regardless of their level of lab or field training, artists always prove to be <i>excellent</i> team members who remain faithful advocates of the continent.</div>
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Nevertheless, I'm often a bit nervous taking visual artists to Antarctica. Their "style" (forgive my ignorance of art terminology) is celebrated by their audience, and I'm concerned that Antarctica will change them in ways that might "ruin them." Will their followers be turned off by their Antarctic-inspired work? Maybe this is a silly concern ...</div>
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Laura Von Rosk has spent the last six months producing <a href="http://www.lauravonrosk.com/2012.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a new series of paintings</a>. I'm biting nails, hoping that her images are well received. Maybe I shouldn't have asked her to melt so many perfect dive holes ???</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Ce7_bKJDws/UBFMHSFE5PI/AAAAAAAABVU/jNN8ZDtsqqM/s1600/card+idea+for+clement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Ce7_bKJDws/UBFMHSFE5PI/AAAAAAAABVU/jNN8ZDtsqqM/s320/card+idea+for+clement.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-51102012581343769192012-02-04T17:55:00.001-05:002013-05-23T17:57:01.418-04:00More about a perfect dive hole<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">The BEST dive hole in 2011 was the last one fashioned, just days before we pulled out of Explorers Cove. Named "the Stockton site" in honor of Dr. Bill Stockton, fellow Antarctic researcher, this hole was made overnight using two Hotsies operating simultaneously.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vMcMOjzj6nI/Ty3hRU72M4I/AAAAAAAABRE/O083ji0nbeE/s1600/BEST%2Bdive%2Bhole.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705463990742037378" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vMcMOjzj6nI/Ty3hRU72M4I/AAAAAAAABRE/O083ji0nbeE/s400/BEST%2Bdive%2Bhole.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 306px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 85%;">Laura serves as a scale marker next to the Stockton hole</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">Bill mapped the density of the Antarctic scallop <i>Adamussium colbecki </i>on the seafloor back in the late 70's/early 80's, and we repeated his survey to see if there have been any changes since that time. This hole exposed an area where Bill reported as many as 80 scallops per square meter -- a huge density. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705876299666760546" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0ZwZueEo9FA/Ty9YQ3X1I2I/AAAAAAAABSQ/6A5YSUGPJVc/s400/scallop.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 156px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></span></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 85%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline;">Adamuss</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline;">ium colbecki</span></b></span></i></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">I'll report back with the findings once they're published. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">(Hint: yup, there were changes ...)</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com5McMurdo Station, Antarctica-77.83997699999999 166.67557-90 125.366976 -52.317942499999987 -152.01583600000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-25347971261257233902012-01-30T20:08:00.001-05:002012-02-01T19:59:17.038-05:00Everything ... in its right place<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Making uniformly wide (= <i><b>safe</b>)</i> dive holes through the sea ice in Antarctica has always been a major challenge. For example, at our research sites at Explorers Cove, the sea ice is usually 8-21 feet (roughly 3-7 meters) thick, and layered with wind-blown sediment from the Taylor Valley - factors that create a host of problems. Blasting holes with dynamite worked well in the past, but in this post-9/11 world it is a logistical nightmare to use explosives. The only reasonable </span></span>option is to slowly melt a dive hole using a Hotsie. Unfortunately, the Hotsie is a gizmo that wasn't designed for this purpose: it's a glorified carpet steam cleaner!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color:#333333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color:#333333;">Keeping a Hotsie functional for the 2-3 days needed to melt a hole requires vigilance (and a toolkit). Recently, we've resorted to belief in "order" in order to keep it working. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color:#333333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color:#333333;">To wit:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TKF8GfSsQSM/TyNL8mqo9dI/AAAAAAAABQM/wNto68l7nGA/s400/spiral.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702485057724806610" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9RHkFi5ZxBQ/TyNL8z7Q2dI/AAAAAAAABQY/GW0amfY17lU/s400/aligned.