glass ceiling / glass floor

visiting the acropolis museum has great tidbits of fun.

i really liked bernard tschumi's design -- it's full of light and air and provides an intelligent background for the treasures it holds.

you can find a great description of the building here but one thing it does not mention is a wonderful glass floor that unifies the wide ramp area on the ground floor at a central atrium with the top level and the sky beyond.


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it really was a fun place to stop and look above, while the visitors above were taking pictures of us below -- and some were taking the opportunity to catch some exercise.



if you plan to visit the building, and you value your privacy, i have some advice: don't wear a skirt.

richard dawkins interviewed by dina volaric, ABC TV compass

RD

evolution of the moonwalk

i'm partial to michael jackson's early work -- the newer stuff didn't cut it for me. and i despised how he got lynched by mob mentality: it's a sad, sad thing.



via bOINGbOING

a place for caryatis

the acropolis museum has only five of the original caryatides. the sixth was kidnapped by lord elgin and is now residing -- where else -- the british museum.


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this display has the caryatides in their original relative positions, with a place reserved for the sixth figure's return.

her place is here. with her sisters.


--

i was especially attracted to the caryatides. being able to see these strong figures closely from all sides was an amazing experience. i think i took more photos here than anywhere else. there are many overviews of the set elsewhere and there were far too many people for me to get a general shot that i was happy with; however, i was blown away by the details and had no problem whatsoever keeping myself busy with them. their graceful pose, their gentle necks -- that nevertheless bear so much weight -- the lovely drape of their clothing and their braided hair -- all evidence of the creators' artistry and sophistication. i had a hard time breaking away.

i took so many pictures -- i hope i'm not annoying you with all of these.

the caryatides' original home was the caryatid porch of the erechthion on the acropolis, which is now supported by copies of the original figures.

overview:



the missing caryatid's position is the second from the left.

sunset at the acropolis and its museum

yesterday evening i was thrilled to visit the acropolis museum in athens.


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i have very few words to describe my feelings seeing, for the first time, these superlative treasures of humanity, produced by some of its most brilliant minds, masterfully displayed in a sleek jewel-case of a building.

understanding the importance of the acropolis, and especially the parthenon, is highly fulfilling. as an introduction, if you haven't seen secrets of the parthenon, i strongly urge you to do so.

the gallery at the top level of the museum is a contemporary counterpart, of sorts, to the parthenon itself -- an airy frame for the uppermost sculptures of the temple, surrounded by the light of the attica sky. circular metal columns replace the original marble ones, the pediments are placed on either end of the rectangular plan, the metopes surround the outer perimeter above head height and the frieze is placed eye-level on the innermost wall of the structure. it's easy to understand the original position for each piece -- all one has to do is glimpse over to the original temple, in full view.

portions of the sculptures and reliefs are replicas, occupying the space of the original pieces that exist elsewhere in the world, most notably the ones purloined by lord elgin in the early 19th century, and now showcased in the british museum.

of course, it's a ridiculous state of affairs. christopher hitchens makes the case eloquently in his book, the elgin marbles: should they be returned to greece?, and most recently in his article, 'the lovely stones' in vanity fair:

'i’ve written a whole book about this controversy and won’t oppress you with all the details, but would just make this one point. if the mona lisa had been sawed in two during the napoleonic wars and the separated halves had been acquired by different museums in, say, st. petersburg and lisbon, would there not be a general wish to see what they might look like if re-united? if you think my analogy is overdrawn, consider this: the body of the goddess iris is at present in london, while her head is in athens. the front part of the torso of poseidon is in london, and the rear part is in athens. and so on. this is grotesque.'

it's always tricky to get satisfactory shots amongst the crowds... luckily my stay extended to closing time and i managed to shoot a few frames as people were leaving.

one of my favorites is this one of the acropolis, as viewed from the surrounding glass wall of the top gallery, during sunset. if you line up the window panes and the temple on the hill, you'll confirm that they are completely parallel, as both structures have the same orientation. the backs of the metopes are visible on the top of the image.

i'll be working on and uploading some of the more successful images i shot over the next few days.

active member at gazi

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funny how i'd never been to gazi before. the neighborhood, focused on an old natural gas factory, is now home to bars, restaurants, exhibits and cultural events.



active member gave a concert there last night, and as mr.g is a long-time fan, i took advantage of the opportunity to take a few shots. it wasn't easy for me since i hate using a flash...



i stood directly in front of the stage and actually sat on it for a while, looking at the audience more than the group. anyone familiar with low bap knows that it's more about content than melody, all of it social commentary. the audience spoke/sang the lyrics in unison with the group, with great intensity and passion. i was enthralled -- and i threw another pebble of hope onto my little pile.













i've added these images on the map on the original flickr page.

secrets of the parthenon

from nova, a must-see for anyone interested in science.

EDIT: watching it now. charalambos bouras (at about 6:20) was one of my professors :-)

china in the 1920s

via danwei

rush rush

i've been wanting to try some car trails in a swervy tunnel near my home for a long time now -- last night i finally got the nerve to try it. it seemed scary at first, but really, it's not so bad -- and it does have a thin sidewalk.


