(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Morning Open Thread, Tuesday June 23rd, Alan Parsons Project, Hipgnosis, Pyramids ? Theme: children [1] ['Meteor Blades', 'Chitown Kev', 'Belinda Ridgewood', 'Dan K'] Date: 2026-06-23 Good Morning! Welcome to the Morning Open Thread, a daily post with a MOTley crew of hosts, who choose the topic for the daily posting. Being an open thread you are welcome to ignore it. Say hello! We are a friendly bunch. Even when on our first coffee. Honest to goodness. Hey I’m still messing about with some features in word press. You’ve been warned. weirdness may follow. The Motley Schedule Sunday: Ice Blue Monday: officebss Today: RandomNeuron Wednesday: youffraita Thursday :Ozarkblue Friday: officebss Saturday: Ozarkblue Theme Last week I wrote a tongue in cheek post about living next to a public school. I emphasized the, shall we say, challenges, of that while introducing the theme of school out! I actually enjoy the kids coming and going and regularly strike up conversations with the parents. So. I thought This week the theme should be children. Kids. Little humans. Songs about them, inspired by them, celebrating them. For them, by them, including them. Any kind of connection. I think this will be a fun one. and the theme has nothing to do with the rest of MOT. I know. Not very consistent. Think of it as an epilogue to last week. A Random Neuron – one door closes… The Michigan State Foundations of Neuroscience material which I’ve been mining for content ever since I ran out of cool neuron pictures has concluded the chapter on neurons. You are likely thinking this is good news but what am I gonna pad Tuesday MOT with now? Last week we learned about Presynaptic terminal . Today, the finale: Variations in Structure Although these typical structural components can be seen in all neurons, the overall structure can vary drastically depending on the location and function of the neuron. Some neurons, called unipolar, have only one branch from the cell body, and the dendrites and axon terminals project from it. Others, called bipolar, have one axonal branch and one dendritic branch. Multipolar neurons can have many processes branching from the cell body. Additionally, each of the projections can take many forms, with different branching characteristics. The common features of cell body, dendrites, and axon, though, are common among all neurons. Figure 1.10. Structural diversity of neurons. Although neurons vary dramatically in their overall structure depending on location and function, all share the common components of dendrites (brown), cell body (black), and axon (blue). Examples shown include multipolar neurons with extensive branching, bipolar neurons with two main processes, and neurons with varying degrees of dendritic complexity. ‘Neuron Types‘ by Casey L. Henley (CC-BY-NC-SA). View detailed alternative text. Conclusion (for the foundation of science section – not the MOT) The neuron’s structure is essential to its function, from receiving inputs to transmitting signals. Understanding these basics lays the groundwork for exploring the complex networks that drive behavior and cognition. A while back we started looking at Album covers – and then specifically ones designed by Hipgnosis. It helped limit the subject matter to a couple hundred albums. And Pink Floyd used Hipgnosis a lot. They also used a guy named Alan Parsons to engineer The Dark Side of the Moon in 1973. Hipgnosis -> Pink Floyd -> Alan Parsons -> The Alan Parsons Project -> Hipgnosis -> Kismet! We have a MOT subject. The Alan Parsons Project I never knew a whole lot about The Alan Parsons Project. I enjoyed the impeccable production of his albums although they were occasionally… soulless? That is to harsh. Sterile? In any case I owned a few. Turns out he used Hipgnosis to design a few album covers as well. To my surprise the Alan Parsons Project was actually a Duo: https://www.the-alan-parsons-project.com/timeline Interestingly Woolfson came up with the idea from seeing movies marketed on the strength of the director or producer. So he approached Parsons to team up and work on projects which he (woolfson) would create. He decided to name it after Alan rather than himself despite being the creative force and one who managed the business side. Alan Parsons is 77 and is still touring! You can see him TONIGHT in Nashville TN. No kidding. Tickets start north of 100 bucks and climb from there. ‘Fraid Nashville is a bit of a commute from the bay state so i won’t be seeing the show. Oh and he is not with Woolfson who passed sometime ago. I Robot Click on the image for link to the full album This is the front cover for the album I Robot by the artist The Alan Parsons Project. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the label, Arista Records, or the graphic artist(s), Hipgnosis. Yes – this is exactly what your thinking. A concept album about the book, I, Robot. I did not own it and not sure i ever heard it so no comment on whether they pulled it off. The album I Robot (1977), by The Alan Parsons Project, was inspired by Asimov’s I, Robot. In its original conception, the album was to follow the themes and concepts presented in the short story collection. The Alan Parsons Project were not able to obtain the rights in spite of Asimov’s enthusiasm; he had already assigned the rights elsewhere. Thus, the album’s concept was altered slightly, although the name was kept, minus comma to avoid copyright infringement.[38] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I,_Robot#Popular_culture_references It was the second time they used Hipgnosis for design work.. I really don’t think the first album cover was particularly good, nor representative of anything so…you’ve been spared that one. I actually don’t like this one either, is it a picture or a drawing? Real or imagined. I dunno. This was a gate fold so it would open and perhaps the full experience is better. Eye In The Sky Click on the image for link to the full album This is the cover art for the album Eye in the Sky by the artist The Alan Parsons Project. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the label, Arista, or the graphic artist(s). 