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Author: Organikos
How So?
After watching some random video captures of natural scenes and especially creatures interacting, by more than one of our Contributors over the last few months, the temptation is to follow the cute animal trail where it leads. No. But from time to time, if for no other reason than to wonder how they did that video, we do not hesitate to share something that seems worth a moment of wonder:
Thevara, Thanksgiving
Kerala’s Finest
Thevara, Morning Walk
In Mumbai Traffic
For anyone who has lived in a great city with street-level public transit the experience is familiar: traffic is a lullaby; snooze; random awakening; the window frames something that seems important. There are plenty of visual reasons to take a bus, for residents as well as visitors. This view was taken from such a window in Mumbai a few days ago, at a place that evoked a strong memory. Neither was it 5th Avenue at 60-something Street, nor was that Central Park behind the wall. But it was, for a moment. For one particular person. A madeleine, of sorts?
Just a moment later, before the cab started moving again:
Our Gang, Thevara
Comforting Words
Everyone who has lived apart from the culture they associate with “home” is familiar with the notion of comfort food. Sometimes it is nourishing, like oatmeal, and other times more of a guilty pleasure, like this one:
As with all guilty pleasures, you avoid thought. You just enjoy. It brings you home, for a moment, wherever that may be. But sometimes, your eye is caught by the glint on the packaging and you learn something new. By the good graces of modern technology and thanks mainly to the requirements we place on companies to share helpful information about the things they produce that they call food–we may have unexpected vocabulary-enriching experiences, like this one:
Urbanscape
Vimeo is one of the many slippery slopes on the mountainous terrain aka the internets. The creativity unleashed there can knock you head over heels. Nonetheless, we must risk those slopes. And give credit where it is due. Just two hours ago Moritz Oberholzer commented on this video, and how it was created (including his credit where due): Continue reading
Wordsmithing: Respect
This post from a few days ago brought the phrase “respect your elders” to the fore, because the man presenting those ideas commands respect. Not in the Napoleonic sense of command, but in the gentle, humble sense. Not to mention the witty sense. So, if there are variations on how to command, are there also variations on respect? Of course. And they are just as surprising as some previous wordsmithing investigations have discovered for other well-worn words.
If you are musically inclined, you might go with Aretha’s definition. It probably gets at the common usage definition that most North Americans of a certain age carry around with them. But in OED territory “giving propers” can be seen in a different light with the first two entries for respect:
1. n. regard, gaze; visual attention.
2. v. to postpone, to suspend; to relieve temporarily.
Neither form of the word, especially the verb form, matches what we thought if we had Aretha’s (or Napoleon’s) definition in mind. Nor is either a definition we had ever even heard of. Yet when we gaze at those water-collecting and storage devices of old in the desert, we regard them in awe; and they do, temporarily, relieve us of our belief that innovation is only forward-looking.
Remember Stars?
It is getting more and more challenging to find locations with good, let alone great, star-gazing opportunities. Seeing the images, let alone the craftsmanship, in this video we say wow, and double wow. It looks a bit artificial at first, and artifice is not inherently unpleasant unless it comes off as, well artificial. This builds, with the music, into brilliant artifice: we wish we were there. Amazingly, Randy Halverson also shares the full explanation of the craft. Triple wow. Shall we ask Billabong to do the same with their double wow?
Our Gang, Cochin
Four Refreshing Minutes
Sculpteur Par Excellence
If you were as amused as we were by this animation, and especially if it gave you hope related to beautiful, if not organic, marine ecosystems of the future, then this display of sculpture is probably for you. Edouard Martinet’s lovely and lovable marine life is rivaled by his entomological wonders, which you will see at his entry page but be sure to dig deeper to find the other lovelies.
The Structure Of Relevance
In bringing stories of community, collaboration and conservation to these pages, we try to rhyme as much as we try to reason. The rhyme can come in visual format, for example with photos like these, or like these; combinations of photos and video like these and like these. We also share plenty of rhythmically-accompanied visuals as well as links out to items that seem to be in the general spirit of what we do when we are not contributing here.
But writing about our activities with meaning, in words, is what we hope to do best on this site. Writing (and reading) are just as important as the visual and aural cues we bring attention to, and our Contributors are committed to writing as an art form. So it is worth noting the master of long form journalism on some fundamental ground rules of telling a story well. John McPhee interviewed in The Paris Review:
Structure is not a template. It’s not a cookie cutter. It’s something that arises organically from the material once you have it. In “The Encircled River” I go to Alaska, and make that trip, and soak up that world. And when you’re up there, the most impressive thing is the cycles of that world.
Water Harvesting & Accumulated Wisdom
As Gourvjit pointed out in an early post, Cardamom County is in the process of revamping its water management systems. The search is still on for learning resources. Besides an accent and wit that are mesmerizing, this man’s stories and visual accompaniments are stunning. Learning is sometimes a simple matter of respecting elders. Especially those who are so at ease on a stage as big as this one.
Can Your University Do This With Paper?
Originally motivated by the Big Ideas article, and further motivated by looking into Cornell University’s many resources to try to get answers to those questions, now Seth’s mention of banana paper deserves a pointer to the amazing university that got that movement started. If you visit Costa Rica, you should visit EARTH University, which is oddly modest in mentioning its history with regard to banana paper. If you are not on your way to Costa Rica, but live in the United States, try to find a Whole Foods supermarket if for no other reason that to purchase one of several EARTH-branded products. EARTH is our idea of the perfect mix of practical education, entrepreneurial conservation initiatives, and quality outcomes–things we care deeply about–so purchasing their products may lead to the next breakthrough innovation in sustainable agriculture.
Copyrights & Creativity
After a bit more investigation, without even getting any lawyer friends involved, it becomes clear that there is plenty of thought going into the question of how Alan Lomax might own some of Jay-Z’s stuff. This simplifies the history for us:
Music To Travel With
Speaking of Wim Wenders and good music, one of the great musical entrepreneurs that Wenders has collaborated with more than once–see Paris, Texas (1984) and Buena Vista Social Club (1999)–is Ry Cooder. If you daydream of traveling to Cuba, and there is a soundtrack to that daydream, it is very likely due to Cooder’s work starting in 1996 with a group of Cuban musicians that led to some performances, then several albums, and eventually that documentary film by Wenders.
If slide guitar evokes the southwest United States for you, that too is likely Cooder’s doing. Bringing it closer to home (geographically but not in any other way) for those of us in Kerala, his cover of The Coast of Malabar, recorded with The Chieftains on their album The Long Black Veil is a melancholy ballad. Do not listen to it unless you are in romantic wallow mode.
Instead, if you want to travel a bit more with music listen and kick your heels up at the same time, listen to the last track on that album. The Rocky Road to Dublin, a collaboration between The Chieftains and The Rolling Stones will send you off with a smile. Back to Ry Cooder, thanks are due to Alec Wilkinson for his reverential post (not really a review) about this new release.
Irreverent Yes, But
Ralph said it best:
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.
Whether you agree with Mr. Emerson or not; whether you believe in hobgoblins or not: shake it up. With humor often works. Twist and shout. We neither stand on ceremony nor worry about offending sensibilities in general, if it is all in good fun, and especially if it serves a valuable purpose. See George here and here for proof of our convictions. But Twitter, really? Have you actually experienced an earthquake? Even if not, have you read the news lately? Is there anything really fun in this?
Organikos 
