philly murals.

this picture is taken from here. i love the colours of the murals, their allegorical nature and their large claim to non-commercial public space. i like philly but i kind of want to go back to europe right now.

fourletterword.

found this today.

Variations on the Word Love – Margaret Atwood
This is a word we use to plug
holes with. It’s the right size for those warm
blanks in speech, for those red heart-
shaped vacancies on the page that look nothing
like real hearts. Add lace
and you can sell
it. We insert it also in the one empty
space on the printed form
that comes with no instructions. There are whole
magazines with not much in them
but the word love, you can
rub it all over your body and you
can cook with it too. How do we know
it isn’t what goes on at the cool
debaucheries of slugs under damp
pieces of cardboard? As for the weed-
seedlings nosing their tough snouts up
among the lettuces, they shout it.
Love! Love! sing the soldiers, raising
their glittering knives in salute.

Then there’s the two
of us. This word
is far too short for us, it has only
four letters, too sparse
to fill those deep bare
vacuums between the stars
that press on us with their deafness.
It’s not love we don’t wish
to fall into, but that fear.
this word is not enough but it will
have to do. It’s a single
vowel in this metallic
silence, a mouth that says
O again and again in wonder
and pain, a breath, a finger
grip on a cliffside. You can
hold on or let go.

trailblazing.

धैर्य लक्ष्मी

The swift had been on her way for years, noticing time creep up only in the bitter hours before dawn. The thirst for learning was not the sole source of her being’s joy. She admitted this only on occasion, when in a safe place, and when her being was not terraced by her racing breath. She had been blessed with abundance and a love of learning, but had gotten so used to the grind that it took her a long while to tell the effects of wear and at times obstinate toil from this new radiance that had come about so unexpectedly.

The force of the impact even from this distance amazed her, as the blaze touched her spirit and made it all worthwhile.

 

cycles, ripples, patterns, shapes, rhythm.

the seemingly cyclical nature of knowledge formation.

Emergent structures are patterns not created by a single event or rule. Nothing commands the system to form a pattern. Instead, the interaction of each part with its immediate surroundings causes a complex chain of processes leading to some order. One might conclude that emergent structures are more than the sum of their parts because the emergent order will not arise if the various parts are simply coexisting; the interaction of these parts is central. Emergent structures can be found in many natural phenomena, from the physical to the biological domain. For example, the shape of weather phenomena such as hurricanes are emergent structures.

It is useful to distinguish three forms of emergent structures. A first-order emergent structure occurs as a result of shape interactions (for example, hydrogen bonds in water molecules lead to surface tension). A Second-order emergent structure involves shape interactions played out sequentially over time (for example, changing atmospheric conditions as a snowflake falls to the ground build upon and alter its form). Finally, a third-order emergent structure is a consequence of shape, time, and heritable instructions. For example, an organism’s genetic code sets boundary conditions on the interaction of biological systems in space and time.

 

rob breszny says…

Talk to yourself more and better. Not just with streams of chatter that meander aimlessly. Not with darts of self-deprecation mixed in with grandiose fantasies. No, Taurus. When I urge you to talk to yourself more and better, I mean that you should address your self with focused tenderness. I mean that you should be driven by the bold intention to lift up your mood, praise your skills, shower blessings on your vulnerabilities, and love yourself down to the core. You will attract cosmic assistance if you do this playful work. You will bathe your subconscious intelligence with healing luminosity.

i like his horoscopes

here

joyful friday.

lots of reasons to be happy. what a ride it’s been this week. been to the depths of sadness and elated, inspired and bored and angry and playful. geeez. evening it all out? nae too sure about that at the moment.

i miss you already and look forward to your return. i hope the mountains are kind to you. i’ll get the burnt rice ready love.

this song accompanies me just now.

connections between people travel across meadows and cities. they’re what matters.

i love my job.

today this email came to my inbox. how cool is that??! a conference on the history of chocolate.

Call for Papers

International workshop on the history of cocoa and chocolate

Date and venue: Chocolate museum Cologne, 28 -29 October 2010

The history of chocolate, its production and consumption is a
fascinating and important part of our modern economic, social and
cultural history. Since the arrival of the cocoa bean in Europe in the
early 16^th century its products have shaped the pattern of consumption
and enjoyment.

Today it is hard to imagine a life without chocolate in the western
world. The industry has acquired a central position in some European
countries. In Germany the chocolate industry had a turn-over of 4.4
billion Euros in 2008 and in Switzerland 1.2 billion Euros. Indeed,
Switzerland has had the highest per capital consumption with 12.4 kg,
closely followed by Belgium, Britain and Germany.

Chocolate is not only a mass product but life-style. Within the last few
decades multiple new products have been created, which on the one hand
draw on the indigenous cultures of America. On the other hand a new
culture of chocolate consumption has emerged which manifests itself in
chocolate festivals, exhibitions and chocolate shops or “chocolateries”.
Medicine has also rediscovered chocolate. Big international research
programmes have been undertaken on the health supporting properties of
the flavanols or polyphenols in the cocoa beans.

While chocolate has become the relish of the masses, the history of
chocolate has been neglected in historical research for a long time.
Only within the last few years a certain change can be seen. A few
publications have come out either on the history of single companies or
on particular aspects.

However, since the arrival of the chocolate in Europe it has experienced
a profound change. It was turned from an Indian hot drink to a solid
chocolate bar and truffles followed by a variety of new product
variations. In the regions of origin it has also had a deep impact on
the production methods and working conditions.

The cultural and economic changes shall be subject of an international
workshop on the history of chocolate. Proposals are invited on any
aspect of research relating to the history of chocolate including the
following themes:

1. Areas of cultivation and production methods

2. Development and organisation of the cocoa trade

3. Technical innovations and product innovation (transition from craft
to industry)

4. cultural innovations specific patterns of chocolate consumption and
rituals, chocolate china etc)

5. Working conditions on the plantations and in the European chocolate
manufactories)

6. Enterprise and marketing

7. Chocolate and health

The conference languages will be English and German

*Deadline* for submission is 31.Oct. 2009

The workshop will be co-organized by the Chocolate Museum Cologne,
Rheinisch-Westfaelisches Wirtschaftsarchiv Cologne and Historisches
Seminar II, University of Duesseldorf

Proposals for papers should include a short (one page) abstract, and a
brief CV. If you have any questions, please contact Margrit Schulte
Beerbuehl at …

boussole.

peu à peu j’arrivais à comprendre quoi au juste m’accablait.

la soudaine absence de repères pouvait être tracée à ton départ.

en guise de protection, mon corps s’alignait à la mémoire du tien.

je dors mieux ainsi. tu reviens quand?

tee-hee.

The Romantic notion of love involved profound thoughts on the balance to be struck between symbiosis with the other person and an unconditional willingness to recognise the otherness of the other person.

(Joas 1996: 185)

Moiré.

just remembered that today. overlay of perspectives creates depth.

In physics, a moiré pattern (pronounced /mwɑːˈreɪ/ or /ˈmɔəreɪ/ in English; [mwaˈʁe] in French) is an interference pattern created, for example, when two grids are overlaid at an angle, or when they have slightly different mesh sizes.

In textiles, a moire (pronounced /mwɑː/) is a fabric with a wavy (watered) appearance, caused by varying the tension in the warp and weft of the weave.

see wikipedia and bateson.

hopefully it will help re-write chapter 4.