eatingchaos

January 4, 2008

a random thought

it is speculated that genghis khan's male descendants could number up to 16 million.

sixteen million males. that, to put it mildly, is startling. he is definitely the alpha male of alpha males. as i digested that number, my imagination exploded.

imagine this - a family reunion. let's just take half his lineage, 8 million families. from all across the earth coming together. yes families. imagine how dramatic it would be to make a movie about 8 million families travelling back to mongolia for a large gathering. it would be a mini mass migration across lands. it would be like mountains moving together.

imagine the reunion took place before we had modern transportation - and they had to travel on foot, on ship, on horses, on camels, on caravans across the vast lands of central asia. dramatic.

staggering. i can't even begin to fathom 16 million families.

i wonder if his blood is in me.

posted by nyx at 9:29 AM | comments (15)

December 27, 2007

architecture

gorgeous. like a snowflake that melted onto earth in the midst of its descent.

breath-taking. employs cutting edge green technology.

posted by nyx at 9:28 AM | comments (1)

March 6, 2007

100 square feet rooms

i was looking for travel photography when i stumbled across this site and found instead - life crammed up in small spaces. these are pictures of hong kong's oldest public housing estate flats. the array of photos gives fascinating insights to the everyday life of its residents.

we take space for granted.

posted by nyx at 9:09 PM | comments (2)

February 14, 2007

words that make up the chinese

i am considered a "banana" in the chinese community - yellow on the outside but white on the inside. meaning, i am chinese (yellow) but i speak mostly english (white - though i can converse elementary cantonese, mandarin and hakka). i have always held a fascination for the chinese writing. i love calligraphy, its strokes are art. the fluidity of words captured so poetically. my love for this form extends to the meaning and reasonings behind the words.

as a child i'd stare at the chinese newspapers while my grandparents/aunties read, and i'd point out at curious characters, demanding knowledge - "what is this?", "why write like that wan?", "are you sure!", "how you can remember!". after many years of word gazing, and absorbing the patient explanations from my relatives, i began to understand the chinese psyche a little better - for it was all mirrored in their words.

like happiness. the chinese phrase for happiness is made out of two characters - kai sing (for chinese readers - i apologise! i dont know the proper hanyu pinyin, just spelling the words how i would pronounce them). translated literally, it means "open heart". so to chinese people, happiness is an open heart.

the character for friend, peng , is made up of two moon characters, yue , placed side by side. for true friendship is as rare as two moons together. that or, what can depict friendship better than two big ol' moons lepaking together?

one of my favourite words is the chinese letter for endure, ren it is made up of a blade () poised atop the heart () in an act of piercing it, which sums up the meaning of the word rather graphically.

put a child, tzi , and a female (the character depicts a female crossing her legs) nue , together and you get the word good, hau .

place a woman, nue , under a roof and you have peace, an :)

the word man, nan , subtly means "the strength of the field" as it comprises of the characters field, tian (looks like sawah padi kan?) and strength, li .

wood, mu , is an interesting chinese character. if you put two woods together, you get the word forest, lin . throw three woods together, and you get the word deep, or majestic growth - sen .

these are but a few that i can remember right now. i was taught many more and i continue to be fascinated by the meanings that make up the chinese words. it's a pity that simplified chinese letterings are more popular these days as the words are diluted of its graphical meaning. then again, who am i to express dissatisfaction when i, being the banana that i am, can't even read or write chinese?

posted by nyx at 8:41 PM | comments (6)

February 13, 2007

green faced lion

every year the lion dance troupes all around sabah congregate at the kota kinabalu padang a week before chinese new year to showcase their talents. this is when the elusive green faced lion monster makes its annual appearance. my brother was there and i asked him to get me some pictures. here it is then, as a follow up to my previous post about the different types of lion dances.

posted by nyx at 12:13 AM | comments (4)

February 12, 2007

turtles and levels of endangerment

the categorization of whether a species is extinct or not is outlined by International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). they have a list to evaluate the risk, and the list breaks down like this:

• Least Concerned (LC) - low risk
  
• Near Threatened (NT) - likely to qualify as a threatened species in the near future
  
• Threatened
  
  • Vulnerable (VU) - high risk of extinction in the wild
    
  • Endangered (EN) - very high risk of extinction in the wild
    
  • Critically Endangered (CR) - extremely high risk of extinction in the wild
  
  
• Extinct in the Wild (EW) - known only to survive in cultivation or captivity
  
• Extinct (EX) - last individual has died

there are seven species of sea turtles in the world, out of which five are endangered, and two species critically endangered. in malaysia, we can find four types - the leatherback turtle, the green turtle, the hawksbill turtle and the olive ridley turtle.

the leatherbacks (penyu belimbing), which are the biggest sea turtle species, are critically endangered. these are the ones that (used to) frequent rantau abang. they eat jellyfishes (these are the guys who will mistake floating plastic bags as jelyfishes, and will die choking on them when they try to eat it, so please please dont throw plastic bags into the sea). statistics from SEATRU (Sea Turtle Research Unit) of University College of Science and Technology Malaysia shows a drastic drop of nestings found in Terengganu - from 800 nests in 1986 to less than 10 in 1998.

the green turtle (penyu agar/penyu pulau) is endangered. it eats seaweeds and seagrass, and can be found in terengganu, perak, pahang, sabah and sarawak. if you snorkelled in perhentian or redang, and spotted a turtle, it's most likely a green turtle. selingan island, the turtle conservation island in sabah, takes great care of this species.

the hawksbill turtle (penyu sisik) - named such because of the jagged ridge on its shell, feeds on sea sponge and jellyfish (yes, you'd be killing this poor thing too if you throw plastic bags into the ocean). they can be found in terengganu, johore, malacca and sabah. 10% of the nestings in selingan island are hawksbill turtle nests. their efforts are recognised to be the biggest nesting concentration of hawksbill in the Asean region.

the olive ridley (penyu lipas) is the smallest of the malaysian sea turtle species. they eat jellyfishes, fishes and seagrass. they recently made news in penang, and are also found in terengganu, kelantan, and east malaysia.

the other species of turtles not found in malaysia are loggerhead turtles, flatback turtles and kemp's ridley.

given that the turtles are critically endangered/endangered, please please observe the following habits to help them survive:

• please dont throw plastic bags into the sea!
  
• please collect thrown plastic bags floating in the sea
  
• dont buy turtle eggs/dont eat turtle eggs/kill your friends who are still eating turtle eggs

if you have the honour of encountering them in the wild, please:

• do not hold on to their shells for a free ride
  
• do not keep chasing after them or crowd around them like an imbecilic sakai, just observe from a distance and follow it gracefully
  
• dont show off and play I Can Chase The Turtle, or I Can Dive To Touch The Turtle. Respect Wild Life, dont toy with them

if you see them laying eggs, please:

• keep your distance
  
• dont sit on the turtle's back like it's a free rodeo ride
  
• dont use the flash if you have to take pictures, the light hurts the turtle's eye
  
• dont flash your torchlight directly into the eye of the turtle, or even at the turtle, or around the turtle

if you're walking around at night on a beach where turtles might nest, please:

• walk barefoot - you might crush a little hatchling
  
• dont flash your torchlight towards the sea - you will discourage female turtles from coming to shore
  
• dont make too much of a racket for the same reasons as above

i beseech and beg - please respect and protect turtles.



related posts:

• random thoughts on how we can do more
  
• turtle conservation in malaysia

posted by nyx at 12:12 AM | comments (1)

February 6, 2007

various videos of lion dance

the art of lion dancing has really flourished, particularly in malaysia. we have made a name for ourselves worldwide and thanks to masters like Sifu Siow, the tradition is kept burning alive. watching these videos, i am amazed by the levels of difficulty and how fearless the performers are. i've included some links that shows accidents as a reminder of how dangerous this entertainment really is - that what to us spectators a mere amusement, to the performers a serious life and death.

i really enjoyed reading about the things i never knew of lion dance, and i'm eagerly awaiting for days to fly by so that chinese new year gets closer! :) enjoy the videos below.

