chaoticutopia | September 14, 2006I picked up my pen a few evenings ago, planning to take a few notes for upcoming posts. The following poem spilled onto the page, instead:
Embryonic Cognition
And so the twists tighten
Embracing us in the grip
Of convergence
Spinning helplessly
Towards emergence
A burgeoning mind
Of the societal body
Do we think?
Do we know?
Or do we cry out
Like helpless children
Echoing a lonely fear
A collective infant voice
Rising from the clamor
"Am I the only one?"
But does the mother listen?
KLF (9/11/2006)
chaoticutopia | September 13, 2006Does history repeat, or do cycles of change simply overlap?
This week, I'll be finishing up my series on Colorado history and urban development. Before I get to it, however, I'll probably be a bit on the quiet side. I might put a poem up to fill the space, in the meantime. For now, I'll leave you to ponder the question above.
Image taken by the author at Two Ponds National Wildlife Refuge in July of this year.
chaoticutopia | September 11, 2006
In memory of our loved ones; lost five years ago, on this day.
September 11, 2001
Their silent wounds have speech
More eloquent than men;
Their tones can deeper reach
Than human voice or pen.
-William Woodman
chaoticutopia | September 10, 2006On Thursday, my SciBling Coturnix tagged me with this meme. So, here goes:
Why do you blog?
Since 2nd or 3rd grade, I've wanted to write. When I reached my teens, it became a compulsion. Then I became an adult, and finally learned how to write. So, writing became my craft, a delicate art requiring constant practice and attention. I blog, because it seems to be the appropriate medium for the craft in the 21st century.
How long have you been blogging?
I kept journals as a teenager, but filled them primarily with angst. Some pages were devoted to miniature essays, noting convergences or…
chaoticutopia | September 9, 2006Ok, people, it's on. If you haven't heard, we are in the midst of a nerd-off, triggered in response to the Hottest Science Blogger list.At first, I was reluctant to join in. (Actually, I was too busy playing adventure games on my beloved computer, while singing along to "the Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas" by They Might Be Giants.) Then, after my nerd score put me in the upper half of the ScienceBlogger rankings, I figured I shouldn't bother to hide it. So, without further ado, here is my entry into the battle of the nerds:
My Nerd Scrapbook
I've always been a nerd. It probably started…
chaoticutopia | September 8, 2006Fractals are like landscapes. From a simple process, be it a formula or continental drift, one area can be strikingly different from another. This is true for my favorite type of fractal, a Julia set, "colored" with a bit of fractal Brownian motion:
Or the ripples on the Great Sand Dunes:
Stone, Steam and Sand: A Geologic Photo Tour of Southwest Colorado, Part III
In the first part of this series, I described the formation of the San Juan Mountains, and then a bit of the more recent history of the lands to the west of the range. The valley east of the San Juans had similar initial…
chaoticutopia | September 6, 2006Hot and Steamy
Ok, I'll admit, the title is a bit gratuitous. But whether you're here seeking hotness, history or geology, you've come to the right place.
The volcanism which formed the San Juan Mountains has settled over the centuries, but, as with the glaciers, signs of a fiery past remain. The layers of hardened tuff have weathered into fertile soils, lending to the thick vegetation covering the area today. Throughout the mountains and in the valley below, some parts of the continental plate are still worn thin. Magma still flows near the surface, heating the groundwater, which bubbles up…
chaoticutopia | September 5, 2006Since my fellow SciBlings Shelley and Nick are both bragging, I figured I should chime in.
According to Flags and Lollipops, I am officially the planet's second hottest science blogger. While I would have expected Tara to rank higher than myself, I feel quite honored. Thanks, to those of you who "voted" for me.
chaoticutopia | September 5, 2006The San Juan Mountains
As we traversed Southern Colorado a few weeks ago, my son declared we were in a rainforest. Seeing as how the region is known for arid canyons, pinon trees and cliff houses, I felt the need to correct him. Still, as we crossed the continental divide at Wolf Creek Pass, it was actually raining, giving the dense forest a damp, lush feel. Nearly every rock and towering cliff was covered in moss. We might not have been in an authentic rain forest, but it was a far cry from the desert.
It was easy to see why developers have been eyeing these lands. In a few weeks, the aspen…
chaoticutopia | September 4, 2006A touch of dark comedy for all the working stiffs out there:
Bad Bosses Go To Hell
Happy Labor Day!
Video hosted by Atom Films.
chaoticutopia | September 1, 2006Picture a Julia set, in shades of deep blue and green, with stretching, white spiral arms, decorated with fractal Brownian motion, which leaves hazy boundaries between shades of cloud, land, and open ocean:
It might resemble a hurricane. Of course, a relatively simple geometric structure like a fractal has nothing on Mother Nature. You can adjust variables all day, but never get the delicate coastline of Baja California, as a hurricane approaches:
Hurricane John nears Baja, California, moving north-northwest at 8 mph, with sustained winds near 110 mph.
