Month: August 2006

The drought in the Amazon rainforest looks to be extending into a second year.
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Last year’s drought, which left rivers dry, stranded thousands of villagers, and put regional commerce at a standstill, was the worst on record.

A second year of drought is of great concern to researchers studying the Amazon ecosystem.
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Scientists are not certain as to the cause of the current drought, although warmer water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean are a leading suspect.
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Some local officials believe deforestation may also be playing a role in the drought.

Since parts of the Amazon are now entering a second year of drought ~, the assumption ~ was that trees will start dying forest-wide next year should the drought continue.
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This is incorrect for a number of reasons. Firstly, drought conditions are not the same as no rain at all – the rainfall deficit in the middle of the Amazon is significant, but not close to 100%! Secondly, the rainfall deficits are quite regionally variable, so a forest-wide response is highly unlikely. Also, the trees won’t all die in just one more year and could recover, depending on yearly variation in climate.

While this particular article is exaggerated, there are, however, some issues that should provoke genuine concern.

A great piece of claymation, where the works of more than thirty famous artists is merged together and morphed into each other.
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Joan Gratz invented the animation technique known as clay painting.

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lines and colors is a blog about drawing, sketching, painting, comics, cartoons, webcomics, illustration, digital art, concept art, gallery art, artist tools and techniques, motion graphics, animation, sci-fi and fantasy illustration, paleo art, storyboards, matte painting, 3d graphics and anything else I find visually interesting. If it has lines and/or colors, it’s fair game.

Custom bottles from Heinz help to make any occasion truely special.

A searchable database of butterfly and moth records in the United States and Mexico.

Map Search

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For many years Ralf Metztenmacher earned good money as chief designer at Puma [in Herzogenaurach]. Now he has ventured into the world of the independent artist and is bringing the technique of the old masters into the 21st century.

His Retro-Art pictures narrate stories of today using up to date symbols that young people can relate to. With the modernisied painting technique from old master pieces, with special colors and frames which were especially designed for the subject matter, he makes the [evolutional] move into the 21st century.

For a year his studio has been on the idyllic Leintritt in Bamberg, 50 kilometres away. Right next to the Regnitz. “For me there is something of the Mediterranean here. I’ve come to rest here quite simply because life here is good.” And Ralf Metzenmacher hopes that through his contributions he will be able to add something to the lives of as many people as possible.

The Arizona Highway Patrol were mystified when they came upon a pile of smoldering wreckage embedded in the side of a cliff rising above the road at the apex of a curve. The metal debris resembled the site of an airplane crash, but it turned out to be the vaporized remains of an automobile. The make of the vehicle was unidentifiable at the scene…

This Darwin Award is the most popular of all time. Considered true for years, it was later debunked as an Urban Legend by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The story fooled the judges in 1995, so JATO has been grandfathered in as a Darwin Award Winner.

I’m glad the above JATO classic made it into the movie trailer.

August 7-13, 2006. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has grown to become one of the oldest, largest and greatest motorcycle events. Enthusiasts are drawn to the unique combination of scenic riding, entertainment, camaraderie with fellow bikers and a Main Street atmosphere like no other.

More than a half-million motorcycle enthusiasts traveled to the Black Hills of South Dakota for the rally last summer, nearly doubling the population of the state.

Sturgis Pro Hill Climb
Sturgis Motorcycle Museum

The source of the Russian diamond industry is the giant mines centred on the city of Mirny, in eastern Siberia.

Mirny is a Russian small town located in the middle of a great plain. But instead of single family houses it has mostly tall six story apartment houses built on concrete stilts to keep them from sinking in the permafrost.

Pics: http://public.fotki.com/YL/other_places/mirny_russia/

Buy a Diamond (3.81 carat octahedral crystal) from Mirny.