It’s a real scorcher in Philly today, so I thought I’d avoid taxing the heat-sensitive faculties required of the ruminative arts and post a few sweet infographics instead of attempting to write anything of Substance.
Still, if you live somewhere currently being walloped by this heat wave, it may prove wise to avoid this post until sundown so as to prevent any undue intellectual agitation (and cranial combustion) these images could cause as a result of the information they contain.
First up is a graph by Tim Peters titled “Some Very Brief Affairs” from The Rumpus (CLICK ON THUMBNAILS FOR FULL SIZE IMAGES):
By graphing Emotional Attraction on the y-axis (here: a spectrum that runs from Desire to Indifference to Aversion) and Time on the x-axis (here: numbered stages of said Brief Affairs), Peters explores the trajectory of small, fleeting romances found in film and literature (and all of our lives, oof). Amply appending his sparse chart with a bibliography, descriptions of stages, graphics, and personal stories all, apparently, in the service of explaining his very simple graphic, Powers imbues the diagram with a sly tension between the complicated and the clear, the effusive and the schematic. Part Bakhtin, part Bicentennial Man. A most sorrowful chart, indeed!
Next, a strange story map of the Fellowship’s journey in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings by JT Fridsman:
It’s impossible to zoom in on this chart, but the Fridsma’s website has several image details from which I can glean a little information. It looks like it tracks the path of the Fellowship’s members both chronologically and geographically as well as noting where they were during the films’ major events (big battles). These sweet prints are on sail for 25$. Notable exclusion: markers noting every time a hobbit falls down. This from my new favorite Twitter account @MiddleEarthPR.
Last, via Grantland, Craig Robinson’s “The HBO Recycling Program”:
What would a chart titled “The HBO Composting Program” look like??? Why haven’t I heard of The Corner??? Anyway, I don’t know enough about TV to be very useful here and, as I am flirting with mild delirium (heat stroke!), I’ll wrap it up and run for shade. Enjoy the pictures and avoid big ideas and agitators until this boil breaks.
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