Origami Documentary

I have a feeling that this is going to blow my mind this week.

Stop motion with wolf and pig

Some Rest

Maybe it's the economic downturn (or is it the confusion of having your watch on that wrist?), but minds on this blog seem numb lately. In this spirit, enjoy a delightful daily brain rinse.

Mentioned in an NYT article on TED talks.

Grow New Neurons

Exercising your brain can grow new neurons and protect against cognitive decline. A friend's doctor said that even drinking out of a different coffee cup now and then stimulates and works your brain. We all get too relaxed as creatures of habit, I guess. It reminds me of using one's "non-habitual grasp" (fold your hands with your other thumb on top) in yoga. So I tried wearing my watch on the other wrist, and MMWB. I felt backwards and lopsided, and was strangely more alert all day. Oh, and it was difficult just to put it on this way, let alone awkward to tell time. Try it!

The Beckoning of Lovely

My First Mind Blowing Memory

When I was a kid we would drive by Coop City in the Bronx on the way to my grandparent's house. Since the urban landscape was so different from our sleepy hometown my brother and I were always captivated by the endless high rises of this massive city within another city. During one trip my father pointed out that the population of just one of these buildings most likely surpassed the population of our entire town. The world seemed to stop for a moment as I processed this information . . . My mind was blown.

The Thorne Miniature Rooms

I visited the Art Institute of Chicago on Sunday and spent an hour perusing the Thorne Miniature Rooms. It was my 3rd visit to AIC and my 2nd time seeing the Thorne rooms. It blows me away that these works aren't more well known and aren't more prominently displayed in the museum. They are nothing less than a national freaking treasure.

It also blows my mind that apparently some at the museum look down their nose at such things:

I worked at the museum or AIC as we used to call it, and the major consensus was that the Thorne rooms weren't actually "art" and shouldn't be in the museum. - comment on Apartment Therapy Chicago

Grrrr. That just makes me mad.