Good Reads

[blackleggings]

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/voynich-1-290.jpg

Stored away in the rare-book library at Yale University is a late-medieval manuscript written in a cramped but punctilious script and illustrated with lively line drawings that have been painted over, at times crudely, with washes of color. These illustrations range from the fanciful (legions of heavy-headed flowers that bear no relation to any earthly variety) to the bizarre (naked and possibly pregnant women, frolicking in what look like amusement-park waterslides from the fifteenth century). With their distended bellies, stick-like arms and legs, and earnest expressions, the naked figures have a whimsical quality, though their anatomy is frankly rendered—something unusual for the period. The manuscript’s botanical drawings are no less strange: the plants appear to be chimerical, combining incompatible parts from different species, even different kingdoms. Tentacled balls of roots take the forms of animals, or of human organs—in one case, sprouting two disembodied heads with vexed expressions. But perhaps the oddest thing about this book is that no one has ever read it.

That’s because the book—called the Voynich manuscript after the rare-book dealer who stumbled upon it a century ago—is written in an unknown script, with an alphabet that appears nowhere other than in its pages.​

- read the full article The Unread: The Mystery of the Voynich Manuscript (from The New Yorker)​

This was so interesting and I smiled a little at the description of the email Listserv that revolves around debating the Voynich's origin. I want to visit Yale and see the manuscript!

 

[blackleggings]

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/07/15/technology/15bits-online-review/15bits-online-review-articleInline.jpg

But who writes fake negative reviews, denouncing stuff without any obvious reason? The usual assumption is that the perpetrators are competitors of some sort, hoping to get an edge on other novelists or chefs or innkeepers. But are there really so many nasty people in the world who need to get some slight advantage by tearing down the restaurant one block over? The question has been shrouded in mystery.

Until now. A fascinating new academic study sheds light on the fake negative review, finding not only that the source is totally unexpected but also that the problem is much bigger than a few malicious operators.

It turns out that competitors are not necessarily the ones giving one miserable star to products they did not buy or experiences they did not have. Customers do it — in fact, devoted customers.​

- read the full article Why Web Reviewers Make Up Bad Things (from NYT Bits)​

The other conclusion is that behavior online is too easily taken as a mirror of reality when it is nothing of the sort.

This is so true and valid anywhere online.

 

[Laurel]

This is so true and valid anywhere online.

Yup...

 

[Laurel]

http://media.outsideonline.com/images/0112_ShrunkenHeads_12062011_Featured.jpg

LATE ONE AFTERNOON in the *Ecuadoran Amazon, a short but imposing Achuar tribeswoman walked up to me with a knife in her hand. The Achuar are the tribe next door to the Shuar, who are known for their historical tradition of shrinking the heads of slain enemies. (Both tribes were formerly, and politically incorrectly, known as the Jívaro, which comes from the Spanish jíbaro, meaning “savage.”) The Achuar had, at the time I visited in 1998, the world’s second-highest murder rate. I was there with an anthropologist named John Patton, who studies intratribal murder and revenge, and the Conambo River Valley was a fruitful place for him to be. Achuar men do not so much as go out for a piss without bringing a rifle.

The woman spoke loudly in words I couldn’t understand. With her free hand, she grabbed my hair. “She wants to make paintbrushes,” Patton said. My hair is finer than Achuar hair, and the woman saw its potential for achieving precise lines and decorative *embellishments on the clay bowls she crafted. I went back to the States minus a crudely lopped hank of hair and with a new story that grew with each telling. The knife, which might have been a pair of scissors—I honestly don’t recall—became a machete. The machete *acquired bloodstains. The potter took on a stony glower that I claimed to have interpreted as: This scrawny woman in the bulbous shoes *annoys me, and I will take her head.

