Keisuke Teshima is an artist best known for his dragon art create with one brush stroke. Before the pedants get involved, there are other brush strokes involved for detailing but the main body is all done with a single stroke of his very large brush.
The results are breathtaking and you can check out more of his work on Instagram.
David White is a glass artist and his Etsy shop is full of amazing glass art featuring dinosaur goblets (above), dinosaur earrings, and other dinosaur glass ornaments. The velociraptor goblet was made in collaboration with Andrew Pollack, a New Orleans based glass artist and teacher.
JSTOR Daily curated a queer reading list featuring writers from North Africa and the Maghreb (a region in western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia):
The status of queer literature in the Maghreb and the Arab world is complex and nuanced as it varies by country and region. While there’s been an increase in openly LGBTQ+ writers and themes being explored in some places, homosexuality remains illegal in many Arab and Muslim countries, leaving LGBTQ+ individuals vulnerable to persecution and discrimination. Despite these challenges, there are writers and readers who are passionate about exploring queer identities through literature as a means of promoting greater representation and acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community.
The list opens with some generalised texts exploring sexuality beyond Western perspectives before honing in on “Contextualizing Arab and Muslim Sexuality within the Arab World” (if you’d rather not read Foucault just yet!)
I’m honoured to have technical architect and Blacksky creator Rudy Fraser as my next interviewee.
What is favourite city in the world?
Paris. It has a lot of parallels to NYC from a fashion and culture perspective. They even have French Drill music! Paris is also where I proposed to my wife, Kukuwa. I think a lot of people from the States dream of going to Paris and I’ve been fortunate enough to visit a few times. I should probably learn some French though.
What’s the most unusual item you take everywhere you go?
This probably refers to travel or daily carry but the most interesting thing I’ve been able to hold onto has been a small ivory statue that my mom brought here from Guyana. I grew up facing housing insecurity but it’s the one thing I still have from my childhood.
Why do you do what you do?
Some degree of delusion, overconfidence, and having problems with authority /s. I also happen to know that in community we really do have all that we need but community is not a given. It takes work to cultivate that. And community builders are often people with biases and are subject to burnout. I’m really interested in autonomous movement building and what adrienne maree brown refers to as “emergence”. How can you create the right examples and conditions that allow people to organize around. That’s my vision for Papertree from a community finance perspective. That’s my vision for Blacksky (Algorithms) from a communications and media perspective. Same thing with We The People and Pact Collective. With WTP we’re trying to provide a blueprint for mutual aid organizing. I agreed to be on the board of Pact because they’re trying to build a coalition/mutual aid network in NYC.
I’m not too different from some other tech founders in that regard. I have a particular worldview I’d like to see more of in the world.
Where do you go to relax?
Can’t say I do much relaxing these days but I try to get outside for a daily walk and then just sit out on my building’s terrace. When the weather’s nice I sometimes read or do yoga up there.
69, 280, or 420?
420
How do you say goodbye in your culture(s)?
Guyanese people love to just say “Alright” as both a greeting and a goodbye.
We’ve seen it a million times, but one more “how to make a real lightsaber” video isn’t gonna hurt. This one comes from HeroTech who built an extendable and retractable lightsaber and put together a tutorial on their website (for paid members only).
All jokes and mild snark aside, you should definitely watch the video as they’ve done a cool job of putting this all together and it’s a lot safer than some of the lightsaber prototypes I’ve seen that could burn you if you got too close to the blade (although they did point out that this was “potentially dangerous to DIY” so bear that in mind).
It’s Nice That spoke to Brad Ogbonna about his ‘colourful and considerate depictions of the people of Dakar‘: One of the defining characteristics of the regions is the amount of colour on display. From the home exteriors and interior decor to the clothing people wear […]
A few years ago, Danny Gonzalez reviewed The Little Panda Fighter, a bootleg version of Kung Fu Panda, and it’s hilariously bad (the film, not the review—that’s just hilarious). It was released in 2008 by Vídeo Brinquedo, a Brazilian animation studio and amongst its cast was none other than Maddie Blaustein aka the voice of Meowth in the early seasons of the Pokémon anime.
Researchers from American Bird Conservancy (ABC), Universidad Nacional de Colombia, SELVA, ProCAT Colombia, and World Parrot Trust have made some important observations of a very rare species called the Santa Marta Sabrewing. The species is one of the rarest amongst birds in the world with only 20 observations and an IUCN categorisation of Critically Endangered.
“Our findings show that this amazing hummingbird may be an example of microendemism, as it seems to be restricted to a limited area within the world’s most important continental center of endemism,” said Esteban Botero-Delgadillo, lead author of the study and Director of Conservation Science with SELVA: Research for Conservation in the Neotropics. “We are excited to have the opportunity to continue studying this bird because there are still huge knowledge gaps regarding its biology and distribution. Filling these gaps will help achieve our ultimate goal of finding long-lasting conservation solutions.”
