Dan Harlow

Vanessa Ruiz, who runs the fantastic Street Anatomy blog has an article up about how Vietnam has launched a new helmet awareness program this past summer. At the heart of the program are some excellent images depicting various excuses people use to not wear a helmet juxtaposed with an image of what the effects of serious head trauma looks like.

Vanessa points out that a good public safety campaign should do all of the following:

engage the viewer quickly
connect emotionally
contain a powerful visual
have a clear and powerful message
present a call to action

I think we can all agree that the folks over at the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation have achieved all 5 points quite well. Hopefully the campaign will save some lives.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Known officially as the Codex Gigas (Latin for The Giant Book) this 624 page, 165 pound tome is more commonly referred to as the Devil’s Bible. Legend has it that “a monk of Podlažice [was] walled up alive for his sins … He attempted to expiate his guilt by writing the world’s biggest book in a single night. Realising [sic] the task to be beyond his powers, he invoked the aid of the Devil. The Devil aided him, had his portrait painted in the book and demanded the monk’s soul as payment. The monk was rescued but lost his peace of mind, until finally he turned to the Holy Virgin, beseeching her to save him. She agreed to help but the penitent died on the very point of being absolved from his pact with the Devil.”

From The National Library Of Sweden:

The Devil is shown alone, in an empty landscape, within a frame formed by two large towers. He is crouching with his arms held up (he has only four fingers and toes) and wears an ermine loin cloth. Ermine is usually associated with royalty, and its use here is to emphasise [sic] the position of the Devil as the prince of darkness.

The portrait was intended to remind the viewer of sin and evil. It is opposite a page with a representation of the Heavenly City and the two pages were deliberately planned to show the advantages of a good life and the disadvantages of a bad one.

Portraits of the Devil are common in medieval art, but this one in the Codex Gigas may be unique in books for showing him alone and occupying a whole page.

This story may sound familiar to some of you since it bears a striking resemblance the the plot of the Faust legend. “The legend also underscores the medieval belief that it was possible to atone for one’s sins by copying the texts. In his Historia ecclesiastica, Orderic Vitalis (1075-1142) relates a tale told by Abbot Thierry about a monk with a proclivity to sin who was an accomplished and devoted scribe. After his death, the work which he copied was used as evidence to save him from eternal damnation. When each and every letter in his text was weighed against his sins, it turned out that he had formed one letter more than the number of his sins. His soul was permitted to reunite with its body and atone for his sinful ways.”

Weather or not one chooses to believe the legend, it is believed by scholars that the Codex was written by one individual and in a fairly short amount of time. Evidence pointing to a single author is that the style of script does not change throughout the manuscript. As for the amount of time taken to complete the work it is apparent that this single author does not grow ill during the process since his scribe work shows no deterioration whatsoever. As for the time it took to complete, scholars seem to agree on a six year window in the early 13th century:

The manuscript has been dated to between 1204 and 1230 on the strength of the following circumstantial evidence. The Bohemian Saint Procopius, canonised [sic] in 1204, occurs on 4th July in the calendar, which tells us that the manuscript cannot have been written earlier than that year.

At the same time, the manuscript must have been written after 1223, because Bishop Andreas of Prague (1214-23) is mentioned on 30th July in the necrology. He died in 1223 and he is the last in a succession of historically identifiable personages between the late tenth and early thirteenth centuries whose names are mentioned in the necrology. On the other hand, the name of the Bohemian King Ottokar I of the Přemysl dynasty, is not listed. As he died in 1230, Codex Gigas must have been completed some time between 1224 and 1230.

“The name of the scribe of Codex Gigas is not known, but it has been conjectured that he was the monk Herman, whose name, with the cognomen inclusus, confined (Hermanus monachus inclusus), appears on 10th November in the [Codex’s] necrology.”

Given the rich history of this work and the legends which surround it, it is no wonder then that it has been a highly sought after work of art for nearly 800 years. Beyond it’s mere beauty though is also the content of the Codex. More than just a bible, the Codex is an undertaking to collect in one book all of mans knowledge. The Codex contains extensive translations of medical books, the writings of Josephus Flavius whose “writings are now an important source of knowledge concerning the history of Judaism and the Jews in the centuries immediately preceding and following the birth of Christ, and also concerning the topography of ancient Palestine”.

As a bible the Codex is also unique in that the order of the books is uncommon; for example “the books of Samuel and Kings come in between Job and the Psalms”. Another highlight is in regards to an illustrated depiction of heaven and earth before the final creation. “Heaven is at the top, blue with stars, the sun and the moon. Earth is below shown as green oceans before the earth was formed. Between the two the red capital letters are for the opening of Josephus, In principio (In the beginning), but the first letter (I) was not made.”

Over the centuries the book has changed hands several times and even survived a fierce fire which broke out at the Stockholm Castle in 1697. As the story goes the book was rescued from the fire by being tossed out the window. Because of it’s enormous bulk it injured a bystander below, or so Johann Erichsons, vicar of the German Church in Stockholm told the story.

