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Bird's eye view: Safe from harm, NASA scientists look down on the Sarychev Peak volcano as the dramatic eruption takes place. The force of the blast sends clouds scattering

A happy coincidence

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A webcam at Szentgotthárd, Hungary captured this curious bird looking into the camera. The webcam is set to shoot only one frame in every minute, so what are the chances?
plastik.hu

Credit: http://1972313.blogspot.com/2009/06/happy-coincidence.html

 Oddly enough, this article in the NYT hits on two of my happiest moments of reverie - by a river in France, and by the sea.

What is happiness? How does one get a grip on this most elusive, intractable and perhaps unanswerable of questions?

I teach philosophy for a living, so let me begin with a philosophical answer. For the philosophers of Antiquity, notably Aristotle, it was assumed that the goal of the philosophical life — the good life, moreover — was happiness and that the latter could be defined as the bios theoretikos, the solitary life of contemplation. Today, few people would seem to subscribe to this view. Our lives are filled with the endless distractions of cell phones, car alarms, commuter woes and the traffic in Bangalore. The rhythm of modern life is punctuated by beeps, bleeps and a generalized attention deficit disorder.

Credit: PicVault.org

Credit: Young Gallery

From the site:

In a world obsessed with superficial image it is a refreshing contrast to look beyond the surface and appreciate the stuff that surrounds us for what it is made of, not just what it looks like on the outside.  English artist Nick Veasey uses x-ray technology to peel back the layers and peer inside all manner of subjects; people, objects, natural forms and animals.  The work has an ethereal, otherwordly quality, yet the things he uses to create the pictures are familiar.  Nick’s work has won awards in every relevant photographic competition and shown in galleries around the world.  These elegant yet unsettling artworks are a perfect example of the fusion between science and art.

Credit: ashtonhoward.com

From the page:

Europa

Jupiter's moon Europa has a crust made up of blocks, which are thought to have broken apart and 'rafted' into new positions, as shown in the image on the left. These features are the best geologic evidence to date that Europa may have had a subsurface ocean at some time in its past.

For more visit: NASA

 Looks like Jim Jarmusch is a sorealist. He precisely defines the 'soreal' attitude to authenticity over originality. To be authentic, in this world of shared images and words and realities, you cannot be entirely original.