What if Wednesday: Syncopated Inspiration
It is What if Wednesday and I thought what if I looked to one of my fellow bloggers for inspiration. So who better to look to than the Syncopated Eyeball. Ashley does posts that are ” Creepy Spooky Lovely Nice “. She does her creative work with her cellphone camera. Some of her fascinating pieces are a series of self-portraits. So that was my what if for this post. Take a series of self portraits using my cellphone camera and try to live up to her motto and style. Hope you enjoy and remember to visit the blogger who inspired the post.
Some of the mat edges were created using textures based on wall photos taken by Ashley. I have tagged this under fantasy, H. P. Lovecraft & ghosts because they images remind me of Lovecraft and M. R. James.
What if Wednesday
After my last post, I got to thinking about the line between the natural environment and urban/industrial decay. What if Nature became more aggressive in taking control of the decay ? What if Nature sent us a message marking the territory as a warning ? Would we notice ?
Last week, while we waited for Tasha’s bus, my wife pointed out the neighbour’s roof. The shadow of the tree created a frost silhouette – like a hand grasping the roof.
Just a coincidence – a random act of natural art or an opening shot from a movie by Hitchcock or Lean.
Nature is not that sinister. We need not worry that our buildings are about to be consumed.
Nothing to worry about.
Just sit back and enjoy Nature. Observe the beauty of it all, ……………., while Nature observes us.
What if Wednesday: Book of Unconventional Wisdom
Another What if Wednesday, so lets look at a the pages of a book that only exists in another time-line or the imagination of an imaginary philosopher in an imaginary land. Enjoy and ponder pages from The Book of Unconventional Wisdom.
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NOTE: No antique books were hurt in the making of these images. The mouse, a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, lost all hope. Click images to see enlargement and expand your enlightenment.
What if Wednesday: Steampunk Church Windows
In the steampunk church known as Our Lady of Ulthar, the cat is sacred. The followers of this church are hard working data miners and their families. They toil with pneumatic U-tubes harvesting the swollen blogs that are squeezed for their rich social linkages. They believe that in the eyes of the cat can be found the knowledge that does not grow on The Great Text Tree. They believe that The Face Book can only be understood once the Code of Katrina, Our Lady of Ulthar is revealed. Her Code is like the wind that moves the Chimes of Chronus. They start each service with the following invocation:
” It is said that in Ulthar, which lies beyond the river Skai, no man may kill a cat; and this I can verily believe as I gaze upon him who sitteth purring before the fire. For the cat is cryptic, and close to strange things which men cannot see. He is the soul of antique Aegyptus, and bearer of tales from forgotten cities in Meroe and Ophir. He is the kin of the jungle’s lords, and heir to the secrets of hoary and sinister Africa. The Sphinx is his cousin, and he speaks her language; but he is more ancient than the Sphinx, and remembers that which she hath forgotten.”
Behold the poppies that grow in the Gardens of Ulthar. Breath in their sweet dreams and know that we shall gather there with Our Lady . Gather the circuits and the Boards of Memory that they may reveal the Code of Katrina. Listen to Difference Engine as it purrs the Calculations of Chronus.
Who would disturb a sleeping cat as it dreams of the Digital Yarn that Unites the World there in Her arms ?
Note: To learn more about the basis of this what-if check the earlier post: In the Gardens of Ulthar to find out about H.P. Lovecraft’s tale of The Cats of Ulthar.
Click the following link to learn more about Charles Babbage’s Computing Engine.
What if Wednesday: Transfigurations & Transformations
This What if Wednesday is all about change. The process of change and the moment of change captures our minds and imaginations. Whether it is a vision of transfiguration or photograph of the sinking of Atlantis, we want to witness the change. We would capture it and present it as evidence of the possibility for positive change and a prophetic warning of potential catastrophe that awaits us if we do not change our behaviour & attitudes.
We see change in both positive and negative forces in both the natural world and the manufactured world in which we live.
Visions of great achievements and disastrous outcomes.
What if we do nothing ?
What if we succeed ?
What If Wednesday: 1940′s E-Book
The early E-Books of the 1940′s had a difficult time establishing themselves, in spite of war-time paper rationing. The strongly traditional education system was not comfortable with such an innovation and most bound books were kept in better condition; the North American throw-away mentality would not become a strong business/consumer model until the 1960′s. The E-Books had trouble acquiring access to a large variety of material. Most established writers were still under contract to the large publishing houses. There was an attempt to cover the lack of material by supplying an anthology style format. Of course this put them in competition with the still successful pulp magazines, which together with the growing comic-book market, held sway over the news-stand outlets.