Having remained in the hands (and out the windows) of the Swedes for nearly 360 years and “after lengthy negotiations, the tome is now on loan to the Klementinum for a four-month exhibition, offering Czechs their first home glimpse of the ancient text” since the end of the Thirty Years War when Swedish soldiers took the book as war booty. The exhibition begins September 20th, and will run to January 6th 2008.

Popularity: 6% [?]

As much as Jake Barnes, the impotent main character in “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway respected Pedro Romero for his skill and commitment as a bullfighter, he probably would have found much more in common with the Vietnamese and their annual Do Son buffalo fighting festival. Unlike in Spain where the matador is the star of the festival, in Vietnam the buffalo are the main attraction and only fight each other.

Planning for the festival typically begins in May after each bull has been carefully selected, trained and well fed. Preliminary matches are held in the surrounding small villages until the field is narrowed to just 6 bulls. On the day of the Do Don festival (officially held on the 9th of the 8th lunar month in Hai Phong,Vietnam) there is a “procession to a communal house where offerings from several little villages are presented to the gods; such gifts include a buffalo, a pig, and a basket of sticky rice”. After the exchange the “chosen bulls are adorned in red cloth and” are led by 12 Vietnamese men, also dressed in red, “to the bull ring followed by a procession of people playing musical instruments and beating out a rhythm on drums”.

Fighting in the ring between bulls can last anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour depending on the condition of the bull. The bulls fight in knockout heats until the defeated bull gives up and runs away. “The winner then goes on to fight another buffalo until a final winner is determined”. “Only a little blood is spilled in the fights but all finalists are slaughtered and the meat promptly sold for between 400,000 VND ($25) and 700,000 VND ($43) per kilogram”.

Popularity: 2% [?]

About a year ago champion rabbit breeder Karl Szmolinsky was contacted by the North Korean government which was looking for a solution to the mass starvation in that communist nation. The plan was that the North Koreans were going to breed some of the giant Deutsche Riesen bunnies Mr. Szmolinsky had planned to slaughter anyway and use them as stock in hopes of creating vast herds of fuzzy, hopping and cuddly cute meals. Imagine it; giant bunny burgers, BBQ bunny with teriyaki sauce and even Honorable Kim’s Hossenfeffer for all!

With good intentions Mr. Szmolinsky sold the Koreans 6 of his best rabbits and a book about how to look after rabbits:

From Vice Magazine:

One month later the rabbits were sent off to North Korea. We tried calling to make sure they had arrived safely but nobody answered the phone. Then they said that the rabbits were in a museum, which I thought was a bit strange. They had studied the book I gave them and said they didn’t need me anymore, but that they would still fly me to North Korea to oversee the breeding center they were building. I was so excited. I’ve lived in this little town my whole life and have never been abroad. Then the day before I was supposed to fly I got a call at 5:35 in the morning saying, “Herr Szmolinsky, you’re not needed anymore. We have everything under control.” I tried calling the embassy but as soon as I said my name they would just hang up. I’d even done a deal with the ZDF [local TV channel]. They were going to do a film about me. They made me a personalized hat and jacket. But the North Koreans said without a visa we wouldn’t be allowed in. Then everything went completely quiet.

So what happened to the bunnies, you ask? The North Korean “plan” all along was just to cook the rabbits for a banquet in honor of their glorious leader’s birthday.

No wonder Karl Szmolinsky believes “all politicians are bandits”.

Since the “glorious” leader of North Korea is so keen on the internet (which is where he heard about the giant rabbits in the first place), maybe he should head on over to the Human Descent site (their pictures are fake, the one at the top of this article is not, by the way) for some other ideas on breeding rabbits. Of course, the way his nuclear program is going he may be well on his way to achieving what even Photoshop can’t.

Popularity: 7% [?]

The alien from Alien and it’s sequels and sidequels is certainly one of the greatest movie monsters of all time. Sure, the Wolfman is cool and I always liked the creature from the Black Lagoon and the Predator is a total bad ass, but H.R. Giger’s alien is the sum total of all that is great about movie monsters. First of all it’s scary, second of all it looks cool and third it has survived nearly 30 years as a pop culture icon and multiple interpretations. Even if the movies the alien is in don’t live up to fan expectations the alien always manages to survive (pun possibly intended) because it’s actually pretty hard to screw it up as a character. The alien is really just a giant, killing, acid-bleeding space insect - it has no character.

This lack of “character” inherent in the alien therefore leaves it wide open to artistic interpretation from around the world and in just about every imaginable medium.

I discovered the Lego version of the chest burster over at brickshelf.com where the artist has posted numerous photos of his work. Though I doubt the Lego corp will ever be picking up this license one could still dream, I suppose.

While traveling through Dubai the owner of the blog hombrelobo, una mente dispersa happened upon a store selling an incredible steampunk sculpting of the alien. The artists information is not given but I’m pretty sure someone is eventually going to track down the original creator and hopefully talk him into doing some more work. Oh yeah, did I mention this was found in Dubai? How odd is that?

