cryptical

The Universe. Some scratches of Beryllium. Diving. The Navel of the Galaxies. Maybe god. Maybe the void. Maybe you. Maybe it's just cryptical

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Life Outside Earth ... Found?

Object: Planet 581 c (Earth-like Exoplanet)
Mood: Overfunctionning
Song: New World * Bjork feat. Massive Attack

"If living is seeing
I'm holding my breath
In wonder - I wonder
What happens next?
A new world, a new day to see"
New World (Bjork featuring Massive Attack)

European astronomers claim to have found a twin to the Earth, outside the solar system. That is not new, since several hundred exoplanets have been found.

Yet this is the first one to possibly be able to handle life on it.

It is the smallest planet to orbit a star outside the solar system. This exoplanet circles around the red dwarf Gliese 581 in the Libra constellation. It one of the nearest exoplanets to the Earth, since Gliese 581 is just 20.5 light-years away from the Sun.

It is believed to be either rocky or ocean-like, since the tempreatures on it are balmy enough to sustain water, hence support potential life on it.

According to CNN:

The "sun" wouldn't burn brightly. It would hang close, large and red in the sky, glowing faintly like a charcoal ember. And it probably would never set if you lived on the sunny side of the planet.

You could have a birthday party every 13 days because that's how fast this new planet circles its sun-like star.
But watch the cake -- you'd weigh a whole lot more than you do on Earth. You might be able to keep your current wardrobe. The temperature in this alien setting will likely be a lot like Earth's - not too hot, not too cold.

So ... Is this the beginning of a new age? We won't be alone anymore?

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Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Magical Stories

Constellation: Draco (The Dragon)
Mood: Delighted
Song: Dragon * Tori Amos

One of the most beautiful films ever is being screened at Metropolis. It's a masterpiece, selected at the 2005 Cannes edition, by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao Hsien, entitled Three Times.

The synopsis is as follows:

Three different time periods, 1966, 1911, 2005. Three stories played by the same
actor and actress, evoking a sentimental tale of three reincarnations of an
unfinished love.





1966: The Time of Love








1911: The Time of Freedom







2005: The Time of Youth





To deal with the beatiful Chinese scenery that the film presents, I've chose the Dragon constellation, since Dragons are deeply rooted in the Chinese culture.

The Dragon is an imaginary animal, essentially a reptile with claws, resembling to the lizard, the snake, and the alligator, all at once.
It is a symbol of the Chinese imperial power. It has been believed that the Emperors claim they are the veritable dragons, direct sons of the heaven. This is why there is the 'dragon seat' which stands for the throne, the 'dragon robes' for the dresses of the ceremonies as well as the 'dragon beds.'

As for astronomy, the Draco constellation is located at the top of the Northern Hemisphere, hence considered circumpolar. Its alpha star, Thuban (or Alpha Draconis), used to be the the Pole Star (before Polaris), and that was around 2700 BC.

Though Thuban is not the brightest star of the constellation (Apparent Magnitude: 3.65), as the 'alpha' term suggests, since Gamma Draconis, or Eltanin, is much brighter (AM: 2.23). Eltanin in Arabic litterally means 'The Dragon.'
According to Wikipedia,
"In 1.5 million years, Eltanin will pass within 28 light years of Earth. At this point it will be the brightest star in the sky, rivaling Sirius (the brightest star in the sky)."
There are several Greeks myths around the Dragon constellation. Though the main one is the one in which it is represented as Ladon, the Dragon which had a hundred heads, watchman over the Hesperides Garden (holding the Golden Apples). He was killed with a poisoned arrow by Heracles, who had to steal the Golden Apples as one of its Twelve Labours.

Hera placed him in the Northern sky, right above the Hercules constellation, to recreate this myth.

I will leave you with one of the best songs Tori wrote in the last couple of years. It's called Dragon and it closes the CD 'American Doll Posse' which comes May 1st. It's a lovely ballad, at the same time dark and disturbing...

"Don't believe the lie your Dragon needs slaying
Won't you lay here with me
And I will bring
Kisses for the Beast."

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Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Raining Blood

Element: Ceres (Previously an Asteroid, now a Dwarf-Planet)
Mood: Shocked
Song: 9 Crimes * Damien Rice

"Is that alright with you?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
That alright with you?
If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it"

9 Crimes by Damien Rice

32 were killed yesterday in Virginia Tech in the deadliest rampage in the history of the US.

That's the major news. Behind the news come the investigations, the motives of the killer (who committed suicide right after the bloodbath), and the questions.
The issue of weapons to be made available for everyone, anywhere, anytime at the US is the true current debate. This is not the first carnage, as it is becoming almost routine-like to have those in US schools and universities.

Though it surely is the deadliest. And 32 dead is a lot. If one would think that university (save the USA) is the safest place for teens and children, he has to rethink about his approach.

