frag/MINCE

slavin: “I’ve also thought a lot about the reproduction of...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:31:10 -0400

“I’ve also thought a lot about the reproduction of these animals. Imagine these Strandbeests making copies of themselves simply by feeding them plastic tubes. I’m sure this is possible, but I need a few more million years to make that a reality.

Today, Strandbeests have an ability to multiply that I wasn’t aware of in 2007. Let me explain. The leg system of the beach animals works because of a combination of certain lengths of tubes. Because of the proportion of lengths, the animals walk smoothly. You could say that this range of numbers is their genetic code. I published this genetic code on my website and since then, hundreds of students, especially in the United States, have been able to produce their own Strandbeests. (Search YouTube for “theo jansen mechanism” and you will find them.)

You may argue that humans do this replication, but I see it differently. The Strandbeest is a self-replicating meme, a brain virus. It infects the student’s brain. In fact, the Strandbeest abuse students for their reproduction. For two years, this reproduction fell into a flow acceleration. Now, 3D printers produce walking mini Strandbeests. They are born, not assembled, and walk on the table, which you can see here.”

Nice Theo Jansen piece in HuffPo.

arpeggia: Marsha Cottrell’s drawings, 2011-2012, iron oxide on...

Mon, 27 May 2013 13:57:32 -0400

Impossible Night, 2011

Hitherto Unknown Lights, 2011

Polar Sun, 2012

Between Spherical Waves #3, 2011

Seas and Fables, 2011

arpeggia:

Marsha Cottrell’s drawings, 2011-2012, iron oxide on mulberry paper

Brooklyn-based artist Marsha Cottrell creates deft, intricate drawings of stellar landscapes, imaginary worlds floating light years away. ”The first landscape images in art I connected with as a young person were da Vinci’s “deluge” drawings,” she told Review Interview. “I was attracted to the idea that they were not representations of actual places, but eternal/internal landscapes that might be found anywhere at any moment in time. Their energy, architecture, and intricacy—but not rigidity—always appealed to me. They seemed to present an open platform with which to interact, and I’ve always aspired for my own work operate in a similar way.” Click to look through the stars, and then be sure to head over to Cottrell’s website to check out more of her work. [flavorwire]

"(…) perhaps the tribe of statisticians will be consoled by the literary scholar Jiro Tanaka, who..."

Mon, 27 May 2013 13:51:16 -0400

“(…) perhaps the tribe of statisticians will be consoled by the literary scholar Jiro Tanaka,...

dearbennichols: I just posted the original Joey Kneiser version...

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 12:45:07 -0400

dearbennichols:

I just posted the original Joey Kneiser version on my personal Tumblr, but thought I’d share the Benjamin Nichols cover here. :)

So good.

johnmoreland: Oh JuliaCXCW New song by John Moreland....

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:21:21 -0400

johnmoreland:

Oh Julia
CXCW

New song by John Moreland. “Oh Julia”. So good.

"Andy Warhol thought in the future everyone would have their 15 minutes of fame. Francois Truffaut..."

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:03:55 -0500

“Andy Warhol thought in the future everyone would have their 15 minutes of fame. Francois...

"The next decade or so will be defined more by fluidity than by any new, settled paradigm; if there..."

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 08:53:38 -0500

“The next decade or so will be defined more by fluidity than by any new, settled paradigm; if...

new-aesthetic: One of the biggest supermarkets in Edinburgh...

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 08:53:12 -0500

new-aesthetic:

One of the biggest supermarkets in Edinburgh was left with empty shelves on Tuesday after it was accidentally wiped off a computer system at the company’s head office in Leeds.

Deliveries to the Asda store in Chesser, Edinburgh, dried up after an IT worker deleted the shop from a delivery computer, according to a report in The Scotsman newspaper. As a result, essential re-orders were not processed and the shelves were rapidly cleared of fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, eggs and other high-turnover items.

“I asked one of the assistants what was going on and was told that someone in America pressed a button and deleted the whole store from their systems, which I think is hilarious.”

Asda store left empty after being accidentally wiped from computer system - 10 Jan 2013 - Computing News

hah

wowgreat: fractal iteration 3530 (3530_svg_iteration03_48) (by...

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 18:42:43 -0500

wowgreat:

fractal iteration 3530 (3530_svg_iteration03_48) (by HolgerLippmann (work in process))

"It would be an hour-long series of drama during the Second World War, and it’s about a team of..."

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 14:13:05 -0500

“It would be an hour-long series of drama during the Second World War, and it’s about a team...

"What some politicians fear most is that this young, educated population reminds them of the Arab..."

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:28:30 -0500

“What some politicians fear most is that this young, educated population reminds them of the...

