Friday, October 30, 2009

tenebrous

Word of the Day

Friday, October 30, 2009


tenebrous


\TEN-uh-bruhs\ , adjective;


1. Dark; gloomy.


Origin: Tenebrous derives from Latin tenebrosus, from tenebrae, "darkness."


And lurking behind our every move is the knowledge of our own mortality. It gives life its edgy disquiet, its tenebrous underside.


Iran's National Poet Speaks Out On Recent Events In Her Country

clipped from www.youtube.com
Iran's National Poet Speaks Out On Recent Events In Her Country


Simin Behbahani, Iran's national poet, spoke with NPR's Davar Iran Ardalan from Tehran on Friday June 26th. She recites two poems inspired by the protests -- one dedicated to the people of Iran and the other dedicated to Neda Agha-Soltan, the young woman mourned around the world because her death during last Saturday's protests was viewed by millions on the Web and TV.




Invisible man

clipped from www.hoax-slayer.com
[The] attached photographs show a man who skillfully paints himself so that he so closely resembles his surroundings that he appears to be virtually invisible. At first glance, these amazing images may appear to be the result of digital manipulation and indeed a number of self-proclaimed experts have already dismissed them as being "photoshopped".


Invisible Man 1

Invisible Man 2

Invisible Man 3

Invisible Man 4

Invisible Man 5

Invisible Man 6

Invisible Man 7



However, the images are in fact genuine photographs depicting the work of clever Chinese artist Liu Bolin. The Beijing based artist has exhibited his work around the world with shows in China, Paris, the United States and elsewhere. News.com.au notes that Mr Bolin is a perfectionist who can take up to ten hours to ready himself for photographs of his performances. The UK's Telegraph also reports on Mr Bolin's art, noting:

In a series of mind-boggling pictures Liu melts into any background, almost entirely invisible in front of red phone boxes, Chinese flags and even earthquake rubble.

It means people walking by while he is carrying out his performance often have no idea he is nearby until he moves away. Liu said he wanted to show how city surroundings affected people living in them and how.

He said the inspiration behind his work was a sense of not fitting in to modern society and as a silent protest against the Government's persecution of artists.

Mr Bolin generally uses assistants who help to paint him in readiness for performances.




Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Book thieves beware

clipped from www.oregonlive.com

Security returns to Multnomah County's thief-prone library system

By Nikole Hannah-Jones, The Oregonian

October 27, 2009, 5:56PM


For years now, stealing from the Multnomah County Library has been an easy feat. You just have to pick up a book and walk out with it.



The Central Library -- which holds half of the library's collection -- has had no security system since the building was renovated 13 years ago. None of the 16 branches has working security systems either, leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost materials each year -- nearly $300,000 in the last six months alone.


But book thieves beware: The days of easy pickings are almost over.


For the past month, workers at the Central Library have been busy in the back rooms sticking little flat tags in books and CDs that officials hope will reduce the number of missing items by 40 percent or more.


library1.JPGView full size
Library pages Deanne Gabriel (right) and Wendy Dudelheim attach security tags to books at the Central Library in the Multnomah County system's new attempt to cut down on thefts.


Multnomah County commissioners approved about $1.3 million last year from the general fund and another $1.6 million this year from a planned bond to pay for installation of the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system at all the branches by the end of 2010.



"We're going from security that is pretty much people watching to an automatic system that works," said Deanna Cecotti, Central Library collections administrator.


The move comes four years after a police officer discovered hundreds of stolen library CDs and DVDs at a patron's home and the public learned that staff annoyed by repeated false alarms had turned off the few security gates that existed in library branches. The discovery led to a study of library security released two years later that showed massive annual losses.


library2.JPG
The Multnomah County Library is installing a new $2.9 million system to reduce theft and make materials handling easier in the Central Library and 16 branches. The small, flat RFID tags allow several books to be cataloged at once and will set off an alarm at new security gates if someone tries to remove an item that hasn't been checked out.


The library made security changes after that, said Cindy Gibbon, access service manager for the library, such as moving DVDs -- the items of choice for thieves -- and some other media behind counters and experimenting with locking shelves. But Gibbon said it took time to come up with the money to pay for a security program that would work systemwide and with all library materials.



