The European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft just completed a fly-by of an asteroid named “Lutetia” a few days ago. Here’s the striking image of a rock hurtling through space, with Saturn in the background.
Sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have used the word “striking” so close to “asteroid”.
We’re all a little sensitive about this, right?
There have been enough disaster movies on the topic to convince even the most casual worst-case-scenarist that the ultimate destination of every speeding lump of space metal is the flower bed in their own back yard. It’s not a matter of “if”, but “when”. This is enough to make a person a little bit paranoid. And in fact, the newly revealed shape of Lutetia, which previously had only been seen in images taken from here on the ground, reminds me of this famous and oft-copied universal representation of stress – Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”.
Don’t see it? Well, we’re all in denial.
How about now?
On a happier note, this fanciful discussion raises the notion that we could sculpt or paint zooming asteroids to make them more interesting to look at, even if we can’t deflect them.
Which existing work of art should be re-created on Lutetia?
Or should we turn it into something new?
Trail Baboon 
Dale + Photoshop = Scary
bye y’all. busy day
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Dale, your title today is very clever, multiple implications/connections.
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Rise and Shine in the full Summertime Babooners:
Also busy today.
Picasso’s “horse or whatever it is” in downtown Chicago. My first piece of fine art viewing ever in childhood.
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Good Morning to All
I think a Rodin sculpture, such as The Thinker, would work. I can almost see the image of the The Thinker emerging from that lumpy asteriod just as The Scream seems to fit in on that lumpy thing.
I think orginal art would be a better choice. I’m not an artist, but I guess it might be possible to find an artist who would give it a try. I think that an artist who takes a conceptual approach could do it. Maybe the artist could sculpt exact replicas of astroids and have an art show made up of a series of sculptures of various asteroids.
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maybe thats where crazy horse could get done. i was in rapid city lst week and the scuplture is very slow going the with donations being doled out in amounts so small progress is unnoticed. maybe renewing the interest by doing it in space first would be the way to get done.
ot: cheese fondue
Grate up a pound of emnenthaler and a pound of gruyeye cheese and have them sitting in a couple of bowls
Grab a bottle of white wine. I like a pinot grigio or white burgundy
And a couple more to drink with the meal.
Have a bottle of kirsch sitting there
A lemon to squeeze the juice out of
A little flour (I use white)
A clove of garlic
A bowl of bread cut into chunks and left out to dry a bit so its not like dipping wonderbread into this thick cheese mixture. I lke to get a loaf uncut and then cut it up into chunks the size of a radish rather than a bunch of slices of bread cut into squares.
Take the fondue pot and rub a clove of garlic around on the inside of it leaving the residue as thick as you can on the walls of the pot without leaving chunks of garlic in the pot.
Put the pot on the heat and get it warmed up than add about ½ the bottle of wine. The juice of ½ the lemon and heat it up but not to a boil. Just enough to melt the cheese.
Add the cheese a bit at a time slowly melting it until you have gone through about ½ pound of each add the kirsch and the flour and keep messing with the cheese and wine until you get the thickness the way you want it.
Keeping the fondue pot from heating too much and cooling too much is the trick in this recipe. Sterno is difficult to regulate, an electric fondue pot is great once you’ve used it a few times and get the hang of the temp and the but it is so slow to react that if you are not paying attention you can burn it and that messes it up a bit so pay attention. I like a gas stove and the ability to tweak the flame but thats just me.
Have a bowl of bread that has had a chance to air dry a bit ideally and the fondue forks handy and dip them into the pot to scoop out the cheese. Keep the wine flowing into your glass and into the pot along with more cheese and a dash of lemon juice from the second half of the lemon and an ounce or two of the kirsch to keep the plot rolling until you are done. Go until the cheese is gone, the wine is gone or you are gone and then put it awnat for reheating later. Don’t burn it the second time either. It’s a nice meal for an interactive get together. Kind of fun and kind of tasty.
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Given that the moon itself might be made of green cheese, I’m not sure this fondue recipe is off topic. Cheese + Asteroids = Art!
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I’ll expect a calorie and fat count on this one!
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it feels like the little prince where the sheep has to be stopped form eating the rose. can you imagine what mankind would prove about itself if the option of drinking wine and eating a chunk of the planet was there for us. upon further thought we have proven what happens if we are allowed to abuse the planet and exploit it with no thought about what the consequences could be. witness the gulf, the realization that the oil industry can not be allowed to police itself. maybe a cheese commission will be in order along with the offshore commission and the other watchdogs likely to pop up down the road
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G’Morning Babooners! While I don’t claim expertise on the topic, I’ve read everything I can find about Crazy Horse. I’m totally convinced that, were he still alive, Crazy Horse would be shooting arrows at the gang that insists of defacing that mountain with their egotistical fancy of a memorial to him. Crazy Horse liked mountains just as they came from the hands of their maker, and he was phobic about having his likeness taken.