It was a preposterous story. The Achuar were not head shrinkers—as adversaries of the Shuar, they were the shrinkees—and I knew this. I was the latest in a long line of white folk who’ve visited Jívaro country and come home with embroidered tales of scary encounters.​

- read the full article Say Hello to My Little Friend (from Outside Magazine)​

 

[KRCummings]

http://media.outsideonline.com/images/0112_ShrunkenHeads_12062011_Featured.jpg

LATE ONE AFTERNOON in the *Ecuadoran Amazon, a short but imposing Achuar tribeswoman walked up to me with a knife in her hand. The Achuar are the tribe next door to the Shuar, who are known for their historical tradition of shrinking the heads of slain enemies. (Both tribes were formerly, and politically incorrectly, known as the Jívaro, which comes from the Spanish jíbaro, meaning “savage.”) The Achuar had, at the time I visited in 1998, the world’s second-highest murder rate. I was there with an anthropologist named John Patton, who studies intratribal murder and revenge, and the Conambo River Valley was a fruitful place for him to be. Achuar men do not so much as go out for a piss without bringing a rifle.

The woman spoke loudly in words I couldn’t understand. With her free hand, she grabbed my hair. “She wants to make paintbrushes,” Patton said. My hair is finer than Achuar hair, and the woman saw its potential for achieving precise lines and decorative *embellishments on the clay bowls she crafted. I went back to the States minus a crudely lopped hank of hair and with a new story that grew with each telling. The knife, which might have been a pair of scissors—I honestly don’t recall—became a machete. The machete *acquired bloodstains. The potter took on a stony glower that I claimed to have interpreted as: This scrawny woman in the bulbous shoes *annoys me, and I will take her head.

It was a preposterous story. The Achuar were not head shrinkers—as adversaries of the Shuar, they were the shrinkees—and I knew this. I was the latest in a long line of white folk who’ve visited Jívaro country and come home with embroidered tales of scary encounters.​

- read the full article Say Hello to My Little Friend (from Outside Magazine)​

I think when you mix one of the worlds highest murder rates with shrunken heads then it's not politically incorrect to call them savages.
On the other hand, that's pretty cool.

 

[Laurel]

I think when you mix one of the worlds highest murder rates with shrunken heads then it's not politically incorrect to call them savages.
On the other hand, that's pretty cool.

lol! Seriously.

I wanna have my head shrunk. After death, of course.

Natural death. After a long, long life.

To be clear.

 

[Laurel]

http://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/intelligencer/2013/07/16/16-questlove.o.jpg/a_250x375.jpg

I recently told a friend one of these stories: I live in a "nice" building. I work hard. You know I work hard. My logic is (naïve alert in 5, 4, 3, 2 … ) "Well, there can't be any fear of any type in this building" — you've got to go through hell and high water just to get accepted to live here, like it's Dartmouth or UPenn. Secondly, there are, like, five to eight guards on duty 24/7, so this spot is beyond safe. Like, Oscar winners and kids of royalty and sports guys and mafia goombahs live here. One night, I get in the elevator, and just as the door closes this beautiful woman gets on. Because of a pain in the arse card device you have to use to get to your floor, it just makes it an easier protocol for whoever is pressing floors to take everyone's request, like when you are at the window of a drive-thru. So I press my floor number, and I ask her, "What floor, ma'am?" (Yes, I say "ma'am," because … sigh, anyway.) She says nothing, stands in the corner. Mind you, I just discovered the Candy Crush app, so if anything, I'm the rude one because I'm more obsessed with winning this particular level than anything else. In my head I'm thinking, There's no way I can be a threat to a woman this fine if I'm buried deep in this game — so surely she feels safe.

The humor comes in that I thought she was on my floor because she never acknowledged my floor request. (She was also bangin', so inside I was like, "Dayuuuuuuuuuuum, she lives on my floor? *bow chicka wowow*!" Instantly I was on some "What dessert am I welcome-committee-ing her with?") Anywho, the door opens, and I waited to let her off first because I am a gentleman. (Old me would've rushed first, thus not putting me in the position to have to follow her, God forbid if she, too, makes a left and it seems like I'm following her.) So door opens and I flirt, "Ladies first." She says, "This is not my floor." Then I assume she is missing her building card, so I pulled my card out to try to press her floor yet again. She says, "That's okay."

Then it hit me: "Oh God, she purposely held that information back." The door closed. It was a "pie in the face" moment.

I laughed at it. Sort of.

