What's Cool in the World Today



• Watch the "Baloney Detection Kit" on Skeptic. This is one of my favorite sites. It's about education, science, and sound reasoning. I first saw Dr. Shermer on an episode of Bullshit with Penn and Teller. I've been a fan ever since.

• Check out graphite drawings at DeviantArt. **Warning** some of these "pencil" drawings look like photos.

• The self-deprecating James Altucher offers his musings on his site. I'm a big fan of his efforts and philosophy. This guy is a truly alternative thinker that believes failure is an integral part of success.

• Alessandro Acquisti has an interesting view of privacy on TED. I love TED. It is one of the best alternatives to regular television programming or other mindless garbage.

• Learn a great pulled-pork recipe on the grill at Cook's Country. This is part of America's Test Kitchen. These are productions online and on public television. Again...a big fan!

Macabre or Morbid Artistic Expression?

 

It doesn't matter what it is, these photos are awesome.  The article was posted by the HuffPost and has some interesting commentary about the shots, how they were "posed" and Lake Natron itself.  The photographer is Nick Brandt and his photos are all awesome.  Here is his home page. Below is one of my favorites of his.

Photos by Nick Brandt.

 

Human Expression - Camels?

 

I am amazed at the many ways people will express themselves. They will even adorn their camels in the most interesting of ways. This is from odditycentral.

Cool Things in the World Today



Dragons at Deviantart, a place of arts and crafts

 
Wind-Powered Life Forms at TED, a place for unconventional ideas
 
A Murder of Crows at PBS, a place of public broadcasting
 
Awesome Astronomy Pics at NASA, a place of space exploration
 
Virtual Digs at Archaeology, a place of human history
 
Squeezels at BuzzFeed

San Juan Island

Friday Harbor, San Juan. Accessible only by watercraft, or emergency helo, San Juan was a wonderful, idyllic experience. It was late March, and apparently the off season. We encountered very few people. Those we did bump into were quite friendly.

 

A different shot with a slightly fisheye look of Friday Harbor from the ferry showing many boats moored in slips.

South Beach on San Juan. We were a party of three and the only ones on this pristine but driftwood-cluttered shoreline.

The Cattle Point Lighthouse on San Juan. We sat out here for more than an hour with only a couple of cars passing by. There was a comfortable bench with a great serene view.

A different shot of the Cattle Point Lighthouse with a fenceline in the foreground...slightly out of focus.

This lighthouse on San Juan is rather small compared to some. But it still stands out as an icon against the surrounding scape.

One of the natives of San Juan. I was at max zoom on my 250mm telephoto lens and this as good as I could get. The red fox, not very trusting of humans here, is but one of many animals on the islands. There are deer, voles, otters, rabbits, as well as many species of birds including the Osprey.

Moonlight over Friday Harbor.  I have to admit I was pulling out on the ferry and was in a selected mode. In hindsight, I wish I has used a manual setting on this and explored different exposures.

Dusk at Friday Harbor. It was very tranquil and quiet when we pulled out on our way back to Anacortes.





 

There is a new post in the Acadame.

Human Expression ~ Faith

Perhaps the most powerful and enduring form of human expression is faith. We have cleaved to it for thousands of years and still do strongly even in this day of reason and science. It can be a wonderful unifying force and an uncanny and ruthless vehicle of division and violence. This would have been an excellent pic if not for the power lines. Saint James Cathedral, Seattle.

 

Although stained glass is common in Catholic churches, this artwork is behind the glass windows over the main entrance and appears to be painted with gold pigmented media. Saint James.

This is a statue of Saint John Vianney the patron saint of parish priests. The Catholic Church sometimes spares no expense or effort in the constuction of its places of worship. The Saint James Cathedral is beautiful and ornate, and appears to be made of brick, stone, and other durable and expensive materials.

This is a statue of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini and, according to the church's website, the first American citizen to be canonized. The statue of Saint James is not pictured here but is at the top center of this west facade.

A closer shot of the detailed work on these bronze doors at Saint James. The story being told here appears to be the life of Christ. I wonder what archaeologists will think of these doors when they unearth them thousands of years from now.

 

A shot of just the top of the entrance to Saint James showing even more detailed bronze work.

This pic is a bit off kilter. But after visiting the church's website, I see that this is a problem with others who have tried to take pics of these beautiful bronze doors of Saint James. I recall having to stand at an awkward angle to get this shot.

