Electronic Tubes by George Agule & Charles V. Weden

September 23rd, 2012 | Robot

 

 

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This is a collection of Rhodium-plated copper Electronic Tubes (or Vacuum Tubes) created by George Agule and Charles V. Weeden back in 1954.  I did a quick search on these guys, and I really couldn’t find much information about them.  The Museum of Modern Art recently uploaded the top photo on their Instagram account.  These Vacuum Tubes were at one time critical to the development of electronic technology.  And in case you wanted to know what they did…

From Wikipedia:

The Vacuum Tube is a device controlling electric current through a vacuum in a sealed container. The container is often thin transparent glass in a roughly cylindrical shape. The simplest vacuum tube, the diode, is essentially an incandescent light bulb with an extra electrode inside. When the bulb’s filament is heated white-hot, electrons are boiled off its surface and into the vacuum inside the bulb. If the extra electrode (also called a “plate” or “anode”) is made more positive than the hot filament, a direct current flows through the vacuum to the anode (a demonstration of the Edison effect). As the current only flows in one direction, it makes it possible to convert from AC current applied to the filament to DC current.

These were once essential for rectification, amplification, switching, and creation of electrical signals, but now, they’re simply art.  The combination of glass and electronics has that retro sci-fi aesthetic quality I can appreciate.

-RSB

Space Shuttle Endeavour in Austin, TX

September 20th, 2012 | Space

The Space Shuttle Endeavour is currently on its farewell tour from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to its permanent home in Los Angeles.  The shuttle is making historic fly-bys in several major U.
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S. cities, including Houston, Austin, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.  Make sure to head outside and take some photos like the ones above and impress the internet.
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 These are all shots of Endeavour in Austin, TX taken by amateur photographers.

If you happen to be in Los Angeles tomorrow morning, here’s a list of the best Shuttle watching spots:

  • Los Angeles City Hall
  • California Science Center
  • Getty Center
  • Griffith Observatory
  • Queen Mary
  • Long Beach Aquarium
  • Malibu, Venice and Huntington beaches
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • Universal Studios

RSB

And here’s one last photo for good measure:

The Pilot’s Melancholy

September 19th, 2012 | Space

This series by Dominik Smialowski, titled “The Pilot’s Melancholy,” is quite extraordinary.  The intricate features of the flight suit really stand out against the barren Icelandic terrain.
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 This has been one of my favorites from The Space Suit of the Week feature over on The Fox is Black.  Good find, Alana Zimmer!

You can find more of the series (and other eery photos) over at Dominik’s website.

-RSB

Lecture Ax by Mel Chin

September 12th, 2012 | Brain

Mel Chin is a conceptual artist from Houston, TX who created this incredible Ax from some wood, a book, wax, and pigment.  Here’s Mr. Chin describing his reason for making the Ax (it’s pretty entertaining):

“My very first lecture in New York City was in 1987 and I was nervous because it was at the New School for Social Research. I was paralyzed because I was asked to address graduate students of philosophy and psychology. I was so worried that the philosophers would know that I didn’t know what I was talking about and the psychologists would understand and dig out this buried secret of my early childhood trauma.

Being freaked, I decided to make something.
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I took a two-by-four and cut and ax handle. I took a book and cut out the ax head. I stuffed some notes in there and I sharpened it up and waxed it shut. I wrapped the whole thing in newspaper, went downstairs to the local store, bought a six-pack of Budweiser and went to the lecture. They had placed a U-shaped table in the room and everybody was smoking pipes—a bunch of guys smoking pipes. I sat down and put the newspaper down and I started drinking beer as fast as I could.

After the third beer the head of the school of philosophy said, “Mr. Chin, I think it is time to start” At that moment, being allergic to alcohol, I suddenly turned red. I had a headache and I was already edgy, so I just ripped off the newspaper, picked it up and said,” This an ax!” The head of the psychology department said, “What the fuck you gonna do, man?” I turned around and slammed the ax into the blackboard. It broke apart and the notes fluttered down. I read from the notes. I was still shaking but I was drunk; it didn’t matter.

When the guy from the school of philosophy said, “I’d like to talk a little bit about Plato’s shadows.”I said, “I don’t want to talk about no damn shadows.”He said,”That’s fine, cool, that’s cool.”

Actually, it was a very successful lecture, but the lesson it taught me is that objects are incredibly loaded. Words and human expression can do some of the work yet objects themselves are loaded with a wealth of information and power and possibilities. Even as noted in Homer, “the arrow that strikes Achilles is freighted with dark pain.
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” I call that piece Lecture Ax.”

I am amazed at how closely Chin’s Ax looks to the real thing.  I can understand why the head of the psychology department freaked out when he ripped it out.  And after reading that story,  I am officially a FAN of Mel Chin!
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For more of his work, check out his website: melchin.org

-RSB

“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.” – Franz Kafka

The Anatomical Basis of Medical Practice (NSFW)

September 10th, 2012 | Brain

The Anatomical Basis of Medical Practice is a controversial medical textbook that Duke professors, R. Frederick Becker, James S. W. Wilson, and John A. Gehweiler, created in 1971 to inspire young medical students to learn anatomy.  Duke underwent an overhaul to its medical curriculum in 1966 that lead to a drastic reduction to its anatomy training.  Dr. Becker, though passionate in his teaching, was known to be rather eccentric.  He had cut-outs of Male & Female Playboy Centerfolds posted around his office that he used to teach students surface anatomy.  Dr. Becker was quoted discussing his controversial book:

“In our own student days we discovered that studying surface anatomy with a wife or girlfriend proved to be not only instructive, but highly entertaining. Since the majority of medical students still tend to be males, we have liberalized this text by making use of the female form. But, more to the point, we have done so because a large portion of your future patients will be women and few texts have pointed out surface landmarks on the female.”

This book was eventually banned as the feminist movement strengthened. Of note, “Robust, healthy males” were also included in the book for the female medical students.

-RSB

(via Street Anatomy)

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