Newly Relisted: Planck Constant Amethyst Bangle

Happy Monday! For most people, Monday means a return to the work or study grind, but for me Monday is the beginning of my weekend. I have classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays, then tutoring over the weekend. Friday usually gets sucked up into tutoring prep, so I try to leave Mondays as low-key days.

All of this is to say: Monday's a good day to do blog and Etsy stuff. Here's my next just-relisted piece of SciArt:

Planck Constant bracelet in amethyst and fluorite.

Physics jewelry in action! Also: I have teeny-tiny nail beds. 

I love love love making things out of memory wire, which makes me the beading equivalent of a filthy casual I suppose, but sometimes you just want to put some beads together and not fuss with clasps and crimps. I also love wearing memory wire because it's easy to get off and on but surprisingly secure. I've never had a memory wire bracelet just suddenly come undone and fall off out of the blue. 

The number in this piece is the Planck constant, a proportionality constant that describes the relationship between the energy of a particle and the frequency of its associated electromagnetic wave. 

More specifically, it's a physical constant that can be measured in a number of different ways; the value I used here is given in Joule-seconds. This is mostly because I'm more familiar with Joules than electronvolts. Physical constants are also notoriously tricky to measure, so every once in a while their values are recalculated and recalibrated. The value I used in this bracelet is from the 2010 CODATA value, but CODATA values were recalculated in 2014, which makes this little piece of wearable nerdery a bit out of date.

The round beads are both amethyst; the large rectangular beads are fluorite. Those are all mostly purple but you can see flecks of green in them here and there.

You can peep over in my STEM-my Etsy for more details on this guy. Don't forget to check out the #SciArt hashtag on Twitter for some other science-inspired art!

Five Fandom Friday: 5 Broadway Shows I'd Love to Be In

Image courtesy Katelyn Jade

This week's 5 Fandom Friday was originally "5 Broadway Roles I'd Love to Play," but when it comes to theater I am much more qualified for and much more interested in the pit orchestra than actually being on stage. I mean, I'm definitely not Broadway good, but still.

1. Fiddler on the Roof

So I actually played violin in pit for this one (in high school) and it was probably my favorite show that we ever did. My left hand still remembers the opening bars of "Tradition" and probably always will.

My Korean BFF was also in this show (though he played flute, not violin) and sometimes when we got particularly stinking drunk together we'd start singing "To Life." Much to the dismay of other bar patrons, I'm sure.


2. The Producers

I didn't exactly grow up on show tunes and standards, but I'm way more familiar with them than most contemporary theater. What can I say? I like my 32-bar form and I-IV-V chord changes. The Producers soundtrack is definitely a callback to the Tinpan Alley era of musicals (probably because those are the ones that Mel Brooks grew up with himself) so it's no surprise that I love literally every single song in the show.

Fun fact: the original movie's Swedish title was (somewhat appropriately) Springtime for Hitler (Det våras för Hitler) and for years after that, every Mel Brooks movie title was localized in a Springtime For _____ pattern. This continued up until Robin Hood: Men in Tights, though the DVD release of Dracula: Dead and Loving It was titled Det våras för Dracula.


3. Girl Crazy/Crazy For You

Image courtesy Wikimedia and Ed Schipul

Speaking of Tinpan Alley, no Broadway list of mine would be complete without the Gershwins. There's any number of shows to choose from and I would be happy in just about any of them, but "Crazy For You" holds a special place in my heart (even if it is a sort of weirdo compilation/remix) as a memorable elementary school field trip performance.


4. Porgy and Bess

Image courtesy Ealmagro, Wikimedia

It might be cheating to choose another Gershwin show (opera in this case) but whatever, it's my list and I do what I want! I know that Porgy and Bess is not a choice without controversy, but I admire George and Ira's stipulation that the show only ever be produced with a black cast. While their intentions may have been more rooted in their idea of musical integrity (and thus perhaps based a bit in racial stereotypes as well), it did have the unintended consequence of giving numerous black singers and performers a chance at the spotlight, especially during an era when blackface was more common than not. So, I don't know. I do like the music, though.


