Musings and Mutterings

CTV News | Canadian art experts find possible new da Vinci

Forensic art expert Peter Paul Biro of Montréal claims that a fingerprint on the "Profile of the Bella Principessa", recently purchased by Canadian-born art collector Peter Silverman for $19,000(US), matches a fingerprint from Leonardo da Vinci's "St. Jerome". The claim is backed up by carbon-dating that places it within the time period of da Vinci. If true, the painting could now be worth more than $150 million(US).

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Arts & Culture | Caravaggio was early 'photographer'

An italian researcher suggests that the 16th century artist Caravaggio may have used light-sensitive materials to detect light reflect from a hole in his ceiling, onto the subject, and then onto the canvas. The afterimage would have lasted for 30 minutes, during which time he could paint the image over the projection. The researcher noted that most of his early subjects were left-handed, an anomaly that could be explained if the painter were working with a mirror image. The researcher stressed that this does not detract from the artist's ability; rather it adds to his ability to master a technique far ahead of his time.

Philips - Design Probes - Projects - SKIN: Tattoo

Very cool video exploring a possible application for nano-ink tattoos. May or may not be considered worksafe depending on your workplace (the people are nude, but nothing is showing).

Exploding cat takes centre stage in gory Ottawa play

For those of you in Ottawa, Gladstone Theatre presents The Lieutenant of Inishmore, completely with 5 litres of fake blood and an exploding cat. No, I haven't seen the play.

Researchers finally recognize Weightism as a social issue - Yale researchers have concluded that weightism, discrimination based on perceived weight, is on the rise in the US. They noted that much of the problem is the stigma that being overweight is solely a failing in personal character rather than something that might be outside the person's control. For example, Louisianna State University researchers recently found evidence that some forms of obesity may, in fact, be caused by adenovirus-36 (Ad-36) causing precursor cells to differentiate into fat cells. Their work showed that a single gene may be the trigger mechanism.

Israeli town residents sue for laser cannon - Citizens of Sderot is taking the Israeli government to court in a bid to have Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) weapons installed to protect the city from Hamas rocket attacks. They claim that the government is demonstrating gross negligence by not adequately protecting the city.

The Internet made polyamoury mainstream - Regina Lynn, in her regular Sex Drive column, contends that the internet has made it easy for people who want to engage in multiple simultaneous intimate relationships to not only put a label on the lifestyle, but build communities in which they share experiences with others of a similar bent.

CBC uses bitTorrent to release DRM-free programs - In keeping with their mandate to freely provide quality Canadian programming to as many Canadians as possible, they have decided to release "Canada's Next Great Prime Minister" on BitTorrent simultaneous with their regular broadcast. ISPs are less thrilled about the idea; for example, Rogers has instituted throttling of all encrypted transfers in an effort to eliminate limit the bandwidth sucked up by applications like BitTorrent. Found on Slashdot.

Book publishers abandon DRM - The New York Times reports that many publishers are phasing out DRM on their e-books after observing the fiasco that is happening in the music industry. In particular, they have determined that DRM is ineffective at combating piracy so decided to opt for a more user-friendly approach. Found on Slashdot.

( 10 art images under the cut )