Striking Images From North Korea (A Silent Land)

For more pictures go here.

It was a bright morning in the early part of the summer...

How to sneak up on a photographer.

Tweenbots!

Kacie Kinzer, a student from NYU, decided to conduct a social experiment of sorts, and a very adorable one at that. The experiment involves the use of small, cute, human-like, robots (as depicted in the picture above) called Tweenbots. Each Tweenbot displays a destination of its own on a flag attached to the robot's antenna. Tweenbots, ever positive with those enduring smiles of theirs, are constantly propelled forward in a straight line, determined to traverse to the sidewalks of New York City successfully. The idea: as the robots inevitably face various obstacles, the success of each robot will depend on the kindness of unsuspecting pedestrians to help navigate them through the complexity of New York. Kacie Kinzer writes:

"In New York, we are very occupied with getting to one place to another. I wondered: could a human-like object traverse sidewalks and streets along with us, and in so doing, create a narrative about our relationship to space and our willingness to interact with what we find in it? More importantly, how could our actions be seen within a larger context of human connection that emerges from the complexity of the city itself? To answer these questions, I built robots."

Will humans aid the Tweenbots in their missions?

Here's a video:

Go Tweenbots!

Happy Easter!

I am a resident of this strange place we call Earth.

Thus, existentialism's first move is to make every man aware of what he is and to make the full responsibility of his existence rest on him. And when we say that a man is responsible for himself, we do not only mean that he is responsible for his own individuality, but that he is responsible for all men.

-  Jean-Paul Sartre

I don't agree with everything this man has to say - namely that God does not exist. But I do think he has some important insights regarding what it ultimately means to be a human being, and this brief life we have on Earth. Another quote I have come to appreciate by him reads: "The only way to determine the value of this affection is, precisely, to perform an act which confirms and defines it." How do I know there is any value in the affection I have for God? - simple, I act upon that affection, and by acting I am confirming and defining that affection. 

Have a blessed Good Friday! May His face shine upon you!

love john

 

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