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there isn't enough traffic going through to get enough trails during a short interval without exposing too much of the tunnel, so i used a filter to extend the exposure. that ruled out the fisheye that i used on a daytime shot, from march, which really showed off the shape of the tunnel:

click to enlarge
i've placed the first image on the map on the original flickr page.

calatrava pedestrian bridge

i have a hard time taking pictures of architecture in athens. there are too many things in the way -- cars, signs, ads, all in chaotic disarray. it's frustrating and just plain ugly.


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i found myself the pedestrian bridge by santiago calatrava at the intersection of mesogeion and katehaki and thought i'd take a few shots -- but these awful elements were annoying. in the end, i decided that i'd focus a bit on the details. maybe i'll go back and try to take something more general, but, for now, you'll have to rely on flickr and google.














a more general view from the bridge itself:


one of the things that made an impression on me is how many people who cross the bridge actually stop and look around, for quite a long time. my private feeling is that the urban chaos is exhausting and people need a place to look out into the distance and collect their thoughts, unfettered by the details of daily existence.

here's one of the people i saw relaxing, looking out to the buildings beyond:



i've added this image to the map on the original flickr page.

is there an ocean within enceladus?

from cassini:


click pic to source
'for the first time, scientists working on NASA's cassini mission have detected sodium salts in ice grains of saturn's outermost ring. detecting salty ice indicates that saturn's moon enceladus, which primarily replenishes the ring with material from discharging jets, could harbor a reservoir of liquid water -- perhaps an ocean -- beneath its surface.'

read on....

(psssst.... i have a sneaking suspicion that they're going to find life or just-about-life around saturn, and i'm betting on enceladus.)

it's time for science and reason

from the center for inquiry

christopher hitchens vs william lane craig

does god exist?
biola university, april 2009

the lone bokeh rides again

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if you open your mind too much...

... your brain will fall out



love tim minchin
via RD

carl sagan's 'baloney detection kit' with michael shermer

via RD

i locked my heart and threw away the key

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good thing you had a spare.

kids are awesome everywhere

not my pic but wish it was:

click pic to source
via RD

EDIT: on second viewing, probably 'shopped.

june solstice evening

we drove over to vouliagmeni to take a picture of the midsummer sunset. the beach was crowded but people started to trickle away as the sun's rays grew weaker.

a family started gathering towels, bags and folding chairs from a very nice position, so we moved in as soon as they left.

a group of three women were sitting a couple of meters away. they eyed me as i set up the tripod and changed lenses on my camera.

woman 1: 'are you going to take pictures?'

me: 'yes, of the sunset. it's a special sunset today since it's the longest day of the year.'



she looked at the sun.
w1: 'it's beautiful!'

m: 'yes, it is -- and the sky's so clear.'

w1: 'what time does it set today?'

m: '8:50'

w1: 'and after that?'

m: 'the days start to get shorter.'

w1: 'i don't think i've ever seen such a beautiful sunset.'

m: 'it's there every day -- it's a shame we rarely notice it.'


i started to shoot. in a bit one of her friends pulled out a cell phone and started taking some shots herself.

as soon as the sun disappeared, her friend, woman2, exclaimed 'it's exactly 8:50! will sun set the same time tomorrow?'

me: 'yes, but a few minutes earlier.'



as the night set in, they prepared to leave and the first woman said, 'thank you -- in all my years, i can honestly say that i've never seen such a beautiful sunset. if you hadn't come, i would have sat here, chatting away, and wouldn't have looked at it or appreciated it. goodnight and be well.'

click either image to see our location on flickr's map.

900 blogs and counting

mojoey's atheist blogroll hits 900 with 4,308,160 page views. when i started looking around for atheis/agnostic blogs three years ago, i found just a handful.

i made this video almost two years ago, a combination of blogs from mojoey's atheist blogroll and the one from the out campaign -- since then, hundreds more blogs have appeared. i am amazed.



we are here. get used to it.

lolblogversarycake

pat got me a cake for my blogversary...





but sparky the atheist vegan squirrel eated it all up.



both images, clickable to source

the darwin debate

... no, not the silly evolution/creationism debate, but something actually substantial and interesting.

from the playlist description:

'melvyn bragg and a panel of scientists debate what charles darwin's theory of evolution tells us about ourselves and human society. filmed in at the linnean society - the world's oldest biological society - in piccadilly, london. seems to be from 1998 (MCMXCVIII at the end) panel: steven pinker, professor of psychology at MIT meredith small, cornell professor of anthropology steve jones, biologist and a professor of genetics and head of the biology department at university college london sir jonathan miller, theatre and opera director, neurologist, author, television presenter, humorist and sculptor.'

wired

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obama flashes the vulcan salute

...again!

the best greeting i know, at about 9:30:



via trekmovie

and for those of you not familiar with the salute's origins, you're in luck because abravanel just reminded me earlier this evening:

george carlin on national pride...

...of which, during tough times, there's way too much of, everywhere.



thanks, julia!

|)|

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i took a shot of this bench a couple of days ago but it was too late in the day and the light was way too low, so i went back and shot it again. it's just an ordinary bench, but i like the curved plank in the middle of the seat.

so now i think i've got benches out of my system, for a while.