Entrancing CGI Animation Visualizes the Lipid Theory of How Life Began

Photos: MRK

London-based CGI artist Markos Kay focuses his work on complex scientific theories and visualizations. In his latest animation titled aBioGenesis, he explores how life originated on Earth. The results are incredibly mesmerizing.

Kay explains that the primordial soup theory is one of the main ideas of how life was first created on our planet. He says it suggests that life began in a hot, swirling soup of chemicals and energy. Kays animation focuses on another theory, the lipid world theory. This theory postulates that life began as lipids, simple molecules that are insoluble in water. These molecules are said to have formed protective bilayers in the oceans, which Kay concludes, would have acted like tiny bubbles or bags, enclosing and protecting the chemical reactions that would eventually give rise to life.

The artists digital re-imagination is a captivating experience full of organic shapes and colors, which all move like the insides of a complex lava lamp. Stills from the video are available as wallpapers on Behance. But for now, scroll below to watch this incredible video and see the mesmerizing stills.

London-based CGI artist Markos Kays works focus on complex scientific theories and visualizations. In his latest animation, aBioGenesis, he explores how life originated on Earth.

Dizzying Hyperrealistic Paintings Capture the Shift Perspectives of Bustling Cities

Rue Des Saints, oil on linen, 2022

Cities like New York and Paris are so large and complex that it is hard to contain them on one canvas. Artist Nathan Walsh, however, manages to create an incredibly detailed picture of urban living in his hyperrealistic paintings. By using different vantage points and incorporating reflections, these depictions feel like snapshots of a specific place in time, and sometimes of multiple places spanning different moments.

Although always rendered in the same meticulous manner, Walsh's paintings vary slightly with the subject matter. Some of his pieces, such as Delmonico's, portray a straightforward view of a busy intersection in the rain. In other compositions, he overlaps multiple angles to create something strikingly different. This approach can be seen in Rue des Saints, which is based on a busy cafe in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. Instead of a literal view, the painting explores interior, exterior, and reflected space within its square format, he tells My Modern Met. Instead of the static nature of a photograph, the painting became a stage set where found imagery could float in and out of a real location.

In addition to combining multiple perspectives of one place, Walsh has also merged two different locations in a painting. Titled Monarchs Drift, this piece features the cityscapes of Chicago and San Francisco. The resultant painting has a hallucinatory quality which is neither here nor there' and exists as a world in transition, between fully formed states, he says. It is realist in nature but only insofar as the spaces it suggests are cogent and persuasive.

Scroll down to see more of Walsh's paintings, a...

Aerial Photos Capture the Artistry of Different Sports From a Birds Eye View

Ordinary activities are given a fresh perspective in the work of Ilanna Barkusky. The Canadian-born and now California-based photographer uses drones to capture swimming, tennis, basketball, and other sports from an overhead view in her series titled Aerial. These artful shots highlight the beauty of athletics from a less-seen angle.

Barkusky's Aerial series is a mixture of photography and moving images. The athletes are almost centered in the image and fully immersed in their location. My aerial work is inspired by how I view the world, Barkusky tells My Modern Met. The view from above feels vibrant and artfully created, which is how I like to see my surroundings. A lot of these beautiful designs are hiding in plain sight, which then open up when captured from a different perspective.

In this way, she showcases the elegance of swimmers navigating through clear pools and basketball players running across the court. I intended to take various locations (a community park, a swimming pool) and show the beauty behind the spaces that we interact with in daily life, Barkusky continues. I started with basketball courts and tracks, and the series has evolved to include much more once I realized the potential of flying above.

Scroll down to see more photos from the Aerial series, and follow Barkusky on Instagram to keep up to date with her latest projects.

California-based photographer Ilanna Barkusky captures different sports from above.

The series is titled Aerial and reveals the beauty of parks, pools, and track and field as seen from above.

...

If youre a dog lover, this story might tug at your heartstrings a little bit

Or it might make you never want to adopt a dog EVER.

A dog named Ralphie who has been called the demon because of his unruly behavior is back in the dog house again after he was returned to the Niagara SPCA in Niagara Falls, New York after someone had him for only two weeks.

According to the shelters Instagram page, this is what happened with Ralphies last living situation: There were some bad choices made by both, but they parted ways amicably. He took his CDs and she kept his sweatshirt. She now understands that Ralphie IS that good-looking bad boy your mama warned you about.

 

...

We all get a little bit annoyed from time to time when it comes to food service from time to time, but I think this woman took things a bit too far.

Check out this story and see if you agree with me

A woman in August, Georgia became so enraged after discovering that biscuits were missing from her order from Popeyes that she drove her SUV into an entrance to the restaurant and almost hit an 18-year-old employee who was standing near the door.

