Yes, this photo is for real. Fit for a Bond villain, this house is located somewhere in the middle of the desert between Las Vegas and Los Angeles on a 60 acre piece of property and on top of a volcano! It is the same as any other suburban house, complete with carport, central heat and AC, guest house, laundry room, and extraterrestrial architecture. Though the volcano is dormant, the prospect of living atop something once powerful enough to incinerate you is, to say the least, a little unnerving. And, not to mention, the nearly million dollar price tag could be a little high for a life-long rush of adrenalin. The 360 degree view and complete and utter solitude, however, would be worth it. And the look on the face of that lucky someone you bring back from the bar when they wake up in the morning - also worth it.
Normally this news would be devastating, but the death of a star 160,ooo lightyears away in a satellite galaxy, known as the Large Megallanic Cloud, is actually incredibly beautiful! This photo of supernova (explosion of a star) SNR 0509-67.5 was recently released by NASA and is a testament to how beautiful even the farthest reaches of the natural (or celestial) world can be. The pink ring is the gas being superheated by the resulting shockwave of the explosion - though not evident in this little photo, the supernova is 23 light-years across and is expanding at over 11 million miles per hour. How all of that is captured in this crisp little photo is unfathomable.
Check the Harvard observatory website for more celestial information and awe-inspiring photos.
Nicole Mackinlay-Hahn showing the RFID on an issue of the New City Reader with "Mirror/Africa" in the background.
The Mackinlay-Hahn siblings with "Mirror/Africa".
Back in August, we posted about filmmaker Nicole Mackinlay-Hahn's interactive art installation "Mirror/Africa", where participants could hold up a RFID tag (like a bar code with more information and the ability to send information) and watch a video of the people behind the making of the product the tag is associated with.
"Mirror/Africa" is now stationed at the New Museum on Bowery as a part of The Last Newspaper exhibit. Using the same RFID technology, the installation will be reading a page of the Style/Music issue of the New City Reader! Check it out at Bowery at Prince from now until January 9th.
More info on the exhibit can be found here and info on the original "Mirror/Africa" installation here.
If you never read The Golden Compass as a kid or heard the pickup line, "So what's your spirit animal?" then this might be a new concept to you. Spirit animals, also referred to as power animals, are part of the shamanic belief that everyone is linked to the energy of a certain animal that can guide them through life and protect them from harm or illness. Through this belief, humans are inherently connected with the Earth even when we so often feel detached from it in an urban environment.
If your spirit is an elk this could imply a connectedness to home even at far distances, a sense of power and protection while wandering, and retention of one's power in group situations. A hippopotamus spirit animal does not mean you are overweight, but instead suggests that you channel the animal's energy and move gracefully through emotions, are capable of aggression when necessary and are very protective over family.
According to this shamanic belief, you can seek out your spirit animal in a dream, or it can present itself to you randomly as you go about your day. Check this list to explore which animal you most closely relate. So, maybe it's not such a cheesy pickup line after all - it could incite a pretty interesting conversation.
Don't miss tonight's luminous spectacle, unless you will be around for another 632 years from now. This very rare overlapping of events - the winter solstice (today) and a lunar eclipse (tonight, but happens every few years) - will be visible to just about all North American and western South American stargazers and is a great way to enjoy the darkest day of the year. It is also a special event that can be viewed from even the most well-let corners of the city, not just from rural backyards.
An eclipse happens when the moon, Earth and sun all line up, with the Earth in the middle. The color of the moon will be an orangey hue from the sun's rays filtering through Earth's dusty atmosphere. The eclipse will start around 1am, with the total eclipse at 2:41am. If you are up in the wee hours of the night, you will have 70 minutes to step out of the bar or bundle up and head out on your fire escape to view this. Otherwise, the next total lunar eclipse viewable in North America will be in April, 2014.
We're always looking for new music and we hope you are too. Adam Wills from Bear In Heaven put together these jams just for Loomstate and our fans despite traveling all over on tour. Besides the perfect Winter playlist, they're giving us a behind-the-scenes look at their lives on the road behind rose-colored glasses. Really, the pictures are stunning and these guys just have so much fun!
A note from BIH:
Hello Loomstate. Here's a smattering of songs and pictures for you. Spanning the last month of Bear In Heaven's final tour of the great USA. After a really long year of touring non-stop, this was nothing short of a final test of perseverance. Lots of long stretches of silence and reflection on our crazy ride. We like to keep it pretty.
