The Finch and Pea

Get a Library Card

September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month. Even if you don’t think you will use your library card (you will), it is a great way to show support for your local public library (it needs it).

And like all causes that people are passionate about, the use of libraries has inspired some fantastic art. Ann Leonard, a librarian at the Pinal County Library District (AZ) created a series of promotional images celebrating the benefits of owning a library card in the style of classic Penguin paperback covers. This is my favorite:

“Benefit # 29: Free Wifi Access” by Ann Leonard

There is also one featuring a DNA double-helix. I was happy to note that it is correctly pictured as a right-handed double-helix, but it is a bit too elongated to my pedantic eye to be my favorite as one might expect. Frankly, you are spoiled for choice.

*Hat tip to Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing.

Meet the Nautilus

The nautilus joins the ranks of cephalopods like the squid, cuttlefish, and octopus. However, the nautilus is the only one with a chambered shell. Interestingly, this shell is a natural logarithmic spiral.

Check out this video from the BBC to learn more:

“Meet the…” is a collaboration between The Finch & Pea and Nature Afield to bring Nature’s amazing creatures into your home.

Troubleshooting Replication Studies (in Music)

We’ve already reposted Marie-Claire’s post on Tegan & Sara’s rendition of Walking with a Ghost, which, depending on your pedantic devotion to the definition of irony, may or may not have been ironic. Marie-Claire’s post used the comparison between Tegan & Sara’s original and The White Stripes cover to talk about replication studies in science.

On Wednesday, The Nerdist Podcast released an interview with Tegan & Sara, in which they talk about their careers, motivations, inspirations, pet giraffes, and asteroid-induced apocalypses. This reminded me of a key principle of understanding replication studies in science: you need to understand not only what the people were doing, but also the people. Continue reading “Troubleshooting Replication Studies (in Music)”

The Art of Science: The Crafty Creatures of Hiné Mizushima

She describes herself as a “slow crafter”, but Hiné Mizushima has managed to pack a lot of projects into the last few years. A native of Japan, Mizushima started out there as a painter before moving first to Europe, then to the US, before settling in Vancouver and starting to create adorable needle-felted creatures. Not the usual bears and mice, though – she prefers offbeat creatures like squid, slugs, daphnia and even ectoplasm, which she shows in galleries and sells in her etsy shop. I love the combination of humor, smarts and beautiful craft in pieces like this needle-felted squid knitting a squid. If you’re not in the market for a gorgeous woolen cephalopod, this Unnatural History Museum postcard set should fulfill your needs for sweet, quirky science on a budget. (Note the detail: each little “ectoplasm” carefully sealed in its own labeled test tube)

Mizushima recently began creating stop-motion animations using her felted creations, and has been commissioned to make several music videos for the ultimate geeky band, They Might Be Giants. I especially love the “Insect Hospital” video, where sick and injured bugs get fixed up with various computer parts. She has also been making super-short animated gifs, including this amazing self-extinguishing firebug.

You can see lots more of Hiné Mizushima’s work on her website and follow her on twitter @hine_art