Blending Times

Berlin 1945/2010 by Sergey Larenkov

Sergey Larenkov is a Russian-based artist/photographer who was deeply impacted by World War II. On his Live Journal blog, the Saint Petersburg native has put together a tremendous set of collages of historic World War II photographs blended into the same locations as they currently look today.

Through collaboratiion with the the State Museum of History of St. Petersburg and the Russian State Documentary Film & Photo Archive, in Krasnogorsk; Sergey then travelled to various battle scenes from World War II, snapping a picture in present day for his blended collages. Sergey has travelled to Paris, Berlin, Prague and around Russia, revisiting historic war sites. By snapping these locations from a similar angle as the original war photographs, we get a chilling glimpse into a very different and scary time.

The photographs below are haunting, telling and incredibly fascinating. Be sure to check out the entire collection at:http://sergey-larenkov.livejournal.com/

See photos:

Sergey Larenkov

Gather and Hunt

Often my students in Auckland are at a loss to grasp what the city has to offer in terms of shops, cafes and activities. Gather and Hunt has a commercial directory for what's basically worthwhile and classy in Auckland. I haven't found another directory as astute as this.

Link:

Gather and Hunt

(Advanced) Warp Speed Ahead

A few months ago, physicist Harold White stunned the aeronautics world when he announced that he and his team at NASA had begun work on the development of a faster-than-light warp drive. His proposed design, an ingenious re-imagining of an Alcubierre Drive, may eventually result in an engine that can transport a spacecraft to the nearest star in a matter of weeks — and all without violating Einstein's law of relativity. 

How NASA might build very first warp drive

(Advanced) How Bacteria Talk

Bonnie Bassler discovered that bacteria "talk" to each other, using a chemical language that lets them coordinate defense and mount attacks. The find has stunning implications for medicine, industry - and our understanding of ourselves.

Video:

How bactaria talk

(Higher Level to Advanced) Sir Ken Robinson: Changing Education Paradigms

Renowned educationalist Sir Ken Robinson critiques the dominant model of education.

Video

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

(Advanced) Whither Music?

Leonard Bernstein (August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) 

Leonard Bernstein was an American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer and pianist.

In the 1970s he did set of interdisciplinary lectures at Harvard University in which he borrowed terminology from contemporary linguistics to analyse and compare musical construction to language. The title of the lecture series "The Unanswered Question" was taken from a symphonic work by American composer Charles Ives.

Video:

The Unanswered Question

(Advanced) The Precariat

precarious |priˈke(ə)rēəs|
adjective
1 not securely held or in position; dangerously likely to fall or collapse : a precarious ladder.
2 dependent on chance; uncertain : she made a precarious living by writing.

DERIVATIVES
precariously adverb
precariousness noun

ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Latin precarius ‘obtained by entreaty’ (from prex, prec- ‘prayer’ ) + -ous .

Kim Hill interviews Professor Guy Standing, author of The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class. Standing describes the new make up of global society as it has emerged in the last 30-40 years. One of the consequences of what is often called "neo-liberal" policy (the policy of corporatisation) is what he calls the emerging Precariat class which consists of many different social groups who have in common the experience of being unable to find a secure foothold in society.

Radio:

The Precariat