Category: Culture

I think that most historians would agree that the literature would suggest that while the Greeks ruled the sea, the Romans ruled the land. The recent discovery listed here showing the excavation of rams from the prows of Roman ships used in the Punic War puts new evidence on the table countering this traditional assumption. It does make sense, however, in light of the fact that the first Punic War (c.2250 BCE) lasted almost 24 years. You would expect that the Romans would work on perfecting their sea faring skills. This begs the question about the construction techniques used for these ships. Hopefully the sea floor scanning technology that uncovered these prows and remnants of ships will continue to contribute to our knowledge of this topic!

More information on this underwater archaeology project here.

A very interesting article here that argues for a mass, deliberate settlement of Australia rather than “accidental stranding.” The thesis of piece-meal settlement is difficult to support, especially if you think of the necessary genetic diversity needed to create a viable settlement. This article suggests 3000 people.

Check out this incredible video of a solar flare here. Oh right, a Coronal Mass Event, rather than solar flare….

This is an amazing example of the incredible work that these astrophysicists at Goddard do every day. Excellent multimedia at this site and available in multiple formats.

Tristan sent me this link today.

It is a trailer for an upcoming documentary about sign painting and sign painters. The trailer is compelling, establishing the dramatic element as sign making as craft versus the sign making machine that took over the market decades ago. Now the hand made sign is making a come back, or so I presume the documentary will show. One thing I found interesting is when one of the sign makers in the trailer says that old signs are art and he wants to make art. I agree and always notice these old signs in various urban cores. I’m going to look for some photos that I have taken of old and faded signs on the sides of buildings. I do know of one I see each day on my walk to work for an optometrist (?) on Bank Street that is quite old. I’ll take a picture of it tomorrow.

I’m hoping this documentary is as good as Garry Hustwit’s Helvetica from 2007 or Doug Wilson’s Linotype: The Film, both exploring typography and font design.

While currently still in Beta mode, the Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world. It strives to contain the full breadth of human expression, from the written word, to works of art and culture, to records of America’s heritage, to the efforts and data of science.

The developers have released an API that allows developers to utilize the massive amount of information in new an innovative ways. I will be sifting at this site for a while!

A very interesting story about Microsoft’s new Excel integrated geomapping technology here. This software will allow Excel users to visualize geographic and chronological data in 3D. Data visualization is about to become much easier to do!

I just finished watching episode 1 of the Starz series da Vinci’s Demons. It is a drama set in Renaissance Florence. It’s got Medici intrigue and some (potentially) good characters. The young Leonardo is presented as a revolutionary, always prepared to challenge the powers that be. It has some very interesting (again, potentially, since I have only watched the one episode) story lines of a subterranean Hermetic culture that could challenge the power base of the corrupt Vatican and its Pope.

I am, however, pissed that I cannot get the accompanying iPad app since it is only available in the United States. I sure wish that someone would invent some technology that would allow for instant access of data across the world. They could call it, oh, I don’t know, the Internet? You’re welcome.

Sweet typography here.

It is a pictorial representation of various neighbourhoods in Paris using typography. Bastille, for example, is a barricade that masks in using gas smoke. It struck a cord since motion graphics was one of my first loves, although it wasn’t called that at the time, it was just movie intros that I loved so much (Saul Bass rocks). I grew up on the various James Bond intros, most notably For Your Eyes Only (I saw that four times in the theaters).