Blue Jay on Wheels by Mullanium
Sometimes I wonder whether the attraction to birds is universal. Based on bird watcher statistics I would lean toward a “yes”. Is it the colorful plumage that so attracts us? The cheery tweets and chatters? The flamboyant beaks, wattles, crests and tails? Or is it just that anthropomorphically curious tilt of the head? Continue reading
By what criterion, of all the books on all the shelves in all the libraries, does one choose a particular book? In the digital world we live in now, is that even a relevant question? For anyone who loves to walk over to the lectern in the library where the monumental OED is sitting, the answer is certainly yes, even if they very much also appreciate other forms of access to OED.
So today we pay tribute to those artisans who, along with calligraphers and paper-makers, keep the world of ideas evolving. How one binds a book could have enormous consequences, so it is surprising to see that the etymology for this word is so modern:
Bookbinding as a fine art.
1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 42/1 Contemporary masterpieces of French, Italian, and German bibliopegy.
1885 Pall Mall Gaz. 10 Sept. 15 The Exhibition of what is known as bibliopegy.
1958 ‘M. Innes’ Long Farewell 72 Appleby, although hazy about bibliopegy, was quite certain he wasn’t a distinguished student of it.
It is just the way things are. My reading list/pile is always longer/taller than I have time for. And living between the rice fields and spice-laden Western Ghats I do not have access to the kind of bookstores we took for granted while living elsewhere. Amazon does not deliver in India, nor would I put a penny in their coffers until I have the sense that they are not trying to monopolize the book trade, not to mention everything else.
Even if I had access to a great book store I might not have picked this one up off the shelf, though I admire the author’s writing. I have not been in the mood for anything too canonical or Great lately; rather merely useful, interesting, lesser reading. Short- and long-form journalism tend to be my standard fare. There was something in the pile with Greenblatt’s name on it, a magazine article, that I kept burying for months and which persistently kept resurfacing. Continue reading
Playa Ocotal, Nicaragua
There is a clear link between the focus of this article (click the image to the right to get it) and themes we care deeply about on this site.
It provides a meaningful review of how consumer spending holds the key to a more sustainable economic value chain–which sounds obvious when stated so bluntly but the article also demonstrates that it is not as easy as it sounds.
Otherwise, we would have made more progress than we have by now.
Another vertical panorama, the Keyhole is a more artistic than depictive, unlike most of my photographs. I was struggling to get the shots I wanted to use in the picture (there were about 10) because of the lighting differences between the rocks on the bottom, the undergrowth in the lower third, the canopy, and the skyline. Getting an even light level in all the shots was complicated, requiring checking each shot and retaking them multiple times to ensure accuracy. After over 20 minutes I finally felt satisfied, and laboring twice that long in the digital darkroom resulted in the following image Continue reading
This week there is a profile in The New Yorker of the “organization” behind OWS, or more precisely an account of how the movement got its start. It is in front of the pay wall (click the image to the left to be taken to the article) and is intriguing from the perspective of collective action, a topic we have written about several times.
Conversations by email and phone between two fellows who have not seen each other in person in years seems to have sparked an enormous extended mobilization.
The movement’s evolution, organizationally speaking, is interesting from an entrepreneurial perspective: there is a “don’t try this at home” sense that emanates from the pages.
Playa Ocotal, Nicaragua
Guest Author: Nicole Kravec
After watching Garret McNamara set the world record for riding a 90 (NINETY!) foot wave (aka 27.4 meters) in Praia do Norte, Portugal, I can’t help but wonder where he’ll go next – and what his ride implies for the surf tourism industry – an industry with between 25-50 million participants around the world with yearly growth around 15%, that can unfortunately oftentimes have unsustainable impacts.
McNamara, along with other Big (an understatement) Wave Surfers like Laird Hamilton and Mike Parsons, use a technique called “Tow-In Surfing.” The process uses artificial assistance to literally tow a surfer into a breaking wave by a partner driving a personal watercraft like a Jet Ski or a helicopter with a tow-line attached. Tow-In Surfing is what helped get McNamara his wave, as it is used when the wave is uber large and/or where positioning within the wave is critical. There is some controversy associated with Tow-In Surfing, as it creates a lot of noise and exhaust that can certainly harm the local ecosystems. Continue reading
If you cannot read the article (it is behind the pay wall) about this new breed of apple, then spend a few minutes watching this video that the author made about it.
Travancore Coins from Beena Sarasan’s Collection. Photo: Special Arrangment
A couple of my recent posts appreciating the perspective of a capable Western observer on the topic of India, combined with my family’s pending celebration of Thanksgiving in a foreign land (as per our tradition), got me thinking: what news item in India since living here am I most grateful for.
No hesitation. It has to do with the aftermath of a discovery in July. The discovery happened not too far from where we live, in the foundations of a Hindu temple. The descriptions were remarkable on their own, in part just because of the difference between journalistic style in the culture where I grew up (fourth estate and all) versus India’s journalistic flourish:
…gold, jewels, and other treasures were unearthed in the vaults of the temple. Several 18th century Napoleonic era coins were found, as well as a three-and-a-half feet tall gold idol of Mahavishnu studded with rubies and emeralds, and ceremonial attire for adorning the deity in the form of 16-part gold anki weighing almost 30 kilograms (66 lb) together with gold coconut shells, one studded with rubies and emeralds… Continue reading
Color theories have abounded since the time of the Greek philosophers. Whether through the use of adjectives (cool, warm, soothing, exciting), metaphor (green with envy) or similes (green as grass) different parts of the spectrum have been awarded a range of emotional and descriptive attributes. Continue reading
Pretty neat tree, right? See more below… much more! (not for the faint of bandwidth) Continue reading
If you wonder how different from this fellow, and from this fellow, Arun might be then this half minute introduction will get you started.
Morgan’s Rock, Nicaragua
In a recent post, note was taken of a new bumper sticker. Milo, who normally is more of a nature photographer, was walking in Cochin this morning and started snapping photos of vehicles. Could it be?
I love this picture because of the clearly visible veins on the leaf the damselfly is perched upon. This male marsh dart (Ceriagrion coromandelianum) was photographed in Panganad, Kerala, the same day as Continue reading
