Chinese DESIGN

As a humble man who is wearing £6.99 shoes from Lidl shop ( in this instance, forget about a bit expensive

camera lens etc 😀 ) my only shopping pleasure is (as I don’t buy other than regular essential staff) to

find something funny products (always from China) in a pound-shop.

As a matter of fact, most of the case I don’t use them as it was expected to do —— I disassemble and use the

material or components for another purpose.

In the same time I can see the way how they designed and manufactured the product —– in

extremely cheap way !   I use a word [ Amazing ] for such products —– Amazing in certain extent, for

their pretty innovative, creative, lateral-thinking !

( Remember,  Chinese was the people who invented Gun-powder,  Paper,  Magnetic Compass, etc. and

able to establish the viable system of  Herbal-medicine,  not mention the Acupuncture. )

non

In the development of human civilization, there has been numerous [ Amazing ] invention, some of them

might have come through by accident though, some are beyond the imagination, such as the way how

acupuncture was invented ! —– once after the phenomenon was noticed, there was no limit to

experiment for this point and that, and thousands of years of accumulated observation = here the each point

were established, —–  For a Royal Doctor, hundreds of prisoners or poor patients must be his disposable, no

shortage of guinea-pig.  Hence, thousands of systematic experiments, research could have done in ease,

untill the exact point or portion of herb and the mixed combinations were defined and established.

( I guess, millions must have died in agony when the experiment went wrong —– and this tradition is

seemingly continuing in China even today, the prisoners in death low are executed to meet the schedule of

organ transplant for the hospital and corrupt officials to make money )

But what about the very first moment to notice  “ there is a certain connection between the

symptom and accidentally pieced needle “ —– ! ! !    [Amazing observation ! ]

( It might be evolved from the [Shiatsu massage] / Press the point strongly as a part of martial art —– then

“stronger the better” so that, burn a Moxa on the same point,  and came to the idea  “How about piercing” )

non

In comparison, I don’t think there was not much length needed to invent Gun powder as

a Taoist Doctor was an Alchemist too.  ( Herbalists use all sorts of material such as even Mercury or

Arsenic etc ( the fancier the ingredient the more profitable, — such as Tiger-bone, Rhino-horn — which

carry the price of £60,000 /Kg   and Sea-horse, etc) ) —– there could be a mixture of Carbon and Nitrate

made soon or later.   Then put them in a bamboo pipe,  it would easily make a Rocket  🙂

And as Chinese is making dried sea-weed using bamboo mat ( like Nori on Sushi ) there couldn’t be

much distance to discover the technic of Paper making.

Non

So, there seems to be a key ingredient in Chinese mind-set, —– acute keen eyes to observe,

and the millions of  try and error, some are pretty inventive approach —– on the end

it would be succeeded.   (But, a question is, why they couldn’t find [ Periodic Table] kind ? )

Ten years ago, Chinese products were just cheaply made crap though, these days some are nicely made

( even shiny iPhone, iPad are all made in there, anyhow there is no difficulty as most of the components

come from Japan ) they are getting the skill to make a copy and make it looks nicer — after all, the screen

of  iPhone,  iPad were all made by Sharp Japan, what else they need ?  😀

non

An interesting small item I found in a pound shop was an engraver to scrape a name on what ever the

surface material.   ( When I saw it, I wondered how the drill tip and the small motor-shaft was connected

—– it can be useful somewhere —– purposely made shaft coupler is much more expensive )

When I opened, I discovered the most minimalistic, ultimately simplified structure !

I think, the photo can show you everything.   Just one twisted wire is functioning as a spring to pressurize

and holding the batteries while connecting it to the motor.

Still it works ! —– no frill but enough for ordinary use ! —– That’s why it was £1.

To see such drastic simplification made my jaw drop.     This is almost a revolution.

While maintaining its function, still able to cut the cost to such bare minimum, this way of thinking is

noting but amazing.

—– M m m, ? ? ? But in the same time, it made my spine chill.   This kind of mind-set, very very

innovative cunning thinking, disregards any convention but “as long as (apparently) it works = it’s OK”

might be behind even their rapid construction of Hi-speed Train or the Cooking Oil recovered from the

sewerage —– that’s was the way how it made somebody horrendously rich.