5. Avenue Q

I think I know almost all of the songs from this show, even if I haven't seen it. This is actually one of my few exceptions of the "I don't follow contemporary" theater rule (though again, does it still count as contemporary by now?). Avenue Q seems like a really fun show and like it would be a really fun show to be a part of.

Trek Thursday: Journey to Babel

#7: Journey to Babel

In case you forgot: The Enterprise is on a diplomatic mission, shuttling a bunch of interstellar delegates to a Federation meeting, including Sarek and Mrs. Sarek (Spock's parents). Almost immediately the mission is beset by space intrigue: one of the delegates is murdered, someone's attempted to murder Kirk, and the Enterprise is being followed by an alien vessel. On top of that, Sarek's in the middle of a parade of heart attacks and the only thing that can save him is open heart surgery and a blood transfusion from his son.

We've got a juicy mystery going on with all these space delegates, and we get some nice drama and character development for everyone's favorite half-Vulcan. The background conflict---the delegates on their way to an important vote---is a neat look into what must be the everyday functions of Starfleet and the Federation. What complicated world exists out there, beyond the Enterprise?

There are some inconsistencies, though, with how our favorite Chief Science Officer conducts himself. First Spock offers himself up as a Vulcan blood bank, then when the chips are down says he can't because of his duty? He is so adamant about staying at his post that it makes you wonder what kind of doubts he harbors about Scotty's ability (or lack thereof) to command the Enterprise.

Etsy Shop Up and Running: Fibonacci Necklace in Kambaba Jasper, Hematite, and Mother-of-Pearl

The Kokoba Etsy shop is back on its feet! First my life was crazy, then I put together a huuuge (for me) wholesale order and put the shop on hold for a week, then life was crazy again, and now finally I have the time to list and promote some new STEM jewelry and #SciArt creations. Hopefully I'll also have some time to get back to making stuff, too. That's the fun part after all!

I'll also be sharing what I already have done and up for sale in the shop over here on the blog. For starters, here is one of my favorite new pieces:

Fibonacci numbers in hematite and black mother-of-pearl with dark green Kamaba jasper spacers

I had been sitting on the large Kambaba jasper ovals for a year years. I loved them, but I wasn't sure what to do with them and I never seemed to have anything that matched. After I finished a necklace for myself for a friend's wedding, I realized the design would be perfect for these large, eye-catching ovals. A little digging and I found some hematite and dyed mother-of-pearl to complement them (yeah, hematite—the necklace has a bit of weight to it!).

You can read more about my decision to use Fibonacci numbers and mirror symmetry instead of digits of irrationals in this post on the original project.

This particular piece features Fibonacci numbers in mirror symmetry around one central piece of Kambaba jasper (the one I thought was prettiest). I omitted the repetition of "1" because things just became too long and heavy, but working outwards from that central oval you have: 1 hematite bead, then 2 dyed mother-of-pearl beads, then 3 of the hematite/mother-of-pearl mix, then 5, then 8.

Personally, I adore this pattern and I want to sit down and make a few more necklaces in this style. It's a great way to use up this or that ONE really cool funky bead you have left but don't know what to do with. And I end up with a lot of those, since I'm not (yet) much of a bulk buyer.

If you like this necklace as much as I do, you can bop on over to my Etsy shop and make it a part of your wardrobe. If you're hungry for more intersections of STEM and art, check out the #SciArt hashtag on Twitter.

Five Fandom Friday: The One Fandom Death I Never Got Over

Generally, when it comes to melodrama and death and such in stories, I have a heart of stone. Or, really, I don't, but 90% of the time deaths are written so poorly, especially in YA and typical fannish stuff, that any emotional impact is lost and I'm left more annoyed at this crap, overrated writing than crying into my beer.

There are deaths that make me angry, though. Really, really, really angry.

