Nattura (Iceland)

Nattura is a movement in Iceland seeking to stir debate and awareness for local environmental issues, especially in relation to the encroaching heavy smelting industry compounding the effects of climate change on Iceland's unique landscapes. Primarily initiated by the artist Bjork, the group has as its goal supporting small businesses and steering Icelandic society and economy towards sustainability.

Here's 2 music clips related to Nattura taken from the National Geographic, both from Icelandic artists I've always been drawn to.

First one's a live rendition of Sigur Ros' Gobbledigook performed during the Nattura concert in June 2008 . Second one's Bjork's Earth Intruders.






Art and sustainability: a fertile mix?

Congratulations Cupcakes

It's officially the end of university life for Lawrence, a new chapter is waiting. For now...congratulations cupcakes!

Floriade (October 1)

Finally saw what it was all about. An explosion of colour, beauty, and life in one of Australia's newer pilgrimage sites.











Cheers.

His Heart, Our Art: The Amorsolo Retrospective

Fernando Amorsolo, the First Philippine Artist in Painting, is well known for his portraits and paintings of women and landscapes. But he is best known for his backlight technique, his greatest contribution to painting. Using this trademark technique, his subjects become outlined against a golden glow and a burst of light in one part of the canvas serves to highlight small details nearby. He had what one would call a love affair with sunlight. And it showed clearly in his pieces. His works were always suffused with natural light, which made for rich and vibrant colors.

With this, his idealism is clearly reflected in his work. The light shining on the Filipina beauty rivals the glow in her eyes. The daily routines that occupy his subjects become illuminated with his brush. The setting is simple and bountiful, unfamiliar to darkness and hunger and strife.

(excerpt from http://www.amorsoloretro.com)

NASA: Mars Water Discovered, "Tasted" by Lander -- A First

"NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander quenched a longtime scientific thirst yesterday when it detected water in a soil sample—the first time liquid water on another planet has been touched or "tasted." "
Above: picture of Mars' polar caps taken from national geographic.

(full story and implications at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/08/080901-mars-water.html)

At last.

The Return of Nine Inch Nails

A great new lineup, with an even greater lights show...very much still pushing the boundaries.



courtesy of twce, taken at Pemberton, Seattle July 25, 2008 where the audience were blasted with a solid set of 31 friggin songs. Wish i was there.

cheers.

The Oldest Jokes of Time!

Chanced upon an amusing article from the BBC a few minutes ago (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7536918.stm).

It compiled some of the oldest jokes known to history. It seems the question-and-answer formula was the preferred mode of joke delivery then, as i believe it remains to be the case today.

Here's a couple:

Egypt 1600BC (I presume found on a papyrus by worker adobes): "How do you entertain a bored pharaoh? Sail a boatload of young women dressed only in fishing nets down the Nile - and urge the pharaoh to go fishing."

Sumeria/Iraq 1900BC: "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap,"

Britain 10th Century: "What hangs at a man's thigh and wants to poke the hole that it's often poked before? A key."

Popular themes were identified to be flatulence, and anything to do with women or sexual topics.
Haha. No pictures here. Well, maybe just a fitting one.

Sydney (June 21)

Sydney, revisited. With the right people, and the right frame of mind, you've got one of the best cities on earth.

The new over the old

Traditional owners (didgeridoo jam)

Vanilla cannoli

Ex-vanilla cannoli

Messina's gellato

Happy street

To the soldiers of misfortune

Hunter-gatherer

Lord of the high rise

Poseidon: out of water and underemployed

Sydney crawler

Bat tree

Flower's got a secret

Communicant cake

Lost and dazed in Sydney

Bridge to forever

A thousand arches

Sydney swoon

Thanks to Japs and Nicole for a most wonderful weekend. You've changed my mind about Sydney and inspired in me a heightened appreciation for Pinoy hospitality!

Bronte/Bondi Beach (June 21)

Bronte and Bondi: Sydney's saving graces.

seashell picking

Nicole

Blue

Chasing baby

Japs

Sicily, non?

Surfer by really steep cliffs

Swallowed but one

Art imitates life

Wish you were here (yes you Tanya!)

The Blue Mountains (June 20)

2 hours west of Sydney, along the quaint little town of Katoomba.

Katoomba Falls

One with the skies

Last minute sentiments

Three Sisters

Katoomba graffiti