Je m’excuse.

This crossed my desk today and I found it to be oh-so-clever…  I felt obliged to look up René Magritte’s self-portrait entitled ‘The Son of Man’ here, of which the Belgian surrealist stated: “At least it hides the face partly. Well, so you have the apparent face, the apple, hiding the visible but hidden, the face of the person. It’s something that happens constantly. Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that which is hidden and which the visible does not show us. This interest can take the form of a quite intense feeling, a sort of conflict, one might say, between the visible that is hidden and the visible that is present.”

Kyoto, Japan

Although we live in a WYSIWYG world in which “seeing is believing,” as a species, we’re actually quite easily fooled… which I quite enjoy. I’ve posted before (here) about the illusionary work of Akiyoshi Kitaoka, a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto. (Warning: his site “contains some works of ‘anomalous motion illusion,’ which might make sensitive observers dizzy or sick [e.g. epileptic seizures, which can happen if the brain can’t handle conflicting information from your two eyes]). Check out Akiyoshi’s latest visual illusions (along with lucid explanations of the related phenomena) here.

Images: the Rotating Snakes above appear to move in a circular fashion, though this is actually a still image; the Runway on the right appears to tilt from the vertical more than the one on the left, even though both are identical; similarly, the horizontally aligned rows of Chromosomes appear to tilt (though the lines are parallel). So don’t believe everything you see…

Interesting patterns emerge when one begins to map connections…

“What is the connection between 3 celebrities, 35 corporations, 40 subsidiaries and more than 300 brands?
 Global business interests make up a complex network of connections between corporations from around the world. 
Corporate Connection intends to shed light on ‘who owns what’ in the global marketplace and on the intricate nature of the world wide ‘business web.’”—Zohar Manor-Abel describing what started as a student project, here.

Zohar’s map reminds me of the beautifully programmed They Rule, created in 2004 as a starting point for research about powerful individuals and corporations. It “aims to provide a glimpse of some of the relationships of the US ruling class and takes as its focus the boards of some of the most powerful U.S. companies, which share many of the same directors. Some individuals sit on 5, 6 or 7 of the top 500 companies. It allows users to browse through these interlocking directories and run searches on the boards and companies. A user can save a map of connections complete with their annotations and email links to these maps to others.” Check it out here.

(thanks for the link to Zohar’s map, Gregor)

Winnipeg, Canada

Stress—it’s everywhere, it seems. Unknowns trigger worry. Fear fosters misgivings. Anxiety runs rampant. Angst rules. A nervous disquietude seems to gnaw at all and sundry—so, what’s a person to do? From an internal Circle document I stumbled across on my hard drive today (compiled by a remarkable administrator who worked with us a decade ago and who used to fill spare moments making “pro-activity lists”) here are a few tips for “How to cope with stress”—after all, laughter is the best medicine, right?

1. Jam tiny marshmallows up your nose and try to sneeze them out.

2. Pop some popcorn without putting the lid on.

3. When someone says “Have a nice day” tell them you have other plans.

4. Stare at people through the tines of a fork and pretend they’re in jail.

5. Dance naked in front of your pets.

6. Drive to work in reverse.

7. Make a list of things you’ve already done.

8. Fill out your tax form in Roman numerals.

9. Lie on your back and eat celery, using your navel as a salt dipper…

Images: details from works by Theodore Gericault, Edvard Munch (The Scream), and Roy Lichtenstein.

…in Durban, South Africa (remember apartheid?). Though the road may seem long and winding at times, many of us still hope for an end to racism—in every corner of the global village.

…depends mostly on where you stand—a truism particularly telling when dealing with nuance or evaluating “shades of gray.” In this diagram, square ‘A’ is actually the same shade of gray as square ‘B’.

Hard to believe? Click on the image or see proof here.

Winnipeg, Canada

It’s been a week since I picked up my new car, a silver Volvo C30 (replacing the trusty little black BMW 318ti* which has carried me safely for nearly 1/2 million kilometers since 1995). Designed by Montreal-born Simon Lamarre (with a nod to the 1970s P1800ES and 2001’s Safety Concept Car) this stylish Swedish hatch seems nimble, safe, and comfortable (good ergonomics, great leg-room, excellent seats) with relatively good fuel efficiency (I had hoped for a hybrid or turbo-diesel, but unfortunately car model and engine choices in Canada are more limited than in Europe).

Weather in Manitoba this week has offered its seasonal challenges and a suitable test for the new wheels—I’m happy to report successful starts on mornings as cold as -35 Celcius (I haven’t used the installed block heater yet) and good performance in sill-deep snow….

*As the old 318ti needs an expensive timing chain to keep it on the road, it’s up for sale at European Domestic Service Centre in Winnipeg (good parts for a song—the Recaro seats and alloy wheels would make nice retrofits for someone restoring an older 3-Series BMW). Interested? Contact me here.

Images: a 1971 Volvo P1800ES and the new C30 share similar posteriors, high shoulders, and glass hatches.

I don’t recall my exact age at the time, but I know I was very young when I first heard Æsop’s fable of the Wind & Sun from my pacifist father (a gentle but firm man who served as a conscientious objector during the Second World War). The simple tale offered a compelling allegory re: the “exercise of power” that has stuck with me throughout my life (and may also bear more literal responsibility for my ongoing interest in passive solar energy). The gist of the parable goes like this…

Once upon a time, high in the heavens, a dispute arose between the Wind and the Sun as to which was the more powerful of the two. The Wind (always a blow-hard) challenged the Sun to a contest that could resolve once and for all who was the stronger. Looking down, the two could see a lone Traveler making his way across the land—it was agreed that whichever would be the first to strip the man of his cloak should be accounted the victor.

The Wind began, and blew with all its might with blasts as cold and fierce as a Thracian storm; but (of course) the stronger and more furiously the Wind blew, the closer the Traveler wrapped his cloak around him, and the more tightly he grasped it with his hands. Finally, exhausted, the Wind gave up in despair.

Then the Sun (which had been hiding behind a cloud) came out and simply shone with warmth and brightness—in almost no time at all the Traveler felt the genial warmth, took off his cloak, and cast it on the ground.

Thus the Sun was declared the victor, and it has ever since been deemed that “persuasion is better than force”—and the sunshine of a kind and gentle manner is more efficacious than the force of blustering authority.

More tales at ‘The Æsop for Children’ with illustrations by Milo Winter, here.

the Gaza Strip | قطاع غزة‎ | רצועת עזה

…and sadly, bloody little “goodwill towards man” either, it seems.

(poster image: Chaz Maviyane-Davies)

Repressed Hostility

Indecision

 Schizophrenia

Inferiority

I just stumbled across these remarkable illustrations by Russian-born Boris Artzybasheff, a master of anthropomorphism, on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive (a great resource for illustrators) here. Artzybasheff had a long career as an illustrator, beginning in the late 1920s with art deco style illustrations and extending all the way through the 1950s. Samples shown above are from the first section of Artzybasheff’s book As I See—titled ‘Neurotica’ it’s a visual depiction of extreme states of mind.