The Nahmias Cipher Report

THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES
Written by Rudyard Kipling, 1911

When the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride,
He shouts to scare the monster, who will often turn aside.
But the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail.
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.

When Nag the basking cobra hears the careless foot of man,
He will sometimes wriggle sideways and avoid it if he can.
But his mate makes no such motion where she camps beside the trail.
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.

Surrealist paintings are some of my favorite and I have featured in this blog the paintings of Rene Magritte, Salvadore Dali, and Max Ernst. This post features the work of Francis Picabia who painted in a wide range of styles from realism to abstraction.

Picabia produced a large body of work that employed biomorphic forms, geometric abstraction and colors of Impressionism. Like other Impressionist artists he often used thick paint to build up a broad abstract background.

Ever wondered how Arabic women seem to possess the most beautiful eyes? Well, turns out that it is an art used to enhance their most visible feature. For traditional Muslim women who choose to wear the Hijab, Burqa, or Bui Bui, eye makeup provides the means for dramatic expressiveness.
It is a way for these beautiful women to communicate their unique individuality. Sometimes in the West we view these women as oppressed victims devoid of creativity or freedom. The beautiful eye makeup featured in the video above contradicts this gross generalization, because these are not objects of derision, they are women; and if we diminish and define them by an outer garment, then we are no better than the men we criticize.

Traversing the country by car is an American pastime. Now in times of economic hardship, more people are rediscovering the natural wonders this mammoth country has to offer. I love to drive, and when I lived in Florida, would regularly travel from East to West coast. From Miami to Clearwater, Tampa or St. Pete’s, the flat expanse complimented the big sky in ways magical and hard to explain. I fell in love with Florida’s dusk and dawn skies and their color palettes the defy description.

Then there were times when I chose to take roads less traveled through small towns abutting glades or coast, wherein I witnessed the contents of this poem.