RFIDs are small devices about the size of a nametag sticker that adhere to books, CDs and the other materials. They've been gaining popularity among libraries nationwide for the last five years and have been used in libraries in Europe even longer.


The tags store and retrieve data and contain antennas that enable them to respond to radio-frequency queries. They can't be removed from items without damaging them and will trigger an alarm at the door if the item isn't checked out.


RFIDs are favored because they're much more accurate than the magnetic strip systems often used by libraries.


In a year, items lost from the Multnomah County Library account for about 10 percent of the system's annual materials budget. The tag project, which will cost about $155,000 a year to maintain and mark new materials, could save $238,000 a year in lost materials, according to library estimates.


But just as important, library officials said, is that RFIDs are more efficient for both library workers and users and will save both time and money in handling books and other material.


"We wanted to make sure that whatever we did for security would make handling easier, not harder," said Gibbon.


The library is one of the busiest in the nation, but also has among the smallest in square footage for the number of books it circulates.


That means employees spend huge amounts of time logging books that must be transferred to, or that come in from, different branches throughout the county.


With the current system, workers must pick up each item that comes in and scan it in. Check-out workers must touch each item twice -- once to scan it into the system, the other to demagnetize the metal strip.


The new system allows workers to scan an entire shelf at once with a hand wand. Or, they can set a stack of books on a flat scanner and the scanner will catalog the entire stack. The tags will also allow the library to put DVDs back on the shelves where patrons can get them themselves.


Checking items in and out can be 60 percent faster with RFID tags, Gibbon said. That could save another $425,000 annually in streamlined materials handling.


The library is also adding new self-checkout kiosks that will work the same for library patrons.


"It speeds the checkout for patrons and for us," said Lucien Kress, project manager for the new system. "We handle so many items in this system and it take so much time that it can take 24 hours to get a book back on the shelf. With this system, things will go much quicker."


So far, the Central Library has tagged about 250,000 of its 800,000 items with a completion goal of early January. The new Kenton library will open by February with the new system and other branches coming online after.


"This should make it harder for someone whose intention is to steal materials," Cecotti said. "And it makes us better stewards."

-- Nikole Hannah-Jones

Saturday, October 24, 2009

22@Barcelona, District of Innovation

clipped from citiwire.net

Industrial Graveyard To Hot Innovation Center

Neal Peirce / Oct 23 2009

For Release Sunday, October 25, 2009
© 2009 Washington Post Writers Group


Neal Peirce


BARCELONA — How can a city resuscitate an entire depressed, old inner city district, many of its blocks marked by the skeletons of abandoned factories?


Even more challenging–how to transform the same area into a high-powered knowledge hub that adds jobs by the thousands and draws dozens of high-powered national and international firms?


The "free enterprise" American approach might be to bring in the bulldozers, create an industrial park that displaces the old residents, and maybe offer companies public subsidies to move in.


Not Barcelona. Ten years ago this entrepreneurial city decided to build a modern "knowledge economy" close to downtown in its old waterfront Poblenou district, once a leading cotton mill center, renaming it "22@Barcelona, District of Innovation."


Barcelona's then-mayor, Joan Close, took the initiative. But an extraordinary political consensus–ranging all the way from the city's capitalist right wing to socialist-oriented left–came together to design 22@Barcelona and set it in motion.


Their central idea: Talent is the gold of our time, crucial to build thriving new economic clusters. Talented people (and cutting-edge firms) want lively urban environments. Instead of the isolation of corporate campuses, they're anxious to brush shoulders with other gifted people from companies, universities and the artistic realm.


So 22@Barcelona has been consciously shaped to include attractive green spaces, restaurants and entertainment, bike lanes, and plentiful public transit both within the area and between it and greater Barcelona.







But to create that environment–and not force out the families and workers living there–the Barcelona politicians decided on an ingenious but highly controlled form of real estate redevelopment.


Each of the district's 100-square meter blocks–rather than individual land holdings–were made the basic unit for regeneration. Once 60 percent of landowners in any one of the 115 blocks agree to act collectively, they can–as a community–increase the value of their property by getting city permission to rebuild with greater height (more stories) than allowed in the past.


