According to the calculations of Larry Granillo, the inaugural Ferris Bueller’s Day Off occurred on 5 June 1985.
The Art of Science: Symbols of Universal (Wireless) Connection
The mandala is an important symbol in both Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions, both as art form and as spiritual practice. In extremely simple terms, a mandala is a geometrically–based representation of an interconnected universe or cosmos. They are usually painted or drawn, although some are made painstakingly of sand and then swept away after their completion, as a symbol of the impermanence of all things. Italian artist Leonardo Ulian makes mandalas out of a more contemporary material – electronic components, including resistors, capacitors and microchips. Beautiful, intricate and delicate, they hint at a new interpretation of the idea of interconnectedness – the wireless kind. Although he’s using an ancient religious style, Ulian refers to his artworks as “ephemeral gizmos”, which, like sand or new technology, can be quickly swept away.
See more of Leonardo Ulian’s work at his website.
Technology vs Poverty
Technology and poverty seem to be intrinsically at odds with one another. Technology is a luxury, right? While the “smartphone” has been hugely influential in wealthy nations, simple pay as you go cell phones have also transformed poor, rural areas and they are being used to monitor market prices of crops via text messages. This critical information can help a farmer decide what to bring to market and where, to get the best prices. The stripped down basic cell phone could greatly improve a farmer’s income. It’s possible that science and technology could be key components in alleviating poverty all over the world. Continue reading “Technology vs Poverty”
La Brea Tar Pits
A few years ago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) found a mammoth in their parking garage. It was dead, of course. The mammoth was one of hundreds of fossil specimens recovered in the expansion of the museum’s underground parking garage.
They were expecting this.
LACMA is built directly next to the La Brea Tar Pits, an area where oil has been bubbling up to the surface of the earth for thousands of years. In that time, many animals got stuck in the tar, causing a very local high density of fossils. Continue reading “La Brea Tar Pits”
Echo Beach: far away in space and time?
I first heard this song when I was about 8 years old at the 1984 Renfrew Fair. The cool older kids seemed to love it, and they were playing it non-stop on what I was convinced was the scariest and coolest ride at the fair: The Zipper. Released by Canadian New Wave greats Martha and the Muffins on their 1980 album Metro Music, it was written by Mark Gane while working for the summer checking wallpaper for defects. He said in an interview with CBC radio a few weeks ago that he changed the worker to an office clerk, because he figured that was more relatable than wallpaper inspector (fittingly CBC Music just hosted their first music festival at Echo Beach in Toronto, though that wasn’t the beach named in the song). It’s undoubtedly an early ’80s classic.
But unlike lots of other songs I encountered at the time, this one has always stuck with me as a favourite. Beyond loving the really rhythmic chorus and the repeated hook at the end, I think I love it because it’s a bit sciencey. The beach isn’t nostalgic or the memory of something that happened long ago. It’s “far away in time”, which always made me think that the song recognized space and time as connected. And “knowing I’ll be back at echo beach someday” always said to me that it’s not gone. It exists both then and now. It always felt like a planet visited in Dr. Who, far away both in space and time but not gone when you leave, not in the same way that childhood homes and toys are gone. I’m probably reading way too much into it but it was one of the first things I thought of when I started to learn more advanced physics. So for no other reason than that it’s a cool image of time, I wanted to celebrate this great song.
The Finch and Pea 