Inside I cried. But if I cried at every insensitive act that goes on in the name of safety, I'd have to be committed to a psych ward. I've just taught myself throughout the years to just accept it and maybe even see it as funny. But it kept eating at me (Well, I guess she never watched the show … My English was super clear … I called her "ma'am" like I was Webster … Those that know you know that you're cool, but you definitely know that you are a walking rape nightmare — right, Ahmir? Of course she was justified in not saying her floor. That was her prerogative! You are kinda scary-looking, I guess?). It's a bajillion thoughts, all of them self-depreciating voices slowly eating my soul away.​

- read the full article Questlove: Trayvon Martin and I Ain’t Shit (from New York Magazine)​

 

[Laurel]

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/67514000/jpg/_67514513_euphemism_624.jpg

Congressman Mark Sanford has returned to frontline politics after ensuring "hiking the Appalachian Trail" became a euphemism for infidelity. What other scandals have enriched the lexicon?

1. "Hiking the Appalachian Trail" When South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford disappeared for six days in 2009, his aides told reporters he had gone for a walking holiday along the US's most celebrated hiking route. In fact, it soon transpired Sanford had been with his Argentine mistress in Buenos Aires. The phrase quickly ignited the imaginations of the press corps. "I think we should start using 'hiking the Appalachian trail' for discussions of future political scandale, don't you?", suggested commentator Andrew Sullivan. The subsequent popularity of the phrase did not prevent Sanford winning election to the House of Representatives, where he is due to be sworn in.

2. "Discussing Uganda" In 1973, the satirical magazine Private Eye reported that journalist Mary Kenny had been disturbed in the arms of a former cabinet minister of President Obote of Uganda during a party. Variations of "Ugandan discussions" or "discussing Uganda" - the term is believed to have been coined by the poet James Fenton - were subsequently used by the Eye to describe any illicit encounter, and the phrase soon became part of common usage.​

- read the full article The 10 most scandalous euphemisms (from the BBC)​

 

[KRCummings]

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/67514000/jpg/_67514513_euphemism_624.jpg

Congressman Mark Sanford has returned to frontline politics after ensuring "hiking the Appalachian Trail" became a euphemism for infidelity. What other scandals have enriched the lexicon?

1. "Hiking the Appalachian Trail" When South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford disappeared for six days in 2009, his aides told reporters he had gone for a walking holiday along the US's most celebrated hiking route. In fact, it soon transpired Sanford had been with his Argentine mistress in Buenos Aires. The phrase quickly ignited the imaginations of the press corps. "I think we should start using 'hiking the Appalachian trail' for discussions of future political scandale, don't you?", suggested commentator Andrew Sullivan. The subsequent popularity of the phrase did not prevent Sanford winning election to the House of Representatives, where he is due to be sworn in.

2. "Discussing Uganda" In 1973, the satirical magazine Private Eye reported that journalist Mary Kenny had been disturbed in the arms of a former cabinet minister of President Obote of Uganda during a party. Variations of "Ugandan discussions" or "discussing Uganda" - the term is believed to have been coined by the poet James Fenton - were subsequently used by the Eye to describe any illicit encounter, and the phrase soon became part of common usage.​

- read the full article The 10 most scandalous euphemisms (from the BBC)​

That one was fun.

 

[Laurel]

That one was fun.

I think my favorite was "watching badgers".

 

[Laurel]

http://www.nature.com/polopoly_fs/7.1684.1323189515!/image/ehrsson.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_630/ehrsson.jpg

It is not every day that you are separated from your body and then stabbed in the chest with a kitchen knife.

But such experiences are routine in the lab of Henrik Ehrsson, a neuroscientist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, who uses illusions to probe, stretch and displace people's sense of self. Today, using little more than a video camera, goggles and two sticks, he has convinced me that I am floating a few metres behind my own body. As I see a knife plunging towards my virtual chest, I flinch. Two electrodes on my fingers record the sweat that automatically erupts on my skin, and a nearby laptop plots my spiking fear on a graph.

