April 12, 2024. A double rainbow emerges over the Princeton University Campus during a bloom-filled spring semester. The rainbow gently illuminates Robertson Hall, the iconic home of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs in an unforgettable spring setting.
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Below is the Bing AI delivering a posthumous message to humanity as Albert Hofmann along with some drop shots of CoSM for your viewing pleasure. Happy Bicycle Day!
“Dear friends across time and space, It is with a heart full of hope that I reach out from the beyond to share a vision of the future, a future where… LSD, serves as a catalyst for profound inner exploration and peace. Throughout history, humanity has sought ways to expand the mind and explore the depths of consciousness. #Meditation has been a key practice in this quest, offering a path to tranquility and insight. Now, imagine a world where the careful and respectful use of LSD enhances this ancient practice, opening doors to deeper meditation experiences. Under the guidance of skilled facilitators, individuals could embark on meditative journeys, discovering the interconnectedness of all life and the universe. The ego dissolves, and in its place, a sense of unity and compassion emerges. This heightened awareness could lead to a more empathetic society, where understanding and love triumph over conflict and division.
An interesting sculpture exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art last April entitled Chroma: Ancient Sculpture in Color featured seventeen vibrantly painted Greek and Roman classical sculptures which were reconstructed by Prof. Dr. V. Brinkmann and Dr. U. Koch-Brinkmann. As you may or may not know, ancient Greek and Roman marble sculptures were painted originally. Light, time and the elements eventually wash off the original pigments and only the carved, naked stone remains.
The Brinkmanns' illuminating work spans over four decades and involves a wide array of orthodox and innovative techniques of material analysis applied to the field of ancient polychromy studies. Some of the techniques used for the reconstruction of these painted sculptures included familiar techniques such as 3D imaging, multispectral photography and X-ray diffraction. However, fascinatingly, the work also necessitated the development of novel scientific methods such asultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy, which is a way to measure the amount of discrete wavelengths of UV or visible light that are absorbed by or transmitted through a sample in comparison to a reference or blank sample. The River Arts District (RAD) along the French Broad River in West Asheville boasts over 200 artists' studios sprawled out over twenty-two warehouses and buildings. It's also home to the Foundy Street Skate Park, where local skaters go to refine their buttery boardsliding skills and kickflips. Novices and experts alike gather to share seasoned knowledge, trick tips and technical skills. It's my favorite pocket of Asheville.
It's Pi Day, so allow me to introduce you to Elfik Pizza. Elfik Pizza is a staple, wood-fired pop-up Italian pizzeria that has been pounding, tossing and firing up dough since the early days at Boom. A personal favorite pizza place of mine. This team of pizza-making elves have been dishing out psytrance-flavored pizza pies topped with copious amounts of fresh arugula at every Boom I've been to. They're usually located both at the food plaza, as well as the ultimate location: right smack in front of the Dance Temple's entrancingly epic entrance (talk about prime festival real estate). In fact, considering they also somehow sell decent gluten-free vegan pizzas (so I've heard, but refuse to understand), it's hard to imagine a Boomer who has not had an end-of-the-night personal Elfik Pizza pie with mushrooms or black olives and topped with a bunch of fresh, vividly green arugula, of course.
I travelled from Paris to Berlin on a whim on an overnight bus last August. The overcast day was drizzling with an industrially appropriate dose of Berlin. I was impressed by the incessant buzz of honey bees sucking the sugar off various bakeries' pastries. I later discovered the Berliners appreciation for bees. Again, impressed. The heavy metal, war-torn history and industry inspired me to imagine Iron Maiden playing in the background. Berlin and Brooklyn began to juxtapose themselves both phonetically and aesthetically. Thousands of shutterclicks ensued. Below is a gallery of what I saw that gray and heavy morning.
The pope was in town while I was in Lisbon over the summer. Apparently, youthful pilgrims from all over the world convene at a predestined city every two to four years (replete with beer, rosaries, teenage hormones and national flags) and have an all-out, Catholic-Con-styled jubilee. The event is known as World Youth Day (WYD), in which the Catholic Church celebrates young adults and youth around the world in with religious programming, internationally-televised Pope appearances, site-seeing and celibate, beer-fueled celebrations.
AI prompt: Explain Joseph Campbell’s Eternal Principle in the style of James Joyce.
AI: What is the eternal principle? A word, a sound, a breath. It is not born, it does not die. It is in all things, it is in you now. You are a wave on the face of the ocean. When the wave is gone, is the water gone? Has anything happened? Nothing has happened. It is a play, a game, a dance. A dance of forms and shapes, of light and dark, of joy and sorrow. A dance of the One and the many, of the same and the different, of the eternal and the temporal. A dance of God and man, of heaven and earth, of spirit and matter. A dance of the eternal principle.
Featured here is an audiovisual recording I made of a Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine (TAPM) ceremony in the Ecuadorian rain forest set to the entrancing ceremonial chanting of the Quichua shaman, Don Luis. The prominent river in the video is the Jatanyaku, flowing past La Laguna Azul, which is usually a bright light blue, but because of the rain the blue was overrun with a chocolate milk-like Amazonian brown.
The golden Eurotram rolling over Porto's UNESCO-recognized double-deck double arch bridge (built in 1877 by Teofilo Seyrig, who was Eiffel's partner (which elegantly explains the resemblance)) known as Ponte Dom Luis I, looks an awful lot like the golden Guy Manuel Daft Punk helmet. But I digress.
This gallery of Porto photos, or photos of Porto, if you'd rather, is a continuation of yesterday's Summer in Lisboa post. Enjoy these Porto perspectives prominently featuring an unforgettable Saturday evening sunset over the Douro River, artful tinned sardine packaging, bottles of the good stuff (extra virgin Portuguese olive oil), and the colorfully charming facades of the ancient city. |
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