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Blue Moon
There's a reason why "once in a blue moon" is a saying and the night sky on Friday will prove it. A blue moon is defined as any time there is a second full moon during a calendar month, according to NASA. While most years have 12 full moons, this year has 13. Don't let the name fool you, though. Blue moons are very rarely blue. Most are pale gray and white, resembling a moon on any other night. A truly blue colored moon can occur on rare occasions, according to NASA, with most being spotted after volcanic eruptions. It's also possible Friday's moon could be red. "Often, when the Moon is hanging low, it looks red for the same reason that sunsets are red, NASA explains. "The atmosphere is full of aerosols much smaller than the ones injected by volcanoes. These aerosols scatter blue light, while leaving the red behind." Step outside at sunset on July 31 to check out the blue moon, then if you're so inclined, go ahead and celebrate by doing something you only do "once in a blue moon." ~excerpt from: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/blue-moon-makes-fridays-moon-special/story?id=32789558 Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Happy Birthday
Filmmakers fighting "Happy Birthday" copyright find their "smoking gun" A 1927 kids' songbook proves "conclusively the song is in the public domain." It's been two years since filmmakers making a documentary about the song "Happy Birthday" filed a lawsuit claiming that the song shouldn't be under copyright. Now, they have filed what they say is "proverbial smoking-gun evidence" that should cause the judge to rule in their favor. The "smoking gun" is a 1927 version of the "Happy Birthday" lyrics, predating Warner/Chappell's 1935 copyright by eight years. That 1927 songbook, along with other versions located through the plaintiffs' investigations, "conclusively prove that any copyright that may have existed for the song itself... expired decades ago." Read on...this is interesting... ~excerpt from: http://arstechnica.com/apple/2015/07/filmmakers-fighting-happy-birthday-copyright-find-their-smoking-gun/ Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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International Folk Art Alliance: Folk Art Market Takes Place in Santa Fe Annually
I've been in Santa Fe for 4 days and attended this astounding event. It has been said that talent is universal, but opportunity is not. Over the past 10 years, the organization you have known as the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market has been providing opportunity to folk artists at the world's largest market of its kind. Our organization has expanded programs to meet the specific challenges that folk artists are facing in the global marketplace. What was born out of Santa Fe as a small grass roots organization focused on one weekend a year, has now grown into a nonprofit empowering international folk artists year-round. Allied with the world's master folk artists, participation in IFAA results in communities around the world having clean drinking water, education for girls, improved health care and thriving folk art communities. The IFAA mission is to celebrate and preserve living folk art traditions and create economic opportunities for and with folk artists worldwide. IFAA envisions a world that values the humanity of the handmade, honors timeless cultural traditions, and embraces dignified livelihoods for folk artists across the globe. And that, after all, is ... The Work of Art. There will be future entries to this blog about the Market. Stay tuned and check back often for this and other Art|Centric topics. -excerpts from Folk Art Alliance Web Site: www.folkartalliance.org original photo by dmdart Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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International Folk Art Alliance: Folk Art Market Takes Place in Santa Fe Annually
It has been said that talent is universal, but opportunity is not. Over the past 10 years, the organization you have known as the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market has been providing opportunity to folk artists at the world's largest market of its kind. Our organization has expanded programs to meet the specific challenges that folk artists are facing in the global marketplace. What was born out of Santa Fe as a small grass roots organization focused on one weekend a year, has now grown into a nonprofit empowering international folk artists year-round. Allied with the world's master folk artists, participation in IFAA results in communities around the world having clean drinking water, education for girls, improved health care and thriving folk art communities. The IFAA mission is to celebrate and preserve living folk art traditions and create economic opportunities for and with folk artists worldwide. IFAA envisions a world that values the humanity of the handmade, honors timeless cultural traditions, and embraces dignified livelihoods for folk artists across the globe. And that, after all, is ... The Work of Art. There will be future entries to this blog about the Market. Stay tuned and check back often for this and other Art|Centric topics. -excerpts from Folk Art Alliance Web Site: www.folkartalliance.org Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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One of the world's worst invasive species just showed up in Florida
The New Guinea flatworm is kind of a pest. In fact, it's considered one of the world's most invasive species. When it shows up uninvited to a region where it lacks natural predators, it makes itself at home - at the cost of native species forced to compete with it. And now, the flatworm has made its way to mainland Florida, putting the whole country at risk of an invasion. Platydemus manokwari isn't dangerous to humans. Not directly, anyway. But it also isn't pretty: The very flat worm grows to about two inches long, and has a murky olive back and a pale belly - a belly with a mouth in the middle of it. So it basically looks like a sneeze with eyes. But while the New Guinea flatworm poses no danger to you, it could harm the ecosystem: The flatworm is known to feast on local snails wherever it lands, even climbing up trees to get to them. When the species showed up in France in 2014, researchers argued that consequences could be dire if the species wasn't eradicated immediately. The species is currently contained to a single hothouse, but hasn't been eradicated. Earthworms are important in supporting agriculture, and snails are a major source of food for many animals higher up the food chain. Unless Florida's birds develop a taste for flatworm (which is unlikely, because it reportedly has a taste too astringent to tempt even chickens) we might be in trouble. ~excerpt from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/06/23/uh-oh-one-of-the-worlds-worst-invasive-species-just-showed-up-in-the-united-states/ Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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An Abandoned Chinese Village Is Now Overgrown With Ivy
Just 50 years ago, the Houtou Wan Village - one of the 394 islands known as the Shengsi Islands in China's Yangtze River - was a thriving fishing town. But after the adjacent bay could no longer accommodate the increasing number of vessels, the village was gradually abandoned over the past half a century as residents moved elsewhere. For a few decades now, almost no one has lived in Houtou Wan, leaving nature to take over. The result is a verdant relic that looks more like a secret garden than an empty ghost town. Ivy covers nearly every inch of what were once homes and businesses, creating a lush scene of dense foliage. ~ excerpt from: http://mentalfloss.com/article/65119/abandoned-chinese-village-now-gorgeously-overgrown-ivy Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Coldest Stable Molecules in the World
Scientists have managed to create the coldest stable molecules in the world. They've cooled molecules in a gas of sodium potassium (NaK) to a temperature of 500 nanokelvins, which is just a hair above absolute zero and over a million times colder than interstellar space. While molecules are normally full of energy, vibrating and rotating through space, the new ultracold molecules have effectively been stilled. In fact, they've been cooled to average speeds of centimeters per second and prepared in their absolutely lowest vibrational and rotational states. "We are very close to the temperature at which quantum mechanics play a big role in the motion of molecules," said Martin Zwierlein, one of the researchers, in a news release. "So these molecules would no longer run around like billiard balls, but move as quantum mechanical matter waves. And with ultracold molecules, you can get a huge variety of different states of matter, like superfluid crystals, which are crystalline, yet feel no friction, which is totally bizarre. This has not been observed so far, but predicted. We might not be far from seeing these effects, so we're all excited." Each molecule is composed of individual atoms that are bonded together to form a molecular structure, such as the sodium potassium molecules used in this study. The scientists used lasers and evaporative cooling to cool clouds of individual sodium and potassium atoms to near absolute zero. They then essentially glued the atoms together to form ultracold molecules, applying a magnetic field to prompt the bonding. In order to strengthen the bond and make each molecule more stable, the researchers exposed the NaK molecules to a pair of lasers, the large frequency difference of which matched the energy difference between the molecules initial state and its lowest vibrational state. In the end, the researchers created ultracold molecules that could pave the way to seeing exotic states of matter. To achieve this, though, the molecules will have to be cooled further to all but freeze in place. ~ excerpt and image from: http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/26751/20150616/coldest-molecules-earth-created-mit-scientists-colder-interestellar-space.htm Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Virgin births Reported in Endangered Wild Sawfish
First documented case of parthenogenesis in a wild vertebrate Scientists have documented in Florida a series of "virgin births," reproduction without mating, in a critically endangered sawfish species pushed to the brink of extinction by over-fishing and habitat destruction. The scientists said on Monday it marks the first time the phenomenon called parthenogenesis has been seen in a vertebrate in the wild. Some females may be resorting to asexual reproduction because smalltooth sawfish numbers are so low mating opportunities may not exist, they said. In parthenogenesis, a female's egg cell can develop into a baby without being fertilized by a male's sperm cell. In making an egg cell, a precursor cell divides into four cells. The one that eventually becomes the egg cell retains key cellular structures and the gel-like cytoplasm. The other three hold extra genetic material. Sawfish, a type of ray, have a flattened shark-shaped body and a long, flat snout with pairs of teeth on the side used to find, stun and kill prey. They grow up to 18 feet long. ~excerpt from: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/virgin-births-reported-in-endangered-wild-sawfish-1.3095906 Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Sea Turtles on Sanibel and Captiva
Sea turtle nesting season begins May 1st and ends October 31st each year. Sea turtles started nesting early this year, with the first nest on April 25. Sea turtles are among the world's oldest creatures. These ancient reptiles have long fascinated people around the world. On Sanibel and Captiva, where the beaches provide a subtropical nesting area for threatened loggerhead and endangered green turtles, more than 100 island residents volunteer each summer as part of the Conservation Foundation's Sea Turtle Research and Monitoring Program. The Loggerhead sea turtle nesting season officially started on April 20 this year, which is a couple of weeks earlier than normal due to the water temperatures varying this season. What that means for people on Sanibel is to keep the beaches dark and not disturb the female turtles coming ashore to build nests and lay eggs, or the hatchlings which will be burrowing out of the sand and hopefully heading for the waters of Gulf of Mexico. excerpt from: https://www.sccf.org/content/143/Sea-Turtles.aspx image from: http://www.sundialresort.com/blog/sea-turtle-nesting-season-2015/ Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Octopus
The octopus is much celebrated for its intelligence and use of camouflage, but one of its most remarkable achievements is how it moves. The animal somehow controls eight long, flexible arms with a fluidity that can make it look like animated spaghetti. The problem of controlling this kind of movement is, as scientists say, "not trivial." Three Israeli researchers set out to record and analyze the movements of an octopus to plumb the secrets of how it coordinates its arms during crawling. They found that the brain of the octopus doesn't have to do everything, because the arms, in effect, have a mind of their own. An octopus has a kind of mixed body plan. Its head and eyes have a left and right side, so in that sense, the animal is bilateral. But its arms radiate out from its mouth like the spokes of a bicycle. This radial structure is more like that of a starfish. The octopus does have a preferred direction of movement, at about 45 degrees to the direction its eyes are facing. Because of how its eyes are built, that angle is optimal for having a good view of its surroundings. Analysis showed it can move in any direction without changing its head position. The head and body are controlled independently of the arms movement. When an arm was active in crawling, it always has the same motion. It would shorten and elongate like an inchworm, pushing the whole creature along. ~image from: https://www.vanaqua.org/experience/shows/spotlight-on-octopus ~ excerpt from: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/21/science/smart-arms-control-the-potential-chaos-of-octopus-movement.html?_r=0 Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Kentucky Derby
"During Derby Week, Louisville is the capital of the world," John Steinbeck wrote in 1956."This Kentucky Derby, whatever it is - a race, an emotion, a turbulence, an explosion - is one of the most beautiful and violent and satisfying things I have ever experienced." The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race, with a length of one and a quarter miles at Churchill Downs, is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds and fillies 121 pounds. The race is known in the United States as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports" or "The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports" for its approximate duration, and is also called "The Run for the Roses" for the blanket of roses draped over the winner. It is the first leg of the American Triple Crown and is followed by the Preakness Stakes, then the Belmont Stakes. The Kentucky Derby has been run every consecutive year since 1875. ~image and excerpts from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_Derby http://www.bourbonandboots.com/how-to-do-the-kentucky-derby/" Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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May Basket Day
The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian times, with the Floralia, festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers, held April 27 during the Roman Republic era, and with the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries. The day was a traditional summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures. May Basket Day is still practiced in discrete pockets of the country. It went something like this: As the month of April rolled to an end, people would begin gathering flowers and candies and other goodies to put in May baskets to hang on the doors of friends, neighbors and loved ones on May 1. In some communities, hanging a May basket on someone's door was a chance to express romantic interest. If a basket-hanger was seen by the recipient, the recipient would give chase and try to steal a kiss from the basket-hanger. Perhaps considered quaint now, in decades past May Basket Day, like the ancient act of dancing around the maypole, was a widespread rite of spring in the United States. ~image and excerpts from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day http://www.npr.org/blogs/npr-history-dept/2015/04/30/402817821/a-forgotten-tradition-may-basket-day http://marshacannon.org/2014/05/01/may-day-baskets/ Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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"Methuselah" Palm Grown From 2,000-Year-Old Seed Is a Father
A male date palm tree named Methuselah that sprouted from a 2,000-year-old seed nearly a decade ago is thriving today. He is over three meters [ten feet] tall, he's got a few offshoots, he has flowers, and his pollen is good. He pollinated a female with his pollen, a wild [modern] female and he can make dates. excerpt and photo from: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150324-ancient-methuselah-date-palm-sprout-science/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_tw20150325news-methuselah&utm_campaign=Content&sf8196228=1 Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Happy Birthday Eeyore!
