30 5 / 2012
Turfy, the Sanrio character who is a mascot for horse racing in Japan. I totally forgot about him! More photos here.
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28 4 / 2012
“In Washington DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
After about four minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.
About four minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
At six minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
At ten minutes, a three-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.
At forty-five minutes: The musician played continuously. Only six people stopped and listened for a short while. About twenty gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
After one hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.
This experiment raised several questions:
In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…
How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?”
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18 4 / 2012
(1) It is edible. No artificial colours. 96 calories.
(2) It tastes like real hamburger, cheese, ketchup, french fries and cola. It was delicious.
(3) It cost me 258 yen.
So much food technology and imagination for so little!
(Source: timaeustestified, via once-upon-atiime)
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15 4 / 2012
The Quietest Place on Earth Will Drive You Insane Within 45 Minutes
There’s a small room in Minnesota thatblocks out 99% of all external sound. That’s an impressive number! Also impressive: nobody can take more than 45 minutes alone in the room before they go nuts.The Daily Mail describes Orfield Labs’ anechoic chamber—perfect for making extremely sensitive audio measurements. But also perfect for sending you into a hallucinatory hell so hellacious you’ll need a chair:
‘When it’s quiet, ears will adapt. The quieter the room, the more things you hear. You’ll hear your heart beating, sometimes you can hear your lungs, hear your stomach gurgling loudly. ‘In the anechoic chamber, you become the sound.’ And this is a very disorientating experience. Mr Orfield explained that it’s so disconcerting that sitting down is a must. He said: ‘How you orient yourself is through sounds you hear when you walk. In the anechnoic chamber, you don’t have any cues. You take away the perceptual cues that allow you to balance and manoeuvre. If you’re in there for half an hour, you have to be in a chair.’
That sounds swell. Just the serene quiet of you, your thoughts, and the unceasing pounding of the human heart. Your brain can’t take it, apparently, and begins to fabricate sounds that aren’t really there—completely delusional noises meant to block out the churning of your own horrid biomass.
(Source)
(via archiebunker)
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12 4 / 2012
Feltworth may be best puppet band in Canada, but who are they?
Probably Chris from Sloan. And maybe Jay.
Definitely the best of the Canadian puppet bands I’ve seen.
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09 4 / 2012
The Olivia Tremor Control - Hideway
I have no words to describe this. It’s not only the definitive pop track, every note opens a portal on an immaginary universe. It’s a 4-D piece of music.
Moreover, it’s got some of the most beautiful,haunting and deep lyrics i’ve ever read. Was this song written for me?
I had forgotten about this song until I saw that OTC is playing the Pitchfork Music Festival. The lineup looks so good!
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07 4 / 2012
A look that the bedrooms the literary and famous, including Capote, Faulkner, and Plath. (Hat tip to Apartment Therapy.)
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27 3 / 2012
Haven’t enjoyed a good Perlorian cat photo in awhile…
(Source: sweetcherrypoptart, via lavelaundry)
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