According to employees at the restaurant, even after they satisfied the womans order and gave her the missing biscuits, she was still so angry that she decided she had to take action.

Photo Credit: YouTube

Belinda Miller, 50, actually drove her car four feet into the restaurant and then fled the scene. Police tracked Miller down to her house and noticed that her car had damage to the front end. She was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and first-degree criminal damage to property.

Honesty might be the best policy when it comes to most things in life, but this career coach says that in the job-search process, that might not always be the case.

Career coach and Shift Profile founder Anna Papalia (@anna..papalia) says that while she would never advise anyone to go overboard, there are a few things that you can fib about in an interview and get away with it.

5. Your plans for the future.

Image Credit: iStock

This is especially true, she says, if you dont see yourself with the company long term.

Lie about where you see yourself in five years. Nobody wants to hear you say that you see yourself in grad school or getting married and having babies. What we want to hear you say is I see myself here at this organization.'

4. Your hobbies.

Do you remember Cats?

In case you dont, let me fill you in: the film was a big flop and was universally panned by critics. The film had a $95 million budget and only grossed $6.6 million in its opening weekend.

This was kind of surprising, considering the films cast included Judi Dench, Jennifer Hudson, Idris Elba, Taylor Swift, Ian McKellan, and Rebel Wilsonand Wilson recently broke her silence about the film.

 

View this post on Instagram

...

Viral TikTok Video Shows How COVID-Era High School Yearbooks Had Zoom Screenshots as School Portraits

Photo: Screenshot from TikTok

It's hard to believe that three years have passed since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. While life has mostly returned to normal now, the challenges of those years will remain with many for a long time. TikToker @milaabandzz made a short video recording different pages of her 2021 high school yearbook, perfectly capturing how unusual the era was for students.

The clip has already received over 4 million views and a large amount of engagement from people who were amused and saddened by the glimpse into pandemic-era school years. While @milaabandzz highlights select pages from the album, she also includes the text POV: you were class of '21, which emphasizes the surrealism of the pages. For instance, in the school photos, many of the images are icons with the initial of the person's first name, similar to how users appear on Zoom calls when their camera is turned off. Similarly, on a page highlighting the Future Farmers of America club, there is a screenshot of a packed Zoom call rather than an in-person group photo.

Covid really changed everything, @milaabandzz writes. People in the comments largely agree with the statement, adding a mix of reactions to the startlingly different yearbook pages. Cue the back in my day you had to turn the camera ON for picture day,' someone jokes. Another person advises, This yearbook will be iconic in 40+ years don't ever lose it! There were many that found the images sad, particularly the emphasis on Zoom meetings: a reminder of how isolating those school years were for teenagers. Others admired the ingenuity of the design, sa...

Starting any new job can be hard and getting along with co-workers can be more difficult for some folks than othersespecially when youre introverted.

And a woman named Tesia shared two videos on TikTok where she described her experiences getting hired at a Culvers restaurant and eventually getting fired for being too much of an introvert on the job.

Take a look at what she had to say.

@tesiacovington #storytime #culvers #genz #blacklivesmatter #discrimination #mentalhealthmatters original sound TeeSuh

She posted a second video where she...

Supermassive Black Hole Speeding Through Universe Is Creating Stars

An artist's rendition of the supermassive black hole on the run through the universe. (Photo: NASA, ESA, Leah Hustak (STScI))

Black holes are famous for their gravitational power. The celestial phenomenon draws in matter with a powerful gravitational force through a process called accretion. This powerful force can even destroy stars by ripping them apart. NASA has recently discovered a surprising twist on this classic narrative. A supermassive black hole, ejected from its own galaxy, has been streaking across the universe, actually forming stars in its wake.

Yale University professor Pieter van Dokkum spotted a streak of light in a Hubble Telescope archival image. What he first thought was a cosmic ray turned out, through further research, to be a trail of newly formed, young stars. They form a trail across 200,000 light-years. Van Dokkum announced his findings in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, attributing the trail's creation to a runaway supermassive black hole. The trail leads from a compact star-forming galaxy to a bright knot. According to the paper, a mixture of star formation and fast shocks makes up the trail. The researchers postulate the supermassive blackhole may have escaped from the center of the galaxy and is now, quite literally, on the run.

The black hole is moving at a whopping 4 million mph across space. This unusual speed may contribute to the black hole forming stars rather than destroying everything it encounters. We think we're seeing a wake behind the black hole where the gas...

