Fuller projection

Chris Rywalt's animation of the Dymaxion projection

"The Dymaxion Map is the only flat map of the entire surface of the earth that reveals our planet as it really is: an island, in one ocean, without any visible distortion of the relative shapes and sizes of the land areas, and without splitting any continents.

All [other] flat world map representations of the spherical globe contain some amount of distortion either in shape, area, distance or direction measurements. On the well-known Mercator world map, Greenland appears to be three times its relative globe size and Antarctica appears as a long thin white strip along the bottom edge of the map. Even the popular Robinson Projection, now used in many schools, still contains a large amount of area distortion with Greenland appearing 60 percent larger than its relative globe size.

The map projection used for this map, also know as the "Dymaxion Map," was created by R. Buckminster Fuller, distinguished mathematician, inventor and 20th century visionary."

- the Buckminister Fuller Institute

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R.I.P. Estelle Getty and her exquisite sense of timing:

"Picture it: Sicily, 1912."

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In human society, all violence can be traced back to these seven recurrent blunders:
wealth without work,
pleasure without conscience,
knowledge without character,
commerce without morality,
science without humanity,
worship without sacrifice, and
politics without principles.

–Mohandas K. Gandhi, "Young India," Oct. 22, 1925.
Reproduced in Collected Works, vol. 33, p. 135. Cited in Harper's.
 

Earth Lights, NASA Visible Earth

-- Visible Earth: "Earth's City Lights"

The Visible Earth Project's image catalog ranges from familiar high-resolution satellite photographs to less orthodox imagery. NASA's satellites and sensors record waves -- heat, light or sound -- and they can be converted into an image of earthly activity. In this case, Marc Imhoff of NASA GSFC and Christopher Elvidge of NOAA NGDC used a meterological satellite system to study permanent lights, and Craig Mayhew and Robert Simmon of NASA GSFC made it visual.

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I.
Making dinner, from a new collection of animated short films:

"Western Spaghetti" by PES

II. Food of a summer night

Requirements:
penne
cherry tomatoes
garlic
olive oil
mascarpone cheese
basil (shredded fresh leaves, or dried), salt and pepper

1. Heat a pot of water; boil penne until al dente, approx. 8-10 minutes. Drain the water.
2. Blanch, peel and halve cherry tomatoes (1 handful per serving):
- Drop tomatoes into simmering water for 10-15 seconds.
- Remove tomatoes from water with a slotted spoon. Pop the skin off of each one.
- Slice each tomato in half.
3. Mince garlic (1-2 cloves per serving).
4. In a pan, sauté the garlic in olive oil over medium heat for about 40 seconds, then add the tomato halves.
5. Once the tomatoes are soft, stir in a dollop of mascarpone. Mix in basil, salt and pepper to taste, then add the pasta.

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Germans in Paris, in the quartier Saint-Paul:

Photograph by Helmut Newton for Paris Vogue, 1975

Photograph by Helmut Newton for Paris Vogue, 1975

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"14 juillet", sketch by Picasso, June 13, 1936. From the Musée Picasso in Paris.

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Watercolor, 1789, by Claude Cholat (a wine seller), depicting the fall of the Bastille

Vous aimez le flash-mob, mes amis?

219 years ago, a makeshift army of French citizens stormed the Bastille prison. The Bastille was a symbol of the monarchy, torn down in reaction to King's disinterest in the peoples' supply of flour (to make bread) and their financial straits (to buy bread). On July 14th, Paris masses liberated the half-dozen men inside the old Paris prison. Within a day the prison was destroyed, barely standing; savvy onlookers grabbed pieces of rubble to sell as souvenirs. Meanwhile, politicians gathered at Versailles and prepared a National Assembly to replace Louis XVI's monarchy.
 
To celebrate their national holiday, French cities host grand military parades, and government leaders sing praises of the army. Yet if the military been strong back in the 18th Century, the Bastille wouldn't have been liberated and the revolution would have been even bloodier.
 
I like to think that the French embrace the contradiction of their July 14th holiday ritual.
 

"La prise de la Bastille," engraving from a popular newspaper, early 19th Century

"Si la photo est bonne"

Barbara

 
Si la photo est bonne,                                       If it is a good photo
Juste en deuxième colonne,                              There, in the second column,
Y a le voyou du jour,                                        Then the hoodlum of the day
Qui a une petite gueule d'amour,                        Has a sweet little face;
Dans la rubrique du vice,                                   In the "Vice" column
Y a l'assassin de service,                                   The assassin for hire
Qui n'a pas du tout l'air méchant,                       Doesn't seem at all menacing,
Qui a plutôt l'œil intéressant,                              He has a rather fetching gaze;
Coupable ou non coupable,                              Guilty or not guilty
S'il doit se mettre à table,                                  If he must confess
Que j'aimerais qu'il vienne,                                How I'd like him to come and
Pour se mettre à la mienne,                               Confess at my dinner table.
 
