Conformity is so crucial. What is it that gives us the desire to act or be like everyone else? What gives us the desire to fit in? We’ll save that one for Danny. Maybe humans just have a desire to be a part of something. Honestly, I think we were all born to stand out. It’s already a miracle that we’re living. Out of the millions of sperms just swimming, ours just happened to be the one to penetrate the egg? Come on now. We’re out here. Literally. This one’s jokes though. Experiments reveal some geeked up shit. We’ve gotta step our experiment game up in the 2010. It’s coming soon.
How clean is the ocean though? A whole nother world we can’t even fuck with? Props to these photographers though. How were they able to capture these pics? It’s not like they brought their tripod with them. I don’t know. I just find waves and water dope. The ocean’s just so poppin. Seahorses, sharks, dolphins, crabs, snakes? Just hella shit. We’re just getting started with the ocean. Good times to come.
Often times, when I look into the stars it helps me deal with the trivial shit going on in the day to day. To keep it real, looking at the stars is damn near therapuetic. When I look into the stars I realize that nothing really matters. Unless it does… In my humble, there is no way we “humans” are the only living beings out here. There’s just no way. Let me drop some knowledge: According to Rebecca Sato of the Daily Galaxy there are an estimated 250 billion stars in the Milky Way alone. And 70 sextillion (7 x 10²² ) in the visible universe. Please take a moment to consider these statistics. Meanwhile, our 4.5 billion-year old Solar System exists in a universe that is estimated to be between 13.5 and 14 billion years old. Experts believe that there could be advanced civilizations out there that have existed for 1.8 gigayears. FYI, one gigayear = one billion years. Hit the MORE for more reasons why it simply can’t just be us out here.
Some nice images from Norwegian visual artist Rune Guneriussen. These pieces take conventional household items and place them in natural settings, creating a pretty interesting contrast in the process. Some beautiful landscapes and some nice colors, and at the least, they should make you scratch your head once or twice. In my book, that’s valuable in itself. See the rest of Rune’s work here.
I think most of us have a lot to be thankful for. If you’re reading this post, the odds are that you own a computer, and have access to the internet at the very least. In all likelihood, you’re about to grub out with some folks you love too. I think during the best times though, it’s important to stay mindful of the many folks in the world who haven’t been quite as fortunate. The Global Oneness Project offers some insight, calling attention to the problems of hunger and poverty, and the ways in which ecological crises will exacerbate these problems in years to come. At the root of their philosophy is the simple idea that we all live in an interconnected world, and that we each have the ability to help in solving the problems we face together. Much thanks to Samra for the valuable perspective.
With an average life span of nearly 3 years, ladybugs are some of farmers favorite companions. Voraciously consuming plant eating insects, such as aphids, ladybugs help farmers protect crops while controlling the the population of aphids in a given area. Immediately after birth, ladybug larvae immediately begin to feed, and at the end of four weeks one ladybug may eat as many as 5,000 aphids.
I used to have a pet snail named Petunia so I got juiced when I came across this flower. Native to the Solanaceae family of flowers, the Petunia originally received it’s name from the French, taking the word petun (tobacco) from a South American language known as Tupi Guarani. In 1823 the petunia was first sent from South America to France, when it was discovered by the explorer James Tweedie. Normally, the flower grows rather large, usually growing to about 4 inches in diameter. Pretty pretty if you ask me. This is the striped petunia.
Growing up to about four feet, the Trimeresurus, also known as the Asian Pit Viper is one of 300 species of snake that has been discovered in the Himalayas since 1998. Originally discovered by European scientist Patrick David in Thailand in 2002, the snake inhabits much of the Burma Mountains, and additionally parts of India, China and Japan. Like most snakes the pit viper feeds on other similar sized animals, including rodents, lizards, amphibians and birds. Although the potency of the venom varies between species, the green pit vipers venom is hemotoxic making it medically significant to humans.
Apparently coconut juice is the movement. Also known as coconut water, the substance is the only natural substance that can be injected into the human blood stream. In this day where we walk into a supermarket and are bombarded with 20,000 ok to mediocre unhealthy products, I think it might be useful to put on for the shit that will actually joog the mind body and soul. Recently Modern Ghana has presented some of the benefits of the fruit, hit the MORE for more on the coconut:
The coconut has been a dietary staple in most parts of the world for over 4000 years, but many of us mainlanders don’t give it much thought until we hit the tropics. All of a sudden, it seems exotic, tropical and refreshing. Luckily, a few manufacturers have geared up the marketing lately for the fabulous coconut in the form of water.
I was just served a great big helping of poignancy from photographer Chris Jordan. His latest work, “Midway,†captures the actual contents of dead albatross chicks’ stomachs, found on the Midway Atoll (near the middle of the North Pacific ocean). Thousands of these birds die every year from starvation, but also from choking and toxicity from the pollution that their mothers’, thinking it looks like food, bring back for them. As the artist’s message explains, not one piece of plastic in these photos was changed, moved or altered in any way, so as to document this situation as accurately as possible. While the images are certainly tragic and difficult to take in, one must admit that there is also a beauty captured in these photographs.
Apparently money does grow on trees. Kind of. Throughout much of England, money trees have emerged as sources of good wealth and prosperity for individuals interested in leaving their spare change behind. Similar to a wishing well, the somewhat mysterious trees have been found in various parts of England, from Yorkshire to Bolton Abbey. Close up it seems as though the coins merge into the bark, giving the illusion that the coins are growing out of the trees. Who would’ve known? Bowties, believe it or not.
I remember being hella juiced to see two girls kiss when I was younger. It was an unexpected thing at the time, but came with extra hype as well. It’s funny to me how relations in the animal kingdom can be so similar. To a degree, I think observing animal interactions can help us understand human interaction. In some instances, the parallels we draw can provide us with valuable insight to understanding our own situations. Towards this goal, we present the tropical citrus root weevil (Diaprepes abbreviatus). Accidentally introduced to the state of Florida in 1964, the insect has also been spotted in California not only devouring citrus, avocado and potato roots, but also engaging in some cunning mating behavior. Here are the facts.
Josef is just incredibly dope at what he does. Believe me when I tell you that this collection of images is nothing in comparison to the portfolio he’s built up over a career that spans decades. Hoflehner’s black and white photography juxtaposes man-made monuments to incredible natural phenomena, documenting some of the most awe-inspiring sights on the planet. Shit that makes you wish you were there to see it yourself. See more of his work here.
Twill’s provided us with some interesting statistics for the weekend. Graphic design artist Toby Ng has recently created a set of posters visually depicting some of the most relevant and interesting statistics of the world. This work is so dope because it gives us some perspective to help understand our ever changing world. In his own words: There are a few different versions of this text in circulation about the world’s statistics. I found the data very striking and neatly summarises the world that we live in. So I used information graphics to re-tell the story in another creative way. I designed a set of 20 posters, which contain most of the information. I used simple vector graphics that related to a statistic in order to present the information in the simplest and most accessible way.
Adaptation. Merriam says it’s one’s adjustment to environmental conditions. To adapt is to evolve into your surroundings. Prospering through your ability to ride the waves of life’s never ending ocean. So I wonder, were puffer fish just fish back in the day, until they “adapted” into puffer fish? Maybe they always had it in them. Regardless, this is our world, and this shit goes on it. I wonder what we’ll come across next.
