inside out

Aesthetic Crossovers in Art and Science (VISA2214) allowed me to explore not only the art and science crossovers in the life sciences, but introduced me to a new way of seeing and interpretation by artists and scientists.

One of the assignments was to produce a prototype. As I was still considering the question ‘what is art?’ it took some time to decide on an approach that I perceived as suitable to complete the work. However, the prototype gave me an excuse to review the histology slides from my Medical Technology degree which was an added bonus.

From the many slides, I selected two views and prepared some digital images.

I did not wish to create a temporary piece, so settled on making a paper mache object. My idea was formed from remembering that a long time ago, anatomical models were made from paper mache.

During the lectures and tutorial sessions I learnt that ‘things’ can be be classified into non-human animals and human animals. I decided to create a cat as I thought I could observe my own pets and use the photographs to realise the 3D object. Also, I liked the idea that I was superimposing human animal cells on a non-human animal.

Having not made paper mache before, I found some resources on the internet to provide some guidance. I found the initial making of the shape or form somewhat frustrating, but the layering of the paper mache over some weeks was time pleasantly spent. Time really did slip by as I got absorbed in the project.

Green Cat (liver cells stained with naphol green)

Red Cat (lung cells stained with H & E)

The final part of the assignment was to give a presentation. I took my prototypes in our cat cage covered in cloth. It was quite fun to see my classmates looking into the cage to see if my biological art was alive. My presentation probably does not stand alone, but it is included here as part of the documentation for my project.

Green Cat and Red Cat are not yet completed. I have been asked to consider giving them a face. I’m still thinking on this.

July to November reading

July through November I did not read as much as I usually do. This may have been due to the increased amount and different type of reading that was required for one of my university units. Also, I found I was just too tired to read before sleeping, which is when I do most of my recreational or reading for pleasure.

However, I still managed to read the following, not necessarily in this order:

• Helga’s Web, Jon Cleary
• In a Dry Season, Peter Robinson
• Moon Island, Rosie Thomas
• A Simple Life, Rosie Thomas
• Sea Glass, Anita Shreve
• Hiam, Eva Sallis
• Riven Rock, T.Coraghessan Boyle
• The Twins, Tessa De-Loo
• The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream, Paulo Coelho
• Playing for Pizza, John Grisham
• Reader’s Digest Select Editions including: You Belong To Me by Mary Higgins Clark, Archangel by Robert Harris, Cloud Nine by Luanne Rice, and “N” is for Noose by Sue Grafton
• The Stallion, Harold Robbins
• The Tumbled House, Winston Graham

All of which will be wild released over the coming week as I feel I have some serious BookCrossing to catch up on.

Most of the books were obtained through the local library as discards or donated to raise funds for the local library or from Grandad’s box of books.

Currently making my way through Moran v Moran. Definitely not something to read between mandatory or necessary reading for research and study. The book was donated to the library fundraiser and has newspaper cuttings inserted as bookmarks, and various sentences underlined. Definitely will look at some ‘lighter’ reading after this one.

on the nose

The last couple of nights we have been to Cinema In A Cave to see the winning entries from the 2008 Sexy International Film Festival, albeit we did not stay for the fourth session.

The last couple of nights cinema viewing has got me thinking as to ‘what is sexy’? Just as I am continuing to ask myself ‘what is art?’ with regard to the living or biological art that is being revealed to me in the Aesthetic Crossovers of Art and Science unit.

We have been to Cinema In A Cave a few times now, and the films are of mixed quality, but there is always something that we will continue to talk/discuss/argue about. This to me is the sign that a film is worth seeing. Whether it is the cinemaography, sound, music, acting, genre, story, transitions, or just a film that gets you thinking.

From the 2008 Sexy International Film Festival, the most memorable (so far) are ‘Between The Sheets’. ‘Channeling’, ‘Je te Love’, ‘From Here to Maternity’, and ‘Corroboree’. However, the same films are not being shown on tour.

