Slavenka & Obi: March 2015

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

The Eiffel Tower debuted 126 years ago. It nearly tore Paris apart.

The Eiffel Tower opened to the public 126 years ago, on March 31, 1889. But it had been generating controversy for years before that. Today, it's an icon. At the time, the project was deemed a disaster by France's best aesthetic minds — and seen as a World's Fair gimmick that would hopefully be demolished as soon as possible. The story started in 1886, when France held a contest for a striking centerpiece at the 1889 World's Fair that would celebrate the downfall of the Bastille. Entrepreneur Gustave Eiffel entered the running. He had experience building railroad bridges, and his proposal for a new monument — a tower — looked extremely industrial and was an unlikely entry in a field that already included some unusual competition (another proposed monument was a massive model of a guillotine). As it turned out, French officials liked Eiffel's plan because he had technical expertise and an ambition to set new records for height. "The whole thing — to Eiffel — was that the French would have the tallest building in the world," says Jill Jonnes, author of Eiffel's Tower. "It would be twice as tall, and he knew technically how to do this."
But though Eiffel's tower planned to set records, it wasn't without controversy.

It’s gotta be someone’s fault

via

Wild in the Streets

Miron Zownir Berlin 1980

What to Listen to and Watch for When Enjoying Jazz

In a Count Basie performance of the “Basie Boogie,” the musician's fingers fly across the piano keys as if they are doing the dance themselves. Saxophone, clarinet and string soloists add their own voices to the sway of the movement. The drummer's rhythmic downbeats dance in time.

The United States has now snapped its fingers to the syncopated heartbeat of jazz for more than a century. As a music genre, it is a uniquely American invention that began in Louisiana and diffused to different parts of the country, and later, the world. “Since jazz first emerged, it has radically changed, from a localized music for accompanying dances in New Orleans to an international art form with many styles and dialects,” says John Edward Hasse, curator of American music at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Since its origins, ongoing reinvention has been a defining feature of jazz. As the reach and form of jazz continues to evolve, so too does the relationship it has with its audience.
Today, jazz can be heard across myriad platforms including recordings, radio and online. Its influence is also pervasive in modern-day melodies of pop, rock, hip-hop, rap and bluegrass music. Given its accessibility, jazz is an art form that “can be gratifying without deep knowledge of its underlying structure,” states Discover Jazz, a book that Hasse co-edited along with Tad Lathrop. However, for those interested in developing a keener ear for various elements of the genre, here are some guidelines.

Movie-Inspired Cupcakes By DreamWorks Animator

Past a certain point, food art becomes so beautiful that you become unsure if you’d actually eat and ruin something so beautiful. Fernanda Abarca, an incredibly talented animator for DreamWorks who also creates realistic cakes, cupcakes and sugar sculptures, passed that point ages ago. Her detailed edible sculptures and cake toppers bring characters from popular animated movies to life.

10 Facts About Easter More Interesting Than the Chocolate

Why do we celebrate a bunny that hides multi-colored Easter eggs?
And why do we eat ham for Easter?
There are so many strange questions around this spring holiday, but you can find the answers to them all in this fascinating TopTenz article filled with fascinating facts about Easter.

Just make sure to keep some chocolate on standby in case of cravings.

Chicks With Sweets

Is there anything much sweeter than a baby chick in full fluff?

It 's a baby chick with yummy sweets.

So here it is!

Crossing Your Fingers Could Reduce Pain (No Lie)

The study, from researchers at University College London (UCL), suggests that the physical arrangement of the painful parts of our body, relative to the parts that are not in pain, could affect what we feel, too. In other words, the person's overall body position seems to influence how pain signals are sent to the brain.
UCL pain specialist Giandomenico Iannetti told the Guardian that, essentially, this is because our brains are good at playing tricks on us. “Perceptions are constructed in the brain with the objective of seeing the world around us,” he said. “This is why sometimes perceptions do not accurately reflect sensory input. Pain is a perception often only loosely related to the actual noxious sensory input.”
In time, this line of research could lead to the development of better, simple, non-invasive management strategies that don't rely on medication—fingers crossed.

Needle-Felted Animal Sculptures

Needle felting is still a relatively unknown art form. It is done by stabbing into wool fibers with a very sharp, barbed needle over and over. The stabbing motion knots the fibers via the barbs on the needle and you can mold and sculpt the wool fibers into form. more

Monday, March 30, 2015

Trevor Noah to Succeed Jon Stewart on ‘The Daily Show’

In December, Trevor Noah, a 31-year-old comedian, made his debut as an on-air contributor on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” offering his outsider’s perspective, as a biracial South African, on the United States. “I never thought I’d be more afraid of police in America than in South Africa,” he said with a smile. “It kind of makes me a little nostalgic for the old days, back home.” Now, after only three appearances on that Comedy Central show, Mr. Noah has gotten a huge and unexpected promotion. On Monday, Comedy Central announced that Mr. Noah would be the new host of “The Daily Show,” succeeding Mr. Stewart after he steps down later this year. continue

Indiana Governor Stunned By How Many People Seem to Have Gay Friends

Indiana Governor Mike Pence is “stunned and amazed” that so many people appear to have gay friends, Pence has confirmed. Speaking to reporters in his office in Indianapolis, Pence said that he made the astonishing discovery about gay friends late last week. “A lot of everyday people have gay friends, and they’re not afraid to call and/or e-mail you to tell you that,” Pence said.
“To be honest, I’m still trying to process it all.” Pence said that from what he has been able to gather thus far, the phenomenon of “ordinary folks” having gay friends “has been going on for years.”
“You could be walking down the street, and without you knowing it, this person is friends with gays and that person is, too,” he said. “It really seems to be pretty widespread.” “It’s the darnedest thing,” he added. While Pence acknowledged that he has “no gay friends personally,” the growing popularity of being friends with gays has made him question whether he has been “missing the boat on this.”
“When I see so many people having gay friends, it makes me wonder if I should go out and get one,” he said.
“But I guess that would be kind of hard for me to do now.”
The Borowitz Report

What Time Is It?

May I Have This Dance

Photographer Documents The Unlikely Friendship Between A Boy And A Bird

Photographer Cameron Bloom captures the innocence and love in the unlikely friendship between a boy and his bird. His son Noah had found a baby bird alone in the wild around their Australian home. The bird being without a mother, the family decided to take it in and raise it themselves.
This bird, affectionately named “Penguin,” was found right after Cameron’s wife, Sam, broke her back.
This crucial and difficult time in the family’s life was met with an unforeseen visitor and friend for life. While both Penguin and Bloom’s family was coping with life’s hardships and struggles, a connection between them began and continues to grow into something extraordinary.

Just how good is Eric Clapton?

Eric Clapton turns 70 today. He has been acclaimed as a guitar hero since he first surfaced on the burgeoning London blues rock scene in the early Sixties with the Yardbirds and the Bluesbreakers.
By 1967, an anonymous graffiti artist coined the phrase Clapton Is God.
He has been a global guitar legend for over fifty years. But just how good is he really?
Neil McCormick talks to experts to discover just how great a guitar player he really is.

Why the Jaws beach scene is one of the best in movie history

Julian Palmer, the creative director for 1848 Media, explains in a video breakdown how director Steven Spielberg uses things like the color yellow, staging, scale, and camera angles to tell a story.
It's all there in the beach scene in Jaws. Story-wise, the beach scene is simple.
There's a shark in the water, and someone is going to be eaten.
But the techniques and thoughtfulness Spielberg uses are anything but.
They're something we don't often think about when we're enjoying the movie.
Here are some of Palmer's main points about Spielberg's style.