Head of a Prophet



copyright 2006 MJAndrade

From a piece in the Boston Museum of Fine Art, sandstone c.1300 origionally from Strasbourg (possibly the Gallery of Kings).

Thought for the day

It is possible for an idiot to go through life and never change his mind. It is highly doubtful that the same can be said for an intelligent man.


(I believe that to be original, but with a life filled with the writings of Oscar Wilde and Samuel Clemmons from youth, it may simply be paraphrasing.)

It Makes More Sense Every Evening

"Those of us who scorn the idea that people in the twentieth century still believe in witchcraft and sorcery should consider our blind faith in newspaper pundits, television seers, and political soothsayers. This flagellation of reason may do more harm to a greater number than the hexing of a neighbor's horse or crop...." Carl Fox, in the begining of the caption for plate #2 of The Doll, New Concise Edition 1973, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, New York.

No! The main stream media would never flagellate reason!

Hmmmm...blind faith?

Nope, no hexing here.

Apple has introduced a new notebook computer, the MacBook

It now comes in white and spiffy new black (to go with the black iPod I suppose).

However, if I choose the 13 inch white 2.0 Ghz Intel Duo Core and upgrade from the 60GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive to the 80GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive, it still costs $100.00 less than its black brethren. I can see no other difference from the stats Apple publishes on their store page.

$100.00 so I can get an Apple the color of a Toshiba?



Someone has been taking their silly pills...

Tempest in a Tea Kettle

There's been a lot of bloviating by the politicians over the NSA phone records collection, including some disgraceful posturing by my US Rep, Ed Markey, so I've got to weigh in on this.


From USA today

"The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of whom aren't suspected of any crime. This program does not involve the NSA listening to or recording conversations. But the spy agency is using the data to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity, sources said in separate interviews." (quote thanks to Michelle Malkin)

One web pundit's take

"The meat of the article is simply this:

The government is collecting “external” data on domestic phone calls but is not intercepting “internals,” a term for the actual content of the communication, according to a U.S. intelligence official familiar with the program. This kind of data collection from phone companies is not uncommon; it’s been done before, though never on this large a scale, the official said. The data are used for “social network analysis,” the official said, meaning to study how terrorist networks contact each other and how they are tied together.
The NSA is consolidating and analyzing already collected data to try to stop terrorist attacks before they happen.
What exactly is the legitimate complaint against this program?" (from Confederate Yankee)

Looking over everything I've found, it sounds like the NSA has put together some actuarial tables. Will Ed Markey decry the Auto Insurance and Life Insurance companies' invasion of my privacy for their use of actuarial tables? It sounds like the info provided by the phone companies is stripped of personal identifiers as well.

“So, the government has my phone records? Sure, I trust mega-corporations who sell my private information to telemarketers with this information. But a government agency that collects and analyzes signals intelligence? I dunno.” (from Outside the Beltway)

As someone pointed out yesterday (and my apologies to you and to her/him, I can't find the actual quote or source), the IRS keeps records of everyone's mortgage, bank accounts, employment, number of children, major medical expenses and much more, but nobody on Capitol Hill is outraged at that invasion of privacy. Oh, wait, they're not incensed over that because that's how they get our money.

Shots of some older Matchbox toys.






Everything here (except the silver Greyhound bus) is from the early-to-mid 'sixties, some of them possibly even from the very late 'fifties.

New Studio Toys





Sd.Kfz. 181 Panzerkampfwagen VI (Tiger I) mid production and Sd.Kfz 182 Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger II Ausf. B Königstiger (King Tiger) (Henschel variant) These excellent models are from Dragon Armor and are in 1/72 scale (see the US quarter in the foreground for scale)

I've always loved military models, but I don't have time anymore to build them. I found these at a local hobby store, and the quality is just phenomenal.

Teaser





Here is a shot of my current project, entitled "Monolith."

Historic Homeschooling Material at the Lilly Library at Indiana University




Repository:
Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
Lilly Library
Indiana University
1200 E. Seventh St.
Bloomington, IN 47405-5500
Phone: 812-855-2452 Fax: 812-855-3143
Email: liblilly@indiana.edu
Creator: Johnson, Jane, 1708-1759
Title: Johnson, J. mss.,
Dates: ca. 1740-1759
Extent: 438 items
Abstract:
The Johnson, J. mss. consists of materials devised by Jane (Russell) Johnson primarily for the instruction of her son, George William Johnson. The materials consist of 438 items and are arranged in 24 groups. Included are alphabet cards, religious and secular lesson cards, all hand-made. Some contain colored illustrations and are decorated with multi-colored Dutch paper.
Collection number: LMC 1649
Language: Materials are in English






These are beautifully photographed and digitized materials. The search function is a little cumbersome, choosing a topic from the list on the left does not hyperlink to the correct spot in the more detailed list on the right. Just scroll down the page to see the individual image links.

H/T BibliOdyssey

Neglected in April

I know I have been neglecting the blog for the last month. It has probably lead to the loss of all my readership, all three of them. I will have to email everyone to let them know I'm posting again, when I actually post something.

I have been able to lurk around some of my favorite blogs though. Dr. Helen was even gracious enough to reply to one of my comments. Wow, I'm grown up enough to wear long pants! (and if you are old enough to understand that reference, you've been a grown up for quite some time)

Most of the creative juices have been poured into the current painting (I'll post an 'in progress' photo soon) and in getting ready for the upcoming show at Avant Garde in Peekskill.

Other things happening in the area, a good friend of our family, Ose Manheim has an show at the Mayor's gallery in Malden Massachusetts openning this Thurday May 4th.

Nature as Designer
An exhibit of photography
by Ose Manheim

Mayor Richard C. Howard’s Office
Government Center, 6th Floor
200 Pleasant Street
Malden, Massachusetts

And Annie Newbold has teamed up with Rick Berry for a show at her gallery,

Paintings by Rick Berry and Annie Newbold
Gallery263 -- 263 Pearl Street, Cambridge, MA 02139

Reception Sunday June 11, 2006 from 2-6pm
free and open to the public

visit www.gallery263.com for directions

If you are in the Boston area, please take the time to see these folk's work. They are wonderfully creative, and if you are into SF and fantasy fiction, you already know Mr. Berry's work. This is a rare and precious opportunity to see some amazing art. Go and enjoy the work of these three.