A bit of trivia: there is only one legitimate portrait of Crazy Horse, and it has been seen in public just one time when it was included in a “History Detectives” report by Elyse (be still my heart!) Luray.
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This is great, tim, thanks. I particularly liked: “Go until the cheese is gone, the wine is gone or you are gone and then put it awnat for reheating later. ” I have an Alice’s Restaurant Cookbook from the 70s that says the most important ingredient in any dish is the wine in the cook.
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Cooking is a favorite thing at my house. I do have some recipes to offer that are from us or passed to us by others. However, many of our favorite recipes come from cook books and I think I should just name these recipes and tell where they are found.
For many years we have used the recipe for pizza found in an older edition of the Fannie Farmer Cook Book (it’s the tenth edition) which is a very good source of basic info on cooking. We have a lot of topping variations, but make the crust according to the basic recipe with a little whole wheat flour added some times. Some times we let the dough rise once before putting it on the pan to rise, but you can skip this and just let the dough rise a little on the pan. We usually precook the crust for about 8 minutes before putting on the toppings and then put it in the oven for about 10 more minutes.
Another great cookbook that we often use is Carol Gelles’ 1000 Vegetarian Recipes. I am not a vegetarian, but I some times make vegetarian meals and this is such a good cook book that I think any one would find it worth using. The oatmeal pancakes are a big favorite of ours and we always include cinnamon which is a variation on the recipe suggested by Gelles.
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i will check it out thanks jim
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When looking at the edges of this rock, I want to make them smoother – looks like space has a start on getting this thing rounder, let’s finish the job. Turn it into a Venus of Willendorf or maybe really carve it up and make it a deceptively smooth, soft looking Henri Moore homage.
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Oh those poor demented Scandanavians and their angst-ridden art. As long as no one gets the great idea to project the Nike swoosh up there (anybody else remember that one?), it’s all good. Hieronymous Bosch might be a bit much too. To take a page from tim’s book, maybe something uplifting (before we are all blown to smithereens by the impact).
I’m not sure carving a la Crazy Horse would be a good idea-there is nothing to say that changing the shape of it would change its course, but if it did, we probably would not know if it would be for good or ill until it was too late. When he was 6, the s&h had working on Crazy Horse at the top of his career list-being an artist AND blowing things up, what could be better?
Just did my check-up on late posts from yesterday and thanks for visiting, Visiting geek-come back again soon. Suspicions confirmed, we might be able to understand (sortof ) the universe in terms of String Theory (or something equally sexy), but still will be experiencing it as Aristotelians for the forseeable future.
Ya know, if you painted it red, you could probably get a pretty good representation of Blevins’ bum-yet another case of -just because you can, does not necessarily mean you should.
Fondue sounds good, but too cozy for right now-will be pulling that one out this fall.
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Um, I’m in lurkitude before my first appointment and became suspicious about “Visiting Geek.” I plead GUILTY to the Little Potato dedications over the years. blush. And I did indeed send him yesterday’s blog posts because I thought he would enjoy them. Hope he does visit again. It’s his kinda site (that acorn did not fall far from the tree).
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Hi VG Mom … by any other name ;-),
I thought VG’s post was excellent (though somewhat late in the evening)! I hope he visits again, too!
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Hi VG’s mom! I went back to read your son’s post – sounds like he not-so-secretly is grateful for the childhood birthday dedications. Hope you (and he) keep lurking/posting. It’s always fascinating here on Trail Baboon.
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I”m just putting together that madislandgirl is the same as Catherine? (from the s&h reference). How’d I miss that?
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Barbara–she used the same cat image back when she was Catherine. That’s what tipped me off.
Do you know why she refers to “madisland”?? I do!
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Is it Madelaine (?sp) Island?
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Greetings! What movie had that tagline, “In space no one can hear you scream.” I think it was “Aliens” (the original), but I could be wrong.
Personally, I can see the painting of Venus rising out of the sea (or space) on a clam shell. I always liked that image — don’t know why. It seems like such a grand and dramatic entrance that appeals to my theatrical side. While at the beach the other day, I was walking toward my husband on the sand, coming out of the water — and the image of that painting came to mind. So, I asked him if I looked like that. Of course, he was clueless. But it was fun to pretend.
What better harbinger of doom to crash on our planet than the beautiful goddess of love and beauty, a lovely final image to ease the pain of impending ….. well, whatever. It’s way too gorgeous of a day to dwell on such things.
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Joanne–that is affectionately known as “Venus on the Half-Shell.” I was thinking maybe of Venus’s missing arms. “The Persistence of Memor.” “The Blue Guitarist.” A Monet haystack.
