KrustelKram

documentary: Philosophy, Physics, Mathematics - “Dangerous Knowledge”

2012-02-14T02:52:00.000-08:00

This is about uncertainty, ideas and big changes.I enjoyed this documentary very much. Interesting and mind expanding even for a non mathematician like me.

"Dangerous Knowledge (2007), The film looks at four mathematicians-Georg Cantor, Ludwig Boltzmann, Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing-whose genius has profoundly affected the way we understand mathematics and science, but who all died in tragic circumstances. The film begins with Georg Cantor, the mathematician whose work proved to be the foundation for much of 20th-century mathematics. He believed he was God's messenger and struggled greatly to prove his theories of infinity. Ludwig Boltzmann struggled to prove the existence of atoms; his work may have contributed to his eventual suicide. Kurt Gödel, the introverted confidant of Einstein, proved that there would always be problems which were outside human logic. His life ended in a sanatorium where he starved himself to death. Alan Turing, the great Bletchley Park code breaker and father of computer science, committed suicide after being chemically castrated by the British authorities for his homosexuality. The film also talks to the latest in the line of thinkers pursuing the question of whether there are things that mathematics and the human mind cannot know. They include Gregory Chaitin, mathematician at the IBM TJ Watson Research Center in New York, and Roger Penrose."
more about David Malone on wiki

Georg Cantor wiki

Richard Feynman - Ways of Thinking

2011-12-17T13:45:00.000-08:00

"I suspect what goes on in every man's head might be very very different."
This is great!
It's about imagination, learning, how our brains work and very important: communication.

"Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the super fluidity of super cooled liquid helium, as well as work in particle physics (he proposed the Parton model). For his contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics, Feynman was a joint recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965, together with Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga. Feynman developed a widely used pictorial representation scheme for the mathematical expressions governing the behavior of subatomic particles, which later became known as Feynman diagrams. During his lifetime and after his death, Feynman became one of the most publicly known scientists in the world."

ted talks: Paul Zak: Trust, morality -- and oxytocin

2011-11-03T04:31:00.000-07:00

Empathy through the nasal inhaler!
Wow this is the most fascinating ted talk I have seen in a while.
This makes so much sense and I promise this talk is also very entertaining.

(Photographs by Bryce Duffy)

A pioneer in the field of neuroeconomics, Paul Zak is uncovering how the hormone oxytocin promotes trust, and proving that love is good for business.

"What’s behind the human instinct to trust and to put each other’s well-being first? When you think about how much of the world works on a handshake or on holding a door open for somebody, why people cooperate is a huge question. Paul Zak researches oxytocin, a neuropeptide that affects our everyday social interactions and our ability to behave altruistically and cooperatively, applying his findings to the way we make decisions. A pioneer in a new field of study called neuroeconomics, Zak has demonstrated that oxytocin is responsible for a variety of virtuous behaviors in humans such as empathy, generosity and trust. Amazingly, he has also discovered that social networking triggers the same release of oxytocin in the brain -- meaning that e-connections are interpreted by the brain like in-person connections.
A professor at Claremont Graduate University in Southern California, Zak believes most humans are biologically wired to cooperate, but that business and economics ignore the biological foundations of human reciprocity, risking loss: when oxytocin levels are high in subjects, people’s generosity to strangers increases up to 80 percent; and countries with higher levels of trust – lower crime, better education – fare better economically.
He says: "Civilization is dependent on oxytocin. You can't live around people you don't know intimately unless you have something that says: Him I can trust, and this one I can't trust."
Paul Zak

You can find another interview with Paul Zak at Big Think
http://bigthink.com/paulzak

and here a nice article about him at Fast Company :
Social Networking Affects Brains Like Falling in Love

and at LAweekly:
“That Tweeting or posting on Facebook causes the release of oxytocin is sort of shocking,” Zak says. He explains that our brains have not evolved to a point where interacting with friends or loved ones in person is clearly differentiated from posting on their Facebook wall.

“We really want to connect, we are the connecting species, and this is just another way to do it,” he explains.
http://www.laweekly.com/2011-05-19/la-life/paul-zak-how-do-you-medulla/

and over here you find another Dr.Love :)

documentary: Philosophy: A Guide To Happiness - Alain de Botton

2011-09-04T05:26:00.000-07:00

Another really nice documentary by Alain de Botton.
Don't be scared this is highly entertaining. :)

"We tend to accept that people in authority must be right. It’s this assumption that Socrates wanted us to challenge by urging us to think logically about the nonsense they often come out with, rather than being struck dumb by their aura of importance and air of suave certainty.This six part series on philosophy is presented by popular British philosopher Alain de Botton, featuring six thinkers who have influenced history, and their ideas about the pursuit of the happy life."

Socrates on Self-Confidence

All the other parts in a nice playlist over Here

Epicurus on Happiness

Seneca on Anger

Montaigne on Self-Esteem

Schopenhauer on Love

Nietzsche on Hardship

documentary: This Is Civilisation ( How cultures of the past have shaped our civilisation)

2011-09-02T04:18:00.000-07:00

This is by far the nicest documentary on art and humanity I have seen in a long while.

Watch it it's great eventhough in the beginning the ever playing music is quite disturbing.
But it's so full of information and bringing things and thoughts together that I forgot about that pretty quickly. My favorite part is number 3 "Save our Souls" about John Ruskin. If you don't have time watch at least that one! But really I had a great inspiring evening watching all of them and will for sure repeat doing it. Have fun!

"Mathew Collings makes a personal selection of the greatest artistic moments and monuments from history to examine how they have shaped our world. He embarks on an epic journey, to stunning locations across Europe, Egypt, China and the United States, to explore the changing ways in which cultures of the past have shaped our civilisation. In doing so, he offers a unique perspective on today's social and political issues."

Ye Gods

Feelings

Save Our Souls

"The third programme in the series explores the impact of the industrial revolution on our ideas about art, nature and society, focussing on the visionary ideas of the British art critic John Ruskin. Collings follows in Ruskin's footsteps to locations including Venice, the Alps and, closer to home, Britain's stunning Lake District.

Ruskin is one of Collings' heroes. He believed that art could save our souls. It could reconnect us with nature, and heal the spiritual wasteland created by industrialisation. And Matthew Collings argues that - as it becomes ever clearer what damage we've been doing to nature - these days we need to listen to what Ruskin had to say more than ever."

Uncertainty

John Ruskin, 1819-1900

"Ruskin was the greatest British art critic and social commentator of the Victorian Age. His ideas inspired the Arts and Crafts Movement and the founding of the National Trust, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and the Labour Movement. He fiercely attacked the worst aspects of industrialisation and actively promoted art education and museum access for the working classes. His prophetic statements on environmental issues speak to our generation as well as to his own.

Born on 8th February 1819, the son of a prosperous sherry importer, Ruskin became a published poet and writer on geology at the age of fifteen, by which time he knew the Bible intimately. Throughout his life he undertook extensive tours of Britain and the Continent, providing material for literary works such as The Poetry of Architecture, The Seven Lamps of Architecture, The Stones of Venice, Mornings in Florence and The Bible of Amiens.

Ruskin's admiration for the work of J.M.W. Turner led to the writing of Modern Painters (5 volumes). his magnum opus. After the publication of the third and fourth volumes in 1856, George Eliot wrote, 'I venerate him as one of the great Teachers of the day... The last two volumes of Modern Painters contain, I think, some of the finest writing of this age.' By this time, Ruskin's readership in America was even larger than that in Britain, and later, his work shaped the thinking of Gandhi, Tolstoy and Proust. Today, there are important holdings of Ruskin material in the USA and in Tokyo; home of the Mikimoto Collection." more at the Ruskin Research Center

documentary: Status Anxiety - Alain de Botton

2011-09-01T02:49:00.000-07:00

Why doesn’t money (usually) buy happiness?

All the other parts in a playlist over HERE

http://www.alaindebotton.com/

"From the best selling author of The Consolations of Philosophy and The Art of Travel, philosopher and popular British writer Alain de Botton explores Status Anxiety.

The series focuses on de Botton's belief that there's something the vast majority of people desire even more than money. Whatever their background of social class whatever their age or country of origin, what they desperately crave is status.

In this three part series, as well as testing his theory in Britain, de Botton travels to the United States to investigate status anxiety, asking why people are unable to curtail their painful aspirations and whether those at the bottom of society merit their position there as much as those at the top do theirs.

As well as examining the work of classical philosophers, de Botton develops his theory with the help of a Washington DC restaurant manager who considers himself destined to become a chat show host; motivational speaker Les Brown; homeless lady Jenny Lamont; and members of the Native American population."

and another interesting take on pessimism:

Alain de Botton: The Glass of Life is Half Empty

Alain de Botton - On Pessimism from The School of Life on Vimeo.

"Here are a few basic truths: life is essentially meaningless; your hard work won’t dictate where your life goes; you will be struck down by death; and your loved ones and your achievements will whither and turn to dust. A grim way to look at things perhaps. But a long line of philosophers, starting with the Stoics, have seen wisdom in taking a dim view. As Alain de Botton points out, a pessimistic outlook reduces our expectations, our envy, our disappointment, and it creates room for emotional upside and healthier life decisions. The talk (which features a sing-along to Elton John at the 29 minute mark) runs 38 wisdom-filled minutes, and it’s presented online by The School of Life, a London-based institution co-founded by de Botton in 2008. "http://www.openculture.com/2011/03/alain_de_botton.html

documentary: Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)? + The point (1971)

2011-08-14T03:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday night I saw this really nice documentary about the great Harry Nilsson.
(If you are not from America I hope you heard of vpn and proxies)
This is a treat, have a nice sunday!
Watch more free documentaries
The documentary explores the enigmatic life and music of Harry Nilsson in an attempt to answer the question, “Who is Harry Nilsson?” The film includes new and archive audio and film including interviews with Robin Williams, Yoko Ono, Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, Ray Cooper, the Smothers Brothers, and Micky Dolenz.
“Who is Harry Nilsson?” uses promotional films, music videos, and home movies; segments from the unreleased documentary made during the recording of Son of Schmilsson (Did Somebody Drop His Mouse?); and excerpts from Nilsson’s rare TV appearances in his BBC specials, the “Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour”, “Playboy After Dark”, and in an episode of “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir”

"Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994[1]) was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson and is known for the hit singles "Without You", "Everybody's Talkin'" and "Coconut", and for songs appearing in numerous movies and television shows.
He was awarded Grammys for two of his recordings; best male contemporary vocal in 1969 for "Everybody's Talkin'", the theme song to the Academy Award-winning movie Midnight Cowboy, and best male pop vocal in 1972 for "Without You"."more @ wiki

and to top it, here is the "The Point" in it's full animated version
(I still remember seeing and yes hearing this for the first time, loved it and still do)

"The Point! is a fable and the sixth album by American songwriter and musician Harry Nilsson about a boy named Oblio, the only round-headed person in the Pointed Village, where by law everyone and everything had to have a point.
"I was on acid and I looked at the trees and I realized that they all came to points, and the little branches came to points, and the houses came to point. I thought, 'Oh! Everything has a point, and if it doesn't, then there's a point to it.'" – Harry Nilsson[2]
There have been, so far, at least three different renditions of The Point!, each featuring songs written by Nilsson to accompany the story. There has been an animated film, an album, and a musical play."wiki

documentary: Terry Gilliam's Do It Yourself Animation Show

2011-08-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

wonderful! Find out how Terry Gilliam did it :)

Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam ( /ˈɡɪliəm/; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), The Fisher King (1991), 12 Monkeys (1995), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009). The only "Python" not born in Britain, he took British citizenship in 1968. wiki

via animationguildblog

documentary: The World of Jim Henson

2011-06-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

"An excellent biography of the Muppet master, this 85-minute film from the PBS show Great Performances mixes the history of Henson's projects with plenty of sketches that any fan age 6 and older should enjoy. The film shows the incredible range of Henson's creations, starting in 1955 with "Sam and Friends" then moving on to Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and beyond. It illustrates the breadth of his genius, from creating entirely new worlds in film (The Dark Crystal) to pithy '60s TV commercials that achieved branding and a laugh in less than six seconds. There's footage that most fans haven't seen in years, or at all: a regular bit from The Jimmy Dean Show; tantalizing bits of his 1965 Oscar-nominated short, Time Piece; appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show; his explanation of Wall Street on Nightline; and Miss Piggy's hilarious deconstruction of Morley Safer on 60 Minutes."