And now their Hi-speed Train was plagued by the accident, killing many people.   ( but, because of their internal

rule, the number of fatality of any accident is always 35 max, otherwise the local official will be sucked

—– therefore if the number of dead exceeds = the bodies disappear and classified as missing —– ? ? ?

but,  where those 3~400 missing bodies has gone ?,  it’s  middle of nowhere ).

Non

To liberates the way of thinking, but in the same time, strain the mind to stay within the

morality, stay away from greed,  is on the very thin blue line.

Where their thousand years proud tradition of  Taoism,  Confucianism,  Buddhism  has gone ?

—– Wasn’t that, their sublimated Ethos ? ? ? ——- or Mammon-ism is much stronger ?

The trouble seems to be —– they got only two choice, either connected to the Communist Party’s power

and get rich,  otherwise stay poor and killed ( or even worse,  suppressed and disappear).

And root of this trouble is, they have been in the [Artificial] society too long. —— Ideology

is artificial, and a policy of such as  [one baby] policy was utterly artificial ( because of this,

they are facing the crisis of having twice as many old retired population than young working generation).

When facing the deadly choice of  life or death = Mammon-ism is only the mean to survive. Is it ?

———– I really wonder, how long a society totally against the Dharma able to go on ? 

—

PS:  If anybody is wondering about the situation in China,  especially around their Hi-Speed Train,

—– Please search and find the articles about ［劉志軍]  and [丁書苗]  in  [経済観察報］or 香港 [明報] .

—

TOY and ELECTRONICS

A while ago I was introduced to a guy who needs to have some helps for his electronic project.

This guy Richard has been running his shop-sign design business near the work shop of the

Open Wifi Networking people / OWN, and he was introduced me through this group.

As he wanted to expand his design to LED light sign-board, but without having enough knowledges of

electronics. ( —– good boy. I like this kind of people. Keen to study and challenge new field.)

(Any how, I myself started a hobby of electronics from scratch

without having any formal education or training)

He had started to make sign-board using a kit bought from China —– and having mountain of

problems, the power supply, heat-up, etc etc. (May be it worked in China though, this country got

much more strict Safety regulation and the customers are more fussy, and so on)

Basically, the Chinese design was rather cleverly simplified, using less components —– would work

just within the limit and under an ideal condition.

Though, the trouble of bespoke designs are, they are not always the same design, and the number

of LEDs on the board are not necessary the same number.

So, I suggested the modification and the change of the components, power supply etc etc,  in fact

quite a lots of works needed to make them perfect    🙂

non

On the beginning, he tried to pay for my help. I told him “My help is free. And even if he want to pay,

he can’t afford my formal charge”   “One day, if I need, I may need to ask your help”

“So, just glad to receive a help from others, and give a help when he saw if others needed”

non

——- Then, he found the Chinese toys using LEDs and showed me if they can be used to control the

electronic signal in the sign-board.

Modification or adaptation of electronic circuit is much easier than to make a tandem bicycle out of

two broken bicycles (which needs to have a lots of cutting and welding —– a messy business)

As a matter of fact, I’ve been doing many of those kind of adaptation.

A video clip of my rotating  LED disco costume in Youtube was made out of a Chinese toy too.

When I saw the complicated lighting pattern of 5 LEDs in the small toy, I’ve got the idea to utilize it

(then, I made more than 10 design and the prototypes —– and one end-up as a fancy disco gadget 😀 )

If I design and make the same from scratch, by using gate ICs or a micro-controller IC, it would become

quite a size and impossible to rotates, let alone to mount it on a disco costume.

Since Chinese manufacturer designed and made it as a cheap toy, expecting to sell millions, they made

all the controlling circuit and the memory in one custom IC, everything is in a thumb nail sized board

—– so that, I’ve bought 20 of them 50 pence each 🙂 —– what a bargain 😀

Most of those ICs in the toys which execute a pre-programmed

routine is having a digital memory and its execution speed is

clocked by an internal RC clock, and its frequency is

supply voltage dependent, its mean if we change it, it could

slow down the speed.

The toys, Richard found was rapidly flashing RGB LEDs disco

pendant kind.   Those electronic circuit can be modified to flash

the letters on a sign-board by adding higher current transistor,

and can have more effective speed or giving more interesting

random movement as well.