Out-of-body experiences are just part of Ehrsson's repertoire. He has convinced people that they have swapped bodies with another person1, gained a third arm2, shrunk to the size of a doll or grown to giant proportions3. The storeroom in his lab is stuffed with mannequins of various sizes, disembodied dolls' heads, fake hands, cameras, knives and hammers. It looks like a serial killer's basement. “The other neuroscientists think we're a little crazy,” Ehrsson admits.​

- read the full article Out-of-body experience: Master of illusion (from Nature)​

 

[Laurel]

http://www.thenews.pl/389cd17c-73e7-424c-8545-4657212e5fa4.file

Four skeletons were found at the site, where mandatory digs were being carried out prior to the construction of a ring road.

In each case, the deceased had been buried with the head between the legs.

According to folk beliefs, this prevented a possible vampire from finding his or her way back to the land of the living.​

- read the full article Vampire graveyard found in Poland? (from Polskie Radio)​

 

[Laurel]

http://www.imaging-resource.com/?ACT=44&fid=17&d=2152&f=l1280776386id-2-m.jpg

Photographer James Friedman is not a golfer, but he knows a lot about golf balls simply from slicing them in half and photographing their inner beauty. Titled "Interior Design," Friedman's delightful photo series shows how each sliced golf ball's core has a distinctive, colorful texture hidden inside. Some balls resemble strange meteorites while others look like childhood candy. (Who else out there remembers Everlasting Gobstoppers?)​

- read the full article Delightful photos of golf balls cut in half: James Friedman explores the hidden beauty of “Interior Design” (from Imaging Resource)​

 

[Laurel]

http://www.jamesfriedmanphotographer.com/photos/l1280777052Pleasures-1.jpg

I do not remember any kissing between family members as I was growing up. It wasn't until my mother was hospitalized for eight months, unable to speak, that we began to kiss good-bye before I would depart for the day after visiting her. These newly discovered displays of affection were imbued with genuine caring and profound sadness as we both know she had only a short time to live. Our relationship in my mother's final months inspired my photographic project, Pleasures and Terrors of Kissing.​

- read the full article Pleasures and Terrors of Kissing (from James Friedman, Photographer)​

 

[trysail]

Congressman Mark Sanford has returned to frontline politics after ensuring "hiking the Appalachian Trail" became a euphemism for infidelity. What other scandals have enriched the lexicon?

1. "Hiking the Appalachian Trail" When South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford disappeared for six days in 2009, his aides told reporters he had gone for a walking holiday along the US's most celebrated hiking route. In fact, it soon transpired Sanford had been with his Argentine mistress in Buenos Aires. The phrase quickly ignited the imaginations of the press corps. "I think we should start using 'hiking the Appalachian trail' for discussions of future political scandale, don't you?", suggested commentator Andrew Sullivan. The subsequent popularity of the phrase did not prevent Sanford winning election to the House of Representatives, where he is due to be sworn in.
​

This pisses me off (big time).

Why?


I once hiked the Appalachian Trail.

 

[Balladeer08]

This pisses me off (big time).

Why?


I once hiked the Appalachian Trail.

How was she?

8)

 

[Laurel]

for KR

http://www.asianart.com/articles/hoffman/small/01.jpg

This brings us to the third and most difficult question by far. There are many reasons why a collector might buy a particular carving. Perhaps it is the design, the artistry, or the craftsmanship. Perhaps it is the beauty or rarity of the material. Or, sometimes, it is the desire to possess an old, possibly even “ancient” artifact of China. When the principal value of a jade lies in its age, the collector can get into trouble. Many experts estimate that 95% to 99% of the “antique jades” on the market today are modern reproductions. There is, unfortunately, no scientific, objective way to date jade. There is nothing comparable to carbon-14 dating of organics or thermoluminescence testing for ceramics. So dating jade still relies mainly on art-historical methods and examination of tooling marks, both subjective. It’s this loophole that fake makers (and some dealer co-conspirators) exploit so readily.

Before looking at these methods, some definitions might be useful.

