The Parthenon

The Parthenon has a design that has been mimicked countless times, a symbol of perfect unity, totally symmetrical, democracy itself, but what fascinates me about it is that the entire building has very few right angles, and in reality is just one big optical illusion. When simply looking at it head on, or really from any angle, it looks perfect. The columns are all bulging in the center, lean slightly inward, and the floor is actually so curved that if you lay a book on one end, and look from the floor on the other, you couldn't see the book. The west end of the building is higher than the east, but it was all done so subtly that simply looking at it, it is near impossible for the unaided eye to see that each column, each angle, is individual, that rather than being perfectly symmetrical, the architects made it is so perfectly asymmetrical that is only seems be perfect.

Printing Press

The printing press, I would argue, is the single most important creation made by modern man. The basic design allowed for texts to be quickly and cheaply made, allowing for literacy to skyrocket. It spurned the Reformation, the Pamphlet Wars began a precedent that we still follow today. Before this point there was a restriction on knowledge, only those who could afford it or go into the clergy were granted what we view today as basic skills that is almost a right, rather then a privilege. After this, Martin Luther was able to question the status quo, Voltaire was able to start an age. Every revolution after the creation of the first printing press is different from those before it. Before, it was kill as many people as possible. After the press, while this was still often a key facet of war or revolution, propaganda is now possible. From books to now the internet, where anyone with a computer is able to put their views for the whole world to see, this is what is owed to the printing press.

MC Escher's The Scapegoat

I have always been a fan of Escher's works, but my favorite is a lesser-known one: The Scapegoat. It is a reference to the ancient Jewish tradition of sacrificing two goats, one to god by slaughtering it, and sending the other to 'Azazel' in the desert, which carried the sins of the people, bringing the term "scapegoat" to modern etymology. The painting is simple, only in black and white, but the symbolism is powerful, both God and the Devil face a goat opposite them, reflecting the good or the bad. The two colors reflect the simple duality at the heart of the Christian notion, the Good vs. Evil idea. The goats themselves are the same image, only a different color: white being "good" and black "evil." Thus, since both God and the Devil are linked with their respective goat, yet each goat is the almost the same as the other, it again reflects the dualistic nature of good and eveil, one can't exist without the other.

Cubism

I have always despised cubism for as long as I can remember, and especially when people argue that Picasso's works are some of the greatest pieces of art created (I'm only talking about his cubism stuff, I actually like his blue and rose period works). Take Guernica, for example. The only way I could tell that it was something 'bad' is the man in the right apparently screaming, other than that I could tell you nothing of what it is about, represents, or anything else about it. The entire piece is supposed to be symbolic, but I can't view the symbolism by looking at it! Someone had to tell me that it was a reference to a town that was bombed, and even then I couldn't see it. I have always preferred realism to most other forms of art; give me a Michelangelo painting over Picasso any day.

Supernatural

One of the few shows that I watch religiously is Supernatural (pun intended for any of you who got it). The initial commercials portrayed the show as a dark horror, and while it is, it also manages some really good comedy. When it needs to be 'horror,' the lighting goes down, the music mimics the mood, and even then there are random comments that make you laugh, and right after that some demon eviscerates an innocent person. One episode was even done documentary-style, kind of a Ghosthunters thing, and it was pulled off very well.
Another thing I like about the show is that they do their homework. I have the rather obscure hobby of liking to learn about diabology and demonolgy, and so know when there making stuff up and when they actually have some literary basis for doing what their doing, which I really like.