Art Np2

"There is trouble. There is bad trouble. There is bad, bad, trouble.  There is bad, bad, bad, trouble. You are in trouble."  Betty Kinnard

She's one of my favorites every year.

This challenge is being hosted by Reading with Tequila.  Please click  on this link  to learn more about this challenge.  I am participating at Level I which requires the reading of five book of my choice from the list of recommended books here.   My choices are as follows: The Glass Castle  Jeannette Walls The Stand   Stephen King Frankenstein   Mary Shelley Wuthering Heights   Emily Bronte The Andromeda Strain   Michael Crichton Wish me luck.

I am going to read 52 short stories and poems in 2012.  There will be at least 52 separate blog posts this year on the home page.

  “A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” – John Steinbeck Time Lapse, 2010 by Maya Freelon Asante Another one of my favorite pieces of art I first encountered in 2011.  It is made of paper and tape.  The picture came from the Reginald E. Lewis Museum in Baltimore.

One of my favorites performers featured on this blog in 2011.

http://bookriot.com/2011/12/14/7-surprise-twists-id-rather-live-without-or-the-airing-of-grievances-literary-style/

"Unless a writer is extremely old when he dies, in which case he has probably become a neglected institution, his death must always be seen as untimely. This is because a real writer is always shifting and changing and searching. The world has many labels for him, of which the most treacherous is the label of Success."      Voltaire

Jake you are the kindest man I ever met.

By Steph in Gadgets & Geek Art , Technology & Futurism What can’t artists do with 3D computer graphics these days? Fantasy can be brought to life in ways never before imagined, and realistic scenes as clear as a digital photograph are illustrated with stunning vitality. These 18 CG images from 15 talented artists will blow you away with their depth and attention to detail, from the tiniest little pores on the skin of an elf to the fibers on a fuzzy sweater. Piotr Fox Wysocki (image via: cgsociety.org ) The texture of the fabric. The gleam of the metal helmet. The pores, tiny hairs and imperfections of the skin. Piotr Fox Wysocki proves his mastery of 3D art with “The Last Elf”, a truly mind-blowing testament to how powerful 3D modeling programs have become. The project was certainly a labor of love, as Fox Wysocki notes that “As far as I remember there were 1,300,000 small hair in the fabric.” Juan Siquier (image via: siquier.cgsociety.

By Steve in Architecture & Design , Travel & Places , Urban Images Call it “urban jungle lite.” BUMPS In Beijing is a 5-building, mixed residential and commercial apartment complex located in the Chinese capital’s prestigious Chaoyang District. Japanese architect Keiichiro Sako’s neo-Metabolist “bumpy” design is a stylistic break from slab-sided traditional urban towers , providing optimum sunshine and breezy terraces that brighten up Beijing’s increasingly cramped skyline. Smokin’ Stacks (image via: Contemporist ) “ BUMPS in Beijing ”, a mixed-use, 5-building complex designed by Japanese architect Keiichiro Sako of SAKO Architects , is located in southwest Beijing’s desirable Chaoyang District. (images via: Zeospot , ArNewDe and Globizen ) Even among a host of new and exciting highrise developments, BUMPS stands out – literally – thanks to its unusual stacked, staggered and yes: “bumpy” appearance. (images via: Shearyadi’s World and Wo

By Steve in Architecture & Design , History & Factoids , Travel & Places , Urbanism Urban society may seem a modern phenomenon but cities have been around for a lot longer than one might think. Indeed, once nomadic tribes began to settle in one location, they saw that it was good, became fruitful, and multiplied. Decades, centuries and millennia passed while war, climate change and human migration all took their toll. Relatively few ancient cities have managed to survive the test of time. Here are 10 that have not only survived, but continue to thrive. Damascus, Syria (images via: Frederick Highland , Man In Demand and Historic Cities ) Damascus, the current capital of Syria, has a long and colorful history that stretches back nearly 12,000 years. Located in a fertile region well-watered by the Barada river, Damascus was a prime target of numerous kings and conquerors – and often wound up on the losing side. (image via: EuroMesco )