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Joanne — you were probably dressed inappropriately, perhaps wearing a bathing suit. Venus on the Half Shell wears only red hair, which would have given your husband a big “clue.”
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Ah, yes — I had forgotten that detail — cumbersome bathing suits. Thankfully, they painted ‘real’ women back then; not the anorexic-looking, teenage girl bodies that have become our image of beauty.
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A teacher story I should not tell but it is too appropriate: a male teache friend and I were on hall duty and a senior girl.youn lady walked by, and he whipsred to me “Ruebens should have known her.”
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The idea of doom lurking out there in space is terrifying enough without putting a scary face on it. What we need is something friendly and heartwarming, like a baby bunny or Hello Kitty. Then when the asteroid plummets earthward, with an impact that will send up dust and debris enough to plunge us into a millennium of darkness and ice, we can all look up at the last minute and say, “Ooooh, cute!”
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Blue Boy
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What a nice image, Bill. “Ooooh, cute!” I see that as a Gary Larsen cartoon.
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*Like*
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If I could post a picture, I’d illustrate how Lutetia closely resembles Cletus, the slack-jawed yokel from The Simpsons.
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Good call. I had to look him up because, drum roll and trumpet fanfare–I have never seen the Simpsons.
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Hi sky-gazers!
Here’s the image TGITH wanted to post. It is even more eerie than “The Scream”.
Thanks to Mike Pengra for the assist!
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That is just too scary and wrong.
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Haha, that is an amazing likeness. I’ve always loved The Simpsons, though in recent years, the show has gotten less funny.
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Thanks, JASPER and Mike, for Mary Gauthier’s Mercy Now. Sooooo good.
I second Bill in Mpls’ idea that Hello Kitty or some such would be a pleasant antithesis to doom in space lurkitude. Or a goat in her spacesuit, or a goat artist painting on Lutetia – would be charming.
TGiTH, let me know if you want to talk with our acting MFA chair at MCAD. I’d be happy to get you in touch with him. They’re in the process of revamping the program (it’s currently mentor-based vs. traditional classes).
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Hm…y’know, I may be interested in that. My voiceover work could definitely benefit from some actual formal training in acting. Did 7 years of -voice- training but I’m lacking in acting work.
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Oops. I’m sorry, I completely misread your post. I read it as ‘the head of acting’ not the acting head as you wrote. Duh…my bad. I’d still be curious about an MFA in photography through MCAD. I’d also be interested to see what the grads are doing now.
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“This is your brain on drugs.”
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I like Bill’s idea. This isn’t exactly cute, but how about Homer Simpson?
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Completely O.T. but I am making a dedicatory contribution to the Kitchen Congress. Last night, I went to the very unexpected visitation for one of the finest “church lady” cooks I have recently had the honor to serve under. Her caramels, toffee and potato salad were much anticipated, her veggie platters, works of art. The newest church cookbook will contain her recipe for a Manhattan (yes Clyde, I am THAT kind of Lutheran).
Any praise for these triumphs was greeted with a matter-of-fact assertion that it was not so very difficult, and one should not be intimidated, but give it a try oneself. No false modesty here, just a straightforward injunction to buck up and get to it. As a mutual friend observed last night-I want to be like her when I grow up.
I don’t have any of her recipes (yet)-the cookbook is going to press this week. I did, however, make a salad for the lunch today-
As seems to be my style, here is a formula for The Food Pyramid Salad (so named when I realized the proportions sort of work out that way) I’m writing it from the top down, you can start anywhere you like, depending on your inclination, pantry and garden contents.
Mix up or buy 1 part (or in my case, slightly less) of a dressing-if you are mixing something up, I’d say you want it about 1/2 oil of some sort, 1/2 acidic liquid (vinegar, lemon juice) and maybe 1T per part of seasoning. No one will think less of you if you just pick up your favorite bottled oil/vinegar concoction. Today, I used olive oil, lime juice, chili powder and cumin. I’ve also got a nice stand of garlic chives, so snipped up some of that-not everybody loves it like I do, so I restained myself and did not add the cilantro I also have.
Select 2 parts of a protein source-today I used cooked chicken, but black beans would have been good too.
The fruits and veggies portion can be between 3-4 parts. I was in a southwestern frame of mind, so used corn, avocado, orange pepper, olives and tomatoes.
The grain/carb/whatever part is 4 parts. I used bow tie pasta (because I like how it looks) brown rice, quinoa, couscous, bulgar wheat, knock yourself out. If you don’t want a carb-based salad, you could also toss the above with enough salad greens to fill whatever bowl you are wanting to fill.
Mix everything together well (I use one of those big angel food cake slotted spoon things-covers a lot of territory, but doesn’t turn things to mush). Be nice to yourself and do this the day ahead and have it in the fridge, just waiting for you (don’t add salad greens until the last minute if you are going that route).
