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"

Final Frontier Booty

In Search of Gravitomagnetism

20 APRIL 2004   NASA   CLIFFORD WILL

... A National Research Council panel, among them Cliff Will, wrote in 1995, "In the course of its design work on Gravity Probe B, the team has made brilliant and original contributions to basic physics and technology.. They invented and proved the concept of a drag-free satellite, and most recently some members of the group have pioneered differential use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to create a highly reliable and precise aircraft landing system."

... Physicists are both anxious and excited by Gravity Probe B. They're anxious because gravitomagnetism might not be there. Einstein's theory could be wrong (a possibility held unlikely by most), and that would spark a revolution in physics. They're excited for the same reason. Everyone wants to be on hand for the next great advance in science. 

... Today we're surrounded by the benefits of their research. Light bulbs. Computers. Washing machines. The Internet. The list goes on and on. What will gravitomagnetism be good for? Is it just "another milestone on the path of our natural quest to understand nature?" wonders Will. Or something unimaginably practical? Time will tell. Read More

NASA Announces Results of Epic Space-Time Experiment
4 MAY 2011   NASA   DR TONY PHILLIPS

... The idea behind the experiment is simple:

Put a spinning gyroscope into orbit around the Earth, with the spin axis pointed toward some distant star as a fixed reference point. Free from external forces, the gyroscope's axis should continue pointing at the star--forever. But if space is twisted, the direction of the gyroscope's axis should drift over time. By noting this change in direction relative to the star, the twists of space-time could be measured. 

In practice, the experiment is tremendously difficult. 

... According to calculations, the twisted space-time around Earth should cause the axes of the gyros to drift merely 0.041 arcseconds over a year. An arcsecond is 1/3600th of a degree. To measure this angle reasonably well, GP-B needed a fantastic precision of 0.0005 arcseconds. It's like measuring the thickness of a sheet of paper held edge-on 100 miles away. 

"GP-B researchers had to invent whole new technologies to make this possible," notes Will. Read More

NASA develops 3D printing factory in space
30 AUGUST 2013   DEZEEN   MARCUS FAIRS

The US space agency this week announced it was awarding technology firm Tethers Unlimited Inc (TUI) a $500,000 contract to develop the facility.

The NASA funding - a second-phase contract that follows an initial contract issued earlier this year - will allow TUI to continue work on its SpiderFab technology, which allows large-scale spacecraft components to be built in space, avoiding the expense of building the components on earth and transporting them into space using rockets. 

... TUI will now develop a "Trusselator" capable of using additive manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing to fabricate truss structures in space. TUI's website describes the Trusselator as a system "for on-orbit fabrication and integration of solar arrays using a combination of 3D printing and automated composite layup techniques". 

"The Trusselator is the key first step in implementing the SpiderFab architecture," said Hoyt. "Once we’ve demonstrated that it works, we will be well on our way towards creating football-field sized antennas and telescopes to help search for Earth-like exoplanets and evidence of extraterrestrial life." Read More

Dharma & Epigenetics: Can Mindfulness Medically Ease Our Loneliness?
"We regard loneliness as an enemy. Heartache is not something we choose to invite in. It’s restless and pregnant and hot with the desire to escape and find something or some-one to keep us company. When we can rest in the middle [of meditation], we begin to have a nonthreatening relationship with loneliness, a relaxing and cooling loneliness that completely turns our usual fearful patterns upside down."  ― Pema Chödrön, Six kinds of loneliness
7 JANUARY 2014 BUDDHIST PEACE FELLOWSHIP DAVID P BARASH

A recent scientific report suggests that meditation has a discernible (and beneficial) effect on brain function, especially among elderly people suffering from various consequences of loneliness and depression. Before describing and commenting on this finding, I would like to note that one of the most appealing aspects of Buddhism (at least for me) is its compatibility with science...

... [T]he Dalai Lama has long had a genuine scientific interest in mind-brain correlations, such that he was the invited plenary speaker at the huge Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in November, 2005. He eventually spoke on "The Neuroscience of Meditation," but before doing so, his very invitation caused an uproar. There was a protest petition, which garnered about 1,000 signatures, mostly from scientists worried about religion invading science, and thereby degrading it. In any event, his lecture touched on something that has also received a great deal of attention, probably much more than it deserves: namely, the question of whether meditation actually causes bona fide changes in brain function among those who engage in it. Evidently, it does. 

