We previously mentioned this book here. Sometimes you cannot get enough of a good thing.
Just Say No
Golden Cap holiday park is on the edge of Dorset’s world heritage-listed Jurassic coast, which includes Studland Bay, above. Photograph: Adam Burton/Robert Harding World Imagery/Corbis
Does the world really need another five-star holiday village? Maybe. But does it need one in Studland Bay? No way. Click the image above to go to the story in today’s Guardian:
One of Britain’s most popular beauty spots could be disfigured by the expansion of a modest caravan park into a five-star holiday village, say opponents of a scheme in Dorset.
Golden Cap holiday park, at the foot the highest point on the south coast, is in England’s only natural Unesco world heritage site and in an area of outstanding natural beauty. It is also surrounded by National Trust inalienable land. Continue reading
Seethankan Thullal – Art of Kerala
The story of Kerala is mirrored in the evolution of its art and culture and offers a veritable array of performing arts. Thullal is a solo performance combining dance and the recitation of stories in verse. Introduced in the 18th century, Seethanankan Thullal is the slowest of the three forms of the Thullal.
Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Spot-billed Duck (Bandipur National Park, Karnataka)
Writing With A Sense Of Place
Jonathan Player for The New York Times. Dylan Thomas’s writing shed in Laugharne.
If writers should write, and they should, then where should they do it? Perhaps a philosopher knows best (click the image above to read the full item):
…One does not have to be a Thoreau or a Rousseau for one of these modest spaces to supply what is needed to write. Identification with nature is not required (if indeed it were possible); a certain harmony with nature is already broken by putting pen to paper. Continue reading
Mamallapuram – Arjuna’s Penance
In South India Temple worship has been a glorious tradition; over the years there have been many schools of Temple building: the Ddravadin, Chalukya, Pallava, Hoysala and Pandya. The Temples were constructed with strict observance of the rules put down in the Agama Silpa Shastras (the book of Architectural techniques). Continue reading
Flower Power
Bird of the Day: White-throated Kingfisher
Kumily, Kerala
Patterns Of Illegal Wildlife Trade
This earlier post touched on WWF’s use of military technology to take on an increasingly militaristic illicit trade. In today’s Guardian, an article with an insightful video embedded (click the map above) touches on approaches to disrupting these patterns. According to a new study commissioned by WWF and conducted by Dalberg, illegal wildlife trade is increasingly mapping on to the patterns of trade for illicit drugs and arms globally:
Organized crime syndicate members at levels 4 and 5 are often located in consumer countries, beyond the reach of enforcement authorities in range countries. For this reason, increased international cooperation is vital. Continue reading
From Behind the Wheel: Art, Meet Reality
Mattancherry
Vegetable Shops – Kerala
Fresh vegetables play a major role in Kerala’s cuisine. People at all levels of the economy use these traditional shops for buying their fresh vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, tomatos, beans, cucumber, bananas, chilies and drumstick.
Plowshares, Swords And Wildlife Conservation
Whatever your opinion about a military-industrial complex possibly running amok, you might agree that the state of endangered wildlife deserves some radical brainstorming. Today, sometimes the plowshares plunder while the swords save. It is slightly creepy to celebrate military tools, sponsored by corporations and conservation NGOs, being repurposed this way. But these are truly times that try men’s souls. We will chalk this one up as net-gain innovation.
Bird of the Day: Indian Cormorants (Lalbagh Botonical Garden, Bangalore)
Urban Agriculture
From today’s Green Blog, an interesting twister:
John Hantz says he has a dream: to purchase 140 acres of derelict land in the heart of Detroit and turn it into the world’s “largest urban farm.”
A Web site set up by Mr. Hantz, a wealthy entrepreneur, to advance his proposal says the farm would return the city “to its agrarian roots.” Continue reading
Flavours Of Kerala- Karimeen (Pearlspot)
Kerala’s extensive network of rivers and backwaters means that fish is plays a central role on any menu and Karimeen (Pearlspot) has come to symbolise that part of the cuisine. Karimeen is a bony fish, treasured for its taste. Its most famous recipe is Karimeen Pollichathu where it is marinated in masala, wrapped in a banana leaf and broiled. Continue reading
Friends In High Places
A judge is due to decide whether to authorise a fresh round of forced police evictions in Notre-Dame-des-Landes. Photograph: Jean-Sébastien Evrard/AFP/Getty Images
Alain, meet Miranda; Miranda, Alain. You both have done your part to reverse a long history of human unfriendliness to trees. Those efforts strengthen the likelihood of additional collective action:
The protesters, including farmers, locals and green politicians, argue that building a brand new airport for France’s sixth largest city, which already has an award-winning airport, is both an environmental disaster and a waste of public money during an economic crisis. Support groups have sprung up across France. Continue reading
If You Happen To Be In Kochi
Art and culture are about to explode onto Kochi at a season that is already filled with color and light. Biennales have been taking place for well over a hundred years, starting in Venice and spreading throughout the world.
Just as the lost port of Muziris had been a regional gateway for the world the Kochi Muziris Biennale, the first of its type in India, has the goal of reviving the vibrancy of Kochi as a meeting point of culture and trade. Spanning the calendar period of 12/12/12 and 13/03/13, the three month long exhibition is expected to draw high international visitation in what has been designed as a cultural strategy of self-renewal. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Square-tailed Bulbul
Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala
Ornithological Wonders In Heavenly Places
If you liked the photos in this post, and the short preview clip, then this full episode about birds of paradise will make your day.
From Behind the Wheel: Peek-a-boo Mickey
