Benoit Mandelbrot, the 'Father of Fractals'

Benoit Mandelbrot

Examples of Fractals (photos from Google Images)

Ever since I learned what fractals were, I've been absolutely fascinated with them. The man who brought us face to face with the beautiful link between mathematics, art, and nature through the fractal equation was Benoit Mandelbrot. Below is a link to an article about the former Yale University professor, Benoit Mandelbrot:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/insidenova/2010/10/goodbye-to-the-father-of-fractals.html

Also, below is a link to a lovely musical/artistic tribute to fractals:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8ZjPgEF5aI&feature=related

My Hands, a poem

Recently, the scripture readings at Church included the following passage: 

"And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it." (Psalm 90:17)

Below is a poem with the theme of my use of hands, 

which some may think is archaic in this current era of technology:

Harp and me, one autumn afternoon

My Hands

Turning 

weathered pages of a centuries old book,

my fingers touch a piece of history,

for this page was once turned by the fingertips

of a lady sitting by candlelight on a blue velvet chair,

her linen dress, flowing around covered ankles.

Strumming 

the strings of a vibrating harp, melodic echoes, soothe

the mind of my precious dog who lives to protect me

love me, comfort me. It's the least I can do for her.

Kneading 

dough that clings to each finger until I apply 

one more dash of flour to create 

the soft ball that will miraculously rise

to form into the sweet, aromatic sustenance of life: 

bread, feeding others with joy.

Threading 

a needle with just the right length and color 

of waxed cotton,

slowly I turn remnant pieces of cloth

into a quilted memory to comfort 

through the warmth of artistry and pragmatism.

Digging 

into rich, brown soil, I plant a seed

water, nurture, protect until one day it grows

into a savory food, the source of a satisfied smile.

Holding 

an extended hand, I feel the presence

of tender strength, our fingertips, touching,

Loving 

 brushing the tear from a dear one's eye

fond memory of the gentleness.
Praying
palm against palm, I sing a song of praise.
Humbly, I give thanks to Him,
Knowing 

His Love is undying, strengthening, 

guiding each step to fulfillment of 

His Purpose for me:

Living 

from heart to hand.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

(To hear my reading of this poem on Pod-omatic, click HERE.)

Still Life

I've had my Still Life posted on this blog for a long time, and this Circular Still Life is simply a gathering of objects found in my office, some of which are souvenirs of Dublin. The complete collection consists of a lovely fern, an old "That was Easy" button from Staples, a coaster from Connemara, an empty bottle that once held Tipperary water, a de-stress ball in the shape of a globe, and a few extra pretzels tossed in for flavor. The title is Still Life, but life really isn't still now, is it? That said, a circular motion can breathe new life into a moment of stillness. 

Circular Still Life photo

by Jeanne I. Lakatos

Circular Still Life Haiku

Through simplicity

circularity's presence

gathers the spirit. 

© Jeanne I. Lakatos  2011

***********************

Circularity Haiku

Guided by the heart

a Treasure inspires

this yearning for the return.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos 2024

Eighteenth Century Political Writing of Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan)

My collection of Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan) books

Citizenry rise to proclaim their independence from legislative taxation without corresponding representation in individual communities. This cry for autonomy creates the atmosphere for the eighteenth century American colonists to stand strong against any form of tyranny and eventually to create a unique form of government “of the people, by the people, for the people.”  This concept resonates with Owenson, as she rewrites her own history to correspond with major events belonging to the American colonists’ revolutionary actions.  

In the eighteenth century, the scientific world embarks on new discoveries. Sight, sound, and the universe embody the main thought patterns during this time. In this context, Marjorie Hope Nicolson observes, “the increasing self-consciousness of the eighteenth century about the sense of sight (leads) to a growing interest in all senses, their processes, and their interrelationship, and to an awareness of the ‘harmony of the senses.’” This encompasses those sensory stimuli, which affect every aspect of the human being. In this manner,  Owenson often makes references to familial attributes in her descriptions of relations between Great Britain, America and Ireland.