Well, actually I am a day late with this greeting. And with Eeyore's outlook, he would probably say, "What a nice greeting, even if it is a day late." Eeyore has a penchant for gloomy ruminations. But his particular outlook on life produces some pretty great (and perfectly deadpan) witticisms. Eeyore has a clever, brilliant, sense of straight-faced humor that he can expertly pull off, with or without his tail. A well-known Eeyore quote: "It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily. "So it is." "And freezing." "Is it?" "Yes," said Eeyore. "However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven't had an earthquake lately." Here is the source of the great image of our favorite positive/negative character: ~ http://blogs.disney.com/oh-my-disney/2013/09/17/12-amazing-witticisms-from-eeyore/ ~ quote from: http://www.winnie-pooh.org/eeyore-quotes.htm Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Red Colobus Monkey
A recent photo of Red Colobus Monkey have proven that they are not extinct. A recent photograph of the red colobus monkey has been captured by two primatologists working in the forests of the Republic of Congo. The red colobus monkey is a rare primate and was not spotted in the wild after 1970s. Since it has not been seen for such a long time, people started believing that it went extinct. However, the team found a group of red colobus in the swamp forests along the Bokiba River in the national park. The feat was made possible with the help of local people familiar with red colombus vocalizations and behavior. Red colobuses are primarily arboreal and are highly sensitive to hunting and habitat destruction, and have been referred to as probably the most threatened taxonomic group of primates in Africa. ~image and excerpt from: http://www.dispatchtimes.com/a-recent-photo-of-red-colobus-monkey-have-proven-that-they-are-not-extinct/2486/ ~excerpt from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_colobus Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Earth Day
The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, activated 20 million Americans from all walks of life and is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement. Each year, Earth Day - April 22 - marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. The height of hippie and flower-child culture in the United States, 1970 brought the death of Jimi Hendrix, the last Beatles album, and Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Protest was the order of the day, but saving the planet was not the cause. War raged in Vietnam, and students nationwide increasingly opposed it. The idea came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, he realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a "national teach-in on the environment" to the national media; persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair; and recruited Denis Hayes as national coordinator. Hayes built a national staff of 85 to promote events across the land. Image from: http://mashable.com/category/earth-day/ ~excerpt from: http://www.earthday.org/about-earth-day-network-3 Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Twinkle Twinkle All Stars
Stars twinkle. Planets shine steadily. Why? Stars twinkle (scintillate) because they're so far away from Earth that, even through large telescopes, they appear only as pinpoints. And it's easy for Earth's atmosphere to disturb the pinpoint light of a star. Thus the stars twinkle. As a star's light pierces our atmosphere, each single stream of starlight is forced by the atmosphere to zig and zag this way and that. And so stars appear to twinkle. On the other hand, planets don't twinkle (usually) simply because they're closer to Earth. You'd know they're closer if you looked through a telescope. Through telescopes, planets don't look like pinpoints. Instead, they look like tiny disks. And while the light from one edge of a planet's disk might be forced to "zig" by Earth's atmosphere, light from the opposite edge of the disk might "zag" in an opposite way. The zigs and zags cancel each other out and that's why planets appear to shine steadily. By the way, if you could see stars and planets from outer space, both would shine steadily. There'd be no atmosphere to disturb the steady streaming of their light. ~excerpt from: http://earthsky.org/space/why-dont-planets-twinkle-as-stars-do Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Haiku
Haiku is one of the most important forms of traditional Japanese poetry. Haiku is, today, a 17-syllable verse form consisting of three metrical units of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Haiku poems date from 9th century Japan to the present day. Haiku is more than a type of poem; it is a way of looking at the physical world and seeing something deeper, like the very nature of existence. Traditional haiku often focuses on very simple subjects while providing an interesting or unexpected perspective. Two distinct images are usually placed in juxtaposition, allowing the reader to see an enlightening connection between the two. Haiku often contains a seasonal reference and poems are traditionally about nature or the natural world. One famous haiku: My life, - How much more of it remains? The night is brief. - Shiki ~excerpts from: http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-haiku-poems.html http://www.haiku-poetry.org/famous-haiku.html Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Taliesin West
Taliesin West is a national historic landmark nestled in the desert foothills of the McDowell Mountains outside of Scottsdale, AZ. It is also the home of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and Taliesin, The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. Wright's beloved winter home and the bustling headquarters of the Taliesin Fellowship, Taliesin West was established in 1937 and diligently handcrafted over many years into a utopian world unto itself. Deeply connected to the desert from which it was forged, Taliesin West possesses an almost prehistoric grandeur. It was built and maintained almost entirely by Wright and his apprentices, making it among the most personal of the architect's creations. Wright and the Taliesin Fellowship began to "trek" to Arizona each winter in 1933. In 1937 Wright purchased the plot of desert land that would soon become Taliesin West. He paid $3.50 an acre on a southern slope of the McDowell Range overlooking Paradise Valley outside Scottsdale. Wright believed this to be the perfect spot for such a building: a place of residence, a place of business and a place to learn. Wright described it like this, "Finally I learned of a site twenty-six miles from Phoenix, across the desert of the vast Paradise Valley. On up to a great mesa in the mountains. On the mesa just below McDowell Peak we stopped, turned, and looked around. The top of the world. The view at Taliesin West was critical to its success. In the 1940s Wright waged a battle against overhead power lines on aesthetic grounds. In the late 1940s when power lines appeared within the view of Taliesin West, Wright wrote President Harry S. Truman, demanding they be buried. It was a losing battle. So after briefly considering rebuilding in Tucson, he "turned his back on the valley," moving the entrance to the rear of the main building. ~image and excerpts from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliesin_West http://www.franklloydwright.org/taliesin-west/plan-a-visit.html Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Napier Jewelry of a Past Age
Marilyn Monroe wore Napier when she posed for the cover of Movieland magazine in 1954. That same decade, Mamie Eisenhower, Arlene Francis, Miss America, and the Duchess of Windsor all flaunted Napier. Doris Day even endorsed two namesake lines from Napier. The brand was often on the cutting edge of jewelry fashion. It was one of the first companies to bring jewelry designs directly from Paris. During its Golden Age in the 1950s, Napier put out everything from a subdued line of "tailored" jewelry to countless numbers of bombastic pieces that might be modernist abstractions, mid-century kitsch, or explosions of Rococo frippery. "We always maintain that Napier was not a costume jewelry manufacturer," says Meoni, who was the president of Napier between 1985 and 1995. "Napier was a fashion jewelry manufacturer because we were making a high-quality product on the high-end of the market. We catered to the upper-level department stores such as Bergdorf Goodman and Gump's." There's more to read at: http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/are-you-bold-and-brassy-enough-to-wear-vintage-napier-jewelry/ Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Erte
Erte was born Romain de Tirtoff in St. Petersburg, Russia. The only son of an admiral in the Imperial Fleet, he was raised amidst Russia's social elite. As a young boy, he was fascinated by the Persian miniatures he found in his father's library. These exotic, brightly patterned designs continued to be important to him and influenced the development of his style. He moved to Paris at the age of eighteen and took the name Erte, from the French pronunciation of his initials, R and T. He was a diversely talented 20th-century artist and designer who flourished in an array of fields, including fashion, jewellery, graphic arts, costume and set design for film, theatre, and opera, and interior decor. Erte is perhaps most famous for his elegant fashion designs which capture the art deco period in which he worked. One of his earliest successes was designing apparel for the French dancer Gaby Deslys who died in 1920. His delicate figures and sophisticated, glamorous designs are instantly recognizable, and his ideas and art still influence fashion into the 21st century. His costumes, programme designs, and sets were featured in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1923, many productions of the Folies Bergere, and George White's Scandals. On Broadway, the celebrated French chanteuse Irene Bordoni wore Erte's designs. At the age of 75, Erte was encouraged to embark on a new career and began to recreate the remarkable designs of his youth in bronze and serigraphy. The Art Deco movement was hence reborn. A lifetime of international success and recognition has ensured this unique artist's place in the annals of art history, and his original designs grace the permanent collections of prestigious museums throughout the world including New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institution and London's Victoria & Albert Museum. ~image and excerpts from: http://rogallery.com/Erte/erte-biography.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ert%C3%A9 Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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The Oldest Tree: The Prometheus Tree
In 1964, a geologist in the Nevada wilderness discovered the oldest living thing on earth, after he killed it. The young man was Donald Rusk Currey, a graduate student studying ice-age glaciology in Eastern Nevada; the tree he cut down was of the Pinus longaeva species, also known as the Great Basin bristlecone pine. Working on a grant from the National Science Foundation, Currey was compiling the ages of ancient bristlecone trees to develop a glacial timeline for the region. Currey's ring count for this particular tree reached backward from the present, past the founding of the United States, the Great Crusades, and even the Greek and Roman Empires, to the time of the ancient Egyptians. Sheltered in an unremarkable grove near Wheeler Peak, the bristlecone he cut down was found to be nearly 5,000 years old, taking root only a few hundred years after human history was first recorded. The Prometheus tree's felling made it doubly symbolic, as the myth of its namesake captures both the human hunger for knowledge and the unintended negative consequences that often result from this desire. Though members of the scientific community and press were outraged that the tree was killed, Currey's mistake ultimately provided the impetus to establish Great Basin National Park to protect the bristlecones. The death of the Prometheus tree also helped to change our larger perception of trees as an infinitely replenishing resource. At the time, it was just a tree, and the mindset was that trees were a renewable resource and they would grow back. And it didn't seem like it was any particularly special tree. To this day, Prometheus still holds the count for the most rings of any tree, at 4,862. ~excerpt from: http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/oldest-living-tree-tells-all/ Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Tundra
