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Saturday, February 11, 2012

February 10th, peaceful Friday night 2012

Love this one. A Cockatoo feeding a husky strands of spaghetti one at a time. Marvelous expressions and I love the way the bird seems to be exploring the texture of the steel bowl as well as its relationship with the dog. 
Eerie squeaks and groaning of the frozen Odessa Sea


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And in another corner of this extraordinary planet:
The people of Kangiqsujuaq in Canada go to great lengths to add variety to their diet of seal meat, venturing under the sea ice during the extreme low tides of the spring equinox to gather mussels.


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Cute hamster butt. A hamster going down a hole in a Japanese doll's house.

Silly modern chair sitting

Aww. It must be so hard for these sisters and their family, in Pune, India.

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Three sisters with a rare condition, named Werewolf Syndrome





A street artist from Chile, who does Bob Ross kind of kitsch paintings by hand on glass with his fingers, completing each image in 40 seconds to less than 3 minutes.
Fabian Gaete Maureira, street artist. His website.

Interesting to see shoes being made by hand

Amazing folding chair
Some awesome ideas (suggest turning the sound off). Furniture Of The Future

What a gentleman! Horse opens the door for his companion.

Another unlikely bird and dog combo. 
This one is a pelican, not known for being especially friendly to other creatures, nuzzling up to a sleeping dog. It's not trying to eat the dog as the video title says and the dog seems quite content with the pelican love.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

quiet Tuesday night Feb 7th 2012




Smile inducing. Twins rockin to Johnny Cash







The Dinky Bird illustrated by Maxfield Parrish



The Dinky Bird
By Eugene Field

Tis the land of Wonder-Wander,
Whither children love to go;
It's their playing, romping, swinging,
That give great joy to me
While the Dinkey-Bird goes singing
In the amfalula tree!
There the gum-drops grow like cherries,
And taffy's thick as peas -
Caramels you pick like berries
When, and where, and how you please;
Big red sugar-plums are clinging
To the cliffs beside that sea
Where the Dinkey-Bird is singing
In the amfalula tree.

So when children shout and scamper
And make merry all the day,
When there's naught to put a damper
To the ardor of their play;
When I hear their laughter ringing,
Then I'm sure as sure can be
That the Dinkey-Bird is singing
In the amfalula tree.

For the Dinkey-Bird's bravuras
And staccatos are so sweet
His roulades, appoggiaturas,
And robustos so complete,
That the youth of every nation 
Be they near or far away -
Have especial delectation
In that gladsome roundelay.

Their eyes grow bright and brighter,
Their lungs begin to crow,
Their hearts get light and lighter,
And their cheeks are all aglow;
For an echo cometh bringing
The news to all and me,
That the Dinkey-Bird is singing
In the amfalula tree.

I'm sure you like to go there
To see your feathered friend -
And so many goodies grow there
You would like to comprehend!
Speed, little dreams, your winging
To that land across the sea
Where the Dinkey-Bird is singing
In the amfalula tree!


Delightfully mesmerizing. Fungal Fantastical: 
The Spirit of Good


Chinese New Year in Chengdu



The following art and collages by Matthew Cusick








Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Thank you Nikolai Bezroukov for your marvelous gem of a website

Occasionally one comes across a blog with a whole bunch of unexpected combinations of things. SoftPanorama is one of those. It is a vast, practical and, in many cases, if one needs that information, a life saving resource. It's not especially beautiful to look at, has some quirky Russian-English grammar/misspellings but is seriously worth exploring, bookmarking and sharing with friends.

It was created by Nikolai Bezroukov. Among the many things I love about his website is that it is not just academic information, it's based on his practical experience. It's not just full of wisdom, science, knowledge, links, it has plenty of humor as well as some really entertaining video links too.

First there is the excellent and very useful

Classification of Corporate Psychopaths



Then there is this page with ideas about coping with lousy bosses

Coping with the toxic stress in IT environment


There is this brilliant and very useful page

Communication with Corporate Psychopaths



NewsBooksRecommended LinksRecommended PapersNegative politeness
Diplomatic communicationSocratic QuestionsFive Points Verbal Response TestRules of Verbal Self DefenseCopying with anger
Communication with MicromanagersThe psychopath in the corner officeCoping with the micromanagement induced stressHumorEtc


Surviving a Bad Performance Review

NewsBooksRecommended LinksThe psychopath in the corner officeSteps for Decreasing Toxic WorryBurnoutLearned helplessness
AuthoritariansUnderstanding Borderline RageAnger trapUnderstanding Micromanagers and control freaksBully ManagersAuthoritariansNarcissistic Managers
Office Stockholm SyndromeRules of CommunicationRules of Verbal Self DefenseFive Points Verbal Response TestDiplomatic CommunicationHumorEtc

Then there is a fascinating essay exploring the political manipulation of science under the malignant narcissism of a political 'leader' such as Stalin. The author calls this a technocult, Nikolai Bezroukov's Short Introduction to LysenkoismThe term "Lysenkoism" denote a very dangerous phenomenon: an effort to suppress and/or outlaw a field of research or opinions when they conflict with a dominant political agenda.


It's included in a group of links called

Science, PseudoScience and Society




Then there is a great resource, all connected with Information Technology and computers

Then there is a strange and delightful collection of Russian Oldies, wonderful to explore.

Were you curious what the Russians were up to during The Cold War? Well, here's some of what they were listening to before the monster, post-Soviet business oligarchs took over, the Berlin wall came crumbling down and the USSR broke into many pieces. Warning: Amusing Soviet kitsch ahead as well as some amazing singing.

