A flickr user going by the name gluek has some amazing photos of Starcraft themed origami. As a former Starcraft addict, I have to say, the attention to detail is unreal.
Atheist Professor at Virginia Tech
An atheist professor at Virginia Tech responds to the statement that in the aftermath of the recent killings atheists are no where to be found and can offer nothing to those grieving.
The Kurds of Northern Iraq
During a seven-week stay in 2005 in Iraq, photojournalist Ed Kashi captured thousands of images that were used in this interesting flip-book style animation, “Iraqi Kurdistan“.
Iraqi Kurdistan is an expansive look into the daily lives of the Kurdish people of northern Iraq. These images provide an alternative perspective on a changing culture, one different from the destruction and discord that dominates so much media coverage of the region.
Here are policemen seated on the floor, eating lunch and laughing, old men taking care of their fields and young girls celebrating at a suburban birthday party.
There is also hardship and tribulation, to be sure; the Iraqi Kurds endured generations of brutality under Saddam Hussein. His genocidal campaigns cost close to 200,000 lives. But as Iraqi Kurdistan documents, the region is mostly peaceful today. The people enjoy more autonomy and women’s rights continue to grow stronger.
Very compelling on a social studies level, but also I also found the images themselves to be fantastic—they are not only beautiful but also capable of stirring a variety of emotions.
I had a hunch he was using a Canon 5D and though I’m still not 100% sure, I saw the Canon logo in one of the photos with a mirror in it. I would love to get myself one of those.
African Name Game
Think you know the world around you? Try naming all 53 countries of the African continent in 10 minutes, in my latest naming game:
53 African Countries in 10 Minutes. Good luck.
Jesus Freaks
Back in the 60’s and 70’s there was a “Jesus Movement” in the United States where a lot of young people involved in drugs, rock & roll, and the anti-establishment hippie culture found “salvation in Jesus” and turned to writing music centered on Christ. Pretty soon, there were enough people interested in the genre, that in 1979 Creation Festivals were started as an alternative venue to traditional rock concerts.
[..]Creationfest, [is] a four-day Christian rock show-cum-revival held every summer in Eastern Washington where religion, politics, and music collide. It is here that thousands of eager young Christians gather to worship, save souls, and get “Crunk on Christ”. Jesus Freaks takes you deep into the heart of this contemporary Christian culture where religion and rock n’ roll make strange bedfellows. (25 mins)
Quotable quote: “I betcha Jesus can, like, ya know, he’s the baddest b-boy in the world, ya know what I’m saying—he can do the windmill while doing the robot and the electric boogaloo at the same time, ya know.”
(via Smashing Telly)
Joshua Bell Impromptu Street Performance Follow-Up
A follow-up to the Joshua Bell violinist story I posted a couple of days ago has Washington Post staff writer Gene Weingarten answering questions about the article.
A History of Home Values
Here is an interesting graph from Robert Shiller’s book Irrational Exuberance.
The Yale economist Robert J. Shiller created an index of American housing prices going back to 1890. It is based on sale prices of standard existing houses, not new construction, to track the value of housing as an investment over time. It presents housing values in consistent terms over 116 years, factoring out the effects of inflation.
See also the same graph as a roller coaster ride on Google Video.
World Class Street Performer
Would you recognize the outstanding talents of one of the world’s great violinists if you caught him performing incognito during your rush-hour commute to work?
The Washington Post turned this hypothetical question into a reality: Pearls before Breakfast.
(via Kottke)
Pysanky: The Art of Ukrainian Easter Eggs
These are some of the eggs that my sister and her oldest son, Ryker, made. Check out the fabulous Pysanky Pool on Flickr.
Mr. Deity
Mr. Deity is a clever video series that, to some, might explain why God acts the way he does. I particularly liked episodes 2 and 4.