Eros' Crucible

"Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists.. it is real.. it is possible.. it's yours." 

― Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

"Athena Giustiniani"

Roman copy of a Greek statue of Pallas

Athena with her serpent, Erichthonius

Geneva orchestra at Kennedy Center shines with Debussy, Stravinsky

22 FEBRUARY 2015   WASHINGTON POST   CHARLES T DOWNEY

When Charles Dutoit filled the leadership void at the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2008, he came to Washington for four consecutive years with that ensemble, always to great acclaim. On Saturday afternoon, Washington Performing Arts presented him again, this time with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, in a blockbuster concert at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall.

The orchestra from Geneva, which last visited Washington in 1989, shone immediately in Debussy’s "Ibéria," with glimmering washes of string sound and polished contributions from the woodwind section. Dutoit shaped the perfumed second movement with its murky, incense-heavy sighs of sound and guided the orchestra seamlessly into the third movement. The ensemble traded on its history by performing Stravinsky’s "Song of the Nightingale," which was premiered by Ernest Ansermet and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in 1919. With top-notch solo work from celesta and principal flute, the musicians revealed this sensationally colored music in all of its riotous variety. The brass, plenty boisterous and full-bodied, only occasionally overstepped in their enthusiasm, including one rare trumpet slip. 

The vast orchestra — such an indulgence on an international tour — played its advantages to the hilt in Ravel’s "La Valse," with swooning portamenti in the strings and chromatic runs in the winds creating a boozy, smoke-filled atmosphere. The rubato was so cohesive, the entire ensemble following Dutoit’s every gesture, but the effect was less about virtuosity than subtle coloristic effects. Pianist Nikolai Lugansky was a mercurial soloist in Rachmaninoff’s "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini," sometimes leaving the orchestra in the dust, with technical fortitude matched by a lovely sense of restraint, not wallowing at all in the famous 18th variation. Before waving good-bye, Dutoit launched the musicians into a dizzying, perfectly choreographed encore of the "Danse générale" from the end of the second suite from Ravel’s "Daphnis et Chloé." Read

"Perseus with the head of Medusa"

Benvenuto Cellini 

(1554)

Aeon Embrace

                 10

maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day) 

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and 

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were; 

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and 

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone. 

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea 

― E. E. Cummings, 1894 - 1962

Icaro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
15 FEBRUARY 2015 (VIEWED)   WIKIPEDIA

An icaro (or ikaro) is a song sung in Shipibo healing ceremonies, or by vegetalistas. The word icaro is believed to be derived from the Quechua verb ikaray, which means "to blow smoke in order to heal".

... Icaros are either whistled or sung, and can be expressed in any language. The shamans generally sing in a spirit dialect that is a mixture of their native language (i.e. Quechua, Shipibo-Conibo, Asháninka, etc.), Spanish, and different evocative sounds or vocables. Icaros represent a system of communication between the shaman and the spirits, and the shaman and the participants in the ceremony. The shamans believe that every living thing has an icaro and that these icaros can be learned. Read More

Cinnamon Bun Centers = The New Muffin Tops

2 APRIL 2010   LOAVES AND WISHES   ERIKA

Do you remember that Seinfeld episode where Elaine goes crazy for muffin tops? They are crunchy, explosive and, without a doubt, the best part of the muffin. She inspires her boss to open a bakery that sells only muffin tops, and he's left with loads and loads of "muffin stumps." No one wants the stumps, so Elaine tries all sorts of crazy schemes to get rid of them. Hilarity and legal consequences ensue.

Well, just as Elaine fell for the muffin top, I am in love with the cinnamon bun center. The heart of the cinnamon bun is really the only reason to bake them, imho... 

The cinnamon bun center reveals its true magic only with the passing of time. When cinnamon buns first come out of the oven,

they are warm and springy, and universally awesome. Sadly, as the day goes on, the edges get stale and the glaze hardens over the top. But, as you uncoil the cinnamon roll, you find that the center has becomes magically more delicious. The glaze has dripped down between the swirls and mingled with the cinnamon and dough in a kind of alchemy. What you find is something halfway between liquid and solid, a state of matter which science has yet to classify. Dare I call it "goo"? 

Wouldn't it be great if we could just bake cinnamon roll centers without the edges? Alas, there is likely some sort of philosophical conundrum or law of physics that makes that dream impossible. But what about those brownie pans that only turn out crispy "brownie edges"?  

