Ben Shoemate » Art

Complex information put to music

Ben Shoemate — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 20:25:31 +0000

Since your first day of kindergarten when you sang your “ABC’s” educators have used music to teach the otherwise boring lists, numbers, patterns and history of our world and universe. I don’t know if it is actually easier to memorize when put to music or simply more rewarding so you try harder – after all, it is very impressive to name all 192 odd countries in the world in 60 seconds to the tune of the Mexican Hat Dance (see number 5).

#1 The periodic table

I would love to be able to memorize this song, but even I’m not that big of a geek.

#2 The Pi Song

This could have been horrible if it was not sung so well. This is another song I have little interest in actually learning but its always fun to know PI to at least 10 places…just incase.

#3 The Universe Song – Monty Python

I really love this song and sing it all time to remember how big the universe really is. This version is sang by Clint Black (I am from Texas you know, plus the original lacks such quality visuals).

#4 The Universe…Again

A catchy tune and inspiring version, but since it lacks the numeric information of the Monty Python version it will always live in its shadow.

#5 The Nations of the World

This is one of my favorites. I have the first 2 sections memorized, but I loose it when he gets to Africa. Unfortunately, like most of these songs the information is increasingly out of date.

#6 I am the very model of a modern major-general

While not necessarily conveying a lot of scientific or practical information (that’s kind of the point of the joke), this famous scene for the play the “Pirates of Penzance” does have a lot of historical perspective on what he nerds of the 19th century where talking about. From a time when things like “beings animalcules” (microscopic organisms) were first discovered. The late great science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote an essay about this song where he identified the meaning behind every strange and forgotten word. If you’re into retro steam punk, you’ll enjoy this vocabulary lesson.

I am the very model of a modern Major-General,

I’ve information vegetable, animal, and mineral,

I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical

From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical;

I’m very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical,

I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,

About binomial theorem I’m teeming with a lot o’ news,

With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.

The rest is here: Major General’s Song

#7 Parts of the Brain

#8 All the words in the English Language

A parody of this type of song sang by the animated team that gave so much to this genre.

#9 The 50 US states and their capitols

I’m pretty sure kids use this song in school today to learn the states.

#10 US Presidents from Washington to Clinton

#11 We didn’t start the fire

Billy Joel rattles through the incredents of live in the 20th century.

#12 Natural Decay

#13 How a bill becomes law – school house

A public service announcment that interrupted every cartoon marathon of my 1980′s youth.

#14 Sink the Bismarck

Learn some WW2 history.

#15 The Battle of New Orleans

Get pumped up about the War of 1812 – USA v Britan part 2, the sequel to the revolution.

MTV posts every music video ever online!!

Ben Shoemate — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:57:21 +0000

I grew up with cable and MTV. I didn’t watch it that often but it was there. I mean it was one of the channels. And back then, before there were 300 channels, and Tivo, and the internet, we used to flip through them. Over and over. For fun. A song or video would have to pretty intresting, animated, or filled with special effects to catch the attention of an 8 year old. What I’m trying to say is that MTV has posted every music video online on there new site http://www.mtvmusic.com/

Even better you can embed them.

Peter Gabriel |MTV Music

My Favorites off the top of my head:

Peter Gabriel » Sledgehammer (above)
Michael Jackson » Thriller
Fatboy Slim » Weapon of Choice (with Christopher Walken – classic)

I think this comment sums it up on the Daft Punk » Harder Better Faster Stronger video.

“Productivity in our IT deparment has dropped to exactly 0% since we discovered this site this morning. :p Thanks MTV. Best thing to happen to mTV since it’s incepetion.”

Where is the bear in the big dipper?

Ben Shoemate — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:01:32 +0000

On the mantle of my bed I have a planetarium (Sega HomeStar) that projects the night sky onto my ceiling. Every other night or so, I turn this on when I’m relaxing into sleep. It allows me to star up at the stars, forget about the day, and contemplate the vast, unending beauty of the universe we live in. It is hard to look at the sky without your brain searching it for patterns (after all the brain is a pattern finding machine). The brain cannot help but try to connect the dots in a futile search for meaning and familiar shapes. Seven of the brightest stars in the northern hemisphere form what we call Ursa-Major – Latin for “The big bear”. I for one, and most people I know never can see any bear shape at all in those stars, so we call it The Big Dipper instead.

We can’t see the bear for 2 reasons –

First, there are actually 20 stars that make up the bear, and the “big dipper” is just his rump and tail – that’s right I said “tail”.
Second, bears don’t have tails.

Why does this bear have a tail?
According the the Greeks, Zeus, the king of Greek gods, flung this bear into the heavens by its tail, stretching the tail into the shape it has now. Was this story compelling enough that Greeks, Roman’s, and all of Europe and generations of artists would see a bear? Apparently it was:

Artists have been drawing this “bear with a tail” for centuries.

Interestingly, many American Indian tribes who never heard the Greek story, also knew these seven stars as part of a large bear. They saw the three stars of the Dipper’s handle not as a tail, but as three boys chasing a bear. A much better story if you ask me.

To see how other cultures saw these stars, check out this nice site.

I think this image shows it best:

Found Online – wishes by *Mell0nC0llie on deviantART

Google Reader — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:48:37 +0000

via http://mell0nc0llie.deviantart.com/art/wishes-63742164

Found Online – Rubik hacks

Google Reader — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:18:07 +0000

Just one example from a stupendous gallery assembled by Dark Roasted Blend.

Geekiest LEGOs and Rubik Cubes

Humans are not the only animals that use tools to hunt

Google Reader — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:01:15 +0000

via http://www.betz.lu/

Information Visualized – all the water in the world

Google Reader — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:50:39 +0000

all the water in the world (or 1.4087 billion cubic kilometres of it) including sea water, ice, lakes, rivers, ground water, clouds, etc. (left). all the air in the atmosphere (or 5140 trillion tonnes of it) gathered into a ball at sea-level density (right). both shown on the same scale as the Earth.

[link: phiffer.com|via boingboing.net & benfry.com]

Attention Boeing/AirBus – Start working on blimps!

Ben Shoemate — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:41:19 +0000

When I rent a car these days I try to rent a prius. I love gliding silently through the streets, pulling up to fast food windows and not having to shout over the rumble of an engine. Imagine if we could fly in such silent style. Imagine if the airplane was as quiet as a library. This painting made we wish for that. It is a painting by “futurist” Syd Mead who also worked on movies like Blade Runner, Tron and Aliens—but in his most recent work he envisions a future city by the name of Doha, Qatar.

I think we have the building architecture down. But somebody has got to get to work on these wonderful flying machines.
Technically, blimps are soft-body-inflatable aircraft – these are more like zeppelins, rigid-body-lighter-than-air craft. Either way, I would except the longer commutes if I could have a conversation without losing my voice and hearing.

Disney’s new short Glago’s Guest

Google Reader — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:20:00 +0000

My first official reason to want to see this new Bolt movie.

Nice photo of a jelly fish [Things I don't want to meet in the ocean]

Google Reader — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:48:02 +0000

via http://ziza.es/2008/05/15/7.html

Nice house design

Google Reader — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:13:39 +0000

via http://kitsunenoir.com/blog/page/6/

Great colors – art by ronald kurniawan

Google Reader — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:50:03 +0000

via http://www.ronaldkurniawan.com/new%20frameset/main.htm