Since 2020, the development of effective and engaging online art and design programming for teens has been a focus of Rhode Island School of Design Continuing Education (RISD CE). In addition to online courses and certificate programs for adults, RISD CE now offers two formats of online engagement specifically designed to meet the needs and goals of teen students across the globe.

Teen artists from anywhere in the world can now participate in courses taught by academics, creative practitioners, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders who advance RISD CEs mission to provide an art and design education for everyone! Students come with unique goals and are met by instructors who provide opportunities to expand their worldview and hone critical visual communication skills applicable to any career path.

RISD CE teen online courses...

After The Wild: Contemporary Art from The Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation Collection features works made by 47 contemporary artists between 19632023, part of a gift made to the Jewish Museum by The Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation.

Barnett Newman (19051970) is among the most influential artists associated with Abstract Expressionism. After his death, his widow Annalee Newman created the foundation t...

Visit 135 Countries Aboard This Unique Cruise Ship for $30,000 a Year

Lots of people dream of traveling around the world, but the logistics and price tag make it seem like a far-fetched dream. But what if you could explore all seven continents in just one go? Life at Sea Cruises is now offering a unique opportunitya once-in-a-lifetime cruise that will visit 135 countries and 375 ports over the span of three years.

Travelers will sail around the world aboard the MV Gemini, a 30-year-old cruise ship. The vessel can accommodate up to 1,074 people in its 400 cabins. The company behind this adventure is Miray Cruises, which has three decades of experience in the cruise industry.

The MV Gemini will cover more than 130,000 miles, visiting both small ports and some of the largest cities on the planet. To make the most out of this, it will dock for up to seven nights in metropolises like Shanghai and Singapore. The route begins in South America, going down the Atlantic coast to Half Moon Island in Antarctica. It then heads north to visit Central America, Mexico, the Pacific coast of the U.S. and Canada, as well as Hawaii and Alaska.

From there, the vessel crosses the Pacific Ocean, reaching China, Japan, and South Korea before going down to Australia, the South Pacific, and Southern Asia. After some stops in India, the cruise then goes around Africa, visiting places such as Cape Town, Accra, and Casablanca. It then crosses the Strait of Gibraltar for a 177-day, 74-destination European tour.

On top of the many amenities that make a cruise trip fun while at sealike two restaurants, a caf, a pool deck, and nighttime entertainmentthe cruise also hopes to attract digital nomads with top of the line remote working facilities, including high-speed wifi and conference rooms. Professionals need connectivity, the right amenities and the functionality to perform their jobs, says Mikael Petterson, Life at Sea Cruises' managing director. There is no other cruise that offers this sort of flexibility to their customers. The cruise will also have a hospital with free medical visits, a pharmacy, and healthcare professionals that can even perform certain surgeries onbo...

Five Artworks by Yayoi Kusama Sell at Sothebys Auction for Nearly $23 Million

Yayoi Kusama wax model at Louis Vitton for 2012 collection unveiling. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic)

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama has become a household name, and it's no wonder why. Her unique vision of immersive installations and polka-dot-covered objects cannot be mistaken for anyone else, and to this day, her exhibitions are among the most visited around the world. Recently, the 94-year-old artist made another landmark accomplishment, with five of her artworks selling for a total of $22.9 million at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong. These prices are among the highest paid for Kusama's art throughout her long career.

The auction took place on Wednesday, April 5, and is the first time works of these kinds were sold in a public auction in Asia. Among the purchased pieces was Pumpkin (L), a massive bronze pumpkin sculpture, embellished with Kusama's signature polka dots, which was created in 2014. This work alone went for $7.98 million to an anonymous phone bidder. Similarly, a pumpkin painting, titled A-Pumpkin, was sold for an impressive $7 million.

However, the most unusual work to be sold at this auction was My Heart is Flying to the Universe, made in 2018this is in a similar vein to her Infinity Mirror Rooms which are exhibited around the globe. It features a mirrored box with LED lighting and a small opening for viewers to peer inside. The final price for this piece was $3.29 million, and while that is impressive, it is also notable for being the first work of this kind to be sold at a public auction in Asia.

For now, Kusama's record-high auction purchase of $10.9 million for her Infinity Nets is unbroken, but we ar...

Who wouldve thought it would come to this?

Inflation and rising food prices have caused some folks to skip out on buying groceries altogether and find different ways to have mealsand one woman shared a video on TikTok where she talked about how its cheaper to eat a meal at Sams Club than to buy groceries and cook.

Take a look at what she had to say in her video.

@samanthuhh.a were really in a recession huh #recession #samclubshopping #samsclubfinds #budget #budgethack...

