In this episode, we discuss an application of the schema.org vocabulary that is in use at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to help returning veterans find employment. We mention some resources in this episode, the URLs of which are available on SemanticWeb.com in the post corresponding to this, Episode 2 of Case Study Radio.

Linked Data At The VA - Case Study Radio - Episode 2

Access a slow-looking exercise of this work.

Transcript
Narrator: "Broken Forms" by Franz Marc is a rectangular oil-on-canvas painting from 1914. It is about 3 1/2 feet tall by nearly 3 feet wide. The dynamic abstract composition features colorful shapes that are intersected by a large dark and angular form. 

This painting’s colors are strong and include shades of tomato red, mustard yellow, emerald green, and cerulean blue. They gently encircle the composition in soft curving, swirling, and hooked forms, which are intermixed and sometimes combined with vertical and diagonal geometric shapes.  

A dark form protrudes diagonally from just above the bottom-left corner of the composition and extends to its upper right. It is a tall rectangular form, and at its top is a left-facing swirl or hook that resembles a bass clef or the scroll atop a cello’s neck. The form is dark, mainly a mixture of blues and black, making it stand in great contrast to the colorful surroundings. Its sloped angle amid the background’s upright shapes gives a sense that it’s leaning over.  

Just under the dark form sits the center of the composition. Here, the colors seem to blend and lighten into a dusky rose haze with translucent pale yellow bubbles that dissipate within the surrounding well-defined shapes.  

The geometric and organic elements of the composition appear to layer over and under each other. Fluffy brushstrokes at the edges of the dusky rose haze give the impression that this cloudy area hovers over wide yellow vertical stripes that are in the background. Similarly, the crisp edge of the dark form gives the impression that it hovers over the haze. A skipping brushstroke extends down the center of the composition, its vibrant orange paint dragging on top of the dark form, perhaps like the glow of a spotlight. Some shapes’ edges are thinly highlighted with quickly applied white paint in a scumbled technique, producing a shiny three-dimensional effect. 

On close inspection, the painting’s surface is textured, adding a sense of movement and dimensionality to the work. Brushstrokes twirl to form circles that cluster in the central haze and in other places sweep to form curving shapes and edges. In some areas, colors are layered atop each other with hints of underpainting uncovered at the edges, forming a halo effect. In other areas, diluted washes of paint thinly veil the underpainting.

Orphism - Verbal Descriptions

Exhibition Website

Description of Broken Forms (Zerbrochene Formen), 1914

Access a slow-looking exercise of this work.

Transcript
Narrator: "Edtaonisl (Ecclesiastic)" by Francis Picabia is an oil-on-canvas painting from 1913 that measures about 10 feet square. The work features shapes in a cacophony of bold colors that form a dynamic abstract composition and convey three-dimensionality and movement.  

Black tones command the painting’s grand, larger-than-life scale. Deep black shapes seem to recede as if layered beneath the brighter, more vibrant shapes that rhythmically fill the rest of the composition. Each shape is cleanly defined. Many are geometric polygons with hard, straight edges. These are painted gold, rust, vibrant grape purple, ocean blue, gray, and white. The colors within each shape are not uniform but rather fade from deep vibrant shades into lighter, whiter, and more opaque tones. This color play adds to the work’s dynamic sense of layering, depth, and movement. 

Many shapes also feature one or more organically curved edges. For instance, a rust-colored shape slightly below left of center is defined by a straight, hard line on its right side. The line is oriented diagonally, as if pointing from the bottom left of the canvas toward the top right. The shape’s left edge is organic—a curved line bows out from its bottom and tapers as it moves upward.  

A few striking and unusual shapes in the work convey a sense of three-dimensional movement. Near the upper left, layering of purple shapes may suggest that they are floating in space like falling paper confetti. Near the right of the composition’s center, a black corkscrew begins to curve in a clockwise direction while simultaneously descending. It completes one full circle while its gently winding tail drops.  

Near the composition’s center sits a white boomerang shape. Other white shapes cluster in this area. Two circles seem to be layered, one slightly offset from the other. Two columns, not straight but gently bowing to the left, drop from the boomerang shape. At the columns’ bottoms, there is a small shape that tilts slightly to the upper left of the canvas. 

The artist, Picabia, was preoccupied with bodies in motion, and these dynamic white forms represent the head, body, legs, and feet of a dancing figure. The title of the painting, written lightly at the upper right edge of the canvas, is nonsensical in French but acts as a quasi-anagram of étoil[e] and dans[e], meaning “star” and “dancer”. It references the dancer and film star Stacia Napierkowska who Picabia encountered during a performance aboard an ocean liner. Her figure moves amongst the angular metallic grey and undulating blue shapes representing the ship and movements of the ocean. The subtitle, "Ecclesiastic," points to a priest the artist once spotted intently observing dancers, perhaps represented in the painting by vibrant purple.

Description of Edtaonisl (Ecclesiastic) (Edtaonisl [Ecclésiastique]), 1913

Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos, 2008

Description About the Artist’s Process and Technique

In this episode of The Spoon Podcast, Michael Wolf sits down with Mark Cuban for a wide-ranging conversation recorded live at the SKS 2025. Mark and Mike discuss the transformative power of AI, exploring why Cuban believes it's more disruptive than the internet, mobile, or streaming, and how it's already reshaping education, jobs, and entrepreneurship. Cuban shares his views on the broken U.S. healthcare system, his motivations behind launching Cost Plus Drugs, and how GLP-1s might reshape food and wellness. They dive into the changing innovation landscape, the future of hardware and robotics, and why Cuban stepped away from Shark Tank and sold majority control of the Mavericks. 

A Conversation with Mark Cuban

In this episode of The Spoon Podcast, Mike welcomes Shiru CEO Jasmin Hume to the podcast to catch up on where things sit within the AI and food space in the context of Shiru's own evolution over the past couple of years.

The highlights include:
-Talking about how VCs and entrepreneurs talk differently about how AI is being embraced in food
-Who will own the foundation models for food in the future
-How Jasmin and Shiru have evolved their company and how they talk with food brands about integrating AI
-How Jasmin would advise young food scientists to move forward in an era of AI


It's a fun and interesting conversation, so take a listen!






Are Food Companies Really Embracing AI?

This week, we catch up with Nicole Papantoniou, the Director of the Good Housekeeping Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab. 

We hear from Nicole about what it's like running one of the preeminent testing labs for kitchen appliances in the world, her personal journey to her current position and what she's excited about in terms of kitchen innovation. 

Enjoy the podcast!


Behind The Scenes at the Good Housekeeping Appliance Lab

This is a conversation I did in early 2012 with comedian and podcast giant Marc Maron.  We talk about his app, Louis CK, his expectations when he started podcasting, his monetization strategies for the podcast, and where he sees the medium going. 

A Conversation With Marc Maron

The Voice of Semantic Technology Business: Big Data, Linked Data, Smart Data