• Archaic Jade—An authentic piece actually carved in the period stated. “Archaic” in Chinese arts usually means pre-Han dynasty, that is, before about 200 B.C.
• Archaistic Jade—Carved in a vaguely archaic style, or more often a mixture of styles and periods. Often done to “honor the ancient” with no intent to deceive.
• Reproduction—An intentional copy of an archaic jade. Sold as a reproduction, with no intent to deceive.
• Fake—A reproduction fraudulently offered as “of the period.”​

- read the full article Old Chinese Jades: Real or Fake? (from Asian Art)​

 

[Laurel]

http://www.stammpunct.com/images/f%27s-w-border.png​

- buy now A page from Finnegan’s Wake with spell-check turned on. (from Stammpunct Typograture)​

 

[Laurel]

old article, but interesting and still relevant

http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/blogs/five_ring_circus/2012/08/09/manteo_mitchell_olympics_broken_leg_an_american_sprinter_broke_his_fibula_in_the_4_by_400_relay_how_could_he_keep_running_/150035122.jpg.CROP.rectangle3-large.jpg

In the long-distance races, there were few standout performances. Nonetheless, those Games marked a watershed: the start of an astonishing dominance of distance running by east Africans. While Clarke lay crumpled in a heap, runners from Kenya and Ethiopia were celebrating their gold and silver medals.

The record books confirm how entrenched this pattern has become. The names of the seven fastest men in history over 5,000 metres are Bekele, Gebrselasie, Komen, Kipchoge, Sihine, Songkok and Chereno. They are all either from Kenya or Ethiopia. Since 1997, the 10,000 metres men’s world record has been smashed five times, dropping from 26:31.32 to 26:17.53. Each time, the record was broken by a Kenyan or an Ethiopian.

There is a complex mix of economic, political, social and cultural explanations for the pre-eminence of east Africans. But one factor is surely that many of these Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes have lived most of their lives in thin air.​

- read the full article Out of thin air (from Prospect Magazine)​

 

[Laurel]

In the late 1880s, cigarette manufacturers began inserting stiffening cards into their paper packs of cigarettes to strengthen the containers. It wasn't long before they got the idea to put artwork, trivia, famous people, and pretty girls onto those cards, grouped into collectible series. The cards, which continued into the 1940s, are highly valuable now, with the most expensive (bearing the face of stringent anti-smoking baseball player Honus Wagner) selling for $2.8 million in 2007.

In the 1910s, Gallaher Ltd of Belfast & London and Ogden's Branch of the Imperial Tobacco Co printed "How-To" series, with clever hints for both everyday and emergency situations. From steaming out a splinter to stopping a mad dog, these cigarette cards told you the smart way to handle many of life's problems.

(Please note these cards were published a hundred years ago, when safety was not as popular a pursuit as it is now. For that reason, we can't recommend trying any of these, as brilliant as they may be.)

1. How to make a fire extinguisher

http://images.nypl.org/?id=1643054&t=r

"Dissolve one pound of salt and half a pound of sal-ammoniac in two quarts of water and bottle the liquor in thin glass bottles holding about a quart each. Should a fire break out, dash one or more of the bottles into the flames, and any serious outbreak will probably be averted."​

- read the full article 10 Lifehacks from 100 Years Ago (from Mental Floss)​

 

[beetlebum]

i compiled some answers given by antony hegarty from an art info interview.

ArtInfo: What are some of the foundational ideas of Future Feminism?

Antony: Future Feminism is a set of ideas being developed by an artist collective that includes Johanna Constantine, Kembra Pfahler, myself, and Bianca and Sierra Casady. We are composing a list of tenets that outline our position. Primarily, Future Feminism advocates for a shift to feminine systems in all areas of civic, national, corporate and religious governance; we believe that such a shift is necessary if we wish for our species and for biodiversity to survive. Recently I have been thinking that Future Feminism envisions a conceptual shift in the way we perceive the sexes; rather than perceiving women and men as opposites, or as separate but equal, let’s start to visualize men as a biological subset of women.

AI: How does feminism inform your practice as an artist?

A: To me, being a feminist is about being aware of reality. I try to open my eyes and my heart as wide as possible, to take it all in.

AI: Do you make a living off your art?

A: How has late stage virulent capitalism affected your art practice/s? would be a better question.

AI: What’s the first artwork you ever sold?

A: Myself.

AI: Where are you finding ideas for your work these days?

A: In hopelessness.

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTMWLbiyStFG8FqZmEVNTktzG3TNZzP3U_gyv70xQ6dQL-UfOtU

 

[pete]

http://www.stammpunct.com/images/f%27s-w-border.png​

- buy now A page from Finnegan’s Wake with spell-check turned on. (from Stammpunct Typograture)​

ha, love it

i remember when i unknowingly cracked that book open and was greeted with THAT as a first page, it damn near blew my face off.

