Double Take

The title for today's blog is of course a double entendre. It is a double take in the sense that I am writing two blogs back to back (because I didn't have the internet access this morning to do yesterday's blog), but also because I am currently reading the Golden Ass of Apuleius. It is one of those translated Greek works that happen to be popular but somehow never made it into the cannon of classical literature (another double entendre ;)). Apuleius, the author of the Golden Ass, was described by the translater as a master of double takes. Just when one thought one had gotten the joke and has laughed heartily at it, he reads the real punchline and finds himself unable to laugh further. Of course, in the books case, it was not only jokes but also unfortunate situations...almost as if things can always get worse. But enough about the book. Read it yourself if you want to know more. Just be forewarned that it teaches a rather radical moral philosophy that might not make sense today as it contains prejudice and plenty of self-preservation lessons.

Site of the Day: www.spores.com
What is it: a site that introduces the next blockbuster game: Spores. Not another gaming site!!! Actually, I don't play very many video games but it is again effective advertising that caught my eye with Spores. In the transit stations, bright one-colored ads feature cartoony microbes and beckon you to check it out at spores.com. The ambiguity and the urgency of the ads just might (by eliciting curiosity) get people to vist their site. Once there, you learn that the creator of SIMS finally came out with a more dynamic version of their SIMS game. You can not only develop relationships, etc., but you can also have them evolve and become armies for you to conquer other steady states. Very clever indeed, but I wonder what the future will hold for these games. Are we so interested in playing God and in control that that is the only direction we can move towards now? I surely hope not, but let's see.

Artist of the Day: Vincent van Gogh
Who is he: an incredibly well known artist now although he remained rather unappreciated during his time. I shall write more about him in the coming days but I thought it fitting to crown him the artist of today as I just saw an exhibit of his night paintings at the MoMA. The exhibit was roughly 40 paintings, with most of them on loan from the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. The Starry Night was of course there, but to be honest, there were not enough works in the exhibit to tie the "night paintings" theme together. Many of the works were created in the dusk and although van Gogh wrote about wanting to paint the night, the works in the exhibit just did not weave a coherent story about what the artist wanted to do. I could write more, but as it happens, it is about 3 AM here and I really need some sleep. I will presently get back to van Gogh and muse over what I think about his works.