Author Archives: cicada

Betcha didn’t see this at MLA. . .

Posted on January 9, 2007 by cicada

Out of reach Dave Rau www.redlabor.com Just as I began to fear that no topic could comfortably follow a post invoking medievalism and cephalopodmania, Phantasmaphile pointed me to the artwork of Dave Rau. Grungy engravings, fonts, textures, collaged and screened … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Cephalopodmania | 1 Comment

Deliver us from MLA

Posted on January 7, 2007 by cicada

Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog reminds me why I didn’t do my PhD in medieval lit: So it befel in dede that a volvo did pulle up and a voys from it seyd, ‘You going to Philadelphia?’ And thys creatur … Continue reading →

Posted in Cephalopodmania, Frivolity, Littademia | 1 Comment

Wombs, Waxes and Wonder Cabinets

Posted on January 5, 2007 by cicada

This essay has been reposted at the new bioephemera, Feb 19, 08. Anatomical Teaching Model of a Pregnant Woman Stephan Zick, 1639-1715 Wood and ivory Kunstkammer Georg Laue is a Munich antique/art gallery informed by the sensibility of the “wonder … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Museum Lust, Wonder Cabinets | 14 Comments

So true

Posted on January 4, 2007 by cicada

Go on, name one work by Donatello. Admit it, you’re not even sure if he sculpted or painted! All right, all right, here’s his wikipedia entry. From the immortal, beloved xkcd.

Posted in Artists & Art, Frivolity | 1 Comment

Gross Clinic Stays Put

Posted on January 3, 2007 by cicada

The Gross Clinic Thomas Eakins, 1875 oil on canvas ‘The Gross Clinic’ will stay in Philadelphia – International Herald Tribune Apparently the Wal-Mart heiress’ plan to buy the painting by Philadelphia native Thomas Eakins and transplant it to Bentonville, Arkansas … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art | 2 Comments

Fashionable nature

Posted on January 1, 2007 by cicada

Still life: Photography by Guido Mocafico Guido Mocafico has worked as a fashion photographer, but his interests range from landscape to still life to nature to architecture. His website is a true cabinet of curiosities, including collections of jellyfish, snakes, … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Photography | Comments Off on Fashionable nature

Some words I learned in 2006

Posted on December 31, 2006 by cicada

inchoate aleatory ambit echt (ok, I actually learned that in 2005, but I just saw it again) lusus naturae aetiology (I really should have known that one already – no excuse) alible amerce mutatis mutandis deictic pogonip enchiridion virgule Sometimes … Continue reading →

Posted in Words | 1 Comment

Faces of Poverty

Posted on December 29, 2006 by cicada

Beavis Tom Stone, 2006 Stoneth’s Photos on Flickr Tom Stone Gallery Now that John Edwards has made poverty one of his platform issues, we’ll no doubt be hearing a more about it in the news again. But these haunting photographs … Continue reading →

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A GOOD idea

Posted on December 28, 2006 by cicada

A friend sent me a link to this new magazine called GOOD. It includes features such as “The Color of War: An embedded artist chronicles Iraq” and “Search And Destroy: Ramming and sinking whale boats wherever they can be found.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Science in culture & policy, Uncategorized, Words | Comments Off on A GOOD idea

A truly weird case of mimicry

Posted on December 28, 2006 by cicada

The moth in spider’s clothing, via the Neurophilosopher’s weblog Earlier, I posted about the tendency of prey species to mimic the appearance of other prey, usually to take advantage of the predator’s learned aversion to noxious species. Now the Neurophilospher … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology | Comments Off on A truly weird case of mimicry