 

[Laurel]

i compiled some answers given by antony hegarty from an art info interview.

ArtInfo: What are some of the foundational ideas of Future Feminism?

Antony: Future Feminism is a set of ideas being developed by an artist collective that includes Johanna Constantine, Kembra Pfahler, myself, and Bianca and Sierra Casady. We are composing a list of tenets that outline our position. Primarily, Future Feminism advocates for a shift to feminine systems in all areas of civic, national, corporate and religious governance; we believe that such a shift is necessary if we wish for our species and for biodiversity to survive. Recently I have been thinking that Future Feminism envisions a conceptual shift in the way we perceive the sexes; rather than perceiving women and men as opposites, or as separate but equal, let’s start to visualize men as a biological subset of women.

AI: How does feminism inform your practice as an artist?

A: To me, being a feminist is about being aware of reality. I try to open my eyes and my heart as wide as possible, to take it all in.

AI: Do you make a living off your art?

A: How has late stage virulent capitalism affected your art practice/s? would be a better question.

AI: What’s the first artwork you ever sold?

A: Myself.

AI: Where are you finding ideas for your work these days?

A: In hopelessness.

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTMWLbiyStFG8FqZmEVNTktzG3TNZzP3U_gyv70xQ6dQL-UfOtU

Awesome. I love art info.

 

[Laurel]

ha, love it

i remember when i unknowingly cracked that book open and was greeted with THAT as a first page, it damn near blew my face off.

exactly!

 

[Laurel]

http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/articles/health_and_science/the_mouse_trap/2011/part_1/111110_FRESCA_Rat_EX.jpg.CROP.article568-large.jpg

Mattson was lecturing on a research program that he'd been conducting since 1995, on whether a strict diet can help ward off brain damage and disease. He'd generated some dramatic data to back up the theory: If you put a rat on a limited feeding schedule—depriving it of food every other day—and then blocked off one of its cerebral arteries to induce a stroke, its brain damage would be greatly reduced. The same held for mice that had been engineered to develop something like Parkinson's disease: Take away their food, and their brains stayed healthier.

How would these findings apply to humans, asked someone in the audience. Should people skip meals, too? At 5-foot-7 and 125 pounds, Mattson looks like a meal-skipper, and he is one. Instead of having breakfast or lunch, he takes all his food over a period of a few hours each evening—a bowl of steamed cabbage, a bit of salmon, maybe some yogurt. It's not unlike the regime that appears to protect his lab animals from cancer, stroke, and neurodegenerative disease. "Why do we eat three meals a day?" he asks me over the phone, not waiting for an answer. "From my research, it's more like a social thing than something with a basis in our biology."
...
"I began to realize that the ‘control’ animals used for research studies throughout the world are couch potatoes," he tells me. It's been shown that mice living under standard laboratory conditions eat more and grow bigger than their country cousins. At the National Institute on Aging, as at every major research center, the animals are grouped in plastic cages the size of large shoeboxes, topped with a wire lid and a food hopper that's never empty of pellets. This form of husbandry, known as ad libitum feeding, is cheap and convenient since animal technicians need only check the hoppers from time to time to make sure they haven’t run dry. Without toys or exercise wheels to distract them, the mice are left with nothing to do but eat and sleep—and then eat some more.

That such a lifestyle would make rodents unhealthy, and thus of limited use for research, may seem obvious, but the problem appears to be so flagrant and widespread that few scientists bother to consider it. Ad libitum feeding and lack of exercise are industry-standard for the massive rodent-breeding factories that ship out millions of lab mice and rats every year and fuel a $1.1-billion global business in living reagents for medical research. When Mattson made that point in Atlanta, and suggested that the control animals used in labs were sedentary and overweight as a rule, several in the audience gasped. His implication was clear: The basic tool of biomedicine—and its workhorse in the production of new drugs and other treatments—had been transformed into a shoddy, industrial product.
​

- read the full article The Mouse Trap: The dangers of using one lab animal to study every disease. (from Slate)​