September 14, 2012
Metonymy [mi-ton-uh-mee] is a figure of speech used in rhetoric (the art of discourse) in which a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or concept.
Metonyms can be either real or fictional concepts representing other concepts real or fictional, but they must serve as an effective and widely understood second name for what they represent. For instance, ‘Hollywood’ is used as a metonym (an instance of metonymy) for the US cinema industry, because of the fame and cultural identity of Hollywood, a district of the city of Los Angeles, as the historical center of film studios and film stars. Continue reading →
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September 14, 2012
Asian blepharoplasty [blef-er-uh-plas-tee], also known as ‘double eyelid surgery,’ is a type of cosmetic surgery where the skin around the eye is reshaped. The purpose of the procedure is to create an upper eyelid with a crease (‘double eyelid’) from an eyelid that is naturally without a crease. The procedure has been a subject of controversy, and was described by opponents, such as author David Mura, as being ‘indoctrinated by white standards of beauty.’ New York based cosmetic surgeon Dr. Edward Kwak states that many patients who get the procedure done are ‘not trying to look white,’ but look like the many north and eastern Asians who naturally have an eyelid fold.
While there are some Asians with a double eyelid and some without, there is also a large variation in the crease position (double eyelid size) of the East Asian upper eyelid. The upper lid fold can range from 1 mm above the eyelash line to about 10 mm. Asian blepharoplasties have been reported to be the most common aesthetic procedure in Taiwan, South Korea, and other parts of East Asia. The procedure has been reported to have some risk of complications, but is generally quite safe if done by an expert plastic surgeon. A procedure to remove the epicanthal fold (near the tear duct) (i.e. an epicanthoplasty) is often performed in conjunction.
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September 14, 2012
Aesthetic relativism is the philosophical view that the judgement of beauty is relative to different individuals and/or cultures and that there are no universal criteria of beauty.
For example, in historical terms, the female form as depicted in the Venus of Willendorf (prehistoric figurines) and the women in the paintings of Rubens would today be regarded as over-weight, while the slim models on the covers of contemporary fashion magazines would no doubt be regarded in a negative light by our predecessors. In contemporary (cross-cultural) terms, body modification among ‘primitive’ peoples is sometimes regarded as grotesque by Western society. Continue reading →
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September 14, 2012
‘Vast right-wing conspiracy‘ was a theory advanced by then First Lady of the United States Hillary Rodham Clinton in 1998 in defense of her husband, President Bill Clinton, and his administration during the Lewinsky scandal, characterizing the Lewinsky charges as the latest in a long, organized, collaborative series of charges by Clinton’s political enemies. While popularized by Mrs. Clinton in her 1998 interview, the phrase did not originate with her.
In 1991 the ‘Detroit News’ wrote: ‘Thatcher-era Britain produced its own crop of paranoid left-liberal films. … All posited a vast right-wing conspiracy propping up a reactionary government ruthlessly crushing all efforts at opposition under the guise of parliamentary democracy.’ An AP story in 1995 also used the phrase, relating an official’s guess that the Oklahoma City bombing was the work of ‘maybe five malcontents’ and not ‘some kind of vast right-wing conspiracy.’
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September 14, 2012
A gyroscopic exercise tool is a device used to exercise the wrist as part of physical therapy or in order to build palm, forearm, and finger strength. It can also be used as a unique demonstration of some aspects of rotational dynamics. The non impact nature of the products combined with the soothing resistance of the spinning rotor have made them good rehabilitation devices for persons suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, RSI, bone breakage etc.
The device consists of a tennis ball-sized plastic or metal shell around a free-spinning mass, which is started with a short rip string. Once the gyroscope inside is going fast enough, a person holding the device can accelerate the spinning mass to high revolution rates by moving the wrist in a circular motion. The shell almost completely covers the mass inside, with only a small round opening allowing the gyroscope to be manually started.
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September 14, 2012
Trademark dilution is a legal concept giving the owner of a famous trademark standing to forbid others from using that mark in a way that would lessen its uniqueness.
In most cases, trademark dilution involves an unauthorized use of another’s trademark on products that do not compete with, and have little connection with, those of the trademark owner. For example, a famous trademark used by one company to refer to hair care products might be diluted if another company began using a similar mark to refer to breakfast cereals. Continue reading →
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September 13, 2012
‘A moron in a hurry‘ is a hypothetical person against whom a claimant’s concern might be judged in an English law civil action for passing off or trademark infringement.
The expression is used to reject a claim that two items could reasonably be confused by a passer-by (i.e. that even a moron in a hurry would notice the difference), on the grounds that the items are so different that the goodwill and brand of the claimant’s item cannot genuinely be affected by the existence of the other. Continue reading →
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September 13, 2012
Social intuitionism is a movement in moral psychology that arose in contrast to more heavily rationalist theories of morality, like that of Lawrence Kohlberg. Kohlberg developed a stage theory of moral reasoning that he claimed accounts for people’s moral behavior. More sophisticated reasoning, he asserted, should lead one to more consistent moral action, because one realizes that moral principles are prescriptive in nature and so demand action from the self. NYU psychologist Jonathan Haidt greatly de-emphasizes the role of reasoning in reaching moral conclusions.