And by using much higher supply voltage, it can light up lot more number of LEDs —– the variations are

endless —– after all, they are so cheap,  try this and that —– any faliuer wouldn’t cost you much.

Try to analyse and modify the circuit is a kind of game and a fun. —– and I made user friendly, ready to

use small board for him (and his assistants) to make sign-board.

—– rest of work is for him / he is the designer.    I was just an adviser.

It was an interesting occasion to see a person rapidly learning and succeeding.

This is the Zen at work. (for me and for him)

Let the things to come and happen.—– In Buddhist’s view, it is not an accident. 

It’s happened as it should be.

Be flexible in the brain / in the way of thinking, and to the occurence in the life,

and above all,  just do what required there in its best.

Hence, I was happy and he was happy too.

The day and the life in total would be quite fruits-full. ( with a lots of fun as well 🙂 )

___/\___

—

DISASTER in Japan

 

–

–

–

–

——————————————————– Here Everything was lost

—————————————————–anything remains is the HOPE

————————————————–and the WILL to Re-build the LIFE.

–

–

–

–

Seeing the Earth Quake and the Tsunami report from Japan is nothing but a heart-braking to me.

To see a photo of a flatten muddy field which caption says, There used be a town, its empty span of

nothingness shocked and made me wordless. Emptiness of almost perfectly flushed-out field.

—

It seemed, the western reporter, photographer prefer to pick up dramatically or even funnily

piled-up devastation. An orgy of destruction. ——— but to Japanese, as I am, it is not funny at all

nor the object to be amazed.

—

Another cultural differences appeared in the western media is, all the report found it is even strange,

the reporters unanimously says ” how Japanese can keep emotion in check and stays calm ?”

The emotion is the default feeling of the human-being, hence it is more or less the same to any

culture. Though, emotional expression is not instinctive, in other words, it is cultural.

Whether it is emotional or not, expression is a way of the communication, therefore even

an emotional expression is dependent on the situation.

—– there was an interesting psychological study and the video images of the small children.

When a small child stumbled and fallen, having a pain the child started to cry. —– You will think it is

a natural emotional reaction.

Though when the same child stumbled and fallen on the empty street where nobody else is in sight

( except a hidden video camera ), child didn’t cry, and stand up by herself.

This is the true nature of the human-being. —– communication is to appeal to others.

Having emotion is one thing. To express is other.

If there is no other person to help, no need to express. —– even small child knows this

and behave accordingly.

AAAAA

In the western culture, where the Ethos and the psyche was shaped in the cast of Judia-Christian religion.

In there, the God is a humanized image or notion. And the relation of the believer to

the God is one-by-one base. You have to stand before the God in person. Hence you have to talk or express

to him — otherwise you can’t to be heard.

Therefore, unless you express and assert your Self, you are not exist. And under this understanding

even a word expressed by a person may not necessary enough. Hence, a written contract became essential.

So that, express and express and make a claim is the basis of the psyche.

And as the relation to the God is one-by-one, when something happened, shout “ Why me “

AAAAA

In comparison, the Eastern God or the place of the mighty power is the Heaven,

or Buddhist’s  explanation is the Dharma. The rules of the Universe.

Regardless, whether you face it or not, believe or express yourself or not, you are under the Dharma.

As all the occurrences and the existences are in this Dharma or under this Dharma, hence even a huge

natural disaster may produced by this same Dharma, hence you can’t argue with it.

Nor there is no use to complain or express your emotion. —–  Shout and cry is no use. The matter is

just think what you can react to the situation. What you have to do the next.

And in the case of huge natural disaster, as the same fate has come to everybody, and as everybody

was created by the same Dharma, everybody has the same feeling and facing the same situation,

one crying wouldn’t make situation any better.

Thanks to Japan has very little foreign element in their psyche, everybody is sharing the same psyche

—– even to the people who was not affected by the disaster, they share the same pain,

hence the help started almost instantly. And no looting at all.

—

In the Buddhist’s explanation, this is the moment when the Dharma prevailed.

As everybody having the Dharma in them, when they sees the situation far beyond the human

comprehension, lost the word, hence lost any thinking, therefore the mind became

blank = blank open space = Mushin —> The Dharma, hence its nature of Charity and compassion prevailed.

