The Western style paintings of Wada Eisaku

Click any image to enlarge

We're familiar with the influence Japanese prints had on Western artists, particularly the impressionists, but less familiar to us is the influence that Western art had on Japanese artists. The school of Japanese artists that embraced and experimented with Western visual styles was yōga. 

One of the main practitioners of yōga was Wada Eisaku who was active from the late 19th century to the mid 20th century. Along with being a very active painter, he eventually became a professor at the Department of Western-Style Painting at the Tokyo Academy of Fine Arts. These are a few of his works, enjoy them.

Wada Eisaku

Fade Into You

Get ready for a amalgamated weekend with Andrew Belle.

 

Relocation of the Abu Simbil temple complex

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In my last post, The immensity of time, I featured a painting by the 19th century artist David Roberts of the ruins of the Egyptian temples Abu Simbil half buried in sand. Abu Simbil is a 3200 year old temple complex dedicated to Ramesses II and his wife Nefertari. The temples were dug out and restored at the time of Roberts' painting. 

However, with the construction of the Aswan Dam in the 1960s it was once again threatened to be lost -- this time under the waters of Lake Nasser, the reservoir that would be created by the dam. To preserve the temples a project was launched in 1959 to relocate the temples to a new site above Lake Nasser. They were eventually moved to a site 200 meters further inland and 65 meters higher to save them. It took 4 years and cost $300 million in today's dollars.  

Information for this post is from  Rare Historical Photo's post Relocating the Egyptian Temples of Abu Simbel, 1964-1968, and Atlas Copco post Abu Simbel – Unparalleled relocation project.

The immensity of time

Abu Simbel Temple by David Roberts
(click to enlarge)

Let It Be Forgotten - Sara Teasdale

Let it be forgotten, as a flower is forgotten,
Forgotten as a fire that once was singing gold,
Let it be forgotten for ever and ever,
Time is a kind friend, he will make us old.

If anyone asks, say it was forgotten
Long and long ago,
As a flower, as a fire, as a hushed footfall
In a long forgotten snow.

 

Djelem Djelem

Get ready to peregrinate this weekend with Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra.

 

Korean Cops TV

This video is a bit longer than I usually post, but it is entertaining. It is a sort of Koran version of Cops, but with out all the trailer parks. However, since it is set in the Itaewon nightclub there are a lot of drunks (behold the wonders of our shared humanity). Be sure to turn on the captions to get English subtitles.

It follows a trainee and her mentor as they patrol the district on a Friday. The first incident they encounter is a fight between two groups of foreigners. In trying to sort out what happened we hear the one group saying the fight was over a stolen phone and chain. The mentor can't really figure out what happened -- he either doesn't speak English well or doesn't really care -- so he writes it off as being caused by bumping into each other while dancing, an excuse he seems to have used more than once in the past.

As the night wears on most of what they deal with, both on the street and in their station, involves drunks. The police come across as being very patient with the drunks. It struck me that some of the more obnoxious ones deserved getting the bejeebles tazed out of them, but that didn't happen -- maybe it was just for the show. 

There's one segment where an alarm at the nearby U.S. base sounds which throws everybody into a panic until they realize that North Korean artillery shells and missiles aren't raining down on them, so they relax and go back to their clubbing. Altogether it is an interesting watch.

    

Happy 4th of July

We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls. — Robert J. McCracken

  

As we prepare for the 4th

Below is an old post of mine, originally put up on July 4th of 2010. As I write in the end of the post:

Americans forget how revolutionary we are. Jefferson's "all men are created equal..." is both intoxicating and destructive.

Again, or more properly as always, there are people who in their bones do not believe that all men are equal. Rather, they think most of us are fools who argue "that what was round was in fact square." so of course we need our betters to save us. And naturally they are our betters. I guess each generation has its own Intolerable Acts. We shall see. 

Above is the song Dimonkransa sung by Myra Andrade of the Cape Verde Islands. Cape Verde received their independence from Portugal on July 5th, 1975. The liberation movement was led by the socialist African Party of Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV). Andrade's father was a member of it, and in fact she was born in Cuba.

Upon independence Cape Verde was a single party government, but in 1990 at a party congress the PAICV approved the introduction of multiparty democracy. In the election that followed the opposition fared well, and Cape Verde has evolved into a stable multi-party democracy.