The Arctic Tundra is the world's youngest biome. It was formed 10,000 years ago. The tundra is a vast and treeless land which covers about 20% of the Earth's surface, circumnavigating the North pole. It is usually very cold, and the land is pretty stark. The Arctic tundra is also a windy place and winds can blow between 30 to 60 miles per hour. Tundra comes from the Finnish word "tunturia", which means a barren land. The ground is permanently frozen 10 inches to 3 feet down so that trees can't grow. The bare and sometimes rocky ground can only support low growing plants like mosses, heaths, and lichen. In the winter it is cold and dark and in the summer, when the snow and the top layer of permafrost melt, it is very soggy and the tundra is covered with marshes, lakes, bogs and streams that breed thousands of insects and attract many migrating birds. The tundra is a very fragile environment. The extremely cold temperatures makes it a difficult environment to survive in during the winter, and plants and animals have a hard time coping with any extra stresses and disturbances. More people moving to the tundra to work in the mines and oil rigs have created towns and more roads. Some animal's movements to traditional feeding and denning grounds have been disrupted by these obstacles. When they try to pass through a town they are often scared away or shot. With their feeding patterns disrupted, many polar bears have starved. The Alaskan oil pipeline was built across a caribou migration route. In some places the pipeline has been raised above the ground so the caribou can pass under it. Pesticides have been used to control the hordes of insects. Thousands of migrating birds come to the tundra because of the abundant insects. Through the food chain the pesticides reach many of the animals that live on the tundra. Pollution from mining and drilling for oil has polluted the air, lakes and rivers. The land around some nickel mines in Russia has become so polluted that the plants in the surrounding area have died. Footprints and tire tracks can be visible for many years after they were made. When the sun hits the ruts it causes the permafrost to melt. This causes erosion and the ruts get bigger, and eventually the ruts turn into gullies. Tracks made during WW II have grown so large that some of them are now lakes. The tundra is not a cold and useless wasteland. It is a very fragile environment and the plants and animals that have made their home on the tundra biome have made some incredible adaptations to the long, cold winters and the short but abundant summers. They live on a precarious edge and the smallest stresses can bring about their destruction. image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tundra ~excerpts from: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/tundra.html http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/tundra.htm Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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The Frog and the Fish
The warty frog and the prize goldfish met one summer afternoon in the temple pool. "Don't you realize how beautiful I am?" bubbled the goldfish flashing her wispy tail. The frog made no reply. "I can understand your silence," gloated the goldfish. "I am not only graceful in my movements but I also enhance the golden rays of the sun." Again, neither answer or movements from the frog. "Say something," demanded the goldfish just as a waiting crane speared the sparkling fish and flew into the sky. "Bye bye," croaked the frog. ~excerpt and image from: http://www.thedailyzen.org/2015/03/31/the-frog-and-the-fish/?utm_content=buffer8025e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Celebrate National Pencil Day!
I, Pencil - My Family Tree as told to Leonard E. Read This is a most wonderful essay, first published in the December 1958 issue of The Freeman. Here is the beginning of this essay: I am a lead pencil - the ordinary wooden pencil familiar to all boys and girls and adults who can read and write. RP.2 Writing is both my vocation and my avocation; that's all I do. RP.3 You may wonder why I should write a genealogy. Well, to begin with, my story is interesting. And, next, I am a mystery - more so than a tree or a sunset or even a flash of lightning. But, sadly, I am taken for granted by those who use me, as if I were a mere incident and without background. This supercilious attitude relegates me to the level of the commonplace. This is a species of the grievous error in which mankind cannot too long persist without peril. For, the wise G. K. Chesterton observed, "We are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of wonders." RP.4 I, Pencil, simple though I appear to be, merit your wonder and awe, a claim I shall attempt to prove. In fact, if you can understand me - no, that's too much to ask of anyone - if you can become aware of the miraculousness which I symbolize, you can help save the freedom mankind is so unhappily losing. I have a profound lesson to teach. And I can teach this lesson better than can an automobile or an airplane or a mechanical dishwasher because - well, because I am seemingly so simple. And here is the last thought challenging paragraph: The lesson I have to teach is this: Leave all creative energies uninhibited. Merely organize society to act in harmony with this lesson. Let society's legal apparatus remove all obstacles the best it can. Permit these creative know-hows freely to flow. Have faith that free men and women will respond to the Invisible Hand. This faith will be confirmed. I, Pencil, seemingly simple though I am, offer the miracle of my creation as testimony that this is a practical faith, as practical as the sun, the rain, a cedar tree, the good earth. Go here to read the wonderfully written and attention grabbing middle (even if you never wondered what goes into making a pencil): http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/rdPncl1.html Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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How Hokusai's 'The Great Wave' Went Viral
"The Great Wave," formally titled "Under the Wave off Kanagawa" from the Hokusai series "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji", Katsushika Hokusai's woodblock print from the early 1830s, may be the most famous artwork in Japanese history. The image of a wave towering over Mount Fuji is the subject of a new book and recent exhibits in Paris and Berlin. It is on view in a show at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, and another major display is expected at the British Museum in 2017. Starting April 5, the piece takes a starring role in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston's largest ever exhibition of Japanese prints. The artwork exists in that rare stratosphere of images that are both instantly recognizable and internationally famous. "The Great Wave" has gone viral over time, first circulating the old-fashioned way - via traders and tall ships in the 19th century. Since then, the woodcut has been called an inspiration for Claude Debussy's orchestral work, "La Mer", and appears in poetry and prose by Rainer Maria Rilke, Pearl S. Buck and Hari Kunzru. Levi's and Patagonia used it in marketing campaigns. It has been preserved in cyberspace as a Google Doodle. The work is about the size of a piece of legal paper. The woodblock depicts Mount Fuji, a hallowed place in Japan, but pushes the peak deep into the distance using western perspective. The wave was printed on Japanese mulberry paper but marked by a color new to Japan - a vibrant Prussian blue created from synthetic dye in Germany. ~ excerpt and image from: http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-hokusais-the-great-wave-went-viral-1426698151?utm_content=buffer23d58&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=dailydigest Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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32,000-Year-Old Plant Brought Back to Life
The oldest plant ever to be regenerated has been grown from 32,000 year old seed. A Russian team discovered a seed cache of Silene stenophylla, a flowering plant native to Siberia, that had been buried by an Ice Age squirrel near the banks of the Kolyma River. Radiocarbon dating confirmed that the seeds were 32,000 years old. The mature and immature seeds, which had been entirely encased in ice, were unearthed from 124 feet below the permafrost, surrounded by layers that included mammoth, bison, and woolly rhinoceros bones. The mature seeds had been damaged - perhaps by the squirrel itself, to prevent them from germinating in the burrow. But some of the immature seeds retained viable plant material. The team extracted that tissue from the frozen seeds, placed it in vials, and successfully germinated the plants. The plants - identical to each other but with different flower shapes from modern S. stenophylla - grew, flowered, and, after a year, created seeds of their own. ~excerpt and image from: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/02/120221-oldest-seeds-regenerated-plants-science/ Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Linen Postcards
Linen postcards were printed in the United States from the 1930s until the 1950s. Contrary to their descriptive name, linen postcards were not made out of linen, which is derived from flax, but they did have a high rag content, which means the paper contained a certain amount of cotton fiber. Instead, linen actually refers to the surface texture of the postcard - prior to the early 1930s, it was not economically feasible to print anything of quality on embossed papers. Two of the key traits of linen postcards are their saturated colors, recalling the Phostints produced by the Detroit Photographic Company in the early part of the century, and their soft focus, the result of the cards' uneven surfaces. Many linen postcards also had white borders, a stylistic holdover from the postcards published after World War I and throughout the 1920s. And while many of the artists who were popular during the heyday of the artist-signed-postcards era at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries are not well represented in linen, most of the major postcard categories are, from comic postcards to scenics (also called "views") to travel and lodging cards, including the popular large-letter postcards. ~excerpt from: http://www.collectorsweekly.com/postcards/linen Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Uranium glass
