Awakened

Nicole Kidman shows her silly side in 'Paddington'

14 JANUARY 2014   ASSOCIATED PRESS   LINSEY BAHR

BEVERLY HILLS -- ... She's won an Oscar. She's worked with Stanley Kubrick, Jane Campion, and Lars Von Trier. So how did she end up in a modest role as a delightfully villainous taxidermist in the children's film "Paddington" with a relatively unknown director at the helm?

... "The desire to run the gamut and be diverse is something you're taught at drama school," said Kidman on a recent afternoon at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. "We're trained in Shakespeare and then we're trained in Noël Coward and we're trained in mime classes. But a lot of times you're not given the opportunity to explore the things that you've cultivated." 

For director Paul King, it was a no-brainer. But it wasn't Kidman's 1996 romantic fantasy romp "Practical Magic" that he was thinking of. He'd seen Gus Van Sant's "To Die For" and knew Kidman had to be his Millicent. 

The hard part was convincing everyone to actually put the script in front of Kidman. As King describes it, it's a process of being politely insistent. 

Despite all the warnings that Kidman was "never" going to say yes, as soon as she heard the name "Paddington," she jumped. Kidman had grown up reading Michael Bond's books in Australia and it just struck a nerve. 

Ultimately, King said, she was the easiest person to cast. She signed on in just 12 hours 

"You don't often see the silly side of Nicole and she's such a funny, easygoing person," said King, who really put the actress to the test. On day one, she was hanging upside down on wires and it just got more challenging from there. 

... But Kidman insists that she's "not the actor who makes strategic choices. If you look at my career, it's pretty random." Even the Fallon bit was "so not planned." 

Still, she is taking the reins where she can. Kidman and Reese Witherspoon optioned the rights to the book "Big Little Lies," which is in development as a limited series. She's also staring in and producing the adaptation of the quirky novel "The Family Fang." 

"My life is a roller coaster. My career is a roller coaster. Some people get smooth sailing. I never get that," she said. Read More

Christopher Columbus economics
What was the economic motivation for King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to back Christopher Columbus?
12 OCTOBER 2009   EXAMINER   JAMES STOTTER

The dominant economic thinking of Columbus’s era was what we call mercantilism. Basically that means the collective wealth of all nations was thought to be fixed. Therefore, a nation could only gain at the expense of another nation (war, theft, or favorable trading) or by discovering new wealth for the world. The new wealth was mostly precious minerals such as gold. However, it could also be something like spices that everyone wanted. Though it wasn’t called that then, mercantilism in one form or another was in practice since before Columbus through the mid-1700s. Some still hold to mercantilistic views. Mercantilism was the primary motivation for most of those explorers we read about in history courses.

Columbus, a navigator and cartographer by trade, figured the world is round and therefore by sailing west he could get to the East Indies. Instead of the East Indies he discovered his path blocked by what turned out to be a "new world." Since he thought he was in the East Indies, he named the native inhabitants Indians. 

Ferdinand and Isabella signed a generous agreement with Columbus in part because they didn’t think he would return. When Columbus returned with evidence of the wealth he discovered, he received numerous rewards and a lot of money. 

The wealth that flowed to Spain as a consequence of Columbus’s trip was a major help in securing Spain’s position as a dominant world power for another century. Perhaps more importantly, it boosted Spain’s finances which were badly damaged by unprofitable wars. Read More

Birds of a Feather: Dressing Down the Traditional Embellishment
14 JANUARY 2015   STYLE   EMILY FARRA

We’re used to seeing feathers on the red carpet and at the ballet, but the fancy fluff looks just as good on the street. We’ve spotted feathered coats, skirts, and even sandals on the show circuit, and mixed with casual knits and outerwear, they look special without being over-the-top. See five of our favorite outfits in our Look of the Day slideshow... Read More

"Super-fluffy sandals demand attention."

Photo by Tommy Ton

Human Activity

"The human mind is a channel through which things-to-be are coming into the realm of things-that-are."

― Henry Ford

Automaker offers patents for free

6 JANUARY 2014   NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW   TAKASHI SUGIMOTO

LAS VEGAS -- Toyota Motor said Monday it will offer about 5,680 patents related to its fuel-cell vehicle technology for free.

The company is willing to share the patents to speed up fuel-cell vehicle development and foster competition. 

Bob Carter, senior vice president of Automotive Operations for Toyota's North American unit, told reporters of the decision ahead of the opening of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Read More

Japanese companies must fuse traditional, foreign ways of working

6 JANUARY 2014   NIKKEI ASAIN REVIEW

... In an era of globalization, Japanese companies need to combine the strengths of their traditional business methods with those of the countries they operate in.

Keiichi Ota, head of production management at machine tool maker DMG Mori Seiki, is a believer. He calls German partner Gildemeister's work system "amazing" at managing time and achieving results. But the meticulous attention to detail and teamwork found in the best Japanese companies is equally important. "The fusion of the merits of the two systems is indispensable to win the global competition," said Masahiko Mori, DMG Mori's president. 