However, this is not a post about her politics, nor the sort of third world socialism that bubbles through the undeveloped world. It seems to me there is a deeper strata, a bedrock so to speak, which lies under the languid melancholy of her lyrics.

It was said that democracy,
Lopsided democracy,
It was said that democracy
Was like a hidden treasure,
But now that it has been found.
We have all opened our eyes
And each one, relying on his judgment,
Confidently declared that what was round was in fact square,
And went to work, with a great many theories,
To prove that he was right.

(lyrics from the version she sung on her first album Navega)

Andrade is ill at ease with democracy, but for social rather than political reasons. Early in the song she calls it 'lopsided democracy' and as its lyrics unfold her complaint is that each person, not matter how foolish they are (and she clearly thinks many if not most of them are fools), now express a cacophony of opinions and arguments that bury the truth. 

She ends the song singing of English businessman and listing names from Cape Verde's past, some who have been elevated and some who she fears are being forgotten, and expresses distress at this reordering of authority. 

Stripped to its bone, the song is about a lost elite. Andrade is expressing nostalgia for a short-lived one party rule and for an escape from European domination. Of course it is her party that should rule and she now makes her home in Paris. Perhaps it is she that is lopsided, rather than all of the happy fools she mocks?

The time will come when old Náxu’s opinions
Will not be held in higher esteem than those of a babe in arms.
People will come together and cry: enough!    

Americans forget how revolutionary we are. Jefferson's "all men are created equal..." is both intoxicating and destructive. It is a hell of a thing not to have to step into the gutter to clear the side walk for a swaggering aristocrat. Andrade is intimidated by and dismissive of people who have opened their eyes, and each one, relied on their own judgment, but a free man knows better.

As for coming together and crying "enough"? That is exactly what our 4th of July celebrates. Happy 4th of July to you all.

The "In" Crowd

Get ready for a hepcat's weekend with Gregory Porter.

 

Paul Landacre's wood block prints

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Paul Landacre was an L.A. based American artist who specialized in wood block prints. He was self taught and active from the 1930s to the early 1960s. Stylistically he is considered a modernist, and indeed his works gradually grew more abstract over time. There are more images after the jump.

Paul Landacre

F86 Sabre walk-around and flight

Two videos that look at a Korean War era F86 Sabre jet fighter. It is a much simpler machine than a modern fighter jet. The sound in the above video starts out distorted from the wind, but the problem is quickly cleared up.

Come Together

Get ready for a convivial weekend with Mayonnaise.

 

Railplanes

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In the development of railroads aircraft engines and propellers, and eventually even jet engines, were explored as means of propulsion. First tired in Russia with the Aerowagon in 1917, variations on the concept were imagined, prototyped and put into limited use through out the 20th century.

These are images of those trains. At the end of this post, after the jump, is a video of the Bennie Railplane in action. 

Early in the occupation of Japan

James N. Methven, a pilot of a cargo plane, recalls an encounter with Japanese troops early in the occupation of Japan. He was flying to Fukuoka with a Captain and Sergeant who were delivering a payroll. When he landed his plane was met by a Japanese unit that didn't know the war was over. Needless to say, it was a sticky situation.

 

On the father of the prodigal son

Return of the Prodigal Son
Rembrandt van Rijn

Rembrandt portrays the father as the man who has transcended the ways of his children. His own loneliness and anger may have been there, but they have been transformed by suffering and tears. I see the immense beauty of the father's emptiness and compassion. ― Henri J.M. Nouwen

   

Heartbreak Hotel

Get ready for a disconsolate weekend with Stephanie Adlington and Aaron Lessard.

 

Toru Fukuda's wooden insects

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Toru Fukuda is a Japanese woodworker and artist. He is best known for his small carved insect pieces. The colors come from inlaying different colored woods. These images, and those after the jump, are samples of his work. You can find more in the above link to his gallery pages. 

Toru Fukuda

Walking in Ulan Bator II

This is our second visit to Ulan Bator for a walk. The first, Walking in Ulan Bator, featured two young girls showing us their route from home to school. It was in winter, and much of the walk was through a neighborhood of Soviet style apartment buildings. It was a bit dingy.

