Talk Description to Me

Late in the night on December 10th and into the early morning of December 11th, a supercell thunderstorm ripped through four Mid-South American states. Multiple tornadoes within the storm devastated towns, cities, and rural areas, and took the lives of at least 90 people, with many more still missing.  This week, in an effort to provide contextual information to those profoundly affected by these events, JJ and Christine describe the visuals of tornadoes, and photos of the storm's aftermath.  Listener discretion is advised.

This episode discusses items listed on the Facebook group  Quad State Tornadoes Found Items. For more information, please visit:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/752733605686831/

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Ever wondered how the surface of a round planet translates into a flat map? Christine has! This week, JJ answers questions about the visuals of maps, and how those visuals line up with reality. Then, with maps on the mind, JJ and Christine discuss the look of online tracking and navigation, from deliveries to Uber rides, container ships to Santa's Christmas Eve run!

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Love 'em or hate 'em, personal vehicles are everywhere.  These days, people are zipping across town on silent e-bikes, delivering takeout on electric kick scooters, and coasting through neighbourhoods on seemingly magic skateboards. In this episode, Christine and JJ describe the visuals of personal transportation devices, from mobility scooters to hover shoes! 

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Since our days as cave-dwelling hunter gatherers, humans have been creating and sharing art. Paintings by early humans still adorn the walls and ceilings of hundreds of caves around the world. Far from "primitive" sketches, many of these works of art demonstrate an evolving understanding of colour, form, symbolism, and pictorial communication. This week, Christine and JJ discuss Palaeolithic handprints, cave etchings, and figurative paintings: the earliest human-made art on the planet.

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You just can't escape advertising in the modern world. Even if you've been living under a rock there's probably a tiny billboard there promoting a New and Improved rock cleaner! With Thanksgiving upon us and the Christmas shopping season right around the corner, Black Friday advertising is everywhere. This week Christine and JJ describe viral videos of Black Friday chaos, and discuss the impact of ads on our visual landscape.

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This week, the week of Remembrance Day and Veteran's Day, Christine and JJ examine wartime photos and propaganda posters. In this episode they describe early photographs from the American Civil War, black-and-white snapshots from WWI, and iconic photos and propaganda art from WWII, including The Battle of Iwo Jima, V-J Day in Times Square, and paintings of Rosie the Riveter. 

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Día de Muertos is a wonderfully vibrant and joyful Mexican holiday with an extraordinary aesthetic. Family traditions with roots in Aztec rituals are at the heart of the holiday, and are practiced throughout Mexico and around the world. Celebrations continue to evolve, with the alluring visuals of big budget movies like Disney's Coco and James Bond's Spectre adding to the mystique of the holiday.  Skeletons, altars, spirit animals, and cemeteries; join us for a descriptive exploration of Mexico's Day of the Dead!  
  

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There's never a bad time to don fishnet stockings and dance the Time Warp, but if you're looking for an excuse, Halloween is it! This week, Christine and JJ breakdown the visuals of the greatest cult movie of all time: the Rocky Horror Picture Show! Sequinned heels, outrageous makeup,  hunky musclemen, and more corsets than you can shake a feather boa at; the Rocky Horror Picture Show implores us to give ourselves over to absolute pleasure. With a strong penchant for campy, raunchy fun, Talk Description to Me happily indulges!

This episode was inspired by a wonderful virtual event hosted by Amy Amantea of VocalEye that featured JJ's descriptions of Rocky Horror visuals. To learn more about VocalEye, or to check out their calendar of fun and innovative events, please visit: VocalEye.ca

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Several internet videos featuring strange contraptions and creations have popped up in Christine's social media feed over the last few months, but we haven't managed to slip them into an episode. Then last week, a painting by the mysterious street artist Banksy sold at auction for $25 million. The crazy story of its creation features an epic prank, a hidden contraption, and a viral video, giving us the perfect excuse to pull all these wild inventions into one goofy episode.

The original videos discussed in this episode can all be found on YouTube.  For Bansky's video about the painting Girl and Balloon, check out:
https://youtu.be/vxkwRNIZgdY

For the the Rube Goldberg Machine called The Page Turner, go to:
https://youtu.be/GOMIBdM6N7Q

And for the world's longest musical model railway from the Miniature Wonderland in Hamburg, Germany, head to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNvZY6cOijo

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Energy infrastructure might not be sexy,  but it's vital to our current way of life. These systems bring electricity to your home and transport oil and gas across continents, but what they actually look like remains a mystery to many people. This week, Christine asks about pipelines, rooftop solar systems, and commercial wind farms, and JJ describes the network of wires that lead from power plants, into your city, down your street, right to your home.

This episode was inspired by images from world-renowned photographer Edward Burtynsky, and his work with Toronto's Luminato Festival, which Christine and JJ had the pleasure of contextualizing for Luminato's Disability-led pop-up radio station Radio Lumi. To explore the Luminato Access Hub please visit:

https://luminatofestival.com/access-hub/

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