... Until then, I will just have to find a way to illicitly dispose of the outskirts of my cinnamon buns. Read More

Jennifer Lawrence 

Vanity Fair - March 2015

Photo Patrick Demarchelier

Lover Earth

"The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth, the delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that for you the world is transformed."

― Jiddu Krishnamurti

Katrin Olina bends steel pipes into products for reading

13 FEBRUARY 2015   DEZEEN   KATIE TREGGIDEN

Stockholm 2015: Icelandic designer Katrin Olina has created a set of home products made by shaping steel tubes with an old exhaust pipe bending machine.

Katrin Olina's collaboration with local metal workshop Stuðlaberg resulted in a portable bookshelf, a small lamp and a bookshelf with an integrated reading lamp. 

Small Reading Horse is the portable, mini-bookshelf, made from two 35-millimetre bent steel tubes held together by two bars. The storage rack stands on wooden feet with oak plugs, to mimic hoofs. 

... The Bright Small Reading Horse also includes a reading lamp. "Reading horse" is the Icelandic equivalent of the English term "book worm". 

"The project celebrates reading," Olina told Dezeen. "In my country someone who loves to read is called a Reading Horse. Books are gateways into other worlds." 

The collection was developed as part of Vernacular Iceland, a project that aims to find new uses for out-dated parts and machinery. 

... Olina visited Stuðlaberg and started to investigate potential uses for the machine with Gunnlaugur, the workshop owner and metal master. 

"The project plays with two aesthetic opposites and a clash of styles; the industrial aesthetics of the tubular steel against the decorative metal parts in forgotten styles that emulate nature," said the designer. 

"It pays homage to vernacular creativity, where found objects are freely put together," Olina added. "This was the way of doing things in Iceland where in the past, resources were scarce. The goal is to investigate alternatives with the skills and machinery in the metal shop at Stuðlaberg and offer a new addition to Icelandic furniture production." Read More

How to dress for work when it's freezing outside

2 FEBRUARY 2015   ECONOMIC TIMES   JACQUELYN SMITH

(Business Insider) -- Dressing for work when it's freezing outside can be tricky. You want to be warm and comfortable - but also professional. 

"Doing both isn't easy, but it is possible," says Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and the author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job."  

"When it's cold out, you feel inclined to wear as much bulk as possible from head to toe. You're tempted to pull out your full-on ski gear, especially in the Northeast this week. But you can accomplish both goals of staying comfortable and professional, no matter how frosty it is outside."  

Here are six tips for dressing professionally when it's freezing out... Read More

Japanese People Wear Even Surgical Masks For Daily Use & The Variety of Masks For Fashion  

13 FEBRUARY 2015   TOKYO GIRLS' UPDATE   IKUMI

Especially during winter times, lots of people are wearing masks here in Japan, but don’t get overwhelmed! In general (in global standard), people wear masks for covering a nose and mouth hygienically. But here in Japan, we do even when we don’t have a cold. We wear masks for hiding face with no make-up, prevention of dry air especially when you are sleeping, and protection against cold.

There are masks made for children, ladies, men, in addition special masks for pollen prevention, and lipstick resistant. When it comes to mask, it’s normally white, but one of the masks which especially getting attention is "black mask." This can be kind of sign to find people in the crowd. Because of bamboo charcoal powder, it causes negative ion that is effective for sterilization and deodorization, so Japanese seem to use mask by their purpose. 

Recently, especially among young girls, masks designed like animal, character’s mouth are popular; bear, dog, cat, beard, devil, character masks like Doraemon, Sanrio characters and anime Chibimaruko. Some artists such as AAA and Cheeky Parade produced collaboration mask mask brand "gonoturn." People copy their favorite model, idol wearing mask, wear as a Coplay! It seems that masks are becoming one of the fashion items. Read More

Sony unveils smart headset for smarter jogs

13 FEBRUARY 2015   NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW

TOKYO -- Sony will soon begin selling headphones that go beyond playing music by recording data and offering tracking functions to runners.

The Smart B-Trainer logs a variety of data on the move, including heart rate and route traveled. If the heart rate misses the target, a built-in feature can change the music to faster songs as an encouragement to pick up the pace. 

