Occupy Wall Street, based in New York City, is something everyone, or most everyone, knows about at this point. The movement, circled around protests that exclaim against, among other things, corporate greed, has become contagious. It has spread to cities across the world–at my last check, over 1,000 cities. The Occupy movement is a worldwide movement, and for that, it has nearly become an attraction. In fact, I have heard many people talking about going down to or driving past Occupy Austin just to see it. Not to be a part of it, but to see it, like a landmark, like a tourist attraction. And c’est la vie, I have no comments on that. But the Occupy Lego land installation present at the famous home-base for the movement, Occupy Wall Street, that I have a comment on: It’s meta enough to be hilarious. And hilarious enough to be a little attraction itself, within what has become a large attraction. Has anyone seen this? You can check out some more photos of the display here.
Sculpture by the Sea in Sydney
I have never been to Sydney, and I won’t have a chance to go before an amazing art exhibition, Sculpture by the Sea, that is now up on the beach goes down, but if you’re there or can be there before November 20th, I recommend you check this out. Sculpture by the Sea is a temporary annual outdoor art exhibition. The exhibition features sculptures from artists around the world and they’re large, very large. Currently being held on the coastal walk from Bondi to Tamarama Beach in Sydney, the outdoor art show will only last until November 20th. So if you can catch it within the next week, do so! The show features, among other things, huge sunglasses, a sink faucet and knobs, and screws. These everyday items look quite different when blown up to this large size and the work these artists put into these pieces is nothing short of admirable. And with that I tell you, for the third time, check out this art on the beach if you are or will be in Sydney before November 20th.
Nazca lines face threats from elements, negligence
The Nazca lines are some of the world’s most mysterious ancient monuments. Giant images of people, animals, plants, and geometric shapes scratched onto the surface of the Peruvian desert by three different cultures from 500 BC to 500 AD, they’ve made generations of researchers scratch their heads over their purpose and meaning.
Now it turns out these unique figures aren’t so unique after all. They’re among the many ancient wonders under threat from the natural and man-made causes. The UNESCO World Heritage Site has been listed in the World Monuments Fund’s 2012 Watch because of threats from flooding and tourism. As you can see from these pictures, roads actually cut through some of the images.
Popular Archaeology has reported that trash has accumulated at the site and that tourism facilities are crowding the area. Some mudslides and flooding nearby didn’t seriously hurt the designs, but serve as a warning of what could happen. The regional government is working on a plan to save the situation. The region makes a good deal of money from tourism, so they have every reason to preserve these enigmatic figures for the next generation.Sadly, there’s another threat to the Nazca lines–the threat of ignorance. Most of what you see about the lines in the media is New Age pseudoarchaeology about Atlantis and aliens. I’ve written before about how the ancient astronaut theory is racist, being implicitly based on the assumption that cultures with dark skin couldn’t possibly have scratched out designs in the dirt without help from beings from another planet.
Yes, they’re so big they can only be seen from the air, but all you have to do is make a smaller drawing you can see easily and then expand the dimensions to create your final product. There’s also a theory that the builders had hot air balloons, although there is no direct evidence of this. There’s no direct evidence that they were UFO runways either, like Erich von Däniken would have us believe. While I’m not sure I buy the balloon theory, that’s no reason to immediately jump to the least plausible explanation.
[Condor image courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Monkey image courtesy Maria Reiche]
New Seven Wonders of Natural World revealed amidst controversy
After four years of hype and fanfare, the new seven wonders of the natural world were unveiled last Friday, honoring some of the most amazing landscapes on the planet. But as the competition drew to a close, dark clouds of controversy formed, casting a shadow over the entire affair.
The selection process for the new seven wonders began back in 2007, when 440 natural wonders, from 220 countries, were first submitted for consideration. Over the course of several rounds of voting and judging, that number was eventually reduced to 28 finalist. The seven winners were selected from that list following months of online voting.
According to the preliminary results, the new seven wonders include the following: the Amazon Rainforest (South America); Halong Bay (Vietnam); Iguazu Falls (Argentina/Brazil), Jeju Island (South Korea); Komodo National Park (Indonesia); Puerto Princesa Subterranean River (Philippines) and Table Mountain (South Africa).
The organizers behind the new seven wonders are quick to note that this list is for the provisional winners, as they are currently conducting a recount of the votes to ensure that the correct wonders have been named. The results are now being independently verified and they expect to confirm the winners in early 2012.
On the eve of the announcement of those winners, disturbing stories began to emerge about how organizers were attempting to collect millions of dollars from the nations that were home to the finalists. When the search for the new wonders first began more than four years ago, countries were required to pay a $199 entry fee, but as the selection process narrowed the candidates, some countries were asked to pay large sums of cash to aid in a world-wide marketing campaign. The Indonesian government claimed, for example, that the organizers wanted $10 million to cover licensing fees and an additional $47 million to host the official closing ceremony. Earlier, the Maldives withdrew from the competition altogether when costs to participate spiraled upwards towards $500,000.For their part, organizers of the new seven wonders competition say that their branding efforts were optional, and that allegations of charging exorbitant prices are completely “baseless.” They also refused to discuss exactly how much individual countries were charged for taking part in the branding campaign, but did acknowledge that the fees varied by nation.
Considering that the entire “new seven” idea was the brainchild of an international marketing firm, it should come as no surprise that it was seen as a way to make some money. Critics have pointed out however, that the firm should have secured financial backing prior to announcing the campaign four years ago, thus avoiding any attempts to seek funds from the countries involved.
Which brings up another issue with the whole competition. Since the organizers also don’t disclose voting numbers, we have to take it on faith that they are reporting the correct winners. After all, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that a country that paid the large fees would receive some kind of preferential treatment over those that bulked at them. I suppose the independent verification system is suppose to keep everything on the up-and-up, but there is no denying that there were some strange decisions made along the way.
Those issues aside, what are your feeling on the list of the new seven wonders of the natural world? Did we end up with some good selections or are there others sites that were more worth of inclusion
Python eats deer in Florida
It seems to me that no one wants to be around a 16 foot python in the wilderness, especially not if that python eats deer with one gulp, but everyone wants to see photos, watch videos, and, generally speaking, relish in the attractively discomforting news that a python swallowed a deer. So, this is what’s been happening in south Florida lately. The 139.1 pound snake weighed 215.4 with the deer in its stomach when it was contained in the Everglades. Officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission killed the snake with a shotgun as to deter it from traveling north.
Native to Southeast Asia, Burmese pythons, such as this one, are popular pets in the United States. Snake owners sometimes aren’t prepared to deal with the Burmese’s rapid growth rate, which can cause a 20 inch snake to grow to 8 feet in just a year’s time. Oftentimes these surprised pet owners let their snake out into the wild when they can no longer cope with having them at home. And so, alas, check out some of the photos of the python at Huffington Post.