a visual collective outlet of inspiration
something as simple as the perfect little stool can speak of a collage of perspectives (if you want to contradict yourself), but in the spirit of getting back to basics i’ll just say that quality handmade craftsmanship of natural materials, that can last a lifetime is better for you, and me, and them, and mother earth, and your image ;). i can imagine this multi-purpose cuttie aging well. you can pick him up at another country. by kl
earth related
the biggest cat: the nearly extinct siberian tiger
was reading about the the siberian tiger, dont ask me why, but i found an interesting point that led me to think… the rare siberian tiger is near extinction, and less than 300 remain in the wild. during the soviet rule, they were protected, and numbers controlled, but after the fall and the western style business endeavors their numbers plummeted, along with their long protected habitat, the siberian woods, cut down for lumber, all due to lack of government spending and high demand through the poachers on behalf of the tigers. it made me think, about big businesses polluting our world, dumping toxins in the amazon, depleting our oceans, buying out our governments, cutting down our forests…. everyone wants to be rich (not a problem, who doesn’t want to be comfortable and travel the world) but at what fuckin’ cost? as much as individual might is right, and a small government is good, it surely has its downfalls. you need a government to protect what belongs to us all, because individuals can be greedy, and that’s a key role of a government. now does that have to be socialism? or is it just being a human? hopefully a logical one. by xy
the birds of yucatan
my little birds are lucky to fetch $6. by uh
the most expensive book: John James Audubon’s Birds of America
having just spent days painting birds in mexico i found this book rather curious and desirable. if only i had 9 million dollars to spare, that is. a rare copy of john james audubon’s “birds of america” is heading to the auction block and is expected to fetch between $6.2 and $9.2 million. billed as the world’s most expensive book, it is one of only 119 copies in existence. the 2-by-3-foot tome consists of 435 hand-colored prints of Audubon’s famous illustrations. it comes, of course, from the collection of a british baron who died in 1955. sotheby’s, which will hold the auction in december 2010, has 8.8 million reasons to believe the audubon book will fetch a fortune. that’s how many dollars a copy sold for at a christies’s auction in just 10 years ago! wow! by uh
Oil Slick in the Gulf of Mexico: U.S. prohibited from enforcing the ban on the oil company
click to enlarge or go to earth observatoryyou gotta love the sellout losers like martin feldman, i really wonder how much money is needed to make you become one of these disgusting, unethical, moral-less idiots. makes me sick: “a new orleans federal judge, martin feldman, “immediately prohibited” the U.S. from enforcing the ban on the oil company and lifted the six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling imposed by president obama following the largest oil spill in U.S. history. drilling services share prices went up upon the release of the news.“ by xy
what’s behind the logo
I know we are not in any way a political blog. so please feel free to disregard the message and simply appreciate the community of graphic designers coming together through greenpeace’s behind the logo initiative to express their point of view on a certain oil spill in the mexico gulf… this one is my favorite, but you can see them all on flikr. by kv
heading to Mauritius: from up above
wish you were here. by kc
Free dive: swimming like a real mammal
the cove a film by jim clark
captive dolphins on z or x perma-grin at play
i finally saw the cove last night, a great sad film. it just goes to show how horrible we are in general. but to be fair to the “evil” fishermen of taijii, i failed to see why the massacre of dolphins is any worse a crime then say tuna? or whales? or wild sturgeon? or sharks? wild horses? wolves? even people or is that called collateral damage? i guess humans are so terrible, one can’t figure where to begin, and dolphins are just as good as any. how sad that even at the end, the few species we (kinda) care about are those that “we” find “cute or amusing”, like little dogs, smiling dolphins, and fuzzy pandas. we are so pathetically self centered “we” make me look like a saint.
anyhow, on a more positive note, aside from making an immediate donation to paul watson – the sea shepherds, whom i had supported in the past and i am a member of, i fell in love with the idea of “free diving”. i’ve been on the case all day. i should say that i have scuba-dived in rangiroa, snorkeled in bora bora, and (not to mention) walked the brooklyn bridge. but this is another world. no tank, no oxygen just the ability to hold your breath and manage your output. just like the other mammals in the sea. it must be like gliding vs. flying. can’t wait to try it… not to mention i want one of those mono fins today! i guess that’s not going pure, but hell, they look amazing… here is another free dive clip worth seeing. by dd
The tunguska event: black-holes, aliens, nuclear detonations and comets
watch all 3 episodes
very fascinating, especially given the knowledge that a comet will intersect earth at some point in the future. perhaps this will not occur in our lifetime, but certainly within a few hundred years.