The user also has access to expert advice from a renowned marathon commentator. 

The 43-gram device boasts six sensors, including an accelerometer, a barometer and a GPS system. It can measure and record 11 types of running data, such as calories burned, distance and pace. The 16 gigabytes of memory holds up to 3,900 songs, and the battery lasts about five and a half hours. The product will debut March 7 and sell for around 27,000 yen ($220) in stores. 

After a training session, data on the Smart B-Trainer is transmitted to the user's smartphone via Bluetooth. Accumulated data can be viewed on a specialized smartphone app that helps users decide on training regimens. 

Athletic equipment manufacturer Asics will provide a training app. 

Sony is already in the wearables market, having released watch and wristband devices. It plans to soon launch glasses and a detachable device that attaches to goggles. The company appears to be trying to cover all the bases by putting out an array of wearables for various parts of the body. 

"This is a time for trying different things because we don't know what would resonate the most with consumers right now," President Kazuo Hirai said. Read More

Let them make cake!

"Oh, it can't be a reference to the fact Harry's a great Seeker, that's way too obvious. There must be a secret message from Dumbledore hidden in the icing!" 

― J.K. Rowling

Ace of Cakes: Inside the World of Charm City Cakes by Duff Goldman, Willie Goldman

6 FEBRUARY 2015 (VIEWED)   GOOD READS

When Duff Goldman, Food Network's "Ace of Cakes," envisioned Charm City Cakes in Baltimore nearly a decade ago, his goal was to make wonderful cakes for friends and family. As word spread about his fabulous creations, his dream grew into a nationally renowned business staffed by a team of talented professionals, including musicians, artists, and creative souls with experience in architectural modeling, graphic design, deejaying, coffee making, performance art, dog walking, sculpture, painting and more.

Hubble Telescope & Jupiter Cake 

Aces of Cakes: Inside the World of Charm City Cakes is a celebration of the bakery that started it all. This colorful scrapbook is loaded with stories about Duff's early days as a graffiti artist turned young chef, his successes and hilarious disasters, and the amazing team he built step-by-step. Through candid interviews and profiles and hundreds of photographs, illustrations, and collages, the book shows how energy, inspiration, collaboration, and a bit of luck can conspire to help anyone achieve their creative vision. Read More

Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

6 FEBRUARY 2015 (VIEWED)   NEW YORK MAGAZINE   NANCY DAVIDSON

Ron Ben-Israel has been called the Manolo Blahnik of cakes, both because of his creative styling and because he’s beloved by fashion editors. He could also be called the Fragonard of confections for his lifelike floral reproductions in butter and sugar—each petal, stamen, leaf, and stem an exact replica of the real deal. But what ultimately makes his cakes so special is that no two
creations are completely alike. For weddings, bat mitzvahs, society galas, or silver anniversaries, Ben-Israel begins with a consultation that may find its inspirations in a bridal gown, an honoree’s interests, or a classic piece of art. He has also made cakes in the form of shoeboxes, shopping bags, footballs, baseballs, and cars. Some may seem to be precariously balanced, but all are architecture sound, impressively crafted, and unquestionably edible. Kosher cakes (with rabbinic certification) are also available for an additional cost. Read More

New York's pastry master reveals his secrets
28 APRIL 2012   BBC NEWS MAGAZINE   REGGIE NADELSON

SOHO, NYC -- ... His cheery cheeky charm belies a stainless steel discipline. Before he was a baker, Ben-Israel was a dancer. "After I quit dancing, I tried a lot of jobs. But I could always bake," he says. And it was cake, gorgeous, fanciful, cake (glorious cake) that was his destiny.

"He has done cakes as Chanel bags and Manolo shoes" 

"It is a lot like dancing," he says. "It is very time-consuming. Repetitiveness and discipline are the secrets of cake decorating. The art comes from the meticulous technique, the way it does for a dancer." 

At a table in the work area, as focused as watchmakers, four young apprentices create and paint sugar flowers; exquisite, edible exacting copies of the real thing. Most of the decorations for Ben-Israel's extraordinary wedding cakes are bespoke, but it's always useful to have flowers at the ready. And so these young people work. 

"They write to say, 'this is my dream.' I want to do what you do,'" he says. 

... He shows me one of his masterpieces, a sky-high creation that makes your jaw drop. 

