So it involves trees and photography… what more could my friend Carla over at digital-tree.com ask for? How about making sure that it’s *cool* to watch too?

This timelapse was created by Dave Allen, BBG’s Web Manager, from over 3,000 digital photos, one taken every 3 minutes from April 18 to April 26, 2008, of Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s famed Cherry Walk.

The original music is by Jon Solo, a Brooklyn-based musician and producer.

{YouTube: Cherry Blossoms}

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When our kids were still infants, we took a video of Connor laughing hysterically because of some funny faces or noises we were making. You just can’t help but laugh when babies laugh.

So here’s a small compilation of laughing babies if you’re in the mood (or in need of) to smile. Some I’ve seen before, and I remember standing in my mom’s kitchen over the holidays laughing and watching the first one.

But the quads laughing in the last video hold a special place in my heart as multiples.

Enough so, that they get their own embed here:

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I’m in a Geekdad mood, because I mentioned the site last night at fencing practice and Jeremy’s geek meter missed it.

I’ve had this little ditty for a week or so and I’ve been meaning to post it as well. I made our roleplaying group watch it last week and spend the rest of the night humming to myself.

I’m not sure if my favorite bit is the finger to the chin or Checkov jumping.

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I missed posting this for Earth Day, but I figured better late than never.. I’d say it’s not like the Flood is coming tomorrow.. but given the state of the world… you never know…

If you haven’t already discovered it, ARKive, Images of Life on Earth is a vast collection of pics and video of endangered and threatened animals. In giving special recognition to “Earth week,” I came upon this in my (constant) search for cool animal videos for the 5-year-old. The stuff on this site is superb.

Backed by the BBC and many noted wildlife film makers and photographers, ARKive boasts the largest collection of animal imagery on the web. The quality is first rate and the site is loaded with educational resources and information. The video is generally uncluttered by silly narration and eschews the novelty, simply showing animals in action for the splendor of it.

I miss my ferrets… sure, they were Mustela putorius furo instead of Mustela nigripes, but thats what made them so loveable.

Black-footed ferret - overviewBBC Natural History Unit

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For thousands of years, labyrinths have existed in a multitude of cultures. They have been used as ceremonial pathways, protective sigils, traps for unwelcome spirits and for games and dancing. They have been used for spiritual and artistic journeys. I’ve only recently started learning about them, and was surprised at the depth of their history. I was even more surprised to find the amount of labyrinths that still exist today. I’m thinking I’m going to have to visit the one in Longport, NJ now.

One of the themes of the ARG I am currently following is about parallel universes. Labyrinths are being used as a foundation to allow these worlds to communicate, synchronize and prevent their destruction. As fictional as that is, the factual information that is scattered through is what drew me into the labyrinth history.

Recently, we were instructed to create/walk a personal labyrinth, as well as document it. You were supposed to think of a life changing decision you made in the last 4 years, and consider how your life would be different had you chosen a different path — for in an alternate universe, someone had. How would their life continue on their own path, making further decisions.

By reflecting on this decision, it allows for that sense of meditation and synchronization with yourself, as I see it in a very spiritual way.

Only a few have been created so far. But the artistry of this one inspired me to to walk my own personal labyrinth Sunday night.

Let me just tell you what a pain it was though.. I had planned to do the night time candle thing from the beginning, but after setting it all up there was quite the wind. The ground was marked with flour, as I wanted something that was white and would reflect the candle light and be seen at night. Bad weather was in the forecast for the next two days, so my window of opportunity was small. Rather than wait, I pressed ahead. I wound up making aluminum foil ’shields’ to place around the candles and keep them from blowing out. This kept them from going out every 15 seconds as was the case before. Now, it was only every few minutes.

The new problem was that the shields also drastically reduced the light’s ability to pool. So instead of having a nicely illuminated labyrinth, I had one that was barely visible on the camera, in turn causing what little that could be seen to be out of focus.

Since the journey was planned and the destination in sight, I aimed to complete it. I worked with what I had, and hoped that the artistry outweighed the technical difficulties.
If you take the time to watch it, I want to thank you in advance.

Sometimes its good to reflect on the choices you’ve made, whatever it is that prompts you to do so in the first place.

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Jeremy (ianraven) recently came the revelation that children are governed by the laws of Kosher, where Monsters are concerned at least. So that begs the question.

Are the monsters themselves Kosher? Any article with a picture of a Jackalope is sure to get my attention.. and now I know that my fear of them being eaten to (recorded) extinction by hungry Jews is unfounded.

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Vagina Monologues deemed too racy for most students at Edmonton school

Drama students at Harry Ainlay High School were prevented from presenting the play to fellow students on Tuesday, after somebody complained about the production.

Is it my liberal stance on the world which causes me to get aggravated with this kinds of crap, or has society just gone so far beyond normal acceptance and become oversensitive? Is it just a few that keep raising to new heights problems that don’t really exist?

“It’s really important that females feel comfortable in their own skin and are able to talk about vaginas — and it’s not a scary word that people dance around all the time,” said Keri Ekberg, who runs a teen theatre festival at Citadel Theatre in Edmonton.

A recurring theme throughout the play is the vagina as a tool of female empowerment. It’s important teens be able to openly talk about what’s affecting their lives, Ekberg said. 

I also applaud Eve Ensler, the playwright who wrote The Vagina Monologues, for coming to their defense.

That brought the playwright herself to a school board meeting to speak in defense of her play. Free speech advocates across the U.S. also sprang to the defense of the teens.

Come on Free Speech! You gotta win these kinds of fights!

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You’re a fan of LOLCats are you? Well, they’ve got nothing on LOLGrues.

I’m sorry… say what you want… I’d rather have a Grue than a kitten anyday.

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