"James Maury "Jim" Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and creator of advanced puppets for projects like Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth. He was also an Oscar-nominated film director, Emmy Award-winning television producer, and the founder of The Jim Henson Company, the Jim Henson Foundation, and Jim Henson's Creature Shop. He died of Streptococcus pyogenes on May 16, 1990.
Henson, who was born in Mississippi, and educated at University of Maryland, College Park, was one of the most widely known puppeteers in history.[1] He created Sam and Friends as a freshman in College Park. After suffering struggles with programs that he created, he eventually was selected to participate in Sesame Street. During this time, he also participated in the comedy series Saturday Night Live. The success of Sesame Street spawned The Muppet Show, which featured Muppets created by Henson. He also created the television show Dinosaurs during his final years. In 1992, he posthumously received the Courage of Conscience Award from The Peace Abbey, and on June 16, 2011, he posthumously received the Disney Legends Award."more @ wiki

documentary: The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World

2011-06-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

Since I am sick and lying in bed, yesterday I watched a marathon of these two interesting documentaries about money. Hate the constant music in the second one but I think it's worth watching too.
Both are scary...

via Brainpickings

anybody interested in this topic I recommend reading/listening to "Planet Money" and "The Giant Pool of Money" + "RETURN TO THE GIANT POOL OF MONEY" great radio pieces.

This Is What Democracy Looks Like

"A filmed account of the street protests against the World Trade Organization Summit in Seattle, Washington, USA in 1999."imdb

documentary: All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace - Adam Curtis

2011-05-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

I'm a huge fan of Adam Curtis and the first part of the new series is fantastic (as always).
Enjoy!

Adam Curtis - All Watched Over by Machines of... von jamesyireland
Richard Brautigan:

I’d like to think (and
the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky.

I like to think
(right now, please!)
of a cybernetic forest
filled with pines and electronics
where deer stroll peacefully
past computers
as if they were flowers
with spinning blossoms.

I like to think
(it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace

Adam Curtis Interview (May 20, 2011)

documentary: "Athens – the truth about democracy"

2011-05-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

Really great documentary about democracy! watch it and you will know what I mean.
Watch it before google videos is gone...on April 29 2011
(Google Video Prepares To Enter The Deadpool For Good)
"Athens – The truth about democracy Athens is revered as the birthplace of Western philosophy, art, science and perhaps the greatest political idea of all time – democracy. But in this fascinating documentary (first shown on Channel 4 in July 2007), historian Bettany Hughes looks behind some of the myths of Athens’ golden age. She finds a very warlike and aggressive state, which was also capable of terrible mistakes, misdeeds and atrocities."

(if you watch it on google video the second is actually the first part)

documentaries: Batman and Me & The History of Batman

2011-05-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

Bob Kane (born Robert Kahn; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book artist and writer, credited as the creator of the DC Comics superhero Batman. He was inducted into both the comic book industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1996.
wiki

Batman and Me: The Bob Kane Story

The History of Batman

and as an extra treat:
Stan Lee's Comic Book Greats with Bob Kane

and don't miss to check out all the Batman Covers on coverbrowser

Kids gegen Atomkraft

2011-05-24T04:45:00.000-07:00

Happy to announce that I got a new photo project! Please come and visit:
kids gegen atomkraft

I went to a couple of demonstrations against nuclear power during the weeks after Fukushima and got very inspired by all the kids and their cool self made posters. With the project I hope to help them deal with their fear, anger and hopes through creativity.
My Photos maybe help to show these kids to more people, especially the ones never going on a demonstration, but what I really hope for with this project is giving these kids a voice, because I think we definitely should start listening to them.

The website is in german since for now it's made for german kids, but I hope I can translate it soon in other languages or find partners who create sister blogs. For now I hope google translate can help a little. If you know any kids from other parts of the world, who would like to participate please help them with the words, I am very happy about any creative project submitted no matter what language.

documentary: Hacking Democracy

2011-05-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

Nice documentary. Grandma smelling something funny and going after it.
Wish more people (including me) were that curious and determined.

"Hacking Democracy is a 2006 documentary film by producer Robert Carrillo Cohen and producer / directors Russell Michaels and Simon Ardizzone, shown on HBO. Filmed over three years it documents American citizens investigating anomalies and irregularities with 'e-voting' (electronic voting) systems that occurred during America's 2000 and 2004 elections, especially in Volusia County, Florida. The film investigates the flawed integrity of electronic voting machines, particularly those made by Diebold Election Systems, and the film culminates dramatically in the on-camera hacking of the in-use / working Diebold election system in Leon County, Florida.
In 2007 Hacking Democracy was nominated for an Emmy award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism..."
wiki
http://www.bbvforums.org/

documentary: "The Corporation" (in english, spanish & german)

2011-05-10T02:42:00.000-07:00

This is a documentary from 2003 but if you haven't watched it, do it or like me do it again.
If something is so disturbing we people tend to ignore or try to ease our minds hoping that if people are nice working in these businesses the corporations can't be so evil, but they are. Cause corporations aren't people. It's the system not the individuals, don't be fooled. We need to see the truth, and we need to want to know this, cause in the end we will be responsible for letting this happen. We are not powerless but we need to act. Only we people can change what is happening... but we need to look. And then we need to stand up and fight for the commons and against corporate monsters that devour our earth and kill the future for our children.
Watch this and spread the word, talk about it.
We all can do something. We just need to start.

"WINNER OF 26 INTERNATIONAL AWARDS! 10 Audience Choice Awards including the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.

Provoking, witty, stylish and sweepingly informative, THE CORPORATION explores the nature and spectacular rise of the dominant institution of our time. Part film and part movement, The Corporation is transforming audiences and dazzling critics with its insightful and compelling analysis. Taking its status as a legal "person" to the logical conclusion, the film puts the corporation on the psychiatrist's couch to ask "What kind of person is it?" The Corporation includes interviews with 40 corporate insiders and critics - including Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, Milton Friedman, Howard Zinn, Vandana Shiva and Michael Moore - plus true confessions, case studies and strategies for change."

http://www.thecorporation.com/

in english

en espanol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkr-paaAYJ8

mit deutschen Untertiteln
Teil 1
Teil 2

Dr.Love: Felice Leonardo Buscaglia - Speaking of Love

2011-04-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

the man who got the copyright for love & self acclaimed best Madame Butterfly that ever was :)

don't get scared away by the intro (first two minutes or so).He was not a priest but a professor of special education and counseling at USC’s School of Education & actually this lecture is quite funny.

Felice what did you learn today?

"Felice Leonardo "Leo" Buscaglia Ph.D. (31 March 1924 – 12 June 1998), also known as "Dr Love," was an author and motivational speaker, and aprofessor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Southern California.
Felice Leonardo Buscaglia was born in Los Angeles, CA on March 31, 1924 into a family of Italian immigrants. He spent his early childhood in Aosta, Italy, before going back to the United States for education. He was a graduate of Theodore Roosevelt High School (Los Angeles). After Navy service in World War II, Buscaglia entered the University of Southern California, where he earned three degrees (BA 1950; MA 1954; PhD 1963) before joining the faculty. Upon retirement, Buscaglia was named Professor at Large, one of only two such designations on campus at that time.
He gained fame on the USC campus through his non-credit course titled "Love 1A," which became the basis for his first book, titled simply LOVE. His dynamic speaking style was discovered by the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and his televised lectures earned great popularity in the 1980s. At one point his talks, always shown during fund raising periods, were the top earners of all PBS programs. This national exposure, coupled with the heartfelt storytelling style of his books, helped make all of his titles national Best Sellers; five were once on the New York Times Best Sellers List simultaneously..."wiki

http://www.buscaglia.com/

great TED Talks: Alan Kay - shares a powerful idea about ideas

2011-04-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

"We see things not as what they are but as what we are."

"With all the intensity and brilliance for which he is known, Alan Kay envisions better techniques for teaching kids by using computers to illustrate experience in ways -– mathematically and scientifically -- that only computers can."

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." Alan Kay not only coined this favorite tech-world adage, but has proven its truth several times. A true polymath, as well as inventor, he has combined engineering brilliance with knowledge of child development, epistemology, molecular biology and more.
In the 1960s, Kay joined the computer team at XeroxPARC, where he worked on world-changing inventions like the graphical interface, object-oriented programming, and the personal computer itself. Later, at Apple, Atari, HP, Disney, and now at his own nonprofits, he has helped refine the tools he anticipated long before they were realized.
As the industry has blossomed, however, Kay continues to grapple with the deeper purpose of computing, struggling to create the machine that won't only recapitulate patterns in the world as we know it but will teach both children and adults to think, to see what otherwise is beyond them."
Alan Kay

old but great talk! hang on in there if you are a fan of learning.
#onelaptopperchild

Alan Kay on "Why does computer-based teaching fail?"

Don't be afraid of the piano!
I have been learning music on my own* for a couple years, and I have found the piano the easiest most visual instrument/tool to understand music. And you can have so much fun with it, as Papert says: Hard Fun! for sure the best fun. Just believe it (no religion necasssary) if you keep trying, investigating and comparing, it will sound beautiful sooner than you think.
*(with the help of the internet and so many wonderful teachers who simply love sharing their knowledge for free on webpages and videos, because they too learn more by doing it. Good teachers love learning not teaching, so I believe teachers don't have to be perfect to help you out on your way. Forget about getting the truth from anybody, go and try checking it yourself.
Learning by curiosity, sharing and playing hard, we humans love that stuff if they don't break us in school.)

pic

documentary: John Cassavetes - Constant Forge

2011-03-08T09:04:00.000-08:00

Very nice documentary about the great John Cassavetes!
Makes me want to watch all his movies once again :)

"John Cassavetes career as an independent filmmaker is told through his own words and from interviews with twenty artists and friends. The first half thoroughly examines Cassavetes’ unique approach to character and performance. The second half brings to life Cassavetes’ deep humanity in chapters about family filmmaking, storytelling, and the tools of transformation."
you can watch the movies full screen on snagfilms

Watch more free documentaries

Watch more free documentaries
(just give the documentaries a moment to load (you won't get around the american express commercial) but if you hit "watch the entire film for free" you will get redirected to snagfilms where you can watch it full screen)

"John Nicholas Cassavetes (in Greek: Γιάννης Νικόλαος Κασσαβέτης; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He appeared in many Hollywood films. He is most notable as a pioneer of American independent film. His films are noted for their use of improvisation and a realistic cinéma vérité style." more wiki

music documentaries : The Alchemists of Sound & Delia Derbyshire - Sculptress of Sound

2011-03-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

wonderful documentaries for everybody interested in sounds!

"The BBC's Radiophonic Workshop was set up in 1958, born out of a desire to create 'new kinds of sounds'. Alchemists of Sound looks at this creative group from its inception, through its golden age when it was supplying music and effects for cult classics like Doctor Who, Blake's Seven and Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, and charts its fading away in 1995 when, due to budget cuts, it was no longer able to survive.

There are interviews with composers from the Workshop, as well as musicians and writers who have been inspired by the output. Great archive footage of the Workshop and its machinery is accompanied by excerpts of the, now cult, TV programmes that featured these sounds."bbc4

and as a special treat:

Sculptress of Sound

"The broadcaster and Doctor Who fan Matthew Sweet travels to The University of Manchester - home of Delia Derbyshire's private collection of audio recordings - to learn more about the wider career and working methods of the woman who realised Ron Grainer's original theme to Doctor Who."

if part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvxeSE_4Obo&feature=related fails to load
watch it with your HS on
advertisement sucks but I guess more does not seeing anything because you live in the wrong place

"Delia Ann Derbyshire (5 May 1937 – 3 July 2001) was an English musician and composer of electronic music and musique concrète. She is best known for her electronic realisation of Ron Grainer's theme music to the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and for her work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop."more from wiki

"Delia Derbyshire was born in Coventry, England, in 1937. Educated at Coventry Grammar School and Girton College, Cambridge, where she was awarded a degree in mathematics and music.

In 1959, on approaching Decca records, Delia was told that the company DID NOT employ women in their recording studios, so she went to work for the UN in Geneva before returning to London to work for music publishers Boosey & Hawkes.