DMG Mori and Gildemeister (now named DMG Mori Seiki AG) are adjusting their work systems ahead of their planned 2020 merger. DMG Mori has sent Akina Konishi to Germany to help with the preparations. 

Overcoming the friction that arises over differing business and production practices is not easy, but younger employees such as Ota and Konishi take the initiative in ironing out problems in order to help the venerable Japanese machine tool maker improve. 

The number of Japanese working overseas has been rising by around 10,000 annually in recent years. Inevitably, some of these people will come back questioning Japan's traditional ways of doing business, having been influenced by differing business cultures. Despite the short-term discomfort, this process can be a source of strength for a more cosmopolitan breed of Japanese company. Read More

"Why, Japanese people!?" American dude has us rolling on the floor laughing with his comedic sketch

6 JANUARY 2014   ROCKET NEWS 24   KRISTA ROGERS

... "The Year of the Horse (午年) is about to end. I didn’t feel at all 'horse (馬)-like' this past year and the time flew by. The Year of the Sheep (未年) is up next, huh. I guess I’ll look forward to feeling like a sheep (羊). Hey wait, why do the Chinese zodiac year names use different kanji from the usual words for animals?  #WHYJAPANESEPEOPLE Is noon the time to ride a horse? Is there a 'correct horse'? Is there also an 'incorrect horse'? Hey!"

(Here, he’s referencing how the Chinese astrological sign for horse is 午, which is the same character used to write "noon" [正午] in normal Japanese; the horse is also associated with the period from 11am-1pm in Chinese astrology. The first character in the compound for "noon" is 正, which has a separate meaning of "correct/true.") Read More

"Cluster of galaxies in Virgo, Abell 1689"
© NASA, JHU, Racah Institute of Physics The Hebrew University, STScI, UCO Lick Observatory, the ACS Science Team & ESA. 

Child Like Nature

"Watching a coast as it slips by the ship is like thinking about an enigma. There it is before you, smiling, frowning, inviting, grand, mean, insipid, or savage, and always mute with an air of whispering, 'Come and find out'."

― Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

Storms bring mayhem, but raise prices

31 DECEMBER 2014   NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW   MICHAEL SAINSBURY

BANGKOK -- Severe weather conditions in Southeast Asia have taken a heavy toll on lives and livelihoods in recent weeks, while also driving up prices for some of the region's key agricultural commodities.

... Yet the ongoing tempest has provided bittersweet news for farmers in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, Southeast Asia's three largest economies.
Even as storms play havoc with the harvesting and processing of commodities, palm oil and rubber prices have rebounded from recent five year lows as it becomes clear that there is a significant threat to supplies of both commodities. 

... The lift in commodity prices will bring some comfort to farmers not directly affected by the rains. But there appears to be little respite in store for many of those affected by the weather. Meteorological bureaux in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia are all forecasting further downpours on New Year's Eve and into 2015. Read More

Vintage Hunt's Ketchup Spirit of 76 Decanter Bottle Collectible Glass
4 NOVEMBER 2013   ETSY   NOELLE

(TheNostalgiaTree) -- This ketchup decanter was produced in 1976 by Hunt's and it was a special commemorative bottle. It has the ORIGINAL LABEL still intact and in excellent vintage condition! It held 26 ounces of ketchup and has an American Eagle on the front of the bottle and General Washington on the back of the bottle. It stands 11 inches tall and 3 inches in diameter. The bottom of the bottle is marked with "A 70, 1A, 1B 1656." The bottle cap has a star on the top and stars around the perimeter of the cap. The glass itself has a very unique texture to it. It is in excellent vintage condition with no chips or cracks. Super find! Read More

Welcome to The New York Review of Video Games
A new way to talk about our most experimental, most alive, least respected art form.
15 DECEMBER 2014   MEDIUM   CHRIS SUELLENTROP

... Video games are almost a $100 billion industry, sure. But video games do not matter only because they are large. They are also a new popular art, the kind of thing that comes along once a century. Two intertwined forces, computers and interactivity, have changed the world radically over the past 50-odd years. What is a video game? It’s a creative work — a competition, a story, an experience — that exploits the intersection of those two forces.

... Video games are a permanent fixture of culture, and not just youth culture, one that these days competes for our attention with Netflix and Hulu, with HBO Go and Serial, with The Americans and Station Eleven and Birdman. That’s why it’s wrong to think of video games as a victory to be celebrated, or a curiosity to marvel over, or a threat that you ought to fear, or the organizing principle of a tribe with narrow interests and cloistered rituals. 

Still, just because video games are here to stay doesn’t mean that their trajectory is inevitable, or that we can’t help shape their future. The medium—our least respected, most misunderstood art form—deserves more from us... Read More

Saint Takla : "Number 6 in Arabic"

" صورة رقم ستة بالعربي "

Google : "Nexus 6"

"Nexus 6"

Feast Love Starve Harm

“Compassion is a verb.” 