And the Dharma is inside,  whether the police is there or not, no looting occure.  Since Dharma knows it.

—-

I only hope the people who had this disaster to recover and able to re-build their life.

( And in this given opportunity, Japanese can root out their rotten government and rotten policy in their

nuclear generating system )

___/\___

—

CUPIDON by KINETORORI

Well,  KINETORORI is my Email name.  As  Youtube  is now own by  Google,  to have an account there I

needed to use the same User name.  (This is to avoid Spam and Fraud. —— it’s no use to defraud fake person)

———————

On the time of Rickshaw Gallery Exhibition,  I’ve shot video image of my work / Cupidon.  And I was going

to put it to this blog though met some technical complication.  I found it is easier to put it into Youtube first

and embed its URL into this blog.

But,  when I put it to Youtube,  the URL appeared as —– http://~~~_0518Q_AZ-o   (you can see this on top

of the screen,  and about this number,  please refer to a post  “ Is Dharma Directing Us ? “ )

I was shocked  ” Oh dear,  Buddha seemed to hate this ”

—— so,  instead,  I put still photo above which doesn’t blow-up condom. 😀

(If you click a link,  you may see the moving image and URL in there )

——————–

Then  next morning,  I saw some junk mails and one of them was from UNISEF asking  support to help

children in Africa.   And I noticed their phone number is  0800 158 3694.  And I felt again  ” Oh dear ”  but

this time I took this sign to  ” I should do the donation to them “.

How the same group of the number  8150 making Positive or Negative response ?

It is in the subconscious intuition.

It would be OK for the Cupidon to blow-up condom at an Art Exhibition as the visitors may not connect the

piece and maker to the Zen Buddhism  😀

Though this blog is about Zen Buddhism.   The same joke would seemed gone too far, therefore it was a halt.

If we were notified  ” I’m watching you ” it’s even herder to go against the common sense. (Be a good boy  🙂 )

———————–

The Exhibition at Rickshaw Gallery was happened just as a coincidence as I met the owner of Gallery at

the Royal British Sculptor’s Society.   Then at the Private View of Rickshaw Gallery,  I met the owner of

another Gallery / Unit-24, just round a corner of the Tate Modern , and she invited me to exhibit in her Gallery.

Everything has happened just as a sheer coincidence,  but what so ever,if I were invited,  I just accept and

deliver at my best  (Most of my works are pretty jokey,  so, they may not necessary an Art which I don’t care

—– still definitely they make the people to smile and they like good joke.)

May be Buddha likes me to make people smile,  it would be a cool breeze in this harsh Samsara,

hence he is making those coincidences.

So, just be here natural as we are.   And follow the natural flow of occurrence.

Don’t think too much and struggle.

Its good to be a Buddhist.  Don’t you agree ?  

___/\___

[]

CREATIVE MIND —- HELIX the ANGEL

My design or creative work used to be to make something useful especially in the photographic field.

But when I encounter a complication or intrigue in its commercial implication, I just fed up with them, and

started to make utterly useless things —– so-called kinetic sculpture. (Well, it is their classification

and the naming.  I don’t care what ever called.  I just made something  fun  for myself and  as I happen to

know electronics  they often moves,  flashing the light or makes sound.  It is a reflection of  Who I am )

In the same time, my interest to the human mind, especially its cognitive function and creativity led

me to make a kind of figurative piece to see how we can recognize it,  still as the figure even when it was

simplified to the limit.

——————–

To think about creativity through traditional art form and technique doesn’t have so much point, as the freedom

would be confined to the last stroke only.  After all, the creativity is the matter of how the brain

re-configure new  image or notion, better try it as wider as possible aspects.

Thanks to be an outsider of the art,  I don’t need to be confined in the traditional art form.

Above all, traditional technique cost more.  The reason why  traditional sculpture having established supply

and production systems are,  they are the money spinners,  hence it would cost more. (See who buy  Art ?)

Though with a Buddhist Bikku’s principle,  everything has to come from the skip, free of charge.

Therefore the material and the production technique has to follow accordingly to funny material —— its mean,

to invent whole process or technique. ( You may never imagine to create curvy nude figure out of drink can )

The photos here is the Helix the Angel.