The recent study that generated the piece you are now reading thus fits into a rapidly developing tradition linking neurobiology and meditation. Indeed, the scientific world – and not just that of lay-persons – was abuzz some time ago when a group at the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, led by professor of psychology Richard J. Davidson, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (probably the most prestigious scientific publication in the US), that Tibetan Buddhists who had practiced serious meditation for many years had brain-wave patterns that differed consistently from those of a non-meditating control group. Read More

Peace Feast

Harmony Above, Harmony Below -- `An a few extra helpings of Prosperity In-Between.

Julia Christianson : Thought Ripples "6"

"Grocery Shopping, Part 1"

Choi + Shine Architects : Bit Light "6"

"Choi + Shine Architects Bit Light"

Kitty Nom

"Fall seven times, stand up eight."

― Japanese Proverb

Self-healing glasses on sale next year

"[A]ble to heal itself from everyday dents and scratches within ten seconds."

22 DECEMBER 2014   ROCKET NEWS 24   MASTER BLASTER

Starting on 1 January, 2015 Vision Megane will begin selling their strongest frames to date...

This healing ability comes from the frame’s “cross guard coating,” which according to their diagram is like a springy chain link fence which pops back to its original shape seconds after small ebony spheres have hurled towards it... 

... These frames are also forged with a special material known as Ultem, which has been used in spacecraft parts because of its extreme resilience under stress while retaining a light weight.  Read More

Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt
16 DECEMBER 2014   LIVE SCIENCE   OWEN JARUS

She's literally one in a million.

The remains of a child, laid to rest more than 1,500 years ago when the Roman Empire controlled Egypt, was found in an ancient cemetery that contains more than 1 million mummies, according to a team of archaeologists from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. 

The cemetery is now called Fag el-Gamous, which means "Way of the Water Buffalo," a title that comes from the name of a nearby road. Archaeologists from Brigham Young University have been excavating Fag el-Gamous, along with a nearby pyramid, for about 30 years. Many of the mummies date to the time when the Roman or Byzantine Empire ruled Egypt, from the 1st century to the 7th century A.D. 

... Despite the low status of the dead, the researchers found some remarkably beautiful items, including linen, glass and even colorful booties designed for a child. 

"A lot of their wealth, as little as they had, was poured into these burials," Muhlestein said. 

The mummified child was buried with several other mummies. It was wrapped in a tunic and wore a necklace with two bracelets on each arm. 

"There was some evidence that they tried much of the full mummification process. The toes and toenails and brain and tongue were amazingly preserved," the researchers wrote on the project's Facebook page. "The jewelry makes us think it was a girl, but we cannot tell." 

Researchers estimate the infant was 18 months old when she died. "She was buried with great care, as someone who obviously loved her very much did all they could to take care of this little girl in burial," the researchers wrote. It's "very sad, but they succeeded. It was a beautiful burial."  Read More

Heaven Earth Heart Mind

"There is one question I'd really like to ask

Is there a place for the hopeless sinner

Who has hurt all mankind just to save his own?"

― Bob Marley, One Love

"Katya in blue dress by christmas tree"

Zinaida Serebriakova 

(1922)

A Spiritual Guide for the Fashion Set
Art director Giovanni Bianco releases a prayer card collection with Taschen.
17 DECEMBER 2014   STYLE   STEFF YOTKA

... The collection, encompassing 10 religions and 100 prayers, reflects Bianco’s personal journey with religion. “I was born in Brazil and I was raised with Catholic values. My mom is Italian, but all my mom’s family in Rio [de Janeiro] started to practice Candomblé, an African-Brazilian religion,” Bianco explained. “I grew up with these hugely different beliefs, Catholicism and Candomblé. That made me curious about other religions. I went to India and of course I wanted to learn more about Hinduism. I love Japan and I think about how beautiful Shinto is. Then 10 years ago, I started working with Madonna, and because of the job, I needed to learn about Kabbalah, because everything in the tour—the logos, the promotions—was about Kabbalah.”

The illustrated set is steeped in the Italian tradition of collecting Catholic prayer cards with religious imagery on one side, text on the other. “I thought, I’m an art director, I love religions,” said Bianco. “I’m very happy about this project because it’s a really personal project. With this I’m doing something where I can combine what I know with what my passion is.” 