― Thích Nhất Hạnh

India tsunami couple find joy in helping orphans

26 DECEMBER 2014   VIETNAMNET BRIDGE   RAHUL TANDON

TAMIL NADU (BBC) -- Karibeeran Paramesvaran can never forget 26 December - it is his birthday, but he has not celebrated it for the past 10 years.

... Out of the 11 people who went to the beach that morning, he was the only one who survived. Some of the bodies were never recovered. 

... He wanted to dig a grave for each of them. But he did not have the strength, so in the end he buried them all together. 

He wanted to throw himself into the grave and a few days later asked his wife to buy him some poison. 

All he could see, he says, was the face of his son slipping away out of his hands. "How could I live when the sea had taken all my three children?" he says. 

But 10 years on, he is still here. He has two children now but looks after many more. The way he has survived is by helping others. 

In his area alone more than 60 children lost their parents and his wife told him that they had to try and help them. 

Initially they took in four children - three girls and a boy. 

Now they have more than 30 children staying with them in their home which has been renamed the Nambikkai (Hands of Hope). 

It is full of laughter and life. As the children play around her, Churamani tells me: "People say we have helped them, but they have helped us. Without them, we would have ended blaming each other for what happened." 

Mr Paramesvaran nods his head in agreement. "Ten years on, I have to keep busy every minute of the day otherwise I see Kirubasan's hand slipping out of mine. These children have saved my life, I have not saved theirs." Read More

Dezeen's top architecture quotes of 2014
26 DECEMBER 2014   DEZEEN   ANNA WINSTON

"The criteria for architecture after the tsunami is humbleness" – Kengo Kuma   

On the anniversary of the Japanese tsunami of 2011, Japanese architect Kengo Kuma explained how the catastrophe made him rethink his attitude to architecture and called for architects to "be humble". 

"The problem of twentieth century society was the arrogance of designers and engineers," he told Dezeen. "Every architect and engineer thought that architecture was much stronger than nature. After the tsunami, we finally found that we were weak in front of the power of nature." 

"After the tsunami in March 2011, I changed my definition to nature. The criteria for architecture after the tsunami is humbleness." Read More

Pollution-guzzling, Air-cleaning Buildings

23 MAY 2014   IFL SCIENCE   JANET FANG

... Cities around the world are increasingly turning to technology for solutions, and here are some of the most innovative designs. 

Palazzo Italia, Milan. A façade for the pavilion will be built using air-purifying, “biodynamic” cement, which removes pollutants from the air and turns them into inert salts. Apparently, the material from Italcementi only adds 4-5 percent to the construction costs. Designed by architectural firm Nemesi & Partners, the jungle-inspired shell will cover 13,000 square meters across six floors, and it’s set to launch at the 2015 Milan Expo. Scientists in the Netherlands have adapted the photocatalytic material to roads, claiming it can reduce nitrous oxide concentrations by 45 percent. 

Manuel Gea González Hospital, Mexico City. Last year, the hospital unveiled a "smog-eating" façade covering 2,500 square meters. The titanium dioxide coating reacts with ambient ultraviolet light to neutralize elements of air pollution, breaking them down to less noxious compounds like water. This was Berlin-based Elegant Embellishment’s first full-scale installation, and its designers claim the façade negates the effects of 1,000 vehicles each day. Funded by Mexico’s Ministry of Health, the project is part of a three-year, $20 billion investment into the country’s health infrastructure.

In Praise of Air, UK. This gigantic 10x20 meter poster with the poem by Simon Armitage sucks up air pollution. Tony Ryan of University of Sheffield and colleagues created the poster, which contains microscopic titanium dioxide nanoparticles that can absorb about 20 cars’ worth of nitrogen oxide a day. It would add less than $200 to the cost of a giant advertisement. The team envision billboards made of the same material posted along highways and congested roads.

Catalytic Clothing. The poem is actually an offshoot of this collaboration between designer Helen Storey and Ryan. Their goal is to incorporate the titanium dioxide nanoparticles into laundry detergent to coat clothing. According to Ryan, one person wearing the nanoparticle-washed clothes could remove 5 to 6 grams of nitrogen dioxide from the air a day; two pairs of jeans could clean up the nitrogen dioxide from one car.

Synthesized spider web. According to Oxford’s Fritz Vollrath, the thinness and electrical charge of spider silk fibers, in addition to the glue-like liquid coating, allows them to catch any particles that fly through the air. These synthesized silk webs could be used like a mesh to capture pollutants -- including airborne particulates, chemicals, pesticides, or heavy metals -- coming out of chimneys or even disaster zones. Read More

"Grandma and Children"

Nikolaos Gyzis

(1883)

Simogo : "Device 6"

"Device 6"