In 1960 Delia joined the BBC as a trainee studio manager. She excelled in this field, but when it became apparent that the fledgling Radiophonic Workshop was under the same operational umbrella, she asked for an attachment there - an unheard of request, but one which was, nonetheless,granted. Delia remained 'temporarily attached' for years, regularly deputising for the Head, and influencing many of her trainee colleagues..."
more from delia-derbyshire.org/index.php

and don't miss visiting the music clips section

Stenberg brothers

2011-03-04T10:15:00.000-08:00

"The Stenbergs practiced in a range of media, initially active as Constructivist sculptors, subsequently as theater designers, architects, and draftspeople. Their design work covered the gamut from clothing, including women's shoes, to rail carriages. Some examples of their sculpture were spidery and spindly structures, such as the reconstruction (1973–74) of KPS 11: Construction of a spatial apparatus no. 11 (1919–20) in steel, glass, paint and plaster on wood in the National Gallery of Australia Canberra. However, the arenas in which they excelled were theater, costume and graphic designs, particularly the graphic design of film posters, encouraged by the surging interest in movies in Russia and the government's sanctioning of graphic design and the cinema.
The brothers were at their prime during the revolutionary period of politics and artistic experimentation in Russia, centered in Moscow. There was a shift from the illustrator-as-creator to the constructor-as-creator or nonlinear-narrator-as-creator. In the visual language of the constructor or Constructivist, the Stenbergs and other graphic designers and artists assembled images, such as portions of photographs and preprinted paper, that had been created by others. Thus, the Stenbergs and others realized wholly new images (or compositions) which were no longer about realism. Hence, graphic design as a modern expression eschewing traditional fine art was born in the form of the printed reproductions of collage or assemblage. One of the causes of the avant-garde artists in the new Russia, who considered fine art to be useless, was served when the Stenbergs and others as constructors-as-creators produced posters that had a use, particularly to serve the state. (In fact, painter Nadezhda Udaltsova resigned from the UNKhUK in protest against the replacement of easel painting by use-intended industrial art.)
The serendipitous success of the Stenbergs' radical approach had been facilitated by a number of factors: their talent as graphic designers and their knowledge of film theory, Constructivism, Malevich's Suprematism, and the avant-garde theater. Even though commercial graphic design and advertising is propaganda, the dissemination of propaganda (пропаганды) was considered a desirable and honorable practice in Russia at the time. In fact, the Bolsheviks, who sought to destroy the peasant class, considered film to be a potent propaganda tool for communicating with a widely illiterate population. Even though most films were imported, the Stenbergs designed posters for Sergei Eisenstein's movies and Dziga Vertov's documentaries..."more on wiki
and the blog where I found the pictures (there are a lot more over there)
maeb-naeb-tab.blogspot

Beach Boys: An American Band

2011-02-28T15:10:00.000-08:00

Watch more free documentaries
really nice footage in this docu!
(give it a second to load -
and then click "watch the entire film for free" where you get a full screen version)
"The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962. The band's early music gained popularity across the United States for its close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a Southern California youth culture of surfing, cars, and romance. By the mid 1960s, Brian Wilson's growing creative ambition and songwriting ability would dominate the group's musical direction. The primarily Wilson-composed Pet Sounds album and "Good Vibrations" single (both released in 1966) featured a complex, intricate and multi-layered sound that was a far cry from the simple surf rock of The Beach Boys' early years.
However, Wilson would soon lose control of the band because of mental-health and substance-abuse issues. Subsequently, although it released a number of popular albums (in various musical styles, with different line-ups) in ensuing years, the group never managed to reclaim its mid-'60s peak when The Beach Boys briefly challenged The Beatles both in terms of commercial and critical appeal." wiki
http://www.thebeachboys.com/
my favorite is "pet sounds" :)
listen to it HERE

music documentary : Reggae Britannia

2011-02-20T06:38:00.000-08:00

happy weekend!
"Showing how it came from Jamaica in the 1960s to influence, over the next 20 years, both British music and society, the programme includes major artists and performances from that era, including Big Youth, Max Romeo, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Jerry Dammers and the Specials, the Police, UB40, Dennis Bovell, lovers rock performers Carroll Thompson and Janet Kay, bands like Aswad and Steel Pulse and reggae admirers such as Boy George and Paul Weller.
The programme celebrates the impact of reggae, the changes it brought about and its lasting musical legacy."BBC
VIA kraftfuttermischwerk

musicdocumentary (german): Welcome To The 80´s --- Rap, Hip Hop, Breakdance & Graffiti

2011-02-18T08:38:00.000-08:00

sorry just in german...

via kraftfuttermischwerk

music documentary : The Velvet Underground !!!

2011-02-15T03:12:00.000-08:00

OK THEY PUT IT DOWN BUT DON"T WORRY JUST DOWNLOAD THE VEOH WEBPLAYER (there is link on the upper corner of the video) AND WATCH IT HERE:
SOUTH BANK SHOW-THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

Untitled from Zoltan on Vimeo.

listen to velvet underground
http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/album/The+Velvet+Underground/162686?src=5
listen to velvet underground & nico http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/album/The+Velvet+Underground+and+Nico/184873?src=5
"The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1965 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although never commercially successful while together, the band is often cited by many critics as one of the most important and influential groups of the 1960s.
The Velvet Underground were managed by Andy Warhol and were the house band at his studio the Factory and for his Exploding Plastic Inevitable events. The provocative lyrics of some of the band's songs gave a nihilistic outlook to some of their music.
Their 1967 debut album, titled The Velvet Underground & Nico (which featured German singer Nico, with whom the band collaborated) was named the 13th Greatest Album of All Time, and the "most prophetic rock album ever made" by Rolling Stone in 2003. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the band #19 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time"...."wiki
via nerdcore

oh and go and see the velvet undergound &nico - Femme Fatale:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjjDmX9Tkss&feature=related

Once Upon a Time - the making of Sleeping Beauty!

2011-02-05T05:51:00.000-08:00

A nice documentary about what I think is one the best Disney movies ever.
The reason is that my favorite Illustrator/Artist Eyvind Earle is involved!
Eyvind Earle's Biography & Website
"Eyvind Earle (April 26, 1916 – July 20, 2000) was an American artist, author and illustrator, noted for his contribution to the background illustration and styling of Disney animated films in the 1950s. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rahr West Art Museum, Phoenix Art Museum and Arizona State University Art Museum have purchased Earle's works for their permanent collections. His works have also been shown in many one-man exhibitions throughout the world." wiki

You want to really understand Copyright ? 3 free Audiobooks you should listen to

2011-01-13T06:31:00.000-08:00

Victoria copying machine, Le Bureau Moderne, 1913.
Picture from the Officemuseum

Lawrence Lessig & Friends - Free Culture Audiobook

Free Culture is a book by Lawrence Lessig, the official homepage can be found at http://www.free-culture.cc/. The book can be bought in bookstores but also downloaded in many different forms from the Internet. All this because Mr. Lessig has released the book under a Creative Commons (http://creativecommons.org/) license that permits derivative works (such as this audio book) as long as credit is given to the original author.

Lawrencw Lessig

"Lawrence "Larry" Lessig (born June 3, 1961) is an American academic and political activist. He is best known as a proponent of reduced legal restrictions on copyright, trademark, and radio frequency spectrum, particularly in technology applications.
He is a director of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics at Harvard University and a professor of law at Harvard Law School. Prior to rejoining Harvard, he was a professor of law at Stanford Law School and founder of its Center for Internet and Society. Lessig is a founding board member of Creative Commons, a board member of the Software Freedom Law Center and a former board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation..." wiki

IF YOU'D RATHER WATCH A VIDEO CHECK OUT
Lawrence Lessig about culture and copyright

or read the BOUND BY LAW COPYRIGHT COMIC highly recommended
especially if you ever thought about making a documentary...

"Content" by Cory Doctorow

"Content: Selected Essays on Technology, Creativity, Copyright and the Future of the Future"
by Cory Doctorow. Read by Jan Rubak.

CHAPTER BY CHAPTER on archive.org
more at http://craphound.com/content/

"The Public Domain" by James Boyle

CHAPTER BY CHAPTER on archive.org

and don't forget to read
A Cyberspace Independence Declaration

musicdocumentary: This Is Ska!

2011-01-06T02:29:00.000-08:00

Ah thats the way to start a rainy day :)
(nice workout!)

via .dangerousminds.
This Is Ska! is a fun film from 1964 featuring performances by Jimmy Cliff, The Maytals, The Blues Busters, Byron Lee and more. Plus, there’s dance lessons!

Shot on location at The Sombrero Club in Kingston, Jamaica.

documentary: "Technocalyps"

2010-12-19T02:55:00.000-08:00

Again not the style of documentary i like...
(why do they always have to put scary music under people talking!?)
But anyway I think this is great food for thought.
I wish this topic would be discussed much more.
Seems like nobody takes this serious yet or I don't know,
maybe people think if they don't look and think about at what's happening,
one day all problems will solve themselves...

But do you believe Utopia will become true just through technology,
when our human society is still so barbaric?

"Are we prepared for dealing with the prospect that humanity is not the end of evolution? TechnoCalyps is an intriguing three-part documentary on the notion of transhumanism by Belgian visual artist and filmmaker Frank Theys.

The latest findings in genetics, robotics, artificial intelligence, bionics and nanotechnology appear in the media every day, but with no analysis of their common aim: that of exceeding human limitations.

In TechnoCalyps the director conducts his enquiry into the scientific, ethical and metaphysical dimensions of technological development. The film includes interviews by top experts and thinkers on the subject worldwide, including Marvin Minsky, Terence McKenna, Hans Moravec, Bruce Sterling, Robert Anton Wilson, Richard Seed, Margareth Wertheim, Kirkpatrick Sale, Ralph C. Merkle, Mark Pesce, Ray Kurzweil, Rabbi Youssouf Kazen, Rael and many others."

here a nice blog for further reading : http://singularityblog.singularitysymposium.com/

documentary: Visions of the Future

2010-12-14T14:56:00.000-08:00

Not exactly the style of documentary I prefer,but it is an interesting watch nonetheless.

A little flashy but if you can live with that,I promise you will spend 3 interesting hours.
Try to hang on in there till part three (that's the one I like most)

"The Intelligence Revolution. 1st part of 3 part miniseries on the BBC hosted by Michio Kaku. In this new three-part series, leading theoretical physicist and futurist Dr Michio Kaku explores the cutting edge science of today, tomorrow, and beyond. He argues that humankind is at a turning point in history. In this century, we are going to make the historic transition from the 'Age of Discovery' to the 'Age of Mastery', a period in which we will move from being passive observers of nature to its active choreographers. This will give us not only unparalleled possibilities but also great responsibilities."

"The Biotech Revolution. 2nd part of 3 part miniseries on the BBC hosted by Michio Kaku. In this new three-part series, leading theoretical physicist and futurist Dr Michio Kaku explores the cutting edge science of today, tomorrow, and beyond. He argues that humankind is at a turning point in history. In this century, we are going to make the historic transition from the 'Age of Discovery' to the 'Age of Mastery', a period in which we will move from being passive observers of nature to its active choreographers. This will give us not only unparalleled possibilities but also great responsibilities. Genetics and biotechnology promise a future of unprecedented health and longevity: DNA screening could prevent many diseases, gene therapy could cure them and, thanks to lab-grown organs, the human body could be repaired as easily as a car, with spare parts readily available. Ultimately, the ageing process itself could be slowed down or even halted. But what impact will this have on who we are and how we will live? And, with our mastery of the genome, will the human race end up in a world divided by genetic apartheid?"

"The Quantum Revolution. 3rd part of 3 part miniseries on the BBC hosted by Michio Kaku. In this new three-part series, leading theoretical physicist and futurist Dr Michio Kaku explores the cutting edge science of today, tomorrow, and beyond. He argues that humankind is at a turning point in history. In this century, we are going to make the historic transition from the 'Age of Discovery' to the 'Age of Mastery', a period in which we will move from being passive observers of nature to its active choreographers. This will give us not only unparalleled possibilities but also great responsibilities."

documentary: "For Future Generations Boyce Richardson" 1985

2010-12-12T15:01:00.000-08:00

very interesting and beautiful images.
"This documentary is about the conservation ethic in Canada that led to the national parks systems around the world. Includes interviews with the then-Minister of Natural Resources, Jean Chretien."

Rancière, The Emancipated Spectator

2010-11-16T13:07:00.000-08:00

sound picks up from 3:33

"Jacques Rancière (b. 1940 in Algiers) is Professor Emeritus at the Université de Paris (St. Denis). He first came to prominence under the tutelage of Louis Althusser when he co-authored with his mentor Reading Capital (1968). After the calamitous events of May 1968 however, he broke with Althusser over his teacher's reluctance to allow for spontaneous resistance within the revolution. Jacques Rancière is known for his sometimes remote position in contemporary French thought; operating from the humble motto that the cobbler and the university dean are equally intelligent, Jacques Rancière has freely compared the works of such known luminaries as Plato, Aristotle, Deleuze and others with relatively unknown thinkers like Joseph Jacototy and Gabriel Gauny."JACQUES RANCIÈRE - BIOGRAPHY

I know I have to concentrate to enjoy this,but i think it's worth it.
really!

do away with domination

documentary: THE ILLUSION OF REALITY

2010-11-04T17:00:00.000-07:00

"...that mayonnaise may lead to spacetravel,

that's a connection Douglas Adams would have been proud of..."

"The world we think we know - the solid, reassuring world of our senses - turns out to be a tiny sliver of an infinitely weirder and more wonderful universe than we had ever conceived in our wildest fantasies."

