Sunday, July 31, 2011

Ancient World


Ancient World, originally uploaded by Midnight - digital.

The Cliffs

They sing of the grandeur of cliffs inland,
But the cliffs of the ocean are truly grand;
And I long to wander and dream and doubt
Where the cliffs by the ocean run out and out.

To the northward far as the eye can reach
Are sandhill, boulder, and sandy beach;
But southward rises the track for me,
Where the cliffs by the ocean run out to sea.

Friends may be gone in the morning fair,
But the cliffs by the ocean are always there;
Lovers may leave when the wind is chill,
But the cliffs by the ocean are steadfast still.

They watch the sea and they ward the land,
And they warn the ships from the treacherous sand;
And I sadly think in the twilight hour
What I might have been had I known my power.

Where the smoke-cloud blurs and the white sails fill,
They point the ships to keep seaward still;
And I think—Ah, me!—and I think—Ah, me!
Of the wreck I’d saved had I kept to sea.

Oh! the cliffs are old and the cliffs are sad,
And they know me sane, while men deem me mad.
Oh! the cliffs are firm and the cliffs are strong,
And they know me right, while men deem me wrong.

And I sometimes think in the dawning gray,
I am old as they, I am old as they;
And I think, I think that in field and town
My spirit shall live till the cliffs come down.

Henry Lawson

Thursday, July 28, 2011

50 Renowned Academics Speaking About God



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Plastic ..the infographic


Plastic — it is everywhere.
While it has helped humanity in some important ways, it is also wreaking havoc on ecosystems and organisms around the world (including humans). Here’s an interesting infographic with some stunning and disturbing information on: how much plastic we use, what problems it’s linked to, plastic in the oceanBPA, plastic’s ridiculously long lifespan, and how we can cut plastic out of our lives (OK, maybe not how we can do so completely, but how we can do so to a large degree).
The most interesting line of the infographic, in my opinion, is this one: “every piece of plastic made still exists today.” But, really, there’s a ton of interesting info here.
The infographic also does a good job of pointing out the key steps we can take to body-slam our plastic problem:
  1. Use reusable bags
  2. Cut the bottled water out of your life
  3. Say no to single-serve plastic packaging
  4. Use sandwich boxes instead of sandwich bags (cooler anyway!)
  5. Use silverware (.. which actually results in a little more pleasant of an eating experience)
  6. Go digital (forget the old-school plastic CDs & cases)
  7. Use a refillable dispenser
  8. Bring your “to-go” mug with you
  9. Avoid plastic you can’t easily (and probably won’t) recycle
  10. Try to find products not made of plastic (when you have to buy something, that is)


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Truth About Plastic
Source:Reusable Bags

Monday, July 25, 2011

Infographic: The Social Travel Revolution

Infographic-the-social-travel-revolution-hi-res

Social media can shape the way that we make our decisions on a day-to-day basis and this is seen very much in the travel industry. This great infographic from Swedish social travel startup Tripl demonstrates how interactions through social media are effecting this industry.

A few key points of interest for me are:

  • 72% of all social network users access their social network sites daily while they are travelling
  • 200 million passengers will board GOGO-WIFI flights this year
  • 69% of all travel companies saw traffic growth from Facebook
  • 46% of all travel companies saw traffic growth from Twitter
  • The top 5 airlines have 2,566,000 fans on Facebook
  • 50 million trip reviews have been created for TripAdvisor

This infographic gathers data from major players in the social media field, as well as large travel and data sites like Quantcast.com and TripAdvisor.com

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Μιχάλης Κακογιάννης... έφυγε ο δημιουργός του Ζορμπά...

Kakogiannis1-480x0

 

«Ο Μιχάλης Κακογιάννης είναι ο πρώτος, ανάμεσα στους μετρημένους στα δάχτυλα του ενός χεριού συναδέλφους σκηνοθέτες, που μπόρεσε να βγάλει την Ελλάδα έξω από τα σύνορά της. Και το έκανε μεταφέροντας στον κινηματογράφο τον Ευριπίδη και τον Καζαντζάκη, κάνοντάς τους αγαθό του διεθνούς κοινού, προβάλλοντας την ιδέα του ελληνισμού, όταν στην κοιτίδα του επί της ουσίας δεν υπήρχε καν σοβαρή κινηματογραφία».

