Some ink work in progress. Just to break up the monotony of layouts, which is where I really am, I thought I’d re-ink a panel of a page of the book I like a lot. I’ll show you more later.
-cvj
Yeah. Not sure how to best title this post or fully explain the picture [edit: Picture taken down temporarily until the show is ready to be promoted*]. Let’s just say that I spent a bit of this afternoon explaining some of the science of the Large Hadron Collider to a puppet character that was determined to not believe whatever I told him/it. It was fun, and was done to camera at some TV studios downtown. (I was actually speaking about things that intersect with the subject of yesterday’s post, if you’re interested.) It is for a new show on a channel that I can’t mention yet*, and I’ll let you know as soon as I know what the air date is, etc.
Well, one more thing, in support of the old “It’s a small world after all” saying. While there I heard that this morning they were shooting a fun segment that was hosted by my friend Hal Rudnick, the host of Screen Junkies! (Have a look at some of the science-meets-movies things we’ve done together here, here and here.) Unfortunately, as I was only on in the afternoon, I did not get to see what they were up to and will simply wait for the show to air like everyone else.
It looks like it’ll be a fun and entertaining way of presenting some interesting science – a whole new series of it! – so keep an eye out for it. (I’ll give you details later.)
-cvj
P.S. For unrelated work of mine with puppets, see here.
*This post was modified to remove the picture, and name of the channel and show until the producers are ready to promote the new show. I’ll put the photo back up later.
So, here we are. Still in existence. Hurrah!
The Large Hadron Collider (image right is courtesy of CERN) started a new phase of experimental work today, colliding particles at double the energy it was working at a few years back when the Higgs was discovered. By time I was making breakfast and checking email, their live blog, etc., this morning, it was clear that (contrary to fears expressed by some) the LHC had not created a black hole that swallowed the earth, nor had it created some sort of strange chunk of new vacuum that condensed that of the entire universe into a new phase. (Or if it did either of those things, the effects are hardly noticeable!!)
As I keep emphasising (actually I’ll be talking about this to a puppet character on a TV show tomorrow too – details later) the LHC (or any of the particle collision experiments we’ve ever done) is not doing anything that Nature does not do routinely right here at earth (and most times way more violently and Click to continue reading this post
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The title of the post sounds like I’m about to talk about a new film by Zhang Yimou, or by Wisit Sasanatieng, but I’m not. Just wanted to share Click to continue reading this post
…going more than a week without baking something felt just. plain. wrong.
Walnut bread. (Slightly dark in finish, but tasty. Click for larger view.)
“…store overnight before serving.” Let’s pretend (munch, munch) that I did not see that instruction (munch, munch…)
-cvj
Here’s some interesting Sunday reading: Frank Close wrote a very nice article for Prospect Magazine on the business of testing scientific theories in Physics. Ideas about multiverses and also string theory are the main subjects under consideration. I recommend it. My own thoughts on the matter? Well, I think most of you know them. Here are three key points:- (1) Many important ideas in physics started out as purely mathematical digressions inspired by physics… You can’t find those ideas and make them work without exploring where they lead for a while, perhaps long before you even know how to test them. So we need that component of physics research as much as we need some of the other aspects, like designing and performing new experiments, etc. (2) You never know where a good idea will ultimately find its applications… It is often not where we think it might be initially. (3) Of course, testability (confronting an idea with experiment/observation) is key to the enterprise of doing science, there is no doubt in my mind. I do not think we need to start considering whether testability is something we can abandon or not. That’s clearly silly. We just need to be careful about rushing in to declare something testable or not testable before it has had a chance to develop into something useful. Unfortunately, everyone has a different take on just when it is time to make that declaration… and that’s what causes all the shouting and political arguments that generate a lot of heat and precious little light.
Enjoy!
-cvj
Working on rough layouts of one of the stories for the book. One rough panel ended up not looking so rough, and after Monday’s ink dalliances I was itching to fiddle with brushes again, and then I thought I’d share. So… slightly less rough, shall we say? A more careful version would point the eyes a bit better, for example…(Much of the conversation, filling a bit more of the while space, has been suppressed – spoilers.)
-cvj
I have prepared the Tools of the Office of Dad*: 
-cvj
*At least until lunchtime. Then, another set to prep…
Worth a read: This is ‘t Hooft’s summary (link is a pdf) of a very interesting idea/suggestion about scale invariance and its possible role in finding an answer to a number of puzzles in physics. (It is quite short, but think I’ll need to read it several times and mull over it a lot.) It won the top Gravity Research foundation essay prize this year, and there were several other interesting essays in the final list too. See here.
-cvj
On my way back from commencement day on campus last Friday I got to spend a bit of time on the subway, and for the first time in a while I got to do a quick sketch. (I have missed the subway so much!) Yesterday, at home, I found myself with a couple of new brushes that I wanted to try out, and so I did a brushed ink sketch from the sketch… 
It felt good to flow the ink around – haven’t done that in a while either. Then I experimented with splashing a bit of digital colour underneath it. (This is all with the graphic book project in mind, where I think at least one story might Click to continue reading this post
Because Date Night #2 since the Arrival!
-cvj
Happy Mother’s Day to the mothers in my life, to all others, and especially to the wonderful mother who recently made me a father! Thanks for all that you do every day.
After a recent bit of rain this single spectacular bloom was poking out from the undergrowth, in a seldom-tended part of the garden. So vivid! It almost looks like I’ve done some sort of enhancement to the colours and contrast post-photo. But I have not.
-cvj
Before (upon finding no instructions but the picture on the box)…
After (once it was clear all the screws were the same size, so no serious assembly mistakes were possible)… Click to continue reading this post
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Last Friday’s luncheon for the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities had a double treat. First, it was a field trip to another interesting and exciting Los Angeles space – Clockshop/Elysian, down near the river in Frogtown. Clockshop is a wonderful arts organisation whose concerns fit very neatly with many of ours: From their website:
Clockshop is a multifaceted arts organization that works at the intersection of politics, urban space, and cultural production to explore the forces that shape our lived environment. We program events and screenings, and produce artist projects and conversations. […]
Elysian is an excellent restaurant, the main space where Clockshop events are held, and we were served splendid lunch there while Clockshop director Julia Meltzer told us a little about Clockshop.
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The second treat was a talk (over coffee and cookies) by Jon Christensen (editor of Boom) entitled “A Century Beyond John Muir: A 21st Century Vision for California Parks”, detailing a project to rejuvenate, expand (and enhance the awareness Click to continue reading this post