The Santa Marta Sabrewing gets its name from the Santa Marta Mountains where it lives, located in northeast Colombia. The species is dimorphic, with males having glittering emerald-green plumage and an iridescent blue breast, in contrast with females having white breasts.
The Ishango bone is a tool and possible mathematical device from prehistoric times. Its name is taken from the area of Ishango in the Democratic Republic of Congo where it was found.
[…] The bone, probably a fibula of a baboon, large cat, or other large mammal, has been dated to the Upper Paleolithic Period of human history, approximately 20,000-25,000 years ago. It is 10 cm long and bears an articulated, organized series of notches readily identifying it, to many observers, as a tally stick. However, its original purpose remains a subject of debate. The Ishango Bone is now housed at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels, Belgium, with whose cooperation the image above was obtained.
Is it a tally stick? Is it the oldest table of prime numbers? Or is it a calendar?
Alexander Marschak, an independent scholar, argued that it represents a six-month lunar calendar. In 1970 Marshack published his innovative Notation dans les gravures du Paléolithique Supérieur. He argued that talley marks on certain bones represented a system of proto-writing, and proposed the controversial theory that notches and lines carved on certain Upper Paleolithic bone plaques were notation systems, specifically lunar calendars notating the passage of time. Using microscopic analysis, Marshack showed that seemingly random or meaningless notches on bone were sometimes interpretable as structured series of numbers. Marshack expanded upon these ideas in his book, The Roots of Civilization (1972). If Marshack’s interpretation is correct, notched bones such as these may be, in the words of John Eccles, the earliest “conceptual performance of homo sapiens.” Alternatively they may be a yet to be understood method of recording information, or something else.
Whatever it is, or was, it wasn’t made by aliens.
The Book of Colour Concepts by art historian Alexandra Loske explores four centuries of colour theory from changes in science to the Mary Gartside, the first woman who published an illustrated book in colour in 1805. (via It’s Nice That)
A man gets home early from work and finds his wife in bed with his best friend.
He gets his shotgun and says “I’m going to shoot your balls off!”
His best friend begs him, “Please, we’re best friends! Give me a chance!”
So he says, “Alright then, swing ’em!”
My second favourite dad joke
Batman Saves the Congo is a book by Alexandra Cosima Budabin and Lisa Ann Richey Can which questions the influence of celebrities on the development field and whether they can promote change for the good or just act as mouthpieces for major corps:
In 2010, Ben Affleck, known for his performance as Batman, launched the Eastern Congo Initiative, designed to bring a new approach to the region’s development. This event is central to Batman Saves the Congo. Affleck’s organization received special access, diversified funding, and significant support from elites in the political, philanthropic, development, and humanitarian spheres. This fact sets it apart from other development programs. Affleck used his influence to build partnerships with others both in and outside of the development field, occupying a bipartisan political realm that is neither charity nor aid but “good business.” Highly visible celebrity humanitarians like Affleck operate in the public domain but do not engage meaningfully with the public, argue Alexandra Cosima Budabin and Lisa Ann Richey. Rather, they are an unruly group of new players in development whose involvement furthers the interests of big business.
I think these kinds of questions are really important at the moment, with the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in a variety of other African countries like South Africa (where Google and PepsiCo have invested nearly $2bn in the last few years), Kenya (where Microsoft and G42 announced a $1 billion comprehensive digital ecosystem initiative), Nigeria, and Egypt.
The Eastern Congo Initiative was launched in 2010 and is still going, with the following members:
a philanthropic organization that takes a trust-based approach, honoring the lived experience and agency of those closest to the issues they focus on.
funding civilian protection and recovery efforts in Ugandaagainst Joseph Kony (remember him?) and his army, but was heavily criticised for funding mercenaries in the process
I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re goin’, and hook up with them later.
Mitch Hedberg on dreams
I missed this last month but good to see Colombian President Gustavo Petro call out Israel’s genocide of Palestinians for what it is and announce plans to cut diplomatic ties with the nation state.
“Here in front of you, the government of change, of the president of the republic, announces that tomorrow we will break diplomatic relations with the state of Israel … for having a government, for having a president who is genocidal,” Petro said.
A left-wing leader who came to power in 2022, Petro is considered part of a progressive wave known as the “pink tide” in Latin America. He has been one of the region’s most vocal critics of Israel since the start of the Gaza war.
via Al Jazeera
Last June, I wrote about Arisa Trew becoming the first female skateboarder to land a 720 at 13 years old. Well, she’s gone a few degrees better and landed her first 900 at 14. Join me next year when she lands a 1080! Incredible achievement.