he was considered by many to be the most gifted and linguistically exuberant American novelist and short story writer of his generation. His books include the 1,000-page Infinite Jest, a novel of grand ambition and stylistic experiment that came complete with 388 endnotes. (Footnotes, digressions, constant second guessing of every thought are features of Wallace's signature style)
Data is the new (Oil) Soil
David McCandless turns complex data sets, like worldwide military spending, media buzz, and Facebook status updates, into beautiful, simple diagrams that tease out unseen patterns and connections. Good design, he suggests, is the best way to navigate information glut -- and it may just change the way we see the world.
What does the mind-blowing story of humankind look like through the eyes of artificial intelligence? 'Once Upon A.I. – Inspired by Yuval Noah Harari' is an experimental short film featuring over 260 strange and spectacular images, generated by 13 different A.I. algorithms.
Gone and nearly forgotten in extinction, the Labrador Duck, the Great Auk, the Heath Hen, the Carolina Parakeet, and the Passenger Pigeon leave holes not just in the North American landscape but in our collective memories. Moved by their stories, sculptor Todd McGrain set out to create memorials to the lost birds—to bring their vanished forms back into the world. The Lost Bird Project follows the road-trip that McGrain and his brother-in-law, Andy Stern, take as they search for the locations where the birds were last seen in the wild and negotiate for permission to install McGrain’s large bronze sculptures there.
https://live.stanford.edu/content/lost-bird-project
Artist Todd McGrain, The Lost Bird Project
https://youtu.be/NKiRGFm5sVs?si=26SVvLhf0228x3u4&t=319
https://www.albatrossthefilm.com/watch-albatross
The MIDWAY media project is a powerful visual journey into the heart of an astonishingly symbolic environmental tragedy. On one of the remotest islands on our planet, tens of thousands of baby albatrosses lie dead on the ground, their bodies filled with plastic from the Pacific Garbage Patch.
The journey of ALBATROSS began in 2008 as a collaboration with my friend, activist/photographer Manuel Maqueda. Studying the newly-emerging issue of ocean plastic pollution, we learned of a stunning environmental tragedy taking place on a tiny atoll in the center of the vast North Pacific Ocean. We immediately began planning an expedition there, and on our first trip to Midway Island in September of 2009, we and our team photographed and filmed thousands of young albatrosses that lay dead on the ground, their stomachs filled with plastic. The experience was devastating, not only for what it meant for the suffering of the birds, but also for what it reflected back to us about the destructive power of our culture of mass consumption, and humanity's damaged relationship with the living world. https://www.albatrossthefilm.com/ourstory. .
Resources for Teachers https://www.albatrossthefilm.com/resources-for-teachers
Excerpts from Raven Chacon and Robert Henke's 40 minute moonlight performance at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, September 20th, 2013. Presented by New Mexico Arts, International Land-Sensitive Art Foundation and Navajo Nation Museum. Shot and cut by D.E. Hyde and Blackhorse Lowe.
Uploaded on Jan 7, 2014 at 7:25 pm
This short film is based on the writings of naturalist, author and environmental philosopher John Muir. It is a an ode to wilderness, and was filmed in the Scottish Highlands.
For more information about the John Muir trust visit https://www.johnmuirtrust.org
Go back to your childhood - what have your forgotten? What were the exciting things? How long ago is long ago?
Musical Minds is a NOVA documentary based on neurologist Oliver Sacks's 2007 book "Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain" about music and the human brain aired on June 30, 2009 on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The documentary features blind piano savant Derek Paravicini, Matt Giordano and Tony Cicoria.[from Wikipedia]
Europe’s culture has been strongly influenced by a Christianity that is now in crisis — as is also European culture. With the help of Ken Wilber’s thought models, Brother David will explore both the current crises and potential ways of overcoming them. In view of the close connection between Europe and Christianity, it is not only Christians whom this exploration concerns, but all who care for Europe’s future.
The English word "religion" is derived from the Middle English "religioun" which came from the Old French "religion." It may have been originally derived from the Latin word "religo" which means "good faith," "ritual," and other similar meanings. Or it may have come from the Latin "religãre" which means "to tie fast."