Photo Courtesy: http://www.Outlandishobservations.blogspot.com
Spiders are not the favorites of many people, and most people tend to avoid them at all costs or exterminate them on sight. However, closer examination finds that spiders are amazingly adapted to their lifestyle, and beyond proficient engineers — a prime example of which are the Araneidae family, or orb weaving spiders.
Photo Courtesy: http://www.MontereyBayAquarium.org
Continuing my exhibition of exotic animals, I present a prime example of the bizarre and awe-inspiring ability for the ocean to produce truly alien creatures. The Black Sea Nettle (Chrysaora achlyos), otherwise known as the Sarlacc or Black Jellyfish is found in the Pacific Ocean. A fairly massive specimen, its bell can reach diameters of 1 meter in length and its tentacles 6 meters. Displaying a vividly contrasting maroon hue against the ocean’s blue/green backdrop, Chrysaora achlyos preys upon zooplankton, and are often found en masse during red tide phenomenons in which zooplankton are responsible. Continue reading
After much deliberation (1 day), I decided that I did not want to limit myself to just one particular group of animals to enthusiastically promote to the Raxa Family; instead, from now on I will be sticking my hand in a hat and pulling a name out with whatever insanely awesome or obnoxiously exotic organism I have chosen and posting it. Truthfully, my love and admiration for certain organisms extends well beyond those of just reptiles and amphibians; so why constrain myself to just those?
Photo Courtesy Diverosa.com
Photo credits: Sooraj
Kummattikali is a folk dance celebrating the arrival of King Mahabali to visit his subjects during Onam. Kummattikali is famous in the north of Kerala, especially the region of Thrissur. It is believed that the presiding deity of Vadakkuumnathan Temple in Thrissur asked the attending spirits to perform for him. The dance they presented came to be known as Kummattikali. Decorated masks carved from wood adorn the face while the body is covered with a grass skirt . Continue reading
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
Dakshina Mookambika Saraswathi Temple is dedicated to Goddess Saraswathi, the patron Goddess for learning and arts. The major festival of this prominent Saraswathi Temples is the Saraswathi Pooja that takes place in September or October, depending on the annual Malayalam calendar. Continue reading
International street art eminence, Banksy, arrived in NYC and word had it that he would do a piece somewhere in the city each day, for one month. A friend tipped me on a location for the third day Continue reading
Alex Ruger, director of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, at the unveiling Monday of Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunset at Montmajour. Olaf Kraak /AFP/Getty Images
National Public Radio in the USA picks up this remarkable story, which makes us think of Amsterdam in the autumn as a wonderful place to be:
A painting that had earlier been thought to be a fake and had been stored for decades in the attic of a Norwegian home has now been identified as a long-lost work by Vincent Van Gogh.
Photo credits: Renuka Menon
Kolam is a traditional form of street painting in Tamil Nadu that is created using colored rice powder. The designs are based on simple elements such as loops, dots and geometric patterns. Women create these auspicious patterns in front of the household deities in Pooja rooms and the area just outside the entrance of their houses.
Marvin Heiferman. Photo: Alex Welsh/WIRED
We know that one day, hopefully not too far off, the wunderkind of La Paz Group’s photographic contributors will get his gear fired up and we will be displaying his latest wonders here again. We hear that his hiatus in Ithaca, NY since about one year ago has run its course, full of fascinations, back-looking reflections, photographic recapitulations, and even small distractions. Onward, westward, as ancestors of his did in previous centuries. More from Milo soon, we hope.
Meanwhile, on the topic of photography and wonders, Wired offers an interview to illuminate what might not otherwise be obvious at first glance:
For his book Photography Changes Everything, Marvin Heiferman spoke to experts in 3-D graphics, neurobiology, online dating, the commercial flower industry, global terrorism, giant pandas, and snowflake structure to understand the infinite ways imagery affects our everyday lives… Continue reading
Photo credits: R R Ranjith
Bharatanatyam is a famous Indian form of classical dance. Dancers often use bold and colourful makeup to show grace on the stage. The makeup is very thick and dark with a lot of emphasis placed on the eyes, cheeks and lips. Bold use of kohl on eyes and brows help the audience notice expressions. Lots of powder and blush are used to give the face a clear, smooth apperance and lips are bright red to emphasize smiles and pouts. Continue reading
Anthony Lane, film critic for the New Yorker, wrote an appreciation for Elmore Leonard that is now posted on their website. When important literary figures pass away, that magazine’s editors and writers share personal stories that serve to celebrate the lives of those who will write no more. On this site, we have studiously avoided obituaries but occasionally shared links to celebrate contributions of the recently departed.