• Making of WSH Lion Heads (WSH is Sifu Siow's company that makes lion heads. he is renowned for his skills and his lion heads are sought after internationally - even in nyc)
• basic jumping technique
• Kun Seng Keng plays with fire (this team is coached by Sifu Siow, they have won the World Lion Dance Championship 15 times and are from Muar)
• Goh Chor's new stunt
• Good HK Demonstration (ignore the first irritating 30 seconds)
• green face lion dance (an amateurish example - ignore the first third of the film, wait for the middle, the dance gets frantic)
• Respect the Fallen Heroes (montage of lion dancers who fell down in the 12th Msia Lion Dance Competition)
• Lion Dance Montage (has practice shots and falling down shots)
• a female-ish lion dance!

posted by nyx at 7:16 AM | comments (0)

February 5, 2007

the etiquette of lion dancing

lion dancing is deeply embedded with nuances of meanings and intricate protocols. although the rules differ according to different schools/sects, the general principles are the same. for instance, all lions have to go through a birth ceremony before it can be used. this ceremony is called Hoi Gong (cantonese) which means The Opening of the Eye (direct translation would mean the opening of light). a poem is recited while the mirror, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, tongue, horn, body and tail is dotted with red (traditionally the blood of a rooster is used). then a red ribbon is tied around the horn to signify that the lion has been tamed. this ribbon also reminds the lion to do only good deeds.

when an old lion "dies" (so worn out that it cannot be used anymore), the head has to be burned. one cannot just put the lion aside to gather webs as the lion is "alive" (its spirits were awakened during the Hoi Gong ceremony), therefore a respectful burial ceremony is needed.

a younger lion should always hold their head lower than the older lions as a sign of respect. when two different clans meet, each lion should bow their heads low. it is extremely offensive for a lion to raise their head higher than one from another sect as it means to provoke, and this often results in clashes between clans. usually the sifu will be pushing the heads of the lions down as they walk pass the other clan.

back in the sixties, lion dancing was banned in hongkong because the clashes got too violent. performers concealed weapons to injure members from other clans. metal horns were used to gash the opponent's heads and special moves were created specifically to knock down their rivals. even today special permits are required in hong kong (as well as other countries) to perform lion dances.

it is taboo to lick or sniff the bottom of another lion. one must also never touch the sacred horn of the lion as this is their link to the heaven and your touch might sever the connection.

when a lion bow, it does so three times - center, left and right paying respect to Heaven, Earth and Man. however, when bowing to a deity, the lion bows center, right and left on a kneeling position.

the lion bows before entering and again when exiting. it should always leave tail first. before entering, the lion cleanses the entrance by licking the door from left to right. chinese customs follow the order of the sun - sunset to sunrise, east to west, left to right. even when entering the door, the proper way is to step with the left leg in first.

when a lion is busy performing, and another lion wants to cross its path, the proper way is to go around the lion and never between the lion and its drum as that "silences the lion's roar", or "cuts the lion's lifeline".

before a lion eats it tests the food for poison by smelling and tasting it first.

tomorrow - videos of lion dancing (techniques, stunts and tributes to fallen heroes)

posted by nyx at 7:02 AM | comments (2)

February 4, 2007

the different types of lions in chinese lion dance

how many of us, casual onlookers of the chinese lion dance, actually notice the complex protocols and hierarchy behind the performances? it wasn't until a conversation with my brother about a rare "qing she" that i knew about the presence of strict etiquette in the realm of lion dancing.

"qing she", or rather - the green faced lion, is the most revered of all lion dances. it has a flat menacing face, and designed to look extremely cruel and ferocious. the green lion can only be danced by the most skilled and dexterous of kungfu practitioners.

i myself have never seen a green faced lion dance perform. it is extremely rare - though in KK, the green faced lion makes a yearly appearance. this dreadful lion was invented during the Manchu reign, and dancing the lion signifies the fall of the manchus. the violent appearance is meant to illustrate the inhuman manchurians who massacred thousands of chinese. its brows are actually twin steel swords measuring a foot and six inches each. the body is 18 feet long - and is used to conceal weapons.

the green faced lion dance usually ends very grotesquely - with the skinning of the lion, dissected abdomens, chopped limbs and intestine splattered open. it symbolises the death of manchurians. the tradition faded away when the objective was realised.

in the lion dance arena - when a green faced lion enters, the dragon, the unicorns and the lions all bow down to revere and respect it.

next in the hierarchy is the dragon. the dragon dance was performed originally by farmers to appease the dragon king so that he would send rain to their parched lands. the pearl that the dragon chases represents the sun, which means wisdom. this signifies the dragon's endless pursuit for wisdom.

the unicorn dance is next in rank, which is hakka in origin. its head scoops to the left and right continually in a figure of eight.

finally comes our favourite - the lion lion dance! there are two types of lions, the northern lion, and the southern lion. the northern lion is more furry. it's quite logical really, since northern states of china are generally colder. their colours are usually red or orange, sometimes green. the northern lions resemble the pekingese dog (remember, there are no lions in china, so the "lions" are inspired by animals that the chinese find around them) and often prances after a ball in their dance. the bow on their heads give their gender away - red for males, and green for females.

the southern lions are the ones we're more accustomed to watching. they are energetic, with feline like behaviour.

the southern lions can be further divided - by look, and by colour. there is the duck billed southern lion - the heshan variety. He Shan which means Crane Mountain have shorter tails, straight mouth and rounded horns. they are generally more peaceful.

the other variety is Fu Shan, which means Buddha Mountain. their tails are longer, they have sharper horns, curved mouth and are generally more courageous.

traditionally there are three colours of lions - the yellow/gold, the red and the black. these represents the three heroes from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. later, an additional two were added - the green and the white. the five colours then represents the five elements.

the yellow lion symbolises Emperor Liu Bei. he is the eldest brother among the heroes. he usually has a yellow face with white hair. there are three coins behind this lion's head - signifying intelligence, kindness and bravery. he is the most revered and gentle of all lions, thus is called the Auspicious Lion. sometimes he dons on a rainbow coloured body encompasing all the five elements (he controls all since he is the emperor). sometimes his horn is replaced by an eagle, or a phoenix. his beard is white and long (length of beard denotes age).

the red lion is guan kong. he is the second brother, and has a red face and black hair. also known as the Awakened Lion, he has two coins on the back of his head to represent intelligence and bravery. a corrupt officer once tried to kill guan kong by trapping him inside a burning temple. he survived it - and has a red face because of the incident. guan kong usually has a semi long black lustrous beard.

the black lion is zhang fei - the youngest brother. he has a quick temper and loves to fight. usually with a black face, black hair and red eyes, zhang fei has one coin at the back of his head to signify bravery. also called the Fighting Lion, his body was traditionally adorned with bells that served as warning (like the rattler on a rattle snake). because he is young, he usually has a short black beard.

the green lion is often called the fourth brother - Chow Yuen. he is given the title Heroic Lion because he rode into a battle of a million army just to rescue Liu Bei's infant.

lastly the white lion (which i can't find any pictures of) is Ma Chao. he is known as the Funeral Lion. he rode into battle with a white arm band to avenge the death of his father and brother. this lion is usually burned after used as it is inauspicious to keep. one however, should not mistake the contemporary silver lion with Ma Chao.

traditionally, a Liu Bei lion should only be used by established schools or sifu, and a "younger" lion should never challenge this lion. a Zhang Fei lion is usually used by new schools, or whoever that wants to "pick a fight" with another sect.

Tomorrow : the etiquette of lion dancing

posted by nyx at 11:03 AM | comments (16)

February 3, 2007

the origin of chinese lion dance

lion dance, fire crackers and ang pau - those were my three most anticipated chinese new year highlights as a kid. everytime i hear that giddy beat of drums at a distance, i'd run excitedly to my dad and ask him drive to the source so that i can see the liondance performance. my favourite was the furry orange and red lions - they were so rare in my hometown, and only appeared when invitations for their presence were extended. i remember being very scared of the clown-like monk - his perpetual grin and animated antics freaked me out. i'd run to the kitchen, or the backyard just to get away from him, and usually have nightmares after.

when we asked the elders where lion dances come from, they'd tell us about this monster that terrorised the village back in china, thousands of years ago. the farmers got together one day, and decided to scare the monster away by donning on a fierce looking costume, and clashing wildly on pots and pans. it worked. and from then on, we re-enact that victory scene every new year to scare away evil spirits.

there's an alternate ending to this story. another version says that a buddhist monk helped protect the village from the monster by taming it. hence - he was incorporated into the dance as the clown-like monk.

this is but one story of the origin. there are two others. one revolves around an Emperor who had a strange dream one night. he dreamt that he was in trouble when a strange animal appeared and carried him to safety. when he woke up, the Emperor summoned his ministers and told them of his dream. he described the strange looking animal. the ministers explained that the creature resembled that of a lion. the Emperor, wanting to look at the animal again, commanded his people to create such a creature. since there are no lions in china, the people put together their own version of it by mixing in features from various animals, which is why if you look closely at the lion - it has a horn on its forehead, like a unicorn.

the lion used in the chinese lion dance is not to be mistaken with lions found on earth. there are four important creatures in chinese mythology - the dragon, the phoenix, the unicorn and the lion. the lion is an important totem that wards off evil spirits - which is why lions very often adorn chinese gates and entrances.

another story begins with a mischevious mythical lion who came down to earth. he created a lot of problems because he loved playing practical jokes. the Emperor, enraged by the lion's behaviour, sliced its head off and threw it far away. the Goddess of Mercy felt sorry for the lion. she gathered his body and head, and stitched him back with a long red ribbon, thus reviving the lion back to life. she also placed a mirror on his forehead to ward off evil spirits. till today, if you look at the forehead of the lion - you can see it adorned with both the ribbon and the mirror.

