Riding the Waves
chaoticutopia | July 4, 2007We declared independence, formed a country, and have been celebrating on the fourth ever since. Here is the second in our series of Fourth of July treats, a glimpse back to the early 20th century, with, yep, you guessed it, pictures by Charles S. Lillybridge:
About 100 years ago today, City Park in Denver was shrouded in flags:
Folks came out to picnic, bringing little flags and box lunches:
Everyone, including, happy babies and grumpy old men:
Charles S. Lillybridge often brought this patriotic fervor to his own studio, along the banks of the Archer canal and the Platte river. Girls would…
chaoticutopia | July 4, 2007Who went and put a holiday in the middle of the week? Here it is Wednesday, and instead of work, we have a day off, BBQ, and pyrotecnics... I guess I won’t complain.
I figure most of the local wildlife is hiding from the sounds of explosives, so I’ll skip photography for the time being. Instead, there’s so much fun stuff to play with. So, without further ado, here is the first of four fun goodies for the fourth.
Check out the paper that started it all:
The Declaration of Independence
Hear it in the fashionable 21st century way, via podcast,
Or sign your name alongside our forefathers, and…
chaoticutopia | June 25, 2007I watched the translucent white balloon, perhaps escaped from some baby shower or wedding, float against the clear blue sky. If it had been a cloudy day, I might not even have noticed it up there. It was one of those clear Colorado days, with nothing to stop the incessant waves of heat, pouring from the sun. One of those days when it feels so hot that you think your skin might melt (instead of burning crisp and red.) There were no signs of rain or breeze, from horizon to horizon... except that balloon.
If you ask a young child to draw a picture of a balloon, they will draw a circle with a…
chaoticutopia | June 21, 2007
It's summer... right smack in the middle of nearly the longest day of the year. Even though the Front Range is scattered with thick cloud cover, it's hot... just about too hot to blog.
Luckily, I don't need to; you can hop over to SmartGirlsRock.com instead. There, you can read an interview with your resident fractalist... me! Terry McDonald, who conducted the interview, asked some excellent questions, which were both a challenge and a pleasure to answer. She also included some photographs and a few of my fractals. (Someday here, soon, I'll explain the snake pictured at the bottom.)
In the…
chaoticutopia | June 20, 2007There I was, after moping all Monday and trying to catch up on Tuesday,I found myself looking at Wednesday. Somewhere in there, I had planned to get a few posts up. I may suggest to everyone else that life thrives on the edge of chaos (and we ought to ride the waves) but I often forget to remind myself. Things come up, things get procrastinated, and stress begins to surface. But why stress? That is life... just enough chaos to keep us on our toes. We could cite that old adage, better late than never, but the bit from my banner works for me. So, say it with me... "Ride the Waves"
And here's a…
chaoticutopia | June 17, 2007What a busy Sunday... I seem to have a lot of little things to post about, but I didn't want to forget to wish all the dads out there, especially my own, a happy Father's Day. I owe my Dad thanks for many things, including instilling my strong love for science.
I have this early memory of my dad, in a laboratory, surrounded by an elaborate maze of tubes and beakers. I suppose he probably took me through one of his chemistry classrooms when he was a student at the Colorado School of Mines. (I was just a little tot at the time.) Whatever it was, it sticks in my mind as one of the coolest things…
chaoticutopia | June 17, 2007I have another game review posted at JayIsGames.com. If you've wondered why I posted lightly over the last week, now you'll understand. Alice Greenfingers sounded interesting at first glance. Just check out the manufacturer's description:
Alice's big dream is to run her own businesss, growing ecological crops and raising healthy animals like in the old days. Her dream is finally coming true as she found the perfect place to rent in the countryside. With the help of a friendly shopkeeper and grandmother's good advice, Alice now begins the hard work of making a living out of growing,…
chaoticutopia | June 9, 2007On June 9, 2006, a large group of us joined ScienceBlogs at once, along with a facelift for the site at large. So, in celebration of our one year anniversary, I decided to pour through the archives of the last year, looking for common threads and patterns. Perhaps not so coincidentally, my
first post here alluded to cause and effect; a strange chain of reactions leading to a moment of enlightenment. So now, 365 days since that post, I believe I can sum it all up in one word, or even less, if you'll look closely at these waves of grass:
Emergence
Ok, so, I've just been outside playing in…
chaoticutopia | May 29, 2007I've been reading For Better or For Worse since I was a little kid. Still, I can't recall the last time I sympathized with Lynn Johnston so much:
Also, Rob Balder of Partially Clips got to me again this week, with another philosophical comic:
chaoticutopia | May 20, 2007If you're poking around, looking for some relaxing diversion before you have to go back to work tomorrow, you've come to the right place. Lately, I've been writing a few casual game reviews for Casual Gameplay, better known as JayIsGames.com. Jay has offered reviews of the best in online casual gaming for many years, and has earned quite a reputation. Being a loyal fan of the site, I love the chance to help Jay and his staff out with the occasional review. OK, well, truth be told, it's a good excuse to relax, something most of us need. Here are a few reviews I've done over the past few months…
chaoticutopia | May 13, 2007
Mother's Day is drawing to a close. I've spent a better part of the day, appropriately, mothering. While being showered with cards and kisses from my six-year-old son, I've had a chance to reflect a bit on the subject of motherhood. (Being a mom is a busy job--I'm just now getting a chance to write this down!) In six years, I've learned an incredible amount about being a mother. But the greatest lessons, and the most powerful tools for raising a child, I learned from my own mother.