Jason Turley, Melbourne filmmaker and curator of the Sexy International Film Festival is now taking the festival to London, Paris, New York and San Francisco. So watch out for it if it is coming your way.

science and poverty

Last week I attended a talk by Prof Peter Quinn titled ‘An overview of modern astronomy and our quest to find the dawn of creation’. It was great to see Peter in action having listened to him on my computer for several weeks during the creation of a storyboard for a video. Face to a voice and all that.

Although I was by now familiar with the content, the questions from the audience (secondary school science teachers) were the most interesting. Peter finished his talk with information about the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). Being that there is much interest in the project as Australia has been shortlisted as one of the two sites identified as potential locations for the SKA.

The question that I have thought the most about was comparing the number of dollars to be spent on science versus that on solving world poverty. The teacher that posed the question asked how do we resolve the amount of money spent on the SKA when $X can address poverty. He also recounted that at another event he attended an audience member had symbolically shown a bowl of rice to question the cost of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

Peter I thought effectively addressed the question, but there is still no answer. In Australia 1.5% of GDP is spent on science. That’s every little bit of science research you can think of including the SKA. Globally, the average spent on science is 2.0% of GDP.

So I think the question of solving world poverty would be better addressed to the people that handle 98% of GDP given that a piece of a larger pie is that much greater. Also, I don’t think you can skimp on science to solve world poverty, and 1.5% of GDP is already too little for science.

a day for everything

Open Access journals and archives assist me greatly in my research for work, study and various interests. Peer reviewed scientific articles freely accessible online are available to everyone with an internet connection.

I am fortunate that as an enrolled student that I have access to much scientific literature through the university subscriptions, and many are available online either on campus or through a proxy server from my place of study.

However, Open Access journals are preferred and often found first as I am able to search open archives and repositories without needing to go through various proxies and gateways. The huge benefit is that I am able to share my research with others and link to appropriate articles online.

Publications held in databases such as ScienceDirect and Web of Science, I can only share with others that have access through academic and professional libraries. Whereas publications in Public Library of Science or. BioMed Central (BMC) or any of the others listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) are accessible by everyone.

For more information about Open Access, see Peter Suber’s A Very Brief Introduction to Open Access, the Open Access Day web site, and browse journals in the Directory of Open Access Journals.

Happy Open Access Day.

Midnight and the MacBook

At least one cat approves of my new computer.

Or is it the dustcover?

The MacBook does not appear to give out much heat, but perhaps it is more discernible to Midnight. But then again, she now has her Snooza Cuddler.

March reads

Read four of Mam’s beach novels and The Turning which I got in time for the play (adaption), but only cursorily looked at prior to the performance.

I tried to finish the beach novels before they were required for second-hand bookshops somewhere between Perth and Naxos. The were all quick reads, some more memorable than others.

• Death in Holy Orders by PD James is a Commander Adam Dalgliesh tale set in an theological college on the East Anglian coast. A student is murdered and the ongoing investigation is helped and heeded by the isolated close-knit community.
• Not in the Flesh by Ruth Rendell was an intriguing story about the investigation led by Chief Inspector Wexford when a body is found wrapped in a purple cotton sheet. I thought the novel was going to be a straight forward whodunit, but there was bit more to it than that.
• Piece of My Heart by Peter Robinson was a little more plodding, but the scene of the crime – a rock festival, made it a little more interesting. The threads connecting the present day to aging rock stars is a little tenous though.
• Exit Music by Ian Rankin is DI John Rebus’s last case in the force. A bit of winding up occurs, as Rebus attempts to pass on/fob off his unsolved cases and business to colleague DS Siobhan Clarke. Some of the jobs are not resolved as one would like.
• The Turning by Tim Winton I got from The Book Depository which seems all wrong since Winton is a Western Australian author. But it was just too easy and the price was right. I don’t know why books have to cost so much in Australia in comparison to the UK or USA. Anyway, The Turning read and on the bookshelf means that I have all Tim Winton’s books, so far. Having finished it, I wish I had more to read. The book follows three generations of a family, and each chapter/short story is sort of complete, but sort of keeps you hanging. A certain amount of cringe material and rawness as the place and some periods felt familiar to me.