Four tiers of pale blue fondant on top of a multi-tier cake, covered in exquisite gold curlicues and flowers, all edible, and topped with the couples' initials in edible jewelled letters. 

This is a wedding cake for a Catherine the Great, an imperial cake. I think, isn't it a pity to cut into this beautiful thing and destroy it? (I'd probably keep mine forever, like some crazed Miss Havisham.) 

"Oh, not at all," says Ron Ben-Israel. "That's the beauty, that's the fun of it. Make it, look at it, then eat it. The beauty of the ephemeral." Read More

Always Like A Girl

"If women didn't exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning."

― Aristotle Onassis

Women account for half of individual shareholders

3 FEBRUARY 2015   NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW

TOKYO -- Women account for nearly 50% of individual shareholders of major Japanese cosmetics companies. The investment is driven by special benefits including beauty workshops and cosmetic products.

Pola Orbis Holdings held 12 workshops for women in 2014. Recently, the company has been holding beauty seminars together with wedding hall operator Novarese before investor briefings. 

Of the company's individual shareholders, who account for 30% of outstanding shares, nearly 50% are women. The ratio has risen by more than 10% in the past four years. 

Kose has also been organizing makeup workshops to accompany investor briefings. "Female customers who use our products are also attractive as loyal shareholders," said one company executive. 

Noevir Holdings has increased the total amount of cosmetics provided to shareholders. The new policy allows those with 1,000 or more shares in the company as of the end of September to choose cosmetics worth 44,000 yen ($371) a year. Read More

Slain Hostage's 4-year-old tweet embraced on social media

2 FEBRUARY 2015   ASSOCIATED PRESS   YURI KAGEYAMA

TOKYO (AP) -- Kenji Goto's words, now more than four years old, have taken on a new poignancy.

"Closing my eyes and holding still. It's the end if I get mad or scream. It's close to a prayer. Hate is not for humans. Judgment lies with God. That's what I learned from my Arabic brothers and sisters." 

That tweet from Sept. 7, 2010, has been embraced by social media users as a fitting memorial to the 47-year-old freelance journalist. It had 20,000 retweets by Monday, and was being repeated by others by the minute. 

[I]t was the message of tolerance that seemed to resonate with the thousands of Japanese Twitter users, expressing admiration for Goto's reporting about the suffering of children in Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. 

Yuki Watabe, a 15-year-old high school student in Sapporo, northern Japan, said the tweet gave him heartache. 

"He was such a wonderful person," Watabe said. "He had a strong sense of doing the right thing." Read More

Another viewership, social media record for Super Bowl

2 FEBRUARY 2015   ASSOCIATED PRESS   DAVID BAUDER

NEW YORK (AP) -- An estimated 114.4 million people watched New England's thrilling win over Seattle, making it the fifth time in six years that a Super Bowl game has set a record for the most-watched event in U.S. television history.

... "Right now the NFL and the Super Bowl are defying media gravity," Mark Lazarus, NBC Sports Group chairman, said Monday.  

... [T]hat finish - a circus catch to put the Seahawks on the doorstep of a last-minute win and a game-saving interception by the Patriots' Malcolm Butler - kept viewers glued to the tube. An estimated 120.3 million people were watching during the last 10 minutes that the game was being shown... 

... Katy Perry has bragging rights, too. The singer's halftime performance was seen by 118.5 million people, the biggest audience ever for the halftime entertainment dating back to 1991, according to Nielsen. 

... Twitter estimated there were 28.4 million tweets posted between the kickoff and 30 minutes after the game's conclusion, surpassing last year's game to be the most tweeted-about Super Bowl ever. It was second only to the 35.6 million tweets sent about last year's World Cup semifinal between Brazil and Germany. 

Butler's interception really set the Twitter engines revving, with an estimated 395,000 tweets per minute, with 379,000 tweets per minute coming when the game actually ended, according to Twitter. 

The television record came despite other options to view it. NBC Sports offered a live stream of the game to desktop computers and tablets, and an average of 800,000 people per minute were following the game in this manner, according to Adobe Analytics. Last year's game streamed by Fox had an average audience of 528,000 viewers. 

An additional 600,000 watched the game with Spanish-language announcers on the NBC Universo cable network, Lazarus said. Read More

How Obama would spend your money in 2016, agency by agency

3 FEBRUARY 2015    ASSOCIATED PRESS   

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sure, $4 trillion sounds like a lot.