"In the last in the series Professor Jim Al-Khalili explores how studying the atom forced us to rethink the nature of reality itself. He discovers that there might be parallel universes in which different versions of us exist, finds out that empty space isn't empty at all, and investigates the differences in our perception of the world in the universe and the reality."

music documentary : The Strange Story of Joe Meek

2010-11-04T05:09:00.000-07:00

"Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 Newent, Gloucestershire–3 February 1967 in London)was a pioneering English record producer and songwriter. His work and popular success in the music field is more remarkable since it is known he was tone deaf and could not recognise pitches properly.
His most famous work was The Tornados' hit "Telstar" in 1962, which became the first record by a British group to hit #1 in the US Hot 100. It also spent five weeks atop the UK singles chart, with Meek receiving an Ivor Novello Award for this production as the "Best-Selling A-Side" of 1962.
Meek's other notable hit productions include "Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O" and "Cumberland Gap" by Lonnie Donegan (as engineer), "Johnny Remember Me" by John Leyton, "Just Like Eddie" by Heinz, "Angela Jones" by Michael Cox, "Have I the Right?" by The Honeycombs, and "Tribute to Buddy Holly" by Mike Berry. Meek's concept album I Hear a New World is regarded as a watershed in modern music for its innovative use of electronic sounds.
Joe Meek was also producing music for films, most notably Live It Up! (US title Sing and Swing), a 1963 pop music film starring Heinz Burt, David Hemmings and Steve Marriott, also featuring Gene Vincent, Jenny Moss, The Outlaws, Kim Roberts, Kenny Ball, Patsy Ann Noble and others. Meek wrote most of the songs and incidental music, much of which was recorded by The Saints and produced by Meek.
His commercial success as a producer was short-lived and Meek gradually sank into debt and depression. On 3 February 1967, using a shotgun owned by musician Heinz Burt, Meek murdered his landlady before turning the gun on himself. Aged only 37, he died eight years to the day after his hero, Buddy Holly."
more on wiki

also visit the http://www.joemeekpage.info/

good documentary about this tragic sound hero.

documentary: In Realms of the Unreal - Henry Darger

2010-11-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

last part:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjVjVjKK6zo&feature=related
try this
if it doesn't work

"Henry Joseph Darger, Jr. (ca. April 12, 1892 – April 13, 1973) was a reclusive American writer and artist who worked as a custodian in Chicago, Illinois.[1] He has become famous for his posthumously discovered 15,145-page, single-spaced fantasy manuscript called
The Story of the Vivian Girls
, in What is known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, along with several hundred drawings and watercolor paintings illustrating the story.Darger's work has become one of the most celebrated examples of outsider art."
read more on
wiki

Henry Darger on Folkart Museum

Don't miss this one!!
My friend Anna told me about this amazing artist and passed me this documentary.
Wish it was possible to read the whole novel.
What an amazing creative mind and strange character this Henry Darger was.

Please watch,i am sure you won't regret it.
Great documentary with nice animations of Darger's beautiful Art.

music documentary : MUSICAL MINDS

2010-10-23T11:35:00.001-07:00

"Can the power of music make the brain come alive? Throughout his career Dr. Oliver Sacks, neurologist and acclaimed author, whose book Awakenings was made into a Oscar-nominated feature film starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, has encountered myriad patients who are struggling to cope with debilitating medical conditions. While their ailments vary, many have one thing in common: an appreciation for the therapeutic effects of music. NOVA follows four individuals—two of whom are Sacks's case studies—and even peers into Sacks's own brain, to investigate music's strange, surprising, and still unexplained power over the human mind. "
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/musicminds/about.html

WATCH IT HERE:

MUSICAL MINDS

It's not the best docu I ever saw about music and the brain but still
it's interesting. So watch it while you can :)
If you haven't and are intrested in this topic I highly recommend watching
HOW MUSIC WORKS

have a nice weekend!

about Oliver Sacks book:
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain (2007) – Revised & Expanded (2008)

"Music can move us to the heights or depths of emotion. It can persuade us to buy something, or remind us of our first date. It can lift us out of depression when nothing else can. It can get us dancing to its beat. But the power of music goes much, much further. Indeed, music occupies more areas of our brain than language does–humans are a musical species.

Oliver Sacks’s compassionate, compelling tales of people struggling to adapt to different neurological conditions have fundamentally changed the way we think of our own brains, and of the human experience. In Musicophilia, he examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians, and everyday people–from a man who is struck by lightning and suddenly inspired to become a pianist at the age of forty-two, to an entire group of children with Williams syndrome who are hypermusical from birth; from people with “amusia,” to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans, to a man whose memory spans only seven seconds–for everything but music.

Our exquisite sensitivity to music can sometimes go wrong: Sacks explores how catchy tunes can subject us to hours of mental replay, and how a surprising number of people acquire nonstop musical hallucinations that assault them night and day. Yet far more frequently, music goes right: Sacks describes how music can animate people with Parkinson’s disease who cannot otherwise move, give words to stroke patients who cannot otherwise speak, and calm and organize people whose memories are ravaged by Alzheimer’s or amnesia.

Music is irresistible, haunting, and unforgettable, and in Musicophilia, Oliver Sacks tells us why."

http://www.oliversacks.com/books/musicophilia/

documentary : Pulp Fiction - The Golden Age of Sci Fi, Fantasy & Adventure

2010-10-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

great documentary about pulp fiction!
don't mind the advertising in the beginning and it's really worth while
not only the stories but also a lot of pulp/science fiction covers i never saw before :)

"Discover the true behind the scenes history of Pulp Fiction and the Golden age of Sci Fi, Fantasy and Adventure, in this amazing fact filled documentary.

American Library Association - Booklist Review:
Pulp fiction (named for the low-quality paper on which the stories were printed) blossomed in the early twentieth century. Audiences (beaten down after WWI and the Great Depression) sought tales with strong heroes, exciting adventures, and alien encounters. This entertaining program traces the golden years of pulps, beginning in the 1920s, by highlighting numerous writers (including Earl Stanley Gardner and Edgar Rice Burroughs who turned out hundreds of stories. In interviews, popular and prolific authors Ray Bradbury and Frederik Pohl recall nominal pay, short deadlines, and insatiable demand for copy. Facing competition from movies, paperback books, and television, the demand for pulp fiction dwindled in the 1950s. However, many works have been recently reprinted for readers seeking escapist fiction. Great fun for pop-culture and genre-fiction fans. — Candace Smith, Booklist

Featuring
* Tim Powers
* Kevin J. Anderson
* Otto Penzler
* Ray Bradbury
* Frederik Pohl
* Marc Zicree "

music documentary: The Seven Ages of Rock

2010-10-16T03:23:00.000-07:00

The Seven Ages of Rock, Part 1 - The Birth Of Rock

The rock revolution of the 1960's seen through the life and music of Jimi Hendrix. The first doomed icon of rock, Hendrix was the synthesis of everything that had gone before him and all that was to come. The Birth Of Rock also explores the influence of rhythm & blues on a generation of British musicians such as The Rolling Stones, Cream and The Who, and how the song-writing of Bob Dylan and studio developments of The Beatles transformed the possibilities and ambitions of rock

The Seven Ages Of Rock, Part 2 - White Light, White Heat

The story of how artistic and conceptual expression permeated rock. From the pop-art multi-media experiments of Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground to the sinister gentility of Peter Gabriel's Genesis, White Light, White Heat Place traces how rock became a vehicle for artistic ideas and theatrical performance. We follow Pink Floyd from the fated art school genius of Syd Barrett through the global success of Dark Side of the Moon to the ultimate rock theatre show, The Wall. Along the way, the film explores the retro-futurism of Roxy Music and the protean world of David Bowie

The Seven Ages Of Rock, Part 3 - Blank Generation

A tale of two cities, London and New York and the birth of punk. Each city created a bastard child that marked the biggest and fundamental shift in popular music since Elvis walked into Sun Studios. Blank Generation unpicks the relationship between the bankrupt New York and the class and race-riven London of the mid- s and explores the music of The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Ramones, Television, Patti Smith, The Damned and Buzzcocks

The Seven Ages of Rock, Part 4 - Never say die

watch it on vimeo http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/horror/watch/v7975763EKgjXx6g

The Seven Ages of Rock, Part 5 - We Are The Champions

We Are The Champions follows the development of some the biggest names in Rock, among them Queen, Bruce Springsteen, The Police and Dire Straits and shows how, through events such as Live Aid and the rise of MTV, rock achieved a global influence on culture and politics. The film concludes in the early 90s, as U2 effectively brought the era to a close by reinventing the big rock show so completely, that fifteen years later most major rock tours are still pale facsimiles.

THre Seven Ages of Rock, Part 6 -Left Of The Dial-US Alternative rock

The Seven Ages of Rock, Part 7 - What The World Is Waiting For

The story of British indie, beginning with The Smiths, the archetypal indie group. The film follows The Stone Roses as the heirs to the indie crown, Suede's dark sexuality and the media saturation of Brit-pop's Blur v Oasis. What The World Is Waiting For explores how indie ultimately lost its once-cherished intimacy and integrity in front of 250,000 fans at Oasis's Knebworth spectacle in 1996 and how, by returning to its roots in clubs and bars (and even front rooms) with bands such as Franz Ferdinand, The Libertines and The Arctic Monkeys, indie became respectable again

Ron Turner Cover Collection

2010-10-06T03:06:00.000-07:00

"A gallery of sci fi pulp covers painted by british illustrator and comics artist Ron Turner for british pulp magazines in the 1950s.
Also includes:
Artwork from the Into Space with Ace Brave pop-up book (1953), a double page spread from Lauries Space Annual (1953) and a series of painted covers for Practical Mechanics Magazine (1953-1962)."
just found this wonderful collection on flickr!
go have fun and check it out
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gems_from_the_collection/sets/72157600000117243/

documentary: Gateways to the Mind (1958) - The story of the Human Senses

2010-09-10T05:46:00.000-07:00

great old documentary about my favorite topic. includes some really nice animations.
"The story of what science has learned about the human senses and how they function. Includes documentary sequences."
http://www.archive.org/details/gateways_to_the_mind

docu: Inside Planet earth!

2010-08-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

enjoyed watching this,hope you will too.

"A fantastical - but factual - journey to the Centre of the Earth."imdb

"It's the ultimate voyage our world has to offer: a journey from the temperate surface of our world to the fiery core of the Earth. With the aid of stunning visual effects, the unexplored interior of the Earth is split wide open, giving us an unbelievable view. From glowing seams of pure iron ore to sparkling diamond caverns to the magnetic field that keeps us safe from the lethal radiation of space... for now, this is the fantastical world we live in -- and never see. "amazon

RadioLab: "WORDS"

2010-08-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

oh when you are up for some goosebumps that's it for you....
love radiolab and this is a great new show!

LISTEN OVER HERE

"It’s almost impossible to imagine a world without words. But in this hour of Radiolab, we try to do just that. We speak to a woman who taught a 27-year-old man the first words of his life, and we hear a firsthand account of what it feels like to have the language center of your brain wiped out by a stroke. Plus: a group of children invent an entirely new language in Nicaragua in the 1970s."

LISTEN OVER HERE

WORDS from Everynone on Vimeo.

A stunning film from Will Hoffman and Daniel Mercadante to accompany Radiolab's Words episode. With an original score by Keith Kenniff.
Directed by Daniel Mercadante & Will Hoffman

Made by Everynone (in Collaboration with WNYC's Radiolab & NPR)

Supervising Producer: Robert Krulwich
Original Score: Keith Kenniff (unseen-music.com)

everynone.com

Carl Gustav Jung Documentaries

2010-08-16T03:22:00.000-07:00

matter of the heart

sorry there where no new posts lately,i am very busy,but i will try to be better :)
just watched these documentaries yesterday and i think they are quite interesting.
sometimes it's a little hard to understand but hang on in there or go and
buy a book about him.i never liked freud at all so...well this is much more interesting.

(matter of the heart is quite long but the second docu is just 20 minutes
and worth a try if you are in a hurry)

The life and thinking of the great Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Gustav Jung, is examined. Interviews are done with those who knew him, most of whom were analyzed by him and very often became analysts themselves. Jung's own words appear on screen, and archive footage of Jung himself is shown. We learn aspects of his private life, including his relationship with his wife, Emma, and his mistress, Toni Wolff. But mostly we learn of his philosophy, sometimes mystical in nature, regarding the collective unconscious, the ego-personality, anima and animus, and more. Plot summary written by J. Spurlin

"Carl Gustav Jung (German pronunciation: [ˈkaːɐ̯l ˈɡʊstaf ˈjʊŋ]; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of analytical psychology. Jung is often considered the first modern psychologist to state that the human psyche is "by nature religious" and to explore it in depth.[1] Though not the first to analyze dreams, he has become perhaps the most well known pioneer in the field of dream analysis. Although he was a theoretical psychologist and practicing clinician, much of his life's work was spent exploring other areas, including Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, sociology, as well as literature and the arts.