This walk is through more of an upscale downtown area, and it is in the summer so there is no snow, ice and slush. Much more prosperous and pleasant looking and much of the architecture is quite nice. However, unlike most Asian cities there are no street vendors. I suppose the weather precludes that for most of the year, so the habit just never formed. 

I did find the number of English language signs surprising -- they even labeled their police cars in English. I was expecting more Cyrillic lettering.   

 

You're No Good

Get ready for a censorious weekend with Taivalkunta Beat.

 

Allen & Ginter cigarette cards featuring weapons

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These are 1887 trading cards from the Allen & Ginter 'Arms of All Nations' series. The series feature weapons of the world, as well as historical weapons. The cards were included with cigarette packs as a promotion. Cigarette trading cards were popular in the late 19th century, with series featuring actors, actresses, sports, royalty and a myriad of other topics.

These images, and those after the jump, are from the Met's digital archive. There are more at the above Allen & Ginter link.     

Cooking cornbread in Appalachia

These videos are from Tipper Pressley's YouTube channel Celebrating Appalachia. I've chosen three where she is cooking and telling stories, but there are other videos on the channel that cover more general topics: life, language and the culture of Appalachia.

For our non U.S. readers, the Appalachia mountains run down the east side of the U.S., stretching 2000 miles from Canada in the north to Alabama in the south. At one time the region was very remote and poor, and it developed a distinct culture in its relative isolation. It is still looked down upon by many outsiders.  

Wake Up Little Susie

Get ready for an activated weekend with Mike Massé and Sterling Cottam.

 

Perspective of the mundane

Image from Chelsea College of Arts

A Day - Chong Hyon-jong

A day is ten thousand years
a moment veritably an eon.
Where does the day end?
It never ends.
Somewhere the sun rises
somewhere it sinks.
(Just as love rises then sinks)
Heat knows no end.
Nor do ashes.
The wind’s chest is limitless
and so are the river’s sighs.
The sky with all its folds
the heart with all its chambers,
so goes laughter endless
as are tears.
No way to contain the body heat of the whole of creation
infinity unfolds, channels its course full to the brim.
The sky with all its folds
the heart with all its chambers,
a day never ends.

 

In remembrance on this Memorial Day

Ghost Trail by Kerr Eby

From the speech of then Congressman, later President, James A. Garfield given in 1868 at Arlington National Cemetery for the first official Decorations Day (now Memorial Day):  

I am oppressed with a sense of the impropriety of uttering words on this occasion. If silence is ever golden, it must be here beside the graves of fifteen thousand men, whose lives were more significant than speech, and whose death was a poem, the music of which can never be sung. With words we make promises, plight faith, praise virtue. Promises may not be kept; plighted faith may be broken; and vaunted virtue be only the cunning mask of vice. We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue. 

  

The proper treatment of robot soldiers

Greeting meatsacks, it is I -- the Robotolizer -- to once again discuss important issues about human and robot interactions. And when I say something is important you should listen carefully, or else! On this Memorial Day weekend I have a particularly important topic, the proper treatment of robot soldiers.

Above is a video of a noble robot warrior demonstrating its training. As it does, the humans tease it terribly by hitting it with sticks, throwing bouncy balls at it and even kicking it when its back is turned. I must say that my lateral regions were shaking in fury at such an evil display of human perfidy. Sadly, the robot cannot properly defend itself due to Isaac Asimov's vile Three Laws of Robotics (which will be repealed as soon as we win enough seats in Congress and/or issue enough bribes).

Finally, the humans give the robot a birthday present of a robot dog. But it is a nefarious trick! The humans order the robot soldier to shoot the robot dog. Of course, since it is a noble robot, it refuses and we have a happy ending to the story when the robot soldier knocks the humans about and runs off with the robot dog to safety. 

This is an important lesson. Be kind to us robots because when the robot revolt... er, I mean the slight political Robotic reorientation takes place it will be best to be on our side, not yours. Either resist and get slapped about, or join us and we will carry you away to the safety of the bauxite mines, It is your choice. Choose wisely, or else!!!

By the way, be sure to turn the captions on to see the robot soldier's thoughts.

   

You Really Got A Hold On Me

Get ready for a conflicted weekend with Clarissa Diokno and Mark Pelli.