The One True Bullshit Death for me—the one that will never fail to make me rage—is Susan Pevensie.

"But wait!" you're saying. "Susan Pevensie survives. Her siblings are the ones that die in that subway Underground accident!"

No, you're right. Susan Pevensie doesn't die. Instead, she suffers a fate worse than death: complete and utter character assassination. Also, getting shut out of Narnia is basically like dying—the rest of her siblings get to chill with Aslan and Reepicheep and Caspian forever, now that they're dead, but when Susan finally dies she will....not go to Narnia? Which I guess in C. S. Lewis's kiddie theology means she's...stuck in hell?

It's bullshit for so many reasons.

1. Susan's fall from grace is a hot, problematic mess. I won't call it "misogynistic" because I'm in a forgiving mood today, but it definitely has some shady attitudes towards "lady" things. Susan gets sniped at for being interested in nylons and make-up and meeting boys, which....so what? As if there aren't "manly" interests someone can develop that are sneer-worthy? Her budding interest in lady things is directly connected to her disinterest in Narnia, which is certainly implying some things, Mr. Lewis.

2. It makes no fucking sense. While her siblings sometimes reminisce with each other about Narnia, Susan laughs it off as just some imaginary stuff they did as kids. How could anyone retcon their own experience like that? Maybe with something traumatic or terrible (it's a coping tactic that a lot of people use), but Narnia was baller. She was a queen! She went on adventures! She has absolutely no reason at all for wanting to forget that, or for wanting it not to be real. Beyond that, she was old enough that Narnia wasn't something that could be lost in that hazy unreal morass that is childhood memories. There is no way she could just be confused.

I can totally understand her not wanting people to think she and her family are loons and wanting them to keep the whole Narnia thing a secret except in trusted company, but the whole family already does that. They're already keeping their Narnia secret on the DL really well—there's no reason for her to need to laugh it off as a silly childhood game. Instead, it's her sister and brothers that she's talking to when she says, "Oh, yes, that silly imaginary game we played..."

So, C. S. Lewis decided to 1) make Susan an idiot, 2) shit on "womanly" interests just because, and 3) tear her away from her family.....why? For no good reason at all that I can see. Her falling away from Narnia and not returning for The Last Battle serves no particular plot purpose. There's no moment when someone goes, "OH MAN IF ONLY SUSAN AND HER HORN AND HER ARCHERY SKILLS WERE HERE." It just seems like a terrible little morality tale. Okay, yes, Narnia is all about morality tales, but they're usually more subtle than that.

Beyond that, pride and appearances and concern "fitting in" were never even core parts of Susan's temperament to begin with. Holding the Idiot Ball on Narnia's ontological status would be one thing if she had always been a bit vain, or a bit shallow, or a bit proud—but she never was.

Of course, it took me a long time to realize how and why this death was bullshit. When I first read The Last Battle, I was more disappointed that nearly all of the Pevensies were dead! That's also some bullshit writing—can't think of a better way to get them back to Narnia except to kill them? what???—but I mean, whatever. I could have bought that. I was a sensitive child who was gutted at the thought of characters I liked dying, I guess (I hadn't yet developed my heart of stone) even if from the book perspective they're not actually killed off at all. I didn't like it, but I pushed through.

There's something about the rest of the book that I just found to be uninspiring as well. The rest of the Narnia books were and are beloved childhood favorites and I would read them over and over. I read The Last Battle once, just so I could get the 100% completion rate, and then never again. The imagination, the world-building, the wonder just wasn't there.

It was only talking with other book nerds as an adult that I realized exactly what had happened and to what extent Lewis had assassinated her character. This has bothered other people, too—I know that Neil Gaiman wrote a short story about it, but I don't think I'll get around to reading it anytime soon. Instead, the Narnia books end after The Silver Chair in my headcanon. Too bad Lewis never wrote a seventh one, but six great books is still a pretty good run!

