When it came to surrealism, painter,
artist and self-promoter Salvador Dali was the undisputed personification of it. Dali considered
himself to be something of a genius. And frankly, I think that was a pretty
darn good assessment of his talent.
To me, Dali was brilliant.
Here was an artist with the imagination and chutzpah to not only
think outside of the box but to also act upon it. With
his melting clocks, double images, levitating objects and loads of symbolism, Dali ingeniously proved over and over and over again, that art could consistently be intriguing, delightfully otherworldly, mysteriously surreal, uber-imaginative and always fun!
The Persistence of Memory
It can be said that if he managed to accomplished
nothing more in the eyes of his critics, they must at least
admit that Dali demonstrated that when it comes to art, it is okay to think outside of the box. In an interview with Mike Wallace, when asked what are
artist's contributions to the world? Dali responded with, “Every
painter paints the cosmogony of himself”—the
origins, the evolution of themselves. Dali would be happy to know that someone was paying attention. The Dalian method--his surrealist approach to art has had a profound and far-reaching influence in art, fashion, media and more. Surrealism shows up in some incarnation or another in many places.
I was first introduced to the art world of Salvador Dali through
the movie Spellbound with its famous “Dream Sequence”.
To Dali's credit, these images he created for this part of the movie remain intriguingly seductive. It's unorthodox imagery immediately grabbed my attention and pulled me in. It is the type of creative imagery that one does not often see in film, but I personally would like to see more of. I will also add that this scene
is enough to give a person a real thing
for eyes. And story-wise, what could be more compelling than a helpless character who is suspended in a mystery he can't understand or remember, haunted by a shadowy faceless villain, in love with woman he admires, sexually repressed and all caught up in psychoanalytical intrigue? Now, add to that,
Dali! The result is wonderful...Hollywood at its best. Spellbound is an unforgettable film immortalized in large part (let's be honest here) by the indisputable genius of Salvador Dali (Shhhh! Don't tell Hitchcock).
Thank you Dali (wherever you are) for your bold-as-you-please imaginations; for your unconventional daring; for your surrealist approach to art...to life, your delightful self-promoting showmanship and for showing anyone who happened to be paying attention, that when it comes to art and to life, it is in fact, a very good thing to think outside of the
box!
We
live in a beautiful world—I mean physically, the world with
its vast array of animal and plant and marine life is
extraordinary. Just recently as I was editing photos of some rather
friendly seagulls that I took the other day. I had
to pause. I could not help but admire the beauty and
gracefulness in their movements. In a photo that I took, one bird
appeared to be standing, supported by his tail feather while hoovering almost motionless it seemed. The sight to me was fascinating.
Yet
again, this...
...a small reminder to me
of the amazing design of nature—this meek co-existence often
residing so quietly in the background of our lives.
Whatever
may become of nature in the future—of animal life, plant life or
the entire earth—one thing is for certain. We can all say
that once...once we
were given an exquisitely beautiful planet on which to live.
G-d
in kindness, did not just callously plunk us down on a rocky barren
wasteland, giving us good reason to dread the earth around us.
No. He gave us a lush home—an entire planet which He
abundantly filled with some pretty awesome forms of
life—a planet of limitless beauty. Even today in this age of
global warming, there's still a lot of unspoiled beauty in
nature. We have not arrived at “Soylent
Green” yet.
Perhaps we never will. Perhaps...
Somehow
I have the awful fear that long before that could happen man,
in his quest to dominate and control others, would probably devise
some high-tech contraptions with which he would be able to bore
massively deep holes into the earth, cause cataclysmic and unalterable
changes in the atmosphere or frack us all to to the point of no return!
In the meantime, those of us who appreciatenature, will
continue to capture birds in flight, sunsets...
Have governments already perfected portable weaponized infrasound?
“There
does not exist complete protection against infrasound. It is not
absorbed by ordinary matter, walls and chambers do not suffice to
arrest it”. And so, once again, we stand at the cross-roads. We are
called, summoned to appear before two pathways. On the one, we hear
Messiaen and the musical messages of peace. On the other, Gavreau and
the musical messages of war. And again we choose. And again we must
choose. Whose music will it be?--
Gerry Vassilatos — (
Journal
of Borderland Research (Vol. 52, No. 04, 4th Quarter 1996)
HIS
MUSIC WAS MUSIC TO THE EARS
I
recently watched a news video about a man with an inspiring story to
tell. Advanced in years, with the battle scars of his struggles in
life so apparent in his walk, he none-the-less sat down at a piano
and began to play with a surprising kind of Gershwinesque joy.