It was never anything she said, although she's always offered me advice when I've asked (or sometimes even…
chaoticutopia | May 11, 2007Cricket: chirp.
chirp.
Oh... wait... you're still here? I'm sorry... I forgot to mention that I was taking a short vacation from writing. Well, I didn't mention it, because I didn't really plan for it. In that case, I would have scheduled something ahead of time. Instead, I finished my finals, and started fiddling in the garden. Suddenly, a week later, I realized I hadn't written anything, from a blog or a poem to a new research project. Since words are usually flowing out of me like a garden hose, this came as a surprise... a pleasant one, as it turns out.
During this "vacation" I had…
chaoticutopia | April 19, 2007"Hate something. Change something. Make something better." When Garrison Keillor sings it, you can't help but smile.
I played this adorable little game, called Grr several years ago when it was featured on Jay Is Games, and instantly fell in love. The game floated up from my memories this week, as I was trying to develop a better attitude about my housework and writing. While it has always been a cheery distraction from the gloomy doldrums, it also turned out to be well timed.
Yesterday, Nissan announced that they were coming out with a new "green" diesel engine. They are just catching up…
chaoticutopia | April 17, 2007I'd like to offer my sympathies to the students at Virginia Tech, and the friends and family of the victims of yesterday's horrible tragedy. I usually write long blog posts, or at least include interesting images in my posts, but today, neither words nor images really seem adequate or appropriate. Even worse, I had planned to post a series of "random distractions" this week, since the semester is pulling to a close, and those in academia need a little break. No distraction, however, can ease the mind at a time like this.
Eight years ago, I lived near Columbine High School. My husband worked…
chaoticutopia | April 10, 2007Now that the horrid allergies of spring have passed, I am confronted with the season's other beast: Spring Cleaning. I used to think that was sort of awkward and cliche, perhaps better representing a time long past when housekeeping was designated by misogynistic roles. That, and I was really quite lazy.
Then, in the late 1990s, my perspective on cleaning changed, when I took a job with a professional house cleaning service. I quickly learned that cleaning had nothing to do with gender roles (actually, the best cleaner in our company was male, as were some of our most fastidious customers) or…
chaoticutopia | March 12, 2007
Chris over at Mixing Memory has encouraged us to pick a list of ten of our favorite songs, so that we could try to see what these songs say about our personalities. I have no idea what exactly the songs I've picked out will say about me, but it was at least fun to look up old videos. Here's my list (in no paticular order) along with the link to music videos on YouTube.
More by The Sisters of MercySuzanne by Judy Collins & Leonard CohenBlister in the Sun by the Violent Femmes Johnny B. Goode by Chuck BerryHuman Fly by The CrampsGoodnight Moon by ShivareeGreen Onions by Booker T. &…
chaoticutopia | March 6, 2007As if being obsessed with chaos is not enough, I'm being prodded to list weird things about myself. The "10 Weird Things" meme* is floating around ScienceBlogs right now. I thought of taking an odd approach, but that would probably require listing "10 Normal Things" about myself... and I'm just not sure that's possible. So here we go. Just off the top of my head:
1. I'm a woman of many hats. I have more than a dozen, at last count.
2. When I'm in the mood for trashy romance novels, I read Tolstoy. That Anna Karenina... what a bimbo.
3. I got carpel tunnel syndrome from a severe SimCity habit…
chaoticutopia | February 28, 2007Just in case you missed the date on the headline, it is midnight, after February 28th, and just before March 1st. If there were a day in between yesterday and tomorrow, it would be my birthday. But there isn't. Next year, there will be one. This isn't next year. This year, I lack a birthday. (It could very be ingenious paradoxes such as these which led to my dabbling in the existential arts.)
A lurking friend of mine (also a fellow Talking Heads fan) sent me the following video along with (un)birthday wishes. Thanks, J!
If you really must know, next year at this time, I'll be having my…
chaoticutopia | February 26, 2007If you're looking for a late evening distraction,* or just didn't want the last weekend to end, why not unwind with a few casual games? Every year, Jay at CasualGaming.com hosts a flash game competition, drawing out some of the most talented puzzle designers in the business. The deadline for entries into the 2007 contest has passed, and the first games are starting to appear on the site.
All the games are free, and typically can be solved in one sitting. The theme this year is grow. There were no further specifications... so an entry could be about trees, adolescence, evolution, chia pets,…
chaoticutopia | February 23, 2007A fractal wave:
This wave-like x/y Julia set (enhanced with fBm noise) was inspired by one of my favorite works of art, a Japanese woodcut:
The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai
Incidentally, I borrowed this image from a Belgian workshop specializing in intricate designs on silver, Wolfers. Many of their pieces have been inspired by the same image. These works, sculpted from solid metal, seem to flow like waves of water. If you like that sort of thing, be sure to check out their other works.
Silver art and woodcut via Wolfers. All fractals made by the author using ChaosPro