Croats vote for EU accession – euro | topics
Croats vote to join the EU, but the romance is long gone. A quick rundown of some press reaction is here, via eurotopics: Croats vote for EU accession.
Final scene from the 1940 documentary, ‘And so They Live’
If you’re looking for a scene of an eight-year-old enjoying a cigarette while his father plays the banjo in a one-room log cabin, you’re in luck. This picks up just after the boy finished an energetic little jig. By John Ferno and Jullian Roffman, sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
About the film, from The Field Guide to Sponsored Films:
Stark, realistic documentary showing poorly educated “mountain peoples” living in poverty and stricken with disease. Their solace comes in strong family bonds and the prospect of improved educational opportunities.
Shot in Kentucky, the film was made in conjunction with The Children Must Learn (also 1940).
Creative Commons/No Rights Reserved. You can watch and/or download the whole thing (24min) from The Internet Archive.
Stealth mobile street shooting – lesson three (+ Zizek)
Today’s pic(k) isn’t very stealth, but it does fairly adequately describe the gray, wet day today in Slovenia’s capital.
I shot this young woman just a few bridges upstream from where Slovenian stand-up philosopher Slavoj Zizek succinctly points out where Central Europe ends and the Balkans begin. This woman obviously has no idea what awaits on the other side of the bridge.
More from my current stealth street shooting fascination is here.
What to say to a Climate Change Sceptic:
DJ Spooky on what to say to a climate change sceptic:
“What planet are you on?”
More with the multimedia artist one critic called ‘Einstein with a better haircut’ in this Mother Jones interview.
Stealth mobile street shooting – lesson two (LJ pic of the Day)
I was inspired enough by my first lesson in stealth mobile street shooting last weekend to wander out for more these past few days. At top is a gentleman patiently waiting for something in the train station’s ticket office on Wednesday afternoon. I’ve been in that position myself on occasion and have found that a book helps.
While on the topic of trains, I wanted to pass along a few newsy links of interest from Slovenia Rail, but since the English language section of their site’s news section hasn’t been updated for more than two years, I won’t bother. I hope the guy in the picture isn’t waiting for it to be updated.
In case you weren’t sure..
..probably not a good idea to book that Iraq coach tour just yet. Via travel.state.gov where you can read the whole thing.
Travel Warning
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Iraq
January 19, 2012
The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all but essential travel to Iraq given the dangerous security situation. [More..]
2011 Best Photograph Nominations -People | English Russia
Absolutely worth a few minutes of your time, some stunning work:
2011 Best Photographs Of Russia. Nomination People | English Russia.
Guantanamo remembered: A personal perspective / Opinion / Al Jazeera
From Moazzam Begg, a British Pakistani who spent two years in Guantanamo Bay without charge:
“You are now the property of the United States and you have no rights” – these were the first words to greet me and other prisoners held in the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. Ten years on, little has changed there.
More: Guantanamo remembered: A personal perspective – Opinion – Al Jazeera English.
For more details on Begg’s case, his Wiki is a good place to start.
A low impact home for under €3600
From what little I know about building permits and construction codes in Slovenia, something like this would almost certainly be a non-starter here. Anyone know for sure? This is my kind of place.
A fascinating project by Welshman Simon Dale, constructed with just a few hand tools and the help of a few friends for (so far) about £3000, or $4600 / €3600. A few key design elements:
• Dug into hillside for low visual impact and shelter
• Stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc.
• Frame of oak thinnings (spare wood) from surrounding woodland
• Reciprocal roof rafters are structurally and aesthaetically fantastic and very easy to do
• Straw bales in floor, walls and roof for super-insulation and easy building
• Plastic sheet and mud/turf roof for low impact and ease
• Lime plaster on walls is breathable and low energy to manufacture (compared to cement)
• Reclaimed (scrap) wood for floors and fittings
• Anything you could possibly want is in a rubbish pile somewhere (windows, burner, plumbing, wiring…)
• Woodburner for heating – renewable and locally plentiful
• Flue goes through big stone/plaster lump to retain and slowly release heat
• Fridge is cooled by air coming underground through foundations
• Skylight in roof lets in natural feeling light
• Solar panels for lighting, music and computing
• Water by gravity from nearby spring
• Compost toilet
• Roof water collects in pond for garden etc.
And a few more shots. More info, photos, and plans here.
All photos Creative Commons, courtesy of Simon Dale.
10 reasons the U.S. is no longer the land of the free – WaPo
Lots of things are easy to gloss over when you’re not really paying attention.
Americans often proclaim our nation as a symbol of freedom to the world while dismissing nations such as Cuba and China as categorically unfree. Yet, objectively, we may be only half right. Those countries do lack basic individual rights such as due process, placing them outside any reasonable definition of “free,” but the United States now has much more in common with such regimes than anyone may like to admit.
via 10 reasons the U.S. is no longer the land of the free – The Washington Post.
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