brainpickings, Scholar Stone, Scholar Stone Flower

sg taking pic; photo by Mr.Wang QiJun


花：赏石开花


花：赏石开花
“Scholar Stone Flower 2011”

Scholar stones are traditionally pieces of stones selected and displayed similar to vegetal bonsai for visual and spiritual enjoyment。Flowers are universally enjoyed for its sexy beauty and pleasure as a symbol of plenitude Together we see simple lines of construction that transform a stone into a flower。 The shiny stainless steel scholar stone flowering into long term happiness for many special moments to come。

赏石是中国传统用来观赏的漂亮盆景石头。书房案子上摆放後空间有安静典雅的气氛。鲜花也有同样的功能。我们直觉感到活的生趣和联想。

透过明亮简洁的统一线条，空靈巨雕赏石开花； 大人小孩旁边一站，自身马上变小；指向一段闪亮多姿硬朗洁净又长线的开心时光。

Web site of the day

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/about/

very nice site, from graphics to content

http://www.spirit-stones.com/2010/11/26/harvard-shanghai-centers-scholar-stone/

Many people ask me about Scholar Stone Flower, especially the part about the Scholar Stone. Either they dont see the stone, or they think its funny to have a stone thats "Scholarly". So I found some online information to clarify what rock collectors love - Scholar Stone.

More pictures of the Changchun sculpture symposium, thanks to Sury's detail photo documentary!

Planet of the apes 2011, Russian Watch, PeiYou and Stephane

New Russian Bracelet Watch
Have not worn a watch for a long time, but its easy to tell time if you wear one, instead of having to look at your mobile phone. So I started wear a watch again, and this bracelet watch is really gd for lazy people, you just put it on one click, and not have to do the buckle belt thing.

Russian watch, (most likely made in China) From Harbin Russian Friendship store. Since I had idle time, I bought this affected by the enthusiasm of Winnie - a real shopper - afterwards, at brkfst, real Russian Tuii says, hehehe its kitsch, (but I like it more and more everyday... )so far its keeping time v well...

PeiYou and Stephane

First qin player visitors since I arrange my qin playing "house" - to the size of a tiny house! PeiYou thinks the Half HunDun is good and suggested that I put silk strings on one of my qins, maybe this is the one. I will but no time to play now, will do it later. So nice to hear her play on the qin.

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Planet of the apes 2011 **half

Intelligent monkeys, getting out of the lab, going back to his natural forest leading many apes... fight w police, wild life animal prison, medical lab testing. End of story

48hr film, machinima w judge from R2D2

http://www.48hourfilm.com/machinima/

Melancholia (2011 film)

Melancholia (2011 film)****

Lars von Trier's films have always been hard to watch for me. I dont enjoy watching his movies. There is always some sadistic torture elements in them that i feel very hard for the actresses.

Here, Melancholia is a surprise. Kirsten Dunst is truly remarkable, she looks at times v potato faced - like a lump of white starch but then she smiles and she glows w dimples and sensuality with many many nuances and turns of a character, very expressive. There is also something very spontaneous in each scene, like a home cinema of a sort using hand held camera? The camera shakes and shuffles from one take to the next. But it creates immediatecy this is the Von Trier method and its really good here. Charlotte Gainsbourg looked dry and self controlled as her character should be, not very sympathetic but v kind and well brought up as she should be.
There is an enigma, whats going on w this wedding? and how come these two sisters are fighting, the two actresses are so well put together one slim and dry the other fleshy but full blooded and daringly outspoken... and how could a mother be so rude in such a context, and the father so silly etc etc All absurb situations.

The music and visuals all very beautiful and esthetic. The riding beating of the horses, the Kirsten Dunst nude facing the moon on disaster ending of the world approaching all v impressive.

Apparently Von Trier conceived of the story from his depression session with his analyst. Maybe that makes the components stick out from the usual expected political correct dialogues in most story telling.

Its an extraordinary; flashy and at the same time calm film.

Einstein avatar contest, 3Dceramic printing

http://www.imric-virtualmarathon.com/

Einstein avatar contest

Implications and participation in real world contest for the creation of an Einstein Avatar for fundraising purpose in medical research.

More info here, prize money usd 2,500.

3D ceramic printing
http://blog.ponoko.com/2011/08/19/new-material-glazed-ceramic-for-3d-printing-yeah/

Nanni Moretti:habemus papam, LES BIEN-AIMES

Nanni Moretti:habemus papam ***half
Nanni Moretti has made another film thats spiritual, light and grand with human existential questionings happening to a Pope - the Pope is just like anybody else he might have had doubts about his capacities and one day, he decided to put a stop and step down to begin another life. Airy and grand. Piccoli plays the Pope with delicate subtle understatement. He has the face of someone who has lived well and not at all suffered, even incognito, we believe that he couldnt have lived a blank life but its time for something else even though he himself doesnt know what it is. It is a courageous film to say: its ok to stop; at whatever level of life you have lived. Encouragement for people to take things lightly and live, and finally enjoy.

