David Vivó photostream on Flickr: personal project, Paul Auster’s “Leviathan” book cover / 120x185 mm

About Mr. Fish:

Mr. Fish (mrfish@clowncrack.com) lives in Los Angeles, California. He never asked to be born. Occasionally, he laughs his head off. His mother has no idea what he’s up to. She cries easily. For more information, date him. (source)

Previously on Skandalon : Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal

Herostratos torching the temple of Artemis. Learn more on Wikipedia and by reading Albert Borowitz’s essay Terrorism for Self-Glorification. The Herostratos Syndrome. More on that later.

“Comic Book Cartography’s dad would have been 12 when he acquired the copy we scanned, possibly at school. The comic wrestles atom splitting away from the bomb and slots it into the post-war parade of progress and prosperity. A black and white scan of the entire 16-page comic is available on the U.S. Department of Energy Website”

Comic Book Cartograhy is curated by Half Man|Half Static. He simply describes himself as “the curator of lost items”.

Artist statement:

“The word electricity is thought to derive from the ancient Greek elektron, meaning “amber.” When subject to friction, materials such as amber and fur produce an effect that we now know as static electricity. Related phenomena were studied in the eighteenth century, most notably by Benjamin Franklin. To test his theory that lightning is electricity, in 1752 Franklin flew a kite in a thunderstorm. He conducted the experiment at great danger to himself; in fact, other researchers were electrocuted while conducting similar experiments. He not only proved his hypothesis, but also that electricity has positive and negative charges. In 1831, Michael Faraday’s formulation of the law of electromagnetic induction led to the invention of electric generators and transformers, which dramatically changed the quality of human life. Far less well-known is that Faraday’s colleague, William Fox Talbot, was the father of calotype photography. Fox Talbot’s momentous discovery of the photosensitive properties of silver alloys led to the development of positive-negative photographic imaging. The idea of observing the effects of electrical discharges on photographic dry plates reflects my desire to re-create the major discoveries of these scientific pioneers in the darkroom and verify them with my own eyes.” (artist’s official website)

About PDN :

“PDN Photo of the Day displays photographs selected by the editors of Photo District News, a publication for photo professionals.” (read more).

Previously on Skandalon

Conan the Nietzschean… Way to go, Conan.

The quote is taken from Twilight of the Idols (Die Götzen-Dämmerung, 1895). It’s the 8th maxim from the section “Maxims and arrows” (the very first section of the book, after the preface). Here is a slightly different translation : “Out of life’s school of war: What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.” (tr. by Walter Kaufmann and R.J. Hollingdale here).

“”Answering the Question: What is Enlightenment?” (German: “Beantwortung der Frage: Was ist Aufklärung?”) is the title of a 1784 essay by the philosopher Immanuel Kant. In the December 1784 publication of the Berlinische Monatsschrift (Berlin Monthly), edited by Friedrich Gedike and Johann Erich Biester, Kant replied to the question posed a year earlier by the Reverend Johann Friedrich Zöllner, who was also an official in the Prussian government. Zöllner’s question was addressed to a broad intellectual public, in reply to Biester’s essay entitled: “Proposal, not to engage the clergy any longer when marriages are conducted” (April 1783) and a number of leading intellectuals replied with essays, of which Kant’s is the most famous and has had the most impact. Kant’s opening paragraph of the essay is a much-cited definition of a lack of Enlightenment as people’s inability to think for themselves due not to their lack of intellect, but lack of courage.” (Wikipedia)

Complete English translation of Kant’s essay here.