The name came from its spiral structure.  Why spiral ?

——- To make a full figure,  we can do it with clay  and

take a die and cast it in metal or glass fiber plastic,

( If not the stone or wood carving —– its a heavy work)

But to make it from  metal panel, it will needs to use either

expensive press process or lots of heat and bang by hand.

Though I got an idea to make it easy and cheaper, using

the way to lap-up a mummy with strip of bandage.

Strip of metal will not totally cover the body though it wouldn’t be a matter, as long as its shape showing

the essential contour,  it would be seen as a body and the gap would be filled by the brain with its function

of integration.  (Convert a flat panel to 3D figure,  lots of people may think  to make each body parts with

rounded pipe,  thinking of Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz,  but it is a stereotype,  mere  variation of existing idea.

A body made by metal needn’t to be a robot kind.——— Anyhow most of the robot looks awfully ugly.

If the task was to make a robot,  I  will make a robot which should function,  regardless if it looks ugly.  But to

make a beautiful Angel,  she got to be beautiful.   Creativity has a direction.   Its not just a wild imagination.

Imagination is A Part of creativity.  The matter is how to develop its image to a concrete object / 2D or 3D etc )

———————–

Intricacy of the miniaturization and its realistic representation would amazes the people,  but in the same time

when a simplified figure showed core essence of the subject,  it amazes the people too.

Art is an Artificial representation of the Natural Truth.  When the well known nature was realistically

represented in an Artificial form or invisible truth was well exposed by the Artificial means,  in either case

it would strike the people’s subconscious/ naked perception.  This is what people calls the ART.

Once before, to show  well known existing object such as a Urinary or Dead Shark in different context did

amaze the people as a twist of the context,  but since such idea became ubiquitous,  its no longer impress

the people.  Because, its no longer exposes the truth,  but ironically it exposed another kind of truth

” Money grubbing fraud ” and so-called  Conceptual Art  became the dirty word.

———————–

Once the created piece was seen by the others,  concept or imagination of the maker came into the field of

communication  (it is no longer the solo game of one’s expression ) ——- the very concept / massage has to

be understood by the others.

If the concept or imagination was originated from the depth of maker’s subconsciousness,  as all the human

share the basic feeling and instinct,  it would be understood by the others, more or less in the same context.

Though,  if the concept was manufactured in the higher region of the brain (by Thinking ),  as everybody got

different knowledges and ideas,  it wouldn’t be understood in the same context.

(That’s why,  so-called  Conceptual Art needs to have  pages of pages of  blah, blah, blah.)

Here the situation of ” What is The true SELF ” came into play.

————————

Incidentally,  this Helix the Angel was shown to the organizer of the so-called ” Angel of the South “

( Evesfleet Project) Design Competition as it happened soon after I’ve made this.  Though, they choose

out-dated conceptual piece ” White Horse ” for the project —— I wonder if it would ever be built.

———- With the design concept of the Helix,  its wings would flap by the wind and drive an electric generator

which would power the hi-power LEDs  in the eyes at night   ( in theory  😀 )    Though, I found the wind in

east England,  if it is east wind it would blow from the east, all day——- not conveniently changes the direction

to make the wings flap and generates electricity.   It was the design flop,  not made by the wing.  Ha ha ha  😀

The creativity in the imagination alone would not necessary works in practice.

In this case,  it is much more an engineering product design than  the Art.

Still it was a fun.

Eroticism ? —– Virtual Woman

Photo left is a kinetic sculpture titled ” Virtual Woman”.

The wire mesh torso which rotates  X and Y axis like

a computer 3D cage design,  hence its title.

Before this,  I made three nude figures using same

material and technique.

Despite of those nude figure (I mean female nude)

having supposed to be ideal proportion and curvy

contour,  strangely it doesn’t look erotic.

My friend who got quite a taste of female body (but not empty kind) said, ” Very sensuous but not sensual “.

Wondering  ” Why I couldn’t create erotic figure ? ”   I made most blatant one,  which is just an open-leg

part of the torso,  expecting to see literally naked eroticism.——— Yet the result was far from erotic.

The reaction of female Artist friend  was  ” Your piece is too strong as a sculpture,  leaving no margin to play

with erotic imagination ” ——- ” Thank you very much” ——– ? ? ?

