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Satava Art Glass
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Other
- Hits: 2395
And roaming upon 17th Avenue I pop into Rubaiyat, a store I've long neglected since moving out of the hood. For a couple of reasons, not least the fact that generally they're out of my budget and I've a locker full of beautiful things that I have no place to enjoy.
There's the discovery of wonderful, needful, things; a portable chandelier upon a tripod, rude wood bowls out of tree burls, Silver cuff links with Haida motifs, I like them all but the Raven would definitely be my totem. And they've a man counter, with male accessories, giant rings for those so inclined, more cuff links with manly motifs out of Mississippi numbered nails and other found objects thoughtfully re-purposed, large gems, hip flasks and other accessories, I'm not buying but I've just burned through another million dollars yet to be earned, who do I know that would like these as gifts?...
And finally there are the jellyfish paperweights, marvels in their own right, translucent, vaguely fluorescent, luminescent, millefiori barnacles and corals, blown with Uranium or some such radioactive tints, price tags carefully hidden, (and this where the $3000 price tag on the wood bowl is gleefully displayed), Satava Art Glass (follow the link, look for the Jellyfish). long tentacles, nestled domes, spun patterned tentacles, they seem to pulsate within the confines of the glass globes, I need these for my desk, these are the objects of inspiration I've been missing...
The timewasting movement of online content to video
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Rants
- Hits: 2682
Now it's become painful, this, more hours of video are posted each day than ever I can hope to watch, and off of my favorite "inspiration" sites more and more articles are replaced by videos, the morning "routine" of catching up on the interweb is thwarted by the fact that catching up, even if I watch 2 or 3 videos simultaneously, can never take place. I had reading mastered, could quickly skim and misquote an article in a minute or less, but now I have to watch each and every video, even carefully selected for what's of relevance to me they are overwhelming, this move to video and streaming content, it has to stop.
Really. It turns the internet from a forum or exchange of information into a playground for the mentally bereft, who couldn't possibly be expected to read a two or three hundred word article, so can become victim of a 15 second ad and then 2 to 10 minute video that provides roughly 30 words of information or value. The timewasting is extreme, even by my most generous of standards. Information is slowly falling prey to the lowest common denominator.
And really, even this rant is lost, to be truly effective it should be preceded by a 15 second ad and jauntily animated or presented in a 2 or three minute video with infographics that illustrate the demise of the world wide web. At which point I would be part of the problem...
The Gold Chain of Inti Cusi Hualta
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Lost
- Hits: 2509
Reading "The Incas" by Garcilaso de la Vega, a long, dry history of The Inca civilization and it's kings and policies, when I come across a reference to a Gold Chain made by the king Huaina Capac to commemorate the birth of his son, Quotes:
"Inca Inti Cusi Huallpa or Huasca this last word means a chain or rope Tradition relates that to commemorate his coming of age a golden chain was made long enough to go round the great square Cuzco He reigned eight years when he became the prisoner of his brother Atahualpa by whose order it is supposed he was killed in 1533 at Andamarca..."
&&
"... the inca ordered the chain to be made of suficient length to surround the square so that according to the computation of Garcilaso it must have been seven hundred feet in length and so heavy is we may credit the accomptant general Augustine Carate that two hundred Indians could scarcely raise it from the ground After the most diligent search made by the Spaniards this chain could never be found, it was buried with other treasures carefully in the bowels of the earth"
Searching Google for references it appears the chain remains lost.
Links: http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/lost-inca-gold/
Many, many references to the countless treasures that were hidden upon the arrival of the Spaniards, there seems to be enough in the legends to suspect there still await great treasures to be found...
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