Cosmology Happens...

 Thought-Provoking yet Accessible Books on Cosmology

The State of the Universe: A Primer in Modern Cosmology by Pedro Ferreira
The Big Bang by Joseph Silk
The Whole Shebang by Timothy Ferris
The View from the Center of the Universe by Primack and Abrams
Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe by Simon Singh
Origins: The Lives and Worlds of Modern Cosmologists by Alan Lightman
Wrinkles in Time: Witness to the Birth of the Universe by George Smoot
The Shadow of Creation: Dark Matter and the Structure of the Universe by Michael Riordan

Measuring the Universe: Our Historic Quest to Chart the Horizons of Time and Space by Kitty Ferguson

Behind the Wall of Nice

Behind this wall of nice, wherein,
with many polished stones, built up,
adamantine and unyielding,
sunlit, smooth, foreboding to the touch
of newcomers, I have housed a labyrinthine path
for climbers, seeking solitary green,
past thicket of trees, dilapidated fence,
down stony path with hanging branches,
narrow and severe,
with rush of river,
through fog and mist,
promising little except
shared respite from the crowd.

Rage Against the Elites! #$@$%^&)!+=$?

"Can you believe what those "elitists" are up to now? Did you read the headlines today? Did you see that clip on youtube? Were you at the rally downtown? Guess who got acquitted (again) for bilking their own shareholders? Did you hear what our "favorite talk-radio host" had to say about them? He really pummeled them. She really hung 'em out to dry. Those jerks! Yeah - I'm talking about those insufferable, unmeritable, snooty-snobby, self-appointed "few" who think they're all that. Zounds and begorrah - it doth boil my blood to see them preen and strut about, patting themselves on the back, hogging the spotlight, monopolizing the conservation, spending their disposable income on narcissistic self-worship equipment, voting "liberal" to assuage their guilty consciences, voting "conservative" to keep their golden parachutes safe in the bank...those goatish, toadish poseurs, made-over twice, three-times, facially plasticized, tucked and lifted, dressed to the nines, hiding out amid their entourage of servants, wallowing inside their privileged gated enclaves, with their fancy cars driven by dutiful chauffeurs, and their subtle "I'm better than you..." assumptions sneaking out from behind liltingly cheery voices. How many times do we have to hear about where they went to school and who they grew up with and when they married their "perfect soulmates" and how they're busy now, purchasing a third home in the tropics (!) and why their children are superior to ours and where they plan to "summer" next year and which celebrities they've had dinner with recently and when their latest "how-to" book will be coming out? Who are they you ask? And what did they ever do to me? And why am I getting so riled up about them, when there are so many other things I could be doing with my precious time? You want to know why I'm getting so upset? And don't I have anything better to do? And can't I just "live and let live" while these frauds and cheats are out there on the loose - scamming the system for all it's worth? And why do I begrudge them their stellar education and their impeccable resumes and portfolios, their undeniable beauty, charm, intelligence, cunning, guile, ambition, energy, vitality, patience, persistence - qualities no doubt partly responsible for  their bountiful success in life? And doesn't that reflect poorly on me and my basic attitude toward the powers-that-be, when I'm the one defending the relentlessly competitive capitalist system of life-ain't-fair "winners" and "losers" so follow the money if there's a market for it and let the chips fall where they may morality? Or am I the one who's going-off-the-deep end about the 1% at the top of the ladder and jumping on a completely different band-wagon to boot just because my populist ire has been unleashed? And isn't it somewhat embarrassing that I sound so envious and resentful all the time? But isn't that a raison-d'etre for myself and many other "dregs" and "underlings" - who, after rousing ourselves from fretful sleep every morning, waiting upon our  "20-minutes hate"  - continue to suffer from that slow, sinking feeling of having been "out-played" by people we consider to be our social inferiors? The wretched middlebrow ascendancy!  Question: So what should we do then? Is all this ranting and raving really working? Answer: [calming down at last] Whew.... I suppose you're right. No, it isn't. What should we do? Question: Keep venting until nothing continues to not happen? Answer: Alright, sounds good to me. Question: Why such a cynic? Answer: Not a cynic, simply a very, very tired realist. Question: So, what I want to know is who's the real enemy? Does there have to be one always and everywhere? Answer: That's politics, kid. When in doubt, blame THEM. Question: And who would "they" be? Answer: You know very well (depending upon your mood). Just fill in the blank.

The Ambassadors by Henry James

Victory - A novel by Joseph Conrad

A "Bonnard to Vuillard" Exhibit

George Hendrik Breitner, Girl in Red Kimono, Geesje Kwak, 1893–95. Noortman Master Paintings, Amsterdam, on behalf of private collection, Netherlands

Snapshot: Painters and Photography, Bonnard to Vuillard
(February 4–May 6, 2012 - Phillips' Collection, Washington D.C.)

The invention of the Kodak handheld camera in 1888 energized the working methods and creative vision of many post-impressionists. Several of the leading painters and printmakers of the day used photography to record their public spheres and private lives, producing surprising, inventive results. Combining over 200 photographs with approximately 70 paintings, prints, and drawings from renowned international collections, Snapshot: Painters and Photography, Bonnard to Vuillard focuses on the dynamic relationship among the artists’ work in various media. The exhibition features experiments made with the camera by seven figures. Pierre Bonnard, Maurice Denis, Edouard Vuillard, and Félix Vallotton were leading members of the Nabis, a group of French avant-garde artists who sought a new kind of painting inspired by Paul Gauguin. George Hendrik Breitner, Henri Evenepoel, and Henri Rivière responded with equal enthusiasm to the possibilities inherent in the new medium. Snapshot is the largest selection ever assembled of photographs by these post-impressionists.

The artists recorded everything from bustling street scenes and the building of the Eiffel Tower to nude models and family trips to the countryside. Although they collectively produced over 10,000 photographs, most of the photographs in the exhibition are unknown and previously unpublished, and none of the artists thought of themselves as photographers. These were private objects, often made for the same reason people use cameras to this day: to commemorate events or capture precious moments with friends or loved ones. The artists sometimes translated their photographic images directly into their work in other media, and when viewed alongside these paintings, prints, and drawings, the snapshots reveal fascinating parallels in foreshortening, cropping, lighting, silhouettes, and vantage point.

"Golden Verses" by Gerard de Nerval

Do you believe that you alone can think...
Free-thinking man?

In this world,where life bursts forth in everything?
In your power you dispose the forces at your command
But the universe is far from all your plans.

Honor in each creature an active spirit,
Each flower is a soul blossoming in Nature;

In metal there dwells a mystery of love:

“Everything is sentient!”
And everything has power upon you!

Beware of the blind wall with watchful eyes:
Even matter itself is imbued with a word.
Do not therefore put matter to impious use.

Often within the most obscure being there lives a hidden god,
and like a nascent pair of eyes veiled by its lids,
a pure spirit grows beneath the husk of stones.