Uranium or Vaseline glass is glass which has had uranium, usually in oxide diuranate form, added to a glass mix before melting for coloration. Uranium glass was once made into tableware and household items, but fell out of widespread use when the availability of uranium to most industries was sharply curtailed during the Cold War in the 1940s to 1990s The normal color of uranium glass ranges from yellow to green depending on the oxidation state and concentration of the metal ions, although this may be altered by the addition of other elements as glass colorants. Uranium glass also fluoresces bright green under ultraviolet light and can register above background radiation on a sufficiently sensitive Geiger counter, although most pieces of uranium glass are considered to be harmless and only negligibly radioactive. Certain radioactive materials were used in antiques because of their unique color. Antiques containing radioactive material can continue to emit very low levels of radiation for thousands of years, if not longer. Antiques that contain radioactive materials are usually not a health risk if they are in good condition. Canary glass, uranium glass, or Vaseline glass, as it became known in the early 20th century for its similar color to petroleum jelly, emits radiation, but the amounts are tiny, infinitesimal, ridiculously small. Our bodies are subjected to many times more radiation every day. We receive a daily dose of radioactive contamination from the gamma rays that make it through our atmosphere after hurtling through outer space, from the naturally occurring radionuclides present in the ground we walk upon, from the background radiation lingering in the materials used to build the places we call our homes. It's the chemistry of uranium that makes Vaseline glass glow, not radioactivity. It wouldn't make any difference whether the glass contained depleted uranium with the 235 isotope removed or natural uranium; the chemistry is identical. Uranium fluoresces under UV light. ~image and really cool info: http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/these-people-love-to-collect-radioactive-glass/ ~other excerpts from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium_glass http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb01/antiques.html Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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The Stewart Gardner Museum Masterpieces
In the early morning hours of March 18, 1990, a pair of thieves disguised as Boston police officers entered the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and roamed the Museum's galleries, stealing thirteen works of art. They gained entry into the Museum by posing as Boston police officers and stating that they were responding to a call. The guard on duty broke protocol and allowed them entry through the Museum's security door. The stolen works include: Rembrandt's Storm on the Sea of Galilee (1633), A Lady and Gentleman in Black (1633) and a Self Portrait (1634), an etching on paper; Vermeer's The Concert (1658-1660); and Govaert Flinck's Landscape with an Obelisk (1638); and a Chinese vase or Ku, all taken from the Dutch Room on the second floor. Also stolen from the second floor were five works on paper by the Impressionist artist Edgar Degas and a finial from the top of a pole support for a Napoleonic silk flag, both from the Short Gallery. Edouard Manet's Chez Tortoni (1878-1880) was taken from the Blue Room on the first floor. To mark a somber date, the 25th anniversary of the largest art theft in American history, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum has created a "virtual tour" of the 13 items, including paintings by Rembrandt and Vermeer, that were stolen from the museum on March 18th, 1990. The museum has long been reluctant to mark the date, a reminder that there has been little progress in recovering the works, valued at $300 million to $500 million. But the online tour not only marks the anniversary but, perhaps, presents some hope that someone will recognize an image and contribute to an item's return. The online display features panoramic views of the galleries, where blank spaces and empty frames remain, as well as archival photos showing the stolen items, in place, before the heist. ~excerpts and image from: "http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/16/the-gardner-masterpieces-still-missing-but-visible-again-online/?utm_content=buffer76a35&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=dailydigest&_r=0 http://www.gardnermuseum.org/resources/theft Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, saline, endorheic (closed hydrologic systems) rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, predominantly in California's Imperial and Coachella valleys. Its surface is 234 ft below sea level. The deepest point of the sea is 5 ft higher than the lowest point of Death Valley. The modern sea was accidentally created by the engineers of the California Development Company in 1905. In an effort to increase water flow into the area for farming, irrigation canals were dug from the Colorado River into the valley. The Colorado River then punched through poorly constructed levees and flowed for two years into the giant below-sea-level depression.Its waters have no outlet to the ocean, so a century's worth of agricultural runoff and evaporation have left a steadily concentrating brine, made even more noxious by residual fertilizers and pesticides. The lack of an outflow means the Salton Sea is a system of accelerated change. Variations in agricultural runoff cause fluctuations in water level (and flooding of surrounding communities in the 1950s and 1960s), and the relatively high salinity of the inflow feeding the sea has resulted in ever increasing salinity. By the 1960s, the salinity of the Salton Sea was rising, jeopardizing some of the species in it. It has a salinity exceeding 5.0% w/v (saltier than seawater), and most species of fish can no longer survive there. Fertilizer runoffs combined with the increasing salinity have resulted in large algal blooms and elevated bacterial levels. Beginning in the 1930s, developers realized that the populations of Los Angeles and nearby Palm Springs could provide a steady stream of weekend fun seekers. For a while, they were right. Towns sprung up around the shore to cater to fishermen, campers, and boaters. Resorts appeared and did a brisk business, entertaining everyone from Joe Six Pack to the Rat Pack. The influx of runoff reached critical proportions in the 1960s, and the water level began to wildly fluctuate. Whole towns and sections of towns were suddenly waist-deep in ever more saline flooding. Things got so bad that the entire shoreline area of Bombay Beach had to be abandoned in the late 1970s. A 20-foot high berm surrounds the remaining streets and homes of the dilapidated community and its population of 366 remaining homesteaders. ~excerpts and image from: image of the Salton Sea and other really great photographs: http://www.scottcampbellphotography.com/fine-art-photographer/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salton_Sea http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-salton-sea-20150315-story.html http://www.weirdus.com/states/california/abandoned/salton_sea/ Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Neanderthal Jewelry?
Examining a piece of primitive jewelry - consisting of eight white-tailed eagle talons - researchers theorize that Neanderthals may have worn the first jewelry roughly 130,000 years ago. Discovered in Krapina, in Croatia, the find suggests that this earliest ancestor of Man may have been more far more creative than we once gave them credit for. The talons appear to have been made into symbolic jewelry roughly 80,000 years before the appearance of modern humans in Europe. Neanderthals are often thought of to be simple-minded mumbling, bumbling, stumbling fools, but the more we know about them the more sophisticated they've become. People often argue that Neanderthals were mimicking modern humans instead of coming up with ornamental things on their own. In this case, there's no doubt: There were only Neanderthals there, and only Neanderthal tools. These talons provide multiple new lines of evidence for Neanderthals' abilities and cultural sophistication. They are the earliest evidence for jewelry in the European fossil record and demonstrate that Neanderthals possessed a symbolic culture long before more modern human forms arrived in Europe. ~excerpt and image from: http://www.piercepioneer.com/was-the-neanderthal-capable-of-making-jewelry-a-new-study-says-yes/38787 Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Scientists Have Worked Out How Chameleons Change Color
The changing color of a chameleon's body is an impressive sight - but how it happens has long been a significant scientific question without a compelling answer. Now, researchers have identified a thin layer of deformable nanocyrstals in their skin which gives rise to the phenomenon. A team of scientists from the University of Geneva has observed that chameleons have a layer of skin cells which contain nanocrystals floating within them. Relatively evenly distributed in the cellular matrix, these crystals reflect light at wavelengths - and hence color - related to their spacing. But the researchers have also found that chameleons can change the spacing between crystals. It's this that enables them to change color before our eyes. ~excerpt and image from: http://gizmodo.com/scientists-have-worked-out-how-chameleons-change-color-1690754338 Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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HAPPY PI (Π ) DAY!
Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th (3/14) around the world. Pi (Greek letter Π ) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant - the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter - which is approximately 3.14159. Pi has been calculated to over one trillion digits beyond its decimal point. As an irrational and transcendental number, it will continue infinitely without repetition or pattern. While only a handful of digits are needed for typical calculations, Pi's infinite nature makes it a fun challenge to memorize, and to computationally calculate more and more digits. This year, 2015, Pi Day will have special significance on 3/14/15 at 9:26:53 a.m. and p.m., with the date and time representing the first 10 digits of Π . That same second will also contain a precise instant corresponding to all of the digits of Π . ~excerpts from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_Day http://www.piday.org/ image: http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/now-hear-this/4311969/Happy-Pi-Day-item-2 Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Mockingbird: Mimus polyglottos
Is something keeping you awake these spring nights? Waking you up before sunrise? It seems that there's a lot of activity taking place when most of us expect our birds to be resting. Northern Mockingbirds are well known night callers, especially if there is a full moon or it's breeding season. Enthusiastic mockingbirds can stay up ALL night, mimicking every bird song in the book as well as other sounds such bells, whistles, car alarms, cell phones and sirens. These are birds that can try the patience of the most committed bird-lover! Mockingbirds have landed in South Florida and our state bird is looking for love - at the top of his lungs. Mockingbirds mate from February through August, but most breeding in Florida occurs in the Spring. The mocking bird, or mockingbird was adopted as the Florida state bird by Florida Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 3 approved on April 23, 1927. The northern mockingbird is known for its intelligence and has also been noted in North American culture. A 2009 study showed that the bird was able to recognize individual humans, particularly noting those who had previously been intruders or threats. Also birds recognize their breeding spots and return to areas in which they had greatest success in previous years. The males arrive before the beginning of the breeding season to establish their territories. They use a series of courtship displays to attract the females to their sites. They run around the area either to showcase their territory to the females or to pursue the females. The males also engage in flight to showcase their wings and they sing and call as they perform all of these displays. ~excerpts and image from: http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-05-27/news/fl-noisy-night-mockingbirds-20110527_1_mockingbird-state-bird-migratory-bird-treaty-act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_mockingbird http://www.kcet.org/news/redefine/revisit/wildlife/listen-to-the-mockingbird.html Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Women (and Beauty?)