Finally, we all know the alien is far from being a vegetarian so this interpretation by Till Nowak is really quite hilarious and terrifying..

Popularity: 5% [?]

This years annual ACM SIGGRAPH (Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Graphics and Interactive Techniques) meeting was presented with an incredible image manipulation demonstration by Dr. Ariel Shamir. Dr. Shamir’s technique involves a software algorithm which can identify areas of an image that can be altered (called retargeting) without disrupting the overall image quality. The software understands which part of an image can be removed or even added to so that when the image is enlarged or shrunk the key features remain intact.

In the above example the original image is on the left and needs to be resized to a wider display. The technique first identifies then stretches the portion of the image which will be least disrupted to obtain the image on the right.

The software next looks for patterns within the image which can be recreated to correct the smearing effect when the image is first stretched to produce the final image on the right.

Dr. Shamir hopes to implement this new retargeting technique across multiple display platforms such as cell phones, notebooks and computer monitors to create a standard by which all images can be displayed correctly no matter how the user chooses to view them.

Popularity: 2% [?]

When summer comes to and end Bavarian farmers move their herd of cattle down from Alps into the warmer valley below. When an entire herd has managed to survive the summer season the cows are covered with flowers in celebration of their good fortune.

Popularity: 1% [?]

From Zee News:

Young men throwing gasoline-soaked rags set on fire at one another is not usual religious practice, but in El Salvador the practice has become an annual church occasion.

Locals in the town of Nejapa (located some 30 kilometers north of San Salvador) gather every August 31 to hurl fireballs at one another in honor of a huge volcanic eruption in 1922 that forced all of the residents to abandon the town.

The fireballs are used because locals say the hot lava that spewed from the volcano was actually the local Christian Saint Jeronimo fighting the devil with balls of fire.

“When the volcano erupted the lava and fire, that was symbolized by the fireballs, fell on the indigenous people and they moved to our town,” said Hugo Flores.

The festivities have been going on for over a decade and consists of opposing groups launching palm-sized fireballs at each other.

Despite the apparent dangers, few serious injuries are reported.

No serious injuries? Apparently Saint Jeronimo really is looking out for the well being of the citizens.

Popularity: 3% [?]

True film aficionados know that when buying DVD’s the only way to go is with a Criterion edition. Trouble is, finding the title you want at a retail store is nearly impossible and often buying online from a discount .com opens up the possibility of receiving a bootleg copy. Luckilly, beginning September 5, the Criterion Collection website will begin selling their entire catalog directly from their site and at very modest prices.

Days Of Heaven by master director Terrence Mallick is being released on September 18 by Criterion and the site is currently taking pre-orders for the DVD. Anyone familiar with Mallick’s work will know that this is one of his greatest films and (in my opinion) the only film staring Richard Gere that he is actually good in. This was only the second film Mallick helmed (after the 1973 film Badlands) and it would be 20 years before he would direct another feature - his masterpiece The Thin Red Line.

The Criterion Collection site also features a rarely updated blog called On Five that has potential to be very interesting but really only features one decent post titled Designs of Dassin which describes how the cover art for some of the DVD’s was created. Fans of the collection should appreciate this article since the DVD’s typically have some of the best box art to be found anywhere and helps make the DVD’s stand out in our collections.

Popularity: 1% [?]

The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most popular of traditional Hindu festivals in India. Though the god of wisdom, good fortune, arts and sciences is remembered on the 4th day of every month (called chauth or chaturthi) on the Hindu calendar, Ganesh Chaturthi is the celebration of the gods birthday. Recognized over a ten day period in late August and Early September where milk and prayers are offered to murtis (images or idols) of Ganesh, the festival officially ends when “millions of people of all ages descend onto the streets leading up to the sea, dancing and singing to the rhythmic accompaniment of drums and cymbals” and the murtis are immersed in the nearest body of water.

Of concern is that these murtis (large and small) “made specially for the occasion by cottage industries and street side artisans”, “the immersion of idols made out of chemical materials causes significant water pollution. The traditional mud idols have been replaced by plaster of paris statues (containing gypsum, sulfur, phosphorus and magnesium) which are then painted using toxic chemical dyes (containing mercury, cadmium, lead and carbon) to make them bright and attractive to buyers. These materials poison water bodies, by increasing chemical and organic content. In the process, ecosystems in these water bodies can harm plants and fish species which then die in large numbers. Water that has been polluted in this way can also cause diseases when drunk by people living downstream”

Alternatives which are eco-friendly are using “permanent idols made of brass or stone, performing a symbolic immersion, reusing the same idol annually, using a small unpainted idol made of unbaked clay when you immerse an idol, immersing the idol in a tub or a water tank and avoiding the use of plastic in decorations”.

With an ever rising population and economic explosion, many in India are becoming acutely aware of the potential for environmental disaster in the country. Yet because of the vast Hindu population it is believed that fundamental religious beliefs dealing with respect for the land may be the saving grace for India and her people.

Popularity: 10% [?]