Sunday, June 24, 2012

To Boldly Go...


The space probe Voyager 1 has traveled since 1977, soon reaching the end of our solar system and entering outer space. That's not a void, but a constant storm of cosmic rays, from which the sun's magnetic field protects us. Whatever it really is, space is not empty.


The essay has been moved to my personal website:

To Boldly Go...


Friday, June 22, 2012

Facebook Makes No Difference

Facebook is an anomaly. Scientists have discovered that the most influential ones on it are not the young “hip” ones, but those in their thirties and above. Imagine. So, we should no longer hope to die before we get old.


The essay has been moved to my personal website:

Facebook Makes No Difference


Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Game of Words



I'm far from the only one enjoying the TV-series Game of Thrones, waiting impatiently for season 3 to commence. I bet that this excellent fantasy drama would have pleased even its foremost inspiration: William Shakespeare. In the midst of all the spectacular scenes, its foremost quality is that of words, words, words.


The essay has been moved to my personal website:

Game of Words


Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Counter Acting


The arts contain numerous paradoxes. That's particularly true for the art of acting. Those who master it know to play on the opposite of what is called for, thereby enhancing it, as if real acting is counter acting.


The essay has been moved to my personal website:

Counter Acting


Monday, April 23, 2012

Vanity Cards Are Not in Vain


I watched an episode of The Big Bang Theory, an enjoyable sitcom, when I noticed something odd passing by in a second on the credits. You see it above. A subliminal message, perhaps? I had to investigate.


The essay has been moved to my personal website:

Vanity Cards Are Not in Vain


Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Chinese Divination


The last few months I've been busy producing new websites, on the theme of ancient methods of divination. One of the oldest is the Chinese classic I Ching (The Book of Change), with its 64 hexagrams and their accompanying texts giving clues to the future. Try it out – you'll be surprised.

I found a splendid script on the Internet, so I could make an actual online version of the I Ching, where you can try it out without needing any additional equipment than your computer or your smartphone. Here it is:

There, you also find links to additional information about the I Ching – its background, hexagrams and trigrams, basic principles, and so on.

I Ching is a Chinese classic (also spelled Yi jing) dating back to at least 1,000 BC. It consists of 64 chapters, each devoted to one of the 64 hexagrams. These are made up of six lines that are either solid or split in two, symbolizing yin and yang, the ancient polarities of Chinese cosmology, well-known worldwide through the circular image enclosed here.

Each hexagram represents a concept that becomes the answer to the question asked in divination. There's an explanatory text to each. Also, additional statements are made when one of the lines is marked. It may sound complicated, but it's quite easy once you try it.

What's particular about the I Ching is that its divination is done by words: the name of the hexagram as well as the words of the accompanying text. We are creatures of words, so they tend to tell us a lot. Already the name of the hexagram usually gives an enlightening clue to the question at hand. And more often than not, the text is so accurate to the situation it's eerie.

I urge you to try it out. You'll not be disappointed. At the very least, it gives you a chance to contemplate your question in a new light. And please come back to this blog if you feel like commenting the experience.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Fame Must Be Raw


I tried to see the 2009 remake of Fame, about New York students of the performing arts. But it didn't grab me, not at all. It was just a bunch of scenes. The film makers might have watched the 1980 original, but they didn't learn from it.


The essay has been moved to my personal website:

Fame Must Be Raw


Thursday, January 12, 2012

Actors Interruptus


I've become addicted to Inside the Actors Studio, the TV show where James Lipton interviews famous movie stars at length. Like any addiction, it's a combination of delight and agony.


The essay has been moved to my personal website:

Actors Interruptus


Sunday, January 1, 2012

Time Flies

Chronos.

One more year ends, a new one starts.
They say that time flies.
It sure does. Fast. High.
I want it to land.
Walk with me.
Step by step, in a slow pace.

As a child, I flew with it, shared its wings, urged it on.
Go fast, go high!
Watch out for what you wish.
I got my will – when I gave it up.

That's of what time is made:
Grief of days locked in the past, hope for days to come, and fear of the day that is.
None more real, none less so.
You must be winged to bear it.

Time is a beast, too.
It chews on you.
Bit by bit, it eats you up.
Spits you out.
Leaves you in the waste, as it takes off to find new prey.
There is prey.

But then, time is joy as well.
That of a tale we love to be told.
From here to there, through a land that's not the same twice.
Not once.
Still, we know it when we see it.
It's called life.
From birth to death, it would not be if there were no time for it.
So, we've got time.
And we want it.
More of it.


This is a syllable poem, by which I mean a poem composed only of one-syllable words. Check my website for more of them: stenudd.com

Monday, December 26, 2011

Harry Potter vs. Voldemort – so what?


It might be blasphemy, but I have trouble appreciating the Harry Potter stories. I might not even know what I'm talking about, because I only managed to read something like a hundred pages of the first book – the rest is just what I've seen in the movies. That's fine with me.


The essay has been moved to my personal website:

Harry Potter vs. Voldemort – so what?


Friday, December 23, 2011

What's With the Beard?


Soon, Santa Claus will sneak down the chimney with presents to all good children, with a jolly “Ho, ho, ho!” That's all fine. But what's with that big white beard?


The essay has been moved to my personal website:

What's With the Beard?


Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Believers Don't Believe


”I'm a believer,” The Monkees sang in 1966. They meant a believer in love, but mostly the term is used for and by religious people, sticking to convictions that common sense dismisses. But the term is a paradox. The use of it reveals a lack of belief.


The essay has been moved to my personal website:

Believers Don't Believe


Monday, December 19, 2011

No Hit Song Without Words


A British research team presents a formula they claim predicts what songs will be hits. They use a bunch of parameters, but ignore one of the top components of a song: the lyrics.


The essay has been moved to my personal website:

No Hit Song Without Words


Saturday, December 17, 2011

Burlesque Breakfast of Champions


Finally, I got to see the 1999 movie Breakfast of Champions, based on Kurt Vonnegut's novel. I had avoided doing so earlier, afraid of being disappointed. Well, I was. They turned the wonderfully absurd novel into a tiresome burlesque.


The essay has been moved to my personal website:

Burlesque Breakfast of Champions