Having survived the Nazi deception known as Theresienstadt, and
Holocaust, 90-year old George Horner credits music
for his survival and for his upbeat outlook—one that you cannot but
help admire.
During
the war, George Horner did not know if he would ever exit the dark
tunnel he was in, or whether he would once again walk in the merciful
sunlight of freedom. Yet, he continued to keep his own spirit, and
the spirits of the victims around him lifted with music. And as he
made his way up to the piano at Boston Symphony Hall the other night,
the good fruit that music can bear was all too evident.
HIS
MUSIC WAS DEATH TO THE BODY
It's
funny that joyous, uplifting music can reside in the hearts of humble
men. It is a sound that cannot be extinguished, even, as it has been
proven, in the worst of circumstances. Meanwhile, in the hearts of
certain other men, music... (or acoustic waves, vibrations)
means little to them except in how they might misuse it to
manipulate or harm others. For example, during WWII, the Nazi Party
propagandized sound to agitate large crowds that had gathered
to hear Hitler.
The
Nazis also weaponized
music by using
sadistic and deceptive tactics. An orchestra (comprised of Jewish
musicians) was forced to play upon the arrival of Jews to the camps.
And later, to further deceived them, an orchestra played what would
become dirges during the extermination
process itself. Belsec was just one
example of this.
One
particularly dangerous type of sound wave that the Nazis used and
researched is called infrasound. Infrasound waves are
potentiallydangerous because its sound waves are below our
range of hearing. You cannot hear infrasound. However, the
body can feel infrasound due to its strong vibrations (also
know as “oscillations”). For example, you could be bombarded
with infrasound waves, feel the effects of it slamming into your
body, yet hear literally nothing. Needless to say, no one
standing near you at that time would hear anything either. But
infrasound's danger does not end there. Infrasound waves hug the
ground and can travel for long distances without losing strength.
And they are unstoppable. Persons caught in the pathway of these powerful stealth soundwaves are defenseless. Also, not a lot of amplitude is needed in
order to produce negative effects in humans. Just mild exposure to
infrasound can put you out of commission for hours or even days.
“Depending
on the pitch, infrasound can cause physical pressure, fear,
disorientation, negative physical and mental symptoms, explode
matter, incapacitate, and kill. For example, in World War II, Nazi
propaganda engineers used infrasound to stir up anger in the large
crowds that had gathered to hear Hitler.”
"During
World War II, Nazi engineers prototyped a revolutionary sonic
'cannon,' which fired a shock wave strong enough to bring down a
plane." (Source - Feel the Noise, by Jack Boulware)
“The Nazis,
in WW II, used the same type of sound like boom car owners are using
today! Hitler conducted noise experiments on prisoners and actually
tortured them with high-intensity/low-frequency noise. In WW II, the
Nazis didn't have the technology of powerful amplifiers that we do
today. So, they developed a weapon that produced high intensity sound
powered by "compressed air."
“Waves
of infrasound are invisible, but slam into living tissue and physical
structures with great force. The sensation vibrates internal organs
and buildings, flattening objects as the sonic wave strikes. At
certain pitches, it can explode matter.”--Lower The Boom.org
Studies
show the different ways infrasound affects humans. These silent
sound waves disrupt the the normal functioning of the middle and
inner ear, leading to a host of problems. Among them are imbalance,
impaired equilibrium and nausea. Mild exposure to infrasound can
lead to illness and increased or prolonged exposure can lead to
death.
A
HANDY--DANDY LITTLE WEAPON WITH POTENTIAL
The
militaristic advantages of harnessing and controlling
low-frequency/high-intensity sound waves are obvious. As a defensive
weapon infrasound could be invaluable for defending our troops and
our borders against hostile foreign threats.
According to research conducted by the Hungarian government,
theoretically all human beings could be moreeasilydestroyed by infrasound
than by any existing type
of weapon of mass destruction. We're
talking about a very
powerful force here.
(...the
Hungarian government reported that 'calculations have shown that the
destruction of human beings would require considerably less
expenditure by infrasound weapons than by any existing type of
weapon of mass destruction.) (Source - New Armageddon Weapons)
“High-intensity/low-frequency
sound and infrasound are powerful forces, and governments have tested
and used them as a weapon of war.”
“The
most fundamental signals which permeate this world are inaudible.
They not only surpass our hearing, but they undergird our being.
Natural infrasounds rumble through experience daily. There
manifestations are fortunately infrequent and incoherent. Infrasound
is inaudible to human hearing, being of pitch below 15 cycles per
second. The bottom human limit. The plynth. The foundation.