1982 for this album. pretty sure i owned it, i like the art work. Simple. if you are a schmuck like i am its a stylized eye which clearly works with the title. if your a bit more worldly you recognize it is the Eye of Ra which adds another dimension to it. Thanks to you, my MOTley friends, i am, as of this week, a wee bit more worldly than I was last week. oh. And the concept for this album? Surveillance. Pyramid Click on the image for link to the full album Fair Use: This is the cover art for the album Pyramid by the artist The Alan Parsons Project. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the label, Arista, or the graphic artist(s) hipgnosis. 1978. The Album Pyramid. I definitely owned this Album. I think. Most Likely. Heh, it was long time ago. I inhaled. As with all the “Alan Parsons Project” albums it was a concept album. Pyramid Power was a thing in the late 1970’s – recall that? No? Let me remind you. Pyramid Power Fair Use. Screen shot Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/Psychic-Power-Pyramids-Pettit-Schul/dp/0340218150 Notice that this was their second book on it. Must have been lots of interest if the publisher took a second bite at the same apple right? There was a lot of interest in the actual Pyramids as well which spilled over into events like Grateful Dead performing there. During an eclipse no less. The above image is astounding and you owe it to yourself to go visit an article promoting a book of Black and White photos from that show and that photographer. No need to be a dead head to enjoy it. Its good photography. My travels through 1978 and the powers of pyramids brought back memories of adverts for pyramid shaped objects that would keep your razor sharp and preserve food. Remember them?, in the back of magazines and whatnot. It also brought back memories of a general proliferation of *stuff* shaped like a Pyramid. The Pyramid at the Louvre was built after 1978. But not that long after. Planning started in the early ’80s Alessio Mercuri, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons OK – I think we’ve pretty much explored Pyramids. I leave you with a how to manual from 1978 for building what i believe to be a green house. Did I just get side tracked? Sigh. I did. Back to the album cover. This one: Click on the image for link to the full album Fair Use: This is the cover art for the album Pyramid by the artist The Alan Parsons Project. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the label, Arista, or the graphic artist(s) hipgnosis. It seems to evoke the sense that the pyramid on the right is pulling energy from the seated guy. Or sending it? In case your curious the Albums take was skeptical on Pyramid Power. But using it to market the album? Powerful. The Turn of a Friendly Card Click on the image for link to the full album Fair Use: This is the cover art for the album Turn of a Friendly Card by the artist The Alan Parsons Project. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the label, Arista, or the graphic artist(s) hipgnosis. This Alan Parsons Project Album dropped in 1980. Again I believe i owned it. The concept was gambling and gamblers and the cover was designed by hipgnosis. Am i about to digess again? why yes, sort of. Luxor Hotel By Rob Young from United Kingdom – Luxor, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32244663 While we are on the subject of gambling and not long removed from chatting about Pyramids… The Luxor Casino was built in the 1990s. In addition to grabbing attention with the Pyramid Hotel I wonder if any gamblers hoped they might have some pyramid power imbued upon them? Or maybe the casino operators did? Hah – just kidding Casino operators don’t need lady luck – they do the math. Well except one. I promised Oz i would not mention nor write about him since this is a peaceful morning exercise for us all to start the day with a breath of fresh air. however. you know. the guy whose hotel in atlantic city was demolished. Oh and one more digression. The Luxor was built byTutor-Perini. And Perini construction (until its merger with Tutor) was headquartered in good old Framingham. Right next to the site of the chautuaqua you read about here a few weeks back. The yard full of huge construction equipment that existed next to the headquarters is now a community college. Whoa! that was to many connections to ignore. Had to Digress. For the second week – MOP TOP comment! . Every week, more or less, someone posts a song in the comments that I love. Some I had never heard before. Some I’d forgotten. Some new. Some old. So I’m awarding MOP TOP comments! (till i forget to do it) with the ultimate MOT prize. Coffee, Tea or Soda. Restrictions apply.** ** Mostly you need to be willing to come to my humble abode for free coffee or tea or Pepsi . Or if you’re concerned about meeting some random dude from the internet at his house and depending on distance, we can meet in a suitably located DUNKINs. Sorry Starbucks fans, Native born Bay Stater here. If there is no suitable Dunkins location i’ll put you on the list for future coffee meetups should we ever be close enough to you. You never know. serendipity happens. The weeks MOP TOP comment is (was?): Last Tuesday the theme was: Schools Out! Screenshot. RandomNeuron See you in September. By “The Happenings “ in 1966 This song but it was instantly recognizable and enjoyable. And not one i would have found otherwise. Congrats @PatMaker! Last weeks Mop Top award went to Nottobeseenagain (who requested Pepsi be substituted for coffee. Quite acceptable. Win, win.) Help wanted! You want to be a MOT host? Drop a comment or send a kosmail to Oz and he’ll clue you in. Fair Use: This is the cover art for the album Wish You Were Here by the band Pink Floyd. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the label, columbia, or the graphic artist(s) hipgnosis. No secret handshakes (or stunt men) required. Rules I almost forgot to lay down the rules. Geometric rules that is: [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/6/23/800056728/community/morning-open-thread-tuesday-june-23rd/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/