Here, a slightly different purpose for linking to Lane. Yes, read this and better appreciate the prolific author’s contributions, which helps ease remorse at his passing because the contributions keep on giving (if you choose to see it that way). But more to the point here, celebrate the critic’s appreciation. It takes guts, and mastery of words, to pit pulp fiction against high art (this act of critical bravery is after the jump):
…“The Switch” was published in 1978. Leonard (or Dutch, as his friends called him) had been writing about cowboys since the start of the nineteen-fifties, but he moved on to modern gunslingers with “The Big Bounce,” in 1969, and by the late seventies he was in full spate. The fullness required no enrichment of the style, let alone beautification; incapable of primping, Leonard chose to plane and pare until he ended up with folks like Melanie and Frank. As for their conversation, swatted back and forth like Ping-Pong, the phrasing as dry as a scoreline: if you wanted that brand of comic beat, with all the frills torn off, where did you go before Leonard came along? Early Evelyn Waugh. Continue reading
Brian Harkin for The New York Times. Conductor Zubin Mehta, right, leading the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in New York, on Feb. 22, 2011.
Thanks to India Ink for this notice:
Beethoven Comes to Kashmir
By VISHNU VARMANEW DELHI— Zubin Mehta, the renowned Mumbai-born conductor of Western classical music, is going to perform in Srinagar, the summer capital Continue reading
Long exposure photo from Wadi Dana, Jordan
Credit: Milo Inman
Before Vincent van Gogh painted his most iconic work in 1889 I doubt he had access to time-lapse images of the stars over Saint-Remy, but I’m confident there was something in his genius that connected his artistic vision with the realities of the nightly movements between earth and sky.
One look at Indie Producer/Director and timelapse enthusiast Gavin Heffernan’s Death Valley Dreamscapes alongside Petros Vrellis’ innovative animation “Starry Night” was enough to convince me!
Thanks to the man who, without fail, coaxes a smile with another New York Times blogpost keeper:
After spending the first 15 years of my life drawing and painting analog, I first dabbled in computer-generated graphics in the mid-1980s on a Sinclair ZX81, followed by an Amstrad CPC664. “Drawing” with these machines meant entering strings of binary code to manipulate ASCII codes into something vaguely resembling images. Continue reading
We send these invitations, modern messages in modern bottles, with discriminating intent, if random expectations. Luke reminds us of how much we miss the Raxa Collective Design Team, a 2012 phenomenon. We cannot see much about Luke except that he “does things.” The photography and film-making among those things, we like from what we see here. The welcome mat is out…
We understand and sympathize with Mr. Schjeldahl’s reconsideration of the implication of his earlier post, considering the volume of vitriol among the comments that followed it. But the core point of that post was lost in the reconsideration:
I take back my endorsement, in an earlier post, of the idea that the city of Detroit should ease its financial crisis by selling art works from the collection of the Detroit Institute of the Arts. I also apologize to the many whom my words pained. Continue reading
Several contributors to Raxa Collective have family living in Greece. There is nothing to be said here about that country’s economic and political woes that has not already been said better elsewhere, so no insult is intended to Greeks by making reference to the woes of another location. Detroit, an American city facing economic woes comparable, when scaled to the municipal level, of Greece, is considering the sale of art it owns to raise what may be billions of dollars worth of needed cash. Peter Schjeldahl, art critic for the New Yorker, has posted a brief observation about it, the latter portion excerpted below. Out of this mess comes an observation worthy of comment considering Raxa Collective’s mission:
…Art works have migrated throughout history. Unless destroyed, they are always somewhere. It’s best when they are on public display, but if they have special value their sojourns in private hands are likely temporary. At any rate, they are hardly altered by inhabiting one building rather than another. Continue reading
Thanks to India Ink for this story:
Four years ago, Masood Hussain, one of Kashmir’s most renowned artists, worked on a series of watercolors of places, people and activities in and around his city, Srinagar. Imbued with realistic touches, alive with filigree details, and emitting a translucence bequeathed by the medium in the hands of a master, the series “Transparent Strokes” was snapped up by visitors to the city. Continue reading
Photo credits : Ramesh Kidangoor
Chettinadu, loacated in the Sivagana district of southern Tamil Nadu, is the homeland of Nattukottai Chettiars (also known as “Nagarathars”), who are the highest class of the Chettiar Tamil community. Nattukottai Chettiars, are often prosperous individuals in either the banking or business community. Due to their rich cultural heritage such as their art, architecture, and antiques, their mansions are often a popular attraction for visitors. Continue reading
Organikos 