 


Με αυτά τα λόγια ο δημοσιογράφος, Χρήστος Σιάφκος, που υπογράφει τη βιογραφία του Μιχάλη Κακογιάννη «Σε πρώτο πλάνο» (εκδ. Ψυχογιός) καλωσορίζει το 2009 τον αναγνώστη στην «υπέροχη» περιπέτεια ζωής του διεθνούς σκηνοθέτη.

Επαγγελματικά ο Μιχάλης Κακογιάννης εμφανίστηκε πρώτη φορά στο θέατρο, ως Ηρώδης στη Σαλώμη του Όσκαρ Ουαΐλντ, το 1947. Ο ίδιος περιγράφει μοναδικά την σκηνή:

«Όλα διαδραματίστηκαν, όπως μπορείτε να τα φανταστείτε, ακόμα και ο Χορός των επτά πέπλων. Μου γδύθηκε σχεδόν τελείως η Σαλώμη, ή τουλάχιστον όσο επιτρεπόταν τότε. Έμεινε με ένα κιλοτάκι και δε θυμάμαι αν φορούσε καν σουτιέν. Λεγόταν Μπερνίς Ρούμπενς και έγινε στη συνέχεια διάσημη συγγραφεύς».

«Στη ζωή δεν είμαι καταπιεστικός, στη δουλειά όμως γίνομαι. Στον κινηματογράφο πρέπει να είσαι δικτάτορας. Διοικείς πλήθος ανθρώπων, γίνεσαι Θεός κατά κάποιο τρόπο, αφού πλάθεις ζωή. Κι αυτή η ζωή αποκτά την οντότητα της πραγματικής. Επίσης, γίνεσαι απόλυτα ειλικρινής. Δεν έχεις καιρό για κολακείες ή ψέμματα. Το πλάνο εργασίας πρέπει να ολοκληρώνεται στον τακτό χρόνο. Αν κατακρίνω για κάτι σήμερα τους νέους σκηνοθέτες, είναι γιατί δεν υπακούουν στους νόμους του κινηματογράφου και ξαφνικά μένουν χωρίς λεφτά. Εγώ γύριζα τις ταινίες σε επτά με οκτώ εβδομάδες. Δεν έβγαινα ποτέ από τον προϋπολογισμό. Αλλά βέβαια πρέπει να ξέρεις τι θέλεις, όταν αρχίζεις να δουλεύεις. Κι όσο για τις αποφάσεις, πρέπει να ξέρεις να τις παίρνεις στο δευτερόλεπτο».

«Στον αγνώμονα άνθρωπο δεν απαντώ καθόλου. 'Οσο για την κακεντρέχεια δε με νευριάζει, σίγουρα όμως με πληγώνει. Και αν το να είσαι καλός σημαίνει ότι είσαι δίκαιος και λειτουργείς σωστά, ναί, νομίζω πως είμαι καλός άνθρωπος».

«Ο ''Αττίλας 74'' δεν είναι μία ταινία που σκηνοθέτησα εγώ. Τη σκηνοθέτησε η Ιστορία κι εγώ απλώς κατέγραψα τα γεγονότα. 'Οσο καλύτερα μπορούσα και λειτουργώντας ως καθρέφτης τους. Μόλις έμαθα για την εισβολή, ότι οι Τούρκοι μάς είχαν μαχαιρώσει στην πλάτη, σκέφτηκα πως κανονικά θα έπρεπε να πάω και να καταταγώ στην Κυπριακή Εθνοφρουρά. Δεν ήμουν, όμως, ικανός να χρησιμοποιήσω άλλο όπλο εκτός της κινηματογραφικής μηχανής. Και μ΄αυτή πολέμησα τελικά».

B_1382_cacoportrait1

Ο Μιχάλης Κακογιάννης (1922-25 Ιουλίου του 2011) του Παναγιώτου ήταν σύγχρονος Έλληνο-Κύπριος ηθοποιός και σκηνοθέτης.
Γεvvήθηκε στην Λεμεσό της Κύπρου στις 11 Ιουνίου του 1922. Σπούδασε νομικά και θέατρο στο Λονδίνο. Εργάστηκε ως ηθοποιός και σκηνοθέτης στην αγγλική σκηνή το 1941 - 1951 και ως διευθυντής της "Κυπριακής Ώρας" στο BBC (1941-1951) και ως ηθοποιός στο αγγλικό θέατρο (1945-1951). Το 1951 που επέστρεψε στην Αθήνα αφιερώθηκε ως σκηνοθέτης του θεάτρου και από το 1952 του κινηματογράφου.
Τιμήθηκε με πολλά βραβεία σκηνοθεσίας. Μιλούσε αγγλικά, γαλλικά και ιταλικά και ήταν μόνιμος κάτοικος Αθηνών (Πλάκα). Απεβίωσε μετά από δέκα μέρες νοσηλείας, πλήρης ημερών.