Photo Courtesy of Taschen

While mixing many religions into one set might seem like an odd choice, Bianco says he hopes people will relate to his project beyond the religious aspects. “This project is not really about religions but about philosophy, what beliefs people connect with. It’s important to connect about something, and I believe everybody connects about life.”  Read More 

Balinese Hindus commemorate good’s victory over evil 
"Family gatherings are a traditional way for many Balinese to celebrate Galungan, as many who work away from home return to perform joint prayers."
18 DECEMBER 2014   JAKARTA POST   NIL KOMANG ERVIANI

DENPASAR, BALI (JT) -- Millions of Balinese Hindus across the island observed Galungan, to commemorate good’s victory over evil, on Wednesday.

From early morning, people flocked to temples and shrines to perform prayers. Wearing their best colorful Balinese attire, they brought offerings, including many kinds of fruit, cakes and canang sari (a delicate banana leaf arrangement with petals on top). 

The Jagatnatha temples in regencies across Bali were also flocked by Hindu devotees.

... Galungan is also a much-awaited time to catch up with relatives, including the dead. People in northern Bali not only flocked to temples and shrines but also to cemeteries to pray to their ancestors. This tradition is specific to the people of Buleleng regency.  

... Desak Ketut Warsiki, a Buleleng native living in Denpasar with her small family, was delighted to be in touch with all her relatives in Buleleng. 

“Galungan is the time to meet all the family,” the mother of one who works at a hotel in Kuta said. Read More

Halal karaoke, anyone?

19 DECEMBER 2014   NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW

TOKYO (NAR) -- Japanese karaoke chain operator Koshidaka Holdings will on Dec. 25 open a shop that serves certified halal food and has a prayer room for Muslim customers. The company sees an opportunity in the growing number of tourists from Islamic countries in Asia.

The outlet will be the first karaoke shop in central Tokyo to serve foods prepared in accordance with Islamic dietary laws. The company has obtained official certification from Tokyo-based Malaysia Halal Corp., a certification organization endorsed by the Malaysian government. 

The food served there will include typical karaoke-shop fare, such as french fries, but will be made with certified halal ingredients. That means, for example, no pork and alcohol will be used. The prices will generally be the same as those at Koshidaka Holdings' other outlets.  

A separate kitchen and different tableware will be used for non-Muslim customers. Alcoholic beverages, which are banned under Islamic law, will be available for non-Muslim customers.  Read More

Liferunner100's "350SE Number 6"

WWWeltanschauung

“They recount their earliest memories without any sympathy for the child they once were.” 

― Alice Miller, The Drama of the Gifted Child

Ancient DNA reveals history of horse domestication

15 DECEMBER 2014   REUTERS   SHARON BEGLEY

Speed, smarts, and the heart of a champion: using genomic analysis, scientists have identified DNA changes that helped turn ancient horses such as those in prehistoric cave art into today's Secretariats and Black Beautys, researchers reported Monday.

... Understanding the genetic changes involved in equine domestication, which earlier research traced to the wind-swept steppes of Eurasia 5,500 years ago, has long been high on the wish list of evolutionary geneticists because of the important role that taming wild horses played in the development of civilization. 

Once merchants, soldiers and explorers could gallop rather than just walk, it revolutionized trade, warfare, the movement of people and the transmission of ideas. It also enabled the development of continent-sized empires such as the Scythians 2,500 years ago in what is now Iran. 

It was all made possible by 125 genes, concluded the study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

... With no truly wild horses to study, Orlando's team examined DNA from 29 horse bones discovered in the Siberian permafrost and dating from 16,000 and 43,000 years ago, and compared it to DNA from five modern domesticated breeds. 

Some genes in today's horses were absent altogether from the ancient ones, showing they arose from recent mutations. Among them: a short-distance "speed gene" that propels every Kentucky Derby winner.  Read More

Japan is home to the cutest bug in the world, but they’re on the verge of extinction
16 DECEMBER 2014   ROCKET NEWS 24   AUDREY AKÇASU

... Because of the way they hover and their fuzzy bodies, these cute little fellas kind of look like a cross between a hummingbird and a bee. Their long mouth/noses resemble those of a nasty mosquito, but the fact that they are barely 10mm long (approximately the length of the first part of your pinkie finger) and harmless pollinators make them really people-friendly. Join us after the jump as we meet arguably the world’s most affable insect: the Tiger Bee Fly.