Les Bien-aimés ***
This one is a story that spans from the 60s to the year 2007 covering the life story of a mother and daughter played by young actrice and Catherine Deneuve for the mother and Chiara Mastrioanni for the daughter in adult age. This cream puff of a muscial on variations of men women relationships has singing parts to help the sentiments along but the songs are heavy and little by little this cream becomes a thick mayonnaise that stiff with pins and needles embedded - the story gets dark and bitter with much blasé feelings. Like a very complicated spider web, every character has to unravel and work out their fears - courage is, the father says to the daughter - knowing that it might not work and still go right to the end. The daughter suicides after running head strong into an unrequited love with a weak homosexual man. Much nudity, we cannot believe such beautiful people with intelligence, not naive could fall in this unexplained way for shallow coward people. Why and how? But the time line is given the movie seem to be saying that in our days, love is complicated freedom and romance from the old days do not exist in such rosy clouds anymore; all is complicated, impure, disappointment galore due to the weakness of people and maybe social norms as a whole?

Heavy and unconvincing, its balls and balls of small threads sticking all over the place thats tiresome to be rid of. If you are rid of these, what is left? Nothing much.

The Skin I Live In, Pedro Almodovar

The Skin I Live In, Pedro Almodovar, 118 mins, **half

As usual, Almodovar has a theme about sex and identity, family secrets, obsessions and perversions, with a very good singer scene in clubs.
This is a tale of taking a young man to have his sex changed without his consent - the actor is very fine featured like a young Richard Chamberlain but when he metamorphosed into this big eyed young girl - the face doesnt match. It would have been much more convincing to have the actor made up as a young woman? Or is it too much trouble? Eye size do not change like that so this is a big "easy way out" for the story to work. The actress has a v beautiful face and body. The body suits in nude skin tones are interesting clothing pieces. I have seen a beaded body suit in an exhibition of Almodovars films by Jean Paul Gaultier, its truly a second skin with nipples and toes, fingers all finely tinted to ressemble flesh. Magnificent dress/body suit. Here the actress wears a simplified version with zippers under the breast, around arm holes, why? because her skin is supposed to be burning and sensitive. OK.
Then the crazy doctor sleeps with his transexual pet - he showed us the sex change requires the vagina needs to be stretched incrementally with various size strechers in shapes of slim, medium, large, full size pencil/penis shaped sticks. A little peek into the process of what sex change requires to go from a man to a woman.
The mother of the doctor is played by the usual actress v gd.
However this movie lacks heat, its a string of complicated family stories linked to make up the intriques with sex change contents. It lacks enthusiasm.

Everybody dies in the end and the most intersting and challenging moment of the story comes - how does the "daughter/son" deal with meeting his/her birth mother, and how does he feel really? All these could have had moments of emotional intensity - with some inner truth to be said to the audience through the sex changed character - but the scene blacks out to credits. ?!! Quick and easy.

There are lots of sex, erotic, transgression themed movies out in recent months, and quite a few has the glossy, esoteric voyeuristic elements in it - not yet seen any one that truly deals with the decision making, the turmoil of the people involved. We are curious but no longer only curious, we also want to understand too.

Maybe Almodovar himself is tired of all this.

"Scholar Stone Flower" poster in sl w rl content

Integration of sl+rl using Virtual World as a design platform for 3D objects, walk-in sculptures, meeting points.

12th ChangChun International sculpture Symposium, rl monumental sculpture "Scholar Stone Flower"

"Scholar Stone Flower": sg: Canada, Nicholas: Cypres, and Syrian sculptor

"Scholar Stone Flower" sg, Nikolas and 2 sweet interpreters


"Scholar Stone Flower" : Back ground surroundings with trees

12th ChangChun International sculpture Symposium, rl monumental sculpture "Scholar Stone Flower"

 



Wang, Sg, Fernando Pinto


sg taking pic



"Scholar Stone Flower", stainless steel sculpture by Shuen-git (Swannjie), photo by Solviega

"Scholar Stone Flower", stainless steel sculpture by Shuen-git (Swannjie), photo by Solviega


"Scholar Stone Flower" stainless steel, 4.5m high x 3m large, on the truck to the Wetland Park for installation; ChangChun. Sol, Shuen-git (Natasha), Marie and Sury

Virtual World sim visits 2011 Hellas Maccedonia, Hanako Teapot House, StellaNova Moebius art

Hellas Maccedonia

Hellas Maccedonia

Hanako Teapot House

Apollonian Marina

Stella Nova Moebius art

StellaNova vw astrophysics

Swann started the visits this time afresh, looking at high quality sims with the purpose of showing them to new comers of the Virtual World. What might they like to do in this world?

Some role playing sims are very well made, although the players in the sim often take themselves very very seriously, as if they exist 100% in their world!