10 Endangered Animals You Never Knew Existed
Just a reminder that we are NOT the only living creatures on this planet.
….what will future generations say, when they read about how we either killed entire species, or stood by and did nothing?
Remembering: The 45 Most Powerful Images Of 2011
Dug this up out of my bookmarks. Photographs really are an extraordinary way to give rebirth to the stories we’ve forgotten, and remember our collective world history….because it all moves so fast, and sometimes even the tragedies get brushed aside for new memories.
We mustn’t forget our stories. These were only 2 years ago, and I looked at this, thinking “oh yeah…how could I forget about that?!”
Ghost Marriages: Corpses 'Married' In Centuries-Old Chinese Tradition
from my western perspective, this is creepy. But, then, world view isn’t objective. And, considering all the after-life beliefs others like Egyptians had……well…..
I will say, though, that at least the point of this is compassion, and love. That they would think about love in the aftermath is astounding (in a good way)…and begs the question, why can’t we get it right in this life?
What do you REALLY want? (An inspiring video)
Just wanted to share this…it’s really one of those that makes you think about who you are, and what your purpose is in this short life.
Floating Plants Could Be New Biofuel
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: nature really provides us for all we need. Our challenge is just to figure it all out.
Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Princeton University studied the floating plants as raw material for biofuel production. They say it has many benefits over other sources of biomass. Duckweed thrives in wastewater, so no valuable cropland is needed to cultivate it, it is not a part of the human food supply, and can be harvested more easily than algae.
Treasure Hunters in Uniform: 'Monuments Men' Remembered - NYTimes.com
If you didn’t read this (it’s about a month old), then read it now. This is a fascinating piece on the heroes of the art world, these protectors of western civilization’s greatest works.
“Monuments Men” — short for the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of the Allied military effort, a relatively unsung group of 345 men and women from 13 countries who recovered thousands of stolen artworks between 1943 and 1951.
This is really cool…but gotta say that you could, then, just as easily stick onto a PERSON, no?
“Dr. Mohamed Babu of Mysore, South India, noticed something strange about the ants scurrying around on the floor of his kitchen: after drinking some spilled milk, their abdomens turned white. Realizing the insects’ bodies were transparent, he got an idea for a stunning set of photographs.
Mixing different varieties of food coloring along with sugar, water and a waxy base, he set out small droplets of liquid on a white plastic sheet outside in his garden and let the ants do the rest.
‘As the ant’s abdomen is semi-transparent, the ants gain the colors as they sip the liquid,’ he said.
Striving to get the best possible photos, Babu ran into an unexpected problem: too many ants. ‘I really toiled to get a photo. The crowd always used to become unmanageable within a few minutes and while I managed my camera with my right hand, my left hand was busy removing the extra ants.’ After a number of repeated attempts, he finally got the photos he was looking for.
‘Curiously, the ants preferred light colors—yellow and green. The darker green and blue drops had no takers, until there was no space around the preferred yellow and green drops.’ Some of the ants even wandered between the colors, creating unique mixtures of different hues inside their own stomachs.”
(via imperfectwriting)
In pop culture, girls who crush hopelessly on guys they can’t have are painted as just that – hopeless. Over and over again, we’re taught that girls who openly express sexual or romantic interest in guys who don’t want them are pitiable, stalkerish, desperate, crazy bitches. More often than not, they’re also portrayed as ugly – whether physically, emotionally or both – in order to further establish their undesirability as an objective fact. Both narratively and, as a consequence, in real life, men are given free reign to snub, abuse, mislead and talk down to such women: we’re raised to believe that female desire is unseemly, so that any consequent shaming is therefore deserved. There is no female-equivalent Friend Zone terminology because, in the language of our culture, a man’s romantic choices are considered sacrosanct and inviolable. If a girl has been told no, then she has only herself to blame for anything that happens next – but if a woman says no, then she must not really mean it. Or, if she does, she shouldn’t: the rejected man is a universally sympathetic figure, and everyone from moviegoers to platonic onlookers will scream at her to justgive him a chance, as though her rejection must always be unfounded rather than based on the fact that he had a chance, and blew it. And even then, give him another one! The pathos of Single Nice Guys can only be eased by pity-sex with unwilling women that blossoms into romance!
(via imperfectwriting)
18 obsolete words, which never should have gone out of style | Death and Taxes
This is a hoot. I can’t believe these are actually English words.