Tomorrow - the different types of chinese lions in the dance

posted by nyx at 2:33 PM | comments (14)

February 2, 2007

cave painting and speculations

i've always harboured a love for cave paintings. raw and mystical, they are primitive - stemming from a part of us that we've forgotten or neglected. looking at them, i wonder about the artist's psyche - the state of his/her mind, how developed they are psychologically, whether they are painting under the influence. if we knew the truth of their maturity, would we be surprised? (humans always assume that they are more mentally advanced or culturally matured compared to their ancestors - that may not be the case at all)

my favourite ancient graffiti are the ones from lascaux in france, mogao in dunhuang, and kimberley in australia.

it was speculated that the drawings in lascaux caves may mean more than mere horses and bisons - that they could be the oldest lunar calendar, or possibly star maps.

a german researcher theorised that the group of dots tracks the moon phase. am not sure whether he's reading too deep into the art or if there's any truth in what he puts forward. it makes a fascinating read though.

posted by nyx at 7:19 AM | comments (3)

January 30, 2007

buddhist art

buddha's image can be found in the weirdest locations - pubs, cafes, restaurants, discos, the most unlikely of places to display sacred images. almost a sacrilege come to think of it, yet it neither provokes nor inspire hate speeches. it's quite astonishing really, how pliant the buddhist art is - adapting with times and reinventing itself to remain relevant. there's the riotously coloured kinda buddhist art, which can get quite kitsch. there's the abstract version, with almost zen like minimalism, which is rather trendy these days. perhaps the art has transcended the borders of religion to became a symbolic representation of serenity and peace.

i for one always pause to examine his face - the meditative gaze, slender fingers divinely curved into a mudra, the tranquil smile, elongated earlobes. most of all i love his hair - little spiral curls that look like snails uniformly punctuating his bald head.

legend has it that when siddharta left the palace, he mimicked monks who shave their heads by cutting his hair off. and when he did, the uncut locks snapped into little coils. so that's where the hair art originated from.

posted by nyx at 8:45 PM | comments (0)

January 25, 2007

the number twelve

there are twelve

• months
  
• hours
  
• zodiac signs
  
• chinese astrological animals
  
• apostles (christianity)
  
• days of christmas (christianity)
  
• olympian gods (greek mythology)
  
• twelvers (islam)
  
• fruits of the holy spirit (christianity)
  
• number of people on the jury
  
• herculean tasks (greek mythology)
  
• great feasts (christianity)
  
• sons (christianity - jacob, norse mythology - odin)
  

more?

posted by nyx at 10:14 AM | comments (2)

January 15, 2007

of atlas and architecture, and other mythologies

ever since i can remember i've been fascinated by how mythology penetrates our daily lives. the words we use stem from them - chaos, asia, narcissism (narcissus), muse, morphine (morpheus), nemesis, hynoptic (hypnos), fate, aphrodisiac (aphrodite), erotic (eros), echo. famous brands use names of deities - like nike (goddess of victory), pallas (warrior goddess of wisdom). apollo the rocket was named after the greek god of light. titanic was named after the giant god race - titan, famed for their size and strength. we use the stories in mythology as metaphors, and it inspires an endless list of people - poets, playwrights, artists, sculptors, architects.

mythology has transcended the intangible realms of our imaginations. even the architecture around us are wild with mythology: the hindu deities inscribed on the walls of angkor temples, churches engraved with angels, dragons on pagodas, medusas on masonry, gargoyles on roofs, venus on fountains - it goes on and on.

one such example, though not the best, is the myth of atlas that prominently appears in our architecture. he is not to be mistaken with King Atlas - whose name we use synonymously with our book of maps. the atlas i'm referring to (which incidently is more popular and well known compared to King Atlas) is the titan who was cursed by zeus to bear the weight of earth upon his shoulders for eternity.

in architectural terms, atlas or atlantes (plural) means the male statue(s) used as a support column. this redefinition still runs along the veins of the original myth.

i also saw garuda atlantes in angkhor thom at the Terrace of the Elephants.

myths of other cultures have similar atlas-like themes with different creatures bearing the weight of the world (though in these tales they were not cursed to do so). the hindus believe that the world is supported by four elephants, who stands on chukwa - the first and oldest of all turtles.

mongolians tell a tale of how their lands sit upon a golden frog. native americans has a sea turtle with the world and the sky on its back. the aryan thinks their earth rides on a giant serpent with a thousand heads.

[thank you dylan!]

here's a famous anecdote about the nature of our universe found in stephen hawking's A Brief History of Time:

A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the Earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the centre of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy.
At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: "What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise."
The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, "What is the tortoise standing on?"
"You're very clever, young man, very clever," said the old lady. "But it's turtles all the way down!"

posted by nyx at 10:07 PM | comments (3)

January 13, 2007

stupas

on one of the platforms of borobudur sits 72 stupas. they are perforated, and within it sits a buddha statue. stupas are buddhist monuments, and carries deep meanings with it. it represents the holy mind of buddha, and each part reveals the path to enlightenment.

stupas can be divided into five elements :

• the square base
  the earth element. the base represents the lion throne symbolising power of the universe. each of the four corners indicates the four cardinal directions.
  
• the hemispherical dome
  the water element. the rounded shape of the dome immitates the womb and tomb, signifying birth and death.
  
• the conical spire
  the fire element symbolising awareness. it represents wisdom as the fire that burns ignorance.
  
• the crescent moon
  the element of air. because of air's capacity to expand, the moon signifies the awakening of enlightenment which leads to the end of all suffering.
  
• the circular disc
  the element of space. the circle symbolises wholeness, there is no end or beginning and represents enlightenment.

there are buddhist texts that cites the benefits of building stupas which includes reviving the memory of your past lives, the ability to see your future lives, promises of protection and healing, the accumulation of merits and much more.

the word stupa itself means to rise up, to elevate. the interior of stupas often houses relics, or statues of buddha rising up to nirvana. interestingly enough, erich von daniken, an extraterrestrial theorist, puts forward a theory about the architecture of stupas. he comments that they look very much like flying saucers, and goes further to say that the designers were immitating the vehicle which their "gods" were ferrying around in. they did this because they lacked the technology to build the actual vehicles that could bring them closer to the house of their "gods". so effectively, what he means is that each stupa is a flying saucer, and placing statues within them symbolises the passenger flying off to space.

puts a whole new twist when you look at the image again doesn't it.

posted by nyx at 9:55 AM | comments (0)

January 9, 2007

arles, then and now

i once shared a house with my best friends and my brother. we filled that house with a lot of laughter, a lot of noise, and love. one day on a whim, my brother brought back a big jigsaw puzzle, and we toiled over it day and night. we were at it round the clock - taking shifts to sleep and in mere 48 hours, the puzzle was done.

the "art" that we completed was van gogh's cafe terrace at night. this cafe, which has been renamed to cafe van gogh, lies in in arles, france. today it is a popular tourist attraction. unsurprising, as van gogh spent some time here and painted over 300 pieces during his stay. in fact, the famous ear cutting incident happened right in arles.

a quick search brought these pictures, of how the cafe looks like today at night (akin to the painting) and in the day of light.

posted by nyx at 12:11 AM | comments (2)

January 8, 2007

wheat field with crows

in an effort to alleviate sunday's mundaness i revisted my love for van gogh's paintings. ask me to choose my favourite piece, and i'll be torn between many of his great works - starry starry night, cafe terrace at night, his many self portraits, and many many more.

how often do you come across painters, who put themselves in the scene they are painting as well and as intimate as van gogh? he translates such dark and twisted emotions onto his art. an ordinary starry night was made so poignant - you are not looking at the night, you are feeling his emotions for the night.

wheat field with crows is suppose to be his last painting. some experts says that it is not - but both sides agree this painting was done during the last month of his life.

because of the sombreness of this piece, i'd like to think that it's his last painting. i imagined he took a lonely stroll out at night, heavy with depression. he shot himself, walked back home. he contemplated this empty canvas, not knowing that his wound was fatal and that he was to die two days later. and he painted what was in his heart - his final encounter with nature.

posted by nyx at 7:19 AM | comments (0)

January 7, 2007

danae

greek mythology with its amorous gods and intricate plots inspired many artists' imagination. one such tale is the story of danae. she was banished by her father to a faraway cave as it was prophesied that her child would kill him. alas, his efforts were in vain as zeus arrived in a mist of golden ray before her and impregnated danae. their child, perseus, was born soon after.

the paintings always depict the moment of zeus' arrival.

jan gossaert's danae

titian's danae

tatiana chirikova's danae

rembrandt's danae

and my favourite danae painting, klimt's danae. he captured the dreamy surrealism so tenderly, and subtly mixed the eroticism in with zeus' ray of light snaking between her virgin legs.

posted by nyx at 9:17 PM | comments (4)

dragons

dragons always captivated my imagination - grand beasts that breathes fire and guards treasures who can fly! amazing, too good to be true, yet - they appear in so many cultures, and local mythologies that i can't help but wonder whether they truly existed. you can read their tales of wonder everywhere - folk tales, legends, mythology, religion. you name it - chinese, japanese, korean, vietnamese, cambodian, thai, indian, african, american, germanic, welsh, slavic, romanian, brazilian, inca, the english.

they decorate temples, pillars, roofs, doors, gates. people revere these mythological creature by immortalising them onto emblems, logos, coat of arms, lucky charms. not to mention how many authors have wrote about them in their stories. it was also rumoured that Alexander the Great was fathered by a dragon. there are even conspiracy theories about dragons, but that's another story for another time :)

i recently saw a picture of a dragon called sirrush that decorates the walls of ishtar gate. it has scales, eagle talon hind legs, paws as its forelegs, long neck, forked tongue and a small bird like head.

posted by nyx at 1:03 PM | comments (1)

