pCon

Duhurst

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 15:19:35 -0500

I should point out that I’ve named the neighbourhood. I know you’re happy I’ve taken this upon...

instagram: Imagine Peace Tower For more photos of the Peace...

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 18:28:52 -0400

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Imagine Peace Tower

For more photos of the Peace Tower and yesterday’s celebration, search the hashtag #imaginepeacetower, follow @visitreykjavik, and check out the Friðarsúlan í Viðey (Imagine Peace Tower) and Viðey location pages.

The Imagine Peace Tower on Viðey Island in Kollafjörður Bay, Iceland, is a memorial to John Lennon from his widow, Yoko Ono. A tall “tower of light” is projected from the tower’s white stone monument that has the words “Imagine Peace” carved into it in 24 languages. On a clear night, the light can reach altitudes of at least 4000 meters. The power for the lights is provided by Iceland’s geo-thermal energy grid.

Yesterday, October 9, was John Lennon’s 72nd birthday. To celebrate, Yoko Ono handed out five LennonOno Grants in Reykjavik, then lit the Peace Tower. You can watch a live webcam of the tower here.

If you’re still celebrating John Lennon’s birthday, check this out. Also look for The Universe of John Lennon on iTunes. Jazz interpretations of Lennon songs by Michael Occhipinti and Shine On.

How to Teach a Child to Argue

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 16:25:01 -0400

How to Teach a Child to Argue: Why would any sane parent teach his kids to talk back? Because, this...

Revolutionary Plots

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 14:23:51 -0400

Revolutionary Plots: Urban agriculture is producing a lot more than food. …The second green...

The Balance Trap

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 14:19:16 -0400

The Balance Trap: Many assume that balance is a key element of good journalism. Fresh-faced...

"So you want to live ‘according to nature?’ Oh, you noble Stoics, what a fraud is in this phrase!..."

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 14:12:58 -0400

“So you want to live ‘according to nature?’ Oh, you noble Stoics, what a fraud is in this...

"The problem is that people have tried to look away from space and from the meaning of the moon..."

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 19:44:39 -0400

““The problem is that people have tried to look away from space and from the meaning of the...

The Bookless Library

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:24:18 -0400

The Bookless Library: Don’t deny the change. Direct it wisely. Soon most if not all libraries will...

instagram: Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela! Today, South Africa...

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:14:00 -0400

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instagram:

Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela!

Today, South Africa celebrated Nelson Mandela’s 94th birthday, known as Mandela Day. In honor of the 67 years Mandela fought for civil rights, many South Africans gave 67 minutes of their day back to local communities. See more photos of the festivities tagged #MandelaDay and #67minutes.

instagram: Manhattanhenge Want to see more? Browse photos...

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 22:02:26 -0400

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Manhattanhenge

Want to see more? Browse photos tagged #manhattanhenge.

Don’t miss out on Manhattanhenge! Tonight is the last time this year when the setting sun aligns perfectly with Manhattan’s east-west street grid. This phenomenon happens only four times a year and makes for the perfect chance to snap photos of the sun setting between the skyscrapers of Manhattan. The photos above are from yesterday evening’s Manhattanhenge.

Great photos :)

Slab City, Here We Come: Living Life Off the Grid in California's Badlands

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 21:58:17 -0400

Slab City, Here We Come: Living Life Off the Grid in California's Badlands : “Chicago” Joe Angio...

"But to tear down a factory or to revolt against a government or to avoid repair of a motorcycle..."

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 21:55:30 -0400

““But to tear down a factory or to revolt against a government or to avoid repair of a...

Living Stem Cells Discovered in 17-Day-Old Human Corpses

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 22:24:23 -0400

Living Stem Cells Discovered in 17-Day-Old Human Corpses: Researchers at the Pasteur Institute in...

"But what then is capital punishment but the most premeditated of murders, to which no criminal’s..."

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 22:00:16 -0400

““But what then is capital punishment but the most premeditated of murders, to which no...

Our Silent Spring Fifty years after Rachel Carson’s warning...

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 21:57:58 -0400

Our Silent Spring

Fifty years after Rachel Carson’s warning call, have we learned anything?

Fifty years ago, America was on its way to being the kind of place few species would want to inhabit. Toxic waste flowed into rivers, soot floated out of smokestacks and pesticides were driving some species to the brink of extinction. Then, amid the turbulence of the 1960s and early 1970s, people began to realize that the earth might be something worth protecting. The result was our modern framework of environmental advocacy and regulation: Congress created the Environmental Protection Agency and passed landmark legislation like the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act; advocacy groups like Greenpeace, Environmental Defense Fund and the National Resources Defense Council were born; and older organizations like the Sierra Club were reinvigorated. On April 22, 1970, about 20 million people participated in the first Earth Day. The healing began.

It’s a familiar narrative – and would be a happy one if it ended there. Instead, today we face the gravest environmental threat that humanity has ever known – a threat that our system of environmental protection, so painstakingly constructed, is powerless to address. It’s been 24 years since NASA scientist James Hansen’s testimony before Congress brought global warming to the public’s attention. Yet despite the ceaseless work of activists and scientists, the carbon-fueled industrial economy that is wreaking havoc on the climate is still firmly in place. Neither the government nor the public evinces the will to confront it.

At such a critical moment, it is worth considering the book that first snapped the country out of its complacency and set the environmental movement in motion. In 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring asked us to reconsider the blind rush toward what the industrial world called progress. Carson warned us that by destroying the environment, humans would destroy themselves.

Somewhere along the way, her message has been lost.

Fifty years on, we ignore Carson’s message about environmental degradation at our peril.

The Greatest Mystery of the Inca Empire

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 11:58:04 -0400

The Greatest Mystery of the Inca Empire: The Inca Empire may be the only advanced civilization in...

Why America Failed: The Roots of Imperial Decline

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 09:29:20 -0400

Why America Failed: The Roots of Imperial Decline: How bad is it? Pretty bad. Here is a sample of...

sunrec: An electron microscope photograph shows a micro-scale...

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 09:13:30 -0400

sunrec:

An electron microscope photograph shows a micro-scale model of Vienna’s St. Stephans cathedral created by a newly developed 3D printing technique. The base of the model is 100 micrometers (.004 inches) long. Researchers from the Vienna University of Technology have set a new world speed record for creating these tiny 3D objects. The University team create their grain of sand-size structures in just four minutes, a fraction of the time that other items have previously been printed. The process called “two-photon lithography” involves using a focused laser beam to harden liquid resin in order to create micro objects of solid polymer. The scientists said the technique could be developed to make small biomedical parts to be used by doctors. (Reuters/Vienna University of Technology) #

3D printing at the micro level.

Kuriositas has put together a great collection of images by...

Tue, 29 May 2012 20:07:18 -0400

Kuriositas has put together a great collection of images by macro photographer Kim Fleming for their post Slime Mold - Alien Landscapes On Earth. In it, they’ve coupled her beautiful photos with interesting information about slime mold. Beautiful and interesting are not words I would have expected to use for something called “slime mold”, so it’s definitely worth checking out even if the subject seems unappealing at first.

Slime mold is beautiful! Who knew?!

"If you read one book a week, starting at the age of 5, and live to be 80, you will have read a grand..."

Wed, 23 May 2012 10:48:12 -0400

“If you read one book a week, starting at the age of 5, and live to be 80, you will have read...