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Sunday, July 24, 2011

Tribute to the Space Shuttle from the European astronauts

INFOGRAPHIC: Marine turtles in the Coral Triangle

Marine turtles are to the Coral Triangle what jewels are to a crown: both indispensable and marvelous. In the case of turtles, they are also highly vulnerable. 

Check out this infographic to discover the simple aspects of turtles' life cycle, and the threats they face in the ocean.

Coraltrianglemarineturtlesinfographic

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Climate Change Threatens “World Peace and Security,” says United Nations

 

 

Climate change poses a major threat to future peace and security, a senior UN official has warned. Achim Steiner from the UN Environment Program said climate change would also “exponentially” increase the scale of natural disasters.


 

But the 15-member council apparently failed to agree on whether climate change itself was a direct threat to international peace and security, even after a rebuke by the United States which described the lack of consensus as “pathetic.”

Source: Planetsave (http://s.tt/12TZU)

Saturday, July 23, 2011

toomanytribbles: what's the largest radio telescope in space?

toomanytribbles: what's the largest radio telescope in space?: "pop quiz! answer below... RadioAstron (or Spektr R) is a russian orbital radio telescope, and currently the largest space telescope in..."

"Ποταμοῖς τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐμβαίνομέν τε καὶ οὐκ ἐμβαίνομεν, εἶμέν τε καὶ οὐκ εἶμεν.""We both step and do not step in the same rivers. We are and are not."Heraclitus the Riddler

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Recycling: The Good, The Better, The Best {Infographic}

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All About Recycling
Source:Reusable Bags

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STS-135 Landing ..end of an era...

Space shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) touches down at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF), completing its 13-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program, early Thursday morning, July 21, 2011, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Overall, Atlantis spent 307 days in space and traveled nearly 126 million miles during its 33 flights. Atlantis, the fourth orbiter built, launched on its first mission on Oct. 3, 1985. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Most Beautiful Greek Beach 2011 | Ομορφότερη Ελληνική Παραλία 2011



"Ποταμοῖς τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐμβαίνομέν τε καὶ οὐκ ἐμβαίνομεν, εἶμέν τε καὶ οὐκ εἶμεν.""We both step and do not step in the same rivers. We are and are not."Heraclitus the Riddler

Crazy Environmental & Global Warming Politics News

Climate-change-commitments-country-map

 

και οι συνδεσμοι...

  • Students Get Lobby Group Material From Chris de Freitas in Climate 101 Lectures
  • President Of Nauru Calls On Security Council To Respond To Climate Change
  • Dirty Money For Dirty Water: Groups Supporting Bill to Gut Clean Water Act Outspend Opposition 23 To 1
  • Climate-Denying Oklahoma Governor Tells Residents To Pray For Rain
  • L.A. smog: Public health groups file suit against EPA [Updated]
  • News Corp and the Hacked Climategate Emails: Time for an Independent Investigation
  • Facing the Security Challenge of Climate Change
  • The Party of Crazy
  • Government Official’s Associates Reportedly Got Big Contracts After BP Oil Spill
  • Most Anti-Environment House of Representatives in History Tries to Do More Damage
  • Clean-Energy Law Boosts Jobs In Ontario
  • Senate releases transportation bill outline
  • Polluting Democracy
  • Michele Bachmann, Eric Cantor Part Of ‘Dirty Money Team’
  • GOP Rep Seeks to Stop Kids from Learning about Energy Efficiency
  • House Votes To Restore $90 Million Of $2.3 Billion Cut From Green Energy Research
  • What if the CO2 Ceiling Debate Were Like the Debt Ceiling Debate
  • Denier David Legates Asked To Step Down As Delaware State Climatologist
  • Map: Countries’ actions and commitments on climate change
  • House Passes Tea Party Light Bulb Joke By Voice Vote
  • An Assault on the Clean Water Act
  • Time for Congress to End Big Oil Subsidies
  • Saving Clean Energy in New Jersey: Thank You, State Legislators!
  • Firms urge EU to allow unapproved GMOs in food imports
  • Rail-Wary FL Gov. Scott Threw Caution to the Wind in Supporting SunRail
  • GOP Relights Effort to Extinguish Billions in Consumer Savings — as NBC Blows the Light Bulb Standards Story Entirely
  • Will North America Be the New Middle East?
  •  

