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POPSChristian Dior & Chinese artists : 1st Haute Couture Exhibition On first seeing the masterpieces by Dior and Galliano on show, I was afraid the whole exhibition was going to be unfair to the Chinese artists, who wouldn't stand a chance when placed beside these two designers of genius. But, amazingly, they not only held their own but, with only a few exceptions, responded to the challenge with works of art that more than measured up to the formidable visual competition. And their art strikes me as representative of the kind of work being done in contemporary China. Just as in the 18th and 19th centuries Chinese artists developed an export market for their porcelain by adapting their designs to accommodate Western taste, so modern Chinese artists respond to Western design not by challenging or dismissing it, but by making it their own.
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POPS50 Funniest Short Job Descriptions Ever # Tell forty year-old men it’s okay to behave like fourteen year-old school girls: Printing Press Production Coordinator # Provide arcane information on a need-to-know basis: Chief Accountant # Shepherd clients through the process of setting their products on fire: Consumer Products Tester # Manage urban renewal and pest control: B-52 Bomber pilot # Persuade kids that it’s really fun being wet, cold and scared out of their minds: Sailing Instructor # Draw up plans for something that will not be built according to those plans: Civil Engineer, Transportation Design # Teach kids to be evil…or so they say: Video Game Creator # Ensure that stupid people stay in the gene pool: Lifeguard
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POPSRepublican Party in Shambles After Massive Losses.
Along with Obama's LANDSLIDE VICTORY, great gains have been won by the Democrats in both the House and Senate -- the greatest gains in over 80 years (since the Great Depression & FDR's election). The Democrats now have a large majority in both the House and the Senate and the White House. It's a sea change. (Note: Because it's part of the story > Some Republican SmearHeads have started to tell the TV audience what Obama should do -- and said that within a few months the Democrats will be fighting among themselves) Other TV pundits told these Republicans they should wake up and smell the coffee, look to see what they could possibly do to put their broken party back together -- that Obama didn't need their advise and there were no difference between the Democratic House, the Democratic Senate and future President Obama. SmearHeads - Yuck. LANDSLIDE VICTORY -- That's the real story: major epic awesome historic victory. (I hate to even mention the SmearHeads words.,, b
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POPSHow Hatred Transforms Your Brain "What is surprising is the degree to which hatred is associated with logic and planning. The researchers write in their paper: What seems not to be in doubt is that this cortical zone involves the premotor cortex, a zone that has been implicated in the preparation of motor planning and its execution. We hypothesize that the sight of a hated person mobilizes the motor system for the possibility of attack or defense. In addition, the involvement of the frontal pole consider to be critical in predicting the action of others, arguably an important feature when confronted by a hated person . . . it is more likely that in the context of hate the hater may want to exercise judgment in calculating moves to harm, injure or otherwise extract revenge."
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POPSThe Wonders of Blood Blood is the one tissue that comes into contact with every other tissue of the body, and it is through blood that our disparate parts communicate, through blood that our organs cooperate. Without a circulatory system, there would be no internal civilization, no means of ensuring orderly devotion to the common cause that is us. “It’s an enormous communications network,” Dr. Schafer said — the original cellphone system, if you will, 100 trillion users strong. Blood can also be thought of as a private ocean, a recapitulation of what life was like for all the years we spent drifting as microscopic, single-celled organisms, “taking up nutrients from sea water and then eliminating waste products back into sea water,” Dr. Schafer said. Not only is blood mostly water, but the watery portion of blood, the plasma, has a concentration of salt and other ions that is remarkably similar to sea water. Keep reading.
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POPSTop 10 New World-Changing Innovations of the Year 2008 Breakthrough Awards /// The Innovators The early 20th century produced a breathtaking succession of innovations—the Wright Flyer, the Model T, the Panama Canal. It was a golden age of engineering. A century hence, observers may well look back at our era in much the same way: Cars are being reimagined from the wheels up. Advances in solar energy show the way past fossil fuels. And space probes explore planets that could become our future homes. These pages salute the innovators who are inventing the future. Welcome to the new golden age.
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POPS Free of acid - Blotter art - magnificent! "Albert Hofmann (January 11, 1906 – April 29, 2008 ) was a Swiss scientist best known for having been the first to synthesize, ingest and learn of the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)".
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POPSLet's junk the myths and celebrate what we've got Moreover, we need to become responsible versus petty humans; in the words of the article "When you see nothing but junk, create quality. Where quality is hard to find, curate it, adding your own seal of approval with a link. When you read inaccuracies and misunderstandings, add facts, corrections, context and journalism. If people on the internet get things wrong, educate them. When you hear the noise of people talking online, listen." Thumbs up.
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POPSPalin's Alternate Universe “Say it ain’t so, Joe! There you go pointing backwards again ... Now, doggone it, let’s look ahead and tell Americans what we have to plan to do for them in the future. You mentioned education, and I’m glad you did. I know education you are passionate about with your wife being a teacher for 30 years, and God bless her. Her reward is in heaven, right? Aw-shucks, darn-right, I’m-just-a-hockey-mom governor of Alaska mouthing something completely devoid of meaning? If Governor Palin didn’t like a question, or didn’t know the answer, she responded as though some other question had been asked. She made no bones about this, saying early in the debate: “I may not answer the questions the way that either the moderator or you want to hear.”
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POPSIn Search of Wisdom: What is the Root Cause of Inequality? When there is nothing quantifiable to possess, we would neither know what the share of each individual is nor think of equality; if there was no notion of equality, we would not care that some have more than the others. Fortunately or unfortunately, there is always something to be possessed and our mind is naturally keen on the subject of equality
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POPSWater-- the background of life "We previously thought proteins would affect only those water molecules directly stuck to them," Gruebele said. "Now we know proteins will affect a volume of water comparable to their own. That's pretty amazing." i find this description of water sexy :0
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POPSWhy Does The Government Keep Protecting People from Their Stupidity These credit rules are just the latest in a long line of our government feeling the need to protect consumers from their own ignorance and stupidity. I'll be the first to admit credit card rules and fees are difficult to understand. But consumers should be smart enough to know this, and not get in situations where they spent more than they can afford on their cards and end up paying these fees. Pay your bills on time and late fees aren't an issue. Don't charge more than you can afford to pay back at the end of the month and finance charges aren't an issue. There's no need for additional government legislation around this. If the gov really wants to spend our taxpayer money wisely, spend it on education programs to teach people how to be smart with their money.