!snow!

More than 1000 species discovered in Mekong delta

Scientists have discovered more than 1,000 species in Southeast Asia's Greater Mekong region in the past decade, including a spider as big as a dinner plate, the World Wildlife Fund said Monday.
A rat thought to have become extinct 11 million years ago and a cyanide-laced, shocking pink millipede were among creatures found in what the group called a "biological treasure trove".
The species were all found in the rainforests and wetlands along the Mekong River, which flows through Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the southern Chinese province of Yunnan.
"It doesn't get any better than this," Stuart Chapman, director of WWF's Greater Mekong Programme, was quoted as saying in a statement by the group.

From BBC: Dragon millipede (Image: Somsar Panha)
The "dragon millipede" (Desmoxytes purpurosea) was first described in 2007 by scientists in Thailand. Researchers suggest the bright colouring acts as a warning to would-be predators, as the millipede has glands that produce cyanide as a defence mechanism.
Conservation group WWF says that more than 1,000 species new to science have been recorded in South-East Asia's Greater Mekong region over the past decade. These include 22 snake species, including this green pitviper (Trimeresurus gumprechti).
The Laotian rock rat (Laonastes aenigmamus) was first recorded by scientists at a food market in Laos. Remarkably, researchers say this species is the sole survivor of an ancient group of rodents understood to have died out 11 million years ago.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/15/gumbrechts-green-pit-vipe_n_151114.html

Saying Hello To London Through The Telectroscope in New York

If you are in New York, go to the Fulton Ferry Landing by the Brooklyn Bridge and peer at London with a monstrous telectroscope. If you are lucky, your buddies in London happen to be on the South Bank by the Tower Bridge where a similar telectroscope stands. And guess what you will see? Each other! Why would that be in any way interesting, considering that we can webcam with anyone any time?This prehistoric-looking getup is ART created by London artist Paul St. George. And he, apparently, is only fulfilling the dream of his great-grandfather, Alexander Stanhope St. George. The elder St. George dreamt of burrowing a tunnel across the ocean, setting a magnifying telectroscope at each end so that people could see each other.If the fake tale isn’t enticing enough, the gizmo itself is worth the trek. It took two days and nights for the massive contraption to grow from the river mud and morph from a six-foot, revolving, metallic drill bit to the final tower of a 37-foot-long telescope. It will be there until June 15. To set up a viewing date with your buddies at the other end, go to telectroscope.net. By Tuija Seipell

Times are tough: National Academy Sells Two Hudson River School Paintings to Bolster Its Finances

By RANDY KENNEDY
Published: December 5, 2008
(image: Frederic Edwin Church’s “Scene on the Magdalene” (1854), an oil on canvas)
The National Academy, the venerable artist-governed museum and school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, has quietly sold two Hudson River School paintings from its collection to shore up its finances and enable it to show more of its holdings on a consistent basis, the academy’s officials said on Friday.

The sale of the paintings, Frederic Edwin Church’s “Scene on the Magdalene” from 1854 and Sanford Robinson Gifford’s “Mount Mansfield, Vermont” from 1859, was sharply criticized by the Association of Art Museum Directors, which has a longstanding policy of strongly discouraging museums from deaccessioning artworks unless the money is being used to acquire other works and to enhance a collection — not to raise operating funds.
The association asked its members to cease lending artworks to the academy and collaborating with it on exhibitions....
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/arts/design/06acad.html

"Thousands of Golden Rays are seen here gathering off the coast of Mexico. The spectacular scene was captured as the magnificent creatures made one of their biannual mass migrations to more agreeable waters. Gliding silently beneath the waves they turned vast areas of blue water to gold off the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula . Sandra Critelli, an amateur photographer, stumbled across the phenomenon while looking for whale sharks. She said: 'It was an unreal image, very difficult to describe. The surface of the water was covered by warm and different shades of gold and looked like a bed of autumn leaves gently moved by the wind."

Too good to be true?

For full stats go to: http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

Vote NO on prop 8 because it's the right thing to do

Solid gold Kate Moss statue revealed at the British Museum, London. Yuck.

For a world class museum with an unparalleled collection of antiquities including Roman, Greek, Etruscan, Egyptian, African, and recently, collections from North America and Mexico, to display something so tasteless calls to question the integrity of the institution. This is a museum which showcases such works as the Rosetta Stone, The colossal Bust of Ramesses II, the Head of Amenhotep III, intricate pages of papyrus from the Book of Dead of Hurefer, and an extensive collection of mummies, including an inner coffin made of gold for Henutmehyt among so many other historic and priceless pieces.

I don't mind the extravagance of making a statue out of solid gold during these harsh times, (I suppose Britons are one of the few with the financial security to burn money, with the exception of fuel poverty of course) or that it's of an idealized female, which might have suggested a nod to other classic Greek or Roman sculptures, which would have made the venue seem like a logical choice, but the juxtaposition of her body can only be described as vulgar. I have a hard time just looking at the picture. Can you imagine meandering through the lovely Greek galleries and coming across this? Perhaps showing with artists such as Damien Hirst makes one nervous and desperate enough to "shock" viewers? Whatever the reasoning, I can honestly say that Saddam Hussein’s solid gold toilet is more beautiful and contemporary. I say melt it down, and feed a small country. --Eve

