An interesting peek at Iran

I stumbled today upon an interesting collection of images from Iran pulled together by a guy who's a student at teh New School in NYC... he was interested in showing some of what normal life (before the election and the ensuing protests) looks (or looked) like in the streets of a nation many Americans know so little about.

The More You Know!

Did you know there are around 100 uncontacted tribes of people on the Earth still today? To me this is comforting news, and contrary to the trends that I see swirling around me... perhaps this is a very American take on the world. Nonetheless, the BBC has some good coverage of photos taken in fly-overs of one such tribe near the border of Brazil and Peru.

Now, you might be asking yourself about how fair it is to call this group, "uncontacted" when we fly over their shelters taking pictures. In a number of the photos you can clearly see the tribsmen and women looking up at the airplane... and possibly shooting arrows at it (doesn't it look like they're aiming bows of some sort in a couple shots?). The photos were taken by a group that monitors this and other similar tribes to try and protect them from encroachment by the outside world. This group in particular is seen as threatened by illegal logging on nearby lands.



I find this whole story a fascinating one to mull over... the overlaps of modernity and antiquity... groups trying to preserve these tribes and their detachment from our modern world... doing so by flying airplanes over head. Hmm, anyway, I thought it was pretty interesting stuff.

h/t Huffington Post.

Party Goes On as Monkey Humps Death Star

Party Goes On as Monkey Humps Death Star, originally uploaded by Chambo25.

This past weekend I was in Atlanta for birthday celebrations and you know... strange things can happen at birthday parties. You sorta never know what you might come across. For example, you might come across a monkey piñata humping the broken shell of a Death Star piñata. Now, if you're me, when you see such a spectacle you stop and take a few quick pictures. Most other people didn't seem bothered that this was going on. Anyway, as we all head towards the end of our work days this beautiful Thursday afternoon... I thought I would share one such picture.

'Cause nothing says Thursday like a monkey piñata... humping a Death Star... piñata.

Start to a New Week

Globe Lights Blue Sky, originally uploaded by Chambo25.

This should be an interesting week out there in the world, and especially in American presidential politics.

I, like many people out there, am hoping that this will be the week Democrats begin to coalesce around their presumptive nominee. I also acknowledge this may be wishful thinking. I'm hoping my home state will play a dynamic and cool role in helping the Dems start acting decisive.

Meanwhile, I don't know how much this was true anywhere else, but it was a lovely weekend in Connecticut. I spent the majority of Sunday afternoon outside playing softball, and enjoying the sunshine. Today it seems like it's just as wonderful out in the outdoors. I'm hoping to take a lunchtime walk and pull in some fresh air. I capped my weekend by watching the Phillies eek out a win against the Mets to prevent a sweep in their weekend series.

Beyond the primaries, baseball, and the weather, there's a whole world of other cool stuff going on... so stay tuned.