Author Archives: cicada

New art from old

Posted on May 20, 2007 by cicada

One of my favorite authors (read Winter’s Tale if you read nothing else of his), Mark Helprin, has written an editorial (NYT) arguing that the copyright on works of art should extend indefinitely. Helprin’s arguments seem logical – art doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Books | Comments Off

One thing I want: not to be a toad

Posted on May 19, 2007 by cicada

“How many twigs in a bird’s nest?” asked the enchantress suddenly. “Answer quickly. There, you see,” she added. “Poor chicks, you don’t even know that. How could you be expected to know what you really want out of life?” “One … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Comments Off

A little late for Mother’s Day, but. . .

Posted on May 18, 2007 by cicada

Mother David Hochbaum, 2006 David Hochbaum rocks. Enough said.

Posted in Artists & Art, Cephalopodmania | Comments Off

Cannibalism, Then and Now

Posted on May 16, 2007 by cicada

Where else but in the blogosphere could one learn that the medieval practice of consuming powdered human corpses has experienced a questionably legal (and questionably real) renaissance? A testimonial from the Modern Man-Eater website: “My bones were just plain getting … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Blogs and Blogging, Frivolity, Science | Comments Off

Our chances become slightly less remote

Posted on May 15, 2007 by cicada

The venerable lit journal Poetry has the following invitation on its site: In June, July, and August 2007, POETRY will only consider work from poets who have not previously appeared in the magazine. We encourage writers new to these pages … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Comments Off

Getting the point without seeing the big picture

Posted on May 13, 2007 by cicada

detail of “The Gift” Ceramic tile Richard Notkin, 1999 Last Friday I visited the Portland Art Museum. It was eerily quiet, so I was able to linger over individual pieces without feeling pressured to move along. Lingering is good; on … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Museum Lust | Comments Off

That explains it

Posted on May 13, 2007 by cicada

Why I’m always posting to this blog in the middle of the night: I’m a mutant. Oh, I can’t make such an irresponsible overstatement. This is just a mouse study, and we have no idea if it applies to humans. … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology | Comments Off

An old classic

Posted on May 13, 2007 by cicada

We were just discussing Myers-Briggs tests, and it occurred to me I hadn’t taken one in a while. I am always INF, usually INFJ, and this time around was no different. Apparently Myers-Briggs is more reproducible than most of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Frivolity | 4 Comments

Typosperma

Posted on May 10, 2007 by cicada

Typosperma Oded Ezer Typographer/artist Oded Ezer says, The main idea of the ‘Typosperma’ project was to create some sort of new transgenic creatures, half (human) sperm, half letter. These imaginary creatures are cloned sperms, that typographic information has been implanted … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Words | 2 Comments

Breaking up with my laptop

Posted on May 10, 2007 by cicada

I finally acquiesced to the inevitable, and am posting from a new laptop. My Powerbook G4 is still alive, but it makes an intermittent clicking sound like a Japanese beetle, freezes up routinely, and has a battery life of ten … Continue reading →

Posted in Department of the Drama | 2 Comments