Enlightenment: December 2007 Archives
Want Art’s Christine and Justin are a couple of artists from New York who have given creative visualization a whole new, and rather literal meaning. They paint the things they want, and then sell their acrylic on canvas artworks for exactly the price the item depicted would cost.
Their current list of wants ranges from a modest $3 for “A Slice of Pepperoni” pizza, to $100 “To Help Kids in New Orleans” and $ 432.42 for "An iPhone." Some of the more bizarre items on their list include $27.09 for "A Tan," $100 for "A Night We Won't Remember," $1,056.07 for "One Month's Rent," and $1,000,000.00 for "Financial Security." Once a painting is sold, the duo promise to use the money to buy the item depicted. One item they'd like to have which money can't buy however is "Sleep," a painting which the duo are offering for free (though the buyer must pay for shipping).
A pair of intrepid geeks, Dan Egnor and Heath Hunnicutt of 8ball.ofb.net, have tempted fate and performed an autopsy on a Magic 8-Ball in an attempt to uncover its great mysteries. With power tool in hand they began with some exploratory drilling. After failing in their initial attempt to drain the ball of its murky blue liquid prior to opening, they switched to a rotary tool to split the shiny black outer case.
Inside they discovered an inner-white chamber which houses the heart of the sacred Mattel oracle. At this point the duo sought one final prophecy from the core of the 8-Ball before completely deconstructing it. It said, "Outlook not so good," which, under the circumstances, was pretty accurate. After draining the blue fluid from the inner sanctum, using two drilled drain holes, a final incision was made into the cylinder and the answer device was extracted.
Further examination of the fortune-telling icosahedron revealed that 50% of the planes carried positive messages, 25% carried negative messages, with the remaining 25% carrying vague non-answers such as "Better not tell you now." Further investigation into the fluid revealed that out of a test group of two, 100% reported it had a "hideous taste" and experienced "numbness on the application area" when a small amount was applied to the testers tongues, and 50% experienced side effects including "blue fingers" and a "headache." Click HERE to view detailed notes and photos of the procedure.
The Daily Mantra would urge its readers not to try this at home. Research such as this should be left strictly in the hands of professionals. Though the mechanics of the Magic 8-Ball may have been revealed, the mystery still lies in the eye of the beholder. For those in immediate need of answers, click HERE to consult Mattel's virtual online 8-Ball oracle.
Ben Underwood is an inspirational teen, who despite losing his sight to retinal cancer when he was just two years old, has never chosen to see the limitations his blindness might impose. As a toddler, Ben taught himself to use echolocation instead of a cane. Making clicks with his mouth and fingers, he can detect the size, shape, composition and distance of objects. The technique works a little like sonar, and is similar to that used by animals such as dolphins and bats. Ben has become so adept at using echolocation to navigate his way through life, that he can now rollerblade and skateboard with confidence, and plays basketball and foosball - to win - with his friends and siblings. As this CBS News video clip (click HERE to view if player doesn't load) shows, he also has an unfailingly accurate aim when it comes to pillow fights.
