Fresh Fish Food for Thought

Please to enjoy this amazing video on the future of farmed fish, and a call to arms to rethink the way we farm globally.  It's worth the time spent.


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Greening the Cube

Wouldn't it be great if all our privacy needs at work were this relaxing and fresh?  Jebus, I'm coveting this right now!  The oxygen alone would boost productivity.  Props to Julio Radesca de Carvalhom, a recent graduate of the Design Academy Eindhoven for the design.

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How bout some satirical blues for the afternoon?

Woody Guthrie sings the Mean Talkin' Blues . . . about some mean, mean anti-union, anti-planning, hate mongers . . . sound familiar?  Maybe we could call it the Twenty-Ten Hate-Talkin' Blues . . .

Lyrics after the jump . . .

Sand artist in Union Square

Came upon this in Union Square yesterday . . . everybody loved it, from the youngest to the oldest passer-by.  All done in carefully poured colored lines of sand . . . I'll have to check in on it today if I have time.  Two more pix after the jump . . .

London sky-scraper integrates turbines

Lately London has become the city to watch when it comes to contemporary architecture, and this 42-story tower is no exception.  Three huge turbines are embedded into the concave facade of it's uppermost section, and are projected to provide 8% of the power the building needs. . . a small percentage compared to some, and far from a carbon-neutral building -- this is at the very least what every tall building should incorporate.  If you've ever opened a window above the 30th floor of any building, you'll know that there's plenty of potential for energy whipping around up there!  Full gallery from Inhabitat HERE.
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Starbucks litters art all over public space to encourage itself.

I was biking through Madison Square Park yesterday, minding the business of enjoying a brilliant sunny day in NYC, when i was stopped in my happy tracks by an unwieldy crowd which had collected itself on the [triangular bit of] square.  I saw this:  Thousands of cups (and more to come) filled with varying hues of coffee and milk (wasted) forming the silhouette of a huge redwood tree.  I was immediately intrigued and irritated.  As it turns out, it is a messy, soggy, ill-conceived eco-art nightmare that -- through it's wastefulness -- seeks to remind us to use FEWER cups.  Ok, so I got a free refillable mug out of the deal, but meanwhile can I have my public space back?  When did city parks become billboards for wealthy corporations and their fake good green deeds? I'm holding my breath for the Pampers version.

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Idiot Gen. James Sheehan blames gays in Dutch Army for Srebrenica genocide.

Somehow without moving his mouth, Sheehan sticks his foot in it.  Unbearable.
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China plans high-speed rail to Europe. Really? I'm jealous.

They've already got the most advanced high-speed rail system in the world, and now the Chinese have announced plans to extend it to Europe.  This means a two-day trip from King's Cross to Beijing!!  Detractors say this is the modern Imperialist equivalent of the Via Publicae -- a move to cement China's supremacy across the continent -- but others doubt it will ever come to fruition . . . the perceived benefits beyond passenger service being somewhat limited for the cost.  The US, for all it's "security" spending abroad, could take a page from this strategy book and strengthen our domestic infrastructure in a similar way to vast benefit. FULL STORY from the Edmonton Journal.
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Secret Fusion is the Bomb Doggity

Everybody in New York knows when a new hit restaurant opens, or closes, or becomes the next big thing, or gets handed off to the Bridge and Tunnel patrons (or *gasp* tourists), but sometimes in NYC you stumble across a culinary gem when you least expect it.  I have a guilty pleasure.  I advocate for reducing meat in our diets for the health of our bodies and the planet, but every so often a person can indulge in one of our city's mainstays of street eats:  The Hot Dog.  So I found myself hungry on Bleeker the other day in front of a joint called New York Hotdog and Coffee.  The title was bland and a bit odd -- the food was anything but!  I tried the Bulgogi beef dog (okay two), and Andy had the Kimchi Bulgogi hamburger.  WHAT?  I know.  That's what I said.  The Dogs in this place are Korean fusion creations and wild American twists that are so much more interesting and delicious than the name implies!  Bulgogi is a slow marinated grilled sliced beef wonder, and Kimchi, for those of you who don't know, is a pickled cabbage creation spicey and sour and wonderful -- with more pro-biotics than yogurt, but lower in fat and calories, and that I'm now putting on everything I eat forever.  The delicious fries made it through from the American tradition, and the wieners themselves were high quality 100% beef brisket (delicious and somehow magically low-calorie) on delicious potato rolls snuggled in with pickles.  I love New York for just this kind of find -- strange delicious fusion right under your nose.  Healthy fast food -- who knew?

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Grayson introduces PUBLIC OPTION bill!!! YES! [fist pump]

Bill Opens Up Medicare To Anyone Who Can Pay For It  . . . from his website:

"Congressman Alan Grayson (FL-8) today introduced a bill (H.R. 4789) which would give the option to buy into Medicare to every citizen of the United States. The “Public Option Act,” also known as the “Medicare You Can Buy Into Act,” would open up the Medicare network to anyone who can pay for it.