pianogonzology: cast

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Paraphrasing . . .

. . . 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone'. . .

Haven't we ALL done something in the past which we now thoroughly regret? . . .

(from http://www.businessinsider.com/before-dr-seuss-was-famous-he-drew-these-sad-racist-ads-2012-3)
". . .In his political cartoons (from the collection of the Springfield Library and Museums Association), (Dr.)Seuss inveighed against the Japanese during World War II; he drew them buck-toothed and squint-eyed. The images are depressing because they reveal that one of America's most original artist-authors had the same tired views of non-whites that his contemporaries did. . . He also expressed regret for his anti-Japanese views, according to filmmaker Ron Lamothe, who made The Political Dr. Seuss: "The only evidence I have comes from his biographers, who told me that years later—although still recognizing its necessity due to the war—he was regretful about some of his cartoons for PM and some of the propaganda work he did for the Army Signal Corps. I do think the fact he dedicated Horton Hears a Who—a parable about the American postwar occupation of Japan—to “My Great Friend, Mitsugi Nakamura of Kyoto, Japan,” says something of his changing attitudes toward the Japanese (this following a trip he made there in 1953). Though, as Richard Minear has pointed out, Horton Hears a Who still smacks of American chauvinism, and it makes no reference to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. . ."

(from Dr. Seuss created several offensive cartoons early in his career but began to atone for his previous views, producing several anti-racism illustrations and cartoons, notes the news site.)
". . . In a 1929 illustration for Judge magazine, he (Dr. Seuss) depicted black people for sale with a racist sign in the image's background . . According to BET, the illustration went to auction with a minimum bid of $20,000 in California . . . By the end, there hadn't been any bids, but it could receive a post-auction bid, according to Laura Yntema, the auction manager, according to the site. The drawing is one part of the four-part panel drawing Cross-Section of the World's Most Prosperous Department Store, the report notes. . ."

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Monday, May 25, 2015

Pompeii . . .

(from http://decodedpast.com/human-remains-pompeii-body-casts/7532)
". . . The eruption of Vesuvius began at around lunchtime, arguably on the 24th August 79AD. In the early hours of the following morning, the eruption reached its fatal, concluding stages. Three pyroclastic surges- a mix of hot gases and ashes from the collapsing eruption column- traveling at 100kph finally reached Pompeii. The first surge just skimmed the city walls but the final one overwhelmed the whole city, finishing off anyone still alive. But the surges also preserved. For its rain of fine ash fell over Pompeii, covering the city until only the remains of its tallest buildings were visible above the debris. Buried within the ash fall were the inhabitants of the town. A shell of pumice that allowed them to slowly decay in the usual way covered those who perished in the early stages of the eruption. But the bodies of victims of the pyroclastic surges had a different fate. For the fine ash fall encased their bodies, hardening to form a porous shell. As the soft tissues of the bodies decayed, they leached away through this later. But by then, the hardened ash had captured and preserved their final postures at the moment of death. . .

. . . Wax was injected into the void around the victim’s skeleton, left to harden, and then coated in plaster. Once the ‘plaster cast’ had set, the wax was melted out and replaced with liquid epoxy resin- to produce a durable, transparent cast, which allowed the victim’s jewelry and hairpin to be viewed in situ on the body. . ."