But there's a tradeoff. In return, owners must agree to release 30 percent of their land holding for new public investment. Of that 30 percent, the city takes a third each for shared green space, for publicly subsidized housing, and for knowledge-based activity such as a technology center or university facility. The land parcels can also be exchanged across blocks–for a larger park, for example.


One can imagine American property owners screaming "property rights" and "eminent domain abuse" at any such proposal. Not to mention another "taking": 22@'s owners are obliged to pay 50 percent of street infrastructure improvements.


But look at what they gain, notes Josep Miquel Piqué, Barcelona's forceful CEO of 22@ operations. There's revitalized public space to lift the spirits of residents and workers. District heating and cooling, plus fiber optic connections are provided. There's actually a pneumatic underground waste disposal system (with colored bags to make recycling easy). Plus a system of underground "galleries" for cables and pipes and future needs, avoiding the need to keep digging up streets for improvements.


And 22@ isn't shy about defining and shaping the economic environment. It's defined five top "innovation clusters" –information technology, media, design, medical devices and energy efficiency. And, says Piqué, "We are managing the ecosystem for innovation. We've grown to 1,441 companies, many international, in nine years. If we need university talent, finance, or information technology, we promote the connections to make it possible. We incite artists to work with the companies, for inspiration. We work together with the private firms, the universities, to create a critical mass to compete in the world."


The physical result is an amazingly eclectic neighborhood. Technology centers and new apartments are cheek by jowl with old lots and housing still in transition. Government offices, television and radio studios, cultural centers, social service agencies–they're all there, and much more.


Yet Piqué claims "We don't forget the people living here beforehand. We are including social housing. We recognize residents' children as the new generation of talent we want right here. We invite students for internships in the firms, the activities we have. That's the difference between the Silicon Valley model and ours."


An American can't visit 22@ without wondering: Could U.S. cities ever find the left-to-right political consensus, muster the faith in a government-chartered organization with 22@-like powers, to remake our lagging neighborhoods with parallel stem-to-stern remedies and approaches?


For our dawning back-to-the-city era, what better? But I'm not optimistic. Barcelona-style collaboration (and trust in government) just isn't in our political DNA.


But what if a talent-focused economic era, marked by keen global competition, requires intensely entrepreneurial and rule-setting city government on the 22@Barcelona model? It will be a tough shift. But we Americans can't keep saying "no" and "can't" forever.



Neal Peirce's e-mail is npeirce@citistates.com.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Autumn in Portland by June Underwood

Autumn in the City

When I read Terry Grant's post about the gorgeous fall we've been having in Portland, Oregon, I almost just sent you to her site. She stole my fire — and my blog post idea, too. Not that that's so surprising; we do live in the same place, after all.


But then I looked at my photos and decided that all was not lost. I take different photos of fall than Terry does, even though I have equal amounts of abject adoration of its colors:



CityFall1


This looks like the usual fall color photo — with the addition of the bike, the fire hydrant, cars, and utility wires. But aren't those grasses yummy.



cityFall2


Even when Hawthorne fills the camera's screen with debris, there's still no denying the advent of the color.



cityFall5


And southeast Grand Avenue's bars can't match the maple across the street.



I have a couple more that I couldn't resist, but I'll put them in the continuum. I wouldn't want to show Terry up <snort> June


cityFall4

cityFall3


I was particularly fond of the one above, particularly as I had just been complimented on my photo processes a moment before, when I took this next one:



cityFall7


This one is nice, but there's something very zen about the glimpse of beauty amidst the debris of the quotidian — telephone poles, posters for rock bands, graffiti on the back of a walk light — and a blaze of oak leaves.


Portland Opera's next production: Orphée by Philip Glass





Orphée and Philip Glass Events in Portland

"Northwest Previews" Tune in for an in-depth preview of Orphée.

October 29 | 6pm All Classical 89.9 fm

We're also happy to point you to YouTube where you can meet the man, kind of in person: A preview of Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts


This one features Philip Glass talking about how he approaches writing music.

An interview and concert with Philip Glass: In Conversation: Philip Glass and Tim Page

Opera Appreciation Lecture Explore the history and culture surrounding Orphée. Lecture presented by Portland State University
October 31 | 2pm Portland State University Tickets: 503-725-4832 or online $20 general $7.50 students

Orphée Preview Enjoy a lively, 50-minute sneak peek of Orphée featuring the Portland Opera Studio Artists.
November 1 | 2pm Multnomah County Central Library FREE!

