Macropinna Microstoma is a deep sea fish that has adapted to its dark habitat with tubular eyes, encapsulated in a transparent head. The eyes can rotate around inside the skull as needed to catch its prey. The two dark spots that we would recognize as eyes are actually its olfactory organs. If there is a god, he’s wicked creative.
Here is an article by The Monterey Aquarium with more details. And below is a video.
Stem Cell research is important to me not only because I have CML, but because my little brother has Type 1 diabetes (which also took my fathers life). Stem cell research looks very promising in that area (and hundreds of others). It’d be really nice to see the poor kid throw away his syringes and eat a big fat bowl of candy.
(Looks like you’ll have to click through to youtube to see the video)
Apparently I accidentally deleted my post about the Ching Farm Animal Rescue & Sanctuary from last week.
Here’s a summary.
1. Geese are bullies.
2. Emus are assholes.
3. All of the other farm animals are wonderful little critters and can be fabulous pets.
4. They’re doing wonderful work at the sanctuary but its expensive and laborious. You can help by volunteering, adopting, sponsoring an animal or donating money.
Posted in Causes, Nature, Science, Animals, Earth
Tagged animals, Ching Farm, volunteering
I read this article the other day and it kinda shocked me. I didn’t realize that my choice in toilet paper had such far reaching implications. I guess there’s more of that then we realize. We use so many products that we know nothing about (where they come from, which sort of labor is used, how it gets here, etc).
According to the Greenpeace website, it takes 90 years to grow a box of Kleenex tissue. It seems really ubsurd to me that we are cutting down 100 year old trees for tissue. In addition, their site says that Kimberly Clark (Scott, Cottonelle) refuses to use recycled paper in their products.
Greenpeace makes a pocket guide, to help you make a more responsible choice, but basically, just buy recycled. Believe me, trees are important enough to make the effort.
So I photographed this at the Musée National d’Art Moderne at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. I love it but have no idea who the artist is that created it. I spent hours trying to figure it out one night. It was part of a traveling exhibit, so checking the Pompidou site didn’t help. Anyone know?
Update: Thanks to my friend, Cory, for informing me that this painting is La Grande Odalisque (1964) by Martial Raysse.
Posted in Art
Tagged Art, La Grande Odalisque, Martial Raysse, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris
Thursday was Johnny Cash’s birthday. He would have been 77. I heart the man so much.
Here are a couple of fantastic videos. The first is a duo with Bob Dylan. I had no idea Dylan could sound like he does in this clip.. very cool. I love the second one because it’s such high quality and also because Johnny says a few words after the song and I love his speaking voice.
Forest Fire‘s album, Survival, was pieced together over 8 months by members from 2 states on opposite sides of the country (New York and Oregon). Their label, Catbird Records, describes their music as “homegrown hymns for those with no religion”. At its surface, Forest Fire is raw, noisy folk-rock, but a number of the tracks have deeper layers of clashing horns reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel. I’m particularly fond of their darker lyrics that sound more like internal dialog, such as “I only wanna seem good in front of the right people… why can’t I kill someone I hate” and “I don’t like what I’ve become”. The French indie music site, La Blogotheque, named Survival their number one album of 2008. With our love of stinky cheese and Forest Fire, The French and I are bound to be fast friends.
Survival
http://www.mediafire.com/?dnvnzywjddcSlow Motion
http://www.mediafire.com/?wyyz3h0nj1k
Yesterday a few friends and I spent our lunch hour at the clean air rally at the Utah State Capital. The rally was organized by the Davis County Community Coalition (DC3) and in support of HB 393 which would put a two-year moratorium on new coal fired plants in areas of Utah that are already not meeting federal air quality standards.
My friend Cabot started chatting with a man who he suspected might be in the legislature. It turns out that the man was Rep. Barrus, the sponsor of the bill. Cabot asked Rep. Barrus how far along the bill was in the process. Barrus replied that it didn’t really matter because the bill had done what it was designed to do, which was bring Consolidated Energy to the table to negotiate their use of petroleum coke as fuel.
According to this site (which I think belongs to DC3), petroleum coke is the waste left over from refining oil and the dirtiest fossil fuel available (much dirtier than coal). Barrus explained that in the few days leading up to the rally, Consolidated Energy made a commitment to not use pet coke if they continued with the plant.
While being considered a victory, the community is urged to keep an eye on plans for the new plant. If you’d let to get involved with the cause, Utah Moms for Clean Air and Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment welcome volunteers.
First off, I want to say that I really wish I had a band named Fancy Chicken. We would strut around on the stage and impress people with our wicked fanciness.
Next, I hate my neighbors. They have fancy chickens in their front yard. I want to pull a heist and make the chickens my very own. Everyday as I drive to work, I’m reminded that those bastards have fancy chickens and I have none. The owners have paid the fowl in exotic grains to prance a little sassier at exactly 8:15, Monday thru Friday, I just know it.
They look a little something like this.
I stumbled upon this wonderful company and their wonderful shoes.
For every pair of shoes that is purchased by a consumer like you, TOMS will give a pair to a needy child. According to their site, they have given 10,000 pairs of shoes to children in Argentina and another 50,000 to children in South Africa. Their goal is to donate 200,000 pairs globally.
Besides being a wonderful cause, the shoes are super cool. And they even have a vegan line.
Battle Bunny 