A very nice pic of the sidewalk next to Saint James Cathedral, Seattle.

 

The Lopez Community Church. This is a multdenominational place of worship with Lutheran, Catholic, and Presbyterian services, as opposed to a nondenominational or Protestant church.

Lopez Island

The San Juan islands are directly between Vancouver, British Columbia and Anacortes, Washington. The ferry ride from Anacortes to the San Juan islands takes about an hour and a half, so bring snacks and reading material. The food, coffee and other drinks that only a few of the ferries serve are dreadful and overpriced. Bring your own! Near Padilla Bay.

 

Many of the islands are very small, and some of them have houses, although I would imagine that modern amenities like running water and electricity would be absent. Near the Stait of Juan de Fuca.

 

The Edenwild Inn in Lopez Village.

 

We visited Lopez in late March. Apparently, this was the off-season. We encountered only a few people and at times I felt like I was on the island of Myst. The beaches were all pristine and I noticed no litter of any kind anywhere.

 

Rusted statuary on Lopez. The theme of fish was prevalent and fish images appeared everywhere...if you noticed and looked.

 

Another rusted fish statue on Lopez.

 

A pic of both rusted statues on Lopez.

This was a rusted all metal tractor at the corner of someone's driveway and the main road on Lopez. This seemed like a common practice, not just with tractors but boats and other things as well.

A different angle of that same rusted tractor on Lopez.

 

At a different driveway just down the road on Lopez, someone has put a boat out in front.

This was one of three boats on display at a roadside property on Lopez.

 

The second of three boats at that property.

 

And the third boat at that same property

These two characters walked straight up to me. I was at a fenceline on the road, but I don't think that would have mattered. They weren't shy and puffed and strutted about without any fear of me. Lopez Island.

 

A closer shot of one of the natives of Lopez Island.

 

FILM ~ Shorts

Storytelling trumps special effects, overpaid/overrated actors, and flashy gimmicks in movies--any day! Short films, also called "shorts" for short, can test the limits of a filmmaker's abilities. Sometimes only a few minutes long, good shorts can reflect the extremely creative efforts of videography, acting, special effects, and storytelling. I like shorts because they don't follow that trite and boring recipe that most Hollywood films use these days.

Overtime (a tribute to Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets) is one of my favorite shorts. Damien Ferrie (who appears not to have many works, yet) employs an awesome animation technique. And the syncing with the musical score make this movie an off-the-charts experience. The black and white imaging (almost sepia or vintage) gives it what Minerva calls, a timeless look. I have watched this movie several dozen times and each time I see something new. Obviously, this work had a lot of effort put into it. The Smalls is one site I like for short films, but I also visit Short of the Week and Vimeo on occasion. Of course, searching "short films" on YouTube can yield some good results, too. Oh, and I almost forgot, KQED has Imagemakers as well...check that out.

Another favorite short of mine is The Last Three Minutes by Po Chan. The story isn't necessarily an original one, but the videography, presentation, and score make it impactful. The camera angles are intersting, but what makes this movie really cool is that it was shot entirely with a Canon dSLR. Shane Hurlbut, the cinematographer, has a blog and sites that are quite informative about the craft and this movie. Search "making of the last three minutes" on Google and you'll find several episodes showing Shane's techniques and experiences with the project.

Tirta Empul ~ The Water Temple

I have been very ummmmm, busy obsessively reading Bear and Tiffani’s blogs. Two friends  --well I mean, sort of. I barely know Tiffani but she feels like a friend after reading her blog. Is that weird? Anywho… two friends who are/were traveling South America for an undetermined amount of time. I wonder if they ever ran into each other… ??  :)
 
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I went to Bali with the boyfriend (who I think we shall dub as "clown ninja" for this blog) for almost three weeks in April. I attended week two of Sacred Circularities, which was a fantastical hoop retreat. We went a few days before the hoop part and stayed for about a week afterwards to do some exploring. It was one of the best trips I have ever taken! 

I am going to skip around in time and first talk about my visit to Tirta Empul Tampaksiring, a water temple, at what is considered by many to be one of the most sacred spots in Bali.  This actually happened in almost the exact middle of my trip.