International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8 every year. Below is interesting information about this day. Back in the early 1930's Max Factor designed the item in today's image. It represented "perfect facial proportions" and was used in the film industry. The dichotomy between this device and International Women's Day is fascinating and perhaps shows some improved thinking. International Women's Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women's Day, is celebrated on March 8 every year. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation, and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political, and social achievements. Started as a Socialist political event, the holiday blended the culture of many countries, primarily in Europe, especially those in the Soviet Bloc. In some regions, the day lost its political flavor, and became simply an occasion for people to express their love for women in a way somewhat similar to a mixture of Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. In other regions, however, the political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner. This year's theme, "Empowering Women - Empowering Humanity: Picture It!" envisions a world where each woman and girl can exercise her choices, such as participating in politics, getting an education, having an income, and living in societies free from violence and discrimination. The tortuous looking device in the image is a beauty calibrator or "micrometer", made in 1932 by makeup mogul Max Factor, the father of the modern cosmetics industry. A bizarre union of beauty and phrenology, this one-of-a-kind device was meant to be used as a tool for Hollywood make up artists, who could measure a starlet's face against "perfect" facial proportions and use heavy make up to correct her facial shape flaws. Made of flexible metal strips, it is held against the head using set screws and will supposedly reveal flaws that could be exaggerated on the movie screen. ~ excerpts from 3 Internet sites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women%27s_Day http://www.un.org/en/events/womensday/ ~ image from: http://ridiculouslyinteresting.com/2013/02/21/what-is-this-thing-mystery-museum-object-5/#more-1852 Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Bee With No Stripes Discovered in Kenya
It has a black head and a bright orange body, and velociraptor-like claws on its hind legs. It lives underground, not in a hive. And it lives by itself, instead of in the huge colonies we're used to. The world's newest-known bee has been named Samba turkan The hot, dusty bush and deserts of Turkana in Northern Kenya are one of our planet's most remote and exciting regions to explore. This harsh landscape is famous for its long record of human and vertebrate evolution - as part of the work of the Leakey family. The Turkana Basin holds the shimmering Lake Turkana that lies in the middle of the African Great Rift Valley. Turkana is also a region with unique biodiversity, that has adapted to the hot, dry conditions. At first look deserts and drylands may appear bleak and devoid of life. However, nothing could be further from the truth: these regions are teeming with life, but living things here have adapted to the extreme conditions, and often stay hidden or dormant for long periods of time. After brief rains life erupts with an unrivaled exuberance to make the most of the flowers and opportunity. This part of the world is particularly rich in different kinds of bees. Being bright orange, Samba turkan are easy to spot as they zip about the low-growing flowers that appear after the rains. These solitary bees start their day early in the morning racing to the flowers to gather pollen. As things dry up really quickly in the Turkana heat, they only have a couple of days to gather enough pollen for their larvae. The females nest in the ground, digging tunnels in the sand, where they make small cells that hold the stores of pollen and their young. Each female collects food for her own larvae and cares for her own nest individually - there's no sharing and cooperation like in the more familiar honeybees. The female Samba bees lay eggs on the stored pollen. If you're wondering what the males are doing, so are we! We haven't found any yet, but they are likely just focused on mating - we can already see that they don't help at the nest or collect pollen. ~excerpt and photo from: http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2015/02/25/a-new-bee-from-turkana-kenya/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_tw20150226voices-beestripes&utm_campaign=Content&sf7662996=1 Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Scientists have discovered nature's newest strongest material
It's as strong as steel and tough as a bulletproof vest, capable of withstanding the same amount of pressure it takes to turn carbon into a diamond. Scientists have discovered nature's newest strongest material, and it comes from a sea snail. British researchers announced that the teeth of shelled, aquatic creatures called limpets are the strongest biological material on Earth, overtaking the previous record-holder, spider silk. The teeth, which are so small they must be examined with a microscope, are composed of very thin, tightly-packed fibers containing a hard mineral called goethite. Limpets use them to scrape food off of rocks. The teeth also bested several man-made materials, including Kevlar, a synthetic fiber used to make bulletproof vests and puncture-proof tires. The amount of weight it can withstand can be compared to a strand of spaghetti used to hold up more than 3,300 pounds, the weight of an adult female hippopotamus. ~excerpt from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/02/18/scientists-have-discovered-natures-newest-strongest-material-and-it-comes-from-a-sea-snail/ Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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National Margarita Day! Today!
5 o'clock? original photo by dmdart Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Pangolin
World Pangolin Day (Today!) is an opportunity for pangolin enthusiasts to join together in raising awareness about these unique mammals and their plight. Pangolin numbers are rapidly declining, particularly in Asia. Pangolin trafficking is now recognized as a serious problem in Africa. Pangolins, also known as scaly anteaters, are unique creatures that are covered in hard, plate like scales. They are insectivorous (feeding on insects) and are mainly nocturnal. Their name, "pangolin", is derived from the Malay word "pengguling", which loosely translates to "something that rolls up". Together, the eight species comprise their very own Order: Pholidota. In 2013, an estimated 8,125 of these shy creatures were confiscated in 49 instances of illegal trade across 13 countries. Because seizures represent just 10 to 20 percent of the actual illegal trade volume, this strongly suggests that approximately 40,625 to 81,250 pangolins were killed in just one year. An estimated one million of them have been traded and killed within the past ten years. This makes them the most trafficked animals in the world. The demand for pangolins comes mostly from China, where pangolin scales are unfortunately believed to be a cure-all of sorts and pangolin flesh is considered a delicacy. In Vietnam, pangolins are frequently offered at restaurants catering to wealthy patrons who want to eat rare and endangered wildlife. There is no evidence to support claims regarding medicinal properties of pangolin scales or any other part of the pangolin. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), virtually no information is available on population levels of any species of pangolin. These species are rarely observed due to their secretive, solitary, and nocturnal habits, and there has been little research on their population densities. However, all species are thought to be in decline, with some more rapidly so than others - particularly the Asian species. ~excerpt from: http://pangolins.org/world-pangolin-day/ ~image from: http://whitmanpioneer.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/pangolin_05.jpg Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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One Fruit Tree - 40 Fruits
Van Aken's Tree of 40 Fruit, an invention that's just what it sounds like, is capable of producing 40 different varieties of fruit - plums, peaches, apricots, nectarines, cherries and others. The 42-year-old sculptor and art professor at Syracuse University created his first multi-fruit tree back in 2008, by grafting together branches from different trees. He intended to produce a piece of natural art that would transform itself. He thought of the tree as a sculpture, because he could, based on what he grafted where, determine how it morphed. Today, there are 18 of these wondrous trees across the country, with three more being planted this spring in Illinois, Michigan and California. Seven are located in New York - including the very first Tree of 40 Fruit that's still on the Syracuse campus - and six more are in a small grove in Portland, Maine. While it takes precision, the grafting required to create these multi-fruit trees is not that complicated a process. Van Aken, who grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania, takes a slice of a fruit tree that includes buds and inserts it into a matching incision in a host tree, one that's been growing for at least three years. He then wraps electrical tape around the spot to hold the pieces together. When all goes well, the veins of the different trees flow into each other so that they share a vascular system. ~excerpt and photo from: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/a-tree-grows-40-different-types-of-fruit-180953868/ Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Sanibel Island Rotary Art Show
Since I occasionally photograph for SantivaChronicle.com, I covered the Rotary Art Show that took place yesterday. Take a look here and see some of the wonderful art at the show: http://santivachronicle.com/Content/Photo-Gallery/Photo-Gallery/Photo-Gallery/Rotary-Arts-and-Crafts-Fair-2015/7/7/40 original photo by dmdart Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Tibi Tibi Neuspiel's Strange Sandwiches
Toronto-based artist Tibi Tibi Neuspiel Tibi Tibi's works are highly approachable, wonderfully absurd, and visually appealing. And just a little bit ridiculous. They might not exactly evoke a "fine" art aesthetic, but his work is not light on artistic merit or craftsmanship. Incredibly, they are not photographs of real sandwiches, but rather beautifully crafted encaustic wax sculptures. Rather than relying on the veneer of curious appeal, his work instead uses this bizarre allure as a vehicle to draw the viewer into the deeper levels of the work. The image and the words above are excerpted from here: http://ridiculouslyinteresting.com/2011/10/13/tibi-tibi-neuspiels-subversive-sandwiches/ and you can see more of his work here: http://tibitibi.com/ Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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How The Measles Virus Became A Master of Contagion
[Image: Measles-infected immune cells (green blobs) pass on the viruses to epithelial cells lining the nose.] Measles is among the most contagious viruses on Earth. Every infected person infects between 12 and 18 other people. As a virus, it has to do three things in order to avoid extinction: it has to invade a new host, make copies of itself, and get those copies to another host. People get infected with measles viruses by breathing them into their lungs. The lining of the lungs contains immune cells that destroy incoming invaders and kill off infected cells. The measles virus boldly attacks these very sentinels. It uses a molecular key to open a passage into the immune cells. Once inside, it starts making new viruses that infect other immune cells. The virus-laden cells then creep from the windpipe to the lymph nodes, which are crowded with still more immune cells. It's like a walk in Disneyland, except inside a person's body. From the lymph nodes, infected immune cells spread the virus throughout the body. If the virus manages to slip into the nervous system, it can cause permanent brain damage. After several days of multiplying, the virus starts making preparations to leave its host. Some of the infected immune cells creep up into the nose. The interior lining of the nose is made up of sheets of epithelial cells. The immune cells nuzzle up to the epithelial cells. A protein on their surface, made by the viruses, fuses them to the epithelial cells, allowing the virus to cross over. Now the measles virus is another step closer to leaving its host and finding a new one. Each infected epithelial cell starts making huge numbers of new measles viruses, which it dumps out into the nasal cavity, where they can get exhaled. Meanwhile, the infection also damages the upper airway, causing infected cells to rip free and get coughed out of the body. People sick with measles release clouds of virus-laden droplets. The big droplets fall quickly to the ground or other surfaces, where they can stay infectious for hours. The small droplets meanwhile rise into the air, where they are lofted by currents and can deliver measles to people far away. The sheer number of viruses produced by each sick person, along with the adaptations the viruses have for penetrating deep into the airway, make them tremendously contagious. If someone gets sick with measles, up to ninety percent of people in the same home who aren't already immune will get sick, too. And because infected people can transmit the virus for days before symptoms emerge, the virus can spread to many homes before anyone realizes an outbreak is underway. And the virus droplets remain contagious in a room for several hours after the infected person has left. The contagion of measles is part of a "one-and-done" strategy that the viruses have evolved. After people recover from measles infections, their immune systems will protect them for life. As a result, the virus needs to be highly contagious for its long-term survival. This strategy also means that measles vaccines can be extremely effective. By teaching people's immune systems what the measles virus looks like, vaccines provide protection for life. Measles only infects humans. If we could make our species measles-free, that would mean the virus had become extinct, never to return. And the life cycle of measles actually makes it possible to block its transmission from person to person. It's very rare for infections to last more than a couple weeks, so that there isn't the risk of people surreptitiously spreading the disease for years. People who do get sick won't get sick again, which takes them out of the pool of potential hosts. And we are fortunate to have a safe, effective way to break measles transmission: a vaccine. Before the development of measles vaccines in the early 1960s, 7 to 8 million children died around the world every year. In 2014, that figure was down to 145,000 deaths. The World Health Organization estimates that between 2000 and 2013, measles vaccination prevented 15.6 million deaths. ~excerpt and image from: http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2015/02/05/how-the-measles-virus-became-a-master-of-contagion/ Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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Artist Kelvin Hair
Kelvin Hair was born into art. His father was Alfred Hair, the founder of the Highwaymen. The Highwaymen is the name given to a loosely associated group of young African-American artists living in the Fort Pierce area of Florida. They would sell their works, often still wet, door to door to various businesses, on the roadside or out of car trunks. They painted on Upson board and they painted fast, often painting many works simultaneously. They painted what they felt: no rules. Alfred Hair was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2004. I met Kelvin Hair yesterday, at an excellent art show, and am now the very happy owner of the painting shown here. To me, this painting encompasses what I envision when I think of Highwaymen paintings. Kelvin created paintings from an early age and has honed his skill through the years. He is well known and shows his vision, expressiveness, imagination and artistic integrity in each work he creates. The information here is excerpted from Kelvin Hair's brochure, but you can read more and see more at his website: http://www.khairart.com/ Another excellent source of information is: http://www.floridahighwaymen.com Send this link to anyone you think would be interested in reading this entry. |
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What is Art?