    Source: Planetsave (http://s.tt/12SJt)

     

     

    Wednesday, July 13, 2011

    Lego Antikythera Mechanism






    "Ποταμοῖς τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐμβαίνομέν τε καὶ οὐκ ἐμβαίνομεν, εἶμέν τε καὶ οὐκ εἶμεν." "We both step and do not step in the same rivers. We are and are not." Heraclitus the Riddler

    Pale blue dot...one more marvelous adaptation

    Pale Blue Dot - Animation from Ehdubya on Vimeo.

    I've been enrolled in illustration at Sheridan College for the the last 4 years and this is my final thesis project. I have always thought of Carl Sagan's writings as "scientific poetry" since they lack the cold touch that science is often cursed for having. I think Sagan's words resonate more than ever, and will continue with each generation until the human species "wakes up". The first time I heard this excerpt from his book "Pale Blue Dot" it literally changed my life, and I hope it does for you too. Enjoy.

    Written and Narrated: Carl Sagan
    Music: Hans Zimmer "You're So Cool"
    Art and Animation: Adam Winnik

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    Saturday, July 9, 2011

    Canon vs Nikon

    There’s nothing like a ‘Canon’ vs ‘Nikon’ discussion to get photographers going. Those with cameras from either brand love to defend their purchase…. and those with other brands always have an opinion too. So when we were offered this infographic we thought it might be a fun comparison!

    Read more: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/canon-vs-nikon-a-financial-and-consumer-comparison-infographic#ixzz1Rcd0GOoj

     

    Canonvsnikon

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    Ocean Sky...

    Ocean Sky from Alex Cherney on Vimeo.

    At a star party in August 2009 I took my first long exposure photograph of the night sky. I was so thrilled with the results that I dedicated most moonless weekends since then to photographing two things I love the most in nature - the night sky and the Ocean.

    Taking a series of images and combining them into a time lapse video sequence made it even more interesting. I have since experimented with all-night time lapses, panning motion, etc. But most importantly I've enjoyed the journey immensely.

    This time lapse video is the result of almost 1.5 years of work, 31 hours of taking images during six nights on Southern Ocean Coast in Australia.

    Ocean Sky was awarded the overall winner prize at STARMUS astrophotography competition:
    http://www.starmus.com/pages/en/winners-starmus-astro-photography-competition...

    The Sound track is by Redmann
    http://www.toucanmusic.co.uk/artists/artist.php?q=Redmann

    Alex Cherney
    http://www.terrastro.com

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    Doctors on Drugs

    Increasing in costs each year, prescription pills are one of the most profitable and dominating industries in the nation, with annual sales in the hundreds of billions. Prescribed medications constitute a significant bulk of work that medical coders must transcribe. Shockingly, the prescription pill industry uses questionable practices to increase their bottom line, and in turn, increase coding workload through unnecessary prescriptions. Though pharmaceutical companies have long-earned a reputation for wooing doctors with gifts, bribes, and incentives, it was only revealed in recent years that they’ve also been paying doctors huge sums of money to promote certain products and doctors are taking up on these offers. These pre-selected medications are not only violating a conflict of interest, but they can also be largely responsible for increases in patient and insurance costs: a doctor may feel obligated to prescribe an expensive “sponsored” medication over a cheaper alternative. This in turn, is reflected on the overall rising cost of healthcare, which unfortunately, is exactly what the doctor ordered.

    Doctors on Drugs
    Via: MedicalBillingandCoding.org

    Come Fly With Us

    Come Fly With Us from David Hendrix on Vimeo.

    A tribute to one of the most significant & stylish aircraft in history, the Boeing B307 Stratoliner. Also an exercise in seeing just how much I could abuse one HDR image by getting as many angles as possible ;)

    B307 model from aeronautica 3D: http://www.aeronautica3d.com/boeing-307-stratoliner/

    Audio: American Patrol by Glenn Miller Orchestra


    "Ποταμοῖς τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐμβαίνομέν τε καὶ οὐκ ἐμβαίνομεν, εἶμέν τε καὶ οὐκ εἶμεν." "We both step and do not step in the same rivers. We are and are not." Heraclitus the Riddler