Stop Weaponizing The Priest Abuse Crisis Against Catholic Theology
Sympathy for Transgender People Cannot Trump Objective Reality | National Review
Celine Dion’s New ‘Gender-Neutral’ Clothing Is Self-Contradictory And Ugly
Magician Ricky Jay Will Be Missed For His Unmatched Talent And Wit
Ricky’s skill and knowledge surely
made him one of the most talented performers of all time, but it was his
unique sense of humor and style on stage that set him apart. His use of
vocabulary and self-deprecation
as a way to engage his audience was entrancing and unparalleled. A
performance by Ricky wasn’t a parlor show or something to be shoved into
the background of a cocktail party, but an encapsulation of his ability
to connect to a crowd through charisma and wit.
Ricky didn’t like playing to huge crowds
or groups of other magicians because he didn’t want to break the
connection he formed with an audience. He loved the bond he was able to
create by deceiving people, and they loved it too. Ricky believed in the
spell of pure entertainment, and his love for magic was fueled by the
look of wonder and delight on the faces of his fans. Whether or not they
believed what they were seeing was truly magic, they believed in the
enchantment of Ricky Jay.
and
Art Spiegelman and Ricky Jay in Conversation: Web Exclusive
Magician Ricky Jay Will Be Missed For His Unmatched Talent And Wit
materialsscienceandengineering:
Varnish affects the sound of a violin
Varnishes protect works of art and wooden instruments from environmental damage. However, until recently, little research had been carried out into the effects of varnish on the sound of violins. Empa researchers have now investigated this relationship and have published their initial findings.
Leonardo da Vinci’s oil painting “Mona Lisa” looks rather gloomy with its dark green and brown colours. It is a little-known fact that the maestro painted the picture in bright colours – so the subject appears bathed in the light of a sunny day. What caused this difference in colour? Da Vinci covered his oil painting with varnish to protect it. The varnish acts like a filter, causing the picture to become darker than the artist originally painted it.
It has the same effect on the spruce used to make violins and other stringed instruments. In its raw state, it is white with a touch of gold. The wood lacks durability, so violin makers protect it from environmental damage using a varnish. It is this protective coating that gives the violin its elegant dark brown colour.
Violin makers pass their varnish recipes down from one generation to the next. It is rare for anyone outside the family to find out how exactly the mixture of resins and oils is formulated. The chemistry of varnishes has been scientifically researched for a long time. In contrast, little attention has been paid to the physical properties of varnishes – wrongly in the opinion of Marjan Gilani from Empa’s Applied Wood Research Laboratory. The scientist and her colleagues suspected that varnish affects the vibrational properties and therefore the sound characteristics of violins, and they began to investigate this relationship. The first stage of the research was concluded with the publication of a scientific paper in the journal Applied Physics A. The findings support the Empa researchers’ hypothesis.
This is sound research.
(1)Power’ means the external source of a movement or change; or, if internal, a distinct otherness in the thing moved: the building art is a power which is not present in the thing built; whereas a curative power may reside in him who is being cured, but it is a distinct capacity, not his function as a patient. In general, the beginning of a change or movement is called a power, which may be in something else or be another capacity of the same thing, and this beginning is also an external or distinct agency; for it is by this agency that a process proceeds and by which, as we say, a thing is ‘enabled’ to suffer change, although we sometimes say this, not about any change whatsoever, but only about a change for the better.
(2) A power implies doing something well and deliberately; for those who walk, but not well, and those who talk, but not as they wish, we are likely to describe as not ‘able’ to talk or walk; similarly, when something changes.
(3) The tendency to remain impassive, to resist change, or at least to resist change for the worse, is a ‘power’: for when things are broken, battered, bent, or in any way destroyed, it is not because they have this ability, but because they do not have ability; they lack something, whereas things that are impassive to such processes, being barely and slightly affected by them, enjoy a power and a capability in a positive sense.
Aristotle, Metaphysics V.12, 1019a15-33 (Trans. Richard Hope)
Obama’s spying scandal is starting to look a lot like Watergate
Why Political Correctness is insatiable – and a possible solution to stopping it
admiralchimpspoliticalthoughts:
Giving people a different method to virtue signal would help to end the heart of Political Correctness, but what can be an easier and more powerful virtue signal than moral one-ups-man-ship, ruthless enforcement of norms, and savagely, self-righteously turning on nonconformists based solely on language?
“…The problem faced by the PC elite is that too many people can adopt PC status too easily.
It is important to grasp the mechanism driving progressive causes in
society today. It was not designed by anyone to work like this; it is
indeed a source of frustration to PC leaders themselves. The result has
been an extraordinary run of success for causes destructive of
traditional culture and the family.”
Why Political Correctness is insatiable – and a possible solution to stopping it
CultML 