WalMart For The Arts!

Crystal Bridges, the art museum being created by Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton, opens in 2010. 

Walton is creating a national art museum that is dedicated to American artists from the Colonial period to the present. In 2005 Walton outbid a couple of East Coast museums, paying a record price for the 1849 Asher B. Durand work "Kindred Spirits." 

The museum design by architect Moshe Safdie is one is glass and light wood and is arranged around two ponds at the center of the compound which are spanned by bridges. The building is set on around 100 acres of Ozarks forest, donated by the Walton family. Visitors will follow a lane through the woods to a knoll that overlooks the pavilions. From the knoll, glass elevators take visitors to a courtyard with a glass lobby that has a view of the water. The museum will offer 34,000 square feet of exhibition space as well as a cafe, performance hall, library and research center. Crystal Bridges is expected to bring in 250,000 visitors a year.

The Beginning of the End

Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto's widower, was named President of Pakistan today. I hope Harvey Dent was right when he said, "The night is darkest before the dawn." Well, I am waiting for this so called "dawn".

Three Thoughts After Day Three of the RNC

1.) I remain undecided.

2.) I enjoy Palin's sass and energy. She's got spunk.

3.) Really, Mayor Guiliani? Really? Can someone explain why he would say this:

"...For -- for four days in Denver, the Democrats were afraid to use the words 'Islamic terrorism.' I imagine they believe it is politically incorrect to say it. I think they believe it will insult someone. Please tell me, who are they insulting if they say 'Islamic terrorism'? They are insulting terrorists..."

"...When Russia rolled over Georgia, John McCain immediately established a very strong, informed position that let the world know how he'll respond as president at exactly the right time. Remember his words? Remember what John McCain said? 'We are all Georgians.' Obama's -- talk about judgment. Let's look at what Obama did. Obama's first instinct was to create a moral equivalency, suggesting that both sides were equally responsible, the same moral equivalency that he's displayed in discussing the Palestinian Authority and the state of Israel...."

Guilty Pleasure

Although I am a little worried this might now be such a good career/personal move at the moment, Britney Spears has just been announced as the "openning" act at this year's MTV Video Music Awards, but without confirming whether or not it is a performance or a presenter bit. They have promised it will be "fun". Great. As much fun as her little fling with Madonna? I hope not. As long as MTV isn't out to sabotage her again this year, I am down for whatever she does, especially with the personal progress being made. (I promise I won't go PerezHilton.com on you after this blog entry.)

The reason why I am compelled to blog about this is because MTV's America's Best Dance Crew recently had an episode where previous popular groups competed to perform at the VMAs also. Amongst the three finalists were top two favorites Kaba Modern (their performance was posted here a couple days ago) and Fanny Pack(!). Fanny Pack's leader and choreographer, Matt Cady, also choreographed some pieces to Britney's new album. 

So...if Fanny Pack wins the competition AND if they perform with Ms.Spears, I think it will be a performance worth talking about the next day...if you're into that of course.

You can see Fanny Pack's competition piece (starting at 1:28) to Pussy Cat Dolls' "When I grow up" below:

I basically wanted to just post this up so that if by extreme chance this may happen on Saturday night, I can say "I knew it!" And this probably isn't what I should be thinking about during Ramadan. Yikes!

Can't Wait!

One of the most talked about movies for next year is Alan Moore's (V for Vendetta),  and Dave Gibbon's award-winning (the only graphic novel to receive the Hugo Award and the only graphic novel to make it onto Time's "Best 100 English-language novels") and critically acclaimed Watchmen, directed by Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead, 300).

The movie, which is still in its editing phase, runs about 3 hours and has received amazing reviews from exclusive early screenings by other directors. BUT, there has been some very publicized legal drama pertaining to the rights of the script/novel between FOX and Warner Bros. The court date is set for January 6th.

Most of you may have already seen this trailer before The Dark Knight, but why not "watch" it again?

Here is a short synopsis of the novel from Wikipedia:

Watchmen is set in 1985, in an alternate history of the United States where costumed adventurers are real and the country is edging closer to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union; throughout the books, the Doomsday Clock is shown gradually ticking towards midnight. It tells the story of a group of past and present heroes and superheroes and the events surrounding the mysterious murder of one of their own. Watchmen depicts heroes as real people who must confront ethical and personal issues, who struggle with neuroses and failings, and who—with one notable exception—lack anything immediately recognizable as accepted super powers. Watchmen's deconstruction of the conventional superhero archetype, combined with its innovative adaptation of cinematic techniques and heavy use of symbolism, multi-layered dialogue, and metafiction, has influenced both comics and film.

The Sandcrawler from Star Wars...

