as far from God as angels can fly
Adam once wrote that when people asked him what he thinks "art" is, he often thought of me dyeing rain-puddles or doing other sideways projects. For some reason, I thought of him when I conceived of
The Griffin and Sabine Project
This project begins on Craigslist. I give my name, list a bunch of my interests (perhaps: fantasy and science fiction, ridiculous similes, gender studies, calligraphy, esoterica, extravagant emotions, improbability). I ask for a (preferably straight, male, though I likely won't actually say this is a requirement) pen-pal who will write eloquent and revealing letters, who will tell stories and listen to mine without judgment or fear of it. I riffle through the applicants and choose someone who I suspect can best relate to what I'm trying to achieve. There is but one condition to our correspondence: we must never meet.
The goal: See if we inevitably fall in love.
This seems like a project best left to a time when it would be difficult to actually come to my door. Maybe, if I get accepted into the Peace Corps, it would be a good one for that. I'd imagine that PCVs are pretty lonely at the beginnings of their assignments.
...
Library of Congress advances two digital projects abroad
The Library of Congress announced an ambitious plan on Wednesday to digitize a collection of the world’s rare cultural materials - artifacts ranging from a photo collection of a 19th-century Brazilian empress to a crackly recording of the 101-year-old grandson of a slave.
from libraries.
Could fanfic possibly be gaining ... acceptance?!
[A] stigma clings to fan fiction that is similar to the one that taints the science fiction/fantasy genre. Some people don't want to admit that they write fan fiction. Meg Cabot, author of "The Princess Diaries," has said she only recently started acknowledging her fan fiction writing past.
Even as the publishing world addresses the genre's legal issues, some of its executives say they are open-minded about discovering talent on popular fan fiction websites such as livejournal.com, fan fiction.net, or fictionalley.org.
"I do think that the idea that publishers 'troll' fanfic sites is more myth than not," Patrick Nielsen Hayden, a senior editor at Tor Books in New York, wrote in an e-mail, "but I will say this: If I had lots more spare time, I would."
from alanajoli.
Japanese create see-through frog
In addition to some types of cancer, numerous organs, blood vessels and even eggs can be viewed through the frog's skin without having to dissect the animal. Basically it's a win/lose situation for the frogs who now get to live longer with the various diseases and clever mutations scientists think up for them.
from spyderredknee, I think.
"Non-Player Character"
It's a short story that takes this XKCD to its logical conclusion.
from cooper_korman.
The Abyss: Music and Amnesia
In March of 1985, Clive Wearing, an eminent English musician and musicologist in his mid-forties, was struck by a brain infection-a herpes encephalitis-affecting especially the parts of his brain concerned with memory. He was left with a memory span of only seconds-the most devastating case of amnesia ever recorded. New events and experiences were effaced almost instantly. As his wife, Deborah, wrote in her 2005 memoir, “Forever Today”:
"His ability to perceive what he saw and heard was unimpaired. But he did not seem to be able to retain any impression of anything for more than a blink. Indeed, if he did blink, his eyelids parted to reveal a new scene. The view before the blink was utterly forgotten. Each blink, each glance away and back, brought him an entirely new view. I tried to imagine how it was for him. . . . Something akin to a film with bad continuity, the glass half empty, then full, the cigarette suddenly longer, the actor’s hair now tousled, now smooth. But this was real life, a room changing in ways that were physically impossible."
And yet he can play music!
from purpleprimate.
The Griffin and Sabine Project
This project begins on Craigslist. I give my name, list a bunch of my interests (perhaps: fantasy and science fiction, ridiculous similes, gender studies, calligraphy, esoterica, extravagant emotions, improbability). I ask for a (preferably straight, male, though I likely won't actually say this is a requirement) pen-pal who will write eloquent and revealing letters, who will tell stories and listen to mine without judgment or fear of it. I riffle through the applicants and choose someone who I suspect can best relate to what I'm trying to achieve. There is but one condition to our correspondence: we must never meet.
The goal: See if we inevitably fall in love.
This seems like a project best left to a time when it would be difficult to actually come to my door. Maybe, if I get accepted into the Peace Corps, it would be a good one for that. I'd imagine that PCVs are pretty lonely at the beginnings of their assignments.
...
Library of Congress advances two digital projects abroad
The Library of Congress announced an ambitious plan on Wednesday to digitize a collection of the world’s rare cultural materials - artifacts ranging from a photo collection of a 19th-century Brazilian empress to a crackly recording of the 101-year-old grandson of a slave.
from libraries.
Could fanfic possibly be gaining ... acceptance?!
[A] stigma clings to fan fiction that is similar to the one that taints the science fiction/fantasy genre. Some people don't want to admit that they write fan fiction. Meg Cabot, author of "The Princess Diaries," has said she only recently started acknowledging her fan fiction writing past.
Even as the publishing world addresses the genre's legal issues, some of its executives say they are open-minded about discovering talent on popular fan fiction websites such as livejournal.com, fan fiction.net, or fictionalley.org.
"I do think that the idea that publishers 'troll' fanfic sites is more myth than not," Patrick Nielsen Hayden, a senior editor at Tor Books in New York, wrote in an e-mail, "but I will say this: If I had lots more spare time, I would."
from alanajoli.
Japanese create see-through frog
In addition to some types of cancer, numerous organs, blood vessels and even eggs can be viewed through the frog's skin without having to dissect the animal. Basically it's a win/lose situation for the frogs who now get to live longer with the various diseases and clever mutations scientists think up for them.
from spyderredknee, I think.
"Non-Player Character"
It's a short story that takes this XKCD to its logical conclusion.
from cooper_korman.
The Abyss: Music and Amnesia
In March of 1985, Clive Wearing, an eminent English musician and musicologist in his mid-forties, was struck by a brain infection-a herpes encephalitis-affecting especially the parts of his brain concerned with memory. He was left with a memory span of only seconds-the most devastating case of amnesia ever recorded. New events and experiences were effaced almost instantly. As his wife, Deborah, wrote in her 2005 memoir, “Forever Today”:
"His ability to perceive what he saw and heard was unimpaired. But he did not seem to be able to retain any impression of anything for more than a blink. Indeed, if he did blink, his eyelids parted to reveal a new scene. The view before the blink was utterly forgotten. Each blink, each glance away and back, brought him an entirely new view. I tried to imagine how it was for him. . . . Something akin to a film with bad continuity, the glass half empty, then full, the cigarette suddenly longer, the actor’s hair now tousled, now smooth. But this was real life, a room changing in ways that were physically impossible."
And yet he can play music!
from purpleprimate.