Photographs Of Life In Pre-Soviet Russia
From a photographer-centric website called Lens Culture, this photobook review of a collection called Nostalgia helps us visually ponder a now forgotten world through a particular lens:
Nostalgia: The Russian Empire of Czar Nicholas II Captured in Color Photographs
photographs by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii Continue reading
Festival Of Kerala- Vishu
Photo Credit: Abhay
Celebrated on the first day of the Malayalam month of Medam (which in 2013 falls on April 14th) Vishu is one of Kerala’s most important festivals. The parallel festival to the Onam harvest celebration, Vishu is the festival of sowing. All Hindu households begin the day with offerings called vishu kani. This consists of a ritual arrangement of auspicious articles like raw rice, fresh linen, golden cucumber, betel leaves, banana, jack fruit , yellow flowers (indian Laburnum) and a metal mirror. Continue reading
Getting Grilled About Nests
Photo by Sharon Obery, IL
In the past few years at the Celebrate Urban Birds Funky Nests in Funky Places competition we have seen a fair number of nests found by contributors in their grills. And although at first it might seem surprising to learn that so many people are finding nests there (and, as you can see from their captions, the photographers are usually pretty shocked to open up their grill and encounter eggs or nestlings!), if you think a little about what certain bird species look for in a nesting location, grills actually make sense as nest homes. Why? Well, let’s review a couple facts about bird nests.
First off, many species will always nest in a protected hole, or cavity. The most common of these that you could find around your house include (but aren’t limited to) European Starlings, House Sparrows, House Wrens, and Eastern Bluebirds. Next, we should remember that the most important factor for a nest location is its capability to provide shelter and protection from predators. Does it sound like a grill would meet these requirements? Here’s some of their nest-worthy qualities:
Bird of the Day: Red-wattled Lapwing with Nest
Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala
Innovative Cross-Cultural Sound
Thanks to the folks who created the music-recording studio (more on which to come) we had the opportunity to experience this live:
Hindugrass at Manifold Recording
Kicking off our recording sessions for the new album with a live performance in the magnificent music room at Manifold Recording. Continue reading
Lake Vembanad
Photo Credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
Lake Vembanad at sunset is a vision of coconut palms reflected on calm water. Famous for its boat races, marine products and ubiquitous coir industry, this land of lush paddy fields is also referred to as the “Rice Bowl of Kerala” and one of the few places in the world where farming is done below sea level. Continue reading
Weird Businesses, Natural History Edition
Eric Prokopi, of Gainesville, in the five-thousand-square-foot fossil workshop that he built in his back yard. Photograph by Richard Barnes.
I am not sure what to make of this. Is it entrepreneurial conservation from a different angle? This story, in character with the New Yorker‘s brand of long form journalism, tells a remarkably odd story in must-read fashion:
Natural history goes to auction five or six times a year in America, and one Sunday last May a big sale took place in Chelsea, at the onetime home of the Dia Center for the Arts. The bidding, organized by a company called Heritage Auctions, began with two amethyst geodes that, when paired, resembled the ears of an alert rabbit. Then came meteorites, petrified wood, and elephant tusks; centipedes, scorpions, and spiders preserved in amber; rare quartzes, crystals, and fossils. The fossils ranged from small Eocene swimmers imprinted on rock to the remains of late-Cretaceous dinosaurs.
Reminders Of Wild
For the explanation of each image, plus photo credits and some other images in this weekly series in the Guardian website’s Environment section, click here.
Bird of the Day: African Jacana (Mole National Park, Ghana)
Napier Museum – Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Photo Credits: Nikhil Raj
The Napier Museum is also known as the Trivandrum Art Museum of Art. It was completed in 1880, making it the oldest museum in Kerala and one of the oldest in India.The museum houses an extensive collection of bronze and stone sculptures and wooden carvings dating from the 11th to the 18th centuries. There are some very interesting musical instruments and a 400-year old clock. The traditional ornaments used by Kerala women, elaborate lamps and life -lized Kathakali figures complete with resplendent costumes add to the museum’s eclectic collection. Continue reading
From Behind the Wheel: Parrot Futures
Photo credit: Ramesh Kidangoor; near Mysore
Coffee Maker Verification
No promotion, per se. We like the message, and we are curious, if you have had experience with this machine, whether you can verify for us the claims of the company:
By using hand-powered pressure coffee making becomes a more involving pleasure. As you become more experienced you can fine-tune how you use the ROK espresso maker to produce espressos to your personal taste. Continue reading
San Francisco Bay Trail, CA
Bird of the Day: Mallard Ducks
Indian Palm Squirrel (Funambulus palmarum)
Photo credits: Best of Kerala
The Indian Palm Squirrel, also known as the Three-Striped Palm Squirrel, is very common in and around Periyar Tiger Reserve. These squirrels are native India and Sri Lanka and can often be seen running up and down trees and houses in the Western Ghats. Continue reading
Recycling Skateboards
Another in our series of links to fresh ideas and innovative recycling social enterprises:
Broken skateboards are an unfortunate side effect of skateboarding Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Purple Glossy Starling (Mole National Park, Ghana)
Madurai Meenakshi Temple
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
Located on the banks of the Vaigai River, Madurai is the oldest city in Tamil Nadu with an historical legacy over 2500 years old. The famous Meenakshi Temple dominates the city, which evolved around it. The architecture is purely Dravidian but there is an amalgam of many styles dictated by many dynasties as the temple changed hands many times. Continue reading
Earth Day In Historical Context
Earth Day began as a minimally organized teach-in.
Those who do not know their environmental history may or may not be doomed, but they are missing something. Knowing the history is a pleasure in itself, as this article in the current issue of the New Yorker demonstrates. Know this:
…Earth Day’s success was partly a matter of timing: it took place at the moment when years of slowly building environmental awareness were coming to a head, and when the energy of the sixties was ready to be directed somewhere besides the Vietnam War and the civil-rights movement. A coterie of celebrated environmental prophets—Rachel Carson, David Brower, Barry Commoner, Paul Ehrlich—had already established themselves, and Rome reminds us of Continue reading
A Fresh Social Enterprise Story
We are happy to spread the news about social enterprises we encounter, even if we have not yet tested their products. In this case, it is the Origins story that catches our attention:
FreshPaper was created by a young inventor who happened upon the active ingredients after accidentally drinking some tap water while visiting her grandmother in India. Her grandma gave her a home remedy – a mixture of spices, which kept her from getting sick. (Click here to hear the story in her own words.) Continue reading
Organikos 