Or the Church of Santa Monica, in Madrid, Spain (By Architects Vices + Ramos)?

And so it begins...

Reports are coming in that US and Afghan troops have just crossed from Afghanistan to Pakistan in pursuit of Taliban insurgents. At least 20 people were killed in the northwest area of Pakistan, South Waziristan [shown above]. This is the first known instance in which US forces have conducted an operation on Pakistani soil since 9/11.

I hate spiders.

A 50ft (15m) tall mechanical spider sits on a derelict block in Liverpool, England. The spider, part of Liverpool's European Capital of Culture celebrations, will "explore" the city in the next few days. (Source: BBC)

Phelps' 100M Butterfly Victory: The Unseen Camera Angle

PETA at the Palace

The BBC is reporting that the UK Ministry of Defence is to meet the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to discuss alternatives to the bearskin hats worn by guards at Buckingham Palace. PETA has approached Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney to design a new shape for the 18 inch hat.
 

The Flower and The Hummingbird

From season three of FOX's So You Think You Can Dance, this routine was choreographed by Wade Robson, starring Jamie and Hok. It is also nominated for an Emmy Award this year.

Bird Buildings

First, we were amazed by Beijing's Olympic Stadium, Herzog & de Meuron's Bird Nest...

Now, architect James Law has come up with The Egg. The Egg will house 13 floors of offices where office workers will be treated to customizable workspaces. The office space will also feature hightech intelligent bathrooms that will monitor worker health by monitoring weight and blood pressure, Alerting doctors if necessary.

Atom Smasher: Science Experiment or Global Suicide?

Less than 10 days until the largest atom smasher every created (located in Europe) is turned on and tested for what it was meant for: to replicate conditions that existed just a fraction of a second after the Big Bang. Scary thought? You're not the only one who thinks so...

Legal bid to stop CERN atom smasher from 'destroying the world'

The world's biggest and most expensive scientific experiment has been hit by a last minute legal challenge, amid claims that the research could bring about the end of the world.

Critics of the Large Hadron Collider - a £4.4 billion machine due to be switched on in ten days time - have lodged a lawsuit at the European Court for Human Rights against the 20 countries, including the UK, that fund the project.

The device is designed to replicate conditions that existed just a fraction of a second after the Big Bang, and its creators hope it will unlock the secrets of how the universe began.

However, opponents fear the machine, which will smash pieces of atoms together at high speed and generate temperatures of more than a trillion degrees centigrade, may create a mini-black hole that could tear the earth apart.

Scientists involved in the project have dismissed the fears as "absurd" and insist that extensive safety assessments on the 17 mile long particle accelerator have demonstrated that it is safe.

The legal battle comes as the European Nuclear Research Centre (CERN), in Geneva, prepares to send the first beam of particles around the machine at the official switch on, on September 10, although it will be several weeks before the first particles are collided together.

Opponents of the project had hoped to obtain an injunction from the European Court of Human Rights that would block the collider from being turned on at all, but the court rejected the application on Friday morning. However, the court will rule on allegations that the experiment violates the right to life under the European Convention of Human Rights.

For the rest of the article click here.

Cheney=Palin?

Warning: This clip contains some foul language and some very accurate portrayals of what McCain and Palin's relationship probably is like.

Disown a part of your body (?)

The following is an excerpt from ScienceNOW Daily News:

Here's a trick to make a rubber hand come to life. Hide your right hand under a cloth and stick the rubber hand where your right hand should be. Now have someone stroke your right hand and the fake hand at the same time. Before you know it, you'll begin to "feel" sensation in the rubber hand. But what happens to your real right hand? New research suggests that your body begins to disown it.

Psychologists have used the rubber-hand illusion for years to study how people perceive body boundaries. How, for example, does your brain know where you stop and a bicycle begins? Brain scans reveal that the premotor cortex, the part of the brain that integrates vision and touch, helps the body adopt the rubber hand, but no one had looked at what was going on with the hidden, real hand.

For a step-by-step demonstration, click here.

Ramadan Mubarak!

Image of Islamic school students reading the Qur'an in Lahore, Pakistan during the first day of Ramadan.

Source: The Washington Post 

Super creative!

This is a clip called "Food Fight" from a Japanese game show. From what I can gather, it's all about which team can mime the best scene.

I give it another 3 or 4 months before Randy Jackson or Simon bring this to the States.

Meet Zoe Keating!

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful music!

Her album, One Cello x 16: Natoma, has been out for a while but has been critically acclaimed. You can buy it on iTunes.

She recently was interviewed on my one of my favorite radio shows, RADIOLab [WNYC] and you can listen to or download that podcast for free at their website. That podcast's title is Quantum Cello.

KABA MODERN is BACK!