All images Kaa Illustration, shared with permission

A stunning picture book written by Joanna McInerney and illustrated by KAA follows a small fawn who embarks on a beguiling journey in an effort to chase the sun. Traveling through lush forests, groves of cherry blossom trees, wintry hills, and sunflower fields, readers accompany the young deer on his poetic journey to stop and smell the flowers.

In The Fawn Who Chased the Sun, Ho Chi Minh-based duo Phung Nguyen Quang and Huynh Kim Lien, a.k.a KAA, envision a whimsical world that translates into flourishing illustrations. Transporting readers into an exuberant environment, KAA incorporate various patterns inspired by William Morris along with surreal elements such as oversized flora and towering frogs.

The duo first creates detailed sketches, which Quang scans and hands over to Lien to begin the digital coloring process. Highlighting seasonal shifts through different palettes, they encourage the reader to enjoy the journey through multiple perspectives as the environment changes. We have tried so many new perspectives and colors that we never used before in this book, and every experiment brought us joy while drawing it, the illustrators tell Colossal.

You can follow more of KAAs work on their Instagram, Behance, and...

Woman Reunites With Birth Mother 34 Years After Being Given Up For Adoption

Photo: Screenshots from TikTok

It sounds like something straight out of a movie, but an Utah woman who has been actively searching for her birth mother for over a decade finally found and reunited with her. Rachel Ruiz shared the emotional encounter on TikTok, where it has amassed over 4 million views. I finally reunited with my birth mom after 34 years! she captioned the video. My adoption was closed and Ive been trying to find her for over 10 years with failed attempt after failed attempt. The obstacles keeping them apart made their serendipitous reunion all the more moving.

In 1988, Angie Howard gave birth to Ruiz when she was only 17 years old and put her up for adoption after two weeks. Given the customs at the end of the 1980s, her adoption was closed, meaning that her adoptive and birth parents maintained their privacy and had no way of learning each others identity. The information given to the the adoptive family was very limited. They knew their babys birth mothers height, hair color, religion, education level, and hobbies, but nothing that could help actually identify or locate her.

Ruiz's parents never hid the fact that Rachel was adopted. My parents were open about telling me from a young age that I was adopted, so it wasnt a secret and I never felt as though I wasnt their daughter, she says. When she turned 18, she even received two symbolic gifts that were handed over during the adoption process: a knit blanket and a letter from her mom, written when she was born. In the letter, Howard wrote that she hoped they'd reunite someday. After reading her birth mother's words, she felt compelled to look for her. I wanted to show her that this decision was a good one and that I was happy and healthy, Ruiz told...

CHICAGO What is the relationship between care and curating? It is in the word, after all. Thats the question posed by Renaud Proch, executive and artistic director of the Independent Curators International (ICI), at the opening of the 10th edition of Expo Chicago, which kicked off yesterday, April 13. The organization partners with the fair to provide professional development opportunities for some 70 invited curators and museum directors from the US and around the world. Inspired by this proposition, I took to the floor to see if I could find evidence of care here at an art fair, notoriously a site for that most mercenary of art world considerations: sales.

With 170 international exhibitors re...

All images courtesy of Antler Gallery, shared with permission

Eugene-based artist Miranda Zimmerman, a.k.a. Faunwood, brings a playful ceramic menagerie to Portland this month for Slither, a nearly sold-out solo show at Antler Gallery. Informed by Faunwoods background in evolutionary biology, the adorable creatures meld art and science and are miniature renditions of amphibians and mammals, all stylized with the artists use of wide eyes and mottled glazes. The hand-sculpted characters are expressive and reflective of the organisms real-life anatomy, and their unique dispositions emerge through the firing process. Every ceramic critter I make comes out of the kiln with its own little personality and sass, sometimes completely different from what Im expecting, the artist writes on Instagram.

Slither is on view through April 23, and you can find more from Faunwood on her site. (via Supersonic Art)

...

13 Eco-Friendly Tips on How To Reduce Your Garbage and Strive for Zero Waste

Photo: lgishevamaria/Depositphotos
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, My Modern Met may earn an affiliate commission. Please read our disclosure for more info.

The climate crisis affects everyone, and we all need to do our part to help mitigate the detrimental effects its having on our planet. While many of the solutions lie in the hands of governments and public policy reform, there are things that we, as individuals, can do to lessen our negative impact on the environment. One of the things we can all strive for is to live a zero-waste lifestyle.

So, what is zero waste? It's the practice of reducing the amount of waste you produce in your daily life to nothing. (Imagine throwing nothing away.) Being zero waste is great for the environment, especially as landfills are full and its becoming increasingly difficult to find new places to dispose of our trash. By reducing the amount of waste we produce, we help conserve resources and reduce pollution.

