The Arrow of Time
chaoticutopia | October 8, 2008Time passes and the universe expands... but not so much locally. Here, something else happens altogether. Time passes, the amount of space stays the same, but the amount of information contained within grows increasingly dense. We may be products of this, or we may produce it. As we are driven to explore the world around us, we carve it up with boundaries and divisions, categorizing any information we can get our hands on. Our categories get smaller and smaller, each more specific and detailed than the last. In a sense, our drive to divide and label at increasingly smaller scales seems…
chaoticutopia | September 9, 2008I love it when other people say exactly what I’m thinking, but in better words. Take Gloria Steinem on Sarah Palin for instance:
Women have become so politically powerful that even the anti-feminist right wing--the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party--are trying to appease the gender gap with a first-ever female vice president. We owe this to women--and to many men too--who have picketed, gone on hunger strikes or confronted violence at the polls so women can vote. (via the LA Times)
That’s right. Good for them. ’Bout freaking time. Of course, Steinem goes on to describe many…
chaoticutopia | September 8, 2008Oh, what a couple of weeks. Between preparing for the DNC and hosting out of town guests, my plans to return to blogging were somehow delayed. Now the excitement has passed and I’ve run out of excuses to avoid my computer. So, as I turn to this giant pile of bloggable stuff, I am wondering how on Earth I’ll ever catch up. Why not start with where I’ve already been?
Of course, this is old news now, as everyone has gone on to gossip about Sarah Palin, but I can’t help it... Barak Obama’s acceptance speech at the DNC was incredible. My husband Alan and I got to attend, with pretty good seats:…
chaoticutopia | February 29, 2008It is rather fun to have a birthday on February 29th. Today is my 8th birthday, which is pretty weird, considering my young son will have his 8th birthday later in the year. For him, it’ll be the same old birthday. For me, it’s, well, the same old birthday, but it only happens once every four years. Other leap babies, who are today turning 16 on their 4th birthday or 84 on their 21st birthday or just 4 on their 1st birthday, have their own opinions. For me, it is simply an excuse to post a themed collection of otherwise random links.
So... what’s the deal with Leap Day?
John at Cosmic…
chaoticutopia | January 8, 2008For those who know my blog well, you might think this is going to be another apology for a lack of posts. Surprise... it isn’t. No, honestly, I’m just pondering the nature of time and complexity again, or at least how it applies to this thing we call life. It seems like we’re obsessed with being on time: hurry up and wait; walk, don’t run, but aren’t you supposed to be there by now? Sounds stressful. Yet, if there is anything I’ve learned about life, it is that stress is a waste of time. Are we all caught in some fantastic Catch-22? Or is there a way out?
All right.... this isn’t really a…
chaoticutopia | August 31, 2007My adventures in NY Chicago Iowa, continued: First Day of the Month
I arrive in Chicago late, missing the science blogger caucus, but returning just in time to have dinner with some of the Colorado bloggers, care of Jared Polis, a local congressional candidate. The dishes at the restaurant, the Firehouse, are excellent (mmm... gazpacho!) but what I end up truly savoring are Jared’s ideas. He has some interesting experience... he spent a lot of time as a member of the Colorado board of education, and so understands the plight that our schools are in. He seems to have a good business sense, as…
chaoticutopia | August 30, 2007My adventures in NY Chicago, continued: Second day of the month
A Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) at the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago(Note: This butterfly has nothing to do with the convention or the following post, but it was too lovely a shot to leave out.)
The YearlyKos convention is in full swing, Before the science rumpus begins, it’s time for coffee with Justin Cole of Media Matters. About a dozen or so bloggers from Colorado and a few other places gather to discuss the way breaking news is handled by the media. Concerns about newspaper stories with a conservative bias…
chaoticutopia | August 28, 2007Note: I’m just skipping an entire week in my reverse chronological travel series here; glossing over the dull days spent between my trip to Chicago and my trip to NYC. It more or less went like this: clean, pack, launder, fill in paperwork, speak with old friends, acquire school items, clean, pack, launder...etc,. In other words, you’d rather I skip to the travelling parts, as the title suggests. There is a point during the week where I watch others describe their experiences at YearlyKos, and I’m actually relieved to see a guy from Pajamas Media feeding the controversy about a solider in…
chaoticutopia | August 26, 2007My adventures in NY, continued: Friday Morning (Or was it Thursday night?)
I meet Janet at Denver International Airport, late at night, and together we take a redeye to New York. I manage to leave my laptop cable on the plane, and realize it just in time to watch the doors to the jetway close. It is still too early to talk to anyone associated with the airline. Despite the mistake that will leave me without a laptop for several days, all is well, and we catch a train into the city. We arrive a little bleary-eyed, but are soon refreshed by the smell and sustenance of classic NY diner…
chaoticutopia | August 25, 2007My adventures in NY, continued: Friday Afternoon
Bloggers converge on Seed HQ. I finally get the chance to meet many of my sciblings, some who I met previously, and many new, friendly faces. Among those who I haven’t mentioned elsewhere are Grrlscientist, Tara, Orli, Jennifer, James, Josh, Jake and Kara, Greta and Dave Munger, Mike, Mark, Mo, Evil Monkey, Carl, Orac, Steve, and our fearless leaders, Ginny and Katherine.