Creativity and Collaboration: An Evening with Philip Glass
Philip Glass will present an animated exploration of artistic collaboration, featuring film clips, live piano selections, and lively discussion.
You also have the chance to meet Philip Glass at a post-event reception!

November 3 | 7:00pm
Portland Art Museum, Kridell Ballroom, 1219 SW Park Ave.
Event: $20 Portland Opera Subscriber, $25 General Online

Event and Reception w/ Philip Glass: $75 Online
or call the Portland Opera Box Office at 503-241-1802

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Beam me up, Scotty

Climate Change

clipped from www.npr.org

Innovative 'Times' Reporter Draws Limbaugh's Ire


October 22, 2009


Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh suggested this week that perhaps climate change reporter Andrew C. Revkin of The New York Times should take his own life to reduce carbon emissions, if he felt it was so important to the planet's future to reduce them.


"If he really thinks that human beings, in their natural existence, are going to cause the extinction of life on Earth," Limbaugh asked, "Mr. Revkin, why don't you just go kill yourself, and help the planet by dying?"


Limbaugh accused Revkin of being part of a radical environmentalist fringe. But those who know Revkin say he's a scrupulous journalist who's somewhat revolutionary in an altogether different aspect: the way he reports the news.


Part old-school newspaper reporter, part frenetic blogger, Revkin is curating information on the question of how the world can grow to a projected population of 9 billion people over the next 40 years with as little damage as possible.



"My way is to say, 'What do we know? What don't we know? What can we learn? What's essentially unknowable?' And then, 'What does society do with that body of information that's left'?" Revkin says.


Revkin's first long article on climate change appeared in Discover magazine 21 years ago. His blog, Dot Earth, is just two years old, an outgrowth of earlier online reports he filed while on extended reporting trips to the North Pole and Greenland.


On the blog, Revkin posts early versions of his own reporting, excerpts of stories from other news outlets, links to government documents and scientific journal articles, corporate presentations and blog postings. Revkin often solicits and publishes the opinions of readers — relying on them for tips and insight, while simultaneously helping them sift through the flood of information coming their way.


It's a new role for someone who had been a fairly conventional though distinguished print reporter.


"It's more like being a mountain guide after an avalanche, than being the old-style, 'Here's the news, take it or leave it, thank you very much, goodnight,' " Revkin says.


New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen says Revkin's work on Dot Earth represents an important step toward a new model for how the news business will work.


"One day, I think all beat reporting will be done this way," Rosen says. "The pressures to be in the paper regularly, to be on the front page have kept traditional reporters from really exploring what the Web — the two-way Web, the read-write, back-and-forth nature of the Web — can do for their reporting."



Even after all these years, the sensitive nature of the climate change debate can lead Revkin to wade into controversial areas. Sometimes he gets slapped by environmental advocates who take issue with Revkin's reporting. Former Clinton administration energy official Joe Romm, who writes the Climate Progress Blog for the left-of-center Center for American Progress, is a frequent critic.



























But more often, Revkin finds himself attacked from the right. Such was the case after a recent public forum held by the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. Revkin spoke long distance by Internet videophone to the group.


He says his remarks were intended to indicate skepticism toward the push for governments to grant financial credits for reducing carbon emissions. "Probably the single most concrete and substantive thing an American, a young American, could do to lower their carbon footprint is not turning off the lights or driving a Prius — it's having fewer kids," Revkin said.


If the country pursues carbon-centric policies, Revkin asked, should there be financial rewards for families that have one child rather than two or three?


He told the audience, "Obviously it's just a thought experiment, but it raises some interesting questions."


By Revkin's account, those statements reverberated around the Internet — and were quickly distorted.


"In this case, I was asking a question about population and carbon — and it got conflated with those who make strong statements about depopulating the world and that kind of thing," Revkin says.


The conservative editorial page of Investors' Business Daily ran a critical piece. Then the nation's top-rated radio talk show host spoke up. Limbaugh invoked the much maligned Chinese government's "one child" policy — and made pointed comparisons to jihadists and Palestinian suicide bombers.