To further compound their problems, this was the Golden Age of Radio, and access to wireless networks were dominated by both national and regional broadcasters. Radio of this time period emphasized group/family audience and shared experience. It was also providing the majority of its programming live. Immediacy was the key word. In a time of war, people were drawn together for mutual support and shared common experience. They needed a form of mass media entertainment to take their minds away from their troubles and also provide up-to-date news to keep them secure.
The final obstacle that these early E-Books faced was a lack of a consistent long-lasting power source. Once again these innovators ran into problems with established industries. Power companies were reluctant to make changes to their electrical plugs to accommodate this new technology. Since a number of Radio broadcast networks were closely connected to electrical generation, there was little appetite to open the doors to any new form of mass media technology.
As a consequence, the E-Books had to rely heavily on kinetic generation of electrical charging. This necessitated that the books were as thick as most standard book and had the additional weight of the early electronic components. This made E-Books more cumbersome than they could have been and the added weight increased the risk of damaging the components.
The E-Books did leave one lasting impact on vernacular language . Because of their unusual variety of content and innovation in their front display menu many people responded with some confusion ( another obvious marketing weakness), A common expression entered the language that is still with us today; “You can not judge an E-Book by its cover.”
What If Wednesday: Blue Dreams of Xanadu
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round:
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
Kubla Khan (click for the complete fragment) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
Note: Yes, both images were both photographs . If people are curious about the process of creating either of them, I will post an explanation/tutorial. The poem fragment is especially loved by those interested in fantasy literature. There Coleridge and Xanadu have appeared in more pieces of fantasy as character, setting, or artifact than any other literary figure & their creation.
What If Wednesday: Steampunk Star-gate & Atlantean Portal
Journey into a realm of possibilities. Step through a Steampunk Star-gate into the what if’s of history. Turn the dial of disbelief and lift the throttle of your imagination. Perhaps you will discover Atlantean Artifacts Revealed, such as the famous Atlantean Bull Mural.
We may find our way through an Atlantean Portal and discover the secrets of Leng and Hyperborea. Step through the portal, if you dare, and visit a surreal shoreline and mystic seas.
Wonder at the what if’s awaiting you and go beyond the field you know.
What if Wednesday: Faerie Under Glass
Faerie under glass ?
A rarity indeed.
The wings first dissolve,
The inner leaf set free;
True Nature can not be confined.
Freedom suspended in a metal frame
Quickly cracks -
Boundaries become brittle -
Imagination dwindles.
Faerie under glass ?
Like a Blue Moon,
Pressed between pages of a book,
Is only a memory.
What If Wednesday: Steampunk Photography
It is Wednesday, time to explore another what if of history. One of my particular favourite historical what ifs is steampunk. The retro-Victorian Science Fiction has generated an interesting body of work. The aesthetic has spread into popular culture, even if the term is not necessarily well-known. A recent winter photo and a nature shot taken a while ago became the basis for these two pieces.
What If Wednesday1: Renaissance Photo
I have had a fascination with what if history ever since I read a DC Crisis team-up of the JLA & JSA. What if history took a different turn ? What if the Viking settlement in Newfoundland had not failed ? What if the Alaska had become part of Canada ? What if the Romans had discovered photography ?
( The original version of this seems to have disappeared on the web. I have a complete version that I used with my media students – Photography History 1 (PDF-SlideShow) – also see my other media resources. )
So what if there was photography during the Renaissance ? I wonder what it would look like ? Something like this perhaps ?
Some Merry Gentlemen just in time for Twelfth Night or perhaps there would be portraits of wealthy merchants for us in high school history textbooks.
So many twists and turns in time. So many choices to consider. For more food for thought check out : Uchronia: The Alternate History List is a bibliography of over 3100 novels, stories, essays and other printed material involving the “what ifs” of history , SWINDON PHOTO ALBUM & Toad News , Dr. Roundbottom Scientist & Philosopher . More on the Renaissance check my Renaissance Resource Page.
Photo Note: The merry gentlemen image was created using a scan of a pin box, while the merchant portraits were bases on a photo of an art book cover. Enjoy the day !
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