Though it may be abstract to those untouched by the economic downturn, home foreclosure has nevertheless become a household term. A look at what happens to the remnants of houses after families leave, provides an unsettling picture. As contractors come to clean out homes, what is left behind is shocking. Worse still is that it all ends up in a landfill! So many problems with this it’s hard to know where to begin!
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Cool links:
For more coverage of this under-reported story.
Anyone who has yet to watch this needs to do so. It’s fantastic.
Cool Stuff to Check:
Blu’s site
Where to go for all your urban art needs
Regional Map of Sri Lanka (January 2009, bbc.co.uk)
The determination of the warring parties in Sri Lanka is unrelenting. Even as the LTTE conceded to a ceasefire on February 23rd, it was promptly rejected by the Sri Lankan military, who claimed that nothing less of total surrender would be considered. As military forces enter Puthukkudiyiruppu, the last Tiger stonghold, the number of civilian casualties rises, and one cannot help but wonder if peace will ever come to the small island.
Continue reading Sri Lanka: Protracted Conflict, M.I.A. & the Media
Only in Canada would the Prime Minister himself go on a PR expedition to the U.S. to explain how misunderstood his poor country is. Riding on the coattails of Obama’s sensational coverage in Ottawa, Stephen Harper flew to New York yesterday to keep Canada in the spotlight by appearing on…Fox News? Right….
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In all fairness, he didn’t make an idiot out of himself. His trip aimed at furthering the dialogue between Canada and the U.S., which allowed him to get interviews with American media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal. He also met with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, to discuss issues such as Haiti, Afghanistan and the safe return of Robert Fowler and Louis Guay from Niger. Harper also let a round table meeting with business elites from institutions such as Goldman Sachs and the Royal Bank of Canada, where it was noted that Harper “wasn’t selling anything, he wasn’t promoting anything,” said one attendee. “He was just making a real effort to understand what the fears are.”
Harper in Times Square (ctv.ca)
The PM was right to stress the unique trading partnership that binds the U.S. and Canada, and to attempt to charm the American public and policy makers isn’t a bad thing. Harper even seemed to show some level of enjoyment on his trip. (Check out that smile!) I sense the uneasiness I feel is that Harper really is trying to forge a close friendship with the U.S., something that ideologically many Canadians might have a problem with. Alternatively, it might just be that Harper seems to have turned a new leaf, and is trying his hand at celebrity politics. I’m not yet sure if it’s a good look for him.
Cool things to Watch:
CTV’s Power Play “Suddenly Canada is Cool…sort of” (Analysis of the Harper visit).
Escher's "Relativity" (andrewlipson.com)
I haven’t quite figured out where or why the Lego revival started, my only theory would be to think that those kids who played with them fifteen years ago just never stopped. Nevertheless, over the past couple of years, Lego has turned into some kind of hipster-underground-cult movement, which continues to grow. Artisans in Camden Market string them on chains; tech-geeks have turned the into USB keys and i-Pod docks; and there’s even Escher works depicted in Lego. It seems like everywhere I turn Lego is close behind.
It came up in conversation among friends yesterday, and today I find The Laughing Squid, one of my favourite blogs, has posted a great new Lego stop animation—which inevitably led me deep into the underground world of it. I’m a fan of recycling and 90s throwbacks, so I suppose I can let the hipster-hate go on this one. Either way the animation is sick. One of our faves:
February 28th, 2009 | 
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