Revkin has received angry hate mail and telephone messages. He wants Limbaugh to apologize to the rest of his family — especially his older son, a regular Limbaugh listener who is, Revkin says, currently serving in the Israeli military.


Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Philosophy

Diderot wrote, "All things must be examined, debated, investigated without exception and without regard for anyone's feelings."



Now playing in Portland: A Serious Man



Tzadik: one whose merit surpasses his iniquity.



2009 H1N1 (Swine) Flu in Humans

clipped from www.cdc.gov
2009 H1N1 Flu in Humans


How does 2009 H1N1 virus spread?

Spread of 2009 H1N1 virus is thought to occur in the same way that seasonal flu spreads. Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing by people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something – such as a surface or object – with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.


How long can an infected person spread this virus to others?

People infected with seasonal and 2009 H1N1 flu shed virus and may be able to infect others from 1 day before getting sick to 5 to 7 days after. This can be longer in some people, especially children and people with weakened immune systems and in people infected with the new H1N1 virus.

Prevention & Treatment


What can I do to protect myself from getting sick?


This season, there is a seasonal flu vaccine to protect against seasonal flu viruses and a 2009 H1N1 vaccine to protect against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus (sometimes called "swine flu").

A flu vaccine is the first and most important step in protecting against flu infection.


For information about the 2009 H1N1 vaccines, visit H1N1 Flu Vaccination Resources. For information about seasonal influenza vaccines, visit Preventing Seasonal Flu With Vaccination.



There are also everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like the flu.


Take these everyday steps to protect your health:


Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.


  • Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.*
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
  • Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
  • If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) Keep away from others as much as possible to keep from making others sick.


Other important actions that you can take are:

  • Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.
  • Be prepared in case you get sick and need to stay home for a week or so; a supply of over-the-counter medicines, alcohol-based hand rubs * (for when soap and water are not available), tissues and other related items could help you to avoid the need to make trips out in public while you are sick and contagious.


Photo of man sneezing


clipped from 74.125.155.132

Dr. Vinay Goyal is a renowned doctor who visited last week to lecture on the topic H1N1 (SWINE FLU), its origin and precautions. To summarize, Dr. Goyal reported that virus H1N1, like other Influenza A viruses, only infects the upper respiratory tract and proliferates only there. The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/ throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible not coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all pre- cautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is. Will a face mask protect? What most N95 respirators are designed to filter is about 95% particulates of 0.3, while the size of H1N1 virus is about 0.1. Hence, dependence on N95 to protect against H1N1 is like protecting against rain with an umbrella made of mosquito net.

Tamiflu drug does not kill the virus, but it prevents H1N1 from further prolif- eration till the virus limits itself in about 1-2 weeks during the virus’ natural cycle.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps not fully highlighted in most official communications - can be practiced:

1. Frequent hand-washing.

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach except to eat, bathe, etc.

3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to pro- liferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected person. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water, swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bring- ing down viral population.

5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C, or Vitamin C tablets that contain Zinc to boost absorption.

6. Drink as much of warm liquids as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive.


Portland Views


Four pieces of public art, created by RIGGA - a group of local artists, are featured between the Morrison Bridge and the floating walkway [of the Eastside Esplanade.]


The Alluvial Wall, clings to a concrete retaining wall and echoes the natural shape of the river before Portland was Portland. It alludes to the interwoven layers of the river's pre-industrial geology and human artifacts; an amalgam of sedimentation and erosion formed of cold-forged steel plate with bronze castings lodged between its layers.


Tuesday, October 20, 2009

National Chemistry Week

clipped from chemistry.about.com

National Chemistry Week - Elements in the Human Body

Sunday October 18, 2009

Today marks the start of National Chemistry Week, an ACS-sponsored event designed to help foster an interest and understanding of chemistry. This year's focus is on the elements, so I thought the best way to kick off National Chemistry Week would be to introduce the elements found in the human body. 99% of the human body is made up of just six elements.

clipped from jchemed.chem.wisc.edu
What could be more central to the study of chemistry than the periodic table of the elements? It combines all of the known elements into a tabular form, arranged by atomic number, grouping elements together by similarities in their chemical properties. "Chemistry—It's Elemental" is exactly what this year's National Chemistry Week is celebrating—and it is no accident that this is the 140th anniversary of Mendeleev's periodic table.

clipped from chemistry.about.com
Most of the human body is made up of water, H2O, with cells consisting of 65-90% water by weight. Therefore, it isn't surprising that most of a human body's mass is oxygen. Carbon, the basic unit for organic molecules, comes in second. 99% of the mass of the human body is made up of just six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus.

