Killing Trees in the name of Jesus!

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Image of Uncle Nutjob NOT used with permission....(but I'm sure he's fine with it)

Blind Pilot....a musical interlude....

A bit of tune a for your enjoyment..mostly mine though. Caught these fabulous musicians at the Liberty Theater in Astoria, OR. I look forward to more from them!
Blind Pilot [link]

uhhh...huh

while I have not had the time to post anything of worthy note, I did wish to share this little ditty with you....

STOP! THEIF!

HEADLINE: Colorado makes it legal for homeowners to harvest rainwater

I didn't know it flocking illegal to begin with, are kidding me?

read more (here) from Mother Nature Network 

The Codex Sinaiticus - online

LONDON.-A remarkable collaboration between institutions in the UK, Germany, Egypt, and Russia has succeeded in reuniting virtually more than 800 pages and fragments from the world's oldest surviving Christian bible, Codex Sinaiticus. For the first time, people around the world will be able to explore high resolution digital images of all the extant pages of the fourth-century book, which was written in Greek on parchment leaves by several scribes and had its text revised and corrected over the course of the following centuries.

To mark the online launch of the reunited Codex, the British Library is staging an exhibition, From Parchment to Pixel: The Virtual reunification of Codex Sinaiticus, which runs from Monday 6 July until Monday 7 September, 2009 in the Folio Society Gallery at the Library's St Pancras building. Visitors will be able to view a range of historic items and artefacts that tell the story of the Codex and its virtual reunification, along with spectacular interactive representations of the manuscript and a digital reconstruction of the changes to a specific page over the centuries. In addition, they will see on display in the Treasures Gallery, for the very first time, both volumes of Codex Sinaiticus held at the British Library.

The virtual reunification of Codex Sinaiticus is the culmination of a four-year collaboration between the British Library, Leipzig University Library, the Monastery of St Catherine (Mount Sinai, Egypt), and the National Library of Russia (St Petersburg), each of which hold different parts of the physical manuscript.

By bringing together the digitised pages online, the project will enable scholars worldwide to research in depth the Greek text, which is fully transcribed and cross-referenced, including the transcription of numerous revisions and corrections. It will also allow researchers into the history of the book as a physical object to examine in detail aspects of its fabric and manufacture: pages can be viewed either with standard light or with raking light which, by illuminating each page at an angle, highlights the physical texture and features of the parchment.

“The Codex Sinaiticus is one of the world's greatest written treasures,” said Dr Scot McKendrick, Head of Western Manuscripts at the British Library. “This 1600-year-old manuscript offers a window into the development of early Christianity and first-hand evidence of how the text of the bible was transmitted from generation to generation. The project has uncovered evidence that a fourth scribe – along with the three already recognised – worked on the text; the availability of the virtual manuscript for study by scholars around the world creates opportunities for collaborative research that would not have been possible just a few years ago.”

The Codex Sinaiticus Project was launched in 2005, when a partnership agreement was signed by the four partner organisations that hold extant pages and fragments. A central objective of the project is the publication of new research into the history of the Codex. Other key aims of the project were to undertake the preservation, digitisation and transcription of the Codex and thereby reunite the pages, which have been kept in separate locations for over 150 years.

Professor David Parker from the University of Birmingham's Department of Theology, who directed the team funded by the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), which made the electronic transcription of the manuscript said: “The process of deciphering and transcribing the fragile pages of an ancient text containing over 650,000 words is a huge challenge, which has taken nearly four years.

“The transcription includes pages of the Codex which were found in a blocked-off room at the Monastery of St Catherine in 1975, some of which were in poor condition,” added Professor Parker. “This is the first time that they have been published. The digital images of the virtual manuscript show the beauty of the original and readers are even able to see the difference in handwriting between the different scribes who copied the text. We have even devised a unique alignment system which allows users to link the images with the transcription. This project has made a wonderful book accessible to a global audience.”

To mark the successful completion of the project, the British Library is hosting an academic conference on 6-7 July 2009 entitled 'Codex Sinaiticus: text, Bible, book'. A number of leading experts will give presentations on the history, text, conservation, palaeography and codicology of the manuscript. See: http://www.codexsinaiticus.org/en/project/conference.aspx

Dr McKendrick added: “The Codex Sinaiticus is also a landmark in the history of the book, as it is arguably the oldest large bound book to have survived. For one volume to contain all the Christian scriptures book manufacture had to make a great technological leap forward – an advance comparable to the introduction of movable type or the availability of word processing. The Codex was huge in length – originally over 1460 pages – and large in page size, with each page measuring 16 inches tall by 14 inches wide. Critically, it marks the definite triumph of bound codices over scrolls – a key watershed in how the Christian bible was regarded as a sacred text.”
Artdaily.org 

All 800 surviving pages from Codex Sinaiticus, the earliest surviving Christian bible, now freely available to scholars worldwide at www.codexsinaiticus.org

Shepard Fairey from Arkitip on Vimeo.

A short video look at the layered process of Shepard Fairey.

Most notable as of late to the masses for his iconic image of President Obama in his HOPE poster. Politics aside, I have liked Shepard Fairey's stencil work for years. Heavily politically motivated and ever seeking to strike you with a message. When I say strike you, I mean if he could - he would have his work physically smack you across the face. I don't know - I just get that vibe. He first became known for his "André the Giant Has a Posse" sticker campaign (1989) and twenty years later is still going strong, and still getting arrested.

