Calling All Elitist Liberal Arts Scholars, or: "I'm so Deep"

Don't get me wrong - I love symbolism, metaphors, and allegories.

My favorite books are the ones you have to analyze to the last drop, the ones where each word is so thick with meaning, that reading the book is like wading through hot fudge sauce (delicious *wink*). 

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Sometimes though, it's good to not over-analyze, and to just...relax.  With that, I'd like to share a few chuckles with you, courtesy of spoken-word artist, Beau Sia:

Triple Tribute

One only hopes that they received as much in this life as they have given.
 

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Lee Alexander McQueen

 *Vogue Girl Korea, August 2006.  Photographer:  Kim Han Jun*

Daul Kim

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Michael Jackson

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, but what a brilliant flame in between.

R.I.P.

Universes within Universes

University of South Carolina School of Medicine.  Microbiology & Immunology Online, "Real-time PCR".  Dr. Margaret Hunt

Agarose gel (1% Trevigel)

Guo X et al. Genome Res. 2003;13:1810-1817, 2003 by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
Guo, Xianwu; Flores, Margarita; Mavingui, Patrick; et al. "Natural Genomic Design in Sinorhizobium meliloti: Novel Genomic Architectures" Genome Research, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. 2003;13:1810-1817. Online.

Pulse-field gel electrophoresis. Replicon structure of S. meliloti 1021 and derivative strains.
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Breathtaking images of a genetics lab technique called gel electrophoresis.  The first image reminds me of headlights on the road at night, ice, illuminated high-rise windows, and dancing stars.  And the second image brings to mind india ink brushstrokes, and x-ray skeletons.  Universes within universes.

Scientists use gel electrophoresis to separate DNA molecules by size.  Each band you see represents the accumulation of molecules of the same length.  A common method of viewing these separate bands is to stain the gel with ethidium bromide, so that the bands of DNA will fluoresce when illuminated with UV light.

Imagine these printed on fabric, so that we could 'wear' our DNA.

L-O-V-E, baby

Happy (almost) Valentine's Day!  First, a little Spoken-Word by Beau Sia to warm us up -

Listen for:  "Shawty!  What's yo major?" and "...in a wonderful, perfect world with our two children: Elga and Lamar."

Now that we're all nicely endorphined - I present to you a poem - a favorite because it is not cavity-inducing, and is magnificent in its simplicity.  If you haven't found a Valentine's gift for your significant other yet, You're Welcome for the inspiration, haha!
 

By Polish writer Wislawa Szymborska:

http://www.mission.net/poland/warsaw/literature/poems/lovesigh.htm

Ultimately, Valentine's Day is not just for couples.  It is for friends, family, and strangers.  It is a holiday for reflecting on

        if you've been allowing yourself to be Loved,

                                                                   if you have given Love,

                                                                         & how you will continue to shower those around you with Love.

When in doubt, love.

To: Nurses and to those in the Medical Field

There were two nurses talking today, chatting about their weekend, work, who had night shift, and so on.  One of the nurses remarked, 

"I can't count how many times I've stayed by a patient's bedside, trying to keep them alive through the night.  If I had a nickel for every time that happened..."  

To all nurses, and to all others in the medical field - paramedics, doctors, technicians, therapists, medical scientists and engineers - Thank You.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22719239@N04/ / CC BY 2.0

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22719239@N04/ / CC BY 2.0

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxtongue/ / CC BY 2.0