Perception is a strange thing. I had studied these photos of Ron Mueck’s sculpture of a boy for quite a while. They are obviously from 2 different exhibitions. The larger of the 2 was in a gallery with soaring dimensions. Also, the photo is taken from a height above. The figure of the boy appears to be looking down at the spectators. There is something slightly menacing about him, as if he’s contemplating standing up and then stomping on the people. Or, perhaps, he’s thinking of playing with them as if they were dolls. The sculpture seems in proportion with the space, it’s the people who seem small and insignificant.

In the second photo, the boy seems cramped. His outsized figure can barely fit in the space he’s been allotted. This time he’s looking off in the distance. He has a thousand-yard stare. The people aren’t menaced by him at all. The space is theirs and he can do nothing but crouch down in it.

Many aspects of life can be contrasted this way. A situation that seems huge in one context, can seem more in proportion (or at least manageable) in another context. Yes, it’s all in how you look at it. (more…)

Well, I did call it, didn’t I? Just to refresh your memories here were my predictions for 7 November:

Senate 5-8 seat pick up for Democrats
House 27-34 seat pick up for Democrats
Governors 4-6 pick up for Democrats

The Senate is on the low end of my estimate (5-6), but still there. The House is right on (33) and the governors are at the high end of my margin of error (6). This is what happens when you strip the rhetoric, the partisan passions and negative ads from your analysis. I’m not saying that those aren’t factors in how elections are decided. What I am saying is that if you want an honest analysis, you must strip all the noise from what you’re looking at. (more…)

Just do it!

Please give what you can to Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders).

And, of course

Here you see the DOD’s Central Command’s take on the civil conflict in Iraq as of 18 Oct 06. The HB looked at this chart and said, “Bloody, hell! What does it mean?” Well, any chart coming out of the bureaucratic quagmire that is the Department of Defence, will necessarily be obtuse. So, Anon will ‘splain it all.

The symbols on the left are defined near the bottom of the chart. So, we can see first that the political/religious leaders are increase(ing) their publicly hostile rhetoric (toward other groups, toward the U.S.? They don’t say) has been “routine.” Okay, now that you’ve got that; let’s see if we can put this in plain English. (more…)