  1. Oxygen (65%)
  2. Carbon (18%)
  3. Hydrogen (10%)
  4. Nitrogen (3%)
  5. Calcium (1.5%)
  6. Phosphorus (1.0%)
  7. Potassium (0.35%)
  8. Sulfur (0.25%)
  9. Sodium (0.15%)
  10. Magnesium (0.05%)
  11. Copper, Zinc, Selenium, Molybdenum, Fluorine, Chlorine, Iodine, Manganese, Cobalt, Iron (0.70%)
  12. Lithium, Strontium, Aluminum, Silicon, Lead, Vanadium, Arsenic, Bromine (trace amounts)

Liquid oxygen is blue.

Liquid oxygen in an unsilvered dewar flask. Liquid oxygen is blue.

Warwick Hillier, Australia National University, Canberra

Photograph of graphite, one of the forms of elemental carbon.

Photograph of graphite, one of the forms of elemental carbon.

U.S. Geological Survey

NGC 604, a region of ionized hydrogen in the Triangulum Galaxy.

NGC 604, a region of ionized hydrogen in the Triangulum Galaxy.

Hubble Space Telescope, photo PR96-27B

Image of solid, liquid, and gaseous nitrogen.

Image of solid, liquid, and gaseous nitrogen.

chemdude1, YouTube.com

Calcium is a metal.

Calcium is a metal. It readily oxidizes in air. Because it makes up such a large part of the skeleton, about one-third of the mass of human body comes from calcium, after water has been removed.

Tomihahndorf, Creative Commons License

Red phosphorus is one of several forms taken by this element.

Red phosphorus is one of several forms taken by this element.

RTC, wikipedia.org

Chunk of potassium metal with peroxides/superoxides and ozonide on its surface.

Chunk of potassium metal with peroxides/superoxides (yellow crystals) and ozonide (red coloring) on its surface

Justin Urgitis, www.wikipedia.org

Sodium metal chunks under mineral oil.

Sodium metal chunks under mineral oil.

Justin Urgitis, wikipedia.org

Vial of chlorine gas.

Vial of chlorine gas.


Ben Mills

Chlorine is a part of hydrochloric acid, used to digest food. It is involved in proper cell membrane function.

Photograph of the element magnesium, with a penny to indicate size of the sample.

Photograph of the element magnesium, with a penny to indicate size of the sample.

U.S. Geological Survey

Crystals of the nonmetallic element sulfur.

Crystals of the nonmetallic element sulfur.

Smithsonian Institution

Monday, October 19, 2009

Drawing

To watch this image emerge Click Here.

Try this one: Click Here.

To see many pages of images by this artist Click Here.



Sunday, October 18, 2009

Autumn Waiting

Autumn Waiting

by Tom Hennen


Cold wind.
The day is waiting for winter
Without a sound.
Everything is waiting—
Broken-down cars in the dead weeds.
The weeds themselves.
Trees.
Even sunlight
Is in no hurry and stays
For a long time
On each cornstalk.

























Blackbirds are silent
And sit in piles.
From a distance
They look like
Something
Spilled on the road.


"Autumn Waiting" by Tom Hennen, from Looking into the Weather. © Westerheim Press, 1983.


Two more nights to experience this great concert

[Do you like classical? Do you like jazz? Hear Kirill Gerstein perform Bernstein. He is performing tonight 10/18/09 and tomorrow night 10/19/09 at the Schnitzer.]

Bach! … Beethoven! … Bernstein? It's an updated version of music's "Three Bs," featuring the first Oregon Symphony performance ever of Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 2, [The Age of Anxiety] with Portland audience favorite Kirill Gerstein at the piano.











Carlos Kalmar, conductor
Kirill Gerstein, piano

Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 4
Bernstein: Symphony No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra, "The Age of Anxiety"
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7


[Watch Kirill Gerstein in action performing Rachmaninoff at another venue.]