Opting for zero waste is also great for your wallet. Choosing reusable items over disposable ones often has a larger up-front cost but will save you money over time. A reusable water bottle, for example, is more expensive than a single bottle of water. But, when you think about how many bottles of water you won't have to buy in the future, it adds up.

If the idea of zero waste is intimidating, that's okay! Dont let it dissuade you from even trying in the first place. Its extremely difficult, especially in our culture of mass consumption, to live without making waste; disposable plastics and convenience items are everywhere you turn. Going zero waste isnt about being perfect, but rather making small changes that add up over time.

To get started, scroll down for some tips for zero-waste living.

Zero waste is the practice of reducing the amount of waste you produce in your daily life to nothing. Here are 13 tips to help you get started.

In most households, one person probably ends up doing more of the cooking. That said, I would guess that one person would rather not have it be a daily chore and thats in the best of times.

In the worst of times, partners are supposed to be there to cover each other and relieve burdens, but this man doesnt seem to have gotten the message.

OP had to have jaw surgery and has been on a liquid-only diet for several months. Still, shes been preparing 3 meals a day for her son and dinner for the whole family, even though shes unable to really eat any of it.

I (40f) had jaw surgery in November, and have had my jaw wired shut ever since. Im mostly surviving on Ensure, blenderized soups, smoothies, and baby food. Its been tough. During this time, I have continued to make my childs breakfast every morning, make his lunch for school, do the grocery shopping, and make dinner most nights. Honestly, its torture.

My husband (40) works full time, and doesnt really feel like cooking when he gets home. I get it, but at the same time, making dinner every night, and having to watch and smell it cook when I know I cant eat it is awful. (And I know there are lots of ways to blend proper meals, but by the time I add enough broth, juice, etc. to make it drinkable, its disgusting.)

She confessed to her husband how hard this has become and asked him to cook at least a few times a week, but he refused since shes home on medical leave.

The other night, I asked if he could make dinner at least a few nights a week, and he got pretty offended. He said that since Im not working (Im on medical leave), its nice to come home to dinner being ready and not having to rush to start it.

OP thought she would force...

If you attended a seder this month, you no doubt read aloud from the Haggadah, a Passover tradition in which everyone at the table takes turns recounting the story of Exodus.

Theres no definitive edition of the Haggadah. Every Passover host is free to choose the various retellings, or even take a crack at writing their own.  

As David Zvi Kalman, publisher of the annual, illustrated Asufa Haggadah told the New York Times, The Haggadah in America is like Kit Kats in Japan. Its a product that accepts a wide variety of flavors. Its probably the most accessible Jewish book on the market.

I feel like weve seen a few posts like this, where parents expect free babysitting in exchange for one favor or another, but without clearing that expectation with the babysitter in question first.

Most of the time this definitely doesnt go in favor of the parents who just assumed, but other times, like with this post, they might have a point.

OP has taken in her sister, who is in college, because she was having roommate trouble and needed to move out quickly. They live in a different state from their parents, so she had nowhere else to do.

The sister doesnt pay any rent or anything like that, though she does contribute some to food and groceries.

I (f30) live with my husband (m31) ans our son (m5), my sister (f22) is still in college and has to move out with us three months ago because she had some issues with her roommates. Things were going fine until this argument, also she doesnt work but my parents send her some money for textbooks and groceries although she barely ever has contributed to the household since she moved in with us.

We also live in a different state from our parents and family so Im basically throwing her in the streets by kicking her out which would make me a big asshole.

Recently, OP and her husband ran into a babysitting snag with their 5yo. Their regular sitter had some health issues and needed to quit on short notice, which left the couple high and dry during the few hours between school and when they finished work.

So, my son comes back from school at around 3pm/3:30. My husband works until 6 and I work until 5 although sometimes I have to stay an hour or two extra (this is not normal, maybe three or four times per month when were behind in a project). We had a babysitter that would wait until hes back (he comes back...

H.G. Wells War of the Worlds has terrified and fascinated readers and writers for decades since its 1898 publication and has inspired numerous adaptations. The most notorious use of Wells book was by Orson Welles, whom the author called my little namesake, and whose 1938 War of the Worlds Halloween radio play caused public alarm (though not actually a national panic). After the occurrence, reports Phil Klass, the actor remarked, Im extremely surprised to learn that a story, which has become familiar to children through the medium of comic strips and many succeeding and adventure stories, should have had such an immediate and profound effect upon radio listeners.

Surely Welles knew that is precisely why the broadcast had the effect it did, especially in such an anxious pre-war climate. The 1898 novel also startled its first readers with its verisimilitude, playing on a late Victorian sense of apocalyptic doom as the turn-of-the-century...