National Geographic Photo Contest 2011 - Alan Taylor National Geographic is currently holding its annual photo contest, with the deadline for submissions coming up on November 30. For the past nine weeks, the society has been gathering and presenting galleries of submissions, encouraging readers to vote for them as well. National Geographic was kind enough to let me choose among its entries from 2011 for display here on In Focus. Gathered below are 45 images from the three categories of People, Places, and Nature, with captions written by the individual photographers. [45 photos] Use j/k keys or ←/→ to navigate Choose: Many people pilgrimage to Uluru, but what is seen there often depends on where you've come from. Eruption of the Cordon del Caulle. Beluga whales in the arctic having fun. This is a streetcar in New Orleans traveling back towards The Quarter on St. This image captures almost 6 hours of climbing parties on Rainier going for the summit under starry skies. Russia, polar region of West Siberia, Tazovsky Peninsula.
About The Goal: To serve and connect humanity by establishing a legacy of healthy, conscious breathing. The Vision: One billion people will breathe together synchronously by November 11, 2012. The Method: To share techniques for daily, optimal breathing and enable global, synchronous breathing through DoAsOne.com. The Story: Do As One was created by three visionary friends compelled to make the world a happier and healthier place on a grand scale. They met with gurus, breath practitioners, respiratory therapists, doctors, yoga instructors, healers, shamans, religious leaders, monks and alternative medicine experts to get at the core of what the breath means to the human body, mind and spirit. After synthesizing all the information, the founders set forth a grand goal to have one billion people breathe synchronously.
Dazzling Photos of Gold Fireflies in Japan Digital Photo Blog shot these beautiful long exposure photographs of gold fireflies in Japan during the June to July rainy season, when they come together to mate. You can find more of these photographs here. Image credits: Photographs by Digital Photo Blog Bizarre Websites On Which You Can Kill Time With Style What We Get Wrong About Shame I think there are two reasons that people aren't as "zesty" as they could be. One reason is that they have acquired misinformation about the emotion of shame . The second is that they don't have enough information about shame. Why is accurate information about shame so important? Because unnecessary shame creates so much pain in our lives. In the words of one of our contemporary scholars of shame, Gershen Kaufman, "Shame is the most disturbing experience individuals ever have about themselves; no other emotion feels more deeply disturbing because in the moment of shame the self feels wounded from within." Misinformation about shame Here's an example of misinformation about shame: One client of mine was so confused that in the beginning of our work I could not even use the word ‘shame' in session without causing a major rift. When I talk about shame, I'm not talking about anyone actually DOING anything wrong. Lack of information about shame Ways we may experience shame An additional aid
How to Memorize - Learn to memorize and increase memory If you are visiting from StumbleUpon and like this article and tool, please consider giving it a thumbs up. Thanks! Memorizing does not have to be as hard as most people make it. The problem is that most people only know how to memorize by reading the same thing over and over again. In this article we are going to focus on a technique that will let you easily: Memorize a speechMemorize the BibleMemorize linesMemorize Scripture At the end of this article is a Javascript tool that makes it easy to implement this method. Synapses and Neurons and How to Memorize In the simplified model of the brain in this discussion, we’ll be looking at neurons and synapses. When you remember something neurons fire signals down particular synapse pathways to other neurons which in turn fire signals to other neurons. Strong Pathways Synapses appear to exhibit plasticity. For example, consider remembering your home telephone number. Now consider a number that you will have trouble remembering.