The “bee fly” refers not only to the appearance, but also to how they lay their eggs in the nest of Carpenter Bees, allowing the bee fly babies to hatch and eat the Carpenter Bee babies before maturity (we said they were cute and people-friendly). 

The bad news is that the Tiger Bee Flies are going extinct! Apparently, less than 100 are identified in one season. While other bee flies populate various areas of Eurasia, this specific type are mainly found in Okayama Prefecture’s Kurashiki, Tamano and Kasaoka Cities, although they have been seen in Kyushu and Kansai.  Read More

Bookshelf Repository

Merriam-Webster names 'culture' word of the year
15 DECEMBER 2014  ASSOCIATED PRESS  LEANNE ITALIE

NEW YORK -- ... The Springfield, Massachusetts-based dictionary giant filters out perennial favorites when picking word of the year, but does that formula leave them chasing language fads?

"We're simply using the word culture more frequently," said Peter Sokolowski, editor at large for Merriam-Webster... Before the word culture exploded, Sokolowski said, "we used to talk about `society' a lot. Certain groups are taking `society' out of their names now. It seems to be receding. Part of that seems to be because it's elitist. We're using the word culture more frequently in that place."  Read More

33 Creative Bookshelf Designs

16 OCTOBER 2012  BORED PANDA  LINDA D.

If you don’t read books and don’t care about the bookshelves don’t be too quick to close this article. Just think about it. What impression does a room full of books make? That’s right! It will immediately make you look smarter!

Just make sure to put some smart books about topics you barely understand like quantum physics, advanced mathematics or neuroscience. Of course, you might run into a problem if some smart ass tries to chit chat about something you have in your library. Don’t worry, just fake a phone call and when you finish, no one will ever remember the topic.  Read More

‘Gudeg’… in a can? 

13 DECEMBER 2014  JAKARTA POST  ALEZ KURNIAWAN

People are surprised when they hear that gudeg — one of Yogyakarta’s most famous dishes — is available in cans.

Elies Dyah Dharmawati has been selling the dish, made from young jackfruit stewed in coconut milk from her warung (stall), Gudeg Bu Lies, since 1992.
The 61-year-old cooks gudeg the old-fashioned way, packaging it in kendil (earthen pots) or plaited besek (bamboo containers), in a restaurant less than a kilometer from the Yogyakarta Palace. 

... "My canned gudeg does not contain preservatives. Customers can keep it for a year. The taste of the canned gudeg is still fresh." ... The secret, he says, is bringing the gudeg — which might contain duck eggs, slices of chicken, spicy krecek (fried and crispy buffalo skin) and tempeh and tofu, depending on the version — to a boil before sealing it into cans that have themselves been boiled in water.  Read More 

7 Japanese daily planners to suit every lifestyle, from hostess to otaku!
12 DECEMBER 2014  ROCKET NEWS 24  EVIE LUND

For the past six years, I’ve made a point of buying myself a little Rilakkuma daily planner each January and using it to keep track of my appointments, deadlines, to-do lists, etc. These kinds of daily planners are widely used in Japan, perhaps as a result of the Japanese love of punctuality and efficiency (or maybe they’re so punctual and efficient because everyone uses daily planners?) Sure, you could use the functions built into your smartphone or tablet, but there’s something about writing things down that just makes you feel like you’ve got it all together. Also, and this is kind of geeky, but it’s sorta fun to flip through your old schedule books and see what you were up to on x date 3 years ago. In fact, Japan loves schedule books so much that you can now choose from a huge range of styles which are tailor-made to cater to specific lifestyles. Read More

Different Present

"In many of the more relaxed civilizations on the Outer Eastern Rim of the Galaxy, the Hitchhiker's Guide has already supplanted the great Encyclopaedia Galactica as the standard repository of all knowledge and wisdom, for though it has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate, it scores over the older, more pedestrian work in two important respects.

"First, it is slightly cheaper; and secondly it has the words DON'T PANIC inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover."

― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Nazca Lines in Southern Lima, Peru
(AFP)

3-D color printer used to bring Hokusai’s masterpiece to life for visually impaired

12 DECEMBER 2014 ROCKET NEWS 24 JESSICA

If you are a sighted person with an internet connection, chances are you have seen Katsushika Hokusai’s famous painting Mount Fuji Seen Below a Wave at Kanagawa at some point. Despite the clunky title, it is one of the most recognized pieces of Japanese art ever.

Now, thanks to 3-D printing, a company called K’s Design Lab, and Tsutaya’s bookstore-cum-lounge property T-Site, visually impaired art lovers too will soon be able to see this work by literally getting their hands on it.

According to @unosuke, a representative for K’s Design on Twitter, the piece was actually a part of a collaboration with Dr. Susumu Oouchi of the National Institute of Special Needs Education.

The contoured version of the famous painting allows visually impaired people to feel what Hokusai’s work looks like. Meanwhile, the lovely color and texture of the mold is appealing even for sighted people. Read More

Savant Attaché

"A straight line is not the shortest distance between two points."

― Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time

President of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran inaugurate 'Uzen-Bereket-Gorgan'

4 DECEMBER 2014 BNEWS.KZ

ASTANA -- President Nursultan Nazarbayev, together with the presidents of Turkmenistan and Iran took part in the opening ceremony of the railway line "Uzen-Bereket-Gorgan", the press service of Ak Orda reports.

In his remarks during a joint statement Nursultan Nazarbayev congratulated the head of Turkmenistan - Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Iran - Hassan Rouhani with the completion of the railway.

"Together with the President of Turkmenistan, we solemnly entered the Kazakh section last year. Now, this highway connects the three countries,"- said the President of Kazakhstan.  Read More

Pakistan set to build economic corridor

6 DECEMBER 2014 NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW SATOSHI IWAKI

ISLAMABAD -- China will finance and build transportation and energy infrastructure in Pakistan through a massive project Beijing hopes will help bolster its presence in the Middle East.

.. The economic corridor will run about 3,000km from Gwadar, a port city in southwest Pakistan, to the northwestern Chinese city of Kashgar... The first phase involves development at Gwadar Port, strategically located on the Arabian Sea coast, and the construction of an international airport. It will be carried out by 2017, with Chinese companies expected to participate. The Karakoram Highway connecting the two countries will also be widened, while the rail network between Karachi in southern Pakistan and Peshawar in the north will be upgraded. The two countries also plan a fiber-optic communications link between them.

.. China hopes to secure a gateway to the Middle East. It plans to build oil storage facilities and a refinery at Gwadar Port, with oil transported to its Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region via road and pipeline.  Read More

Kawasaki Heavy to test new, weigh-cutting equipment in US

6 DECEMBER 2014 NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW

TOKYO -- Kawasaki Heavy Industries will begin test runs of a rolling-stock bogie made with carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) in the U.S. in 2015, with the aim of developing the overseas market for such equipment.

A bogie connects a rail car's chassis to the wheels and is involved in critical functions such as running and stopping. The new bogie uses CFRP in place of steel, reducing the weight by 450kg. Since each car typically uses two bogies, the car's total weight is cut by 900kg.

.. Many railroad companies order lighter cars when buying new ones to lower their operating costs. Reducing rail car weight through conventional means, such as making sheet metal thinner, is nearing its limits, but replacing the bogies and other peripherals with lighter models holds considerable promise. Read More

NIMBY Trolls

“I have little left in myself ― I must have you. The world may laugh ― may call me absurd, selfish ― but it does not signify. My very soul demands you: it will be satisfied, or it will take deadly vengeance on its frame.” 

― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

The Supreme Court Heard Its First Social Media Harassment Case

"Once you've killed the family pet, that threat on Facebook has so much more meaning."

1 DECEMBER 2014 VICE MARY EMILY O'HARA

On Monday the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could define whether or not ​online threats are taken seriously by the legal system. The case is ​Elonis v. United States​, and an impending SCOTUS decision could set the bar for future prosecutions of abusive partners and Gamergate trolls alike.

According to court papers, after Pennsylvania's Anthony Elonis's wife and two children left him in 2010, he began posting violent threats about her on Facebook. Elonis was no angel before that: After sexually harassing two of his female co-workers, he went on to post a Facebook photo of himself holding a knife to a female coworker's throat (taken at a Halloween event) with the caption "I wish." He was fired the next day.