My favorite 'crew' from America's Best Dance Crew [Season 1] is back!

Fast forward to 1:20 for the actual performance. 

Let's see how long they allow this to remain posted on YouTube.

An Ear For An Ear...

Gene therapy has the potential to restore hearing in mice, offering hope for humans too, US scientists suggest.

An Oregon team discovered gene transfer produced functioning hair cells that are essential for the inner ear to interpret sounds, Nature reports.

In people with normal hearing, cochlear hair cells convert sound into electrical signals, which are ultimately transmitted to the brain.

Once the cells are lost or damaged, they cannot be replaced naturally.

For the full-story, go here.

Side note: The images shown above and below are part of Moataz Nasr's award winning exhibition at the 8th International Cairo Biennale in Cairo, Egypt in 2001. The work is called "An Ear of Mud, Another of Clay", composed of a wall covered with sculptures in the shape of ears (made of dough and clay) and a video projected on the opposite wall. For more info on this exhibit and artist, including excerpts from art critics' articles on the piece, click here.

iPray, uPray, we all pray for iPray!

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED RIGHT NOW!

With Ramadan starting in a couple of hours, I thought to myself "I wonder if there is a free application for the iPhone that could help me out during this month?" And behold!!!

THE iPRAY!

Not only does it have prayer/salaat timings for your local city along with Qibla direction and athan, but its also very aesthetically pleasing! 

RAMADAN MUBARAK EVERYONE!

HOLY MAGNETIC COW!

The following story has been making news recently. To get the full story, go to the BBC News Website.

Have you ever noticed that herds of grazing animals all face the same way?

Images from Google Earth have confirmed that cattle tend to align their bodies in a north-south direction.

Wild deer also display this behaviour - a phenomenon that has apparently gone unnoticed by herdsmen and hunters for thousands of years.

In the Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences, scientists say the Earth's magnetic fields may influence the behaviour of these animals.

The Earth can be viewed as a huge magnet, with magnetic north and south situated close to the geographical poles.

Many species - including birds and salmon - are known to use the Earth's magnetic fields in migration, rather like a natural GPS.

The researchers surveyed Google Earth images of 8,510 grazing and resting cattle in 308 pasture plains across the globe.

"Sometimes it took hours and hours to find some pictures with good resolution," said Dr Begall.

The scientists were unable to distinguish between the head and rear of the cattle, but could tell that the animals tended to face either north or south.

Their study ruled out the possibility that the Sun position or wind direction were major influences on the orientation of the cattle.

Louis Vuitton in Japan

A new project by Dutch architects UNStudio:  these images show a proposed flashship store for fashion house Louis Vuitton in Japan.

The location and construction schedule of the ten-storey building are secret for now.

The design for the 10 storey (54 meter tall) flagship Louis Vuitton store in Japan aims to establish an architectural equivalent of the identity of Louis Vuitton in which classical and modern qualities are blended, reinforcing each other. The design inspires the visitor with a feeling of being in the House of Louis Vuitton by celebrating the qualities that make up the essence of the company, its products, its history and its future.

The building follows the structure of a (grand) house: with three levels, each spanning a varying number of split-level floors and each with its own atmosphere and purpose. Each floor is in principle divided into four leaves, which are set in a spiral pattern with a height difference between each leaf of 2.70 meters. Terrace zones, which offer a mix of functions in a garden setting, mark the different vertical sections of the house, with the sense of intimacy growing towards the top of the building.

I love this stuff!

A fellow Studio Art major at Bates College and friend, Nels Nelson, made this a while back.

Mezmorizing! The music is pretty awesome also. Check it out:

Cells Transformed!

The following was taken from an article by the Associated Press:

NEW YORK (AP) -- Talk about an extreme makeover: Scientists have transformed one type of cell into another in living mice, a big step toward the goal of growing replacement tissues to treat a variety of diseases.

The cell identity switch turned ordinary pancreas cells into the rarer type that churns out insulin, essential for preventing diabetes. But its implications go beyond diabetes to a host of possibilities, scientists said.

It's the second advance in about a year that suggests that doctors might be able to use a patient's own cells to treat disease or injury without turning to stem cells taken from embryos.

The work is "a major leap" in reprogramming cells from one kind to another, said one expert not involved in the research, John Gearhart of the University of Pennsylvania.

That's because the feat was performed in living mice rather than a lab dish, the process was efficient, and it was achieved directly without going through a middleman like embryonic stem cells, he said.

The newly created cells made insulin in diabetic mice, though they were not cured. But if the experiment's approach proves viable, it might lead to treatments like growing new heart cells after a heart attack or nerve cells to treat disorders like ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Douglas Melton, co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and a researcher with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, cautioned that the approach is not ready for people.