Posts in Uncategorized
The Milky Way - breathtaking timelapse

Too good to miss. Click through and watch it as large as you can if it's not big enough here. Really truly spectacular. [vimeo http://vimeo.com/22439234]

This is called The Mountain, by Norwegian filmmaker Terje Sorgjer. He says: "This was filmed between 4th and 11th April 2011. I had the pleasure of visiting El Teide. Spain's highest mountain (3718m) is one of the best places in the world to photograph the stars and is also the location of Teide Observatories, considered to be one of the world´s best observatories.

The goal was to capture the beautiful Milky Way galaxy along with one of the most amazing mountains I know El Teide. I have to say this was one of the most exhausting trips I have done. There was a lot of hiking at high altitudes and probably less than 10 hours of sleep in total for the whole week. Having been here 10-11 times before I had a long list of must-see locations I wanted to capture for this movie, but I am still not 100% used to carrying around so much gear required for time-lapse movies.

A large sandstorm hit the Sahara Desert on the 9th April (bit.ly/​g3tsDW) and at approx 3am in the night the sandstorm hit me, making it nearly impossible to see the sky with my own eyes.

Interestingly enough my camera was set for a five hour sequence of the milky way during this time and I was sure my whole scene was ruined. To my surprise, my camera had managed to capture the sandstorm which was backlit by Grand Canary Island making it look like golden clouds. The Milky Way was shining through the clouds, making the stars sparkle in an interesting way. So if you ever wondered how the Milky Way would look through a Sahara sandstorm, look at 00:32."

Do look at some of his others too (link).

UncategorizedJack DysonComment
The human spirograph

Amazing post here from BOOOOOOOOOM showing human spirograph Tony Orrico, an artist who performs for up to four hours at a time without pause. Couple of vids at the bottom. Utterly, utterly bonkers of course, but kind of amazing. In the last video, he has a bandana. I reckon Jeff Bridges would play him in the inevitable movie biopic.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO5cFCxSog4&feature=player_embedded]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWqH1oIWJJY&feature=player_embedded]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BG9ILVQBkQ&feature=player_embedded]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD6i9l2GNiE&feature=player_embedded]

UncategorizedJack Dysonart, dance, human spirograph, peopleComment
Impossible Art

Jason Lazarus is starting to curate a blog of impossible art ideas. Some of them are genius, others a bit hit and miss. He could probably do with a few more. Check out the full site here but make sure you add one of your own.

[slideshow]

UncategorizedJack DysonComment
Hifana – Rainy Session

Breakbeat duo Hifana (a.k.a. KEIZOmachine! and Juicy) hippy out in a rainy-day session with Keisuke Muto (sitar), U-zhaan (tabla) and Izpon (percussion). Some amazing little drums and noise-making toys. Really nice to have on in the background. I want one of those eggcup things.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qsGqHbTC_g&w=700]

I think, on balance, they could at least have made an effort to get more stoned first.

(via)

UncategorizedJack Dysonmusic, session, sitar, tabla, tranquilComment
The Guy Quote - Dr Seuss

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities."

Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone. He published 44 children's books, often characterised by imaginative characters, rhyme, and frequent use of trisyllabic meter (you know the ones. Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Horton Hatches the Egg, Horton Hears a Who!, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and so on). These were adapted in loads of different things - eleven television specials, three feature films, a Broadway musical and four television series.

He started using "Seuss" as a tag when he was caught drinking gin with some friends in his room (this was in the days of prohibition) and banned from extracurricular activities. The only way he could carry on writing for the college humour magazine - the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern - was under a pseudonym. So, without further ado...

You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go.

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.

Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.

I'm sorry to say so but, sadly it's true that bang-ups and hang-ups can happen to you.

I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good.

All alone! Whether you like it or not, alone is something you'll be quite a lot.

I'm afraid sometimes you'll play lonely games too, games you can't win because you'll play against you.

I'm sorry to say so but, sadly it's true that bang-ups and hang-ups can happen to you

ps - this is from Wikipedia on the poetic meters he used:

Geisel wrote most of his books in anapestic tetrameter, a poetic meter employed by many poets of the English literary canon. This characteristic style of writing, which draws and pulls the reader into the text, is often suggested as one of the reasons that Geisel's writing was so well-received.[32][33]

Anapestic tetrameter consists of four rhythmic units, anapests, each composed of two weak beats followed by one strong beat; often, the first weak syllable is omitted, or an additional weak syllable is added at the end. An example of this meter can be found in Geisel's "Yertle the Turtle", from Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories:

"And today the Great Yertle, that Marvelous he
Is King of the Mud. That is all he can see."[34]

Geisel generally maintained this rhythm quite strictly, but in his later career somewhat relaxed this tendency. The consistency of his meter was one of his hallmarks; the many imitators and parodists of Geisel are often unable to write in strict anapestic tetrameter, or are unaware that they should, and thus sound clumsy in comparison.

