Magnetic Art

A ferrofluid is special type of fluid that reacts strongly to a magnetic field.  Sachiko Kodama has made this beautiful piece using ferrofluid and drills with controllable magnetic charges.

25 Days of Free

Amazon gives away a free mp3 download for every day in December leading up to Christmas.  I've gotten some enjoyable Christmas music this way (and one or two Hanukkah songs).  Check it out!

Brüder! Brüder!

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of hearing Beethoven's 9th Symphony performed at the Duke Chapel.  I had already fallen in love with Beethoven's composition, and to hear it in such an inspiring space was phenomenal.  I enjoyed reading the poetry that the choir sings in the final movement.


Ode to Joy
From Beethoven's 9th Symphony

Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt!
Brüder! Brüder!
Über'm Sternenzelt
muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.

Do you bow down, ye millions?
Do you sense the Creator, World?
Seek Him above the canopy of stars!
Brothers! Brothers!
Above the canopy of stars
surely a loving Father dwells.

Words

Another showing from my friends at RadioLab.  I had fun showing this to people and seeing if they could understand what the movie was about.  Do you get it?

History Among Us

Alice on My Modern Metropolis created this post featuring a selection of photographs from Sergey Larenkov.  Larenkov combines historical photos from World War II with modern photos taken at the exact same locations and angles.  His images are a reminder that our world today has been touched and changed forever by those who have been there before us.

Lifelike Creations

Theo Jansen has created these wonderful kinetic sculptures - "creatures" that have a simple brain, the ability to store wind energy, and an ingenious way of moving.  They are elegantly designed and it's fascinating to hear him talk about his creations.

Crossing The Bar

I recently "discovered" the writings of Alfred, Lord Tennyson.  He's one of those people whose names I know I've heard before (I probably read some of his works in school), but not until now did I really start to learn about him. I think it's wonderful to always be learning. This poem compares crossing a sand bar in a ship to crossing over to the other side, from life to death.

Crossing The Bar
by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,

And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place

The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

When I have crossed the bar.

Julian Bream Plays Bach

As a student of the classical guitar, I am blown away by Julian Bream's performance here.  He makes the guitar sound like multiple voices, which is necessary for a baroque piece like this.  Someday I hope to become skilled enough to learn this.

Bacterial Art

While studying how bacteria grows in hostile environments (like petri dishes full of antibiotics) scientists have found some astoundingly beautiful fractal patterns.

Thanks to Pruned for creating a great post about this.  Find the original bacterial art gallery here.

Walking on Water

This installation that Michael Cross built in 2006 lets you walk over a pool on steps that rise out of the water as you walk forward.  The steps behind you disappear back into the water as you leave them behind. The ingenious design has everything running off springs rather than electronics or motors.  See it in action.

Techie Music Toy

This is a wonderfully addictive visual synthesizer.  The pattern of squares represents a music loop.  The higher on the grid, the higher the tone.  Try it out!  http://lab.andre-michelle.com/tonematrix

Quantum Cello

I love RadioLab. I listen to their podcast almost every day. What's awesome about them is, like me, they're into arts and music as well as science. Today I heard an episode where they interviewed Zoë Keating, an "avant garde" cellist who uses a looping machine to create awesome layered music while playing live. Her music is great, and she has cool dreadlocks too. She seems like someone I'd like to hang out with.

Here's the episode, which includes performances by Zoë:

http://www.radiolab.org/blogs/radiolab-blog/2008/aug/25/quantum-cello/

What Is Art?

Aardman, the creators of Wallace and Gromit, created this episode of Creature Comforts, where they ask the question, "What is art?"