Sunday, January 23, 2005

Ramachandran's 10 Principles of Art I've been reading Ramachandran's A Brief Tour of Human Consciou5ness, an exciting, cogent investigations into five aspects of consciousness. One chapter is devoted to art, and the author proposes ten principles of art as related to cognitive science. They are: Peak Shift Perceptual Grouping and Binding Contrast Isolation Perception problem solving Symmetry Abhorrence of coincidence/generic viewpoint Repetition, rhythm and orderliness Balance Metaphor There is a good two-part discussion of them at Mixing Memory (Part 1, Part 2). These posts are really good, and the book is terrific, too. Sometimes this stuff gets a bit thick for me, but Ramachandran does a great job of explaining the problems and his proposed solutions in clear language. 5:13:09 PM    comment []

"50 Most Loathsome People in America, 2004" "50 Most Loathsome People in America, 2004": "" (Via Daypop Top 40.) A good rundown of the cesspool that is American public life in the first decade of the 21st century. 3:00:51 PM    comment []

Original Picasso sells on Costco Web site Original Picasso sells on Costco Web site: "Costco shoppers were offered an online deal this month an original Picasso. The crayon-on-paper drawing of a face signed and dated by Pablo Picasso was listed for $39,999.99 on the retailer's Web site Jan. 12. It sold Wednesday, said Jim Sinegal, Costco's chief executive, who would not identify the buyer." (Via USATODAY.com Offbeat - Top Stories.) 1:23:04 PM    comment []

The Merchant of Venice We saw The Merchant of Venice the other night. Al Pacino gives (again!) the performance of his career. I doubt that Harold Bloom thinks much of this movie, as it works hard -- mostly by casting Pacino -- to make Shylock a sympathetic character. Harold Bloom and Stephen Greenblatt (two whom I've read recently) that Shylock is supposed to be a comic villian. In this movie, he's a villain, but his villainy is well explained. Pacino makes him sympathetic, and his destruction at the end is painful. It's a curious "problem" play, and it's riveting and disturbing in this movie. Highly recommended. 1:19:23 PM    comment []

Fire In the Hole Last week I brewed my first mini-mash, More Beer's Fire in the Hole. I've tasted it before, and really liked it today. I dumped 2 oz. of Columbus hops and 1 oz. of French Oak chips into the fermenter. Early in the week, the stuff was fermenting like mad, which is always fun to watch. I'm very excited about tasting this one... 12:16:41 PM    comment []

(Jim) Beam Me Up, Scotty (Jim) Beam Me Up, Scotty: " If you're like me and think that about the only thing that could rescue the moribund Star Trek franchise at this point is a big bottle of Romulan Ale and a couple of beehived starlets wearing silver boots and aluminum-foil miniskirts, then you need to read Space: The Wino Frontier. via Gravity Lens " (Via Eye of the Goof.) 11:40:28 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2005 Steve Michel. Last update: 2/28/2005; 10:36:22 PM.