Haidt asserts that moral judgment is primarily given rise to by intuition with reasoning playing a very marginalized role in most of our moral decision-making. Conscious thought-processes serves as a kind of post hoc justification of our decisions. His main evidence comes from studies of ‘moral dumbfounding’ where people have strong moral reactions but fail to establish any kind of rational principle to explain their reaction. He suggests that we have affective heuristics (mental shortcuts) which are unconscious that generate our reactions to morally charged situations and our moral behavior. He suggests that if people reason about morality, it is independent of or at least processes causing moral decisions to be made.
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September 13, 2012
The concept of a lovemap was originated by psychologist and sexologist John Money to assist in a discussion of why people like what they enjoy sexually and erotically. According to Money, it is ‘a developmental representation or template in the mind and in the brain depicting the idealized lover and the idealized program of sexual and erotic activity projected in imagery or actually engaged in with that lover.’
According to Money, the word lovemap was first used in 1980 in an article entitled: ‘Pairbonding and Limerence.’ Money describes the formation of an individual’s lovemap as similar to the acquisition of a native language, in that it bears the mark of his or her own unique individuality, similar to an accent in a spoken language. A lovemap is usually quite specific as to details of the temperament, build, race, color, etc. of the ideal lover. Since its inception, the concept of ‘love maps,’ applied to interpersonal relationships, has found apt acceptance and is frequently referenced in love / relationship / sexual-evolution theory books; as for example in Wilson and McLaughlin’s 2001 ‘The Science of Love.’
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September 13, 2012
In computing a 10-foot user interface is a software GUI (graphical user interface) designed for display on a large television (or similar sized screen) with interaction using a regular television-style remote control. ’10-foot’ refers to the fact that the GUI’s elements—i.e. menus, buttons, text fonts, and so on—are theoretically ergonomically large enough to read easily at a distance of 10 feet (3 m) from the display. To avoid distractions and to be more clear, 10 foot UIs also tend to be very simple and usually only have the minimum core buttons.
Typical examples of popular 10-foot user interfaces are HTPC (Home theater PC) media center software applications such as Google TV, MediaPortal, XBMC, Windows Media Center, and Front Row / Apple TV interfaces, but most other Smart TV and set-top boxes devices and software with interactive television interfaces also belong in this category. In 2010, Hillcrest Labs released the Kylo browser, which is a web browser optimized for television use, which features a 10-foot user interface. Hillcrest also invented the first motion-controlled remote for television.
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September 13, 2012
@earth is a 2011 book made by London born (and based) photomontage artist Peter Kennard with Lebanese artist Tarek Salhany. It is a photo-essay told through photomontage with seven chapters exposing the current state of the earth, the conditions of life on it and the need to resist injustice. Apart from the title (which is also in different languages on its back cover) the pocket book contains no words and its story is told in sequences of constructed images. ‘@earth’ combines images created digitally over the past two years by Kennard with Salhany especially for the project, with Kennard’s earlier darkroom based photomontages (spanning over 40 years of work) some of which are part of the Tate Permanent Collection. They have been recontextualised for the book. The authors met whilst Kennard taught Salhany at the Byam Shaw School of Art in London.
‘@earth’ has received recognition from, amongst others, Naomi Klein (author of ‘No Logo’ and ‘The Shock Doctrine’) who has said: ‘This book perfectly captures the brutal asymmetries of our age: heavy weaponry trained on broken people, all-seeing technologies and disappearing identities, perpetually exhaling industry and an asphyxiating planet. If there’s a word that’s worth a thousand pictures, it’s ‘@earth.”
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September 13, 2012
Ron Fricke is an American film director and cinematographer, considered to be a master of time-lapse photography and large format cinematography. He was the director of photography for ‘Koyaanisqatsi’ (a film consisting primarily of slow motion and time-lapse footage) in 1982 and directed the purely cinematic non-verbal non-narrative feature ‘Baraka’ (1992). He designed and used his own 65 mm camera equipment for ‘Baraka’ and his later projects.
He also directed the IMAX films ‘Chronos’ (1985) and ‘Sacred Site’ (1986). His most recent work was as cinematographer for parts of the film ‘Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith’ (he was hired to shoot the eruption of Mt. Etna in Sicily for use in scenes of the volcanic planet Mustafar). The sequel to ‘Baraka,’ ‘Samsara,’ premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011. Fricke writes about his work: ‘I feel that my work has evolved through ‘Koyaanisqatsi,’ ‘Chronos’ and ‘Baraka.’ Both technically and philosophically I am ready to delve even deeper into my favorite theme: humanity’s relationship to the eternal.’
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