January 6, 2007

onion domes

anyone who played tetris would remember the iconic St Basil's Cathedral in Moscow - so colourful, childlike and simply fantastical. the domes remind me of marshmallows and other delicious candies - something that came right out of willy wonka's chocolate factory.

i've always wondered why domes appeared in russian architecture. i assumed they were solely part of the muslim culture. only after a little wiki-ing did i discover that russian orthodox churches always have onion domes, and that it is not unique to St Basil's Cathedral.

there are several theories about the domes. one is that it represents candles. another says that the domes always comes in threes - to represent the holy trinity. if it's a solo dome it represents jesus. domes that comes in fives represents jesus and the four evangelists. different colours symbolises various aspects of christianity.

here's a collection of the bulbous beauties :

posted by nyx at 1:29 PM | comments (2)

January 5, 2007

gargoyles

i love gargoyles. they are described as grotesque - and placed on roof gutters as waterspouts. gothic in nature, their twisted ugliness is suppose to scare off evil spirits.

the word gargoyle means "throat" in french and was coined to sound like the gurgling of water passing through our larynx. a careful study of these carved art shows that its inspiration stems from mythological creatures - like sphinx, centaurs, minatours, satyrs or a gross combination of the lot.

on a more interesting note - conspiracy theorists believe that the gargoyles are codes that marks ownership, and only members of secret societies are able to interpret this hidden language. these fantasy creatures are everywhere - on flags, emblems, corporate logos, coat of arms, buildings and so on.

i've been collecting gargoyle pictures for years, here's one of my favourites - Gargouille de Notre Dame, the famous stryge (archaic french word for vampire) chimera contemplating the Parisian sunset.

posted by nyx at 11:35 PM | comments (1)

September 28, 2006

Random Thoughts on How We Can Do More

You want to save the world. Start simple. Politely decline serviettes, use less tissue paper - carry a handkerchief around. Switch from paper towels to napkins. Decline plastic bags at the store and instead bring a nice bag to carry your groceries. Don't eat exotic meat (common in Asia). Stop buying ivory or seashells. No more sharkfin soup.

Speaking of sharkfin soup, I've been trying to quit that for years. I'm a chinese. When invited to special occasions, celebrations, wedding dinners - any eight course or ten course chinese dinners would come with sharkfin soup. And to decline would be an insult to the host. I've declined successfully several times - but there are those one or two dinners where the hosts are so sincere in wanting to please me that I have no heart to decline the soup, and I find myself sipping it reluctantly.

That is not good enough, I know. Still, I will continue trying.

Turtle eggs are a delicacy where I'm born. You can find them in the market, bagfuls. I used to enjoy them as a kid. That all ended when I took up diving and saw how graceful they were. I couldn't eat another. Also, my family learnt about them. How every nest of a 100 odd eggs, only one makes it to adulthood. That's a 1% rate of survival per nest. My entire family swore off turtle eggs. Adult turtles die because they mistake floating plastic bags in the sea for jellyfish and choke when they try to swallow. So think twice before carelessly discarding rubbish into the ocean.

The turtle egg sellers are poor fishermen folks. The eggs fetch a high price in the market and this means food on the table. You can't talk about conservation to them because collecting and selling these eggs are a form of survival. How can they care whether the turtles will live to see another generation if it means that their family were to starve? The government plays a crucial role here. Offer them alternative means of economy. Turn the tables around, use their knowledge of the nesting areas and turtle habits and pay them to take care of the nests.

Also - next time you're snorkelling around and you spot plastic bags floating around, please take it back to the boat and dispose it properly. Do that and you save a turtle's live. Simple no?

Speaking of snorkelling, it really annoys me when snorkellers kick or touch corals. Plain irresponsible behaviour. Please respect the corals. Don't show off underwater and barge into them like a sinking sack of potato. This goes for divers as well - if you can't control your buoyancy, stay away from coral beds. They grow at a delicate rate of one inch per year. Respect that.

Peace and love. Earth bless you.

written originally for mankindnews.com

posted by nyx at 9:52 PM | comments (0)

July 19, 2006

you see it?

posted by nyx at 11:10 PM | comments (0)

June 6, 2006

football craze

a pee goal?

don't you think this is taking the world cup craze a tad bit too far? playing with piss for a goal? is it so heartbreaking to tear oneself away from the tube for even a mere minute, that such an invention has to be conjured up to ease the anxiety?

posted by nyx at 12:33 PM | comments (1)

April 19, 2006

number 13 and US$1 dollar

the number thirteen appears numerous times at the US one dollar bill:

• 13 stars above the eagle
  
• 13 steps on the Pyramid
  
• 13 letters in ANNUIT COEPTIS
  
• 13 letters in E PLURIBUS UNUM
  
• 13 vertical bars on the shield
  
• 13 horizontal stripes at the top of the shield
  
• 13 "Buttons" to the left of the pyramid and to the right of the eagle
  
• 13 leaves on the olive branch
  
• 13 fruits
  
• 13 arrows
  
• The number of letters in NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM (17) plus the number of letters in the Roman Numeral date MDCCLXXVI (9) is 26, which divided by 2 (for the two phrases that add up to it), equals 13

wonder why?

posted by nyx at 11:41 AM | comments (3)

August 26, 2005

earth's "second moon" revisited

mars and earth comes close together once every 26 months. sometimes they come so close together that mars will seem like a little moon, hence - it's as if earth has another moon (i think this is an exaggeration but it's how mars earned the second moon nickname, if you consider how close the closest mars ever got to earth it's nowhere as close as luna is although mars is roughly double the size of our moon).

the closest was in august 27th 2003 - 38 million miles away (luna is 239 miles away). the next time mars and earth will come so close to each other is in 2018. this year, mars will be closing in on november 7th - and will be roughly about 46 million miles away (check wiki for mars appearances)

to the naked eye however, mars won't appear as big as a full moon. it'll appear brighter, that's about it.

there has been emails going around telling people that august 27th 2005 is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see mars so close that it'll appear like earth's second moon and that the next time something like this will occur is year 2013/2287 - it's a hoax, an urban legend, and we will probably be getting the same email annually with the year changed accordingly. another article debunking that email can be read here.

if you're interested about mars' august 27th 2003 appearance read nasa's take on it and skywatch.

if you're interested in the 2005 mars approach to earth during oct & nov, read it here, here and here.

posted by nyx at 7:26 AM | comments (2)

earth's second moon

discovered in 1986, earth's "second moon" is called asteroid 3753. her more commonly used name is cruithne (pronounced croo-een-ya), which is the first celtic racio-tribal group that migrated from europe to the british isles sometime in 800-500 bc.

cruithne shares the earth's orbit around the sun - they are co-orbital, sort of like earth's little pet dog.

however, cruithne is not a moon because she is not gravitationally bounded with earth, like luna. her orbit is very complicated - so much so that the path was only mapped out in 1997, 11 years after the discovery.

observe cruithne's orbit(yellow line) in the picture below (mercury is magenta, venus green, earth blue, mars red) :

as you can see, cruithne does not traverse elliptically, but orbits in a horseshoe. for more technical explanation about why she travels like that and whether there is a chance that she bangs earth and how unique the relationship is between these two, read Paul Wiegert's explanation (he was one of the guys who observed and realised cruithne's course)

cruithne is classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (also known as aten asteroid). every 385 years this "moon" comes to its closest point to earth, 15 million km away. this will occur next in 2285.

posted by nyx at 12:13 AM | comments (1)

June 16, 2005

the airbag evolves

look - toyota came up with an improved dual airbag system that wont smash your nose. instead, it'll distribute the impact to your shoulders and cheeks and at the same time support your head. debuts in new lexus models, read about it here and here.

posted by nyx at 11:15 AM | comments (2)

May 31, 2005

ark of covenant almost found?

[From WorldNetDaily.com]

"Raiders of the Lost Ark" is one of my all-time favorite movies, filled with mystery and adventure. It focuses on the search for a biblical artifact and treasure called The Ark of the Covenant. What makes the movie particularly exciting is how closely it mimics (with some added Hollywood flair) the real life hunt for the lost Ark.

History has it that the original Ark was where God manifested His presence on earth beginning in the days of Moses. The Ark was designed as a chest made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. It had four golden rings. Each one attached to a corner. These rings provided a means to carry the Ark by inserting two wooden bars (also overlaid with gold) on either side. Atop the Ark were two golden cherubim spreading their wings over the Ark's cover also known as the mercy seat.

The Ark itself contained the Ten Commandments and was housed in the innermost room of the Jewish Temple called the Holy of Holies. Here it was the center of worship, although actual access to the Ark was permitted only once a year on the Day of Atonement called Yom Kippur. On that day, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies with the blood of a goat to make atonement for the sins of the Israelites.

Other contents of the Ark included Aaron's rod and a golden pot of manna. Additionally, the Ark is renowned for its mysterious powers. According to the Bible, when the Ark was carried by the people of Israel into battle, it protected the Israelites, supernaturally defeating any adversaries that came before them.

This explains why in the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark" the Nazis were intent on obtaining it. Their theory (as the story line goes) was that they would be unbeatable if they possessed the Ark and could harness its mysterious powers. Of course, as both the movie and history would have it, things didn't quite work out for the Nazis.

But what of the Ark?

It is believed to have disappeared with the destruction of the First Temple by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon in 586 B.C. The exact whereabouts of the Ark have remained a mystery ever since.