Approximately 25 people from our hoop group decided to go on this trip. We assembled out front at 11am, and split up about 5 per car after making sure everyone had a sarong and sash. It was a lovely ~45 minute drive through and out of town (Ubud) to the Northeast. We passed through small villages, each specializing in a different kind of art (wood furniture, bone carvings, etc), some crazy statues, including a giant paper mache Gollum (more on that later), through tiered rice fields, and rainforests. I sampled some Seaweed Pringles, which I found delightfully strange!
 
 
 

We re-assembled at the temple and had a small introduction from Puta, Hindu priest and our spiritual guide for the retreat. He did not speak English ~ his wife translated for us. All of the info was very general and I had so many questions. Many of which they did not know the answer. I was surprised and frustrated at the lack of details that were provided either by them or by literature (signs/pamphlets/etc?) from the Temple.   


Things like:

• Why do we wear the sarongs / sashes?
• What do the different fountains mean?
• Who are you praying to?
• What is the history of the temple?
• Etc, etc, etc

I feel like my mom with all these questions!

The temple dates back to 900 AD. This BLEW MY MIND.  Built on a fresh mountain spring, the temple had several different pools with stone fountains that looked sort of like fish heads. It is a purifying, cleansing ritual to dunk yourself under each fountain. You are releasing the bad... "STUFF" from your life. It felt very personal yet also I could feel an enormous connection to those who had been there before me and touched the same things that I had. It was magical, but it got my head all in a swirl.

You could feel the spirituality of the place and I was amazed at how tired I was afterwards considering how little physical activity I did that day! It was beautiful and serene and fun to play in the fountains. 

During the day and the rest of my trip, the questions of religion and the Bible and the world and the universe and my ancestors were swirling around me. I grew up in a Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, as a preacher's kid (PK), yet have always had questions that were never satisfactorily answered. Yet still with my background and old testament stories of worshiping false idols floating around in the back of my head, I can't help but wonder if me participating in other religion's ceremonies or rituals is wrong? Thinking of how my dad would have a heart attack by the “falseness” of it. But I felt so much more connected to the world and those who were there before me than I EVER have in a church. So how can that be wrong? I really felt I was able to LET GO of the bad stuff. the stuff I can't control. Maybe it's good that they didn't have answers to all of my questions, because it really allowed me to make the ritual personal and address my own specific needs.

Just a bit more afterthought on the religion stuff. How can some part of the world completely isolated from the Judeo-Christian world be expected to have the same religions or beliefs as us and how in the world can our God be banishing BILLIONS & BILLIONS of people to hell for believing something different? It just doesn’t make sense. It makes so much more sense that all of these religions should co-exist peacefully; each ultimately being just a different way to view or understand the Universe. I just cannot believe that there is only one way to God / Enlightenment. It is different for different people and different cultures and different minds and well, I think this picture sums it up better than my rambling can (unfortunately, I haven't been able to find the source for this)

....I think that's enough heavy stuff for now :D

(I just realized that I often spin inside my hoop to quiet my spinning head!)

Spin on my friends!

  ~ Minerva

The Streets of Seattle

Street performers are probably in every city. This one's setup is elaborate, like the Golden Man on Fisherman's Wharf. Her costume is black and gold. Her routine is to remain motionless for many minutes at a time. Like pantomime, she is speechless and quiet, letting the poses and movements speak. Pike Place, Seattle.

Then, she transitions slowly to a new position. Sometimes, she will interact subtly with passersby. But her routine is always graceful like living statuary. Pike Place.

The final pose from her transition. Street performers work for tips. So their routines must be engaging and unique. Notice her tip jar. It has a rose and her permit card, which is required by the notice posted above her left shoulder. Pike Place.

More street performers at Pike Place. These gentlemen are gospel singers. Their forte is harmony. Pike Place.

They were entertaining. But they were also promoting their CDs and DVDs.

The original Starbuck's. This is the one that started it all. Notice the mermaid. She is au naturel. Her visage does not ornate Starbuck's products today...not politically correct.

Pike Place market is one of the oldest farmers' markets in the United States. It started in the early 1900's and is still operating today more than 100 years later. It gets more than 10 million visitors a year.

Experimenting with various exposure modes on my dSLR, this shot of downtown Seattle from the Space Needle is somewhat flattering.

San Francisco has cable cars and Seattle has carriages.

Quality food trucks are emerging in a strong way in the States. I think people are getting tired of the traditional roach coach. This is an example of an excellent concept of quality food on a truck. They serve meat pies and variations on that theme. Their home page is here. And they also have a Kickstarter effort.