Category Archives: Ephemera

Jennifer Steen Booher: the wonder of found objects

Posted on November 29, 2013 by cicada

Seaglass Spectrum: Aquamarine to Emerald Jennifer Steen Booher Assemblage artist and photographer Jennifer Steen Booher collects, arranges, and photographs found objects.  Her arrays of beach glass resemble abstract art, or pages from illustrated catalogs of Renaissance wonder cabinets, while household … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Ephemera, Wonder Cabinets | Comments Off

Are there moths in the Uncanny Valley?

Posted on October 20, 2013 by cicada

I love this meditative video. . . until the moth. It’s a skillful animation, but I feel like it’s going to start dancing with its little legs, singing “What the Moth Says.” Is this a case of insectoid Uncanny Valley? … Continue reading →

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Kate Lacour: challenging the Codex Seraphinianus in the category of surreal, faux-anatomical weirdness

Posted on October 10, 2013 by cicada

When Kate Lacour sent me a link to her tumblr, sharkbrains (subtitle: “Body horror beauty – art and comics”), I didn’t know quite what to expect. What I found was delightful – a modern successor to the Codex Seriphinianus.

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Blogs and Blogging, Ephemera, Medical Illustration and History, Uncategorized, Wonder Cabinets, Yikes! | Comments Off

Weekend Mappy Links: Ancient Landscapes, A Map Library Speakeasy, Forensic Topology, Mapping Disasters, Cymatics

Posted on September 21, 2013 by cicada

An expert on mapping ancient landscapes explains why Big Oil is his biggest customer, among other things. (interview at BLDGBLOG) For bibliophiles: a ton of photos from a visit to the Prelinger Library (AKA the “speakeasy of [map] libraries”). (by … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs and Blogging, Data Visualization, Ephemera, Film, Video & Music, Maps, Neuroscience | Comments Off

Friday Frivolity: Concepts in Ant Farm Design

Posted on September 20, 2013 by cicada

Jeff Schwarting didn’t like the pre-fab plastic look of commercial ant farms, so he designed a farm of his own and put it on Kickstarter. His farm uses “space gel,” which serves as food source, water source, and tunneling medium. I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Conspicuous consumption, Education, Ephemera, Frivolity | Comments Off

Goodbye, Google Reader; Goodbye, Missing Friends

Posted on June 23, 2013 by cicada

You probably know that Google Reader is shutting down. It makes me grumpy; I don’t find Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Flipboard, or anything else to be an adequate substitute (I’m trying Feedly at my fiance’s behest). Even worse, this unwelcome development … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs and Blogging, Department of the Drama, Ephemera, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Murmurations are so hot right now

Posted on February 23, 2013 by cicada

Murmurations are so hot right now, they’re showing up in federal economic working papers. Which is probably more than you can say for steampunk. More links on the ever-fascinating murmuration phenomenon: Pop culture: How hot were murmurations in, say, 1936? … Continue reading →

Posted in Ephemera, Science, Science in culture & policy | Comments Off

A Murmuration of Cheese Balls: when nature enters the Uncanny Valley

Posted on August 19, 2012 by cicada

Murmuration, in addition to being a perfectly lovely word, also captures one of the most wonderful phenomena one can encounter in nature. Behold, one of the loveliest viral videos of recent years: Did you get goosebumps? Thomas Jackson’s series “Emergent … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Ephemera, Film, Video & Music, Neuroscience, Science, Web 2.0, New Media, and Gadgets, Wonder Cabinets, Yikes! | Comments Off

Have your wonder cabinet and eat it too!

Posted on March 3, 2012 by cicada

I’ve been spending too much time browsing etsy lately – it’s like windowshopping, only I don’t have to go out in the dismal drizzle that is Cambridge in March. One of the wonderful, fanciful shops I found is Andie’s Specialty … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Conspicuous consumption, Ephemera, Frivolity, Wonder Cabinets | Comments Off

Whale Fall

Posted on February 19, 2012 by cicada

Whale Fall (after life of a whale) by Sharon Shattuck is a charming and unusual film that uses paper puppetry to show the ecological “afterlife” of a whale. The overall effect is a little Steve Zissou, a little arts-and-crafts, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Ephemera, Film, Video & Music, Science | Comments Off