the event, known as the tunguska event or tunguska explosion, was a powerful mysterious explosion in 1908 that occurred near the tunguska river in what is now krasnoyarsk krai in russia. although the cause of the explosion is the subject of debate to this date, it is commonly believed to have been caused by the air burst of a large meteoroid or comet fragment at an altitude of 5–10 kilometers above the earth’s surface. the explosion registered on seismic stations across eurasia. in some places, the shock wave would have been equivalent to an earthquake of 5.0 on the richter scale. what’s more, is that it produced fluctuations in atmospheric pressure strong enough to be detected in great britain. more recent discoveries here. by dd
Copenhagen: Global Population Control Program Suggested To Stop Climate Change
are you vegan? carbon neutral? want to save the panda? maybe the blue whale? how about the elimia lacy snail? that’s all good fun but the real problem is man himself and his ever expanding population. it’s not pc to talk about it, and don’t even dare ask your preacher. but with a little bit of 4th grade math, and some common sense we can surely see the future:
poverty: when you’re looking to feed your family how can you be bothered about eco system going kaput. only the privileged rich can even consider discussing conservation of any kind.
food: that steak you grilled is by far the biggest contributor to the hole in the ozone. and that toro tuna you loved, well its now more toxic than propane, that’s if you can find any in the future. fished out and dished out to death.
greed: corporations continue to dump toxins whenever possible rather than spend the money to properly discard it. they dump for the same reason poachers, poach. money to feed their little families.
land: more land is being taken by man, for farming and grazing, forcing other species (and sometimes other men) out of the way and towards extinction.
trash: recycling is great but not when there is close to 7 billion people, 6.9 billion of which could care less.
so maybe we can all face the reality and learn something from the “evil” communist china, and pass the 1 child per family world-wide, and in the mean time, fix what is wrong with it. in china you can have a second child but you pay a penalty, seems like the rich win everywhere! as far as two shooter with natural twins… well what can you do. you hit the jackpot, and get to keep both in china! of course this may never happen in the “free” world but alternatively how about giving incentives? in the 70’s india started handing out transistor radios for men who would get fixed! dicks where cheap then, and that may not work in america, but how about tax breaks? tax penalty? that will surely work… maybe we don’t have to kill ourselves to save the planet after all. by xy
sea shepherd conservation society: adi gil kicks ice
adi was just recently rammed into by a whaling ship in the antarctic watersand is missing 2/3 of its nose : (
the latest addition to the fleet of captain paul watson of the sea shepherds (the saviors of our oceans against illegal poachers and the like) is the 14-ton ‘adi gil’, formerly ‘earthrace’, a bio-diesel future forward kevlar reinforced boat with speeds of up to 40 knots. if that’s not cool enough it can also submerge underwater up to 23 feet!! the boat was designed for a successful round-the-world speed powerboat record attempt in 2008. it was acquired by sea shepherd last year and renamed after the hollywood businessman benefactor… who says saving the planet can’t has to be granola?some specs:
1. the hull is described as a wave-piercing trimaran. it is made out of carbon fiber with a foam core, with kevlar armor added to defend against ice. it is capable of submarining up to 7m (23ft) underwater.
2. much of the helm was originally modeled on a racing car. it was fitted with racing-style seats and a carbon steering wheel. its windscreen is 17mm laminated toughened glass.
3. power comes from two 540 hp engines, and the boat can reach speeds of more than 40 knots (75km/h). it runs on bio-diesel fuel and has a range of between 2,000 (2,700km) and 13,000 nautical miles depending on speed.
4. the 14-ton vessel’s distinctive horns act as ducts to channel hot air from the engines and suck in cool air. the interior has space for six beds.
to join the sea shepherd, become a member, save the seas or just contribute as we have been doing for the past 2 years go to sea shepherd dot org and kick some ice. by dd
“if the mone is belewe, we must believe that it is true”
our new year, new decade, new era, was started on the note of natural anomaly that some interpret as relating to absurdities and impossibilities. are we finally entering ‘the future’? i hope so.
a blue moon is a full moon that is not timed to the regular monthly pattern. most years have twelve full moons which occur approximately monthly, but in addition to those twelve full lunar cycles, each solar calendar year contains an excess of roughly eleven days compared to the lunar year. the extra days accumulate, so that every two or three years (7 times in the 19-year metonic cycle), there is an extra full moon, called a “blue moon.”
the earliest recorded english usage of the term “blue moon” was in a 1528 pamphlet violently attacking the english clergy, entitled “Rede Me and Be Not Wrothe” (read me and be not angry): “Yf they say the mone is belewe / We must believe that it is true” (if they say the moon is blue, we must believe that it is true). by kl