He considered the process of individuation necessary for a person to become whole. This is a psychological process of integrating the conscious with the unconscious while still maintaining conscious autonomy.[2] Individuation was the central concept of analytical psychology.[3]

Jungian ideas are routinely discussed in part by curriculum of introductory psychology course offerings with most major universities, and although rarely covered by higher level course work, his ideas are discussed further by the Faculty of Humanities.[clarification needed] [4] Many pioneering psychological concepts were originally proposed by Jung, including the Archetype, the Collective Unconscious, the Complex, and synchronicity.
"wiki

film music documentary ; Krzysztof Komeda - (A Soundtrack For A Life)

2010-06-18T07:06:00.000-07:00

beautiful music...sad story.
"The music of Komeda escapes simple classification and description. He never formally studied composition, harmony, arrangement nor orchestration. His unique sound has to a lesser extent to do with conventional Jazz style timing, but rather with Slavic lyricism, 19th century Polish romantic music tradition, and a variable treatment of time during the course of his compositions. He is widely credited as being one of the founding fathers of uniquely European style in Jazz composition."
http://www.krzysztofkomeda.com/bio.htm
"Komeda was a very quit man. At rehearsals he told us nothing, nothing. He would give us a score and we would play and the silence was very strong and intense. He wouldn't say if we were right or wrong in our approach. He'd just smile. He was such a strong force, the music was so original and he always gave me plenty of space for self-expression and interpretation...He showed me how simplicity is vital, how to play the essential. He showed different approaches, using different harmonies, asymmetry. many details. I was very lucky that I started out with him..."
Tomasz Stanko

and a GERMAN PLAYLIST over HERE : Krzysztof Komeda - Soundtrack für ein Leben
"Krzysztof Komeda was a jazz pianist and film composer. With compositions like the lullaby for Rosemary's Baby from Roman Polanski, Komeda succeeded in writing his own chapter in the history of soundtracks. This documentary follows the life story of the composer by the means of his melodic sounds. It is a reflection on his soundtracks, which changed the common film scores forever. It is a contemporary document about the attitude to life in a time of social, political and cultural change after war, about work and exodus of Polish artists in the 50s and 60s. A story about how film music is created and how it affects people. Directors who worked with Komeda and who are also friends talk about him: Roman Polanski, Jerzy Skolimowski, Henning Carlsen and Andrzej Wajda. His wife, Zofia Komeda, and his sister, Irena Orlowska, remember him."
Komeda - A Soundtrack for a Life

Komeda and a fellow Pole artist were drunk and walking in the Hollywood Hills, Komeda tripped and fell, injuring himself. His drunken friend picked him up to carry him and dropped him on his head. He lingered in a hospital bed for a few months, never regaining consciousness.

RSA Animate! : The Secret Powers of Time (Philip Zimbardo) - Empathic Civilisation (Jeremy Rifkin) - Superfreakonomics (Steven Levitt, Stephen Dubnerand) & more!

2010-06-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

this is great!
http://comment.rsablogs.org.uk/videos/
"Professor Philip Zimbardo conveys how our individual perspectives of time affect our work, health and well-being. Time influences who we are as a person, how we view relationships and how we act in the world. View the full video of Professor Philip Zimbardo’s talk at the RSA. "

"Bestselling author, political adviser and social and ethical prophet Jeremy Rifkin investigates the evolution of empathy and the profound ways that it has shaped our development and our society. View the full video of Jeremy Rifkin’s talk at the RSA."

"Are we really as altruistic as we might like to think? In the RSA’s new animation series, we put into pictures Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner’s case for reevaluating the evidence.
View the Superfreakonomics lecture that inspired this animation. "

via nerdcore

documentary :"THE MARTIANS AND US" (history of UK science fiction)

2010-06-11T07:27:00.000-07:00

watch bbc 4 documentary :"THE MARTIANS AND US" in a nice little playlist:

"This three-part documentary explores how UK writers pioneered and remained in the vanguard of one of the world's most popular literary genres.
An actor as HG Wells in his imaginary time machine

1. FROM APES TO ALIENS
How HG Wells captured man's fascination with evolution to father a new form of fiction
George Orwell

2. TROUBLE IN PARADISE
Exploring the frightening future dystopias imagined by Orwell, Huxley and others
A scene from apocalyptic drama Threads)

3. THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT
The annihilation of humanity, as portrayed by British writers such as John Wyndham

The series is narrated by Peter Capaldi and was produced by Rachel Bell for Blast Films. Contributors include Arthur C Clarke, Brian Aldiss, Doris Lessing and Kim Newman."

nice! happy weekend to all!

via nerdcore

watch online documentary: Moebius Redux #comics

2010-06-05T21:03:00.000-07:00

"French artist and author Jean Giraud is one of the most famous and influential comic strip illustrators and authors of all time. Achieving his greatest fame as Moebius – not so much a pseudonym as an alter ego – he revolutionized the world of comics. Moebius Redux takes extraordinary visual paths in documentary filmmaking and goes on a mind-bending tour of imagination past, present and future."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Giraud

for more art and the
Heavy Metal Arzach Comic Series !!!
>
http://krustelkram.blogspot.com/2010/02/favourite-comic-artists-moebius-jean.html

documentary: The Mindscape of Alan Moore

2010-06-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

"The Mindscape of Alan Moore is a 2003 feature documentary which chronicles the life and work of Alan Moore, author of several acclaimed graphic novels, including From Hell, Watchmen and V for Vendetta.

The Mindscape of Alan Moore is Shadowsnake’s first completed feature project, part One of the Shamanautical / 5 Elements series. It is the directorial debut of DeZ Vylenz. It is the only feature film production on which Alan Moore has collaborated, with permission to use his work.
This feature was shot on film, in colour, and is 78 minutes in length."
wiki/The_Mindscape_of_Alan_Moore

if the video is gone watch it here http://www.youtube.com/user/crippledfonzz#g/c/0EF69CD073F2A3FA
or here http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTgxMzU0MDM2.html

"Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953)[5] is an English writer known for work in comics, including the acclaimed comic book series Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell.[6] He wrote the novel Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some released on CD.

As a comics writer, Moore applied literary sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium as well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes. He brings a wide range of influences to his work, such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair,New Wave science fiction writers like Michael Moorcock and horror writers like Clive Barker.Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman,Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot."
wiki/Alan_Moore

"Prisoners of Gravity": Will Eisner & the Spirit

2010-05-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Prisoners of Gravity: Will Eisner & the Spirit

Commander Rick celebrates the 50th anniversary of Will Eisner's landmark comic strip, The Spirit. A lengthy interview with Eisner is highlighted by tributes from Denis Kitchen (publisher, Kitchen Sink Press), Bob Kane (creator, Batman), Sergio Aragones (artist, Mad Magazine), Trina Robbins (comic book artist), Kevin Eastman (co-creator, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and Frank (Robocop) Miller.

be sure to check out all the other episodes on Teddog3000's channel
("This channel mostly serves as a collection of Prisoners of Gravity episodes and related material. Prisoners of Gravity was a news magazine series covering speculative fiction that ran from 1989 - 1994 on TVOntario.")

featuring such great stars as Douglas Adams,Neil Gaiman, Jeff Smith, Dan Piraro,William Gibson,
Alan Moore, Frank Miller and much more!!!

also check out his page http://www.teddog.com/pog/ for more information.

can't wait for the time when i can watch all of them :)

oh and for a special extra treat head over to goldenagecomicbookstories:
Will Eisner
1917 ~ 2005
The Spirit Coloring Book
1974
Beautiful reprints of some of Eisner's terrific splash pages!

"William Erwin "Will" Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an acclaimed American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an instructional medium; for his leading role in establishing the graphic novel as a form of literature with his book A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories; and for his educational work about the medium as exemplified by his book Comics and Sequential Art.
In 1988, the comics community paid tribute to Eisner by creating the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, more commonly known as "the Eisners", to recognize achievements each year in the comics medium. Eisner enthusiastically participated in the awards ceremony, congratulating each recipient."wiki

http://www.willeisner.com/

talk: Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution!

2010-05-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

Another great talk about creativity and education by Sir Ken Robinson.Hope humanity will listen!

"In this poignant, funny follow-up to his fabled 2006 talk, Sir Ken Robinson makes the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning -- creating conditions where kids' natural talents can flourish."

"Why don't we get the best out of people? Sir Ken Robinson argues that it's because we've been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies -- far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity -- are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. It's a message with deep resonance. Robinson's TEDTalk has been distributed widely around the Web since its release in June 2006. The most popular words framing blog posts on his talk? "Everyone should watch this." ted

talk : Margaret Atwood

2010-05-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

Since I am such a fan, here a funny talk Margaret Atwood gave after "Oryx and Crake".

"Here are two facts Margaret Atwood wants you to know: She is the daughter of an entomologist -- the kind of scientist, Atwood says, who is “noteworthy for producing weird writer offspring”; and she hates books where “everybody’s happy all the time.”

After 30 years of fiction writing, Atwood is expert at engineering an extreme spin on ordinary life, and pushing the everyday world to its limits. Her talk includes two readings from her latest novel, Oryx and Crake, which she describes as “a joke-filled, fun-packed rollicking adventure story about the downfall of the human race.” Science fiction? Well, only if environmental catastrophe and unforeseen genetic mutations seem farfetched, Atwood suggests. Science isn’t the villain here, though. Atwood embraces the notion of “improvements” on the human race: built-in sunblock, or digestive systems modified to process leaves and grass. As well as shedding light on her latest novel, Atwood reveals juicy tidbits from her early years: she once fancied a career in botany, and had she pursued it, she informs us, she “would be growing glow in the dark potatoes now.”..."
/mitworld

her website & her blog

"Margaret Atwood is the author of more than 25 volumes of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. She is perhaps best known for her novels, which include The Edible Woman (1970), The Handmaid's Tale (1983), The Robber Bride (1994), and Alias Grace (1996). Her novel, The Blind Assassin (2000), won the Booker Prize.

Atwood was born in 1939 in Ottawa, received her undergraduate degree from Victoria College at the University of Toronto and her master's degree from Radcliffe College. Over 30 years of writing, Margaret Atwood has received numerous awards and several honorary degrees and her work has been published in more than 30 languages, including Farsi, Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic, and Estonian. Atwood’s books and life reflect her concern for the environment and human rights. She is active in conservation projects globally, and has served as president of PEN/Canada. She currently resides in Tononto."

more on wiki

documentary: Once Upon A Time The Super Heroes!

2010-05-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

"This is a documentary made in 2002 about the creation and evolution of comic book superheroes (with a greater leaning towards Marvel comics.)

It show us superheroes such as Batman, Superman, The Flash, The X-Men, Captain America, Silver Surfer, The Fantastic Four, Hulk, Daredevil; with more of a focus on Spider-Man because of the movie released at the time.

The documentary features the creators, writers & artists behind the superheroes such as Dave Gibbons, Alex Ross, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Travis Charest, John Romita, Joe Kubert, Jim Lee, Carmine Infantino, Joe Simon, Mark Evanier, Paul Dini, Neal Adams, Joe Quesada, John Buscema, Bill Sienkiewicz and radio interview with Jerry Siegel."Batmitey

(sold out...Sixteen 8x10 comic book superhero vintage-style print set over HERE)

documentary: Desmond Morris - “The Human Sexes“

2010-05-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

Well if you are gay you will find quite some offending things about this documentary.
for starters not being included at all...
And even if he tries,I think he does not reach his goal of being unbiased in his look on women as a man.
(he seems to just can't help thinking women always will be happiest raising children,
anything else is a very rare exception...but hey like I said he tries.
And his take on religion is quite nice.)
So I think it's an interesting documentary worth watching.
I recommend to at least watch "Gender Wars" the last part.
also if you haven't seen "The Human Animal" also made by Desmond Morris
you can do so over HERE
(I liked that one a lot)

Different But Equal

The Language Of The Sexes

Patterns Of Love

Passages Of Life

The Maternal Dilemma

The Gender Wars

documentary: "In Search of Steve Ditko" (BBC - Jonathan Ross)

2010-05-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

"Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko(born November 2, 1927)is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the co-creator of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange.
He was inducted into the comics industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990, and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994." (wiki)

ditko cover gallery 1

ditko cover gallery 2

THE SECRET ORIGINS of Steve Ditko's Mr. A.

documentary : "Into The Universe - Aliens" with Stephen Hawking

2010-05-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

as always in a little playlist

"Into The Universe with Stephen Hawking is an epic new kind of cosmology series, a Planet Earth of the heavens. It takes the world's most famous scientific mind and sets it free, powered by the limitless possibilities of computer animation. Hawking gives us the ultimate guide to the universe, a ripping yarn based on real science, spanning the whole of space and time -- from the nature of the universe itself, to the chances of alien life, and the real possibility of time travel." http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/stephen-hawking/
via nerdcore

Janis Joplin Documentary

2010-05-04T21:08:00.000-07:00

lots of live footage.nice!
she got power
be sure to watch the last 10 minutes :)

movie: "Things to come'' (1936)

2010-05-03T14:23:00.000-07:00

''A story of 100 years: a decades-long second world war leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and tries space travel.''
imdb
Things to Come (1936) is a British science fiction film produced by Alexander Korda and directed by William Cameron Menzies. The screenplay was written by H. G. Wells and is a loose adaptation of his own 1933 novel The Shape of Things to Come and his 1931 non-fiction work, The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind. The film stars Raymond Massey, Ralph Richardson, Cedric Hardwicke, Pearl Argyle and Margaretta Scott.
wiki
PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL GALLERY:
http://www.625.org.uk/ttc/ttcpubli.htm

Talk: "Sex, Bombs & Burgers" Peter Nowak

2010-04-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

Peter Nowak visits Google's Waterloo office to present his book "Sex, Bombs & Burgers". This event took place on March 11, 2010, as part of the Authors@Google series.