This is a photo of two little girls not looking at modern art in the San Francisco Museum of Art. (Perhaps they are looking for art in unseen places.) As Clement Greenberg, a strong champion of abstract expressionism, once said: "To hold that one kind of art must invariably be superior or inferior to another kind means to judge before experiencing; and the whole history of art is there to demonstrate the futility of rules of preference laid down beforehand: the impossibility, that is, of anticipating the outcome of aesthetic experience." The photographer of this image is unknown. It is thought to have been an image in Life Magazine prior to 1975. |
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Bansky
Banksy is a pseudonymous English graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stencilling technique. His works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world. Banksy displays his art on publicly visible surfaces such as walls and self-built physical prop pieces. Banksy does not sell photographs or reproductions of his street graffiti, but art auctioneers have been known to attempt to sell his street art on location and leave the problem of its removal in the hands of the winning bidder. Banksy's first film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, billed as "the world's first street art disaster movie", made its debut at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. The above image is: The Key to Making Great Art is all in the Composition, 2005, Bansky ~excerpts above are from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy and you can see much more of Bansky's work at: http://banksy.co.uk/ Take some time to go to his site and see the film. It's inventive, original work. |
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An Iceberg Flipped Over and Its Underside Is Breathtaking
Snow-covered icebergs dominate the scene near the shore of the Antarctic Peninsula, the northernmost part of the icy south polar region. Between the sun, the water and icy peaks, the beauty can be quite literally blinding. This mass rose about 30 feet out the water. Whereas most iceberg tips are covered in snow or have been weathered by the elements, this one is free of debris, exposing glassy, aqua-green ice with water flowing through it. Icebergs form when chunks of freshwater ice calve - or break off - from glaciers and ice shelves, as well as other icebergs. Because of the varying densities of ice and saltwater, only about 10 percent of an iceberg will ever show at the surface, and that protruding tip will gather dirt and snow. Melting can trigger calving, but it can also change the equilibrium of an iceberg, causing it to flip. In the case of this jewel-like iceberg, the ice is probably very old. In glaciers, years of compression force out air pockets and gradually make the ice denser, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. "When glacier ice becomes extremely dense, the ice absorbs a small amount of red light, leaving a bluish tint in the reflected light, which is what we see." In addition, minerals and organic matter may have seeped into the underwater part of the iceberg over time, creating its vivid green-blue color. Flipping icebergs are occurring more frequently now due to climate change. Outlet glaciers are rivers of ice that flow outward from an ice cap or ice sheet and into the sea. Outlet glaciers have been retreating in Antarctica and Greenland and this contributes to iceberg flipping. ~excerpt and photo from: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/photographer-captures-stunning-underside-flipped-iceberg-180953951/?utm_source=twitter.com&no-ist |
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Lamborghini Countach
The Lamborghini Countach is a mid-engined supercar that was produced by Italian automaker Lamborghini from 1974 to 1990. Its design both pioneered and popularized the wedge-shaped, sharply angled look popular in many high-performance sports cars. The "cabin-forward" design concept, which pushes the passenger compartment forward in order to accommodate a larger engine, was also popularized by the Countach. The word countach is an exclamation of astonishment in the local Piedmontese language. The Countach was styled by Marcello Gandini of the Bertone design studio. Gandini was then a young, inexperienced designer - not very experienced in the practical, ergonomic aspects of automobile design, but at the same time unhindered by them. Gandini produced a striking design. The Countach shape was wide and low (42.1 inches), but not very long (only 163 inches). Its angular and wedge-shaped body was made almost entirely of flat, trapezoidal panels. The doors, a Lamborghini trademark first started with the Countach, were scissor doors: hinged at the front with horizontal hinges, so that they lifted up and tilted forwards. The main reason is the car's tubular spaceframe chassis results in very high and wide door sills. It was also partly for style, and partly because the width of the car made conventional doors impossible to use in an even slightly confined space. The superior performance characteristics of later Lamborghini models appealed to performance car drivers and engineers, but they never had the originality or outrageousness that gave the Countach its distinction. ~excerpt from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Countach original photos by dmdart |
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Gems
If you thought gems were beautiful to the naked eye, take a look at them under a microscope. To collectors and sellers, an ideal gem is devoid of excess minerals called inclusions, which are seen as detractors of value or beauty. To many gemologists, inclusions are tools that can help them determine where a gem is from or under what conditions it formed. ~excerpt and photo from: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/gems-minerals-inclusions-inside-photography-art-science-180953662/ |
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New Mexico Ice Halos
Ice crystals high in Earth's atmosphere can shape light in unexpected and beautiful ways. It's not quite like finding diamonds in the sky, but a photographer in Red River, New Mexico, was lucky enough to catch rainbow-like arcs and pillars of light blazing over a snowy landscape. This example of sunlight run amok is caused by the collision of light and ice crystals high in Earth's atmosphere. Those frozen specks of water bend or refract light in myriad ways to produce arcs, halos, and pillars of light. Air temperatures, as well as the shape and arrangement of ice crystals, fine-tune the phenomena that we see. One of the most prominent features in the New Mexico picture - just above the tree line in the center of the image - is a bright, vertical mass called a sun pillar. Cooler air temperatures boost the brightness of phenomena like these. The circle of light ringing the pillar is a 22-degree halo. These halos are fairly common and are so named because they occur at a 22-degree angle from the sun. They're created by six-sided, or hexagonal, ice crystals. The glaring blob of light to the right of the pillar is called a sun dog, which is the result of ice crystals that are only partly aligned with each other. The delicate strands of light winging out from the top of the sun pillar are tangent arcs. They're formed when tube-shaped hexagonal ice crystals are oriented on their sides. ~excerpt and photo from: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/01/150114-ice-halo-weird-weather-phenomena-science/ |
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Saving the Colorado River Delta, One Habitat at a Time
A trickle of water is being returned to a few parts of the dried-out delta and those parts are blooming. Thanks to a bi-national agreement, a "pulse flow" of water eventually made its way to the sea, the first time the Colorado River reached the Gulf of California in years. This is part of an innovative effort to restore small parts of the two-million-acre Colorado River Delta. Thanks to dams and canals that have diverted water to farm fields and cities, the Colorado no longer reaches the sea, and its delta has been desiccated. But now a coalition of environmentalists, community leaders, and governments, working under a U.S.-Mexico agreement that is allowing them to reclaim a small fraction of the river's water for the environment, are trying to reverse some of the damage in a few places. Since the pulse release, migratory birds like warblers, sparrows, and woodpeckers have begun showing up again. Those animals have been followed by raptors, rattlesnakes, and coyotes. What's more, the return of water is refilling the groundwater aquifer below. Two-thirds of the water has already been provided, in equal parts by the U.S. and Mexican federal governments, as a single pulse of 105,392 acre-feet. It was released last March from Lake Mead through Hoover Dam. Over a period of about eight weeks, it flowed down the Colorado and into the river's original channel at Morelos Dam in Mexico. The results have been dramatic. Thousands of trees sprang up along the banks. Groundwater was recharged. For the first time in many years, the Colorado River reached the sea - and a lot of people along the way. The goal is to restore blocks of each type of original habitat, from the riparian forest at Miguel Aleman to brackish marshes in the middle of the delta to mud flats where the river once emptied into the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California). ~excerpts: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/special-features/2014/12/141216-colorado-river-delta-restoration-water-drought-environment/ Photograph by Peter McBride, National Geographic Creative |
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Stephen Hawking (Jan 8, 1942)
Stephen Hawking has worked on the basic laws which govern the universe. With Roger Penrose he showed that Einstein's General Theory of Relativity implied space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes. These results indicated that it was necessary to unify General Relativity with Quantum Theory, the other great scientific development of the first half of the 20th Century. One consequence of such a unification that he discovered was that black holes should not be completely black, but rather should emit radiation and eventually evaporate and disappear. Another conjecture is that the universe has no edge or boundary in imaginary time. This would imply that the way the universe began was completely determined by the laws of science. Among the popular books Stephen Hawking has published are his best seller A Brief History of Time, Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays, The Universe in a Nutshell, The Grand Design and My Brief History. Professor Hawking has twelve honorary degrees. He was awarded the CBE in 1982, and was made a Companion of Honour in 1989. He is the recipient of many awards, medals and prizes, is a Fellow of The Royal Society and a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences. Professor Hawking was diagnosed with ALS, a form of Motor Neurone Disease, shortly after his 21st birthday. In spite of being wheelchair bound and dependent on a computerised voice system for communication Stephen Hawking continues to combine family life (he has three children and three grandchildren), and his research into theoretical physics together with an extensive program of travel and public lectures. He still hopes to make it into space one day. ~excerpt from www.hawking.org.uk There so much more to read about Professor Hawking on the Internet and in his books. You can start with the above link, but don't stop there. The artist's concept above shows a supermassive black hole with millions to billions times the mass of our sun. Supermassive black holes are enormously dense objects buried at the hearts of galaxies, and fundamental aspects of their behavior have baffled scientists. Image by NASA/JPL-Caltech: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/jpl/news/nustar20130227_prt.htm |
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Monarch Butterfly May Join Endangered Species List
