Random Stuff
esiegel | October 21, 2012"The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web." -Pablo Picasso
People find artistic inspiration from a plethora of different sources, ranging from the very complex to the extremely simple. This weekend, I'd like to share with you one of the most stunning, simple artistic constructions I've ever seen. For some reason, the song I'd like to share with you to take you through it is 1990s rapper Skee-Lo's take on a School House Rock classic,
The Tale of Mr. Morton.
Using…
esiegel | October 14, 2012"History is full of people who out of fear, or ignorance, or lust for power has destroyed knowledge of immeasurable value which truly belongs to us all. We must not let it happen again." -Carl Sagan
From the streets and people of our hometown to the nations, planets, stars and galaxies (and beyond) of our Universe, there's an immensity of knowledge to be gained from a single human lifetime, if only we have the courage to let go of our preconceptions and discover it. Laura Viers might tell you that in her own way in her 2005 song,
Galaxies.
But no one is born with this knowledge; it takes hard…
esiegel | October 7, 2012"As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being." -Carl Jung
During the daytime, light is plentiful and abundant, and the majority of our waking lives are optimized for that. But more and more of us are active late into the dark hours, when -- as Owen Pallett (formerly Final Fantasy) would tell us -- the last of
Your Light is Spent.
Unfortunately for us, our bodies are accustomed to certain types of light during the day, and expect a different type of night at light.
Image credit: TableTop Studio Ltd or LLC.
Because there's a…
esiegel | September 30, 2012“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” -Rudyard Kipling
You might not believe it, but when I was a kid, I hated writing. Absolutely hated it. And it wasn't because I didn't have anything to write, or because I didn't enjoy communicating my thoughts, or because I didn't like the written word, because I always enjoyed reading. Perhaps because I was a lefty with bad handwriting, I felt that the entire enterprise of writing was against me.
Image credit: samarth over at MemeCenter.
Of course, that was my issue to work through, and not only do I write all…
esiegel | September 26, 2012"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye." -Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The great nebular structures stretching across our galaxy are evidence of the birth and deaths of stars, or so I -- an astrophysicist -- have been telling you. But an apparently void region of our sky was discovered to house a nebula so remarkable, that I never would have imagined it could exist in the heavens.
Image credit: a 10-degree field-of-view on the sky, created with Stellarium.
Just a degree or two away from the…
esiegel | September 23, 2012"In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility." -Eleanor Roosevelt
I've always been a big fan of personal freedom, which includes the freedom to speak your mind, say what you think, ask questions, be wrong, and learn. This is, after all, how we've all improved ourselves over our lives, as none of us were born knowing all that we've managed to acquire over our lifetimes.
And I've never had to have an official comment policy for all the years I've been blogging; the most I've ever…
esiegel | September 15, 2012"What a shot by Happy Gilmore! <aside> Who the hell is Happy Gilmore?" -Announcer, from Happy Gilmore
As I prepare to write this, it occurs to me that some of you may not have seen the greatest* movie of all time, Happy Gilmore. The movie begins with a montage of Happy's disastrous and violent childhood, where he -- a wannabe hockey player -- is raised by his very sweet grandma (played by Frances Bay, RIP one year today) while the you're treated to the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic,
Tuesday's Gone.
Happy has an amazingly powerful slap shot, which isn't quite enough to land him with a minor…
esiegel | August 31, 2012"The time will not be taken from the sum of your life. Instead of shortening it, it will indefinitely lengthen it and make you truly immortal. Nevermore will time seem short or long, and cares will never again fall heavily on you, but gently and kindly as gifts from heaven." -John Muir, on Glacier National Park
It's always hard to tear yourself away from your day-to-day life, from the things you work hard at building, and remember that there's a whole wide world -- and a whole Universe -- to experience and enjoy. Perhaps the best times in my life involve going off to explore some new and, at…
esiegel | August 19, 2012“If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom.” -Dwight Eisenhower
One of the greatest feelings is the freedom to travel, whether by your own power or a mechanical motor, far faster than your own legs can take you. Kimya Dawson understands how delightful this is (and how much is missing when you can't have it), as you can likely tell from her song,
My Bike
I've always loved the feeling of biking, fast, along a deserted road, feeling the wind rush past me and seeing the world go by.
Image credit: Flickr…
esiegel | August 11, 2012"Stuff that's hidden and murky and ambiguous is scary because you don't know what it does." -Jerry Garcia
Earlier this month, one of my favorite musical artist of all-time would have turned seventy. This weekend, I'm off at a fantastic music festival where they're celebrating the life of Jerry Garcia, and in addition to being the leader of the Grateful Dead, he was also a huge influence in the world of bluegrass, americana and folk music. While I always loved his songs about lovable scoundrels, here's a duet of him with David Grisman performing the much more pastoral
Shady Grove,
and there's…
esiegel | July 28, 2012"Arithmetic! Algebra! Geometry! Grandiose trinity! Luminous triangle! Whoever has not known you is without sense!" -Comte de Lautréamont
When you think about it, it's amazing that our physical Universe makes sense at all. The fact that we can observe what's happening, determine the laws that govern it, and predict what will happen under the same or similar circumstances is the most remarkable power that science has. If that's what you're doing in any aspect of your life, congratulations, you are a scientist. But that doesn't tell us, fundamentally, what the Universe is like at its most basic…
esiegel | July 15, 2012"So when the cat has got your tongue, there's no need for dismay!
