Art. Technology. Planes.

 I read something about a sculptor called Ray Emsworth who made sculptures all his life but only ever had one exhibition. Most of his work he stored in sheds in his Cornish home. Even his wife had to be invited in to see them, although since his death, she still goes into the sheds frequently – because, she says, “there is a strong feeling of Ray’s presence in each”. A photographer called Jem Southam has published a book of photos of his work. According to  the photographer Ray Emsworh’s father was a highly skilled but not well paid sandcaster, who would also make toys for his sons during the war. “Ray got his marvel at the skill and craft of making things from his father,” Southam says.

“Sandcaster” sounds like an interesting profession. I am reminded of the people who make fantastic sand sculptures on beaches, not just amazing castles but dragons and mermaids and occasionally religious objects. Indeed, I seem to remember that there are organised competitions dog sandsculpting.

When I looked ‘sandcaster’ up on the internet I found this:

“A sandcaster is a defensive weapon system for spacecraft that fires a cloud of particles to disrupt incoming attacks, including deflecting and damaging kinetic projectiles and disrupting beams from directed-energy weapons.”

What is it with these weapons people that they take rather romantic-sounding names and make them aggressive? 

Similarly there is Palantir Technologies, named after the crystal balls used for communication in The Lord of the Rings, a company that develops data integration and analytics software. Palantir Texhnologies says, “With good data and the right technology, people and institutions today can still solve hard problems and change the world for the better.” Palantir's customer base includes federal agencies, state and local governments, international organizations, and also private companies. Enough said.

The word Palantir, by the way,  comes from Tolkein’s invented language Quenya, palan 'far', and tir 'watch over'. The stones were used for communication and to see events in other places or in the past. Like so much technology it was perverted into something to harm people!

So it goes.

Here are some pictures of a “flying taxi” .

“British flying taxi startup Vertical Aerospace has said the UK government has expressed interest in buying a military variant of its aircraft as it races to gain approval for flights with paying passengers.

Vertical also welcomed another £10m grant from the government, taking its total UK state funding to &48m.

The company demonstrated its prototype model of the flying taxi on Monday at the Farnborough international airshow, an industry event at an airfield west of London.

The aircraft is one of several electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft which manufacturers are hoping will revolutionise urban transport by landing quietly – relative to a helicopter – in built-up areas with no direct emissions.”

On the subject of aircraft technology, here’s a link to an article about Airbus planning to test folding wings for their next generation planes. It’s all happening!

On the subject of travelling, at the moment Odysseus and his Odyssey seem to be ubiquitous. There are advertisements all over the place for the latest film of the Odyssey. There has been a series television examining the geography of the journey and the likelihood of it having been a real event! It’s quite unlikely that people were really turned into swine!

Incidentally, we have just watched a documentary about a concert made up of songs from the Coen Brother’s film based on the Odyssey, Oh Brother Where Art Thou? Well worth watching! Some very good songs! 

Life does on. Stay safe and well, everyone!