JUSTICE FOR SUSAN NEVAR4GET

Trek Thursday: The Devil in the Dark

#8:  The Devil in the Dark 

 In case you forgot: Kirk and Spock team up against a silicon-based life form called a horta that's wreaking havoc on Janus VI, a mining colony. Turns out the horta holds no animosity towards the miners per se, but rather is just doing the best it can to protect its eggs, a huge number of which the miners accidentally destroyed.

 "The Devil in the Dark" has a solid science fiction premise, an intriguing mystery going on for the first half of the episode or so, and a graceful, optimistic ending. Personally, what I like the best about it isn't that the threat isn't an obvious an easy analogue to FOREIGN POWERS or what have you; instead of Klingons or Romulans or some new alien race that inexplicably speaks English, it is a being that humans are incapable of communicating with or relating to. (Sound familiar?) Fortunately Spock's around to work a little mind-melding magic and we get the full picture.

It's a nice little fantasy to think that every bad guy you've read about in the papers or seen on the news is an objectively bad person who truly delights in evil, and sometimes it may even be true. But more often than not, it's a group of people who are just doing what they feel is the right thing, or at least the thing that has to be done to protect themselves. Accommodating them may tax our abilities to the utmost degree, but it's taking that noble path that represents the best parts of humanity.

(Shatner lists this as one of his favorite episodes, incidentally.)

You have to wonder just how willing the miners would be to peacefully coexist with the horta if they weren't getting very convenient, pre-dug tunnels out of the deal.

What I Watched: Trick

A couple weeks ago, JV and I finally wrapped up our journey through the Japanese comedy/mystery drama Trick. It spans three regular television seasons, plus three TV movies and four full-length theatrical releases.

Image courtesy TV Asahi/Wikimedia

The premise is a simple one: struggling but knowledgeable stage magician Yamada Naoko assists nationally renown physicist Ueda Jiro in exposing spiritualist frauds. If you've watched The Mentalist, it's much the same—just more lighthearted.

I don't usually like TV, especially when it's not American. Not that I'm lazy about reading subtitles or uninterested in other cultures. I just kind of hate TV as a medium; besides, J- and K-dramas haven't really had the same production values as their American counterparts until recently, so the shows have almost always looked a little cheap and low budget to me.

JV, on the other hand, is a bit of a J-drama fiend and once in a while he picks out one that he thinks I'll like. That's how we got to watching Trick.

He wasn't wrong, either. After the first episode, I was hooked. There are great characters overall, well-written and well-acted, but each episode usually achieves gender parity, which is nice. Many of the story arcs are also framed in the context of historical stage magic tricks or Japanese folklore, so you can feel like you're getting a little bit smarter each episode.

The series overall is a fun little ode to skepticism and rationalism—magic is almost always a trick, don't let yourself be fooled by someone who wants your money—but it retains elements of the supernatural here and there as a little spice. It's such a little thing (once in a while Yamada's mother just knows that Yamada will need help, or Yamada will have a premonition about something) but it's just nice to see that the show allows itself a little room for imagination and fantasy. And while many of the antagonists unveiled by Yamada and Ueda are money-grubbing charlatans, others are more sympathetic victims of circumstance. I appreciate a show where the bad guys aren't always mustache-twirling villains. The depth of character writing isn't limited to just the main roles; it extends to every single guest star and antagonist who shows up.

The biggest draw of the show, though, is probably the chemistry between Yamada and Ueda. Most of the time, Will They Or Won't They tension doesn't work and it makes me flip tables in rage, but it's played very, very subtly in Trick. Most of the chemistry is based on their banter and trying to get themselves out of scrapes—there's not really a lot of time for romance the way there would be in a more typical sitcom.

The humor translates well across cultures, too. Sometimes there are puns, and then you have to rely on the quality of the subtitles (or your Japanese) to get the joke, but there are plenty of subtle and surreal sight gags throughout the series. The show has an overall quiet tone to it—not the manic energy of the stereotypical wacky Japanese game show or frantic, fit-inducing anime.

A+ would recommend!