I thought that uni would slow up my reading, which it did in a way but only from a time point of view. I was just too tired at the end of the day from reading scholarly papers to read some more for entertainment. However, I did find that non-fiction was good for a few hours escape.

the metropolis

The inaugural lecture by Mark Bould, University of the West of England on The Very Modern World of Fritz Lang (PDF) forms part of the inaugural Institute of Advanced Studies Lecture Series.

We went along as the Metropolis was screening after the lecture. We had seen an earlier version (1984) with music by Giorgio Moroder and were intrigued to see a restored longer version.

The lecture was very interesting, and although I am not familiar with the subject and terminology, I enjoyed the presentation immensely. Bould began his presentation with explaining the Frankfurt School, briefly covered Fritz Lang’s earlier work, then focussed on Fritz Lang’s career in America. The presentation included video and stills from Lang’s films to demonstrate the various film techniques and methods, and quotes from the works of Theodor Adorno for comparison and contrast. Fritz Lang was referred to as a member of the “pulp wing of the Frankfurt School”.

The Metropolis was played from a DVD, but I’m not sure what version it was that we saw. At two hours, it certainly was longer than the 1984 version, and I’m pretty sure I saw 2004 alongside the music credit at the beginning.

One scene that I liked was when the camera focussed on the newly completed robot. The robot’s eyelids closing unevenly as if ’she’ was waking up. They looked very odd, not winking but sultry.

It was good to see a more complete story, and I must admit without Mark Bould’s lecture prior to viewing the film, it could have been less interesting. Although I have read that film buffs were divided on the rock-and-roll soundtrack that accompanied the 1984 version, if my memory is correct, I enjoyed that version more because of the pumping of the music with the machines of the metropolis. But then again, it maybe that I was influenced by the music at that time as I definitely remember Queen and Adam Ant were featured in Giorgio Moroder’s soundtrack. It may be good to see the 1984 version again for a better or near comparison.

not parking

I very rarely use the car to get to uni, and today I was reminded why. It’s because you can’t get $^%&* parked.

Yes, it is only the second week of first semester, but I don’t feel that parking on Tuesdays is going to become any less congested. Tuesdays means lots happening in the Guild Courtyard, on the Oak Lawn, and with DJs in the Tav why would anyone leave campus for the day once you were there?

Similarly, when I then drove to the local post office as I was already in the car – I could not get parked. Well, I could, in the Coles Supermarket car park. There were a lot of spaces.

I peeked into Coles on the way past to the post office and there were queues at each checkout. I just wish those that shopped at Coles parked at Coles, so the rest of us can get on with enjoying the local shopping precinct while continuing to ignore them.

The problem that I have with parking at Coles is that the supermarket will be able to claim that they are providing the required car parking, when their shoppers are not actually parking in the car park that they have provided. I wonder if anyone has done any research into the number of Coles shoppers that have 4WDs and or cannot successfully park in the tight parking spaces provided by Coles.

Hint for South Perth shoppers: There is always car parking at the Coles Supermarket. If you are not shopping at Coles, then the only drawback is having to hold your nose while you go down the stairs (or in the lift) until you get past the ‘roast chickens’. Ugh!

getting mobile with an apple

My first notebook, and its a MacBook.

Last year I felt that while I was at uni I could have been more productive if I had a computer available.

This year I need EndNote which is only available for Windows or Mac, not Debian GNU/Linux which I primarily now use at the office.

Fortunately, H has set up our network such that I was able to plug the MacBook straight on and get access to the internet so that I could download Firefox and KompoZer. Firefox, because that is the browser that I am most familiar with on other platforms, and KompoZer because I will be conducting a tutorial to create a web site similar to the one that I presented last semester using Nvu.

I don’t really need any super duper word processing or associated office type tools, but I thought that I could contribute to OpenOffice.org by downloading and installing the Mac OS X Aqua versions as they become available. In the meantime, I’m quite happy to use TextEdit to draft and save documents in OpenDocument Text (odt) format so that if I transfer them to my desktop machine I can continue to work there.

Apart from getting EndNote installed at uni, I have on my ta-da list to figure out how to transfer files across the network between my Linux box and the MacBook.

Also, I am in the process of decommissioning my very old SPARCstation (Solaris) and Intel box (Windows 98 SE) which will free up a lot of desk space and get rid of a lot of dust.