I've been keeping up with the latest…
chaoticutopia | August 29, 2006Illusions in Lavender was the most difficult story I ever tried to write. I must have set it down a dozen times, driven by the same reluctance I feel writing this post, now. No matter how much research or editing is involved, writing about experiencing a mental illness can never be easy--especially for someone who takes pride in mental abilities.
Fifteen years ago, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Since then, I've learned to recognize the cycles of passion and despair as complex interactions between my body, my brain, and the environment around me. To some degree, I've also learned to…
chaoticutopia | August 28, 2006Life, at times, seems rather abstract. So, with little comment, I present an abstract fractal. Unlike most of my fractals, which resemble some form in nature, this one represents a figment of a dream. Since I can't exactly take a photograph from a dream, I'll let the fractal stand alone:
A Mandelbrot Set, using a radial wave function to color the outside of the set. (The inside remains black.)
I'll leave it at that, for now, until I can return to explain the symbolism in greater detail. In the meantime, here is a hint, disguised in one of my favorite poems:
A Dream Within A Dream
Take…
chaoticutopia | August 24, 2006My husband's name is Alan Franklin, but we affectionately call him Al. So, ever since he began to dabble in progressive politics, I've been expecting this day: Al Franken meets Al Franklin.
My Al's thoughts on the encounter can be found on his blog, at ProgressNowAction.org, along with a larger version of this picture. (We'll be sure to save a framed copy, to torture, er, I mean show the grandkids, someday.)
chaoticutopia | August 24, 2006I must apologize to anyone who stopped by in the past week. I had planned for a week long vacation, but neglected to plan for the usual chaos on my return, so it turned out to be more like two. Today was my son's first day of kindergarten, so we've been preparing supplies and talking about the "big kid school." I can't remember... was it that scary and exciting for us, as kindergarteners? Or has it always been more of an emotional struggle for the parents? Of course, my nerves are always shot on the first day of class, even in college. I also started classes this week. I realized that…
chaoticutopia | August 22, 2006I'm not sure why I write so many poems about the waves. They must be somewhat cathartic. I've been having trouble writing what I ought to be, and this one sort of spilled out. Please, pardon if the meter is a little rough... I have yet to polish it up.
(Untitled)
Who are they to think
That you can battle a wave?
Should you plunge a sword
In translucent swirling depths?
Or construct a mighty dam
And form a defensive front?
Force an attack
Splashing back
Make another wave
Cancel that approaching swell
Or will you increase its size?
Be inclined to ride the surf
To go with the flow
Or be ripped…
chaoticutopia | August 21, 2006If there were ever a post to elude a specific category here on ScienceBlogs, this would be it. If it were simply a "hey, I'm back from the mountains" post, I could stick it under "Chatter". But sometimes, visiting remote regions, like mist shrouded mountains or vast, dry swaths of blowing sand can cause one to reflect on many things.... including the big picture, the synthesis of it all. I did quite a bit of that this past week, including when I saw the comments on my Schrodinger's Apple post. When I set it to repost, I didn't expect such thoughtful response. I'd like to address those…
chaoticutopia | August 18, 2006This was actually the first Friday Fractal, originally posted on ChaoticUtopia.com on April 28th of this year. I've found many images in fractals which are reminiscent of forms in nature. Both the precise mathematical displays and the delicate shapes of life have an essence of intricate beauty, provoking strong feelings of awe--especially when they are strikingly similar.
Here is a section taken from the Mandelbrot set:
And its corresponding form in nature:
An ammonite fossil, Discoscaphites conradi, from the upper Cretaceous age, found in the Pierre Shale Formation here in Colorado.
This…
chaoticutopia | August 17, 2006Sometimes, inspiration and insight can come from the strangest places. This post, gathered from a series on my old site, describes my experiences with the classic symbol for morality: The apple (as in, the fruit of knowledge of good and evil.) It started with a dream that some would consider blasphemous, a journey into the world of myth and metaphor, and ended up with some of the ideas I wrote about last week. I've condensed it all into one post, so you'll have to forgive me if it is a bit more tangential than usual-or if I'm relaxing in a hot spring somewhere, rather than editing it.
The…
chaoticutopia | August 16, 2006The following is a short story-a work of fiction-or is it an epistemological metaphor? You decide.
Paper Dolls
By Karmen Lee Franklin
Leila has this collection of paper dolls. Some of them are tattered and yellow; those she keeps tucked away safely, so that she may later pull them out and fondly recall the times, long ago, when she played with them as they were new. She has new ones as well, all fresh and sharp; these she'll touch with a smile, and picture the way they should dress, or imagine how they would act, or where they will go together.
She delights in each one, seeing each unique cut…