Facts, New or Not

With this post, I'm inaugurating a new series that may or may not appear weekly and may or may not appear on the same day of the week each week. You won't necessarily know when it hits, unless you stop by or track FaceBook or Twitter.

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As my friend Glynn points out in his regular Saturday compilation of "Good Reads", one is never at a loss to find something on the Web worth reading. Taking that as a bit of inspiration, I add that one is never at a loss to discover something new in something good to read. 

Here are just a few things, facts you might know, or not, timeless tidbits, I've discovered, pondered, and enjoyed as I've read my way around the Web:

♦ Visitors to the Art Gallery of Ontario have to turn AGO's map upside down to figure out the location of the museum's entrance on the building's north side. Different maps may be on order. Or maybe improved signage? At the Detroit Institute of Arts, visitors spend only 2 minutes 56 seconds on average in a gallery. Can you guess how many bother to read the artworks' labels? ("The Museum Is Watching You", Wall Street Journal, August 18, 2010)

♦ Some scientists think earthlings' art and music stand a much better chance than our science or anything else we produce of attracting and holding the interest of extraterrestrials. Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking begs to differ. ("Why Extraterrestrials Like Our Music and Art", Forbes.com, August 19, 2010) 

♦ If you have enough money, you, too, can spend $50,000 — and add another $1,000 a month for maintenance — on a custom fish tank for your home. The fish, by the way, prefer designer lighting and a very good view. ("The Six-Figure Fish Tank Catches On", The New York Times, August 18, 2010)

♦ Grow and scavenge: that's the advice of New York health educator and herbalist Jacoby Ballard, who offers a few pointers on the weeds, er, herbs in his (or your) backyard that go into the makings of a good cup of tea. Discovery: Fertilizing your herbs does nothing much for flavor. ("Making Tea From Plants Grown in the Backyard", The New York Times, July 21, 2010) I bet L.L. Barkat could give us a few tea-related suggestions, too. ("The Art of Drinking Tea", Curator, August 13, 2010)

♦ In the heartland of America, good folks doing good works like to dress up every now and again. A few have even become famous on the streets of Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Jackson (Michigan), and Milwaukee. They go by such names as "Shadow Hare", "The Watchman", "Dr. DiscorD", "Razorhawk", and "The Queen of Hearts". These are not folks out in Halloween get-ups. ("Real World Superheroes of the Midwest",  Mental Floss, August 19, 2010)

♦ Carpenter Dalton Ghetti, who lives in Connecticut, makes the point that one can create anything out of something — and leave us awed. His "Pencil Point" artworks require sharp eyes, a precise touch, just three basic tools (he says), and a whole lot of No. 2s. One fact I discovered about him: He does not use a magnifying glass. (See the online gallery of 17 "Pencil Sculptures: Miniature Masterpieces Carved Into Graphite" at TelegraphPics. An informative post on Ghetti is here. A special thanks to my friend Kathleen who brought this artist to my attention.) 

This video, Extreme Artist Sizzle, presents Dalton and two others: Roger Baker, said to produce the world's largest portraits, and Johnny V, who plays a one-of-a-kind guitar.

Extreme Artist Sizzle from Under The Sun Films on Vimeo.