Hi Max, Thank you! Azure took a Cornell course in Ornithology (from a distance) a few years ago; we're very aware of avian intelligence and have watched accordingly, for example a raven deliberately flying upside down for the fun of it in the late fall in Acadia in Maine. If you have a chance sometime record a thicket of blackbirds, put the recorder in a thicket! You'll hear all sorts of calls and conversations. Amazing!
You might want to friend Maria Damon on Facebook; we've done a lot of writing together, and she works a lot with etymology; she's also an expert weaver and delves deep into art in her own works and those of many others. And thank you again! Best, Alan On Sat, Jul 3, 2021 at 3:19 PM Max Herman via NetBehaviour < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi Alan, > > I like your photo and phrasing here! The line of soil reminded me of the > water horizon in the *Mona Lisa*, which I've been studying as it is a bit > unusual. > > Not sure if this is part of your poem, but I've been looking at weaving as > a motif and theme in Dante and Leonardo (possibly linked) and found the > very interesting, to me anyway, etymological factoid that "technology" and > "text" both derive from the Proto-Indo-European "teks-" which means "to > weave." Dante references the Fates and spinning often, and situates an > allegorical garment associated with Circe in a central dream sequence of > the *Commedia *(*Purgatorio *19.1-33). The dream is a little difficult > to parse, with some incongruent elements and very unpleasant undertones of > medieval misogyny, and might signify little more than Dante's own > ambivalence or contempt toward romantic love. I believe that Leonardo may > have reinterpreted the dream sequence with some interesting and worthwhile > revisions. > > Re birds I was given a copy of Jennifer Ackerman's 2016 book on bird > intelligence this summer and have been meaning to read it. The cover > illustration may be a type of jay, not sure, and the first illustration is > of a finch or sparrow perhaps drinking from a human-made vessel similar to > what motivated me to write a song in 2019. The book says, > > "[T]he avian brain had no cortex like ours, where all the 'smart' stuff > happens. Birds had minimal noggins for good reason, we thought: to allow > for airborne ways; to defy gravity; to hover, arabesque, dive, soar for > days on end, migrate thousands of miles, and maneuver in tight spaces. For > their mastery of air, it seemed, birds paid a heavy cognitive penalty. > "A closer look has taught us otherwise. Birds do indeed have brains very > different from our own--and no wonder. Humans and birds have been evolving > independently for a long time, since our last common ancestor more than 300 > million years ago. But some birds, in fact, have relatively large brains > for their body size, just as we do. Moreover, when it comes to brainpower, > size seems to matter less than the number of neurons, where they're > located, and how they're connected. And some bird brains, it turns out, > pack very high numbers of neurons where it counts, with densities akin to > those found in primates, and links and connections much like ours. This > may go a long way toward explaining why certain birds have such > sophisticated cognitive abilities.... > "News has arrived that songbirds learn their songs the way we learn > languages and pass these tunes along in rich cultural traditions that began > tens of millions of years ago, when our primate ancestors were still > scuttling about on all fours." > > All best, > > Max > > > > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* NetBehaviour <[email protected]> on > behalf of Alan Sondheim <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Saturday, July 3, 2021 2:00 AM > *To:* NetBehaviour for networked distributed creativity < > [email protected]> > *Subject:* [NetBehaviour] Bluejay > > > > Bluejay > > http://www.alansondheim.org/bluejay.jpg > > There is stasis in the feet, the claws, the post. > An imminent moment of invisible, internal tension. > The spring, the lift. > Nothing cries out in the beginning, throughout, beyond. > Silent in the middle of the city, perhaps no nest. > In the eaves, creatures. > It's the _tension_ of the bird, it's ours. > The weather worsens everywhere. > Canada O Canada. > The jay is _here_ not there, time looms, ours. > We are responsible for time, for _this._ > We _loom._ > > Faster than us, we await, apocalyptic. > The apocalypse is a spiral, the jay is gone. > The post is gone, the city is gone. > The spring, when will weather worsen. > The edge of the when, the when. > > > ___ > > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > -- *=====================================================* *directory http://www.alansondheim.org <http://www.alansondheim.org> tel 718-813-3285**email sondheim ut panix.com <http://panix.com>, sondheim ut gmail.com <http://gmail.com>* *=====================================================*
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