Stories

A Dare To Stare Brings A Tear

Jeff

Marina Abramović is a performance artist who now resides in the Hudson Valley of New York. Her one time lover and creative partner of a dozen years, Frank Uwe Laysiepen, also known as “Ulay” worked with Marina on several pieces that were on display as part of her “The Artist is Present” exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan.

“…After several years of tense relations, Abramović and Ulay decided to make a spiritual journey which would end their relationship. They each walked the Great Wall of China, in a piece called The Great Wall Walk, starting from the two opposite ends and meeting in the middle” for one last embrace and to say goodbye. [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marina_Abramovi%C4%87 ]

As part of “The Artist is Present” exhibition, Ms. Abramović was to create one more piece of performance art by allowing total strangers who were visiting the gallery to sit opposite her in complete silence for a few moments during which time they would maintain eye contact.

Without any foreknowledge, and after more than 30 years of separation, Ulay took a seat across from Marina to stare into her eyes and the moment is overwhelmingly powerful. Watch it now on YouTube.

A Cat on the Hat While Filming a Cat Travelogue

Jeff

Japanese photographer Mitsuaki Iwago obviously has a passion for cats and one cat in particular. He has created a travelogue series featuring cats from around the world. In the clip below, he is filming in Okinawa, Japan where enjoys an up close and personal moment with a very cute kitten.



From the YouTube Video Notes:

This is the scene from
“Wildlife Photographer Mitsuaki Iwago’s World Cats Travelogue”
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/special/index130815.html
Island Kitten Befriends Animal Photographer
http://lovemeow.com/2014/05/island-kitten-befriends-animal-photographer/

The Sixth Mass Extinction and Sand

Jeff

The world is running out of sand.

According an article from Mental Floss (We’re Running Out of Sand), the world is depleting this valuable resource which is essential for construction world-wide. One would think that with all the deserts, there would be enough sand for an infinite number of buildings, but the article is quick to note that desert sand is too fine and cannot be used for most construction projects.

Also keep in mind that when we do take sand from riverbanks, beaches and digging in the earth, we are usually tampering with ecosystems upon which we and our planet depend. Many scientists believe that we are already at the beginning of the Sixth Mass Extinction caused primarily by such human activity.

What can go wrong? Watch the video below!

Stanford researcher warns of sixth mass extinction.

Related to the Video:

“Published on Jun 19, 2015

There is no longer any doubt: We are entering a mass extinction that threatens humanity’s existence. That is the bad news at the center of a new study by a group of scientists including Paul Ehrlich, the Bing Professor of Population Studies in biology and a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. Ehrlich and his co-authors call for fast action to conserve threatened species, populations and habitat, but warn that the window of opportunity is rapidly closing. Read more: http://stanford.io/1RgQBMj”

If this is a topic in which you are interested, I can highly recommend an intriguing book:

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
by Elizabeth Kolbert

The book is spellbinding because of the gravity of its message, but Elizabeth Kolbert is capable of putting it all in perspective in interesting and sometimes amusing ways. She clearly points out the follies of humankind as she explains how human activity, in the briefest of scientific time spans, has changed the earth’s ecology to the detriment of all living things.

Can photography change a life? Can it change many lives?

Jeff
  • Are you a spiritual person?
  • Do you believe in the interconnectedness of all people around the globe?
  • Do you think that photography can develop compassion and empathy in others?
  • What role does photography play in the historic and spiritual record of mankind?

I found the video below be very inspirational. Alison Wright is a photojournalist who, as she says, has made a career of running toward places most other people are running from.

If you like photojournalism or photography of people, I think you will find these stories and images fascinating; as I did. If You are a spiritual person, I think you will find the underlying theme of some of Ms. Wright’s work captivating.

Even if you decide this isn’t for you and you don’t want to watch any of this. may I suggest that you watch at least 90 seconds of the video starting at the 7:30 mark and ending at 9:00. While I am a skeptical person by nature, these types of experiences force me to keep my mind open even if it is just slightly ajar.