Infrasound is not heard, it is felt. Infrasound holds a terrible
secret in its silent roar.” TheSonic Weapon of Vladimir Gavreau
CAN
YOU GIVE US A ROUGH IDEA?
The
U.S. Government does not allow the private citizen to build any kind
of nuclear-fission reactor because of the obvious danger to everyone.
You simply cannot havenuclear-fission reactors developed by rogue individuals. To help insure our safety, enforced tight
regulations are applied to the nuclear industry. But what about
infrasound? Are there any laws (outside of the workplace) regulating
infrasound? Are there laws in place regulating the artificial
production of infrasound? Keep in mind that
low-frequency/high-intensity infrasound is dangerous to people and
under the right conditions, deadly. Research done by the French
government under the direction of Vladimir Gavreau show the kind of
respect that must be given to this type of sound wave.
The
Q & Aof the DOD's research and development into certain
the areas of weaponized sound is pretty well-known. We've all seen
the articles and news bites about the LRAD cannon. The question
is, does the public have the right to know about research and
development of weapons using infrasound—the
most dangerous and potentially deadly type of sound wave? Again,
infrasound has been
described by the Hungarian government as having a destructive power
over humans that is potentially greater than any existing
type of weapon of mass destruction.
Is it reasonable to assume that governments would have more than
just a casual or passing interest in infrasound?
Experts
have warned that without proper oversight, infrasound could become
the perfect weapon of torture. You cannot hear it. You cannot see
it. You cannot tell from whence it came. Little amplitude is needed
to produce it. It travels long distances without losing strength.
It hugs the ground thereby making it harder to detect, and
it is unstoppable. With the perfection of weaponized infrasound,
comes the potential of it also becoming a perfect stealth
weapon—a weapon with
“plausible denibility” naturally embedded in its dangerous and
potentially lethal sound
waves.
(Above video renactment of Dr. Vladimir Gavreau's discovery of infrasound-CLIP)
(Above video--just to give you a rough idea of the power of sound waves, inaudible infrasound being part of the audible bass wave spectrum heard here)
The above video: BBC - Audio Spotlight--demonstrates that sound waves (high-frequency/audible in this case) can in fact be directed in a single narrow beam.
All I can say is, God bless the man who invented the "repeat" button. I love that little gizmo...no, not this one.
I mean the little button on stereos and ipods which gives the command to play a particular song or album in a loop--that one. You see, I rely upon this highly likable little feature to help me with my creative thought process. Usually, while working on some project, I play music--a suitable song--which helps to shape my thoughts. This also inspires me and simply makes me feel good to listen to a favored song over and over again. I once wrote "response" lyrics while listening to a song for two days straight--a song whose lyrics entirely inspired and provoked me. But that's another story (more about that in a future post). And usually the "repeat" button or continuous play or replay button works for me on devices. The result? Harmony.
Now, take this process of a continuous loop, apply it to your favorite
songs and it all works out fine. But you would not want to apply it to
certain other things--things for example like, bad driving directions
(My late dad did that. Normally a good NYC driver, he got lost once on
the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Kept trying the same bad driving
directions, ended up getting on and off--on and off--the expressway,
passing the same spots three times. It was hysterical, however and
provided a good laugh for us all, including my dad.) You would not want
to apply the continuous loop process to try to mend failed
relationships that are obviously doomed to experience even more
failures. And when it comes to government shutdowns, this is one where
the "repeat" button should not be pressed. While you're at it, don't
touch that "shuffle" button either!
We can all at least listen to
the same tune whether we like it or not...let some angry hothead come
along and smash up the entire stereo system, and we'll all soon be
bellowing choruses of "The Freaking Party's Really Over"--a capella!
(Here's the kind of "repeat" I can live with. This website will loop your YouTube videos and it's easy to use. No smashed stereo systems! '-) http://www.yourepeat.com/ )
Answer: Snippets is my personal solution for the dilemma of "blogging" even when I don't really have the time to blog. Snippets gives me the option of being ultra-brief (posting as little as one or two sentences) if that's all I've got to say for the moment OR posting long-winded pontifications (Yea, I have those moods sometimes). Given the nature of Snippets, I will try my utmost to dispense and completely do away with formal dialogue, let my hair down and go au naturel. :) So if you're tuned-in, turned on...whatever, I hope you'll actually gain something from thetime you spendat Snippets!
_09633u.jpg)
Thank you Dali (wherever you are) for your bold-as-you-please imaginations; for your unconventional daring; for your surrealist approach to art...to life, your delightful self-promoting showmanship and for showing anyone who happened to be paying attention, that when it comes to art and to life, it is in fact, a very good thing to think outside of the
box! 
