feminine mystique quantified

Face recognition software finally gives us the definitive interpretation of La Joconde’s enigmatic expression: 83 per cent happy, 9 per cent disgusted, 6 per cent fearful and 2 per cent angry . Well, it’s good to finally have that cleared up.

My cheery discovery for the day was a protestant German youth group that produced a calendar of scenes from the Bible designed to appeal to young people, like this one:



It is true, biblical images like this one would likely appeal to a youth audience. Conservatives in the States are predictably upset. I say, let’s import German Christians, we need more of that sensibility! I guess the average pastor here doesn’t spend so much time pondering Delilah’s hotness, but she must have been pretty gorgeous to lull Samson into complacency like that. Reminds me of a Leonard Cohen song:

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

And now that I'm on the subject of Cohen, his is perhaps my favorite image of Jesus:

And Jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time searching
From his lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain
Only drowning men could see him
He said:
All men will be sailors then, until the sea shall free them

Cohen's spirituality is appealing to me because it is so heartbroken.

There is a crack, a crack in everything; that’s how the light gets in…