Published on May 27, 2013
After confronting her own mortality in a near-fatal bus crash, photographer Alison Wright dedicates her career to capturing the human spirit through her photographs and writing.


A Man Named Ben, A Dog Named Denali – Video

Jeff

Photographer Ben Moon and friends create a loving tribute to his dog and partner of fourteen years, Denali. If you are a dog lover or animal lover of any sort, I think you will have your heart strings tugged as you watch this beautiful video told from the dog’s point of view.

WARNING – You might need tissues!

“This Is Goodbye: In Memory of Denali”

May Be the Largest Great White Shark on Video

Jeff

Many people fear sharks and have reason to do so if they are in areas where these creatures normally roam. One thing I like to keep in mind, however, is that it is their planet as well.

Below is a video of one of the largest great white sharks ever filmed. The filming crew nicknamed here Deep Blue. She is a magnificent specimen and dwarfs one of the boats. Her extra large size, as the video suggests, is because Deep Blue is pregnant. Another interesting hypothesis is that she may be fifty years old.

Published on Aug 11, 2014

“Deep Blue is one of the biggest great white sharks ever caught on film. Jaws Strikes Back, part of the Shark Week 2014 lineup, was filmed in partnership with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.”

Blackboard over 100 years old discovered

Jeff

As time marches on and technology advances, schools are renovated to bring more sophisticated resources into the classrooms. During an update of blackboards at Emerson High School in Oklahoma City, as workers began removing the blackboards that were to be replaced with whiteboards a remarkable discovery was made.

Under the blackboards were the old blackboards from 1917 just as they had been left. It is hard to explain why pictures like the one below are so fascinating, but I think they allow us a glimpse into the past and force us to think of those who were in these spaces teaching and learning more than 100 years ago. View the complete story and other pictures of the 1917 blackboards at the link below:

 

100 year old school blackboard work

Via the Washington Post

See video from the Produced by NewsOK.com website

Your face, their house – Mighty Mites

Jeff


Demodex mite

Picture courtesy of the Obfuscation of Reality blogspot

According to a a piece updated on June 1st, on the Vox Media website, almost all of us host millions of mites that live on our bodies and crawl along our faces to look for food and places to live. We may not like it, but it has been this way for a long, long time and scientists really don’t know if this is a good or bad thing.

According to the article, Holly Menninger is working on a study to find out more about these mites and she is quoted saying: “‘We joke that the mites come out to party, because they have sex on your face at night.'”

The video below shows you an up close and personal look at Demodex, forehead mite (400X zoom).



Read the rest of the article at the link below:

Don’t freak out, but there are thousands of mites living all over your face

Losing Our Marbles, But Having Fun

Jeff

Jelle Bakker is an apt name for someone who creates a machine that leads us to believe we are losing OUR marbles. Similar in fascination to those domino chain reactions many of us love to watch, this is a virtual “Marble Tsunami” which I believe is called a Knikkerbaan.

I don’t know why so many people enjoy watching this type of controlled mayhem, but we do!

As Jelle says in the about page from his website:

“My biggest passion is making Marble Machines and Rolling Ball Sculptures, the marbles speeds through the tracks hitting bells, chimes, nails, woodblocks. My Marble Machines differs from other ones because of a cacaphony of sounds produced from the marbles and moving parts like tipovers, seesaws, levers and unique track parts like jumps, loops, funnels, pinball courses and more. My Marble Machines commonly made from wood.

My biggest milestone was setting the guiness record for the Longest Marble Run in 2009, unfortnately, it’s now broken by someone else. In 2012 i start building my first international project outside of the Benelux in the MAD Museum in Stratford upon Avon (UK), after it’s succes a second machine from me is now exhibited inside the darkroom, a Rolling Ball Machine with glowing balls lit by uv-LED’s.”

Read more about this cacophonous hobby at jellekknikkers: the marble master