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702485061284190674" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 322px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MpIhJg67s6I/TyNL93wEoHI/AAAAAAAABQw/ebwo7s-eUH8/s1600/strapweave.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><div><br /></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_z7bNkKO9Ec/TyNL9XTKlxI/AAAAAAAABQk/-1CuYcb5_14/s1600/cargostrap%2Bstar.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_z7bNkKO9Ec/TyNL9XTKlxI/AAAAAAAABQk/-1CuYcb5_14/s400/cargostrap%2Bstar.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702485070779684626" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MpIhJg67s6I/TyNL93wEoHI/AAAAAAAABQw/ebwo7s-eUH8/s400/strapweave.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702485079490863218" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 259px; " /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;">Now that we align its components in orderly ways, with expression of great love and devotion to the Hotsie, we are cranking out perfect dive holes. (Well, almost 50% of the time.)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;">I'm thinking of starting a new religion ...</span></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-11197613304470770532012-01-26T00:15:00.001-05:002012-01-27T09:10:57.675-05:00Touching the Sublime - like, in 2012?<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Li1w-OSvuzk/TyKu7asHhLI/AAAAAAAABQA/1JU0DzVq5bg/s1600/ice%2Bgalaxy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 326px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Li1w-OSvuzk/TyKu7asHhLI/AAAAAAAABQA/1JU0DzVq5bg/s400/ice%2Bgalaxy.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702312414004348082" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:180%;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span></div>Dude!</span><div><br /><div><b>YOU</b> are, like,<b> THE</b> most <b>AWESOME</b> lifeform in the known universe</div><div><br /></div><div>Like, if <i>I</i> was standing on the edge of the galaxy, looking in?</div><div>there would be this most <i>AWESOME</i> sight:<br /><div><br /></div><div><i>YOU</i> - with, like, this awesome glow of energy? </div><div>streaming from you,</div><div>lighting up all the stars</div><div>Not just the nearby ones</div><div>but, like, <i>ALL</i> of them?</div><div><br /></div><div>And you'd be, like, dancing with joy?</div><div>as you swirl and twirl around</div><div>planting smiles on all the creatures you encounter?</div><div><br /></div><div>It would be <i><b>REALLY</b></i> awesome</div><div><br /></div><div>And because I'd be on the EDGE of the galaxy</div><div><i>soooo</i>, like, ready to drop off into nothingness?</div><div><br /></div><div>It would be the most awesomely sublime thing</div><div><br /></div><div>Know what I mean???</div><div><br /></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-52021821182497385202012-01-18T01:44:00.001-05:002012-01-21T10:50:00.884-05:00Seeing Red<div>One of the tents we use in Antarctica, called a "Polarhaven," is large enough to serve as a dive locker for about four aquanauts.</div><div><br /></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DGdRKnk8Km8/TxZOG7dDkdI/AAAAAAAABPo/R_40SSinIpI/s1600/untitled%2Bpolarhaven.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 251px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DGdRKnk8Km8/TxZOG7dDkdI/AAAAAAAABPo/R_40SSinIpI/s400/untitled%2Bpolarhaven.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698828259429683666" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;">The Polarhaven at Cape Bernacchi</span></i></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DPkkMtJhprk/TxZN17BY5FI/AAAAAAAABPQ/JL_HWZNfFsc/s1600/untitled%2Btriangularis.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dfjUpq0btD8/TxZN1jocprI/AAAAAAAABPA/icVD7WcyXoU/s1600/untitled%2Barm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QS7fo1H2xBQ/TxZN0519IgI/AAAAAAAABOs/WxLkglMhIDI/s1600/untitled%2Bredsketch1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><span class="Apple-style-span">Because it is heated</span> by a catalytic propane unit, i<span class="Apple-style-span">t's also a comfy refuge for sleeping and eating in subzero temperatures. There's only one problem: the walls are red, so the interior is also red.</span><div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eGjrtBoIri8/TxZN2gEDd1I/AAAAAAAABPg/RJ5FwoyKCBA/s400/untitled%2B%2528%2528%2528LVR%2529%2529%2529.