Some books by Geisel that are written mainly in anapestic tetrameter also contain many lines written in amphibrachic tetrameter, such as these from If I Ran the Circus:

"All ready to put up the tents for my circus.
I think I will call it the Circus McGurkus.
"And NOW comes an act of Enormous Enormance!
No former performers performed this performance!"

Geisel also wrote verse in trochaic tetrameter, an arrangement of a strong beat followed by a weak beat, with four units per line (for example, the title of One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish). The formula for trochaic meter permits the final weak position in the line to be omitted, which facilitates the construction of rhymes.

Geisel generally maintained trochaic meter only for brief passages, and for longer stretches typically mixed it with iambic tetrameter, which consists of a weak beat followed by a strong, and is generally considered easier to write. Thus, for example, the magicians in Bartholomew and the Oobleck make their first appearance chanting in trochees (thus resembling the witches of Shakespeare's Macbeth):

"Shuffle, duffle, muzzle, muff"

then switch to iambs for the oobleck spell:

"Go make the Oobleck tumble down
On every street, in every town!"

+

[[ps - please check out some of my other quote collections here - The Guy Quote]]

UncategorizedJack Dysondr seuss, fantasy, nonsense, nonsense poetry, poetry, rhyme, the guy quote, writingComment
Behind the Seams - Mexican Pointy Boots (camp cowboy ravers)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEiMA3QtYWc&w=700] One of the weirdest things I think I've ever seen. Camp Mexican raver cowboys in pointy boot and shuffling around to music competitions. The club scene at the end is just plain weird, but there's a bit when they're standing in a row outside that is one of the most utterly surreal things ever, especially with the weird bloopy music soundtrack.

“In this episode of Behind the Seams we head to the dusty city of Matehuala, Mexico in search of the pointiest long-toed cowboy boots ever made. Over the past year, the botas vaqueras exóticas phenomenon has overrun the rodeo dance floors and clubs of this area and even spreading North into Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and any place where big groups of immigrant Mexicans have taken root. We made our way to Desierto Light, one of the clubs in this area where party promoters host dance-offs to music known as Tribal Guarachero. For the finals competition, the 17-year-old prodigy DJ Erick Rincón of the 3ballMTY crew performed for a crowd of adoring pointy-boot wearing raver cowboys.”

UncategorizedJack DysonComment
The Warmth of the Heart Prevents the Body from Rusting

Extracts from The Warmth of the Heart Prevents the Body from Rusting, by Marie de Hennezel. It's Book of the Week on Radio 4 at the moment, and is full of beautiful, neat observations (listen to some here). There's very little to disagree with - one of the extracts read out on the radio discussed how awful it is that in retirement homes people aren't ever given double beds, they are effectively denied any recognition of sexuality. I'd never thought of it like that, but now I always will. A respected psychologist and psychotherapist, de Hennezel proposes that our exploration be guided by the belief that something within us does not grow old: ‘I shall call it the heart. I don’t mean the organ, which does of course age, but the capacity to love and to desire. The heart I refer to is that inexplicable, incomprehensible force which keeps the human being alive …'

If you only read one paragraph, read the last one.

TAP INTO YOUR CHARM Acceptance of all that we cannot change is crucial. But we can also look towards all that is to be discovered, for while the body may age, the inner person continues to evolve. Old age cannot be reduced to a series of losses and diminutions. Old age can be a process of opening up, not closing down, but this is something that has to be worked at.

There are some who become hypochondriacs, obsessed with their health. Others complain incessantly. The ideal is not to expect too much of others, but simply to be receptive. Being nice is the key, according to the writer Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber. ‘It is up to us to behave so that people enjoy listening to us. Certain people are very good at achieving this alchemy. It can be found in a look, a smile, a pleasant tone of voice on the telephone. They never complain, expect nothing, have their own network of relationships and take care of their own physical health. It is no longer a question of trying to seduce, but of remaining attractive, cultivating one’s charm.’

Charm comes from the soul. Charm comes from the ability to take an interest in others and in the world, to look at life with confidence, wonderment and gratitude.