Russian Music Oldies on YouTube

NewsPop MusicRecommended LinksSelected SongsSelected female singersSelected male singersWaltzChoirsRussian interpretation of foreign hits
RomancesSongs of the wartimeDuetsOld Russian Rock GroupsBardsRussian Basso ProfondoClassic Ukrainian songsSongs from Famous Russian CartoonsBalalaika Hits
Russian TangoFemale Vocal GroupsSongs from Popular Russian FilmsRussian ShansonEmigration songsEugene OneginQueen of Spades
SinyavskayaNetrebkoAnna GermanRotaruPugachevaTolkunovaShulzhenko Edita PyehaElena Kamburova
GerelloHvorostovskyYury GulayevNicolai GeddaBaskovAntonovAlexander VertinskiMuslim MagomaevLetshenko
 My StarThose Were the Days Foggy MorningThe last word Dark EyesMoscow NightsFigure skatingRussian musical humorTetris music


These are a few examples of Russian Oldies:

ВИА Верасы "Люблю тебя" Песня года - 1979

My Address is the Soviet Union

VIA "Flame" Song of Friendship

VIA "Verasy" I live with my grandmother

На сопках Манчжурии / The Hills of Manchuria
(With English subtitles)


Then there is the basso profundo collection. Wow. I never heard any human voice that low! (Except for the Gyuto Monks Tantric Choir)
check this one out. Knocked my socks off.
Vladimir Pasjukov - Do not reject me in my old age

Basso Profondo LOW G CAGE MATCH!

Whoa! This is lowwww!
lowest note Vladimir Pasuik & Viktor Wichniakov

Another bass singer: Bass Eugene Orlov sings Rachmaninov Cavatina Aleko

The Largest bass voices

Russian Red Army Choir - Song of the Volga Boatmen (1965)

Evening bells - Вечерний звон - Abendglocken

Charming to think of a flea as having a song. Aww.
Mark Reizen sings Song of the Flea



Drug Dealers vs. Software Developers



 Drug dealers                  Software developers
Refer to their clients as "users"Refer to their clients as "users"
"The first one's free!""Download a free trial version..."
Have important South-East Asian connections (to help move the stuff)Have important South-East Asian connections (to help debug the code)
Strange jargon:  "Stick," "Rock,", Joint," "Dime bag," "E"                 Strange jargon:"SCSI," "RTFM,", "Java," "NAS"
Realize that there's tons of cash in the  14- to 25-year-old  market                        Realize that there's tons of cash in the  14- to 25-year-old  market  
Job is assisted by industry's producing  newer, more potent mixesJob is assisted by industry's producing  newer, faster machines
Often seen in the company  of of pimps and hustlersOften seen in the company of marketing people and venture capitalists
Their product causes  unhealthy addictionsDOOM. Quake. SimCity. Duke Nukem
'Nuff said.
Do your job well, and you can sleep with movie stars who depend on youDamn! Damn! DAMN!!!



Then there is a whole page of economic crisis humor
which includes these gems: 

and


Ok, saved the charmingly likable for last. His lovely page of

And that led me to this beauty, The Humpbacked Horse, vol 1, but I guess I'll have to explore the amazing world of Russian animation on another day

Monday, February 6, 2012

wandering around the Columbia University art history database, Feb 6th 2012




China, Han Dynasty. Kneeling Female Burial Figure, from Xian, Shenxi Province; Earthenware; ht. 34 cm; Shenxi Museum. 


China, Ming Dynasty. Poem (detail) by Dong Qichang; 1555-1636; hanging scroll; ink on silk; New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Amida Raigo Triptych; Central Section; det: face of central figure; Japanese; Late Heian Per.; late 11c; Mt. Koya: Kongobuji; color/silk; h: 83 in.; [CU: AH_0203_186_2]


China, Six Dynasties. Yungang, Cave 20, from Yungang, Shanxi; N. Wei, ca. 460 CE; sandstone.

 
Maurice Denis, Eternal Spring: the Bath (detail), 1908  

Bruegel, Hunters in the Snow, detail of right side showing ice-skaters, signed and dated 1565, (oil on panel, full size 117 x 162 cm [46 x 63 3/4 in]), Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna
Koryo Dynasty. Celadon Wine Pot with Lid; late 12 c.; glazed porcelain with inlaid slip design; ht: 8 1/2 in. x base 3 in.; Seoul, Toksu Palace Museum of Fine Arts.
View of London before fire of 1666 
Henri Matisse, The Red Room or The Dessert -- Harmony in Red, 1908

Félix Vallotton, Portrait of Gertrude Stein, 1907

Japan, Edo Period. 33 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Katsushika Hokusai; 19th c.; polychrome woodblock print.  
Japan, Edo Period. Sudden Shower Over Shinohashi Bridge and Atake by Ando Hiroshige; 19th c.; polychrome woodblock print; Brooklyn, Brooklyn Museum of Art. 
Korea, Choson Dynasty. Scenic Spots of Songdo, by Kang Se-hwang; 18th c.; album leaf; ink and color on paper. 
Korea, Three Kingdoms Period. Stoneware Vessel in Form of Mounted Warrior from Silla; from Kyongju, N. Kyongsang Province; ht. 23.5 cm, length 29.4 cm 

China , Han Dynasty. Galloping horse, from Leitai tomb, Wuwei, Gansu Province; 2nd c. CE, bronze; ht. 34.5 cm, length 45 cm; Beijing, Palace Museum. 
Amida Raigo Triptych; Right Section; det: face of biwa player; Japanese; Late Heian Per.; late 11c; Mt. Koya: Kongobuji; color/silk; h: 83 in.; [CU: AH_0203_186_13]