Woah! Via: Epic Proportions. This massive burger costs $499, weighs about 85 kg and requires about 15 hours of baking. I am shocked.
To raise awareness of the plight of humpback whales, David Rastovich initiated an adventure for him and four of his friends on what has been dubbed as the Transparent Sea Voyage. Pro surfer Dave Rastovich will be joined by artist/surfer and co-director of Surfers for Cetaceans Chris Del Moro, water photographer Hilton Dawe, musician Will Conner and Surfrider Foundation Australia General Manager Kristy Theissling. The group started in Byron Bay and will make their way down the coast until they reach Sydney. Along the way, they will stop in at coastal communities to organise beach clean ups, create awareness for the humpback whales and go surfing. The crew will make this epic journey using single-seat Hobie trimaran kayaks and aim to complete the voyage in 36 days. This voyage can be tracked via the Transparent Sea Voyage blog, which already profiles a clean-up day in popular surfing town Yamba and a chance encounter with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s ‘Steve Irwin’ ship. This is a great initiative, particularly at the start of the beach season, to create awareness for the upkeep of Australia’s beaches and the animals that call them home.
If you don’t have a spare two hours to watch the demo of Google’s latest version of email – Google Wave, visit Lifehacker for a few 30-second highlights. It looks impressive. And just like you needed an invitation to join Gmail when it was first released, you’ll need an invite to join Google Wave.
Via National Geographic: Most people think that once a plastic bottle has found its way into the ocean that it will remain there for the rest of its indestructible life. According to National Geographic, some plastics decompose rapidly in the ocean. And this isn’t a good thing. Degrading plastics are leaking toxic chemicals such as Bisphenol A, a chemical building block of plastics, into the ocean. Apparently this decomposition of plastics is occurring at cooler temperatures than expected and within a year of the rubbish hitting the water. A Japan-based team collecting samples in US, Europe and Indian waters discovered some astounding results. The water samples contained derivatives of polystyrene, a common plastic used in disposable cutlery, Styrofoam, and DVD cases. This plastic soup is just another thing our marine animals and plants have to fight. How can we prevent this? Stop using plastic water bottles and bags. You’ve heard this before, but with the state of the world’s oceans, it doesn’t hurt for you to hear it again. For the full article, visit National Geographic.
This amazing short clip was made by Blu and David Ellis.
With a good job, great prospects, steady married life and a daughter she loved dearly, Joan Didion’s entire world was perfectly ordinary. In one terrible year, things went horribly wrong and Joan’s world turned unimaginable with the onset of her daughter’s life-threatening disease and the sudden death of her husband. How she coped with the trauma is central to the heart of this candid and compassionate play. Directed by Cate Blanchett and costumes by Giorgio Armani, The Year of Magical Thinking will be a tribute to Joan Didion’s best-selling memoir and stars Robyn Nevin.
This is a short clip from composer Jarbas Agnelli who saw a photo in the newspaper of birds sitting on power lines. He then translated their positions into notes on a music scale. A Simple but brilliant idea!
I’m always intrigued by the winners of the Mercury Prize – the UK’s most coveted music award. The judges of this prize have a reputation for awarding the prize to outsiders rather than the favourites. Past winners include Primal Scream, M People (’Movin’ On Up’), Pulp, Roni Size/Reprazent, PJ Harvey, Klaxons and Arctic Monkeys. This year’s recently announced prize went to female hip-hop artist Speech Debelle, a 26 year-old South Londoner whose debut album Speech Therapy proved very popular amongst judges. Other nominees for the this year’s prize included Kasabian, Bat For Lashes, La Roux, Friendly Fires, Florence and the Machine and Lisa Hannigan. I’ve been listening to the music on her MySpace site all morning now – it’s raw, pretty and unlike ‘rap’ as we know it; it’s more like poetry with a backdrop of clarinets, violins and jembes. Congratulations to Speech Debelle and her independent record label Ninja Tune for a great album and for winning the Mercury Prize.
This short documentary gives a voice and a face to people living in areas of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who are largely neglected by the international community. The film is a result of the close collaboration between Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), World Press Photo laureate Cédric Gerbehaye and Mediastorm. To watch the full-length feature visit Condition Critical.
