~phantastes

This is a followup description to my contest entry featuring cybernetic human species, The Departure [link] for 'Technology and Nature' hosted by (ends today!)

After browsing thru some entries of my fellow contestants today, I would just want to highlight some of their comments and sentiments, which is very real indeed:
'In time, technology will override nature, I'm afraid. I would dream of these two working hand in hand, but I stopped being such illusionist', 'If we continue with this type of life, maybe someday we forget to feel...', 'elephants, so few are left '

The emergence of robotics, artificial intelligence, new generation cybernetics, cyborgs or whatever you want to call them has also created a new wave of social problems. The not so obvious ones, I believe, is the erosion of traditional religions and the devaluation of the human spirit. We are supposed to be created by an Intelligent Designer with a purpose in life. However, the notion of 'Man created in the image of God' is slowly replaced by 'God created in the image of Man' Our concept of 'human immortality' is slowly driven to the ground by a host of life-saving and life-prolonging modern medical devices including of course, implants!

Since I'm trained in medicine myself, I do keep up with the latest medical device advances featuring robotics. To cite just a few: A robotic suit is being marketed to help millions of disabled persons including elderly and paraplegics(!) to have the freedom to walk again [link] On a brighter note, a superprosthetic arm a.k.a. Luke Skywalker's arm, is being developed [link]
On the human thought level, scientists have also inserted neuromotor prosthetic sensory devices deep into the brain cortex that can stimulate and command voluntary muscle movements to control artificial limbs and computer display cursor [link] Sort of like mind control! A similar article regarding this brain machine interface can be found in Nature magazine [link] On a lighter note, I do not have to fear medicolegal lawsuit for examining without a chaperon by having a robotic arm for breast examination. However, I think the device will not come cheap! There are so many examples out there, like the world's first fully robotic remote controlled heart surgery via telemedicine [link] which I will not elaborate further.

Lastly, I am reminded of Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader, who was seriously and irrepairibly injured in a battle. He had his limbs severed and was badly burnt. An immediate surgery was done where some limb prosthesis, face mask and life support system were added in an encased suit. Perhaps we shall witness such a 'rebirth' in a not too distant future. Is this good news to you!?

My Night Clubbing Location:

Just some stress reliever:
This was spotted in one of my local facebook group of the hospital which I practised formerly, Hospital Kuala Lumpur [link]

When a panel of doctors was asked to vote on adding a new wing to their hospital,

The Allergists voted to scratch it and the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.
The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the administration had a lot of nerve, and The Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a misconception.
The Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted; the Pathologists yelled, “Over my dead body”,
while the Pediatricians said, “Oh, Grow up!”

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness,
The Radiologists could see right through it,
and the Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing.

The Internists though it was a bitter pill to swallow,
and the Plastic Surgeons said, “This puts a whole new face on the matter.”
The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward,
but the Urologists felt the scheme wouldn’t hold water.
The Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas and the Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to say no.
In the end, the Proctologists left the decision up to some asshole in administration…………..



My Night Clubbing Location:

This journal entry is just a simple introduction to my art life:

Traditional art was and still is my lifelong passion. I was doing watercolor and other mediums plus a dabble or two with digital art but oil painting stands out as the queen of art. No offence to other mediums but in my opinion, it really stands out! Oil may be messy but I find as much joy cleaning the brushes as in the painting itself. Not to mention you need a well ventilated room unless you want to risk getting inflammatory lung condition from inhaling too much thinners!

However, lately, as you all know, I have found a new love - photomanipulation. I will be doing more with this platform as a way to diversify my visual art repertoire. It is certainly easier now to compose images that are more 'believable' than I could ever have done using traditional media, although I will still be doing oil painting every now and then. Finally, please click on any image you like for more details.

My Night Clubbing Location:

I'm currently on hibernation mode, as far as oil painting is concerned. You see, my regular art supplier Singapore-based Art Friend, has relocated to a high-end shopping complex and I'm just too lazy to drive up there. So, I can't paint without their Daler-Rowney's Linseed Stand Oil brand, which I normally mix with my titanium white. Otherwise, I may have to pull my brushes in agony!

In order not to lose touch, I've returned to doing digital art/photomanipulation, though it took me awhile to relearn all the different 'technical' strokes all over again. Still, I think it is a blessing in disguise and such a joy to discover new tips and tricks posted right here. I really need to thank all the DA artists who have contributed their time and skill into these. Anyhow, I can't wait to paint on Real Canvas again.