Happy Birthday, Moon walk!
July 17, 2009
Exploring the Moon, Discovering Earth
July 17, 2009: Forty years ago, Apollo astronauts set out on a daring adventure to explore the Moon. We ended up discovering our own planet, as the image of the big Blue Marble became synonymous with the environmental movement. This image challenged us to look at our selves without borders and geo-political concepts. We were undeniably on a unique planet and we were all alone.
So it is interesting to think about the amount of debris we have left on the Moon since we first visited 40 years ago. Here is a list and a beautiful and helpful map of all moon landings:
natural history
March 26, 2009
This is the weathered book that I remember from my childhood. A first science book for the picture loving crowd, of which I am still an enthusiastic member. To this day, I do not understand why science periodicals and books do not have better PICTURES! Every time I pick up an exciting subject, with plenty of potential images- I feel short changed with the black and white photos of exacting data. It is as if the science crowd feels it must be serious and stay away from the full color fantasy images that fill this book and the vitrines of every Natural History Museum. Those vivid landscapes helped me see the world as it was and imagine a world before humans. Something we all should do more of once in awhile.
a mutt like me
January 17, 2009
Let’s hope that Obama does for shelter adoptions what he did for HOPE. Make it popular! Shepard Fairey to the rescue to give those words an image and to help promote the largest online rescue adoption site, Adopt-a-Pet. and to help promote their new tv show- Save a Pet
Log on and get a free banner for your website and facebook page from Mutts like me.
the photo
October 20, 2008
This is the picture of Elsheba Khan, taken by Platon for the New Yorker that was invoked by Colin Powell on Meet the Press Sunday. Listen to his reasons and look at this photo. In Powell’s words, “Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no. That’s not America.”
Support our OOPS!
September 28, 2008
from Exit art
Lego Rules the World
August 31, 2008
Here are some great interpretations of the world as seen in LEGO.
LEGOs defy logic and re-create Waterfall of MC Escher
Take that treehugger!
Even the world of politics ( yes, that IS Governor Sarah Palin!)
and of course, the Beginning of the World from my perennial favorite, the Brick Testament!
Red State/Blue State
August 31, 2008
The Pop Vs Soda Map
Is there some hidden message in our ideas about Red state/Blue state politics that the media analysts are missing? Whether you ask for “soda” or “pop” to quench your thirst tells a lot about your regional linguistics, according to an article published last year in the “Isthmus” a Madison, Wisconsin weekly newspaper. Written by a linguistics and philology PHD from University of Madison- Wisconsin, Luanne von Schneidemesser, who is also an editor for the Dictionary of American Regional English, the study reveals the complicated relationships involved in quenching your thirst.
• pop: dominates the Northwest, Great Plains and Midwest. The world ‘pop’ was introduced by Robert Southey, the British Poet Laureate (1774-1843), to whom we also owe the word ‘autobiography’, among others. In 1812, he wrote: A new manufactory of a nectar, between soda-water and ginger-beer, and called pop, because ‘pop goes the cork’ when it is drawn. Even though it was introduced by a Poet Laureate, the term ‘pop’ is considered unsophisticated by some, because it is onomatopaeic.
• soda: prevalent in the Northeast, greater Miami, the area in Missouri and Illinois surrounding St Louis and parts of northern California. ‘Soda’ derives from ‘soda-water’ (also called club soda, carbonated or sparkling water or seltzer). It’s produced by dissolving carbon dioxide gas in plain water, a procedure developed by Joseph Priestly in the latter half of the 18th century.
I remember that in Boston, working as a bartender in the 80’s, I had to be careful when people ordered a “tonic”, a term used generically for any bubbley drink, not to be confused with my favorite bubbley- champagne thank you! And here in Los Angeles, we order a soda, because pop is so obviously a fashion reference and not a soft drink!
And here is a sobering thought: Americans drink, on average 43 gallons of soft drinks every year! And here is a related “scary thought“, thanks to artist Chris Jordan’s, “Can Suerat”.
Thanks to Strange maps for this post info- that is why it is on my blogroll!
Forecast tonight: Dark
June 24, 2008
George Carlin is gone, man. He brought light to our hypocrisies from dirty words to the ten commandments, he was fearless and funny. As long as these videos live on YouTube, American youth will be free! ( to think for themselves.)
Ever wonder when to stone your children? More good stuff for kids!
Geek Love
June 20, 2008
Do you love diagrams? I found this great one a few months ago and saved it. I can not remember where I found it, but likely it is from the NYT and their always great graphics department. If you subscribe to one paper, this is the one. Online they have great slide shows and videos from their reporters around the world as well as access to their editorials. But don’t forget to subscribe too. That is my geek love, the NYT!
Subscriptions are especially important today in a world where large corporations are buying up newspapers and television stations, then destroying them. Besides their horrible news, Fox would have me running from their horrible graphics!
Military Culture
June 16, 2008
“Military culture is filled with a totemic visual language consisting of symbols and insignia that signify everything from various unit and command affiliations to significant events, and noteworthy programs.These markers of identity and program heraldry begin to create a peculiar symbolic regime when they depict one’s affiliation with what defense-industry insiders call the “black world” – the world of classified programs, projects, and places, whose outlines, even existence, are deeply-held secrets. Nonetheless, the Pentagon’s “black world” is replete with the rich symbolic language that characterizes other, less obscure, military activities.
The symbols and insignia shown in the Symbology series provide a glimpse into how contemporary military units answer questions that have historically been the purview of mystery cults, secret societies, religions, and mystics: How does one represent that which, by definition, must not be represented?’
from Symbology (Volume I) by Trevor Paglen
2006