But it goes fast when your budget stretches from aging highways to medical care to space travel and more. 

Here's an agency-by-agency look at how President Barack Obama would spend Americans' money in the 2016 budget year beginning Oct. 1... Read More

Karim Rashid's sex shop interior "satisfies primal desire"

27 JANUARY 2015   DEZEEN   DAN HOWARTH

Karim Rashid has overhauled the interior of an existing space, adding organic forms to create the Fun Factory's third store, which sells sex toys, lingerie and bondage gear.

... "Far from all the usual clichés, the Fun Factory store in Munich satisfies primal desire with over 180-square-metres of open floor," said a statement from the brand. 

The brightly lit ground floor displays lingerie, accessories and body care, as well as seductive literature. 

Large windows on two sides are obscured with patterns of gold and silver dots, offering glimpses of provocatively dressed mannequins from outside. 

... "Once marginal and taboo, sex and sex toys, like design, are now ubiquitous," said Rashid. "The underlying narratives of sex toys, like perfume bottles for example, are desire, form, seduction, beauty, and physicality." 

... "Visiting the store should be empowering so the architecture is built with strong clean pure organic forms, representative of a strong, confident, and proud woman," said Rashid. 

"The shapes are reminiscent of secondary erogenous zones like the curves of the neck, collarbone, behind the knee, hips, and lips. The display tables are reminiscent of my dildo design, Mr Pink, for Fun factory." 

... "The fine line for me was to do something tasteful, not too literal, and a bit abstract, since the objects they sell are so animated," Rashid said. 

"Design is a public subject. Design is now shaping every aspect of living so the final frontier is to shape a better sex life." Read More

"Article: This artist made a Minnesota shopping mall her studio."

Photo Stephanie LaCava

Model Kika Karadi

Intersec Infosec

"An apple is an excellent thing — until you have tried a peach." 

— George du Maurier

Seahawks v. Patriots: How do the fans measure up?

Forget about football. Seahawks and Patriots fans don't see eye-to-eye on much at all.

30 JANUARY 2015   CNN MONEY   SARA ASHLEY O'BRIEN

While Patriots fans are much more likely hang out at concerts and imbibe at bars, Seahawks fans prefer to frequent water parks and the zoo. And unsurprisingly, they prefer to buy in bulk at Costco (founded in Seattle), unlike their competitors who shop at Sam's Club.

This is all according to a study released by startup PlaceIQ. The ad tech firm partnered with Datalogix to take a look at this year's Super Bowl fans: Patriots fans are more likely to be single, have a higher income and be a bit older. Seahawks fans skew younger, tend to be married with kids, and earn a little less. 

PlaceIQ also looked at how their likes, dislikes and habits compared to the average American consumer. Read More

The BSD/System V split

29 JANUARY 2015   OS NEWS   THOM HOLWERDA

>> Rob Landley: So gcc's library bindings strongly preferring System V system calls to BSD was due to the flood of Solaris end-users dominating the late 80's gcc development community to avoid paying Ed Zander extra for Sun's Solaris compiler. This combined with Linus reading Sun workstation manuals to get a system call list gave linux a very System V flavor. <<

Interesting - if opinionated - view on the whole situation. Not sure if all the dates check out, but it's a fun read nonetheless. Read More

The V-22 Gunship 

28 JANUARY 2015   STRAGEGY PAGE   JAMES DUNNIGAN

... Plans for arming the V-22 have always been an option and since 2007 the marines and SOCOM have been developing weapons for use on their V-22s. The main purpose for this is to give V-22s just enough firepower to clear the landing zone long enough to land, unload and get away.

... The V-22 can carry 24 troops 700 kilometers (vertical take-off on a ship, level flight, landing, and return) at 400 kilometers an hour and sometimes has to land in areas where the locals are firing at them.  

... The V-22 is the first application of the tilt-rotor technology in active service. The air force is already working on improvements (to make the V-22 more reliable and easier to maintain). The MV-22 gives the marines and SOCOM a lot more capability but, as it often the case, this is a lot more expensive. The initial production models of the CV-22 cost over $60 million each. SOCOM insists on a high degree of reliability for its aircraft. Read More

"Fruit Ninja"

Exey Panteleev's Geekography