We are served copious amounts of wine and beer, so what follows seems a little stranger than usual. I am quickly spotted by Dr. Steve Steve, who must have heard about my…
chaoticutopia | August 24, 2007My adventures in NY, continued: Friday Night
We attend a private party at Seed Editor, Adam Bly’s house. The catering is rich and delightful, with an exotic assortment of cheeses and antipasto. We all nosh, drink a bit of wine, and listen to well-spoken words from Adam and Katherine. I get the opportunity to talk a little with Bora and his wife, Katharine, who are wonderful people. (Bora’s enthusiasm for getting bloggers to network is an invaluable asset, online or off.)
After we’re all stuffed with fine food and conversation, we find our way into a tiny dive in the East Village,…
chaoticutopia | August 23, 2007My adventures in NY, continued: Saturday "Morning" (more accurately, afternoon, but it feels like a morning)
I wake up after too few hours of sleep, and find that a group is on their way to breakfast. Following the promise of coffee, I decide to tag along. Getting ready to go, I get the chance to talk with Sheril Kirschenbaum, who recently began blogging with Chris Mooney at The Intersection. It turns out we have many common interests, including complex adaptive systems. There are less than a baker’s dozen who joined up for breakfast, making a nice light crowd. Both the coffee and…
chaoticutopia | August 23, 2007My adventures in NY, continued: Sunday Morning
I say the last of my farewells, and lament that I can’t see all my sciblings again before I leave. With plenty of time before my flight, I decide to go wander around New York a little bit. It turns out to be a natural choice... it almost feels as if I’ve found my own unique path in this city of five million people.. For instance, I stop near NYU to look at some paperback books displayed on a rickety card table along the sidewalk. There seems to be an unusually high number of philosophical pieces, I note, as I purchase a book on metamorphosis.…
chaoticutopia | August 22, 2007My adventures in NY, continued: Sunday Night
My flight is delayed, despite the fact that I arrived at LaGuardia incredibly early. Good thing I wasn’t late, though. My carry-on luggage is searched at security (even though I wasn’t carrying any frogs--which were spotted all over NYC) and there is an awkward moment while I explain why I’m carrying a vial with a fox penis bone in it. I find my way through, and eventually, onto the plane for a turbulent flight home. I can’t see the Rockies as we fly into DIA, because it is well after midnight, but I don’t mind. As much as I loved my travels, it’s…
chaoticutopia | August 22, 2007The last few weeks have been something of an adventure, as I’ve traveled across the US to visit some of our larger cities. For anyone who reads other blogs here at Science Blogs, it isn’t much of a secret that I was in New York this last weekend for a meet-up with other science bloggers. Between that and the convention in Chicago prior, it’s been a wild time. It’s been rather inspirational, as well, in more ways than I can explain in an introductory teaser. Don’t worry, I’m about to share all of the highlights, along with pictures... I’m just going to do it backwards, in multiple segments.…
chaoticutopia | July 4, 2007We declared independence, formed a country, and have been celebrating on the fourth ever since. Here is the second in our series of Fourth of July treats, a glimpse back to the early 20th century, with, yep, you guessed it, pictures by Charles S. Lillybridge:
About 100 years ago today, City Park in Denver was shrouded in flags:
Folks came out to picnic, bringing little flags and box lunches:
Everyone, including, happy babies and grumpy old men:
Charles S. Lillybridge often brought this patriotic fervor to his own studio, along the banks of the Archer canal and the Platte river. Girls would…
chaoticutopia | June 28, 2007Ice cream soda, lemonade, milkshakes, lunch, cigars and tobacco:
A summertime park picture by Charles S. Lillybridge
Summer at the park in Denver was a little different 100 years ago. I'll never understand how they beat the heat in those long sleeves and skirts. We certainly can't blame them for hanging around the Ice Cold Drink Stand.While I'd probably pass on the cigars, an ice cold lemonade would be wonderful right about now. Unfortunately, you only find these sorts of stands in theme parks anymore. Between the admission price, obligatory souvenirs, and the overpriced drink itself, you…
chaoticutopia | June 26, 2007I sent this petroglyph photograph to SmartGirlsRock for my recent interview, despite the fact that I've never posted it on my site. There is a bit of background story to it. My mom, who teaches high school anthropology, has always been a big fan of ancient rock art. A few summers ago, we drove cross country to California, and stopped in Utah to check out a few carvings along the way. While we were there, I found a lizard warming himself on a rock, not too far from a rock covered in petroglyphs. The clearest picture on the rock was a lizard. I was delighted to find prehistory repeating. This…
chaoticutopia | June 13, 2007
Dad and the Dog
I get the feeling that the little girl wasn't posing for this picture, rather, she seems content just to watch her father and the dog create a spectacle for Lillybridge's camera. While the outfits, especially the hats and suspenders, suggest this picture was taken sometime in the 1910s, you could probably find exactly the same scene around Denver today. Frame houses with cottonwood trees, partially overgrown yards, and little dogs are still quite common. Thankfully, so are dads who are willing to act silly, play with the dog, or otherwise make their little girls smile.…
chaoticutopia | June 6, 2007
Now who was supposed to keep this park clean?
While gathering in a Denver park, picnickers pause to pose for Charles S. Lillybridge.
Photographer Charles S. Lillybridge lived along the Platte River near the Archer Canal, by the Alameda Avenue bridge, in Denver, Colorado. In the early 20th century, he took thousands of pictures of his working-class neighborhood. Today, the Archer Canal has been replaced by Interstate 25. Supermarkets have replaced small shops. Something about the people, however, remains the same. It is still a working class neighborhood, and the same trees grow along the…