———- Yes, eroticism lay in its suggestive subtlety,  not  naked exposure of ” Thing”,  otherwise

gynecologists can’t do their business.  If it is the case, where this human eroticism came from ?

The Neuroscientists / Human sexologist call this  ” Brainization of the sex” (not sure about this English

translation, as I read about this in Japanese book long time ago).

It is not from the sexual instinct,  as the imagination in the brain needs the source from out side.

So that, the Boys and Girls build up their Erotic Image Library  which is influenced by the Mass-Media, some

became obsessed by the size of boobs others are slim leg etc, and some are even become Anorexia.

Without the accumulation of the original data, we can not imagine anything.  Still,  we have the curiosity as

even a child has. ( This curiosity is at least  Sexual Instinct, which must be the relics of the lost program )

With this curiosity,  we build up own collection of sexual data bank.  Hence everybody got different one. 

But this is nothing but the evidence of  ” We are born without complete sexual instinct “

And as its imagination was made up in the brain,  it is not far from the delusion or obsession

(When a particular thought was associated with certain Emotion and when this connection become

subconscious routine,  it is the Obsession.  For example such as the word  ” Phallic”,  some people

instantly associate the certain shape of object  with  sexual connotation.)

——————–

But the trouble (?) in my case is not the perception,  but the way of expression —— way to make the shape.

One of my friend who knows my celibacy which started 23 years ago, teased  me  ” As you are a dried up

person, you couldn’t distinguish subtle juiciness of the body shape,  you can’t express succulent eroticism ”

” Oh, c’mon,  what kind of death sentence is it ?”   And he said  “But it might be your advantage,  as you

can handle and see otherwise messy slimy subjects, in perfectly cool, objective manner, people feel you

are a safe,  harmless man” ——- ” M m m, is it good things ? to a man who is still believing live and kicking ”

” May be its a trade-off to be a Zennist isn’t it,  by which you have your peace of mind,  I still have a headache

of my wife,  Ha ha ha  😀

——— So it was certified that, me to make nude figure is harmless and safe to the society.  😀

( And, I can continue experiment and research how our creativity and the perception works.)

As a matter of fact,  it has been used on the stage play directed and designed by

my friend Francesco Pestori,  titled  O-Project.

(and I took part of it acting as a life creating Scientist.  It was a fun.   ! ! !   😀  )

PS: This Virtual Woman alongside the Cupidon (pull the arrow and blow up condom) and

motorized  Wire Dinosaur  would be  exhibited at the Rickshaw Gallery,

opposite of  Southwark Station (Jubilee Line), opening  27th May, evening PV (6:00~9:00)

If you are interested to have a fun,  please come and meet them.

PPS: The Moving Image of this VIRTUAL WOMAN can be seen in Youtube / Google [kinetorori]

—

CYBER SPACE — (and Z80 mini-computer)

It is 25 years  since  Dot Com was first created,  and 20 years since  WWW  was invented.

One of my old colleague,  Camera Critics,  Kazuo Taira  was one of the pioneer of the PC networking, using

acoustic telephone modem and he organized the Photographer’s Computer Network in Japan.

It’s shame Mr.Taira  is no longer with us.  Unfortunately  we in the creative field tend to lose the friends who

tend to be a heavy drinker.  ( Do you know,  the average life-span of Rock musicians are 38 something,

of cause it may not caused by the alcohol alone )

And since then, our lives are more and more entwined with the Computer and the Internet.

Nearly 20 years ago,  I made a small computer using Z80 CPU,

designed from the scratch.  ( Left  Photo)

( I would say, it’s a half sculpture, half computer )

Its operates on only 10 MHz clock speed and having 512 Kb memory,

which needs to be programmed by Machine Code.

—– In electronics, to design and to build is one thing and

to make it works is the another.

Eliminate all the glitches and instability etc etc are the hard part.

—– As the definition,  computer operates on the data in the

memory,  once the memory was corrupted,  it needs to re-program from the start.

( It was the time of  UV erasable  memory,  before easy to re-program  Flash-memory )

After this experience,  I became a computer skeptic ” Computer can make mistakes ” hence, even now

I don’t use Credit Card and I rather like to use hard-wired design,  not soft control.