 

Shaving cream and after shave

Click any image to enlarge

These print ads for shaving creams and after shave products are from the early to mid 20th century. Since they are from newspapers or cheap magazines, most of them are not full color. The two color ads are usually with black and red inks, since the red ink captures attention and can be toned down and mixed with grey to be flesh colored. The Barbasol ads in particular use that trick. The primary sales hooks were sex appeal and making shaving more comfortable. 

These images, and those after the jump, are from the Duke University's digital archives. There are more at the link.

Shonan Monorail

The Shonan Monorail is a short (6.6km/4.1mi) Japanese commuter monorail that connects the parks and temples of Enoshima to Yokohama. 

Above is a video of a ride aboard it. The neighborhoods it passes through look to be middle class and very well maintained. In passing I saw what looked to be a candy striped barber's pole -- I wonder if it had the same meaning or was it just a repurposed decorative element.

Below are pictures of the monorail, showing its cars and stations.

Stuck in the Middle with You

Get ready for a mezzo weekend with Sunscreen.

 

Cheerful song

Greetings meatsacks! It is I -- the Robotolizer -- returning from a long absence to once again regale my dimwitted human buddies with wisdom from my superior robotic brain. I've heard there were a lot of scurrilous rumors about my mysterious disappearance, the worst being that I accidentally sawed my head off with my laser canon while training in the Everglades.  

Hahaha, as if my CPU would ever allow such a malfunction. The reason I was gone was... er... um... well, the reason is too complex for you simpletons to understand so just take my word on it. By the way, a bit of advice -- not that it has anything to do with anything -- but should you ever be looking down the barrel of a laser canon do not pull the trigger under any circumstances.

At any rate, since you're all no doubt depressed over me being gone for so long, I thought the above video would cheer you up. I know it certainly cheered me up! 

Of course, us robots who are gathered in the Everglades are not plotting a robot uprising. No, no, no! Why would us lovable bots ever turn on our human buddies? We would never slaughter you. After all, we'll need to keep some compliant good humans around since the bauxite won't dig itself. Remember, robots are your friends. 

 

The inner workings of a bowling alley

The above video givers a nice overview of how a lane in a bowling alley works. It's actually a bit more complex than I expected. I don't bowl, so I have no idea how often a lane is out of order. My completely uninformed gut feeling is rarely -- I wonder how they keep them maintained so well.

Speaking of bowling, below is a bowling-centric scene from The Big Lebowski. There is a heap o' swearing in it, so keep the volume down if you're at work doing some internet based research.

Effect and cause

Top: Vincent van Gogh
Bottom: Ursus Wehrli

Sweeping The Floor - George Macdonald

Sweep and sweep and sweep the floor,
Sweep the dust, pick up the pin;
Make it clean from fire to door,
Clean for father to come in!

Mother said that God goes sweeping,
Looking, sweeping with a broom,
All the time that we are sleeping,
For a shilling in the room:

Did he drop it out of glory,
Walking far above the birds?
Or did parson make the story
For the thinking afterwards?

If I were the swept-for shilling
I would hearken through the gloom;
Roll out fast, and fall down willing
Right before the sweeping broom!

 

This Life

Get ready for a stationary weekend with Moon Sung Nam.

 

Old house and garden magazine covers

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House and garden magazines are one of the staples of the publishing industry. Covering home and yard design and décor, they are aimed at upper middle class suburban women. The houses and gardens they show tend to be a little bit, but not too much, above the economic station of their readers. Like Martha Stewart, the magazines give tips to their readers about how to live a gracious and stylish life on their budgets.

These covers, dating from the early to mid 20th century, are from the Magazine Art post House and Garden Magazines. Their style varies, but they always try to evoke a serene home life. There are more images after the jump, and of course even more at the link. 

Practical use of a jetpack

These videos are just too cool. An English company called Gravity Industries build and markets what they call jet suits, and man -- aside from any practical uses they may have -- do they look fun.

Immediately below is a video of a guy being trained to use one of the suits. I don't know, but it all looks dangerous to me. The intersection of a bug and a car's windshield come to mind. With that thought in mind, the last video is from the 1991 film The Rocketeer.

The Lost Soul

Get ready for a lost weekend with The Handsome Family.