One theory is that the Ark was taken from ancient Jerusalem by Prince Menelik of Ethiopia. Menelik was the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Menelik purportedly brought the Ark to his country for safekeeping where it currently remains housed in a church in Axum.

Another theory is that the Ark was hidden in a secret chamber housed beneath Jerusalem's Temple Mount. The alleged secret chamber was created by either King Solomon, who built the First Temple, or a subsequent king before the temple was plundered by Nebuchadnezzar.

One version of this theory suggests that in the early 12th century a group of nine Frenchmen known as the original Knights Templars excavated beneath the site of the old Temple of Jerusalem. They retrieved the true Ark of the Covenant and secreted it away.

A second more popular version suggests the Ark is still located in a vault somewhere in the miles of tunnels carved beneath the city of Jerusalem. It is believed the location of the Ark will be revealed when the time is right for the Jewish Temple to be built for the third time.

One famous adherent to this theory is Dr. Vendyl Jones. He is a modern-day explorer and teacher and the true inspiration for the Indiana Jones series. Startling the world, he announced last week on Israel National Radio that he actually knows the location of the Ark.

He says according to ancient documents the Ark is hidden in a secret passage that runs 18 miles south of the Temple Mount into the Judean Desert. Before dismissing his claim as a lark, it is worth noting that Jones published a book in 1959 predicting the precise outbreak of the Six Day War.

He calculated the war in 1967 by analyzing the sequence of events in the First Temple period and transposing them on the Third Temple period. The First Temple period began with its original construction in the days of King Solomon. The Third Temple period began according to Jones with the Jews founding an independent state in the land of Israel in 1948.

Now Jones is convinced that with the help of ancient documents found in Qumran, he has pinpointed the location of the Ark. And armed with the blessing of religious leaders, Jones hopes to reveal the location of the Ark by Aug. 14, which marks the Fast of Tisha B'Av. This holy day commemorates repeated tragedy in Jewish history including the destruction of both the First and the Second Holy Temples.

Jones' plan is simple. It is to drill a borehole into the chamber containing the Ark, drop a pin-camera in and reveal the historic treasure to a watching world.

If Jones is right, many predict this event will turn the world upside down. Jones says this will bring an end to the government's plan to uproot Jews of Gaza and northern Samaria. It also will bring the very idea of any Palestinian state to a screeching halt. In fact, Jones predicts quite the opposite will occur. With the discovery of the Ark, the Jewish people will have the greatest motivation of all time to return to Israel from around the world and rebuild the Temple to house this holy treasure.

Of course, whether Jones actually uncovers the Ark is not the sole issue. Equally compelling is proving once more through science that the Bible is more than just a collection of parables. Are you ready for this?

[Link]

p/s: wiki's brief overview on the ark of covenant

posted by nyx at 9:54 AM | comments (12)

May 18, 2005

over time

stumbled onto an interesting link. this family makes it a point to take pictures of each themselves every june 17th. they have been doing it since 1976 - go take a look.

found a few more sites that does the same thing. three siblings snapping pics since 1983, another family since 1999 and finally a guy in USA who takes pics of himself everday since 1998.

posted by nyx at 11:13 PM | comments (1)

timbuktu

it is in africa. in fact, timbuktu is a unesco world heritage site.

posted by nyx at 7:31 AM | comments (2)

May 13, 2005

king tut given a face

based on 1,700 ct scans, king tut's face was reconstructed carefully and made into a lifelike clay bust. see the pictures here and read the article here.

posted by nyx at 7:28 AM | comments (0)

May 11, 2005

the origin of love

here's an excerpt of plato's symposium where aristophanes speaks of the origin of love

posted by nyx at 9:14 PM | comments (0)

May 10, 2005

the nick nyx

one of my most loved enid blyton's book is tales of ancient greece. tattered, dog-eared, yellowed - those pages gave birth to my love for mythology.

on my quest for more mythical legends, i chanced upon an unfamiliar deity - and was intrigued. daughter of chaos? the embodiment of the night? mother of Death and Fate? and yet she remained obscure? definately my kinda goddess.

i read up more on her, and found out that nyx was one of the first few deities created. the elder if you will. first born gods.

in the beginning there was nothing but chaos, and out of this shapeless confused mass of elements came out nyx and erebus.

there are a few depictions of how this ancient one looked like. she has dark wings. her wrath so vengeful, is feared even by zeus. she rides across the sky on a two horse chariot spreading the night like curtains. she stretches her black wings wide, wraps it around earth and that's how night happens. in the shadow of her wings, love blooms, muses come out and play, secret cults worship.

i couldn't resist donning this name, and have been using it for quite some years now. this is the story behind my nick.

posted by nyx at 9:22 PM | comments (14)

May 5, 2005

oldest tricks in the photography book

got a few emails via moksha that i never replied to (sorry!) about photography techniques. here are some simple and easy to follow tips that will enhance your photos - be it a point and shoot camera, or an slr. i promise to keep the technical mumbo jumbo out of this post (and leave it for another day!). bear in mind that these are just loose guidelines, that the best thing to equip yourself with for photography is bold curiousity, an inquisitive eye, and that irksome perfectionist itch.

1. elimination
   the eye does not like clutter. when framing, eliminate whatever in view that will distract the voice of your subject. zoom in. get close. fill up the frame. simplify.

   
   
   
   
   

2. one third two third rule
   when framing backgrounds or landscapes, try not to split the horizon into 50-50. this is boring composition. one third two third usually looks more interesting. experiment.

   
   

   
   
   
   

3. don't put your subject in the middle
   this again is boring composition. try to place your subjects off center. divide your frame into thirds and roughly place your subject where the grids intersect.

   

   
   
   

4. below 3ft, above 6ft
   the eye likes to view things differently. we see things at eye level all day long so taking pictures at eye level is usually not interesting. try stooping down to knee level, try taking from above your head. crawl on the floor if you have to, or tip toe and lift your hands up high. show different interpretations of everyday things.

   
   

   
   

   
   

5. patterns
   the eye likes to see repetitive abundance. look for patterns, look for textures. look at shadows and reflections.

   
   
   
   

   
   

6. colour contrast
   eye candy! stark contrast, vibrant colours, anything that jumps out.

   
   

   
   
   

7. foreground/background
   adding in a foreground or background enhances the pic, gives it more perspective and depth. use these elements to tell a story.

   
   

   
   

8. frame
   look around your subject, use anything to frame them. a tree branch, a wall, a window. use your surroundings creatively.

   

   
   
   

9. depth
   the eye likes the illusion of depth. use whatever you can arround you to guide your viewers eye to the subject. add perspective with the floor, rows of houses, lines of trees. play with angles, be dramatic, tilt the camera, use lines.

   
   
   

posted by nyx at 7:36 PM | comments (15)

April 16, 2005

d'oh is in the dictionary

and it has been since 2001. the definitions in various dictionaries:

• oxford dictionary : informal exclamation used to comment on a foolish action
  
• oxford dictionary online : 1. Expressing inarticulacy or incomprehension 2. (usu. mildly derog.) implying that another person has said something foolish or extremely obvious
  
• american heritage dictionary : 1. Used to express disdain for something deemed stupid or obvious, especially a self-evident remark 2. Imitative of an utterance attributed to slow-witted people
  
• merriam-webster online dictionary : 1. used to express actual or feigned ignorance or stupidity 2. used derisively to indicate that something just stated is all too obvious or self-evident

this infectious catch-phrase originated from The Simpsons. in the script, that comical expression was written down as "annoyed grunt", and the voice talent for homer adapted Laurel and Hardy's "dooh" into the infamous "d'oh!" that we so commonly use these days.

The Simpsons debuted in The Tracy Ullman Show as short animated entertainment before or after advertisement slots. if you watch Ally McBeal - Tracey Ullman is that wacky psychologist who came up with bizarre things like "Own Theme Song" and moving couches and punctuates her sessions with sound effects.

this is how the simpsons look like back then :

posted by nyx at 10:04 AM | comments (0)

March 30, 2005

A Pact With Satan

extracted from Mysteries of the Unexplained : How Ordinary Men and Women Have Experienced the Strange, the Uncanny, and the Incredible

When Clara Germana Cele was 16 years old, she made a pact with Satan - or so she told her confessor, Father Erasmus Horner, at the mission school she had attended since she was four years old. In the weeks following her confession, Germana began to behave wildly, and on August 20, 1906, she alarmed the sisters in charge by tearing her clothes, breaking one of the posts on her bed, growling and grunting like and animal, and seeming to converse with invisible beings. In a more lucid moment she called out : "Sister, please call Father Erasmus. I must confess and tell everything. But quick, quick, or Satan will kill me. He has me in his power! Nothing blessed is with me; I have thrown away all the medals you gave me." Later that day she again called out: "You have betrayed me. You have promised me days of glory, but now you treat me cruelly."

