Earth, H2T

Fantastic infographic takes us from 35,000 feet up to 35,000 feet down, with fascinating facts along the way (did you know that sharks are common down to 7,000 feet or that the Deepwater Horizon oil rig had drilled down to 18,000 feet before it exploded?): http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/66-infographic-tallest-mountain-to-deepest-ocean-trench.html

A Tree Grows in Milan

©Boeri Studio

About 900 trees, actually, and they're growing in a "vertical forest" (Bosco Verticale), on two residential buildings set to open this year: http://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net/?p=207

Be the First on Your Block

Own an EarthBag home (photo gallery): http://inspirationgreen.com/earthbag-construction.html

It Wasn't Built in a Day

An interactive timeline of the stages of Stonehenge: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/06/stonehenge/map-interactive

Xtreme Recycling

Well, really (*shudder!*), why not? OrthoMetals recycles the metal products that are left behind after someone's been cremated. You know, hip replacements, artificial knees, even casket screws and handles: http://www.theworld.org/2012/01/macabre-questions/

Look, Ma, No Helmet

Two Canadian teens launch Lego man about 80,000 feet into the stratosphere and post the footage for the world to see (story and video): http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0130/Canadian-teenagers-launch-Lego-man-to-the-stars-video

Alligator Hunter

It's a family affair! His granddaughter caught her first alligator when she was 6 years old. Meet the man who taught her how and who keeps Louisianans safe from the pesky critters (and, yes, apparently, they "taste like chicken") (video): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16783803

Just a Quick Note

Ukrainian Lubomyr Melnyk plays "continuous music," which entails, among other things, playing about 12 notes and sometimes as many as 19 notes per second (video): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16794606

Words for Thought

Hmmm. If you had to pick "10 Novels That Will Sharpen Your Mind," which would you pick? Here are Scientific American's choices, plus a synopsis of each one (and, as is often the case, the comments following the story are just as interesting, if not more so): http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fiction-stories-that-sharpen-your-mind

Introvert? More Power to You!

A new book extols the virtues ~ and invaluable contributions ~ of the quietest among us: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2012/01/26/the-secret-power-of-introverts/

Their Golden Years

How eight dictators, from Napoleon Bonaparte to Idi Amin to Manuel Noriega, spent their time in exile: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/85627

By Thunder!

Your chances of getting hit by lightning (assuming a lifespan of 80 years) are 1 in 6,250. So says the National Weather Service in this handy-dandy guide to thunderstorms that includes information about thunder, lightning, safety ... and a cool quiz!: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/tstorms/tstorms_intro.htm

Costa Concordia's Coincidences

There are two: Number One ~ apparently, the theme from the movie Titanic was playing as the cruise ship Costa Concordia ran into rocks and started to tip over. Number Two ~ apparently again, one of the survivors is the granddaughter of the woman who survived the Titanic sinking: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2088361/Costa-Concordia-Titanic-theme-tune-played-onboard-cruise-ship-started-sink.html

Yes, No, Maybe So

Constellations, a play currently on stage in London, explores the ramifications of life in a multiverse. Here, the human angle may be even more fascinating than the scientific one: As the reviewer says, "If you truly accept that you inhabit a multiverse in which 'everything that can happen, does happen,' then what real significance do your choices have?": http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/culturelab/2012/01/dating-in-the-multiverse.html

The Buzz About Colony Collapse

Another theory, this one backed by science, about what's causing the rise of Colony Collapse Disorder: http://www.economist.com/node/21543469

Identifying Autism

Researchers say they can now identify signs of autism (though not with 100% accuracy) in infants as young as six months of age: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16740758

Sights and Sounds of a City

Take a tour of The Music Box, a creative experiment and experience in New Orleans (video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zve4BjP90c&feature=related

Big Brother Fashion

Raf Simons

Phillip Lim

Fashion often echoes the mood of the moment, and photos from the runway seem be showing that Orwell's 1984 has arrived: dour, androgynous, impersonal, and mechanical ~ at least for the men.

Dior-Homme

Happy New Year!

Celebrations light up the sky above Beijing (video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBR74YYk0rQ
Some predictions for this Chinese New Year of the Dragon from a feng shui master and an astrologer: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/01/23/12/riding-dragon-2012-predictions-chinese-masters

Swingers

How do you like to go up in a swing/up in the air so blue?/Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing/ever a child can do!                                                                            ~Robert Louis Stevenson
Pretty pleasant for adults, too. I wonder if Stevenson ever imagined the inventive, artistic kinds of swings some people have created ~ and the unique places they've installed them: http://weburbanist.com/2012/01/06/the-swings-of-things-15-daring-swing-set-designs/#respond