Air Traffic Ant Farm

by Josh Rubin

The Aviation Systems Division of the NASA Ames Research Center has published an animation of a day in the life of air traffic over the continental US. We all know there are lots of planes in the air at once, but you don't really understand until you see something like this. What has me absolutly fascinated is how similar these patterns are to the collective consciousness of an ant farm. I'm sure Steven Johnson has something to say about this-- it's right in line with his theories of Emergence.

Millenium Park, Chicago, IL

by Josh Rubin

Next month is the grand opening of Chicago's Millennium Park. The centerpiece is the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue of its kind in the United States. The last few Gehry buildings seem to have been cut and past replications of each-other, but this one is a little different. It's still distinctively Gehry, but where the other buildings are wavy, this one is curly. If that makes any sense.

The Millenium Park Grand Opening will be 16 - 18 July.