"I love those who dream of the impossible."

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 09:56:43 -0500

““I love those who dream of the impossible.”” - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, Faust (via...

you are here.: GIVE THE GIFT OF A GIF!

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 17:35:57 -0500

you are here.: GIVE THE GIFT OF A GIF!: manbartlett: depressedgem-fromhell: manbartlett: rainbow...

manbartlett: welcome to uncanny valley… This is seriously...

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 17:32:41 -0500

manbartlett:

welcome to uncanny valley…

This is seriously brilliant

theatlantic: uchicagoadmissions: Indiana Jones Mystery...

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:22:34 -0500

theatlantic:

uchicagoadmissions:

Indiana Jones Mystery Package

We don’t really even know how to start this post. Yesterday we received a package addressed to “Henry Walton Jones, Jr.”. We sort-of shrugged it off and put it in our bin of mail for student workers to sort and deliver to the right faculty member— we get the wrong mail a lot.

Little did we know what we were looking at. When our student mail worker snapped out of his finals-tired haze and realized who Dr. Jones was, we were sort of in luck: this package wasn’t meant for a random professor in the Stat department. It is addressed to “Indiana” Jones.

What we know: The package contained an incredibly detailed replica of “University of Chicago Professor” Abner Ravenwood’s journal from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. It looks only sort of like this one, but almost exactly like this one, so much so that we thought it might have been the one that was for sale on Ebay had we not seen some telling inconsistencies in cover color and “Ex Libris” page (and distinct lack of sword). The book itself is a bit dusty, and the cover is teal fabric with a red velvet spine, with weathered inserts and many postcards/pictures of Marion Ravenwood (and some cool old replica money) included. It’s clear that it is mostly, but not completely handmade, as although the included paper is weathered all of the “handwriting” and calligraphy lacks the telltale pressure marks of actual handwriting.

What we don’t know: Why this came to us. The package does not actually have real stamps on it— the outside of the package was crinkly and dirty as if it came through the mail, but the stamps themselves are pasted on and look like they have been photocopied. There is no US postage on the package, but we did receive it in a bin of mail, and it is addressed to the physical address of our building, Rosenwald Hall, which has a distinctly different address from any other buildings where it might be appropriate to send it (Haskell Hall or the Oriental Institute Museum). However, although now home to the Econ department and College Admissions, Rosenwald Hall used to be the home to our departments of geology and geography.

If you’re an applicant and sent this to us: Why? How? Did you make it? Why so awesome? If you’re a member of the University community and this belongs to you or you’ve gotten one like it before, PLEASE tell us how you acquired it, and whether or not yours came with a description— or if we’re making a big deal out of the fact that you accidentally slipped a gift for a friend in to the inter-university mail system. If you are an Indiana Jones enthusiast and have any idea who may have sent this to us or who made it, let us know that, too.

We know this sounds like a joke/hoax… it’s not (at least, from our end). Any hints, ideas, thoughts, or explanations are appreciated. We’ve been completely baffled as to why this was sent to us, in mostly a good way, but it’s clear this is a neat thing that either belongs somewhere else— or belongs in the halls of UChicago admissions history.

Internet: help us out. If you’re on Reddit (we’re not) or any other nerdly social media sites where we might get information about this, feel free to post far and wide and e-mail any answers, clues, ideas, thoughts, or musings to indianajonesjournal@uchicago.edu (yes, we did set up an email account just to deal with this thing).

This belongs in a museum.

THIS IS SO AWOESOME

wowgreat: sergio albiac

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 16:22:55 -0500

wowgreat:

sergio albiac

phoneasmedium: Ed Matus

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 19:02:11 -0500

phoneasmedium:

Ed Matus

theatlantic: The Race Begins: Gearing Up for the 2048...

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 12:07:05 -0500

theatlantic:

The Race Begins: Gearing Up for the 2048 Presidential Election

An important deadline for Election 2048 is fast-approaching. Due to the mandate in the U.S. Constitution that American presidents must be at least 35 years old to take office, parents who want their children to be eligible for that election cycle should start trying to conceive now or in the immediate future, generations of accumulated data about fertility and the length of gestation suggest.

Read more. [Image: Flickr/myllissa]

Who else is banking on President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho?

I just love the fact that the Atlantic made this joke.

People will be people, online and offline

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 17:14:54 -0500

People will be people, online and offline: anxiaostudio: Some thoughts on two short essays I read...

"The ability to make many small mistakes in a hurry is a vital accomplishment for any society that..."

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 17:09:31 -0500

“The ability to make many small mistakes in a hurry is a vital accomplishment for any society...