Jerry J., who goes by the web name Ergo Sum, is one of India's bright young urban professionals with a positive sense of life and a pro-reason, pro-Western, pro-happiness attitude. A Mumbai (Bombay) resident, it is his chosen lifestyle that certain subhumans chose to attack recently. It is sad and ironic when terrorist barbarians know better than "civilized" Westerners what India has to be proud of.
He has invited me to reprint one of his posts from his blog and website, Leitmotif (http://ergosum.wordpress.com/) . Leitmotif is a humanist website, not just an Indian one. Jerry's interests are wide ranging, and his clarity and writing style are exemplary. There are many things of interest, and I recommend you stop by and check him out. Here is a favorite post of mine "Flamenco Passion":Flamenco Passion
The flamenco dance is like an Ayn Rand novel in rhythmic action: hard-hitting, sharp, precise, thunderous, passionate, Flamenco Dancergripping, poised, and proud. Since the day I first witnessed a flamenco dance performance in concert, I have never forgotten the visceral experience of exaltation I had nor have I come to regard any other dance form as rivaling this one. The flamenco portrays man at his best, proudest, and most passionate stature. It depicts a committment to clarity and precision in movement. Its expressions are fierce and its colors, vivid.
The flamenco can be a fiery celebration of life, or love, or lust, or power, or some intense emotion. Its artistic selectivity is focused on the stark elements of human actions and emotions: the expressions are not vapid or one of ambivalence. The dancer’s expressions are focused, sharp, intense, often proudly disdainful, also exuberant, and radiant. The dancer moves with a loud, deliberate THUD, as if readying for battle. The subtleties of its movements are expertly weaved into the stark contrasts in its execution.
For me, after having watched a flamenco concert, I feel a new, revitalized, surge of energy–a nourishment of my soul, a renewed committment to the pursuit of my happiness in this life. I begin to walk upright with my neck slightly raised; my poise exudes more confidence; my stance implies purposeful action; my gaze reveals some worthy goal.
This is what Romantic art does. In
The Romantic Manifesto, Ayn Rand aptly describes this important function of art:
Since a rational man’s ambition is unlimited, since his pursuit and achievement of values is a lifelong process… he needs a moment, an hour or some period of time in which he can experience the sense of his completed task, the sense of living in a universe where his values have been successfully achieved. It is like a moment of rest, a moment to gain fuel to move farther. Art gives him that fuel; the pleasure of contemplating the objectified reality of one’s own sense of life is the pleasure of feeling what it would be like to live in one’s ideal world. The fuel is not a theoretical principle but the fact of experiencing a moment of metaphysical joy – a moment of love for existence.
[The image of the dancer is copyrighted to Tim Kahane and was obtained by me from this Flickr link.]
Stop by Leitmotif today.
Born in Toulouse, France, in 1882, Edmund Dulac was a prolific illustrator in the Art Nouveau style. He drew hundreds of illustrations for delux edition storybooks. During WWI he illustrated relief books to support the French and Belgian causes. After the war and a change in publishing away from expensive editions he designed stamps and currency, did portraiture and commercial design and even some set design for Orson Welles' Mercury Theater.
Dulac originally studied law, which he found boring. His dramatic artwork is anything but boring. His use of complex natural, especially floral designs is typical of the Art Nouveau style. Today we would recognize the fractal complexity of such patterns. Typical motifs were nature scenes from fairy tales or the beautiful garden scene for the poetry of Omar Khayyam. 
His use of vivid color and dramatic themes and dynamic compositions is stylistically romantic. But he avoids contemporary imagery. He draws no battles, no buildings, no modern achievements. His romance is of a different world or a distant age. Yet it is the romance of human drama - not the folksy corniness of Norman Rockwell nor the landscapes of Maxfield Parrish. His work compares favorably with that of Louis Comfort Tiffany for its luminance and that of René Lalique for its grace.
You can see many of Dulac's prints for sale on line. Artsy Craftsy has some very nice images. There is an article on Dulac at Wikipedia. They also have a gallery of some of his works, but the colors are washed out, so if you like the image you would do well to find a better reproduction of it with a web search. You can also use your browser to view the images here in full size.
There is a conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and the moon tonight, just after sunset. If you consider that Jupiter, Venus and the Earth are all in the same plane focused on the sun, you can actually see the plane of the solar system. The moon is at a tilt and is outside the plane. (Draw a line from the crescent moon to the sun, just over the horizon, and you will see this.) If you imagine in your head the plane of the solar system and the moon lying outside that plane you will form a three dimensional image of the solar system. This is a unique opportunity to the planets not just as dots on a flat sky, but actually to "see" the solar system from a god's eye view, and a good time to dust off your digital camera.
How was Stonehenge built? One of the world's most recognizable prehistoric sites, Stonhenge was built over a very long period, with the visible dyke and standing stones having been modified over a period of at least 1500 years. Post holes at the site have been dated to as early as 8,000 BC. It is believed that Stonehenge's purpose is religious. Burials have been discovered dating from its earliest history. The stones themselves apparently served as a celestial calendar, lining up with events that have been celebrated as pre-Christian religious holidays. But is it possible just plain boredom led neolithich man to construct this wonder?
Wally Wallington, a retired construction worker of Flint Michigan, has found that he can relieve his boredom by showing how just one man could erect a standing stone as large as any at Stonehenge. Using a walnut-sized rock as a pivot, he can show how a single man can move a stone that outweighs a car. Using the same method, he moved his son's barn. And using similarly simple yet effective methods, he has shown that a single man, with no modern tools, or even rope, could, with enough time, erect Stonehenge. Here is Wally Wallington's fascinating website,
Some news items are their own ironic commentary. 
In 1972, in an attempt to enter the German market, The Monty Python troop filmed 
Tom Snyder, 1936-2007 is one of the legends of broadcasting. With his golden voice and engaging manner he sought to make the subjects he investigated clear to the common man without dumbing down the dialog or chasing after glitz. A true gentleman, he got his start in radio, moved on to national broadcasting for NBC, and secured his fame with the beloved Tomorrow Show which ran late nights from 1973 to 1982. He was the last to interview John Lennon, and the first to interview U2 for an American audience. 
Here is a classic interview from the Tomorrow Show with a brilliant but tough guest, Ayn Rand. Enjoy this three part clip. My thanks to J. Hoyle for bringing it to my attention.