Owenson: 

To make her native country better known, and to dissipate the political and religious prejudices that hindered its prosperity...in her works, there was always some principle to be advocated or elucidated…Neither lovers, friends, nor flatterers, ever turned her attention from the steady, settled aim of her life-- and that was to advocate the interest of her country in her writing. (Memoirs, p. 284)

 _____________________________________

Marjorie Hope Nicolson, Newton Demands the Muse: Newton's Opticks and the Eighteenth Century Poets, (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1966), p 87.

From my operetta, Luminescence, Advice from Anne Bradstreet (Represented as the Passion Flower)

Passion Flower from Google Images

In my operetta, Luminescence, a re-write of the 13th century French narrative poem, Roman de la Rose, the spirit of the poet, Anne Bradstreet, as represented by the passionflower, gives the following advice to Rose. I wrote this with Bradstreet's poetic style in mind:

My name was Anne Bradstreet,

and I have a story of devotion to tell. 

My life was dedicated to the sacrifice 

of one who gave His life, that I might have mine. 

I saw the need for all people, men and women, 

to be mindful of the importance of their individual spirits. 

My passion for the love of my life 

is ever-growing even as I speak from the spirit. 

The seeds one plants in life 

are carried forth to benefit future generations, 

bringing into view the truth of love and devotion 

in a physical manifestation of Divine Ordinance. 

One needs to remember always 

that humility of thought begins 

with the acceptance of the challenge 

within one’s heart. 

Each individual must fulfill that desire 

in order to fulfill the Will of the Almighty. 

Attention to this desire will bring 

happiness and contentment 

as a central focus of one’s life, 

and there will be calm 

in the heart 

of any troubled soul. 

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

Anne Bradstreet

Note: 

Anne Bradstreet was an English-American poet who was born in Northampton, England in 1612 and died in North Andover, Massachusetts in 1672. 

(To hear my reading of this poem on Pod-omatic, click HERE.)

Midnight Blaze

For this exercise, I chose two titles from a list and created a brief, yet potent poem. The poem titles below are from the Table of Contents of the Norton Anthology of Poetry, fourth edition. I simply closed my eyes, turned to two different pages, and pointed.

Your Words my friend (Canto 21 from Astrophil and Stella by Sir Philip Sidney

Frost at Midnight by Samuel Coleridge

Love is a Cosmic Force 

painting by Alex Grey

 Midnight Blaze

Your words, my friend

burn through 

the reverie

until frost at midnight

mystically transforms

our truth

into a unique blaze,

melding two dreams

into one

phenomenal aim.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

(To hear my reading of this poem on Pod-omatic, click HERE.)

A Brief Analysis of the Feminine in Sydney Owenson's Writing

Enjoy a cup of tea!

From pp. 128-130 of my book on the Rhetoric of Sydney Owenson (pictured on the right):

Drawing on traditional symbols of music, art and language, Owenson enlightens her readers concerning societal negligence. Her published collection of harp melodies, her visions of Innisfree and the beauty with which she symbolizes the people of Ireland whet the appetite for national pride within the souls of those who read her work in Ireland and England. She succeeds in feeding their hungry spirit with the sustenance of historical revelation.

The Irish historian, R. F. Foster comments, “Besides the numerous ambitious histories, written to invalidate or to justify the Union, there were novels like Lady Morgan’s The Wild Irish Girl (1806), which helped market the ideas of Irishness so influential later in the century (and ever since).” ^[1] All the while, she rhetorically explores the desire for Ireland to engage peacefully with the English government, represented by a similar desire for feminine ideology to receive the respect and recognition of men.

In the Preface of her 1814 novel, O’Donnel, Owenson sums up her true feelings of her purpose in writing: 

The character of my sex, no less than my own feelings, urged me, in touching those parts of Irish history which were connected with my tale, to turn them to the purposes of conciliation, and to incorporate the leaven of favourable opinion with that heavy mass of bitter prejudice, which writers, both grave and trifling have delighted to raise against my country. (O’Donnel, p. 10)

Clearly, Owenson is conscious of her British, aristocratic audience as she utilizes rhetorical representation of her feminine experience in direct correlation with her Anglo-Irish background while “embracing this ‘criminal’ role of Irish patriot, [creating] the psychological compensation of constructing her authority along recognizable masculine lines.” ^[2] In other words, she directly addresses the male British aristocracy by using her feminine and Irish culture to make her political statement of unification.