.. Elonis refused to back down, challenging his conviction all the way to the Supreme Court on the basis of "free speech."

.. The case would determine whether the US cyberstalking law Section 875(c) could be expanded to require proof of "subjective intent" to threaten. As the law currently stands, a person can face federal charges, up to five years in prison, and a $250,000 fine for threatening to injure someone over the internet, via telephone, or any other kind of interstate or international communication.  Read More

South Korea Approves 'Christmas Tower' Near North Korean Border
In a move likely to anger North Korea, the South Korean Defense Ministry has approved a new, temporary “Christmas tower.”
3 DECEMBER 2014 DIPLOMAT ANKIT PANDA

... “We accepted the request to protect religious activities and to honor the group’s wish to illuminate the tower in hopes of peace on the Korean Peninsula,” said Kim Min-seok, a spokesman for the South Korean defense ministry. The ministry’s decision this week lends credence to the official reasoning for scrapping the tree in October. Back then, South Korean officials cited the poor structural integrity of the tower as the reason it was dismantled. The government was nonetheless criticized by South Korean Christian groups for interfering in the activities of civic groups.

By allowing another tower to be built, the South Korean government is able to deflect some of this criticism. Despite the threat of North Korean retaliation for the Christmas tower, the South Korean government never took formal action to ask civic groups to cease their activities — similar to the government’s reaction to other South Korean Christian groups that, for example, send leaflet-carrying balloons over the border.  Read More

Most popular pet names in Japan for 2014 suggest owners obsessed with food
4 DECEMBER 2014 ROCKET NEWS 24 JESSICA

... Without any further ado, here are the top 15, with English meanings in parenthesis where necessary:

1. Choco (as in chocolate)

2. Maron (chestnut)

3. 獅夢 (read as Shimu or Reon, the characters mean lion and dream)

4. Leo

5. Coco

6. Cocoa

7. Sachi (good luck)

8. Mocha

9. Milk

10. Sakura (cherry blossom, also eaten in Japan)

11. Momo (peach)

12. Azuki (as in the bean)

13. Sora (sky)

14. Momo (same as #11, but spelled with katakana)

15. Hana (flower)

There’s a whole lot of tasty things on that list, but I’m sure our furry and feathered friends don’t have anything to worry about. I mean, it’s just a name, right?

…RIGHT?!

Read More

Paper Star Getaway

Style, Warfare and George Washington
It’s a good thing wars aren’t decided on “style points” the way sports increasingly seem to be.
3 DECEMBER 2014 DIPLOMAT JAMES R. HOLMES

... Silly comparison? Yes and no. In war the final result in a sequence of actions is the one that counts. A football season, by contrast, is made up of 12 discrete actions against 12 different adversaries, each theoretically as important as any other. And sure, a team should be judged by how dominant it appears against a variety of opponents. Momentum counts. Still, it’s unnerving to think of how the American Patriots would have fared had some committee been empowered to referee this republic’s destiny.

That sounds like an effort at prediction. And oddsmakers prophesying the outcomes of seesaw endeavors like sports or warfare have a spotty track record at best. In all likelihood no committee would’ve granted a farm team like the Pats the chance to compete against the mighty Redcoats. And yet GW’s team prevailed when it mattered most. Better to settle the fates of nations on the field of play.  Read More

Winging It: Backstage at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show With Tommy Ton
3 DECEMBER 2014 STYLE TOMMY TON

Victoria’s Secret took its annual fashion extravaganza on the road to London this year, but where the Angels go, Tommy Ton follows. Until the show airs on CBS next Tuesday, December 9, the closest you’re going to get to Candice, Doutzen, Karlie, and Joan are these exclusive photos.  Read More  

US: Iran launches airstrikes in Iraq against IS
3 DECEMBER 2014 ASSOCIATED PRESS KEN DILANIAN, VIVIAN SALAMA *

... Washington and Tehran are locked in tough negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. But the two adversaries have been fighting parallel campaigns on the same side in Iraq to defend the Shiite-dominated government — and the region's Kurds — from IS militants who seized a large section of the country.