Until these outbursts began, the priests and nuns of Marianhill Order mission school in Umzinto, about 50 miles south of Durban, South Africa, had considered Germana a normal, healthy, although somewhat erratic young person. As her condition worsened, Germana began to manifest signs by which the Roman Catholic Church identifies cases of demonic possession. Holy water, for example, burned her when she was sprinkled with it or given to drink, but when she was sprinkled with ordinary water with which the font had secretly been filled, she simply laughed. She complained vigorously whenever a cross was brought near her and could detect the presence of a religious object, such as a small fragment of a cross, even when it had been heavily wrapped or otherwise concealed.

read more »

posted by nyx at 11:02 PM | comments (12)

March 9, 2005

rock concert for a rock

Celebration gig for ancient rock
The University of Wisconsin, US is to hold a rock concert for what is thought to be the world's oldest stone.

The concert, which will take place in April, will feature a performance from the New York band Jazz Passengers, who use rocks as percussion instruments.

The stone, which will appear on stage during the performance, is a piece of zirconium silicate believed to be around 4.4 billion years old.

It was discovered in western Australia and has been loaned to the University.

Researchers have said the stone, which was found in 2001, points to evidence that the Earth cooled much earlier than originally thought.

However, concert organiser Joe Sklulan, from the university's Madison Geology Museum, said the event was not just being held for educational purposes.

"I'm kind of adamant about this not being a science outreach event," he said.

"The intention would be to evoke the feeling of 4.4 billion years, which is something you can't rationally grasp."

He also said that the musicians would perform songs with a geological theme.

Around 150 people have so far signed up to attend the free event, which takes place on 9 April.

[Link]

posted by nyx at 9:07 AM | comments (0)

January 25, 2005

Queen Nefertiti : 1st Woman to have a facelift

[World News]: London, Jan 24 : Ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti was a chav in the real sense, as she was the first woman in the world to have a facelift.

Britain's Channel 4 show 'Ancient Plastic Surgery' claimed that Nefertiti had a "Croydon facelift" where hair is tied so tight that it pulls the skin taut reducing fine lines and wrinkles on the face.

The technique is used today by millions of chavs to make women look younger, and it may have been commonly used by Egyptians around 1500BC.

"It's been referred to in texts of her using pieces of linen covered in resin or another adhesive product near her hair line to pull back the eyes or even out crow's feet," The Sun quoted Lisa Schwappach of California's Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum as saying. (ANI)

[Link]

posted by nyx at 2:01 PM | comments (2)

January 19, 2005

farnese atlas : not merely an art

interesting news. apparently the globe that Titan Atlas is supporting in the Farnese Atlas depicts the constellation sky accurately, and it also a lost copy of ancient astronomer Hipparchus' work.

In greek mythology, Atlas was sentenced by Zeus to hold up the sky. this statue stands at 7ft, and is currently being displayed at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, Italy. dated 150AD, it is one of the oldest surviving pictorial record of Western configuration of stars, with pictures of Aries the ram, Cygnus the swan, Hercules the hero and other animals and people representing 41 constellations.

read about it here, at CNN, or more comprehensively here.

read more »

posted by nyx at 12:19 PM | comments (0)

January 16, 2005

the vulva bloom

an orchid is. undeniably so. you'll agree once you see the pics i have collected. been reading The Orchid Thief and there are fascinating facts about orchids. here's some :

• the name "orchid" comes from the Greek root orkhis, meaning "testicle"
• considered the most highly evolved flowering plants on earth (it was said that perhaps orchids evolved in soil naturally irradiated by meteor and the radiation mutated them into thousands of amazing forms)
• orchid gets fertilized because it is smarter than the bug with the following methods :
  • pseudoantagonism : the orchid imitates the shape of something that a pollinating insect likes to kill, insect sees its "enemy" and attacks it(the orchid) and in the process of this pointless fight the insect gets dusted with orchid pollen and spreads the pollen when it repeats the mistake
  • pseudocopulation : the orchid looks like the pollinating insects' mate, so the bug tries to mate with the orchid
  • Lady's slipper orchids have a special hinged lip that traps bees and forces them to pass through sticky threads of pollen as they struggle to escape through the back of the plant
  • some orchid secretes nectar that attracts small insects, as the insects lick the nectar they are slowly lured into a narrowed tube inside the orchid until their heads are directly beneath the crest of the flower's rostellum [an extension of the stigma, the part of a flower on which pollen germinates]. when the insects raise their heads the crest shoots out little darts of pollen that are instantly and firmly cemented to the insects' eyeballs but then fall off the moment the insects put their heads inside another orchid plant.
• orchids are one of the few things in the world that can live forever. many people who collect orchids designate an orchid heir in their wills, because they know the plants will outlast them
• no one knows whether orchids evolved to complement insects or whether the orchids evolved first, or whether somehow these two life forms evolved simultaneously, which might explain how two totally different living things came to depend on each other. the harmony between an orchid and its pollinator is so perfect that it is kind of eerie.

below are (many many) pictures of orchids, enjoy the eye candy.

read more »

posted by nyx at 1:52 PM | comments (1)

January 8, 2005

the bubble planet (because BawangMerah asked)

• The dark and shadowy planet, is named after the great Titan, Saturn, the Roman God of Agriculture.

• Saturn has the most moons (33 as of aug 2004), all in a complex ring system. The largest of these moons is Titan. It is believed that Titan has a solid outside layer of ice and in the inside there is water. There could be life in this core of water.

• Only 18 of Saturn's moons are named. They are Titan, Rhea, Pan, Phoebe, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Iapetus, Hyperion, Epimetheus, Janus, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Telesto, Calypso, Dione, and Helene. Most of them are named after other Titans and Titanesses.

• Has thousands of rings made of ice, dust, and rocks.

read more »

posted by nyx at 3:11 PM | comments (1)

is it normal for the earth to be this active?

[image from US Geo Survey]

183 quakes in the last week? here's a list of quakes from Jan 1st.

posted by nyx at 2:55 PM | comments (0)

January 5, 2005

a lobster's sex live

aka "Don't Make Me Piss At Your Face To Get Your Attention!"

Usually in a particular neighborhood, one male establishes himself as the local ogre, the dominant alpha male. And once his status is secured, he enforces it. Every night, he goes out and beats up all the other lobsters in the neighborhood, kicks them all out of their houses, just to remind them who's in charge.

Females apparently find this abuse particularly arousing, and they become very interested in the dominant alpha male. [Lobsters] all know where each other lives. It's very interesting—they have a map of the neighborhood.

Females will regularly go and visit the entrance to the alpha male's shelter after he's been beating them up. They follow him home, and they perform a variety of courtship rituals.

The problem is, the alpha male is so belligerent, he's not really interested in romance. He just wants to beat people up all the time. So the females have to cajole him into a romantic mood.

read more »

posted by nyx at 1:55 PM | comments (0)

study suggests herring kentut to communicate

In polite society, flatulence is often a social faux pas—especially when issued deliberately. But in the world of fish, group "raspberry-blowing" sessions appear to perform an important social role.

This intriguing idea comes from scientists who discovered that herring create a mysterious underwater noise by farting. Researchers suspect herring hear the bubbles as they're expelled, helping the fish form protective shoals at night. It's the first ever study to suggest fish communicate by breaking wind.

The study's findings, now published online in the U.K. science journal Biology Letters, reveal that Atlantic and Pacific herring create high-frequency sounds by releasing air from their anuses.

"We know [herring] have excellent hearing but little about what they actually use it for," said research team leader Ben Wilson, a marine biologist at the Bamfield Marine Science Centre, British Columbia, Canada. "It turns out that herring make unusual farting sounds at night."

read more »

posted by nyx at 1:40 PM | comments (3)

the rusty planet

• The Romans named Mars after their god of war. The planet has two moons : Phobos (Greek for "fear") and Deimos (Greek for "panic"). The moons are named for the horses that pulled the chariot of Ares, the Greek god of war.

• Many scientists believe that Phobos and Deimos are in fact captured asteroids - asteroids that flew into Mars's orbit and never quite shook free.

• A Martian day is nearly the same length as an Earth day—24 hours and 37 minutes. The Martian year, however, lasts nearly twice as long one of ours, spanning 687 Earth days.

• Valles Marineris, or Mariner Valley, is an enormous Martian canyon system nearly as long as the continental United States. The 2,500-mile-long (4,000km long) system reaches depths of up to 4 miles (7 km) and stretches along one-fifth of the Martian equator. The canyon was likely caused by tectonic "cracking" of the red planet's crust.

read more »

posted by nyx at 1:18 PM | comments (1)

January 4, 2005

how India got her name

the word 'india' derives from Sindhu, the sanksrit name of the great river - known in english as the Indus - that flows into the Arabian Sea from its source in the snowy peaks of the Himalayas.

the ancient persians, unable to pronounce the initial 'S', used the word Hindhu to denote both the land and the people beyond the river's eastern bank. the term then passed to the greeks and into europe generally, resulting in the word Indu, which in turn became 'India' in English.
-extracted from The Rough Guide Chronicle : India

imagine that, india is named such because the persians cannot pronounce S! haha!

posted by nyx at 1:33 PM | comments (7)

vikings were vain barbarians

Vikings were responsible for introducing ironing to Scotland.

The pillaging Scandinavians were surprisingly conscious of their appearance and regularly smoothed their clothes.

Excavations across Scotland have revealed evidence that the Nordic warriors used ironing boards and smoothing stones to make the job easier.

Dr Euan MacKie, of Glasgow University, said he found out about the ironing culture by chance 10 years ago, when his colleague's child found a piece of a whalebone on the Hebridean island of North Uist.