Si la photo est bonne,                                       If it is a good photo
Il est bien de sa personne,                                 If it’s really of him
N'a pas plus l'air d'un assassin,                         Then he looks no more like an assassin
Que le fils de mon voisin,                                  Than my neighbor’s son
Ce gibier de potence,                                        This gallows bird
Pas sorti de l'enfance,                                       Not yet grown up
Va faire sa dernière prière,                                He’ll kneel for his last prayer
Pour avoir trop aimé sa mère,                           He was a mamma’s boy like that
Bref, on va prendre un malheureux,                   In short, they’re going to take a poor fellow
Qui avait le cœur trop généreux,                        Whose heart was too kind
Moi qui suis femme de président,                      And I, who am the president’s wife,
J'en ai pas moins de cœur pour autant,              I, too, have too kind a heart
De voir tomber des têtes,                                  To these heads fall;
A la fin, ça m'embête,                                       That bothers me, really.
Et mon mari, le président,                                  And my husband, the president,
Qui m'aime bien, qui m'aime tant,                      Who loves me well, who loves me much
Quand j'ai le cœur qui flanche,                          When my heart bleeds
Tripote la balance,                                            He tips the scales.
 
Si la photo est bonne,                                       If it is a good photo
Qu'on m'amène ce jeune homme,                      Then bring me this young man
Ce fils de rien, ce tout et pire,                            This lowly son, this riffraff
Cette crapule au doux sourire,                          This rascal with a sweet smile
Ce grand gars au cœur tendre,                          This big boy with a tender heart
Qu'on n'a pas su comprendre,                           Who couldn't understand
Je sens que je vais le conduire,                         I sense I shall lead him
Sur le chemin du repentir,                                  On the path of repentance
Pour l'avenir de la France,                                 For the future of France
Contre la délinquance,                                      Against delinquence
C'est bon, je fais le premier geste,                     Very well, I'll make the first move
Que la justice fasse le reste,                              Let justice do the rest
 
Surtout qu'il soit fidèle,                                     Above all, make sure that his face,
Surtout, je vous rappelle,                                  Above all, I remind you,
A l'image de son portrait,                                  is just like his headshot
Qu'ils se ressemblent trait pour trait,                  He must resemble it eye for eye
C'est mon ultime condition,                               It's my final condition
Pour lui accorder mon pardon,                          To grant him my pardon
Qu'on m'amène ce jeune homme,                      Bring me this young man
Si la photo est bonne...                                    If the photo is good...

Barbara

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Photograph by Bruce Weber, Paris Vogue, novembre 2007

Photograph by Bruce Weber, Paris Vogue, November 2007

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Akbar the Great, his horse, his servants and tigers

From the Akbarnama, an illustrated biography of Akbar the Great circa the late 16th Century.
Learn all about it via the Victoria and Albert Museum.

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Exhibitionism being the font of blogging, my acerbic yet jolly neighbor, W.B. Mook, sent me these questions; I answered. Once upon a time, signor, I refused any form of revelation for fear of some future employer Googling and disagreeing with my review of "Marie Antoinette;" however, the current job market is such rot that all such inhibitions are blowing in the wind.

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
July 1998: learning to drive, trading in high school for night classes at the university, dining like royalty thanks to my mother's gourmet intuition, making crazy-quilt-like diaries, reading Tom Robbins and Edith Wharton in a big brown leather armchair, watching "L'Atalante" and "Stealing Beauty" after the sun set

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
Read 1/5 of "Anna Karenina."
Surf the break of life, man
Send a birthday card to Aline, the wittiest card east of the Greenwich meridian.
Edit a friend's thesis introduction.
Supplement dinner with basil leaves, slices of fresh mozzarella and tomatoes.

Insalata Caprese

3) Snacks I enjoy:
Cinnamon and sugar on handmade pie crust
Beef jerky from the mountain hamlet of Lincoln, Montana (Hi-Country is the name and they do web orders, merci bien!)
Parmesans and Roqueforts
Lychees, rambutans and mixed nuts from Asian grocery stores

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Help fund the International Committee of the Red Cross and buy some châteaux and vineyards as communal residences for the highly exclusive assembly of my closest acquaintances.

5) Places I have lived:
12 houses and apartments in Minnesota, France and Michigan. The most like home: a garden-ensconced house on a hill in the woods at the end of a long gravel driveway, and the current residence: a former residential hotel est. 1926 next to a big park at the foot of downtown.

Path by lake

6) Jobs I have had: clerk, library aide, mortgage analyst, box office agent, student, language instructor, translator. The most recent jobs: envelope cutter, and now frenzied resume writer

7) Tagging: What fascination to hear from Slow Learner, Andy, Yoganaught, Kitty and all other mysterious, reserved writers-- you know who you are.

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