The talk will focus on the main theme of the book, which is how the military, porn and food industries have been the biggest drivers of technology over the past century. The links between these three are not immediately clear, but they are all rooted in humanity's basest instincts. In essence, my book is about how the worst parts of human vice have resulted in some truly incredible achievements.

Peter Nowak is the senior science and technology reporter for CBC News Online. He has been writing about technology for more than a decade and his work has appeared in many top newspapers in Canada and around the world, including The National Post, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The Boston Globe, The South China Morning Post, The Sydney Morning Herald and The New Zealand Herald. He won the 2009 Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance award for excellence in reporting, and was named the 2006 journalist of the year by the Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand. Peter Nowak lives in Toronto.

http://www.sexbombsburgers.com/

Klaus Bürgle ! Retro-Futurismus

2010-04-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

much more pics from Klaus Bürgle!
you can find here:
http://www.retro-futurismus.de/buergle.htm awesome site!

Douglas Rushkoff - Digital Nation Documentary & Life Inc.

2010-04-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

WATCH THE WHOLE DOCUMENTARY HERE

"Within a single generation, digital media and the World Wide Web have transformed virtually every aspect of modern culture, from the way we learn and work to the ways in which we socialize and even conduct war. But is the technology moving faster than we can adapt to it? And is our 24/7 wired world causing us to lose as much as we've gained?

In Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier, FRONTLINE presents an in-depth exploration of what it means to be human in a 21st-century digital world. Continuing a line of investigation she began with the 2008 FRONTLINE report Growing Up Online, award-winning producer Rachel Dretzin embarks on a journey to understand the implications of living in a world consumed by technology and the impact that this constant connectivity may have on future generations. "I'm amazed at the things my kids are able to do online, but I'm also a little bit panicked when I realize that no one seems to know where all this technology is taking us, or its long-term effects," says Dretzin.

Joining Dretzin on this journey is commentator Douglas Rushkoff, a leading thinker and writer on the digital revolution -- and one-time evangelist for technology's positive impact. "In the early days of the Internet, it was easy for me to reassure people about what it would mean to bring digital technology into their lives," says Rushkoff, who has authored 10 books on media, technology and culture. "Now I want to know whether or not we are tinkering with something more essential than we realize."www.pbs.org pic

i found it to be a very good documentary about an important and interesting topic.
personally i love the internet for what it could be and in parts already is.
especially education.
but i think it's also more than valid to think about it's negative aspects.
nothing just black or white it's always shades of grey...
and wow actually i did not know that buisness meetings in secondlife already exist.
hope you enjoy and it makes you think.
(focused,concentrated thinking... alright yeah i think that is important!
but i also try to train myself to play the piano.kind of focused multitasking,isn't it?
sure i am always better just concentrating on one thing, e.g. getting two hands,one foot and a mind focussing on one thing...making them work together,making music.
but hey maybe it's having a goal that makes multitasking possible?
i am sure we can learn a lot using the digital tools but
just getting distracted by facebook and emails and twitter for sure just eats up time and brainpower,i think we have to learn to see and talk about the difference between consuming and being truely active.)

WATCH THE WHOLE DOCUMENTARY HERE

"Digital Nation is a new, open source PBS project that explores what it means to be human in an entirely new world -- a digital world. It consists of this Web site as well as a major FRONTLINE documentary to be broadcast on Feb. 2, 2010. Our production team is posting rough cuts and raw footage on the web, and gathering input, feedback and stories from users as we go."

and
Life Inc.

"Douglas Rushkoff (born 18 February 1961) is an American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist and documentarian. He is best known for his association with the early cyberpunk culture, and his advocacy of open source solutions to social problems.
Rushkoff is most frequently regarded as a media theorist, and known for coining terms and concepts including viral media (or media virus), digital native, and social currency.
He has written ten books on media, technology, and culture. He wrote the first syndicated column on cyberculture for The New York Times Syndicate, as well as regular columns for The Guardian of London, Arthur, Discover, and the online magazines Daily Beast and TheFeature.com.
Rushkoff currently teaches in the Media Studies department at The New School University in Manhattan. He has previously lectured at New York University’s ITP and founded that program’s Narrative Lab.He also has taught online for the MaybeLogic Academy."wiki

"For more information about Douglas Rushkoff's book, "LIFE INC. How The World Became A Corporation And How To Take It Back" check out
http://www.lifeincorporated.net and the LIFE INC. 9min movie

The LIFE INC. Dispatch = Brief weekly videos encapsulating key concepts and ready strategies from Douglas Rushkoff's LIFE INC. for de-corporatizing our lives, abandoning the speculative economy, and rebuilding both commerce and community from the bottom up.

Douglas Rushkoff is the author of ten books on media, technology, and society, including Cyberia, Media Virus, Coercion, Nothing Sacred, Get Back in the Box, and the novel Ecstasy Club. He made the PBS Frontline documentaries Merchants of Cool, The Persuaders, and the upcoming Digital Nation. He is the host of the WFMU radio show The MediaSquat, and he will be teaching the New School University this Fall."

http://rushkoff.com

documentary: Food, Inc.

2010-04-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

Food, Inc. exposes America's industrialized food system and its effect on our environment, health, economy and workers' rights.

This is so important and everybody should know and talk about this...please watch!
this is not only america.this is everywhere.

"In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults."about the movie

check out their blog:
http://www.takepart.com/news/tag/hungry-for-change/
and movie webpage:
http://www.foodincmovie.com/

Destination Moon! online movie

2010-04-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

click on the picture and you get redirected to where the movie can be seen online!

"Destination Moon is a 1950 American science fiction feature film produced by George Pál, who later produced When Worlds Collide, The War of the Worlds, and The Time Machine. Pál commissioned the script by James O'Hanlon and Rip Van Ronkel. The film was directed by Irving Pichel, was shot in Technicolor and was distributed in the USA by Eagle-Lion Classics.

It was the first major science-fiction film produced in the United States dealing seriously with the prospect, problems and technology of space travel. This movie was not the first such to hit the screens, however; Rocketship X-M stole its thunder.

The eminent science-fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein contributed significantly to the script and served as a technical adviser. Heinlein also published a novella of the same name based on the screenplay about the same time as the release of the film."wiki

and here a truely awesome site for movie sets & vehicles:THE MODEL BUILDERS REFERENCE VAULT

Peter Elson Science Fiction Illustrator

2010-04-20T07:15:00.000-07:00

nice online gallery http://www.peterelson.co.uk/gallery/index.php where you can find much more pics

"Peter Elson (1947-1998) was an English science fiction illustrator whose work appeared on the covers of numerous science fiction paperback novels, as well as in the Terran Trade Authority series of illustrated books. Elson, whose illustrations often placed detailed, brightly-liveried spacecraft against vividly colored backgrounds, influenced an entire generation of science fiction illustrators and concept artists.

The look of the PC game Homeworld was heavily influenced by Elson's illustrations of the '70s and '80s, according to artists who worked on the title (he is listed in the Special Thanks section of the game's manual and has a character, Captain Elson, named after him). Elson was originally slated to create the game's box art, but at the last moment was pre-empted by the publisher's decision to use a 3D rendered scene.

Born in Ealing, West London and died of a heart attack in Skegness while working on mural paintings for Butlins. Most of his original work is now owned by his sister."bio and more pics @ http://www.innovari.it/peter%20elson%201.htm
via nerdcore

"Six Steps to Avert the Collapse of Civilization." David Eagleman

2010-04-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

http://neuro.bcm.edu/eagleman/
David Eagleman - David Eagleman is a neuroscientist and a fiction writer. During the day, he directs the Laboratory for Perception and Action and the Initiative on Neuroscience and Law at Baylor College of Medicine. He is best known for his work on time perception, synesthesia, and neurolaw.

my favorite Stept:
"5. "Get more brains involved in solving problems." Undertapping human capital endangers the future. Open courseware from colleges is making higher education universally accessible. Crowd-sourced problem solving is being advanced by sites such as PatientsLikeMe, Foldit (protein folding), and Cstart (moon exploration). Perhaps the next step is "society sourcing."

oh and here a show on radiolab where David is talking about "Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives"

documentary:The Comet's Tale

2010-04-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

"A comet (KOM iht) is an icy body that releases gas or dust. Most of the comets that can be seen from Earth travel around the sun in long, oval orbits. A comet consists of a solid nucleus (core) surrounded by a cloudy atmosphere called the coma and one or two tails. Most comets are too small or too faint to be seen without a telescope. Some comets, however, become visible to the unaided eye for several weeks as they pass close to the sun. We can see comets because the gas and dust in their comas and tails reflect sunlight. Also, the gases release energy absorbed from the sun, causing them to glow.

Astronomers classify comets according to how long they take to orbit the sun. Short-period comets need less than 200 years to complete one orbit, while long-period comets take 200 years or longer.

Astronomers believe that comets are leftover debris from a collection of gas, ice, rocks, and dust that formed the outer planets about 4.6 billion years ago. Some scientists believe that comets originally brought to Earth some of the water and the carbon-based molecules that make up living things. "NASA

documentary: Sly Stone: Portrait of a Legend

2010-04-16T22:17:00.000-07:00

"Sly Stone (born Sylvester Stewart, March 15, 1943, Denton, Texas) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. Sly & the Family Stone was started in San Francisco, California."wiki
http://www.slystone.com/

documentary: Is Everything We Know About The Universe Wrong? (bbc horizon)

2010-04-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

"There's something very odd going on in space - something that shouldn't be possible. It is as though vast swathes of the universe are being hoovered up by a vast and unseen celestial vacuum cleaner.
Sasha Kaslinsky, the scientist who discovered the phenomenon, is understandably nervous: 'It left us quite unsettled and jittery' he says, 'because this is not something we planned to find'. The accidental discovery of what is ominously being called 'dark flow' not only has implications for the destinies of large numbers of galaxies - it also means that large numbers of scientists might have to find a new way of understanding the universe.
Dark flow is the latest in a long line of phenomena that have threatened to re-write the textbooks. Does it herald a new era of understanding, or does it simply mean that everything we know about the universe is wrong?"

vintage scifi covers!!! (and more...)

2010-04-14T11:55:00.000-07:00

this saved my day!go visit http://mundobocado.blogspot.com and save yours.

these covers i found HERE & HERE & HERE

documentary: "the Story of God"

2010-04-13T06:44:00.000-07:00

does the form around him seem familiar? our brain?
NYT Michelangelo, Renaissance Man of the Brain

"Presented by Professor Robert Winston, and first aired in 2005, "The Story of God" is a definitive three-part documentary series from the BBC on the history of mankind's quest to understand the nature of God. The series represents an epic journey across continents, cultures and eras exploring religious beliefs from their earliest incarnations through to the development of today's major world faiths. Runtime: 02:56:27"

a nice long documentary about the world's religions.

documentary: Leonardo da Vinci

2010-04-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

"Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519), was an Italian polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer. Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance man, a man whose unquenchable curiosity was equaled only by his powers of invention.He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived.According to art historian Helen Gardner, the scope and depth of his interests were without precedent and "his mind and personality seem to us superhuman, the man himself mysterious and remote".Marco Rosci points out, however, that while there is much speculation about Leonardo, his vision of the world is essentially logical rather than mysterious, and that the empirical methods he employed were unusual for his time."wiki

great documentary!especially watch out for the 3rd part (pt.12-18) about the Mona Lisa.
really enjoyed this one.
for more pictures check out this nice online gallery
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/l/leonardo/index.html
or all the other links on artcyclopedia

Documentary about Mercenaries: "Shadow Company"

2010-04-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

Documentary about Mercenaries.
Shadow Company

"With the situation in Iraq one of the key problems facing the incoming U.S. President, see the most comprehensive, entertaining and award-winning film about private military companies. winner of 4 LEO Film and TV awards, used as research for the movie "Blood Diamond", screened on Capitol Hill and praised by Amnesty International, this unique politically balanced documentary is a must see for anyone who wants to know how the rules of war have changed - without watching propaganda. Voiced by "300" star Gerard Butler.
With over $100 Billion in annual revenues and 70000 employees in Iraq alone, the private military industry is booming, yet few civilians know anything about it. Shadow Company, a groundbreaking feature-length documentary, takes you deep inside this secret world that is changing the face of modern warfare. What are we really risking by allowing profit-motivated corporations into the business of war? "

i know ...heavy topic for a sunday morning.but i really think it's a good documentary worth watching and thinking about.

