[PHOTO]
18-year-old Bibi Aisha, who had her ears and nose cut off by the Taliban as punishment for fleeing her husband’s house. Photograph by Jodi Bieber.
Permalink
10 notes
[PHOTO]
Navajo rugs and blankets are textiles produced by Navajo people of the Four Corners area of the United States.
Navajo textiles were originally utilitarian blankets for use as cloaks, dresses, saddle blankets, and similar purposes. Toward the end of the 19th century, weavers began to make rugs for tourism and export. Typical Navajo textiles have strong geometric patterns. They are a flat tapestry-woven textile produced in a fashion similar to kilims of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, but with some notable differences. In Navajo weaving, the slit weave technique common in kilims is not used, and the warp is one continuous length of yarn, not extending beyond the weaving as fringe. Traders from the late 19th and early 20th century encouraged adoption of some kilim motifs into Navajo designs.
Permalink
6 notes
[VIDEO]
‘Jazz Icons’ DVD of three Coltrane concerts. The three performances on this DVD show in dramatic relief the most important phases of his career. These newly discovered 1960 performances with Miles Davis’s rhythm section find him near the end of his ‘sheets of sound’ period. Coltrane was anxious to form his own group and this final tour with Davis was a favor to the trumpeter. His restlessness shows through in his playing here and elsewhere at the time. It is fascinating to hear him with one of his early idols Stan Getz and his playing seems to challenge Getz to a new level.
The 1965 Comblain-La-Tour (Belgium) performance, providing some great visuals, allows us to see the group at the peak of its powers and near the end of its run. By the end of the year, McCoy and Elvin were gone and one of the most innovative and exciting ensembles in jazz was no more.
[TEXT]
“Seven Blunders of the World”
1. Wealth without work
2. Pleasure without conscience
3. Knowledge without character
4. Commerce without morality
5. Science without humanity
6. Worship without sacrifice
7. Politics without principle
—Mahatma Gandhi
Permalink
7 notes
[PHOTO]
Hell’s Gate, Turkmenistan: Located in the Kara-Kum desert of Turkmenistan is the village of Darvaza (Derweze) near to where, in 1971, a team of Soviet prospectors allegedly drilled into a large chamber filled with natural gas. The roof of the cavern collapsed leaving a crater-like sinkhole some 25 metres deep with a diameter of approximately 60 - 70 metres. It soon became evident that natural gas was still rising into the crater from even deeper sources and the story goes that the decision was made to ignite the emissions rather than risk either a concentrated build-up of gas or local poisoning. According to various sources it has burned continuously since then and has apparently been named “The Gate to Hell” by the local people. However, another source that spoke with the guides from the region claims that it is a wholly natural phenomenon.
Permalink
4 notes
[PHOTO]
The under-sea restaurant is inside the Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa. It is five meters below the waves of the Indian Ocean, surrounded by a vibrant coral reef and encased in clear acrylic offering diners 270-degrees of panoramic underwater views. Created by MJ Murphy Ltd, a design consultancy based in New Zealand , It has distinctive feature is the use of curved transparent acrylic walls and roof, similar to those used in aquarium attractions. ‘The fact that the entire restaurant except for the floor is made of clear acrylic makes this unique in the world,’ continues Schieck, ‘We are currently planting a coral garden on the reef to add to the spectacular views of the rays, sharks and many colorful fish that live around the area.
Permalink
6 notes
[PHOTO]
Nickel Tailings #34, Sudbury, Ontario, 1996
Manufactured Landscapes is a 2006 documentary film about the work of photographer Edward Burtynsky. It was directed by Jennifer Baichwal and is distributed by Zeitgeist Films.