It has long been known that Iranian troops and advisers have been fighting alongside Iraqi forces, but until this week there had been no confirmation of Iranian air activity. The timing and nature of the strikes are not clear, but a senior U.S. official said they occurred in Diyala province, which extends from northeast Baghdad to the Iranian border. The official spoke only on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose that information.  Read More

* Salama reported from Baghdad. John Thor-Dahlburg, Lori Hinnant and Lara Jakes in Brussels, Sinan Salaheddin in Baghdad and Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran contributed to this story.

The Sum of One's Actions & The Weight of One's Heart

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” 

― Mahatma Gandhi

"Soft you; a word or two before you go.

I have done the state some service, and they know't.

No more of that. I pray you, in your letters,

When you shall these unlucky deeds relate,

Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate,

Nor set down aught in malice: then must you speak

Of one that loved not wisely but too well;

Of one not easily jealous, but being wrought

Perplex'd in the extreme; of one whose hand,

Like the base Indian, threw a pearl away

Richer than all his tribe; of one whose subdued eyes,

Albeit unused to the melting mood,

Drop tears as fast as the Arabian trees

Their medicinal gum. Set you down this;

And say besides, that in Aleppo once,

Where a malignant and a turban'd Turk

Beat a Venetian and traduced the state,

I took by the throat the circumcised dog,

And smote him, thus."

― William Shakespeare, Othello

Rasa Tabula

"Though bitter, good medicine cures ills." 

― Sima Qian, 145~90 BCE

"Formless" 

Jean-Michel Basquiat 

(1983)

“Oh, if only it were possible to find understanding,” Joseph exclaimed. “If only there were a dogma to believe in. Everything is contradictory, everything tangential; there are no certainties anywhere. Everything can be interpreted one way and then again interpreted in the opposite sense. The whole of world history can be explained as development and progress and can also be seen as nothing but decadence and meaninglessness. Isn’t there any truth? Is there no real and valid doctrine?”

The master had never heard him speak so fervently. He walked on in silence for a little, then said: “There is truth, my boy. But the doctrine you desire, absolute, perfect dogma that alone provides wisdom, does not exist. Nor should you long for a perfect doctrine, my friend. Rather, you should long for the perfection of yourself. The deity is within you, not in ideas and books. Truth is lived, not taught.”
― Hermann Hesse, The Glass Bead Game

Future's Brain Exchange

Code Fluency

How techniques like Vedic Math, Abacus, and Soroban are making mathematics fun for kids
16 NOVEMBER 2014 ECONOMIC TIMES PRERNA KATIYAR

... "Kids just love to hate math. But with the help of Vedic math techniques, calculations become quick and fun," says Gaurav Tekriwal, president of the Kolkata-based The Vedic Maths Forum. The Vedic Maths Forum offers online as well as offline course across five countries including India not just for school kids but also for those preparing for competitive exams such as IIT-JEE, GMAT, GRE, CAT, MAT and GATE.

Tekriwal illustrates how even a third-grader can solve a seemingly complex mathematical problem within five seconds. Suppose one has to multiply 32 by 11. Simply add 3 and 2, which gives you 5, put that in between the units and the tens place, and that gives us 352. This technique works for 11. Similarly there are techniques for other numbers. "With training in the right technique, a third-grader can do 98 x 97 in his mind in five seconds," he adds. Read More

Noblesse Oblige Remedy

Obama pledges commitment to Asia in remaining tenure
15 NOVEMBER 2014 NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW

BRISBANE  (Kyodo) -- U.S. President Barack Obama pledged Saturday to remain committed to the Asia-Pacific region, defining it as a core of his administration's foreign policy in the remaining two years of his tenure.

.. "As a Pacific power, the United States has invested our blood and treasure to advance this vision," he said.

... "America supports free and fair elections."

Obama said the United States stands up for "the inherent dignity of every human being" including gays and lesbians, ethnic minorities and women.

"We'll stand up for the rights and future of our wives and daughters -- including welcoming more women into the workforce -- because nations are more successful when they tap the talents of their women," he said.  Read More

Ecosystem Carnival

Insular biogeography
13 NOVEMBER 2014 (VIEWED) WIKIPEDIA

(Wikipedia) -- ... The theory of insular biogeography proposes that the number of species found in an undisturbed insular environment.. is determined by immigration and extinction... [T]he isolated populations may follow different evolutionary routes, as shown by Darwin's observation of finches in the Galapagos Islands.

