Category Archives: Film, Video & Music

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

Is Starry Night the discovery, or the experiment?

Posted on May 16, 2012 by cicada

Maria Popova quotes Neil DeGrasse Tyson on the difference between originality in science and in art: If I discover a scientific idea, surely someone else would’ve discovered the same idea had I not done so. Whereas, look at Van Gogh’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Film, Video & Music | Comments Off

Elizabeth Turk’s marble sculpture

Posted on May 15, 2012 by cicada

Inspired by gravity, space, decay, and natural forms (from schools of fish to murmurations) sculptor Elizabeth Turk’s marble sculptures resemble skeletons or corals. They’re particularly lovely when she takes them to the shore and lets the waves crash on them. … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Film, Video & Music | Comments Off

Lunch Break: The Constructal Law

Posted on March 22, 2012 by cicada

I’ve been reading a book called Design in Nature, by Adrian Bejan and J. Peder Zane. It’s an extremely thought-provoking book and I haven’t fully decided what I want to say about it, so my review is still coming, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Books, Design, Education, Film, Video & Music, Science, Web 2.0, New Media, and Gadgets | Comments Off

I love it when Robert Krulwich agrees with me!

Posted on March 16, 2012 by cicada

NPR science correspondent Robert Krulwich, he of the oh-so-familiar voice, quoted me/BioE in a sciart blog post yesterday about “Magnetic Movie,” a short film by the artistic team of Ruth Jarman and Joseph Gerhardt. Here’s the original BioE post quoted … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs and Blogging, Data Visualization, Film, Video & Music, Science, Science in culture & policy | Comments Off

Conservation photography as social change

Posted on March 3, 2012 by cicada

A few days ago, Sheril told me that I had to watch an amazing short film by Neil Ever Osborne. The video is ~20 minutes long, so I wasn’t able to find time until this morning, but I highly encourage … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Education, Film, Video & Music, Photography, Science in culture & policy, Science Journalism | 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

Remarkable Lego street art illusion

Posted on February 4, 2012 by cicada

Legophemera FTW. If you have not yet seen this street art illusion of a Lego terra cotta army, watch now – before your techie-artsy-hipster cred is permanently diminished! Video: “Lego Army,” by Leon Keer at the Sarasota Chalk Festival 2011. … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Ephemera, Events, Film, Video & Music, Frivolity | Comments Off

“Jesus is God’s Atomic Bomb,” and other lyrical classics

Posted on February 3, 2012 by cicada

Conelrad’s fascinating cold war culture jukebox, Atomic Platters, offers lyrics and historical context spanning several decades of popular atomic-themed music. Many of the songs unsurprisingly convey a sense of unprecedented, un-romanticized astonishment and awe. Consider the following gem:

Posted in Education, Ephemera, Film, Video & Music, History of Science, Science in culture & policy, Yikes! | Comments Off

Chipotle saves spherical pigs from Science

Posted on January 1, 2012 by cicada

If one of your New Years’ resolutions is to eat healthier, more sustainable food, contemplating the evils of industrial food production and re-reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma might help you reach that goal — and you might want to post this … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Conspicuous consumption, Ephemera, Film, Video & Music, Science in culture & policy | Comments Off