A 50kg solid gold statue of model Kate Moss has been unveiled at the British Museum, in London. The £1.5m sculpture, entitled Siren, is by artist Marc Quinn and is one of several contemporary sculptures in the exhibition Statuephilia. Each work has been sited in a different gallery within the museum, placed with items from its permanent collection. Quinn's sculpture is said to be the largest gold statue created since the time of Ancient Egypt.
'Ideal beauty' Described by the museum as an "Aphrodite of our times", it sits in the Museum's Nereid Gallery,alongside its statues of famous Greek beauties. Quinn, whose most famous work was Alison Lapper Pregnant, has said of using Moss as a subject: "I thought the next thing to do would be to make a sculpture of the person who's the ideal beauty of the moment.
The museum hopes it will remind visitors of its diverse collection"But even Kate Moss doesn't live up to the image."
Other artists in the exhibition include Damien Hirst and Antony Gormley. Hirst has addressed his fascination with death by filling the historic wall cases of the Enlightenment Gallery with 200 specially created skulls...

(Thanks Daniel in D.C.!)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/7647947.stm

More lofts to drool over

In Love with Loft Living...(three times fast)

Eve's Gimme list

Roberto Cavalli "Cleopatra" dress
Herve Leger Women's Ombre Dress
Fall 2008 Gucci horsebit-side eyewear in Ocean
Concrete Drop Earrings by Konzuk
Ebony Hips Wood + Leather Handbags by TIVI (also in Zebrawood)
Cork Cuff by Studio 1AM
No.2 Stainless Steel + Wood Bracelet/Cuff by TIVI
Cairo Resin + Aluminum Bracelet by TIVI
The UM Tote by Josh Jakus
Seesaw Wall Flats by Inhabit

9/16/08

Busy week: Alaska, Japan, Indonesia plate ripple.

Protons and Champagne Mix as New Particle Collider Is Revved Up (yep, he's actually wearing a robe!)

BATAVIA, Ill. — Science rode a beam of subatomic particles and a river of Champagne into the future on Wednesday.
(Image: The entrance to the CERN laboratory near Geneva. After 14 years of labor, scientists activated their new particle collider.)
Peter Wynn Thompson for The New York Times
"Some scientists at the Fermilab in Batavia, Ill., showed up in pajamas on Wednesday for the activation of the collider near Geneva.

After 14 years of labor, scientists at the CERN laboratory.

outside Gene

va

successfully activated the

Large The Hadron Collider, the world’s largest, most powerful particle collider and, at $8 billion, the most expensive scientific experiment to date.

At 4:28 a.m., Eastern time, the scientists announced that a beam of protons had

complete

d it

s fi

rst c

ircuit around the collider’s 17-mile-long racetrack, 300 feet underneath the Swi

ss-French border. They then sent the beam around several more times...."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/sci

ence/11collider.html?ref=science

Holy Sheist!

"In one of the most dramatic days in Wall Street’s history, Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself on Sunday to Bank of America for roughly $50 billion to avert a deepening financial crisis, while another prominent securities firm, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy protection and hurtled toward liquidation after it failed to find a buyer.
The humbling moves, which reshape the landscape of American finance, mark the latest chapter in a tumultuous year in which once-proud financial institutions have been brought to their knees as a result of hundreds of billions of dollars in losses because of bad mortgage finance and real estate investments...."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/business/15lehman.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Oh come on, moderation is overrated...

“There’s a new planet in the solar system and it’s called Luxury. Actually, it is here on earth, on a little-known island called Nurai, located northeast of Abu Dhabi city.The 130,000-square-meter island is about to be transformed into an achingly glamorous and luxurious resort and exclusive private residential estate, comprised of one boutique luxury hotel resort with 60 suites, 31 beachfront estates and 36 water villas. The mammoth project is a collaboration between New York based Studio Dror, led by Dror Benshetrit, that has designed the residences, and the Paris-based firm AW2 are responsible for the design of the hotel.The sheer scale of the project is awe-inspiring. The incredible multi-storey water villas alone will span 515 square meters each, and comprise three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a private rooftop garden with spa pool, private infinity pool, multiple decks, outdoor barbeque area, gourmet kitchen and concealed service quarters. No doubt, Tom & Katie are making their reservations already.As for the private Seaside residences (which are sure to be snapped up by Saudi Princes and oil sheiks because they will probably be the only ones who can afford them), the five-bedroom, six bathroom estates span between 3,000 and 6,050 square meters. Each Seaside estate will include a private beach and garden, rooftop garden with spa pool, infinity swimming pool, indoor reflecting pools, concealed service quarters, entertainment patios, outdoor dining areas, chef and show kitchens, and outdoor showers.The resort is due to open in 2010 and the prices for the residences start at €20 million.”

By Lisa Evans @ The Cool Hunter

J'adore Livingstones!

smarindesign Livingstones
Les Coussins Galets

http://www.livingstones.fr/index.php?page=home&lang=en

http://design-milk.com/comfy/

Linda Evnagelista for Barneys by Steven Meisel (eternally classic)

Ad Campaigns: Prada
Collection: Fall Winter 2008/09.
Photography by Steven Meisel
Website: www.prada.com

"The campaign for Barneys 1991/92 (bottom three images) adverts, just by the amount of work they had together Linda seems to be one of all time favorite Steven Meisels models, the male actor/model (and husband) Kyle Maclachlan, currently staring in Desperate Housewives as Orson. Its been almost 18 years now, Linda is back, Naomi and Kate are here too, and supermodels rule the world? Click on the images above to enlarge, and thanks to XO london for finding these."
Thanks to designscene for images and material