Immigration and emigration are affected by the distance of an island from a source of colonists... Islands that are more isolated are less likely to receive immigrants than islands that are less isolated.

.. In addition to having an effect on immigration rates, isolation can also affect extinction rates.. Populations on islands that are less isolated are less likely to go extinct because individuals from the source population and other islands can immigrate and "rescue" the population from extinction; this is known as the rescue effect.  Read More

Human Interface

The Future of Shopping, Part Two: Federico Marchetti

"Part of me, I'm a shopkeeper. And part of me, I'm an entertainer. You need to entertain your customer, otherwise they will never shop. It's as simple as that."

30 OCTOBER 2014 STYLE DIRK STANDEN

When I asked Federico Marchetti, the founder and CEO of Yoox Group, to take part in this series, he suggested we first meet for lunch at an Italian restaurant near his company's U.S. offices in Soho. It was a convivial gesture and, it struck me, a typical one for this Milan-based entrepreneur who combines European sophistication with American drive and openness. That combination of qualities has made Yoox one of the biggest success stories in digital retail. In addition to running their own multibrand e-commerce sites--Yoox.com, TheCorner.com, and Shoescribe.com--Marchetti's team operates the online stores for designers ranging from Armani to Alexander Wang, as well as several brands under the Kering umbrella. Once we had finished our espressos, we headed up to Yoox's white-walled, open-plan space and got down to business.  Read More

Stan By Me

Kawasaki Heavy to build world's 1st gas-to-gasoline plant in Turkmenistan
6 NOVEMBER 2014 NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW YOSHIFUMI UESAKA

TOKYO (NAR) -- ... In August, Kawasaki Heavy won a roughly 150 billion yen ($1.44 billion) contract to build the world's first gas-to-gasoline plant in Turkmenistan. It will use new technology from a European company and work closely with its Japanese partner, Sojitz.  Read More

Could Iran and China Cut the US Out of Afghanistan?
1 NOVEMBER 2014 DIPLOMAT SHANNON TIEZZI

.. The question of China-India cooperation on Afghanistan has received a great deal of attention, while the potential for China-Iran cooperation has been relatively overlooked. Like China (as well as most other interested parties, including India and the U.S.), it's in Tehran's best interests to have a stable Afghan government in Kabul, one that is free of influence from the Taliban. But Iran also seeks greater political and cultural sway over its neighbor, which puts it at odds with the U.S.  Read More

Another Wrinkle in Kazakhstan-Russia Relations?
The extradition of accused embezzler Mukhtar Ablyazov could complicate an already prickly relationship.
28 OCTOBER 2014 DIPLOMAT CASEY MICHEL

... A French court in Lyon last week ruled that France had the right to extradite Ablyazov, who remains wanted for embezzling approximately $6 billion in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. As the Ukrainian government recently announced that it would not cooperate with Russian prosecutors, and as Kazakhstan and France do not maintain an extradition treaty, Russia remains the most likely destination for Ablyazov's extradition.  

.. Relations between the two nations over the past eight months have reached their lowest point in years -- perhaps their lowest in the post-Soviet period -- due to a confluence of Russian revanchism in Crimea, economic sag through the Eurasian Economic Union, and Putin's recent and remarkable slight that ethnic Kazakhs claim no statehood until the fall of the Soviet Union.  Read More

More Evidence of Economic Slowdown in Central Asia
"The bottom, it seems, has yet to come. And with closer economic integration via the Eurasian Economic Union on the horizon for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and potentially Tajikistan, this initial dip may be a signal of what to expect for the foreseeable future."
7 NOVEMBER 2014 DIPLOMAT CASEY MICHEL

... Overall, all five Central Asian states are looking at more sluggish projected GDP growth moving forward than they’ve recently known, especially for those nations most closely entwined with the Russian economy.  Read More

India, Iran, and the West
9 NOVEMBER 2014 DIPLOMAT HRISHABH SANDILYA

... If things go well, and India is able to leverage its investment to boost trade and send the supplies and aid it has promised the Afghan government, it is reasonable to assume that India will be willing to make an increased commitment to Chabahar, similar to the Chinese investment in Gwadar, in the future. Iran’s offer to make the province a free-trade zone and offer India preferential tariffs for its exports en route to Afghanistan and Central Asia is also a game-changer and bodes well for the development of Chabahar.  Read More