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Mar
9th

Tue

2010

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Sparklehorse - It’s A Wonderful Life

I’m doing this because I like accountability and transparency, and I believe in public service. And it is the complete opposite of everything else I do. Maybe I’ll learn something. The practical consequence is that I will probably go to Washington several days each month, in addition to whatever homework and phone meetings are necessary.

—

Edward Tufte, who has been appointed by President Obama to “help track and explain $787 billion in recovery stimulus funds” as part of the Recovery Independent Advisory Panel.

Tufe is being nonchalant, but this is great news. Not only for design-nerds but the general public too.

(feltron)

Central nervous system, historical anatomical artwork. This is an anterior (front) view of the brain and upper part of the spinal cord. At the base of the brain is the striated (striped) pons, and below this the medulla. These two structures make up the brainstem, which leads into the spinal cord. Below the brainstem the nerves emerging from the spinal cord can be seen. There are eight cervical nerves in the neck area, and below these are thoracic nerves. This illustration is taken from the 19th century French textbook The Atlas of Human Anatomy and Surgery by J. M. Bourgery and N. H. Jacob.

(fuckyeahnervoussystem)

(fullbloom:loveyourchaos)

David Foster Wallace’s copy of Don Delillo’s Players

from the Harry Ransom Center at University of Texas, who recently received DFW’s archives (kottke)

CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (proofmathisbeautiful)

This is Strychnos Toxifera - the plant which the Poison Curare is derived from. Curare is a paralyzing agent that is used on the tips of poisoned arrows. Curare acts by binding to the receptors for the neurotransmitter Acetylcholine (it’s an antagonist) which is the neurotransmitter employed at many neuromuscular junctions (the synapses that interface neurons to muscle tissue), such as the heart. In this way, curare can be used as an anesthetic, but it can also stop breathing & contractions of the heart.

(Inspired by Michael’s week of shelving-related posts & because I’ve been talking about neurotoxins a lot lately, UGP will feature a daily poison posting this week.)