Shaham's

This project is an attempt to visually model groups of chapters in the Quran. Verse translation texts are analyzed using NLP topic-modelling techniques and then visualization using a specific art concept of Stefanie Posavec’s Sentence Drawings.

See Web App

Read on Medium.

Automatic topic-modelling and generation of 'wiring' drawings based on user's tweet history.

Twiring comes from Twitter+Wiring — because these diagrams look like ‘wiring’ diagrams. but also, twiring is to To glance shyly or slyly and that’s precisely the functionality of this form of visualization.

See Web App

Read on Medium.

A new bill is looking to find a replacement for Seattle's iconic Lenin Statue. Yes, I know, I had the same question: How in the hell did Lenin get to be in Seattle? I'll tell you, along with why I think the statue's journey gives us a caricature view of the social creative act.

I've modified Bob Dylan's '7 Simple Rules for a Life in Hiding' to create 7 Simple Rules for a Life [of Authentic Relevance].

One, never trust a cop in a raincoat.
Two, beware of [anything devoid of] enthusiasm and of love, each it is temporary and quick to sway.
Three, if asked if you care about the world's problems, look deep into the eyes of he who asks the one's you love, he they will never ask you again.
Four, never give your real name.
Five, if ever asked to look at yourself, don't take your time.
Six, never do anything the person standing in front of you cannot understand can learn.
and finally Seven, never create anything, [though] it will be misinterpreted, it will chain you and follow you for the rest of your life.

Those of us who explore ideas on whim may find ourselves oscillating between the philosophical and the poetic. Often, the effect of one pushes us towards the other - why?

Katy Bohinc, a poet (and a data scientist??), has an interesting break down of the spectrum in her book 'Dear Alain', a compilation of fictional 'love letters' to the philosopher Alain Badiou.

Recently a statement by the director/screenwriter of Godless (a ‘feminist’ Western) caught my eye as he was explaining his placement of women in the plot:

“I worked hard for them [women] to save themselves. The army doesn’t come; they have to fend for themselves.”
   — Scott Frank (Director of Godless)

Often people comment on art as if representing against the status-quo is simply a matter of choice - forgetting the skill required to not break the spell of an art work as it represents something outside the norm. I’ve often seen friends applaud ‘representation’ and I have to kind of nod and smile in a politically correct fashion even if I think the ‘representation’ was detrimental for the art.

I know many curious folks (myself included) tend to enjoy exploring the narcissistic killers we make movies/series about (Ted Bundy, etc.). The danger of staring into the abyss is captivating, but at some point, you ask the question, 'Why do I want to understand these terrible, narcissistic killers?'.

With regards to this question, I keep coming back to a monologue by Felicity Jones' [Jill Barker] in True Story (which, ironically, is about a narcissistic killer..).