In this reason, I honestly admire the person who can design and manufacture a  10 GHz device which works

in any environment  reliably.

——————–

In another side of the revolution,  the Internet is becoming almost a monster, and the Necessary Evil.

Since  I  started to use Email,  I wrote very few letters  which  needed to be a signed evidence.

—– The trouble of Net is their intrusive activities.  As everybody knows,  Google / Gmail is

watching our use of web and the contents of communications word by word. ( Cookies, hidden files etc)

When I heard about  Facebook,  I instantly felt their dubious nature  ” Why do they need to have so much

detailed personal information ? “—– obviously they are  the salable commodities.

Without having such profitable return,  what is the point to provide free service.

Personal info’ used to be sold to the marketing / direct mail company before.  Now the Internet provider,

social networking site are the Marketing/ Advertising/ Direct-mailing/ Delivery Service  All-in-one.

(When  I got an Email from one of our Old-boy telling, he has reached to the grand age, the Ads on right hand

column are all cheap Funeral service and the international flower delivery — Great, thank you very much :-D)

So that from the beginnings I didn’t use my real name to open Email account, and never sign up the

Website which asks Date of Birth.  ( Still, now Yahoo knows my DOB, obviously from the content of

the mail between me and my friend. )

With full name and the DOB, the one can hack-in and get the information of National Health, and

together with the Address,  it is possible to access the Banking information.

——————–

To live in peace, we have to be aware ” We are in the battle field ” which the Buddhists call  Samsara.

With technology and the Internet,  we opened the Pandora’s Box.   It’s a funny situation, as in the Informations

we are becoming almost naked,  in the same time our contact itself becoming even more indirect.

Just by  the chain of characters on the screen, a 30 years guy pretending as a 15 years old boy,  chatting

with a 40 years woman who pretending 13 years old girl. —– Yuck,  how  beautiful,   😀

——————

Zen  rely on the Direct Transmission,  still what I’ve been trying here, is the triple, quadruple indirect

communications.  In order to type, I converted my feeling to the lingual form, and express it in the

bloody English, which typed chain of ASCII code traveled through unknown node here and there and

end up —– how do I know where.

As I thought,  I never met Buddha himself,  or  I have any idea , how many times the Mantra was translated

or re-written,  and  2500 years apart, someone try to reach the same conclusion as Buddha,

( in the point of indirectness, this is the far-most remote situation )

still, if its works,  a talk to others through  Internet may works too.

Thats what I’m thinking.

[]

PRECONCEPTION

This is the another Wire Figure,  Damsel in Distress.

I don’t know the detail of her story though,  she is in deep trouble and in agony.

——————–

Beauty of wire sculpture is,  it is the 3D equivalent of line drawing,  with added surprise of changing

shape by the view from different angle.  So that the same piece could give different impression to

person to person,  and the impression which people received from such piece could be very deceptive,

since the people can adjust the view according to their preconception, and reconstruct the

image in the brain. ———-( All the 3D images  were the Re-Construction in the brain, anyway )

The figure here is very narrative, so you might be well convinced,  this is a lady in deep grief,

thrown her body on the ground and scratching the mud ——— is she ? ? ?

———- A matter of fact,  you saw the photo in wrong angle.    Look the photo again in vertical angle.

The truth is,  she is a Kung-Fu Killer.  She is the Emperor’s special body-guard,  and it is the moment,

she is launching a lethal flying kick.——–m m m ? ! ! !   ( Now your brain is re-configuring the visual

signal and re-construct the image of the fighter jumped in mid-air —— She looks fearsome isn’t she ! ! !)

( Imagining her setting in horizontal or vertical, will create completely different impression of dynamism)

( Movement / feeling of dynamism was induced by the anticipation—– if you believe it’s move, it’s looks move)

——————–

Seeing is believing.   Yet our eyes are not necessary seeing the truth.  They could be easily fooled by

a suggestion,  planted preconception and its bias.

Buddhism calls this preconception as  Delusion by which people see the same object in

utterly wrong context.  Negative view often create monster and create vicious circle.

—– See the things in detached eyes is better than to have a wishful thinking. 

