Ephemeral art can be found everywhere, but in natural settings, the inspiration and effect does seem more meditative. Using stones, bark, pine cones, twigs and whatever else may be readily available, people assemble compositions ranging from intriguing to wistful or even amusing.
Labyrinth at Lands End created by Eduardo Aguilera
This labyrinth created (and recreated several times) by Eduardo Aguilera at Land’s End is a meditative piece, changing as it does from dawn until dusk. In this particular setting, Aguilera’s “shrine” invites contemplation.
Cheesy music that is… From our Spam box, a couple doozies:
“I principled present up on some mind-boggling further galvanizing cars that purpose be coming out in the next 3 years that competition my budget and inclination be struck by up to 300 mpg!!!
But I was wondering, how these cars would hold on a row after a ice storm? The pile would be expert recompense me, but i material in the midwest and coerce a jalopy that can get almost ice and snow.
The facts I would like to from is the regular bias an stirring wheels, front/rear wheel pilot, and backing bowels space.”
In recent months we have made several trips to the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park, at different times of day, in sunny and rainy weather, you name it. This, to observe blooms in different stages and light conditions.
By contrast to the Conservatory, the Strybing arboretum, also in Golden Gate Park, offers open space, leisurely walks and a few exotic species. I originally expected the Conservatory to be a claustrophobic experience, and to be fair, it should be: passages are narrow, the various sections of the building are compartmentalized by double doors with a plaque reminding visitors to shut them.
As well, each section has its carefully calibrated climate control, with a fairly high level of humidity. Virtually every species in the Conservatory is exotic, and striking in more than just appearance.
On our most recent visit, about a week ago, the blooming orchids brought back a singular feeling and thoughts I remember experiencing only once.
I’ve commented before on visiting a Sphynx cattery and the feeling of inquisitive, playful intelligence I felt looking into the cats’ huge eyes.
Kitsune
Photos do not reveal the elegance of the Sphynx in motion, or their seeming lack of fear.
And the more you know about them, the more orchids fascinate the casual observer into similar a form of reverence.
Consider a species estimated to be 120 million years old, striving in wildly different environments on all continents save Antartica, long after innumerable other species of flora and fauna alike disappeared.
A species having developed pollination methods as varied as stealth, smell and mimicry: the pattern on some orchids’ petals looks attractive to flying insects, the slippery tube-like pouch of others lures insects which fall into the opening, collecting pollen as they brush their way past to the exit…
So far, orchids have even survived man’s exploitation, which led to most species of the plant to be on endangered lists. Today, they are specifically cultivated for commercial ends. While it can seem odd to think of intelligence in such a context, I think there are lessons to draw about adaptability and coping with change, not just from orchids, of course, but from Sphynxes as well. Not to mention the enjoyment of their complex aesthetics.
Both orchids and Sphynxes are very much dependent on humans to provide the environment necessary for their survival and continued development, yet I suspect the nature of this relationship is symbiotic rather than… Parasitic.
“Squirm” – (1976, USA, 92 minutes – VHS rated PG; DVD rated R)
From the ‘70s, we have in “squirm” yet another “nature strikes back” offering, although this one doesn’t preach, it entertains.
During a severe storm, power lines are downed near the small Georgia town of Fly Creek. As a result of live wires sweeping across the mud, bloodworms crawl out at night to devour the unsuspecting inhabitants of the county.
3D printing, the process of layering various materials into objects, appears to be moving mainstream, with new applications, such as printing skin cells for burn patients, as the institute of regenerative medicine at Wake Forest University (NC) has been experimenting with.
“Getting Any?”– (1994, Japan, 108 minutes – no rating)
In modern day Japan, Asao (Dankan) is an ordinary guy in his thirties living with his grandfather. Asao, however, is driven by an obsession to have sex in a car and soon embarks on an extraordinary journey in this comedy from Takeshi “Beat” Kitano.
Do you perchance enjoy people watching? I thought I did and this made using public transportation tolerable if not appealing.
Well this very afternoon, I got more than I bargained for.
Concentrate… Do you feel a rant coming? It was an old dude. Hell, I’m an old dude, but this guy… This guy was evidently so old, he reverted to child-like.
Right hand plugged and dug in the right ear. Gross, but not as gross as the left index finger exploring, scraping his nostrils to the point where a deviated septum became a real risk.
Scratch that. His septum was probably bent five ways from Sunday decades ago. Anyway, he scraped the result of his excavations onto the stainless steel pole passengers are supposed to hold on to.
Nice. Very nice.
Then, he danced the cavity Macarena: right hand, right ear again, left hand pinching nostrils, with occasional index forays into the nose. In between exploratory moves, he looked at his fingernail’s harvest and spread the results on surfaces for all to enjoy.
Tiled steps in San Francisco: an instance of a neighborhood bonding
Many times before, driving to and from one of our favorite diners in the city, we found ourselves looking up to a not-too distant hill, a rock outcropping, really, covered in grass and a few trees, which seemed to promise sweeping views of the San Francisco.
Looking closer, there seemed to be long flights of stairs leading to the top.
“Immortal” – (2004, France, 103 minutes – rated R)
Well aren’t you lucky..? Two Midnight Movie Madness recommendations within a week!
This is a bit of a curio for sci-fi fans. Written and directed by Enki Bilal, based on two graphic novels from his Nikopol trilogy, “la femme piege” and “la foire aux immortels” (“the female trap” and “the carnival of immortals”).
Watch the trailer here:
Bilal (born Enes Bilalovic) moved to France at age 9, in 1960 or so.
“The girl who kicked the hornet’s nest” – (2009, Sweden, 147 minutes – rated R)
The third installment of Stieg Larssen’s ‘Millenium‘ trilogy moves deeper into a dystopian present made of corrupted power cells both part of and unknown to government bureaucracy, in other words, the tapestry widens.
That was obscure, but the trilogy takes its time exposing Larsson’s vision of power and its abuses, of unseen environments where human monsters are made, flourish and devour everything available to them. Provided it is sanctioned, and at times even without approval.