Just summon up this word and then you've got a lot to say!
Pick out those eighteen consonants and sixteen vowels as well,
And put them in an order which is very hard to spell..."
-Supercalifragilisticexpialadocious, The Sherman Brothers
There's something mysterious about foreign languages that we do not speak; the word barbarian comes from the ancient Greeks, who thought that the speech of the Medes and Persians sounded like "bar bar bar" to them. While we might be quick to dismiss such sounds as gibberish, Italian entertainer…
esiegel | July 1, 2012"Are we to paint what's on the face, what's inside the face, or what's behind it?" -Pablo Picasso
As an animal lover, like others here on scienceblogs, as well as a big fan of Halloween costumes, it's probably unsurprising that a good, creative animal costume will crack me up.
Three more turtle dogs and a giant rat will complete the set!
Turn your sweet, harmless puppy into the fearsome guardian of Hades by adding two extra heads!
Sometimes, you just need to play to your strengths. In this case, it's ridiculous cuteness.
Dressing animals like other animals is practically its own artform…
esiegel | June 24, 2012"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made." -Groucho Marx
Now that the solstice is behind us and summer is officially here (for most of us), it's time to start enjoying the greatest fruits of the season. With the technical difficulties of the great scienceblogs migration (hopefully) behind us, I think I've discovered how to successfully bring a weekly song back to my weekend posts, too! Have a listen to Aimee Mann as she sings one of my favorites of hers,
Little Bombs.
Out where I live, in Oregon, now is the season that one of my favorite fruits…
esiegel | June 9, 2012"Art has never been a popularity contest." -James Levine
Sometimes, you might feel like you've heard it all, seen it all, and that nothing's original anymore. But I beg to differ. Just because great things have come before doesn't mean that there aren't great things happening right now. While it might "only" be a cover of a Kanye West song (which itself heavily samples a Ray Charles song, at one time featured here), I encourage you to listen to the Automatic's brilliant version of
Gold Digger.
And while the stories of the Universe I tell you about here don't tend to be my personal, original…
esiegel | June 2, 2012"If a 'religion' is defined to be a system of ideas that contains unprovable statements, then Gödel taught us that mathematics is not only a religion, it is the only religion that can prove itself to be one." -John Barrow
Image credit: Codex Vindobonensis 2554 (French, ca. 1250), in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek.
Image is from the front cover of the most important medieval picture bible to survive. But the caption is all my fault. Anyone can fool some of the people some of the time, but to enrage all of the people all of the time, that takes talent. Don't worry, I've got no future…
esiegel | May 27, 2012"Listen, and understand. That terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead." -Kyle Reese, the Terminator
Sure, they may look innocent now. Maybe you think they'll even live peacefully with us and create nothing but beauty, as Florence + the Machine might have you believe with their song,
Cosmic Love.
But the apocalypse will soon be upon us. And I think that this cute fella may be just the thing that ushers it in.
NAO robot, courtesy of Aldebaran Robotics,…
esiegel | May 11, 2012"I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different." -Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut may have it right for most of us, but not all of us spend all of our time on Earth. A select dozen of us, in fact, have made it, as Cat Power would sing, to
The Moon.
Image credit: Apollo 15, Dave Scott, NASA.
Back in 1971, the Apollo 15 astronauts made huge strides in space exploration, making use of the first manned lunar rover and spending over 18 hours on activities outside of the spacecraft. But two (of the three) crew members experienced heartbeat irregularities on…
esiegel | May 6, 2012
"There was a time when a fool and his money were soon parted, but now it happens to everybody." -Adlai E. Stevenson
One of the worst feelings that I've ever experienced is when I feel as though someone has played me for a fool, and fleeced me out of my time, my money, and my trust. The Dang-Its know what I'm talking about; have a listen to their song,
Make A Fool Out Of Me.
One of the most common ads I see on the internet is for these miraculous, weight-loss, muscle-building "solutions," usually accompanied by some spectacular before-and-after photos. Here are a couple of examples, all…
esiegel | April 28, 2012"They will see us waving from such great heights
'Come down now,' they'll say.
But everything looks perfect from far away
'Come down now,' but we'll stay." -The Postal Service
Whether you're under urban, city skies, where only a few dozen stars are visible on a clear night, or beneath some of the darkest skies on Earth, the Universe is out there, and you can get started discovering it, right now, for yourself. You can have yourself, as Bishop Allen would sing,
Another Wasted Night,or you can take advantage of it. For me, I currently live in Portland, OR, where the twilight looks like this.…