So, what’s the truth ? —– Oh, it’s a  twisted wire Sir.   😀

[]

NUDE 4×4+1

As a mean of communication, the Art has very peculiar property.       Since when I was doing photography, this

peculiarity is one of my conundrum. Some photos are the Art, but most of them are just a flat copy of the object.

But, strangely, anybody can distinguish a good photo in

one glance.      And anybody can also distinguish good art

as The Art at one glance.——– (so, conceptual art is not art,

but it is only an intellectual concept, as the name indicates)

With my artist friends, photographer friends discussed together

in many occasions, still we never found a good explanation

in the words,  why and how do we know, is it the Art or not.

Because ART is a communication between  Subconscious

to Subconscious / one’s inspiration to the other’s feeling

without involving the conversion to the linguistic Notion.

(Its mean, the ART strikes the EMOTION straight, not the intelligence)

So that even if we found the typical sample, it is impossible to

describe it in the words, instead, just point the very sample and say  ” You see this is it “.

——————–

Something similar phenomenon is in the artistic expression such as in the abstract figure.

This is the matter of cognitive ability. —— How simple and even simpler, we still able to recognize as it is.

———- The photo above is, some said,  the most simplest and cheapest nude sculpture in the history.

It is just a twisted wire though, even 5 years old kids instantly recognized it ” Ah, it’s a  woman “.

This Wire Nude was made by just twisting a wire 4 times clockwise for right-hand side, and 4 times

anti-clockwise for left-hand side, plus one for the head.  ( Hence the title 4×4+1 )

I experimented many design and simplified further and further.  This seems the minimalist’s limit.

(Sitting woman putting both hands to her head—— in case, if you couldn’t make sense from flat photo)

It is impossible to describe exact shape in the words,  still it convey the message, ” This is the Woman”

and people can see and feel straight, this is the woman. ——— and makes them smile  🙂

——————–

Our brain, Deep Layer / Subconscious System has remarkable ability to capture the meaning beyond

the ordinary intellectual logics. ———-( I’m still puzzling, is it Pattern Recognition or something else ? )

And this is the way, how direct transmission of  Zen  works.  ” You see, this is it”

Season’s Greeting / BUDDHA Figure

Buddha-2009

with the  Buddha 2009‘s  image and the Wheel of Life.

Christmas is, for me it is much of a havoc as all the shops

close and the transports stops etc, than  to celebrate.

Though, to a lots of my friends, it is the occasion to have a

good time and get drunk, which I don’t do. ———-

no drug, no alcohol, no gamble, no woman ( how nice  😀  )

still eat anything but not processed food or fizzy drinks.

——- so, I’m making a sheer joke, I’m a holy man    Ha Ha Ha   😀

———————

To see the details of the figure, please click on the photo to enlarge.

Don’t miss the internal reflection, the image of  Wheel of the Life

in his glass  head  ( In the Selfless state, the fundamental rule of Dharma would  revealed  itself).

(This reflection is an optical false image, it will change with a direction to see. It is there as not there )

——– This glass head was made by a technician  who has made the glass housing of

the Hubble Space Telescope’s Image sensor which brought us unprecedented clearest images

of the Universe.  ( To meet this technician happened by the series of sheer coincidences, which I would

call, Karmic encounter. ——- Buddha’s figure may wanted to have his head connected to the Universe )

——————–

Why he was depicted in such a poor looking figure ?   you might say.

Buddha himself chosen to be a Bikku (beggar), and from where, the teaching of the Buddhism

was started.  If he had stayed as the richly ornated Royal Prince, the great teachings of the Buddhism

couldn’t have born.  We have to follow this origin, without additives or glorious decoration.

Without  weapon he was the strongest teacher.  Without any ornament he was the most precious figure.

So, I made him by using recycled materials except the head (and a Hi-power LED inside) though,

some may say, I wasn’t rich enough to buy gold leaf to gritter.  ( So, your donation of a piece

of cloth to wrap his body would be much appreciated   🙂 )

——————–

It is difficult to see from the photo though, a  skull head was held on his hand.

One eye of the skull reflects the twisted, distorted image, and the another shows straight image,

its meant, that is what we have to see the world.

( The rest of the concepts were explained in the post  ” Odd news “)

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* * *  Hope all of you have a soul fulfilling  and peaceful  New Year  2010  * * *

———- As the Sun is coming back, its would be brighter any way  😀

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