FANTASY and SCIENCE FICTION Magazine & AMAZING Magazine VINTAGE COVERS

2010-04-09T05:48:00.001-07:00

beautiful huge collection!!
found HERE & HERE

documentary: Clever Monkeys!

2010-04-09T05:48:00.000-07:00

amazing documentary! highly recommended
"what makes us human,isn't just human after all..."
and here another nice little article to read: Monkey see; Monkey regret...
"Humans apparently aren’t alone in feeling regret."

documentary: Life of Python-Monty Python's Flying Circus

2010-04-07T16:26:00.000-07:00

1989 documentary marking the 20th anniversary of Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python (sometimes known as The Pythons)were a British comedy group that created the influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and impact, spawning touring stage shows, films, numerous albums, several books and a stage musical as well as launching the members to individual stardom. The group's influence on comedy has been compared to The Beatles' influence on music.(wiki)

Phillip K Dick - two documentaries, vintage book covers & two interviews

2010-04-04T12:32:00.000-07:00

& the Philip.K. Dick - "Arena"documentary

"Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist whose published work during his lifetime was almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments, and altered states. In his later works, Dick's thematic focus strongly reflected his personal interest in metaphysics and theology. He often drew upon his own life experiences and addressed the nature of drug abuse, paranoia and schizophrenia, and transcendental experiences in novels such as A Scanner Darkly and VALIS."(wiki)

for more covers visit Cadwalader Ringgold's amazing photostream
and a interview & a converstion with PKD

documentary : "The Secret Life of Plants"

2010-03-27T06:51:00.000-07:00

the thought that all lifeforms,including plants are sentient,is actually not that alien to me.seems quite coherent,but i guess human arrogance is endless and it makes me wonder if maybe simple fear is the basis for all that.for sure this is a nice interesting documentary to watch (even if the quality is kind of bad...don't watch it in full screen!).but from what i read around the web it's pretty hard to get so enjoy your chance.
by the way they even talk about the Dogons and their astronomical knowledge,so if you ever read something by Robert Anton Wilson you will like that part :)
"The Secret Life of Plants is a 1979 documentary film directed by Walon Green and based on book of the same name.It featured the Stevie Wonder soundtrack Journey through the Secret Life of Plants. The film made heavy use of time-lapse photography (where you can see plants grow in a few seconds, creepers reaching out to other plants and tugging on them, mushrooms and flowers popping open, etc.), in order to portray them as animate beings. When the film was released, such images were a novelty to the general public."wiki
"The Secret Life of Plants (1973) is a book by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, described as "A fascinating account of the physical, emotional, and spiritual relations between plants and man."
The book explores the idea that plants may be sentient, despite their lack of a nervous system and a brain, an idea not supported by mainstream biology. This sentience has purportedly been observed through changes in plants' conductivity, as through a polygraph, as pioneered by Cleve Backster. The book also contains a summary of Goethe's theory of plant metamorphosis. The book delves deeply into such unconventional topics as the aura, psychophysics, orgone, radionics, kirlian photography, magnetism/magnetotropism, bioelectrics, dowsing, and (more conventionally) the history of science."wiki

also check out www.psychobotany.com very interesting site full of information
""In 1976, the producer (Michael Braun) and the director (Walon Green) of a feature film in-the-making, The Secret Life of Plants, arranged for a creative collaboration between myself, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and John Lifton, from London. John and I had been in touch on our shared creative backgrounds (architecture + AI) and creative interests (electronic arts and bio-sensing) since my visit to the UK the previous year. John had recently presented his very sophisticated, new audio/installation, "Green Music" at the Whitechapel Gallery, in London. I had been doing a project series, titled "Bio-Dis-Plays", with NASA technical support (multi-channel bio-telemetry systems), monitoring performers physiology (EEG, EMG, EKG, etc.) as inputs to audio and video synthesizers, in extended biofeedback-media artworks. At the time I often collaborated with Jim Wiseman, video synthesizer artist, as well as with a number of electronic music composers. I had just begun working with Tom Zahuranec, who was an audio technician at Mills College, and had been doing (GSR/Backster Effect) plant-audio synthesis interface works since 1972..."

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world

2010-03-17T09:08:00.000-07:00

"Games like World of Warcraft give players the means to save worlds, and incentive to learn the habits of heroes. What if we could harness this gamer power to solve real-world problems? Jane McGonigal says we can, and explains how."

me i am still no gamer,
but this talk is truely inspiring!
maybe it is true and people addicted to gaming are missing the backup of others and self confidence in real life.or maybe it's just easier...because you can and have to trust strangers,and you could be a hero or fail.
the important thing is,that it is so much fun to try real hard.
in real life to loose is much worse.people still don't honor the effort.
failing in real life still isn't the same as learning.which it should be,if you'd ask me!
so this thought that video games could be a incredible superpower,if somebody dared to put a big idea behind,got stuck in my mind for a while now,and i am so happy to have found out about jane and her way to try to save the world.
so please watch and let's hope games are changing!

by the way:maybe i am a "gamer",but in real life.
with the superpower to never give up,i just keep trying again and again.
(weird that this is exactly the part i hate about video games :)
so like the gamers i am very willing to work hard but i love the real live outcome....so it's rather learn to play piano or yet another computer program,which later enables me to do something...but yeeees please all these kids spending (i guess more than)10.000 hours on games,that's really the practise time you need to learn close to everything.how can we let this go to waste.playing is learning and learning should be fun.hard fun!

documentary: Richard Williams and The Thief Who Never Gave Up

2010-03-12T08:07:00.000-08:00

if you are into animation this is another sweet treat for you!

great documentary about Richard Williams (wiki)
"(born on March 19, 1933 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian animator. He is best known for serving as animation director on Disney/Amblin's Who Framed Roger Rabbitand for his unfinished feature film The Thief and the Cobbler. He was also a film title sequence designer and animator; his most famous works in this field included the title sequences toWhat's New, Pussycat? (1965), title and linking sequences in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968). He also animated the eponymous cartoon feline for two of the later Pink Pantherfilms."
and he also wrote:
The Animator's Survival Kit (wiki) something you should read even if you just love to watch animations.it's packed with nice stories about animation history,and apart from being full of incredibly useful information, it's also a fun read.best part of the documentary for me is,when he talks about how he entered the art circle first and did not like it,so he turned back toanimation for it's infinite possibilities.
"oh my god i thought,that's horrible...i have to go back and be a commercial artist again.i don't want to do that!"
but he had too...
"i always did my personal work while i was doing commercial work,to get the money to do my personal work."
"so instead of spending money i just got back to work." : )

"This is a1982 documentary on the Richard Williams Studio, Williams himself, his projects, and the painstaking process of animation. Featuring much interview footage of Richard Williams. Includes clips from The Thief and the Cobbler, his studio's commercials, A Christmas Carol, his shorts, and even Williams' jazz band."
(as always with google video...if it does not seem to work just forward a little) hope you enjoy!

CHILDREN'S BOOKS OF THE EARLY SOVIET ERA

2010-03-06T11:40:00.000-08:00

even though the scans over there are relatively small this is a nice online exhibition to visit
and it's a nice fit to the russian propaganda animation documentary i posted last week : )

"The present exhibition in the Rare Books and Special Collections Division of the McGill University Libraries draws on an important collection of more than 350 Soviet children's books published in the 1920s and 30s and which are remarkable for their original aesthetic quality, linguistic variety and thematic diversity. Dynamic constructivist typography utilized the expressive quality of the stocky, 'architectural' azbuka, the Russian alphabet. Diagonal layouts introduced a simultaneous representation of contents and often used photomontage as a succinct expression of the narrative text. The emblematic use of red and black as dominant colours linked the children's material closely to the publishing output at large. Since more than 100 nationalities live within the fifteen former republics of the USSR, the variety of languages in which children's books were published is nothing short of astonishing. While Russian was the official language of the Union, children's books published in Ukrainian, Uzbek, Tartar, Kazakh, Azerbaidzhani, Armenian, Georgian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian, lakutian, Nanaian and other languages are well represented in the McGill collection."
CHILDREN'S BOOKS OF THE EARLY SOVIET ERA
via brainpicker

documentary: "Animated Soviet Propaganda" From 1924 to perestroika

2010-03-01T20:07:00.000-08:00

(IF THE VIDEOS DON'T LOAD REFRESH THE PAGE PLEASE they are there trust me...
there is also a little menu button down left on every player,where you can find all four of them)

wow this is great stuff!
just watched the whole documentary and there are so many beautiful animations in it that i have never seen before.
highly recommended.
but however great a lot of this looks
(incredible variation in style!love the part about animating paper cut outs)
this was truely animated brainwashing...

Animated Soviet Propaganda - American Imperialists | Viral/Other | SPIKE.com

American Imperalists
Part 1 of 4 of the Documentary "Animated Soviet Propaganda" From 1924 to perestroika the USSR produced more than 4 dozen animated propaganda films. They weren't for export. Their target was the new nation and their goal was to win over the hearts and minds of the Soviet people. Anti-American, Anti-British, Anti-German, Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Fascist, some of these films are as artistically beautiful as the great political posters made after the 1917 revolution which inspired Soviet animation. A unique series. With a unique perspective. Includes interviews with the directors of the animated films which are still alive and commentary by a leading Soviet film scholar.

Black and White, 1933, directed by I. Ivanov-Vano and L.
Mister Twister, 1963, A. Karanovitch, Soyuzmultfilm Studio.
Someone Else's Voice. 1949. I. Ivanov-Vano. Soyuzmultfilm.
Ave Maria, 1972, I. Ivanov-Vano. Soyuzmultfilm.
The Millionaire, 1963, V. Bordzilovsky and Y. Prytkov, Soyuzmultfilm.
Shooting Range, 1979, V. Tarasov. Soyuzmultfilm.
Mr. Wolf, 1949, directed by V. Gromov. Soyuzmultfilm.

Animated Soviet Propaganda - Fascist Barbarians | Viral/Other | SPIKE.com

Fascist Barbarians
Part 2 of 4 of the Documentary "Animated Soviet Propaganda"

Cinema Circus, 1942, directed by L. Amalrik and O. Khodataeva.
Fascist Boots Shall Not Trample Our Motherland, 1941, directed by A. Ivanov and I. Vano.
Vultures, 1941, directed by P. Sasonov.
Newsreels #1-4: "What Hitler Wants", "Beat Fascist Pirates", "Strike the Enemy on the Front Lines and at Home", and "A Mighty Handshake". 1941. Directed by V. and Z. Brumberg, A. Ivanov, O. Khodataeva, and I. Ivanov-Vano.
To You Moscow, 1947, directed by G. Lomidze.
The Adventures of the Young Pioneers, 1971, directed V. Pekar.
The Pioneer¿s Violin, 1971, directed by B. Stepantsev.
Vasilyok, 1973, directed by S. Aristakesova.
A Lesson Not Learned, 1971, directed by V. Karavaev.
Attention! Wolves! 1970, directed by Y. Gamburg.
Tale of a Toy, 1984. directed by B. Ablinin.
We Can Do It, 1970, directed by L. Atamanov.
Capitalist Sharks

Animated Soviet Propaganda - Capitalist Sharks | Viral/Other | SPIKE.com

Part 3 of 4 of the Documentary "Animated Soviet Propaganda"

Interplanetary Revolution, 1924. Directed by N. Khodataev, Z. Komisarenko, Y. Merkulov.
We'll Keep Our Eyes Peeled, 1927, directors N. Khodataev Group.
The Shareholder, 1963, directed by Roman Davidov.
Proud Little Ship, 1966, directed by Vitold Bordzilovsky.
Prophets and Lessons, 1967, directed by Vyacheslav Kotonochkin.
China in Flames, 1925. Directed by N. Khodataev, Y. Merkulov, Z. Komisarenko.
Images of Yuri Merkulov, drawn in approximately 1960-1965, director Y. Merkulov.