Would you say no to a four-day work week? You might have heard recently that American state Utah has initiated a four-day work week in the aim of saving the environment. Governor Jon Huntsman extended government-department hours from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm from Monday–Thursday to a very receptive crowd. The ‘Working 4 Utah’ initiative will be critically evaluated following a one-year period to allow for any necessary adjustments in the future. Continue reading ‘three-day weekends’
I’m not sure why Calvin Harris needed 15 bikini-clad models to make this film clip. Nevertheless, it’s still clever. For Calvin Harris’ new single ‘For the Weekend’, 34 touch pads were painted with conductive ink and connected to a computer via some clever electronics. The performers stand on the pads, and touch hands to complete a circuit and trigger a sound. The different combinations of pads trigger the different sounds needed to complete the track.
Regarded by his peers for his unique photographic aesthetic and minimalist sensibilities, photographer Boone Speed has found himself in some places most people have never heard of during his career. Boone’s photographs have been the subject of editorial and commercial campaigns, ranging from travel essays and action sports stories, to intimate portraiture and fine art. His ability to rock climb has seen him being singled out by companies such as Patagonia, Nike, National Geographic Adventure and Nixon to help them tell and sell some stories. Boone’s ability to capture nature and adventure sports is incredible. In each photograph he manages to focus on either the sport or the setting and provide each element with the same sense of greatness; the sportsperson and nature are equally as mesmerising in each of Boone’s images. For a glimpse into the life of a photographer with action-packed working days visit Feature Shoot.
Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite (In The Name of the Father, Brassed Off) stars as a man living alone in the devasted world of 2055. He looks back at archive footage from 2007 and asks “Why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?” The Age of Stupid is a 90-minute film about climate change, set in the future, which premiered in the UK in March, 2009. It will make its debut in Australia over the next few days, depending on what city you live in. For those living in Brisbane, The Age of Stupid premieres at Balmoral Cineplex on Thursday August 20. This is the first drama about climate change to hit the big screen and it’s had rave reviews from activists and politicians. The year 2055 isn’t too far away. If you want to see what your children and you might be living through later in life, watch this movie. Check the website for all movie premiere times and locations.
Mama’s homemade apple pie just got a bit techy. The recipe and instructions can be found via Evil Mad Scientist.
It’s hard to know what to eat these days. Someone at work will tell you to eat one papaya seed a day because, apparently, it’s good for you. Another will tell you about the benefits of rubbing sesame oil on you in the morning to stimulate the heart. And your mother swears by a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in the morning to kickstart your metabolism. Don’t just take anyone’s health advice, find out for yourself why some foods are healthy and others aren’t so good. The Epi-Cure Blog is an accessible information portal for all things health-related, and it’s the perfect companion to a healthy diet. From posts discussing fertility foods and weight loss to those exploring the latest scientific studies on health and nutrition, The Epi-Cure Blog provides an insight into the world of natural health for those who have a keen interest in what your diet can actually do for you. Learn how to boost your mood with food, make gazpacho soup and ponder the idea that balsamic vinegar might be able to fight belly fat.
Every family has its own story – some families might have a resident alcoholic mother, a mysterious mistress or a strange cousin that infrequently shows their face. American comedy series United States of Tara follows the life of Tara (Toni Collete), a housewife with dissociative-identity disorder aka split-personality dissorder. She is a wife and mother of two and after deciding to take a break from her medication, her alternate personalities start to reemerge: T – Tara’s wild pot-smoking teenaged personality; her housewife personality Alice; the profane troublemaker Buck; and Gimme who first appears in episode six. Although confronting at times, the show is an extrememly funny take on a tragic condition. The show has also seen Australian Toni Collete nominated for the best comedy series actress at the Emmys – American television’s biggest awards. Join in the hilarity on Wednesday nights at 9:30 pm on ABC when Tara struggles to find a balance between her dissociative identity disorder and raising a dysfunctional family. The show premiered in Australia last Wednesday night with rave reviews. Watch it to find out why.
Julie Powell’s first post to her blog, The Julie&Julia Project, sparked incredible interest when she started it in August 2002, in an attempt to lift herself out of her soul-destroying secretarial job. As age 30 loomed, she decided that in a year’s time, she would attempt to cook every single one of Julia Child’s recipes from her classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking. (Note: Julia Child is responsible for bringing French cooking to the American people.) Watched by thousands of people online, Julia was cheered on everyday as she tangled with eggs, cakes, breakfasts and tricky French fare. Her successful blog following led to the inception of her book Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen. Never would she dream that her book would then be transformed into a movie. Continue reading ‘julie & julia’
Now you can balance your finger food and your glass of Champagne with these neat little fingerplates. Yes, they are slightly ridiculous, but wonderfully kitsch at the same time. The mini plates look like something found at an 80s dinner party along with a creamy prawn cocktail, chicken wings and banana daquiris.