I mourn for each creature that is harmed by mankind's actions, whether well-meaning or senseless. I will admit that some losses affect me more strongly. (I'm human.) The killing of Rhinos to utilize their horns for virility enhancement disgusts me, though some people who follow this practice base their beliefs on ancient medicinal arts. The fact that there are less than 100 Florida Panthers left in the wild is heartwrenching. I once created an art piece that incorporated the Carolina Parakeet that had inhabited a good portion of the U.S., a most beautiful bird of yellow and bright green: the species was declared extinct in 1939. I have watched Monarch Butterflies during the summers of my life. They are ethereal. Their patterns are phenomenally bright, crisp and artistic. And now the news is that these creatures of our life may be added to the Endangered Species list. What a tragedy. --- The Monarch Butterfly's numbers have declined dramatically in North America. Over the past 20 years, North America's population of monarch butterflies has declined by a catastrophic 90 percent, a plight that may be caused by pesticides and loss of the once-vast acres of wild milkweed that are the creatures' food source. On Dec. 29, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it is launching a scientific review to determine whether the monarch butterfly should be protected by law under the Endangered Species Act, a 1973 law designed to protect species from becoming extinct. The Xerces Society said the North American population of monarchs has declined from 1 billion in 1996 to just 35 million this past winter, the lowest number ever recorded. Xerces tied the decline of monarchs to the widespread planting of genetically modified corn and soybean crops in the U.S. Midwest, where most of the butterflies are born. The GMO plants are designed to be immune to an herbicide that kills off milkweed. Over the last two decades, monarchs have lost more than 165 million acres of habitat - an area roughly the size of Texas. In addition, butterflies are threatened by climate change, drought, urban sprawl and logging on their Mexican winter range. Monarchs need a very large population size to be resilient to threats from severe weather events and predation. Nearly half of the overwintering population in Mexico can be eaten by bird and mammal predators in any single winter; a single winter storm in 2002 killed an estimated 500 million monarchs - 14 times the size of the entire current population. ~excerpt and photo from: http://news.discovery.com/animals/monarch-butterfly-may-join-endangered-species-list-141231.htm. Additional excerpt from www.xerces.org/ |
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Turquoise
Turquoise is the most wonderful stone: the polished color ranges through blues and greens with designs of matrix (the brown/tan) running throughout. I "found" this piece in Window Rock, AZ and I saw a pendant living in it. The simple beading around the edge is merely a finishing element: 5 rows deep of tiny glass beads catches the color of the matrix and frames the lovely blues of the stone. The history of turquoise is interesting in itself and adds to the stones allure. Turquoise is perhaps the oldest stone in man's history, the talisman of kings, shamans, and warriors. It is a stone of protection, strong and opaque, yet soothing to the touch, healing to the eye, as if carved from an azure heaven and slipped to earth. Its unique shade of blue, often blue-green, lends it name, Turquoise, to all things of this tranquil hue. The delicate veining or mottled webbing in cream or brown is inherent to the stone and serves to enhance its character. The name Turquoise is derived from the French, pierre turquoise, meaning "Turkish stone," because the trade routes that brought Turquoise to Europe from the mines in central Asia went through Turkey, and Venetian merchants often purchased the stone in Turkish bazaars. For thousands of years, Turquoise has spanned all cultures, prized as a symbol of wisdom, nobility and the power of immortality. Among the Ancient Egyptians, Persians and Chinese, Aztecs and Incas of South America, and Native North Americans, Turquoise was sacred in its adornment and for power, luck, and protection. Turquoise beads dating back to 5000 B.C. have been found in Iraq, and the Egyptians were mining the stones in the Sinai in 3200 B.C. The death mask of Tutankhamun was studded with Turquoise, as were the mosaic masks dedicated to the gods, the fabulous inlaid skulls, shields and power statues of Moctezuma, the last ruler of the Aztecs. For nearly a thousand years, Native Americans have mined and fashioned Turquoise, using it to guard their burial sites. Their gems have been found from Argentina to New Mexico. Indian priests wore it in ceremonies when calling upon the great spirit of the sky. Many honored Turquoise as the universal stone, believing their minds would become one with the universe when wearing it. Because of its ability to change colors, it was used in prophesy or divining. To the prehistoric Indian, Turquoise, worn on the body or used in ceremonies always signified the god of the sky alive in the earth. This excerpt is from www.crystalvaults.com/crystal-encyclopedia/turquoise but there is much to read about turquoise (including "Tiffany turquoise") and many different ideas about it's meanings. original photo and beadwork by dmdart |
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New Year's Contemplation
Storage It is a simple thought to say the soul, in a way, must be quite like an old cellar. A space to hold things or hold space for light or shadow to shine forth. A place of whole acceptance, cradling all until filled or over filled -- boxes stacked and shelves stuffed, webs and mold and micro worlds proliferating the unattended darkness. To most folks, the things feel put away, dealt with, yet a burden appears plainly in the heavy eyes and heavier steps of the attending body. The cellar can, of course, be cleaned and cleared, swept out and lit up, the stacks slimmed, the files trimmed, the shelves relieved and lightened. The door can be opened to new air, a window dug and built to permit sunshine and moon glow, a song hummed into the bare walls and cold floors. All that is surely good, it seems -- a refreshment, a warming, an illumination. It is also good, essential really, to descend into the storage space on a moonless night and feel the crawling and prowling of animal and spirit, to stand silently before the long shut-up boxes on leaning shelves and simply weep until morning or sleep sweeps you up and carries you back into the comforts of the living room. ~by Timothy P McLaughlin, a poet and spiritual teacher. He taught in Native communities of South Dakota, Montana, and New Mexico for 13 years and founded the Spoken Word Program at the Santa Fe Indian School. He and his students received numerous awards and were featured in many publications and programs, among them the New York Times and the PBS News Hour. ~excerpt from THE, Santa Fe, NM's monthly magazine to and for the Arts: August 2014 original photo by dmdart |
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Northern White Rhinos
In October this year, a 34 year old male, Suni, was found dead in his enclosure in Kenya, presumed of natural causes. He was one of two breeding males of his subspecies left on Earth. The northern white rhinoceros is a "victim of evolution". It was a remnant population cut off from the southern white rhinoceros by the Great Rift Valley and the dense forests of Central Africa. Already isolated and occurring in low numbers, the northern subspecies got caught up in political turmoil in Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda, and its numbers quickly dwindled because of poaching and habitat loss. With just one breeding male left, the outlook for the subspecies is grim. Rhinoceroses are key to keeping grasslands healthy, as they eat and keep in check particular species of savanna plants. It's not just another charismatic animal,it's also a species that has a very clear ecological role, and we need to be very worried that we have lost that. Rhino Lessons The story of the northern white rhinoceros is a fantastic lesson on what not to do, and how we need to avoid getting to this point with the other rhinos. The black rhinoceros, which has four subspecies, is doing relatively well, though widespread poaching for the animals' horns, which are used in Asian traditional medicine, continues to flourish. Conservationists are now focusing their efforts on ensuring the safety of these animals and reducing the demand for rhino horn in Asian countries such as Vietnam. But scientists aren't ready to give up on the northern white rhino. If the last breeding male doesn't mate, scientists may be able to breed the northern white rhino females with the southern subspecies. That would preserve some of the genes of the northern white rhino, even if the genes are mixed with those of their relative. ~excerpt and photo: news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141020-rhinoceros-death-suni-kenya-science-world-endangered-animals/ |
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Sun's Sizzling X-rays
An "X-ray eye" designed to study distant galaxies and black holes has turned its attention to our own star and snapped a remarkable portrait. Nasa's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (Nustar), launched into orbit in 2012, views the universe in very high-energy X-rays. Because of its very high sensitivity, Nustar could solve some long-standing puzzles, such as whether "nanoflares" exist. These proposed smaller versions of the Sun's giant flares could help explain why its outer atmosphere is many times hotter than its surface-a decades-old question. Nustar will give a unique look at the Sun, from the deepest to the highest parts of its atmosphere. As well as probing the Sun, the Nustar team will also use the mission extension, which runs to 2016, to continue studying more far-flung objects including black holes and supernova remnants. ~excerpt and photo from www.nustar.caltech.edu/ |
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On this Christmas Day I bring you a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Published in 1850, the year he was appointed Poet Laureate.
It is recited throughout the world at this time of year. It is partially an elegy to a friend of Tennyson's, but also brings a feeling of renewal and hope: the spirit of Christmas. *** Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true. Ring out the grief that saps the mind, For those that here we see no more, Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring in redress to all mankind. Ring out a slowly dying cause, And ancient forms of party strife; Ring in the nobler modes of life, With sweeter manners, purer laws. Ring out the want, the care, the sin, The faithless coldness of the times; Ring out, ring out thy mournful rhymes, But ring the fuller minstrel in. Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in the common love of good. Ring out old shapes of foul disease, Ring out the narrowing lust of gold; Ring out the thousand wars of old, Ring in the thousand years of peace. Ring in the valiant man and free, The larger heart the kindlier hand; Ring out the darkness of the land, Ring in the Christ that is to be. original photo by dmdart |
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Ancient Cave Art
A new study dates these Indonesian handprints to at least 40,000 years old. The world's oldest cave art may not lie in Europe but rather halfway around the globe in Indonesia, according to a new study of the long-known art. Thousands of years ago, people on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia spray-painted stencils of their hands on the walls and roofs of caves by blowing red paint out of their mouths. They also painted strange-looking pigs in red and mulberry hues. Archaeologists assumed the paintings, discovered in the 1950s, were less than 10,000 years old. Now, a team of Australian and Indonesian researchers has found that the paintings are startlingly ancient. The hand stencils are at least 40,000 years old and the animal paintings at least 35,400 years old. That makes them about the same age or even slightly older than the famous cave art in Europe, which was until now the most ancient in the world. The discovery has important implications for how and when humans developed the ability for symbolic expression. There is much more information about this art and other ancient art at: news.sciencemag.org/archaeology/2014/10/indonesian-cave-art-may-be-worlds-oldest |
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Winter Solstice
Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere will begin today, Dec. 21 at 6:03 p.m. EST. Officially the first day of winter, the winter solstice occurs when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun. This is the longest night of the year, meaning that the days get progressively longer after the winter solstice until the summer solstice in June. The bougainvilla image above shows the flower of one of the most profuse winter flowers on Sanibel Island and areas in similar temperate zones original photo by dmdart |
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Earthship
From whatever direction you travel on Route 64, west of Taos, NM, as you approach the Greater World Earthship Community, you could think you are entering another world entirely. The structures seem organic, as if they are growing right out of the ground. The colors are earthy and light glints off the cans and bottles used in the construction. Staying overnight in an Earthship is enlightening. This is off-the-grid living. To many, it is surprising that there are no compromises. The structures are wonderfully light and colorful, with excellent furnishings, design and all the amenities you'd want, along with a view of the mountains that will inspire. Earthships are primarily designed to work as autonomous buildings using thermal mass construction and a natural cross ventilation that is assisted by thermal draft to regulate indoor temperature. They are designed to be off-the-grid ready homes, minimizing their reliance on both public utilities and fossil fuels. They're made of earth-rammed tires, cement, steel, bottles and cans. It is the epitome of sustainable design and construction. No part of sustainable living has been ignored in this ingenious building. Visit the Earthship web site for many photographs and in-depth explanations. Earthships are being built throughout the world and the Earthship organization is currently raising funds to build in low income and impoverished areas. original photo by dmdart |
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I am going to be away for a few days.