Love, BIH
Packing up the van for one more 12,000 mile trip around the states. Always feels like jumping out of a plane.
Black hole sun. Hotel parking lot, who knows where.
1) Aphrodite's Child - Loud, Loud, Loud
Fall was absolutely in full effect for the first week.
Joe and Shee Shee, defining Rest Stop.
2) Mountain Main - Mouthwings
Above: Aaron Treptow. The man, the myth, the best sound engineer/tour manager around.
Below: Jon drinking pre-show for the first time all year. Playing in front of 15 people in Detroit will do that to you.
3) John Cale - Buffalo Ballet
Lower Dens, at the Bishop in Bloomington, IN. New favorite band, new favorite people.
Our favorite interview ever with Ratso at Mr. Beef in Chicago.
From our camp site in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Absolutely magical. Water, forest, stars and fire all to ourselves.
Perfectly still, perfectly grounding.
[Ed. Note: BIH makes a point to go camping at some point during their tours!]
6) Sandy Bull - Gavotte II
Made it to Mt. Rushmore. No big deal.
7) Moby Grape - I Am Not Willing
Our second visit to the world's biggest trashcan, somewhere around Misoula, MT.
Camping Pt. 2... Elk Prairie, in the Redwoods. As majestic as it gets.
8) Robert Wyatt - Shipbuilding
San Diego, CA - a fun adventure on the beach, sifting through tide pools and playing with the sea weed.
9) Megafuan - Tides
10) John Martyn - Go Easy
Treating ourselves to the best tequila we could find, and a upscale camping experience at El Cosmico in Marfa, TX.
11) Wyrd Visions - Freezing Moon
Jon and I have perfected our fireside cooking techniques, don't try to compete.
12) Sibylle Baier - Colour Green
Day off in Austin, TX, meant we get to hang out with our band buds, Here We Go Magic. So awesome.
Our new best busy, Sun Airway, ripping it at our last show in New York. Solid people.
13) Jackson Frank - Just Like Anything
Mythical Creatures. Our final show of the year was an emotional one. Blessed to return to such an amazing and welcoming hometown crowd.
14) Sam Amidon - All Is Well
For more Bear In Heaven, visit the official site, check out their eclectic songs at their MySpace page.
Monterey Bay Aquarium has introduced a new update to its Seafood Watch app. The Seafood Watch app lets you look up different types of seafood (even sushi/sashimi names!) to check out their level of sustainability, which could help you make your choice at restaurants or even at the market thinking about what to make for dinner. The search results page or the guides, if you prefer not to search for a specific type, give a list of the kinds to avoid, the best choices and good alternatives. If you click on any one, it'll give more information on where it's caught and how, and reason for rating it as such. It'll also give you the sushi name if you happen to be at a Japanese restaurant.
The new update has added a social media-cum-GMap function Project Fishmap, which allows users to recommend and share restaurants in their areas that serve sustainable seafood and rate them. The amount of information depends on the community's involvement (and it seems to be West Coast-skewed) but we can see this becoming a great resource!
While we proudly trek to work in snow, we still like to dream of warmer months, the mild weather of Indian Summers where we can frolic green fields at sunset with Chancho (Rogan's pup featured in above video). Fall may be good for layering, but Winter is where you can set apart the amateurs from the pros. Not to mention Winter is when we can shop Fall fashion at 30-40% off. Happy Holidays!
Levi Dresser made with salvaged walnut, oak, acacia, mahogany and poplar.
Nightwood designers Myriah Scruggs and Nadia Yaron are metaphorically-speaking the two sides of a wood clamp that fuse together recycled materials into sound furniture, and simply-speaking the owners of a quickly growing green furniture business.
Picasso portrait - Embroidered muslin-linen.
This Brooklyn-based home decor company is gaining street cred for its creative and resourceful take on furniture (you know we love reclaimed wood goods). The duo does everything from reclined salvaged chairs with vintage and organic materials, to crafting abandoned cabinets into coffee table storage spaces. You can also find hand-woven rugs, printed linens, and wood paintings to pair with the furniture.
Canyon bed - salvaged poplar, maple, walnut, oak.
The Nightwood Pop Up Shop at 189 Schermerhorn in Brooklyn is only open until December 14th, but contact them via e-mail with inquiries - info@nightwoodny.com.