Feminine linguistics may be explained with a look to philosophers of the twentieth century, Julia Kristeva and Helene Cixous, who have given the world of literature an insight into the complicated workings of the female psyche, each with her unique perspective of why and how women approach the linguistic design of text. According to Kristeva: 

Sexual difference – which is at once biological, physiological, and relative to production – is translated by and translates a difference in the relationship of subjects to the symbolic contract which is the social contract; a difference, then, in the relationship to power, language, and meaning. ^[3]

The social significance of the feminine power of language directly affects the readers’ perception of the speakers’ views. A writer reveals to the reading audience an interpretation of each character in relation to personal experience. Therefore, in analysing writing, one must consider the psycholinguistic qualities that are intrinsic to the writer and audience, as images experienced through aural and visual sensory perceptions appearing by means of unique lexical styles.

---

[1] R.F. Foster, Modern Ireland: 1600-1972, (New York: Viking Penguin, 1988), p. 161.

[2] Paula R. Feldman and Theresa M. Kelley, (ed), Romantic Women Writers: Voices and Counter voices (Hanover, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 1995), p. 171.

[3] Kristeva, Julia, translated by Alice Jardine and Harry Blake, “Women’s Time.” Signs 7 (1981), p. 21.

Reach Defined

Years ago, the Poetry Bus had the delightful Ms. Poetikat as its driver. She discovered the photos below on Ms. Bug's blog and has asked us to view them as inspiration for our poetic contributions. This photo narrative reveals so much to us, but what has impressed me is the reaching aspect. I looked up the term, reaching, in the dictionary to see if there might be a definition that would 'reach' my psyche. Amazingly, right before my eyes, every definition seemed to express what I was feeling. And there you have it: Reach Defined.

Reach Defined

Approach the moment

in a state of mind

influence, power

communicate

strive

achieve

acquire success

lend a hand

 sail on a tack

 with the wind blowing

 reach defined,
refined

 for a television viewing audience

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

(with help from the

Merriam-Webster online dictionary)

Mathematical Sets

Venn Diagram photo from Google Images

Mathematical Sets

It all figures:

balanced equations

sets of added digits

occasionally subtracted

divided by common factors

multiplied by these too

percentages based on 

the configuration 

of a situated O

and its relation

to the root.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

(To hear my reading of this poem on Pod-omatic, click HERE.)

Love through Laughter

Love through Laughter

Love:

open-faced

 to the laughter

that unites 

dares with dreams

acceptance of perfection

accompanied by flaws

we amble

through doubts

and fill up on hope 

united

through the discovery

of Love 

through Laughter.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

(To hear my reading of this poem on Pod-omatic, click HERE.)

Bluebird Dream

A few years ago, TFE's Poetry Bus  had Kate the Emerging Writer as its driver. She provided us with three excellent prompts, and I chose to apply my own version of l'esprit d'escalier for Prompt III and a little of Prompt II, too, so I guess this was a combo plate. For those unfamiliar with bluebirds, they are the most beautiful little birds on the planet. Below, I've included a photo of one that I took from my living room window... for your viewing pleasure.

Bluebird perched on a maple tree branch

Bluebird Dream

Letting the pen fall,

she sighed into a dream.

There, her responses

were perfectly timed

and no one left the room

unaffected.

She was strong, efficient.

Perseverance was her game.

Not one soul

would even consider

challenging her decisions.

They wouldn’t dare.

A bluebird awakened her.

So small, beautiful

iridescent blue

and sweetly chirping.

Suddenly, it darted past her

and again in the other direction.

Soon, she saw a pair of wings

much larger, bolder.

That bird flew high and away.

The bluebird perched

on a limb of the maple tree,

panting, confident, dreaming.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

(To hear my reading of this poem on Pod-omatic, click HERE.)