This link: saganseries.com : includes 10 videos in The Sagan Series, a collection of tribute videos dedicated to the late, great Carl Sagan. The Sagan Series is an open source project intended to promote scientific literacy. Please take the time to view the videos on this link. Not only is the photography phenomenal, but the music and the narration is inspiring. Viewing all the videos should hold you until I return. The videos are: The Frontier is Everywhere Life Looks for Life A Reassuring Fable Per Aspera Ad Astra Decide to Listen End of an Era: The Final Shuttle Launch The Long Astronomical Perspective Gift of Apollo The Humans The Pale Blue Dot Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934-December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, science popularizer, and science communicator in astronomy and other natural sciences. He is best known for his contributions to the scientific research of extraterrestrial life, including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by radiation. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books. Sagan always advocated scientific skeptical inquiry and the scientific method, pioneered exobiology and promoted the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He spent most of his career as a professor of astronomy at Cornell University, where he directed the Laboratory for Planetary Studies. excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan Have fun viewing! original photo by dmdart |
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The Watts Towers
Sabato Rodia was born in Serino, Italy in 1879 and arrived in the United States around 1894. He came to Watts in 1921at age 42. The Watts Towers of Simon Rodia, his masterpiece and the world's largest single construction created by one individual, was his obsession for 33 years. He called it "Nuestro Pueblo" or "Our Town". It is located on a residential lot in the community of Watts in South Central Los Angeles, California. The Watts Towers structure consists of seventeen major sculptures and was created out of steel covered with mortar and embellished by the decorative finishings of mosaic tiles, glass, clay, shells and rock. There is no welded inner armature. Rodia wired rebars together then wrapped this joint with wire mesh and hand packed it with mortar and his mosaic surface. Two of the towers rise to a height of nearly 100 feet. In 1959, the International Conference of Museum Curators resolved that Rodia's Towers are a unique combination of sculpture and architecture and the paramount work of folk art of the 20th century in the United States. The Towers are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, are a National Historic Landmark, a State of California Historic Monument, a State of California Historic Park and, in March 1965, the Watts Towers were officially designated as Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Monument Number 15. ~excerpts and photos from: www.wattstowers.org and www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=613 |
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Orion
Do you have your boarding pass? 1.3 million people will "fly" into space on Orion. If you had the foresight to submit your name before the deadline, you are part of a group of adventurers whose names will accompany the Orion maiden voyage. Engineers "wrote" 1.3 million names on to an 8mm square silicon wafer microchip that is aboard the Orion and will take flight. (How you could have sent your name on this trip!) NASA's Orion spacecraft is built to take humans farther than they've ever gone before. Orion will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry the crew to space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel, and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. On December 5, 2014, Orion is scheduled to launch atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex Flight Test on the Orion Flight Test: a two-orbit, four-hour flight that will test many of the systems most critical to safety. The Orion Flight Test will evaluate launch and high speed re-entry systems such as avionics, attitude control, parachutes and the heat shield. In the future, Orion will launch on NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System. More powerful than any rocket ever built, SLS will be capable of sending humans to deep space destinations such as an asteroid and eventually Mars. Exploration Mission-1 will be the first mission to integrate Orion and the Space Launch System. ~excerpt from www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/orion/ |
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The Art of News and Event Reporting
SantivaChronicle.com has taken news and event reporting to an elevated level for Sanibel and Captiva Islands, FL. Paper newspapers that cover the islands are printed once a week, meaning that much of the news in the papers is old by the time it's delivered. SantivaChronicle.com delivers news and event coverage immediately. At a recent very active, very long City Council meeting, SC posted 4 items during the meeting, as the discussions and important decisions were taking place. As SC has evolved over the past year, it is evident that there is a real art to putting an on-line news source together from scratch, to designing the site, to updating the site, to delving into the islands' environmental, artistic and political concerns and being able to deliver SC all the time, everyday to islanders and visitors who care deeply about Sanibel and Captiva. The entry to this blog is here today because SC has a new web site. Not entirely new in look, but new in functionality and ease of use. This behind the scenes art of on-line design and production is often overlooked, but is remarkable and worthy of mention. It is vision, it is design, it is technology, it is passion: it is art. ~ Read SantivaChronicle.com for news, art, community, historical, videos, environmental and political stories of the islands. |
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The Art of Fine Drinking Chocolate
Kakawa Chocolate House is a specialty chocolate company located in the beautiful high desert town of Santa Fe, New Mexico. "Our passion is authentic and historic drinking chocolates." Historic drinking chocolates include traditional Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Mayan Aztec drinking chocolates; 1600's European drinking chocolates, Colonial American and Colonial Mexican drinking chocolates. Kakawa Chocolate House drinking chocolates are representative of these historic recipes and span the time period 1000 BC to the mid-1900s AD. Do not think that this chocolate is "hot chocolate" as you know it. This is truly a voyage into Chocolate, with a capital "C". Flavors envelop your senses and bring you a unique experience. I've been there. I've enjoyed it. There is no chocolate like it. If you aren't in Santa Fe where you can stop in, then visit the Kakawa Chocolate House web site: KakawaChocolates.com original photo by dmdart |
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Corita Kent
Corita Kent, aka Sister Mary Corita Kent, an activist and artist who used screen printing to create thousands of posters, murals, and serigraphs in support civil rights, feminism, and the anti-war movement during the 1960s and 1970s. She is credited with being a significant figure in American graphic arts. She worked almost exclusively with silkscreen, or serigraphy, helping to establish it as a fine art medium. Her artwork, with its messages of love and peace, was particularly popular during the social upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s.Kent designed the 1985 United States Postal Service annual "love" stamp. -partial excerpt from Wikipedia |
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Artist's "Booth" at the Tesuque Flea Market
One of the greatest flea markets anywhere opens every summer just north of Santa Fe, NM on the Tesuque Pueblo. If you are lucky enough to walk through the gates, you will be treated to leather bags; oil paintings; Middle Eastern rugs; African baskets, glass beads, weavings, carved wooden animals and figures; hand-made jewelry; turquoise jewelry; western wear and boots; lavender soaps and creams; tangy jalepeno sauces; Talavera tiles; metal sculpture; photography; silk clothing; vintage items of all kinds; fresh ground chili powder (green, red, mild, medium, hot, hot hot hot); roasted pinon; jams and jellies; and everything else I've forgotten. This "booth" enchanted me and the artist allowed me to photograph it. I would wish for his prolificness. original photo by dmdart |
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Sanibel & Captiva Luminary December 5 & 6, 2014
For more than two decades, island businesses, organizations, residents and visitors have gathered for one of Sanibel and Captiva's most treasured annual events, the Luminary Festival. Our tropical islands sparkle with illuminated candles from end to end as we mark the launch of the Holiday season. The complimentary trolley service brings guests to various shopping centers, island businesses and galleries along a Luminary Trail, where they can enjoy refreshments, music, holiday activities and most importantly, connect with the community. During the Luminary celebrations, the streets will be lined with glowing luminaries, decorated trees and other festive trimmings. Santa will pay his traditional visit on his fire truck to visit shopping centers, galleries, and local businesses. Sanibel and Captiva visitors and local residents can enjoy these two magical nights on our islands. -excerpts from the Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce: http://sanibel-captiva.org/ original photo by dmdart |
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International Folk Art Alliance: Folk Art Market Takes Place in Santa Fe Annually
It has been said that talent is universal, but opportunity is not. Over the past 10 years, the organization you have known as the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market has been providing opportunity to folk artists at the world's largest market of its kind. Our organization has expanded programs to meet the specific challenges that folk artists are facing in the global marketplace. What was born out of Santa Fe as a small grass roots organization focused on one weekend a year, has now grown into a nonprofit empowering international folk artists year-round. Allied with the world's master folk artists, participation in IFAA results in communities around the world having clean drinking water, education for girls, improved health care and thriving folk art communities. The IFAA mission is to celebrate and preserve living folk art traditions and create economic opportunities for and with folk artists worldwide. IFAA envisions a world that values the humanity of the handmade, honors timeless cultural traditions, and embraces dignified livelihoods for folk artists across the globe. And that, after all, is ... The Work of Art. There will be future entries to this blog about the Market. Stay tuned and check back often for this and other Art|Centric topics. -excerpts from Folk Art Alliance Web Site: www.folkartalliance.org |
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Santa Fe Indian Market
The Santa Fe Indian Market is a 93-year-old Native art market. It is the largest and most prestigious juried Native arts show in the world and the largest cultural event in the southwest. The yearly event is held during the third weekend of August. Over 1,100 Native artists from the U.S. and Canada sell their artwork. The Indian Market attracts 150,000 visitors to Santa Fe from all over the world. Buyers, collectors and gallery owners come to Indian Market to take advantage of the opportunity to buy directly from the artists. For many visitors, this is a rare opportunity to meet the artists and learn about contemporary Indian arts and cultures. Quality and authenticity are the hallmarks of the Santa Fe Indian Market. What is Indian Market Week? Indian Market Week precedes the Indian Market. It is a series of events in Native film, literature, music, fashion and visual art that lead to Indian Market weekend. Who are the artists? The artists are Native/Indigenous people from over 220 U.S. Federally recognized tribes and First Nations' Tribes (Canada). It's important to remember that the Indian Market is above all a family event. To the causal observer, it may not be evident that there may be generations of artists sitting together under the same booth. Some artists have been participating in Indian Market 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and even 60+ years. The Indian Market is a direct reflection of the lives of Native people and the communities they represent; their artwork is the universal language, which speaks and becomes a part of our lives. There will be future entries to this blog about the Market. Stay tuned and check back often for this and other Art|Centric topics. -excerpt from SWAIA web site: www.swaia.org |
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