Category: arts and letters

Ouchhh, Again

The latest data-driven installation from Ouchhh (turn up the sound as you watch the video) … here’s a description, perhaps best quoted from Websta:

DATA GATE _ World’s First AI Astronomical Research Data Sculpture Public Art by @ouchhh and TRU-M present. KEPLER: 9.6 Years in Space_2662 Planets confirmed_61 Supernovae Documented_530,506 Stars observed The installation consists of 3 parts; Form, Light and Space. Light is world’s first artwork based upon the idea of utilization of Machine Learning in the context of space discovery and astronomical research through NASA’s Kepler Data Sets. By using the Kepler data from NASA, the public will be able to observe the exoplanets [planets that orbit around other stars] which human life can exist in. By taking this concept one step further, Ouchhh aims for this artwork to be considered as a gate between our planet and other habitable planets around the universe. Ouchhh will visualize and stylize the findings of these Neural Networks for identifying exoplanets using the dimming of the flux. The resulting work will invite visitors to plunge into the fascinating world of space discovery through immersive data sculpture. The installation will offer a poetic sensory experience and is meant to become a monument of mankind’s contemplative curiosity and profound need for exploration. 360 LED Sculpture _ weight: 15 tons

More on Ouchhh, here on Vimeo and on its own site.

 

The Poem of the Day Project

Dennis in his West Village, NYC apartment, 1974 (photo by Lawrence)

Some of our readers know of my brother Dennis from previous post mentions, including the August 2018 publication of his latest book of poetry, The Taste of Flesh.  Earlier this month he embarked on his latest project, challenging himself to write a poem each day (into the indefinite future?). The poems were made available by email subscription, but I have now created a page to assemble these pieces under one convenient link. (Click on the POTD link under “Family and Friends” in the left column of this page for access.)

For those wondering, Dennis’ history has included receiving an English degree from Iowa State University, working as an investigative newspaper reporter, editing and publishing the literary journal Crania, founding the publishing entity Crania Press, winning the 1992 Flannery O’Conner national Short Fiction award with his book The Consequences of Desire, teaching as a UCLA creative writing instructor, and publishing in many literary journals and media. He also owned and operated a general contracting construction business in Los Angeles, restored classic automobiles in his backyard garage after retirement, and continues to work as a community activist in Venice, CA.  And Dennis tells me that he has two book projects (fiction and non-fiction) in the works as well as a new website under development.

All POTD content © Dennis Hathaway

Halloween — Let Us Remember Edward Gorey

First, a NYT tribute.  Then, one of my all-time, ever, favorite (a family favorite at that) albums.  Music by the Tiger Lillies, inspired by the work of Edward Gorey:

“The Gorey End” chronicles the misadventures and misfortunes of the HipDeep family, and other characters.   Some of the tracks include “Dreadful Domesticity”, “Gin”, “Besotted Mother”, “Learned Pig”, “Jesus on the Windshield”, “Weeping Chandelier”, “Trampled Lily”, and more.

A little more information on Amazon here and here.

 

We Can Do Something To Repair The World Every Day

Ivi’s Happy Camp Smile – 2010

That’s the assertion of one of the latest pieces from Quartzy.

In the digital newsite Quartz‘s culture and lifestyle offshoot, Quartzy, writer Ephrat Livni tells us how Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami has some advice about what you can do when life looks dark. Take a read.

rDay Twelve-Hundred-Ninety

The day started off normally enough, with a walk downtown to the workspace …

Heading home in the late afternoon, we come across Art Escape Studios, with an open house for the local First Friday Art Tour:

And then upon arriving at home, I am rather astonished to see three Porsches parked at a neighbor’s house, just three doors away. (Some investigation is warranted; perhaps some intelligence will be forthcoming.)  Getting dark now.

According to Will Rogers

One of my memories of my paternal grandfather, Del (you met him earlier here), was that he was fond of quoting Will Rogers (as well as Mark Twain).  Here are some musings attributed to the man:

Will Rogers:

    • “Things will get better, despite our efforts to improve them.”
    • “The short memories of the American voters is what keeps our politicians in office.”

“Ten men in our country could buy the whole world and ten million can’t buy enough to eat.”

“You can’t say that civilization don’t advance, however, for in every war they kill you in a new way.”

“If pro is the opposite of con, what is the opposite of Congress?”

“There are three kinds of men. The ones that learn by readin’. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.”

“An economist’s guess is liable to be as good as anybody else’s.”

“Try to live your life so that you wouldn’t be afraid to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.”

“If all politicians fished instead of spoke publicly, we would be at peace with the world.”

And…

“A fool and his money are soon elected”

The Taste of Flesh

Just wanted to alert readers that brother Dennis has just released a new book of poetry. Here’s a link to BookShout for more info. (Is this nepotistic?)

And to quote BookShout:

These poems by award-winning author Dennis Hathaway are meditations on life and death through a variety of perspectives. In the title poem, a man reading about shipwrecked sailors driven to cannabilism is led to reflect on a particularly intense time of his youth. In The Promised Land, the boundless optimism of youth is captured in the observations of a young man escaping the Midwest for California, while Southern California (Revised) paints a disturbing picture of that iconic place’s future. In Documents of War and The Harrying of the North, official documents and a famous tapestry are used to illustrate the distance most of us maintain from the grim realities of war. The spectacles of natural worlds both large and small are lyrically evoked in River of Wind and Fauna, while the abiding love between a man and his wife is the subject of The Path, The Philosophy of Love and several other poems that combine sharp observation of the everyday details of life with flights of imagination. But despite the seriousness of subject matter, many of the 25 poems in this collection have an ample seasoning of humor, from the overt in Money and Queen of Spades” to the more subtle in Memory and Santa Inez.