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Stung Eye

The eye of the bee holder.

Do Not Covet Your Ideas.

Dubstep (and other styles of electronic music) explained in 3 minutes.

CV Dazzle is camouflage from computer vision. It is a form of expressive interference that combines makeup and hair styling with face-detection thwarting designs. It opposes the mainstream push towards the widespread adoption of face recognition.”

Antagonistic technology. :)

Reading and Listening in 2011

This is what I read and heard over the past year. I beat my goal of one book per month. Maybe I should try for 24+ in 2012.

Fiction

It was a very sci-fi year. Pullman’s Dark Materials books were my favourites, although I’d say this was a 4 star year on average.

Non-Fiction

In the non-fiction world, I seem to be on a bit of a “Ruby with Olsen” kick.

Audio Lectures

This was the year I discovered audio lectures. Most of these were heard while running in Assiniboine park.

We Saw Each Other

“I don’t ever expect to be reunited with Carl. But, the great thing is that when we were together, for nearly twenty years, we lived with a vivid appreciation of how brief and precious life is. We never trivialized the meaning of death by pretending it was anything other than a final parting. Every single moment that we were alive and we were together was miraculous — not miraculous in the sense of inexplicable or supernatural. We knew we were beneficiaries of chance… That pure chance could be so generous and so kind… That we could find each other, as Carl wrote so beautifully in Cosmos, you know, in the vastness of space and the immensity of time… That we could be together for twenty years. That is something which sustains me and it’s much more meaningful.

The way he treated me and the way I treated him, the way we took care of each other and our family, while he lived. That is so much more important than the idea I will see him someday. I don’t think I’ll ever see Carl again. But I saw him. We saw each other. We found each other in the cosmos, and that was wonderful.“

Ann Druyan

“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking.

The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.”

Carl Sagan

Translated items from Leonardo da Vinci’s to-do list from the 1490s.

A collection of Starlings is called a Murmuration. via

20 Hz visualizes “a geo-magnetic storm occurring in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Data courtesy of CARISMA, operated by the University of Alberta, funded by the Canadian Space Agency.”

The Kinetic Wave Sculpture of Reuben Margolin.

Oh, the beauty of trigonometry! This reminds me of the trig I was playing with in my early Processing sketches.

In Plain View - Allan Geske, Printmaker

My dad.

Allan Geske has been a printmaker since the mid-1970s and he employs various techniques in his art such as etching, engraving, relief and mixed media.

His prints are represented in collections throughout the USA, Japan, Korea, Britain & the Netherlands. Allan is best known for his copperplate engravings, intricate, complex & provocative images that at times evoke the landscape, but also stand as breathtaking abstractions. His etched work often incorporates prairie images paired with replications of charts, maps and iconic symbols.

Allan Geske’s studio will be open to the public next weekend, November 4th, 5th and 6th. All are welcome in room 523 of the Artspace Bldg, 100 Arthur St.

Friday: 5pm-9pm Sat/Sun: noon-5pm

I share space in the studio. Some of my work (prints, collage, photos) will also be shown.