January 2008 archive

The Library of Congress has discovered a few new photos from Lincoln’s second inauguration. High resolution images are available at their site.

And Spiegel Online reveals that the true identity of the Mona Lisa has been discovered:

The enigmatic smiling woman painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the sixteenth century has for long been known simply as the “Mona Lisa.” But her true identity was a mystery, providing fodder for countless theories. Now a manuscript hidden away in a German library may have unlocked the key to her real name.

Heidelberg University library confirmed last Friday a German radio report that its researchers had discovered the true identity of the model in the famous 16th century portrait. She was Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy Florentine merchant, Franceso del Giocondo.

The director of the university library, Veit Probst, said the mystery was unravelled after a book was found in the library archive that once belonged to a friend of da Vinci. In October of 1503 the Florentine official Agostino Vespuccui wrote a note in the margins of one page, saying that his friend was working on three paintings, one of them a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo. The note, scribbled into a collection of letters by the Roman orator Cicero, compares the Florentine painter and sculptor to the ancient Greek artist Apelles.

Some light streams in through the cracks between the blinds that cover my sliding balcony door.  The Winco is a 24-hour store, and the soft yellow lights of the parking lot mesmerize me at times.  I like the way the puddles catch the reflections, and send them off at odd angles on their way back up.  I’ve lost a couple hours watching this more than once…with a beer, sitting out on the balcony.  Every once in a while an occassional tire, shopping cart or shoe passes through those puddles and adds even more variables to the equation as I look on from my 2nd story vantage point, roughly 12 feet up and 10 yards out.

It’s 3:25 AM on a random weekday morning as I type this ‘intro’…and I find myself wide awake as usual at this time.  I’ve got work in a few hours, but if I can’t sleep anyway I might as well do something productive with the time.  I enjoy the night…the silence, and the lights off…I even see better this way.

News and open thread.

1. Escalated bombing reminds me of another conflict 35 years ago. The Washington Post reports the U.S. boosts its use of airstrikes In Iraq. “The U.S. military conducted more than five times as many airstrikes in Iraq last year as it did in 2006, targeting al-Qaeda safe houses, insurgent bombmaking facilities and weapons stockpiles in an aggressive strategy aimed at supporting the U.S. troop increase by overwhelming enemies with air power… The U.S.-led coalition dropped 1,447 bombs on Iraq last year, an average of nearly four a day, compared with 229 bombs, or about four each week, in 2006… UNAMI estimates that more than 200 civilian deaths resulted from U.S. airstrikes in Iraq from the beginning of April to the end of last year”. The military predicts extensive use of bombs and missiles to continue this year.

2. The Taser-wielding police have killed another person; this time in Minnesota. The Star Tribune reports Father wants answers in son’s death following Taser jolt. “Authorities are investigating the death of a 29-year-old Fridley man shot with a Taser by state troopers, who said he had become ‘uncooperative‘ after a rush-hour crash Tuesday evening. The victim was identified by his father as Mark C. Backlund. Gordon Backlund said his son was on his way to pick up his parents at the airport after they had taken a short trip to Florida.”

   In the United States, more than 290 people have died since June 2001 after being struck by police Tasers, according to the human rights group Amnesty International. It said in October that only 25 of the 290 were armed, and none had firearms.

3. The Guardian reports Yangtze River reaches a 142-year low.

   The waters of the Yangtze have fallen to their lowest levels since 1866, disrupting drinking supplies, stranding ships and posing a threat to some of the world’s most endangered species.

   Asia’s longest river is losing volume as a result of a prolonged dry spell, the state media warned yesterday, predicting hefty economic losses and a possible plague of rats on nearby farmland.

   News of the drought – which is likely to worsen pollution in the river – comes amid dire reports about the impact of rapid economic growth on China’s environment.

   The government also revealed yesterday that the country’s most prosperous province, Guangdong, has just had its worst year of smog since the Communist party took power in 1949, while 56,000 square miles of coastline waters failed to meet environmental standards.

   China has more than demonstrated what happens when you have unbridled capitalism with no regard for your environment.

4. According to The Telegraph, ‘Cunning’ squirrels pretend to bury their food. “Squirrels pretend to bury their nuts and acorns to protect them from would-be thieves, scientists say. Researchers who recorded how squirrels deploy the tactic more frequently when they are being watched say it shows they are more intelligent than previously thought… Grey squirrels create numerous stores, especially when food is scarce, by digging shallow pits with their paws, pushing items in with their mouths and filling the holes up with debris. They sometimes place leaves and other vegetation on top to further hide the sites. The whole process normally takes less than a minute.” Aw nuts.

One last thing: $300 to learn risk of prostate cancer.