Scottish Farmhouse Eggs | Ahoy! | Portland Maine DIY Blog Decided to mix things up and do a recipe. This is one I’ve made forever and I’m not 100% positive where I picked it up. It is always a crowd pleaser for brunch or breakfast. DIY Bleach Tie Dye Last summer, we were obsessed with shibori indigo tie dying. No, really . . . we just about dyed anything white in sight. So when Free People asked us to include a DIY in their guest blogger series, we knew a new tie dye project was absolutely in order. And as the weather is beginning to warm up, what better time than now to start experimenting with reverse tie dye using bleach! To make a grid-like pattern, fold the shirt like an accordion and bind it between two pieces of wood or other flat shaped objects. Before you start bleaching, make sure you are wearing gloves and working outdoors or in a well ventilated area. The rusty brown color will slowly fade into a beautiful lighter shade as it begins to set. Your reverse bleach tie dye shirt is ready to wear! (top image from here, rest of images by HonestlyWTF)
Two-Ingredient Biscuits Did you know that you can make homemade biscuits from scratch with only two ingredients? And no, they don't involve Bisquick. We discovered this old recipe while searching for a very, very quick dinner bread. We had just about half an hour, and we had forgotten to start a loaf of No-Knead the night before. We were browsing through AllRecipes, and this recipe for two-ingredient biscuits came up very highly ranked. We were skeptical: how good could they possibly be? Well, the reviews were almost uniformly positive: cooks loved them! What were the secret ingredients? Yep, just stir these together, pat out the dough, and you have biscuits ready in 15 minutes flat. We did adapt this slightly - partly to make the recipe quicker, and partly to help the biscuits rise more. These turned out to be a big hit at our dinner party; they're great with soup, too! Two-Ingredient BiscuitsAdapted from Diane Hixon at AllRecipes Makes 1 dozen biscuits Heat the oven to 450°F. Related: Touch-of-Grace Biscuits
The Wim Hof Method *Revealed* – How to Consciously Control Your Immune System We previously published an article about Wim Hof, holder of 20 Guinness World Records for withstanding extreme temperatures. He has climbed Everest and Kilimanjaro in only shorts and shoes, stayed comfortably in ice baths for hours, and run a full marathon in the highest desert (50 degrees celsius, 122 Fahrenheit) with no water & food. Wim is able to accomplish these feats with ease through the use of ‘The Wim Hof Method‘ — a breathing technique that allows you to control the autonomous systems of the body. However the most earthshaking effect of the Wim Hof Method is the ability to consciously control the immune system to fight off diseases. Our immune system plays a significant role in almost all devastating diseases plaguing the modern world, and finding a way to improve it can help us discover new avenues for medicine. Wim is currently working with a group of university researchers to prove that anyone can do the extraordinary things he does. Update: Study is now out. The Method
The One Thing Everyone Should Do In Their Lifetime Everyone on planet earth has a bucket list. We all have dreams to skydive the Swiss Alps, to drive Ferraris, to even have a threesome. A bucket list is comprised of the things that we want to do in our lifetime, it’s made of the moments that we hope to make memorable because they are fun and exciting and are unique. They grant us stories to tell and they make not only us, but also our lives, a bit more interesting than everyone else’s. Life is a gift and it’s all about experiencing everything, or else what the hell is the point of actually living? You as a person have been blessed with and granted life. It’s the moments that we explore and the things that we do that we enjoy most, and the time that we spend in the way we want to is what makes life most enjoyable. Our bucket lists shouldn’t be about skydiving or try to f*ck a celebrity. There is so much fear and people equate traveling with risk. The question is how long you should do this for…it should probably be around a year’s time.
25 Documentaries Everybody Should Watch Sans Soleil This is not your average documentary. It is a fleeting memory, a sudden remembrance of times long past, a meditation on time and culture, a touch of an emotional diary. We follow the eyes of a world traveller who makes sharp observations and tries to convey them to his friend. We never learn who they are and where they came from, and this is perhaps a subtle point the documentary wants to make. The Corporation Corporate personhood is probably the elephant in the room when it comes politics. Watch The Corporation for FREE on Amazon Instant Video Cosmos: A Personal Voyage This list wouldn’t be complete without the documentary Cosmos. The Union: The Business Behind Getting High This is a must watch for everyone. Watch The Union on YouTube. The Century of the Self If I have to recommend one documentary to anyone, this is it. Life in a Day 1 day, 80.000 clips worth 4.500 hours of video, 192 nations and these three questions. Watch Life in a Day on YouTube. Food Inc. Inside LSD Man On Wire