He said: "It is probably right to say Vikings introduced ironing to Scotland.

"The archaeological findings from before the Viking era have produced no evidence of similar activity.

read more »

posted by nyx at 12:54 PM | comments (2)

elephants saved tourists from tsunami

By Mark Bendeich

KHAO LAK, Thailand (Reuters) - Agitated elephants felt the tsunami coming, and their sensitivity saved about a dozen foreign tourists from the fate of thousands killed by the giant waves.

"I was surprised because the elephants had never cried before," mahout Dang Salangam said on Sunday on Khao Lak beach at the eight-elephant business offering rides to tourists.

The elephants started trumpeting -- in a way Dang, 36, and his wife Kulada, 24, said could only be described as crying -- at first light, about the time an earthquake measured at a magnitude of 9.0 cracked open the sea bed off Indonesia's Sumatra island.

The elephants soon calmed down. But they started wailing again about an hour later and this time they could not be comforted despite their mahouts' attempts at reassurance.

"The elephants didn't believe the mahouts. They just kept running for the hill," said Wit Aniwat, 24, who takes the money from tourists and helps them on to the back of elephants from a sturdy wooden platform.

read more »

posted by nyx at 10:35 AM | comments (3)

January 3, 2005

buried women possibly belonged to amazon tribe

Published in News & Star on Wednesday, December 29th 2004 By Pam McClounie

Two bodies unearthed from an ancient cemetery at Brougham, near Penrith, have changed experts’ views on Roman Britain.

For the 1,750-year-old remains – found at the site in the 1960s – have been identified as women warriors who may have been from the fabled Amazon fighting tribe of Eastern Europe.

The discovery has astonished archaeologists and historians because women were not previously known to have fought in the Roman army, which occupied Britain between 55BC and AD410.

The remains were found at a burial ground just off the M6 at Brougham. At the time Brougham was a fort and civilian settlement known as Brocavum.

Some of the items found in and around Carlisle as part of the excavation of Brougham cemetery in 1966 and 1967 were on display in Tullie House museum. They included a murdered man’s skull and burial tombstones.

Experts believe the two women warriors died between AD220 and AD300. They had been burnt on pyres along with their horses and military equipment.

One of the women – believed to be aged between 20 and 40 – was discovered with the burnt remnants of animals. Possessions of bone veneer, a sword scabbard and red pottery buried with her suggest she was of high status.

read more »

posted by nyx at 12:10 PM | comments (0)

women held power in Burnt City 5000 years ago

According to the research by an archeological team in the burnt city, women comprised the most powerful group in this 5000-year-old city.

The archeological team has found a great number of seals in the women's graves. In ancient societies, holding a seal was a sign of power, and was of 2 kinds: personal and governmental.

The burnt city ancient site located in Sistan-Baluchistan province, southeastern Iran, dates back to between 2000 and 3000 BC.

"In the ancient world, there were tools used as a means of economic control. Whoever had these tools at his disposal was among the most powerful people in the society", Mansour Sajjadi, the Iranian archeologist responsible for excavations in the burnt city told CHN.

read more »

posted by nyx at 11:57 AM | comments (7)

December 19, 2004

Venus of Willendorf

i haven't done a curiosities post for quite sometime. here's an entry that i've been meaning to post up:

facts :
discovered in austria. 11.1cm high. made of limestone. covered with a thick layer of red ochre, archeologist think this statue is probably used for menstruation rites. hair on head is braided. vulva is carved in detail suggesting that the person who shaped this has good knowledge in anatomy. could we conclude that people of that era were an obesed lot? another site state that this goddess could've been an early sex symbol. also rumoured to be used for fertility rites.

more paleolothic female sculptures here

posted by nyx at 2:57 PM | comments (0)

October 29, 2004

seven fairies

this story is for chewa.

it is incomplete (my mum know only the gist of it, my aunt tells a longer version)

once, there were seven fairies. happily they would spend their day hopping from cloud to cloud getting to know all the silver linings there was to know. some days they would fly to the moon and play hide and seek in its craters. other days they would just lepak in heaven.

day after day after day after day they did this and from seven fairies they became seven very bored fairies.

one day - they decided to follow the rain and see where it landed. they knew they had to cross the forbidden border....but were too bored to care.

so off they went. and they discovered earth. and they decided to take a nice bath. and they were discovered by other gods who scolded them and dragged them back to heaven.

read more »

posted by nyx at 8:18 PM | comments (0)

September 17, 2004

random anecdotes about hindu deities

no time to do proper research, so off the top of my head, here's some amusing tit-bits :

• if you look at ganesha (the elephant head god) properly, you'd find that one of his tusk is broken. how did it break? well, he's a reputated scribe, famed for being able to write as fast as you can speak. one day, a sage named vsaya approached him and ask him whether he was up to jote down the mahabharata epic. ganesha said, "hell yeah" and the vsaya immediately started narrating. ganesha in a rush, broke off his tusk and used it as a pen. the narration went on for three years.

• why is kali's (female goddess usually black in colour, fierce looking, eyes wide open, has a necklace of skeletons and belt of dismembered arms and tongue sticking out) tongue always sticking out? if you look carefully, one of her feet is actually stepping on a male body. this is shiva, her husband. kali is a manifestation of parvati, she transformed into kali to kill a monster. after drinking the monster's poisonous blood, she became a killing machine and roamed around slashing everyone in sight. shiva, wanting to stop the massacre, laid himself on the battlefield in kali's path. as soon as she stepped on him, she stuck her tongue out in shame and immediately lost her blood lust.

• shiva's first son is kartikeya (aka subramanyam, murugam and a whole lot of other names). how was he conceived? the gods eagerly awaited for shiva and parvati's son to be born. a monster got a boon from one god that only such a child would be able to kill him. during shiva and parvati's 1000 years of love making, no child was conceived, and the gods were impatient. they sent agni (god of fire) to collect shiva's seed. the seed was spilled into the ganges river and flowed into six women who were bathing there at that time. all six got pregnant and their husbands kicked them out for committing adultery. each of the women gave birth to a different body part, and probably horrified with the sight, they dumped the body into the ganges river. all six parts then came together and formed kartikeya. which explains why he has six heads :)

okay. enough for today.

posted by nyx at 10:55 AM | comments (0)

September 16, 2004

hinduism 101

(disclaimer : i am going to ramble about what i know of hinduism based on what i've read/been told/observed/remember, the things i say may not be accurate so google your own research)

hinduism is largely influenced by two groups of people, aryans and dravidians. aryans are a nomadic tribe that invaded india (many school of thoughts as to how aryans ended up in india), whereas dravidians are the people living there at that time. aryans, being nomads, do not build temples to worship their gods. instead they chant songs/prayers/hymns. they brought rig veda into hinduism. examples of their deities (which are made up of elemental gods) are the sun god (surya), rain and thunder god (indra), fire god (agni), death god (yama) and so on.

dravidians worship the trimurti (trinity) made up of brahma (creator), vishnu (preserver) and shiva (destroyer). the merging of these two religions gave birth to hinduism. if you read ramayana or mahabharata, you'd find a lot of interactions between the trimurti gods and the elemental gods. in bali shiva is sometimes worshipped as surya. the aryan god rudra is now one of the many facets of shiva. the gods that i affectionately termed elemental are now called vedic gods.

aryans also created the caste system as they believe themselves to be the chosen people. they are of fair skin while dravidians are darker.

moving on to the trimurti, each of the god has a consort. brahma's consort is saraswati, goddess of knowledge; vishnu's wife is lakshmi, goddess of wealth; shiva's is parvati, goddess of.....i forgot :).

how do you differentiate the gods? first of all, visual clues. the colour of their skin, the things they carry on their hands, their transportation etc etc all have stories behind them. google out the visual clues if you're interested.

i can't even begin to tell you the many stories about the interactions between the gods and goddesses. how shiva and parvati reunited and fornicated for a thousand years, how parvati became kali to kill a demon, how ganesha got his elephant head, how kama (hinduism's equivalent of cupid) became invisible to our eyes, how vishnu and shiva made love and gave birth to ayyappan and also the dance mohini attam, all very very intricate but interesting stories.

out of the three gods, shiva is by far the most interesting god for me because he is temperamental, egoistic and a lover.

vishnu, being the preserver, comes down to earth everytime something threatens its existence. he has had nine incarnations/avatars and the tenth time he comes down marks the end of the world. his seventh avatar is rama, star of the ramayana epic. eighth avatar is krishna, heavily worshipped, and appeared in mahabharata. the ninth is buddha. the tenth is kalki and has yet to appear. basically, there are four world cycles/yuga in hindusim, the first is satyayuga (the golden age of truth where virtue is supreme), second is tretayuga (silver age where 3/4 virtue exists and 1/4 sin), third age is dvaparayuga (bronze age where virtue and sin exits equally) and fourth age, the cycle we are currently in, is kaliyuga (iron age, 1/4 virtue and 3/4 sin). kalki, vishnu's tenth avatar will descent to cleanse the earth so that all is good for a new satyayuga to begin.

as to why deepavali is celebrated, there are also two versions (the more you read hindusim the more versions you'd find for different events/stories/etc, its exasperating but keeps the interest rolling). one is that deepavali marks the return of rama into the kingdom of ayodyha after his 14 year exile. another version says deepavali marks the day when lord krishna killed a demon (i haven't read this but was told about it).

bla bla bla. will continue another day

posted by nyx at 1:24 PM | comments (0)

September 10, 2004

did you all know this?

eeks, but they only accept credit cards :(

posted by nyx at 9:26 AM | comments (0)

nokia announces....

curious about the 7280, wonder how it works, could be entirely voice activated. looks like a lipstick case huh?

posted by nyx at 9:17 AM | comments (0)

September 1, 2004

history of everyday things

design history of peace symbols

origin of wire coat hanger and its evolution

history of eating utensils

history of mechanical calculators

history of easy chairs

history of writing lamps

history of pendant lights

posted by nyx at 5:15 PM | comments (0)

August 30, 2004

olympics 2008 emblem

posted by nyx at 2:04 PM | comments (0)

August 26, 2004

past olympic mascots

posted by nyx at 8:30 AM | comments (0)

August 25, 2004

popquiz : answers as promised

1. if my cat were suddenly to grow to the size of a tiger would he see me as potential food?