I put a ring of shredded Mexican blend cheese around the rim of the bowl, because that is as much fancy as I could muster. I aspire to carving tomato roses, but will need a good bit of practice before I put them out on a buffet table for all to see.
Use your own sterling good judgement about what goes with what. I like to just flip through a couple of cookbooks and-or cruising the web to get ideas, then see what I’ve got on hand and fill in the gaps as inclined, time and budget permitting.
Find someone with a skill you admire, learn what you can from them, then buck up and get to it. Pass the knowledge on.
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To quote Martin Marty (very funny and wise Lutheran theologian), there are two kinds of Lutherans: coffe-drinking nordics and beer-drinking Teutonics. There is no room for Manhattan-drinking Lutherans.
Kidding of course. I am a rather unLutheran former Lutheran lay pastor.
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Thanks, Clyde. I had no idea Martin Marty had turned his attention to the subject.
The saint in question was one of those Missouri Synod Lutherans who left at the split. The congregation started out German, but of late has been very Nordic-maybe that explains the Manhattans.
I come from a tee-totalling Teutonic family, but that has not stopped me from enjoying both good beer and good coffee.
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Martin Marty once, many years ago, did thumbnail descriptions of many faiths. All descriptions started with “__________ are divided into two groups” and ended with “so they can fight about it.” Funny and sad but true. His two Lutheran groups were the two I named, which of course really means Nordic pietism versus German rationalism. I used to occasionally hear Marty speak at the U of Chi in the mid 60’s.
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When married couples ride in a car together, they can ride
Missouri Synod–men in front women in back
ELCA–one couple in front, other in back
That comes from a liberal MO Synod pastor.
We have written many jokes about what Wisconsin Synod would be.
Wives in front and husbands in back would be ????? Maybe Unitarian.
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Isn’t Liberal MO currently an oxymoron (mind you, didn’t used to be-I’m not that old, just a really good memory at a young age)?
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There has always been a strain of that synod with a liberal bent. Used to be called the English Synod of the MO Synod because they were the first to convert to English.
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Well I know it, as my current church was one of those. I am surprised any of them stayed with the MO after the Great Schism in the 70’s.
Goodness, such minutiae! No wonder I cannot remember my current cell phone number!
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Catherine, when I first read Liberal, MO, I thought you mean the town of Liberal, MO, about which people down there like to make lots of jokes.
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I actually know what that Painting of Venus looks like. Clueless? maybe not a mind reader. Joanne had Dark Brown, and was prettier than the gal in the painting, so I was NOT clueless! hehe.
I do love the end of the world movies… puts us all on the same plane or levels the playing
field , so to speak. I think I thrive in stressful situations, more so than my lovely wife. I remember how calm I was the time we were coming home in the car from xmas and crashed into some kid turning left in front of us. She started crying in the motel room, and I was calm and reassuring .
I think George Carlin once said he wanted to see an earthquake that was 15 on the Richter scale…. or something like that.
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Yes, Jim was very strong and reassuring, making all the phone calls to insurance companies, adjusters, doctors, car repair, etc., after the accident. But he cried later about the car that was totaled — he gets attached to cars he drives. That’s my sweetie!
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You have an interesting and creative wife, Mr. of Joanne in Big Lake! I think she’s the martial artist, yes?
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Cynthia–are you implying that Mr. Joanne wrote a flattering post because he wants to keep all of his teeth? Another possibility: Joanne wrote that post. How do we know? It is hard to avoid cynicism in a state where the senator was picked by a cabal of convicted felons. But my preferred interpretation remains that Joanne is wonderful and Mr. Joanne knows it. When your beloved is both marital and martial, it is smart to speak sweetly.
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Hey Dale:
I put up a recipe for Lou’s Bean Salad — Monday evening I think, so it was probably missed due to the lateness. I’d love to share that on Kitchen Congress–too good and too easy to miss.
Thanks
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… and it looked like a good one.
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How about just writing on the asteroid “c’est ne pas un astéroïde?
Or scrawling on the side of the asteroid “R. Mutt?”
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I understand the “c’est ne pas un astéroïde” part, but not the “R. Mutt”…
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The French Dadaist Marcel Duchamp entered a manufactured urinal in (I think) the Paris Exhibition of 19-something-or-other, and scrawled on the side of it the “signature” R.Mutt.
(Just looked it up: 1917. And the work was voted one of the most influential works of the 20th century. I’d agree: The Dada movement challenged/transformed/messed with the way that questions about the nature of art could even be formulated.)
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So, anyway, my “joke,” such as it was, was to indicate that this was a manufactured asteroid….
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Maybe we should superimpose the sound holes from violin over the rock.
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Maybe Lutetia could be sculpted/cosmetically altered to resemble some other, more famous asteroid: an asteroid impersonator.
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