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Business and Politics / Humor / People — No Comments
24
Oct 11

Is Laura OK?

George W and Laura Bush with Nolan Ryan, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers at Game Three of the 2011 World Series

As I watched game 3 of the 2011 World Series, I observed something interesting.

It started whenever the camera flashed on a Texas Ranger warming up in the on-deck circle. Over his right shoulder, slightly obscured by fencing, I’d spot a catatonically still Laura Bush with a twitching and animated George next to her. Once after some nifty Ranger play the camera caught Bush smirkily high-fiving Ranger owner, Nolan Ryan. But Laura just sat there like a Stepford Wife, with a sweet(?) smile pasted on her face.

W and Nolan were enjoying the game immensely, but I think poor Laura was there out of some sense of duty… the dutiful Southern wife.

I really wondered if she is OK.

This would be a fun photo to caption… Hmmmm!

Art / People / Photography — No Comments
24
Oct 11

Hendrik Kerstens

Dutch photographer Hendrik Kerstens has discovered a wonderful niche for his photography.

His 17th-century Dutch Masters style of portraiture is both fascinating and provocative. The contrast between the incredibly formal, beautifully lit poses and the unexpected modern elements is refreshingly original.

In this photo, he replaces the white hat seen in old Dutch paintings with the ubiquitous white plastic shopping bag. He might also use a dinner napkin or a hoodie sweatshirt.

The contrasts charge his portraits with an undercurrent of sly wittiness.

His precise style and the feeling he creates is nothing short of amazing. His ability to bring out his model’s best side is a true gift. His portraits leave one with a sense of haunting; a desire to search deeper for the story behind the scene.

His daughter, Paula, is his model of choice.

See more of his works in this gallery

Many thanks to Nan B. for sharing this amazing photographer with me.

Art / My Photos / People — No Comments
15
Oct 11

Drive Thru

Drive Thru - Project Flickr: Strangers Up Close

As I was waiting to get out of the parking lot, I spotted these two ladies sharing lunch at a local Wendi’s.

My Photos — No Comments
15
Oct 11

Publicly Drunk

Publicly Drunk - Project Flickr: Strangers Up Close
This group had just been escorted from the public library in Kent, WA and decided to loudly voice their complaints in the adjacent park. I was the only one there, but they didn’t seem to notice. This was as “up close” as I dared get!

Yes, that is a beer can in the seated man’s hand. They were pretty snockered… some of Kent, WA’s finest!

BTW, that’s the King County Courthouse behind them, teeming with police.

Art / People — No Comments
14
Oct 11

Ai Weiwei’s Snake Makes Huge Statement

Yesterday, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was named the most powerful person in the art world, according to a poll compiled by ArtReview magazine. The Snake Bag is a perfect example of why China sees the Ai Weiwei as a threat. The artist/activist was detained by his home country for 81 days earlier this year.

Ai Weiwei created this 55-foot-long undulating snake using 360 children’s backpacks, which he found at the deadly 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Sadly, the backpacks belonged to children who died because of the poor building code, which was attributed to local corruption. As you can imagine, fashioning bags into a wicked symbol of Chinese lore certainly sends a loud statement to the entire world.

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People / Science & Technology — No Comments
13
Oct 11

Thank You to Dennis Ritchie, Without Whom None of This Would Be Here

Kernighan and Ritchie, Second Edition


Paul Adams

This morning the news came over the internet: Dennis Ritchie has died.

Dr. Ritchie doesn’t have the mainstream adoring following of Steve Jobs, but he can take considerably more credit for the creation, and even the aesthetics, of the computer world we live in. It’s almost impossible to find a personal computing product or paradigm that doesn’t owe a direct debt to Ritchie.

At Bell Labs in the heady 1970s, Dennis Ritchie created the C programming language and co-developed the Unix operating system. Before C and Unix came along, the computer world was fragmented in a way that’s hard to imagine — there was no such thing as software written to run on a variety of computers. Everything was custom-coded for its particular platform, and every platform had wildly different standards for such fundamental things as “how big is a byte?”

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People / Science & Technology — No Comments
10
Oct 11

Hack a Soda Bottle into a Solar Light

The video above shows how a man in an impoverished urban area in the Philippines created a solar light to brighten the densely-packed windowless homes that are dark inside even when the sun is shining brightly. The method involves making a roof cutout to support the bottle and filling the bottle with water and a little bleach. This solution can also help add some light to garden sheds and any other type of small outbuilding without electricity.

Once a cutout is made in the metal roofing material the soda bottle is attached and a sealant is applied. Then the bottle is filled with water and a teaspoon or so of bleach to kill any bacteria in the water.

The Filipino man serves as an example that life hacking can exist anywhere. Because of one bright idea he has a business and hundreds of people have a cheap way to bring light into their lives. Video by Marlon Bucsit.

Via: LifeHacker

Art / Humor — No Comments
09
Oct 11

Very Cool Steampunk Outfit

Art / Humor / Science & Technology — No Comments
09
Oct 11

Offbook: Steampunk, A Mini Documentary by PBS Arts

PBS has created this wonderful documentary about the Steampunk world. I’m fascinated by the originality, the creativeness, and the mystery evoked by the Steampunk participants.

Via: pbs.org

Humor / People — No Comments
06
Oct 11

Hank Williams Jr: Good Riddance

(CBS/AP)
BRISTOL, Conn. – Are you ready for some football? Hank Williams Jr. isn’t anymore.
The country singer and ESPN each took credit for the decision Thursday morning to ax his classic intro to “Monday Night Football.”

The network had pulled the song from the game earlier this week after Williams made an analogy to Adolf Hitler while discussing President Barack Obama on Fox News on Monday morning.

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