"My mind sees that I am nothing, my heart sees that I am everything, between these two poles my life unfolds."

Thursday, June 9, 2011


Greetings, I can't believe it's Thursday already. The weeks seem to fly by and certain projects outside which I'd like to see completed keep getting carried over for (yet) another week... My excuse of late has been the weather, or more specifically the rain, which we have now had quite enough of thank-you-very-much :) Our inclement weather has me spending even more time on the net than usual.

The above is a map of Middle-Earth and if you are a Tolkien fan, you may find this news story of interest. I was bemused last night to read that in an effort not to alarm it's residents, Hungary's disaster management agency tested the country's emergency broadcast system with warnings of severe storms... in Middle-Earth! I expect they were trying to avoid a 'War of the Worlds' scenario. Messages broadcast a few weeks ago, mostly on state radio and television, warned Hungarians about floods and catastrophic weather in Gondor, Rohan, Rivendell, Helm's Deep and other fictional locations inhabited by Hobbits, Orcs, Elves, Ents and Dwarves. These methods were also an attempt to gauge how effectively the emergency messages reached Hungary's youth.

It's amazing when you stop to consider just how deeply entrenched our daily lives are with popular culture. It seems to permeate everything. The line between what's real and what's not continues to blur...


Here's an interesting art form. Is it real or is it cabbage?


Using vegetables of all shapes and sizes, Chinese artist, Ju Duoqi, recreates famous masterpieces like The Last Supper and Mona Lisa.





The artist, Ju Duoqi, in her studio.

And finally, 


A new study from Austrailia's LaTrobe University has found a connection between caffeine and auditory hallucinations. In other words, coffee might make you hear things! The study involved a lot of coffee and Bing Crosby's White Christmas being played over headphones. The participants were to buzz each time they heard the crooner, but in reality all that was coming through the speakers was white noise. It was found that those who had injested at least 13.5 ounces of coffee incorrectly pressed the buzzer three times more often. Granted, these results are pretty inconclusive, but interesting all the same. Salon 


In parting, I leave you with the words of William Shatner: 

"Weird or What?"

8 comments:

  1. "The line between what's real and what's not continues to blur..." This is oh so true, and rather scary when you think about it.

    I am in awe of Ju Duoqi's art. Amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Got excited as soon as I opened up today's post and saw the map of Middle Earth, recognized it right away. Interestingly enough, I just bought all 3 Lord of The Rings movies yesterday at BlockBuster, brand new $7.99 each. I was thrilled as I've been wanting to own them since they came out. I too heard the coffee study...sorry did you say something about Hobbits? I'm sure I heard something about that as I sip on my third coffee! Lol! xo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hearing Bing Crosby would be okay, hearing something telling you to pick up the knife... well I am guessing it is time to switch to decaf!

    Love Lord of the Rings. Read all three books in the sixth grade and was hooked ever since. I too bought all the movies. I picked up the extended edition ones. All of the extra footage was fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
  4. WebDebris-didn't know there were extended ones! How many more minutes of extra footage is there actually? I'm curious now....

    ReplyDelete
  5. Michelle - there is a lot. I don't have the actual boxes with me but here is what Netflix has as time lengths.

    Fellowship of the Ring - 178 mins
    Fellowship of the Ring Ext. - 208 mins
    Two Towers - 175 mins
    Two Towers Ext. - 223 mins
    Return of the King - 200 mins
    Return of the King Ext. - 250 mins

    I felt the extended scenes brought the movie even closer to the actual books.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ah,so that explains the voices. Good to know,good to know.

    That art is really interesting.I never would have thought such a wonderous thing was possible!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I think coffee just makes you more jittery and likely to hit the button in error, than have an auditory hallucinations, but maybe that's just me. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Martha, I agree, I think she is amazing as well. Each piece is easily identifiable.

    Hi Michelle, You are going to really enjoying owning your own copies - now you can watch anytime your heart desires :) Oh, and might I suggest a decaf?!

    Hi WebDebris, I don't even want to think about 'that' song... I might actually be tempted to pick up a knife!

    Hi LaelShine, Like Michelle, you might want to consider switching out every second cup to a decaf...!

    Hi Tatiana, You may have a point there, I know that I can get that way, depending on the time of day and if I've drank more than a few cups on an empty stomach.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by - and leaving your comments! I love reading them :)