Video interview with Shepard Fairey on YouTube

Josaih McElheny - Beauty & Seduction

I have had the chance to see some of Josaih McElheny's work at the Phoenix Art Museum, very intriguing. I wish this clip showed more of his.  it is taken from the PBS television series ART:21, and is an excellent series of interviews of and about contemporary artist's of many disciplines. Check at you local library. (....cause I haven't been able to download them, and that would be wrong :)

Josiah McElheny presenting as part of the program "Artists and Models" on March 12, 2007 
(edited for time).

For the exhibition Projects 84, artist Josiah McElheny created a sculptural installation of crystalline glass, metal, and colored light that drew upon the visionary schemes of Paul Scheerbart, the Berlin poet and novelist, and Bruno Taut, the uncrowned leader of the circle of revolutionary architects that emerged in Berlin after World War I. McElheny's model-scale landscape depicting two structures—an "Alpine Cathedral" and a "City-Crown"—was a critique of the utopian ideals embodied in twentieth-century modernism.

For more information on the exhibition, please visit: http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/exhib...

Audio of the program, including a presentation by Joshua Siegel, the curator of the exhibition, is available at: http://moma.org/visit_moma/audio/2007... _2007.html

© 2007 The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Images courtesy of Josiah McElheny

Feeling rough around the edges? It feels great to trim the hedges!

OK the first time I saw this commercial the TV was muted...it took a second to sink in but I have to say I appreciated the subtlety of it (and the humor). The fact that it still translated well without hearing the pitch says something about it. After searching for it online, figuring I was bound to find a video of it to share with you I came across many comments from people upset about this commercial including this confusing one from 'squeehunter'
..."I don't really like to think about a woman, or anyone for that matter, shaving their pubic hair while I'm trying to watch TV."
really.....is this a problem often dealt with ,wtf?
Hell, I may get one a try to tame my own topiary.

Anyway, good job to Schick!  (even if they did steal the idea)
For comaparison the following video is from the UK advertising the
Wilkinson Sword Quatro
Not nearly as subtle, in fact very blatant....I can appreciate this one on a different level. 

 

...And while I'm at it here's another one for you.
U is the Australian variety of Kotex products.

Flesh Like Gel Remote Control - really, I can't make this stuff up.

This conceptual gel remote from Panasonic lays limp when not in use,
pulsating with a soft light. But when its sensors detect a hand coming,
it stiffens, ready for action!

"Constructed of a soft, flesh-like gel, the remote appears cold when off. Once turned on, however, it seems to come to life. A soft light emanates somewhere from within as the center of the device begins to slowly rise and fall, mimicking the tranquil motions of breath. Left undisturbed, the remote will slumber peacefully. But should a human hand approach, sensors inside alert it to the imminent touch. It stops breathing, grows rigid - the light from within is extinguished."

Wow, congratulations on the world's creepiest remote, Panasonic. Limp when not in use, rigid when you touch it. Does that remind you of something else? No? Me neither.

MoMA to Present the First Major U.S. Retrospective of Ron Arad's Work

The Museum of Modern Art presents Ron Arad: No Discipline, the first major U.S. retrospective of Arad’s work. Among the most influential designers of our time, Arad (British, b. Israel 1951) stands out for his daredevil curiosity about form, structure, technology, and materials and for the versatile nature of his work, which spans industrial design, hand-crafted studio pieces, sculpture, architecture, and mixed media installations. Arad’s relentless experimentation with the use of materials of all kinds—from steel, aluminum, and bronze, to thermoplastics, crystals, fiber optics, and LEDs—as well as his radical reinterpretation of some of the most established archetypes in furniture—from armchairs and rocking chairs to desk lamps and chandeliers—has put him at the forefront of contemporary design. The exhibition will feature approximately 140 works, including design objects, architectural models, and videos.
(link) artdaily.org

Pardon My Mess

Like everything else I make nothing is ever finished. So there are allot of changes happening here and elsewhere on the web as I endeavor to shamelessly promote myself. You'll notice some drastic changes in the coming days to this site and it's links to others. I hope you will find the new layout and additional pages interesting and more easily navigable. In my attempts to bring a cohesiveness to my rampantly running amok through blogs and assorted web pages I have finally concentrated on a solid layout. Time now to herd my content and assorted ramblings into the barnyard.

I will continue to post here in the future content which I find interesting (and by default you should too).

In addition to my flock'n blog there is more I have in store. Take note of the new menu bar located both fore and aft.
There you will find links to the following:

HOME - My main site to find finished works and links to how you can see and buy them. (please take them off my hands)
ABOUT - Well I think that is self explanatory
STUDIO - Here you will find my musings regarding works in progress (live studio cam to come soon)
SHOP - Uh, do I have to explain that one?
BLOG - Thats where you are at now!
CONTACT - A direct link to email me (feel free to do so with any questions, comments or ramblings of your own)

OK, So thats it....Thanks - carry on.

Bruce McCall: Nostalgia for a future that never happened

Illustrator and humorist Bruce McCall paints our imagined future -- a supercharged, streamlined fantasyland that teeters on the edge of hysteria.
From TED Talks