2. can blind people "see" in their dreams?

3. do fish fart?

4. why do hammerhead sharks have hammerheads?

5. how is it possible for woodpeckers to peck so hard without getting brain damage?

6. if baby kangaroos poo-ed in mummy kangaroo's pouch, how does mummy kangaroo clean it up?

7. why do we close our eyes when we sneeze?

posted by nyx at 2:43 PM | comments (0)

August 24, 2004

popquiz : answers tomorrow

1. if my cat were suddenly to grow to the size of a tiger would he see me as potential food?

2. can blind people "see" in their dreams?

3. do fish fart?

4. why do hammerhead sharks have hammerheads?

5. how is it possible for woodpeckers to peck so hard without getting brain damage?

6. if baby kangaroos poo-ed in mummy kangaroo's pouch, how does mummy kangaroo clean it up?

7. why do we close our eyes when we sneeze?

posted by nyx at 2:13 PM | comments (0)

beer bear?

Thursday, August 19, 2004 Posted: 4:23 PM EDT (2023 GMT) SEATTLE, Washington (Reuters) -- A black bear was found passed out at a campground in Washington state recently after guzzling down three dozen cans of a local beer, a campground worker said on Wednesday.

"We noticed a bear sleeping on the common lawn and wondered what was going on until we discovered that there were a lot of beer cans lying around," said Lisa Broxson, a worker at the Baker Lake Resort, 80 miles (129 kilometers) northeast of Seattle.

The hard-drinking bear, estimated to be about two years old, broke into campers' coolers and, using his claws and teeth to open the cans, swilled down the suds.

It turns out the bear was a bit of a beer sophisticate. He tried a mass-market Busch beer, but switched to Rainier Beer, a local ale, and stuck with it for his drinking binge.

Wildlife agents chased the bear away, but it returned the next day, said Broxson.

They set a trap using as bait some doughnuts, honey and two cans of Rainier Beer. It worked, and the bear was captured for relocation.

posted by nyx at 1:18 PM | comments (0)

August 23, 2004

amazon women warriors

facts:

• a tribe of female warriors, believed to occupy the Black Sea
• mentioned in Homer's Iliad
• only needed men for sex. they also have male slaves to do menial domestic chores for them, often
  mutilating them so that they can't retaliate
• gave away male babies (or killed them)
• could have been the first people who tamed horses
• used spears and shields, bows & arrows
• amazon is a greek word that means without breasts, it was speculated that they severed their right breast in order to use the bow and arrow more effectively. (done by the mother once the girl reached adulthood)
  

posted by nyx at 2:31 PM | comments (0)

edward munich's scream & madonna

edward munch's iconic The Scream and Madonna stolen. armed masked thieves just walked into the crowded gallery, yank them off the walls, and escaped in a car. Madonna looks lovely.

posted by nyx at 1:23 PM | comments (0)

August 21, 2004

archangels

there are so many conflicting information about archangels online. i'm skeptical about all the findings but i'll report them anyway. here are the general facts that are similar in most of the sites i visited :

• there are seven archangels : Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Sariel and Lucifer
• Michael means Who is Like God, is the patron angel of law enforcement and protection, also the first angel created by god
• Gabriel means Strength of Life, he is the bearer of good news and inspires humankind (he was the voice in Joan of Arc's head apparently). he is also the ruler of cherubim, and also helps you find your true calling and all that jazz
• Raphael means God Heals, is the angel of healing. is sweet and loving kind and gentle and the most sociable of all archangels
• Uriel means Light of God, patron angel for those who seek peace and salvation
• Raguel means Friend of God, he watches over the behaviour of other archangels
• Sariel means Command of God, works along with Raguel and decides the fate of angels that strayed away from the path of God. also the angel of death
• Lucifer means Light Giver/Light Bearer. i can't find any info about him as an archangel, sites only want to talk about him falling from god's grace

again, i'm really skeptical about all the info above. just wanted to list the archangels and their roles very briefly. there are bible quotes, characteristics, various other minor archangels etc etc that i didn't bother writing down here because they border on BS.

posted by nyx at 12:31 PM | comments (2)

August 20, 2004

chinese oracle bone

here's the promised answer. anonymous got it almost right :)

facts:

• earliest chinese writing scripts / earliest writing record in China<
• carved on tortoise shell or animal bones
• used for divination during Shang Dynasty, hence named Oracle Bone
• rulers of Shang Dynasty (16th - 11th centuries BC, 4800 years ago) were a superstitious bunch, often wanting to foretell weather, health, fortune etc
• a possible of more than 4600 characters, out of which 1000 has been deciphered
• has accurate predictions of solar and lunar eclipse etched on the bones
• to date, 150,000 oracle bones have been found in China & Taiwan
• how it was used : the bones were heated until they cracked, the cracks were interpreted
• the questions and answers are then inscribed permanently on the bones

posted by nyx at 4:44 PM | comments (0)

August 19, 2004

guess

what is this?

p/s: answer coming soon

posted by nyx at 10:48 PM | comments (0)

chinese calligraphy

four qualities to look for in chinese calligraphy :

Bone: a feeling of strength in the strokes that appears impossible to break
Flesh: well-nourished quality in the strokes, without self-indulgence or fatness
Muscle: appearance of one stroke being joined to the next by invisible ligaments, and also one character to the next
Blood: full texture in ink, which should resemble neither water nor sludge

read more »

posted by nyx at 10:38 PM | comments (0)

honda cog advertisement

the honda advertisement that dylan sent (another link here) is one of my absolut-altime-favs, watched it countless times when it was first shown to me. totally blew me away, even loved the sound effect to bits. i had to know more, had to know whether there was animation involved (it looked very real), so i googled the information out. here's some facts about the amazing Honda Cog advertisement :

read more »

posted by nyx at 9:35 PM | comments (0)

August 18, 2004

mogao caves

stumbled onto this early last year as i was reading about the silk road route. on to the facts.

facts:

• caves/grottoes are in dunhuang, china. comprises of 492 caves
• part of the silk road route, it is at the eastern edge of Taklimakan Desert. water found in this oasis is snow melted from Qilian Mountains
• nicknamed The Caves of A Thousand Buddhas
• mural on the walls cover 450,000 square feet
• there are 415 hand painted clay sculptures
  
• it's now on the list of UNESCO's World Natural & Cultural Heritage Site
• the murals on the walls have images of apsaras, musicians, buddhas, warriors, potraits of donors, auspicious symbols and decorative designs
  
• there is a hidden cache in one chamber filled with 50,000 rare scriptures, believed to be hidden by monks in the 11th century. comprises of ancient manuscripts in sanskrit, tibetan, uighur, chinese and other languages
  
• the murals depict many stories and fables (google them out)
• legend has it that the cave was initiated by a monk who was on a pilgrimage to india when he saw rays of light in the cliffs, which inspired him to carve the cave to honour buddha. other pilgrims followed his example, each would stop there to meditate, carve/draw a tribute, then continue their journey

read more »

posted by nyx at 11:46 AM | comments (0)

August 17, 2004

early cave paintings

courtesy of dylan's textbook, i now have tonnes of things to read up on. one being the cave of lascaux.

facts:

• cave in south of france
• drawings are of paleolithic era
• has more than 1500 animal pictures drawn on its wall (another site says 2 to 3 thousand)
• 17,000 years old
• probably painted with grounded yellow&red ochre mixed with animal fat
• mostly paintings of bisons, horses, deer, bulls and other animals
• drawings seem to depict hunting stories, almost like a comic strip, "read" from left to right often ending when the prey is captured
• there are also engravings of animals
• lovingly named "the birthplace of animation" because of thespringing out of the paintings
• the drawings are well preserved thanks to the natural condition of the cave (i forgot whether it was the humidity or lack of).
• when the caves were open for visitors, moss started to grow over them and some of the drawings deteriorated due to increase of carbon dioxide emitted by crowds sighing and gasping over the art.
• so the caves are closed to public again
• two (or was it four?) teenagers stumbled onto the cave while they were treasure hunting in 1940

read more »

posted by nyx at 11:56 PM

August 16, 2004

olympic torches

posted by nyx at 2:43 PM | comments (0)

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