Animated Soviet Propaganda - Communism
Communism
Part 4 of 4 of the Documentary "Animated Soviet Propaganda"

Forward March, Time! 1977, directed by Vladimir Tarasov.
Soviet Toys, 1924, directed by Dziga Vertov. Goskino USSR.
Samoyed Boy, 1928, directed by V. and Z. Brumberg, N. Khodataev, O. Khodataeva. 3rd Factory of Sovkino. Made as a silent film.
Little Music Box. 1933. directed by N. Khodataev.
Lenin's Kino Pravda (Truth in Cinema), 1924, presumed to be directed by Dziga Vertov. Made as a silent film.
Results of the XII Party Congress (of Cooperation), circa 1925, director unknown.
Victorious Destination, 1939, directed Leonid Amalrik, Dmitry Babichenko, Viktor Pokolnikov.
War Chronicles, 1939, directed by Dmitry Babichenko.
A Hot Stone, 1965, directed by Perch Sarkissian.
Songs of the Years of Fire, 1971, directed by Inessa Kovalevskaya.
Plus Electrification, 1972, directed by Ivan Aksenchuk.

documentary: The Secret Life of Chaos

2010-02-28T19:18:00.000-08:00

love the part about Alan Turing's sad story and the outstanding character of Benoît B. Mandelbrot.
very fascinating personalities and minds! this is a nice easy to understand documentary about chaos theory and what that really means.
oh and the part about feedbackloops makes you want to have that videocamera screen setup at home to play around with (wonder what the little alterations were,they talk about,when the output completly goes crazy and beautiful...).and it ends with computer generated brains and evolution,
which is pretty amazing too.
part one:

it's not possible to embed the other parts,but here you go:
part 2 , part3, part 4, part 5, part 6
via nerdcore

"Chaos theory has a bad name, conjuring up images of unpredictable weather, economic crashes and science gone wrong. But there is a fascinating and hidden side to Chaos, one that scientists are only now beginning to understand.
It turns out that chaos theory answers a question that mankind has asked for millennia - how did we get here?
In this documentary, Professor Jim Al-Khalili sets out to uncover one of the great mysteries of science - how does a universe that starts off as dust end up with intelligent life? How does order emerge from disorder?
It's a mindbending, counterintuitive and for many people a deeply troubling idea. But Professor Al-Khalili reveals the science behind much of beauty and structure in the natural world and discovers that far from it being magic or an act of God, it is in fact an intrinsic part of the laws of physics. Amazingly, it turns out that the mathematics of chaos can explain how and why the universe creates exquisite order and pattern.
And the best thing is that one doesn't need to be a scientist to understand it. The natural world is full of awe-inspiring examples of the way nature transforms simplicity into complexity. From trees to clouds to humans - after watching this film you'll never be able to look at the world in the same way again."
thesecretlifofchaos

Thomas Lewis "The Neuroscience of Empathy"

2010-02-27T08:58:00.000-08:00

Author Dr. Thomas Lewis discusses "The Neuroscience of Empathy" as part of the Authors@Google series.

Thomas Lewis, M.D. is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, and a former associate director of the Affective Disorders Program there. Dr. Lewis currently divides his time between writing, private practice, and teaching at the UCSF medical school.

This event took place December 5, 2007 at Google Headquarters in Mountain View, CA.

Empathy = into the suffering feeling...

people are contagious
emotios are contagious

" A General Theory of Love is a non-fiction book, by Thomas Lewis, M.D, Fari Amini, M.D., and Richard Lannon, M.D., that explores and explores the psychobiology of love. The book describes the nature of 3 fundamental neurophysiologic processes that create and govern love: limbic resonance, the wordless and nearly instantaneous emotional attunement that allows us to sense each other's feeling states; limbic regulation, the modulation and control of our physiology by our relationships; and limbic revision, the manner in which relationships alter the very structure of our brains. Those whom we love, as our book describes, change who we are, and who we can become."A General Theory of Love

* LUCY **Chimps. Bonobos. Humans. We're all great apes.

2010-02-20T17:52:00.000-08:00

this is one of the saddest stories i ever heard....
but you should LISTEN.really.
RADIOLAB: LUCY

Lucy from Radiolab on Vimeo.
"Chimps. Bonobos. Humans. We’re all great apes. This hour we take a look at what happens when we all try to live together. Our main story is about a chimp named Lucy. When Lucy was only two days old she was adopted by a psychologist and his wife who wondered: if given the right environment, how human could Lucy become? This story and other tales of radical sharing between humans and the creatures on earth most like us.

Our hour begins with a tale from Dr. Barbara Smuts. She recounts a classic bully story, but with a twist: her bully was a chimp.

Next up: the haunting epic of Lucy the chimpanzee. When Lucy was only two days old, she was adopted by psychologist Dr. Maurice K. Temerlin and his wife Jane. The Temerlins wondered, if given the right environment, how human could Lucy become? We hear from Lucy's language tutor, Dr. Roger Fouts, Lucy's caretaker and eventual friend, Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, and Mr. Temerlin himself... or his words anyway, read by radio host David Garland. And writer Charles Siebert helps us to make sense of Lucy's story."

listen to it HERE
by the way RADIO LAB is one of the coolest radio shows on the web

also on: This American Life "Parent Trap"

be sure to also listen to : Frans de Waal: "The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society"

favourite comic artists : MOEBIUS - Jean Giraud

2010-02-17T07:47:00.000-08:00

long ago when i feel in love with the drawings of moebius i collected everything of moebius i could find,
and i read it over and over again,starring at his fascinating art.if you have not read the incal series,
it i hope you will some day,it's such a treat.
since i got reminded of him last week,seeing a flickr set of masters of time
(such a cool movie)
i had fun searching the net for some more.so here i'd like to share with you what i found:
(be sure to check out the links you find under the pics)

"Jean Giraud was born in Nogent-sur-Marne, in the suburbs of Paris, in 1938.[2] At age 16, he began his only technical training at the Arts Appliqués.[3] At 18, he was drawing his own comic strip, "Frank et Jeremie" for the magazine Far West. In 1961, Giraud became an apprentice of Jijé, one of the leading comic artists in Europe of the time, and collaborated on an album of Jerry Spring.[3] In 1962 Giraud and writer Jean-Michel Charlier started the comic strip Fort Navajo for Pilote. It was a great hit and continued uninterrupted until 1974. The Lieutenant Blueberry character, created by Giraud and Charlier for Fort Navajo, quickly became its most popular character, and his adventures as told in the spin-off Western serial Blueberry, are possibly Giraud's best known work in his native France. Giraud's prestige in France – where comics are held in high artistic regard – is enormous; In 1988 Moebius was chosen, among 11 other winners of the prestigious Grand Prix of the Angoulême Festival, to illustrate a postage stamp set issued on the theme of communication.[4] Under the names Giraud and Gir, he also wrote numerous comics for other comic artists like Auclair and Tardi.
One of the Starwatcher series of paintings.

The Moebius pseudonym, which Giraud came to use for his science fiction and fantasy work, was born in 1963.[3] In a satire magazine called Hara-Kiri, Moebius did 21 strips in 1963–64 and then disappeared for almost a decade. In 1975 Métal Hurlant (a magazine which he co-created) brought it back and in 1981 he started his famous L'Incal series in collaboration with Alejandro Jodorowsky. Moebius' famous serial The Airtight Garage and his groundbreaking Arzach also began in Métal Hurlant.

Moebius has contributed storyboards and concept designs to numerous science fiction films. In 1982 he collaborated with director René Laloux to create the science fiction feature-length animated movie Les Maîtres du temps (released in English as Time Masters) based on a novel by Stefan Wul..." wiki or
lambiek.net

LINKS :

i just found this amazing site! it has all the panels from Moebius' Arzach comic series
at Heavy Metal Magazine
Heavy Metal Arzach Comic Series !!!

and a great place to see his story boards & character designs for "Dune" !!!
duneinfo.com

or vist sarcoptiform's photostream for some more of the black and white drawings

for great pics of the movie maitres du temps go HERE

more pics at fortunecity and comicartcommunity

more links at artcyclopedia

Philip ZImbardo on the Lucifer Effect - Understanding How Good People Turn Evil

2010-02-11T07:08:00.000-08:00

Franz von Stuck :Lucifer circa 1890

*WARNING*- This video contains explicit images

Professor Zimbardo's talk takes its audience on a journey through the psychological processes of character transformation that are engaged when ordinary, good people turn into perpetrators of evil.
The abuses and tortures of Abu Ghraib prison serve as the case study for understanding such horrors not as the work of a few bad apples, but rather as the consequence of a set of identifiable Situational variables and Systemic forces of the "bad barrel" and the "bad barrel makers".

http://www.lucifereffect.com/

the project on law and mind science at harvard law school

Paradise Lost by Gustave Doré (1866).

a very,very good talk i hope many will see and think about.
if you don't have time at least give the short 20 minutes TED talk version a try:

and be sure to check out his awesome HERO PROJECT

"Help Dr. Phil Zimbardo create an international organization to promote heroism as an antidote to evil and as a celebration of what is best in human nature.

This organization will be dedicated to:

Developing and spreading the conception of heroes as ordinary, everyday people who are motivated to act on behalf of others or for a moral cause with action that is extraordinary.

We will both demystify and democratize the elusive concept of heroism. Our fundamental conception is to instill in young people the self-belief that “I am a hero-in-waiting.”

Further, to internalize the perspective, “That when I become aware of the need to act on behalf of others needing help or being the victim of evil forces, I will be ready and able to take the necessary action.”

Jeremy Rifkin: The Empathic Civilization & The European Dream

2010-02-07T15:56:00.000-08:00

The Empathic Civilization is the first book to explore how empathetic consciousness restructures the ways we organize our personal lives, approach knowledge, pursue science and technology, conduct commerce and governance, and orchestrate civil society. The development of this empathetic consciousness is essential to creating a future where we think and behave like the whole world matter.

Jeremy Rifkin is president of the Foundation on Economic Trends and the author of seventeen bestselling books on the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society, and the environment. One of the most popular social thinkers of our time, Rifkin is the bestselling author of The European Dream, The Hydrogen Economy, The Age of Access, The Biotech Century, and The End of Work.

JeremyRifkin

have to say that is the first thing ever i heard that got me excited about the E.U.
usually it's really all confusion and weird rules,that only corporation are able and very willing to follow.
i mean no more raw milk cheese in france because of hygiene laws?!

but wow yes i'd love to see open source energy!
sadly the recording is a little bit rough.but very worth listening.

we got to think of the world community as a family.

like i said before,it's so inspiring to see people telling you the awful truth,but still giving you hope and pointing to the incredible possibilities we have inside of us,when we realize our connection with everybody and everything.since i know about these mirror neurons i really got stuck in thinking about them.so fascinating.
so deep...that something you feel,but could not explain,now seems to be an accepted truth in the science world.
wow. i think that is a very shiny star of hope! and i think pulling that up into the consciousness of all people,could make us solve the problems we are facing.
i love the internet for all the great information i find,all these ideas,all these artworks all the sharing....it's very sweet to hear,when Jeremy Rifkin connects the idea of internet to our brain and our collective consciousness,and then referring to his idea of a future open source energy system,he compares it to something like filesharing : )

Daniel Goleman: Social Intelligence & Ecological Intelligence

2010-02-06T20:07:00.000-08:00

three very good talks by daniel goleman.

Authors@Google: Daniel Goleman
Daniel Goleman discusses his book "Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships" as a part of the Authors@Google series. For more from Daniel Goleman, visit http://www.morethansound.net. This event took place on August 3, 2007 at Google headquarters in Mountain View, CA.

MIRROR NEURONS(love them!)
so monkeys got them too,even just watching humans!
that's how they found them.
well that's....amazing and makes so much sense.

Daniel Goleman, psychologist and award-winning author of Emotional Intelligence and other books on EI, challenges traditional measures of intelligence as a predictor of life success

An Evening with Daniel Goleman
The bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence and Primal Leadership, Daniel Goleman reveals the hidden environmental consequences of what we make and buy, and shows how new market forces can drive the essential changes we all must make to save our planet. Golemans latest book is Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything. The book argues that new information technologies will create radical transparency, allowing us to know the environmental, health, and social consequences of what we buy. As shoppers use point-of-purchase ecological comparisons to guide their purchases, market share will shift to support steady, incremental upgrades in how products are made changing every thing for the better.

http://www.goodguide.com/

http://www.danielgoleman.info/

daniel goleman wiki