Weekend Links

Well, this was supposed to go up over the weekend, but the days have gotten away from me. G-Dog got home from one trip and turned around and left on another, we had some family in from out of town for a brief visit, and then yesterday was so freakin' gorgeous that I spent the whole afternoon outside... and so on... but enough with the excuses -- here are a few bits of interest...

• Gorgeous aerial nighttime shots of New York and Las Vegas!
• Best. Graph. Ever.
• Slow Money -- how would the world be different if the money you spent (even just 1% of your assets) stayed in your local economy?
• The fun and the frightening!
• Food can be grown just about anywhere.
• Best spelling bee contestant ever -- he's awfully composed for someone so young!
• All of Popular Science is now online (137 years worth)!
• Are there any mammals in that sushi you're eating?
• Google search suggestions.

Pretty Pictures!

Some eye candy for your lazy New Year's Day!

Friday-ish vibes!

It's only Tuesday, but it's feeling like the weekend here at Chez 10K. G-Dog and Emmie just finished up for the week at school, so we're officially on Thanksgiving break. I've already gotten a turkey for Thursday, but have to do the rest of the grocery shopping tomorrow, and then I'll be in for the holiday.

I feel like I should be posting a creature, but it's not Friday, so that will have to wait. In the meantime, though, here are some other pretty pictures:

• On the Shoreline (one of these days, I sure would like to host a Thanksgiving gathering at my seaside home...)

• National Geographic's International Photography Contest (both batches of photos take my breath away!)

Weekend Links

Things that caught my eye recently...

• Oh, Sarah Palin, why do you make me think of you and your horrible inadequacy?!? I don't deserve that (more here!).
• The world in lego!
• Sesame Street made a joke, the wingnuts freaked out and Colbert had some fun. Honestly, I have no use for Sesame Street or the muppets since that horrible Elmo made his debut, but cut the shaggy rags a break -- it was a freakin' rhyme.
• These photographers color outside of the lines.
• Islands seen from space.
• Al Gore (the thinner version!) visited The Daily Show last week.
• Where are you getting your Thanksgiving turkey and how much will you pay for it? Years ago, when Emmie was a bleeding-heart teenager, she announced that she would not be eating any Thanksgiving turkey unless it had been a happy bird who had lived a good life. I said ok, I'll give it a whirl, and picked up a free-range, organic bird (and took some long, deep breaths to get me past the sticker shock). I cooked it up and was amazed at how much more moist and delicious the turkey was that year, and have paid the premium prices ever since. It really is better meat.
• The History of Birth Control.
• Leviticus also said...
• US Exclaves.
• This link is a bit older, but I loves me some Sarah Vowell!
• Letters of Note.
• Al Franken has gotten to work (he's not funny (much) -- he's just really good).
• Feed the World!
• In America, people of all faiths are welcome here to worship Jesus in their own way.
• What's happening to American conservatism?!?
• A difficult goodbye.

Little Boxes

I've been cleaning out my bookmarks some this weekend and just ran across this cool series of Earth images from Boston.com's Big Picture. This image in particular (the blocks of homogeneity are completely freaking me out) gave me an earworm (which I will forever associate with the awesome TV series, Weeds) that I am generously passing on to you, dear reader. (More, unrelated, stunning photos are here... I can't decide which one is my favorite!)

Is St. Elmo really in Georgia?

Georgia is very desperate for water. We have a lot of it.

Sigh. This could get really ugly.

Maybe it will rain...

UPDATE: more from the Times Free Press and Tennessee Ticket

Białowieża Puszcza

I was gifted Alan Weisman's The World Without Us over the holidays and started reading it this afternoon. I haven't gotten very far yet, but I really enjoyed the opening chapter's description of Białowieża Puszcza -- the half million acres that is all that is left of Europe's old-growth, lowland wilderness.

The forest is home to two distinct genetic families of wisent, which are separated by a fence (built by the Soviets in 1980) that runs along the border between Belarus and Poland. Beyond the bison, there are more species found here than anywhere else on the European continent, even though the area does not enjoy the benefit of variations in elevation and climate that might increase the number of habitats.

It sounds like a gorgeous setting. If you've ever wanted to see the Garden of Eden, this would be one site to put on your "Places to Visit" list.

Juxtaposition

I clicked on a news site today and found links to these two stories, side by side:

2007 shattered records for Arctic melt:

An already relentless melting of the Arctic greatly accelerated this summer, a warning sign that some scientists worry could mean global warming has passed an ominous tipping point. One even speculated that summer sea ice would be gone in five years.

Bush administration opposes new mileage requirements:

The White House has raised last-minute concerns over regulation of automobile emissions and fuel economy that aides said Tuesday could lead to a presidential veto of the energy bill now before Congress.

If there ever was a clown who was completely out of step with what is going on in the world, his name is George W. Bush.

7/7/7 (and 7/8/7!)

It's a busy weekend! I understand today was very competitive for nuptial bookings, with so many couples wanting to make their anniversary unforgettable. I'll be one of many people attending a wedding later in the day. In the meantime, I spent the morning with Breakfast at Wimbledon, while others (those with what a friend calls "the bourgeois cable") have already been blogging and watching LiveEarth. So little time, so much entertainment!

Congrats to Venus Williams, who captured her fourth Venus Rosewater Dish (and equal pay!) this morning. Venus was, as always, very gracious in victory, showing much admiration for her opponent, Marion Bartoli, and acknowledging Billie Jean King, who was in the champion's box (along with Björn Borg and Martina Navrátalová), for her numerous and great contributions to the sport.

Now on to the men's semis, and we have another Breakfast at Wimbledon to look forward to tomorrow morning, for the finals (go Rafa!)...

Oh, yeah! And not only is tomorrow my brother's birthday (Happy Birthday, Bro!), but it's also the promised deadline for announcing the winner of the Million Dollar Portfolio! Keep those fingers crossed! My cousin Mary Sue is still in the running!

Happy Earth Day

Bill Maher had an Earth Day message on Friday, and mentioned the missing bees.

It was a beautiful Earth Day here in Chattanooga. I went to a plant sale at Crabtree Farms (I got some marjoram to replace the plant I lost over the winter, some jalepeño pepper plants and a couple of varieties of tomatoes) and then got to play in the dirt for a little while. I hope you were able to enjoy the lovely day as well!

Happy Earth Day

If you can find it. McJoan went looking but didn't find much. I was swamped and didn't even get this post up until Sunday morning. I remember when Earth Day used to be a big event, with parades and street fairs and all sorts of fun, but I don't know of anything that was scheduled this year (at least, not here in Chattanooga), even though it fell on a Saturday. Did I miss a memo, or were we all too busy working an extra job to pay for the next tank of gas?

A Beautiful Little Film

358 frames taken in 24 hours.