‘People imagine that once we are past a certain age, we lose interest in life,’ Olivier de Ladoucette told me. ‘But they are mistaken. They do not realise that as they grow older, their psyche evolves. Things that are unimportant when we are young take on an incredible importance when we grow older: a child’s smile, for example. For an 80-year-old, it’s worth as much as a good three-star banquet when you are 40.’

As we grow older we have every chance of laying aside our egos and turning towards others. That is the only way to maintain a network of friends and good relations with one’s children.

NUTURE YOUR SENSUALITY In the 18th century, someone asked the Princess Palatine at what age sexual desire disappeared. ‘How should I know?’ she replied. ‘I’m only 80!’ Today many people believe that the elderly no longer have any desires or sexual life. There are women who consider themselves no longer fit to be seen or desirable, and they bury their sensuality and desire. Quite simply they can no longer bear themselves and they will never make love again. This renunciation of desire leads more quickly than one might imagine to real old age, to an absence of joy and vitality and to a dried-up heart.

An American study of people between the ages of 80 and 102 found that 63 per cent of the men and 30 per cent of the women still had sex, and that 82 per cent of the men and 64 per cent of the women had affectionate relationships. While sexual relations may be slower and less active, we know that they also become more sensual. ‘When I was younger, desire was more frequent,’ comments one of the women in Deirdre Fishel’s 2004 documentary Still Doing It: The Intimate Lives of Women Over 65. ‘Now I am more at ease in my sexuality. There are so many ways of experiencing pleasure. For me, the caresses are more important than the act itself.’

I now look at women of my own age – I am 64 – and older with new eyes. One of the advantages of maturity is that people are freer and more receptive. There is freedom in that the children have left the nest and work considerations are often a thing of the past. But there is also an inner freedom, as we live the time we have left more in the present moment, in charge of our desires. We can be more sensual than ever, savouring life without haste or anxiety. We are so fixated on youthful norms that we find it difficult to imagine the amorous interplay between two bodies withered by age. Their desire is not fed by form or aesthetic beauty, but by the pleasure of being together in a joining of hearts, by the softness of skin, by the pace and presence of the other person and by the emotion of the encounter.

SAVOUR EVERY MOMENT During a recent trip to the Valais in Switzerland, I was sitting on a bench admiring the sweeping view when an old man emerged from a path and sat down beside me to catch his breath. When I expressed surprise that he had climbed so high at his age, he told me he walked an hour each day. ‘I train because, you see, each summer I treat myself and walk up as far as the Weisshorn hotel. In the old days I used to do this climb in an hour. I flew up; I didn’t even notice where I put my feet. Nowadays it takes me three hours, and I look at my feet while I am walking and take a new-found pleasure in noticing things I never used to see, such as the flowers lining the way. When I was young it was the physical performance that counted. I barely saw the landscape. Now I dwell in each second and my eyes are in a permanent state of ecstasy.’

When you have grown old, newness always comes from the inside. A new sensibility, a kind of sensual perception, becomes keener with age and mysteriously increases while the body diminishes. In an interview given around 20 years ago by the great French philosopher Michel Serres, he said that advancing age was a detachment from everything that weighed heavily upon him: the burdens of tradition, of learned truths, of family and of society. ‘Growing old is the opposite of what we might think; it is rejecting preconceived ideas, and becoming lighter.’

Instead of rebelling against the exhaustion and the slowing down that affects us when we grow older, why not stretch out and rest, use it as a way to take time to embrace the here and now? ‘I am beginning to understand the pleasure that the old experience when they sit on a bench for hours in the shade of a plane tree, doing nothing, gazing into the distance, silent, motionless, their hands folded,’ François Mitterrand told me in the last months of his life. He had been so active, yet he understood the virtues of ‘nonaction’.

To be filled with admiration and wonderment is a joy that is within everyone’s grasp. Some writers in their 80s talk movingly about this ability to marvel as one of the blessings of old age. I remember the last words of an old woman of 92, half an hour before her death. It was many years ago, when I was working as a psychologist at the bedsides of the dying. Her eyes filled with fire, she seized my hand and, gripping it forcefully, entrusted me with her last message: ‘My child, don’t be afraid of anything. Live! Live every bit of life that is given to you! For everything, everything is a gift from God.’ As I write these words, her words, I can still feel the energy she communicated to me as she spoke them. I can feel it as strongly as if it has just happened: proof that what comes from the heart and touches our hearts is eternal.

UncategorizedJack Dyson Comments