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698827977199155026" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px; " /></span><div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;">Laura Von Rosk cinching down the Polarhaven blanket to its wooden floor. The propane heater is seen behind her. </span></i></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div><br /></div><div>While setting up the Polarhaven at Cape Bernacchi, Laura and I had a brief opportunity to discuss "color" and "composition" (<a href="http://www.lauravonrosk.com/">she is a <i>master</i> of both</a>). I've never understood how to use color effectively, and my compositions always feel like run-of-the-mill, "rule of thirds," ho-hum. What could Laura teach me about this during our breaks from work?</div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DPkkMtJhprk/TxZN17BY5FI/AAAAAAAABPQ/JL_HWZNfFsc/s400/untitled%2Btriangularis.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698827967255864402" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 333px; height: 400px; " /></span><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><i>A sketch of </i>Astrammina triangularis <i>using watercolor pencils. My drawings seem "cartoon-like" and not very realistic. I always follow the "rules," too. For example, light comes from the upper right, shadow to the lower left. The result just doesn't "feel" interesting to me :-(</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000ee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dfjUpq0btD8/TxZN1jocprI/AAAAAAAABPA/icVD7WcyXoU/s1600/untitled%2Barm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dfjUpq0btD8/TxZN1jocprI/AAAAAAAABPA/icVD7WcyXoU/s400/untitled%2Barm.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698827960977237682" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 400px; " /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><i>Detail of an</i> Astrammina triangularis<i> "arm" that I sketched in normal daylight. I try to do a lot of "deep looking" when studying a subject, but that doesn't always translate into an appealing composition. </i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div><br /></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div>Drawing an agglutinated foram inside the tent was an interesting experience. Seeing everything in red light is not too alien, since I spent decades in a darkroom back when photography meant working under a safelight. I never tried to manipulate color in a monochrome setting, though, and wondered if that would be instructive?</div><div><br /></div></span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fWvjLp9xGWM/TxZN1ZR0BEI/AAAAAAAABO4/OS1yps45gDo/s1600/untitled%2Bredsketch2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fWvjLp9xGWM/TxZN1ZR0BEI/AAAAAAAABO4/OS1yps45gDo/s400/untitled%2Bredsketch2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698827958197945410" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 242px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;">Drawing of an agglutinated foram, with notes on objects in the tent, as I remember seeing things in the Polarhaven. (Actually, I placed a red mask over the drawing below, so this is really just a simulation.)</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div><br /></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QS7fo1H2xBQ/TxZN0519IgI/AAAAAAAABOs/WxLkglMhIDI/s400/untitled%2Bredsketch1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698827949759603202" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 258px; " /></span><div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;">How the drawing looked when viewed outside the Polarhaven - surprisingly ... ugly?</span></i></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Looking deeply, working hard, trying something new, failing ... but having fun. Art and science share a lot in common.</div></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5688908313072210008.post-11483780399708820392011-12-30T12:10:00.000-05:002011-12-30T22:38:00.888-05:00Tears and hope for an adopted home<div>Christchurch, New Zealand continues to be battered by earthquakes, and traveling through town on the way to/from Antarctica was a sobering experience. So many homes and businesses are in ruins.</div><div><br /></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SYgocSLc76w/Tvivtk6ft8I/AAAAAAAABOU/Eq56g1ZHqv0/s1600/Damage.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 276px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SYgocSLc76w/Tvivtk6ft8I/AAAAAAAABOU/Eq56g1ZHqv0/s400/Damage.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690491326720620482" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I spent a solemn hour at the site of the Devon B & B, which had to be demolished. I've stayed there every season, and now understand how it feels to be left homeless.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1dTRAYE47s8/TvivshcGKfI/AAAAAAAABNs/G6PaT-g7FXI/s1600/Devon.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1dTRAYE47s8/TvivshcGKfI/AAAAAAAABNs/G6PaT-g7FXI/s400/Devon.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5690491308607941106" /></a>One wish for 2012: May the earth settle so that Christchurch can heal.</div><div><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07406735207882613409noreply@blogger.com1