I spent the whole evening following this news story developing. And even if it's not a regional issue, I felt it was intriguing enough that a young man like that would hold a couple of guns and shoot whoever is on his way.

I imagined an irksome asteroid hit some 32 planets before fragmenting and collapsing into space.

An asteroid (in Greek: star-like) is a typical planet, rotating around the sun too, though it is smaller in shape. This is why they called it sometimes planetoid (in Greek: planet-like).
Most of these objects lie in the 'Asteroids Belt' located between Mars and Jupiter

Ceres was the first to be discovered. It is also the largest known asteroid, but it was recently demoted (or is it promoted) into a dwarf-planet. Although the most massive element in the Asteroid Belt, it is the smallest dwarf planet. A dwarf-planet is a newly-introduced term to present the biggest asteroids, which, in size, are the smallest planets.

In the Greek mythology, Ceres is the goddess of harvest, and of motherly love.
And one can only pray for the mothers who lost their children and loved ones during yesterday's rampage …

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Friday, April 13, 2007

The Posse Seeks a Velvet Revolution

Constellation: Horologium (the Pendulum Clock)
Mood: Nonsensical
Song:
Velvet Revolution * Tori Amos

I am all excited and anticipating the release of Tori's new album American Doll Posse.
Among the rabid Tori community, a sole 6-song radio show in Germany revolutionized several forums to capture the essence of four new songs from the album, heard for the very first time. The songs were played solo. The album hasn't leaked yet, which is a good thing. The release is in just merely a couple of weeks.

I will write on the album once I will hear it completely. I love getting excited about Tori's albums with the community and deciphering every bit of news there is. I believe Tori is one of the very few artists to have such a wide and on-growing fan base. Michael Stipe from REM once joked about wanting to borrow her audience.

So the track I wanted to introduce is 'Velvet Revolution.' I love it when a short (a minute and half to be precise) song has a greater impact on you than a five minute complex one. This song is supposed to have a very Russian feel to it on the album, with balalaika to accompany Tori and her piano (judging from the 30 second clip we have heard off a German retailer site).

It was the first song that Tori sang on the Bose. Such a powerful entrance for a song in which she (presumably) says:

"Feeling radical in cotton
Purified in my Satin
But the bomb of the season
Is a velvet revolution

All you killers of the children
There’s a new commandment
The true divine creator
Wants a velvet revolution
"
Killer lyrics … A bit Leonard Cohen to me in some strange way.

To remind myself that the album is close to be released, I chose the constellation Horologium or the Pendulum Clock. A very faint 17th century conceptualized constellation, it occupies a small special domain, and is located very low in the Southern Hemisphere.

The point taken: American Doll Posse is less than a month away!

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Monday, April 02, 2007

When White Wine Heals ...

Star: Vindemiatrix (Virgo Constellation)
Mood:
Light
Song: Fanny Ardent et Moi * Vincent Delerm


Weeeee... The festival is over!

That is all I can say at the current moment. Since it was a festival for French films (or films coming from French-speaking countries), I thought I'd keep up with the French theme going on. Here are some French songs that I am listening to. Three fun songs (by Manu Chao, Vincent Delerm and Coralie Clément) and two serious ones (by Barbara and Nina Simone's wonderful cover of Jacques Brel's Ne Me Quitte Pas).

We drank too much wine in the last couple of days. I am glad this event is over. Took much of my energy. So Wine it is. Hence the star for this post, Vindemiatrix (Epsilon Virginis), a third magnitude star in the right wing of the Virgo constellation. The name stands for 'Wine Harverstress,' since apparently the rising of this star in the morning signaled the time of the grape harvest.

This setlist is technically for the Month of March, because I didn't have time to do it the past month.

01. Ma Plus Belle Histoire d'Amour (Barbara) – from the album Best Of [1992]

"Qu'importe ce qu'on peut en dire,
Je suis venue pour vous dire,
Ma plus belle histoire d'amour,
c'est vous..."





02. Fanny Ardent et Moi (Vincent Delerm) – from the album Vincent Delerm [2002]

"Elle est toujours toute noire et blanche
Elle ne dit plus vivement dimanche
Depuis que je la traîne chez mes parents
Tous les week-end Fanny Ardant"




03. Ne Me Quitte Pas (Nina Simone) – from the album [2006]

"Et quand vient le soir
Pour qu'un ciel flamboie
Le rouge et le noir
Ne s'épousent-ils pas"





04. Je Ne T'aime Plus (Manu Chao) - from the album Clandestino [1998]

"Parfois J'aimerais mourir
Pour ne plus rien avoir
Parfois J'aimerais mourir
Pour plus jamais te voir"





05. L'Ombre et la Lumière (Coralie Clément) – from the album Salle des Pas Perdus [2001]

"On oublie les comptes et les débits
Les quoi, les où, les quand
Simplement,
simplement"

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