While shoes serve a practical function by protecting our soles from the elements and hazards underfoot, they have also become highly ornamented objects of obsession. Whatever the materials or cost, however, shoes always reflect the time and place in which they were made and worn and the culture that produced them. Take the tour…

On Aug. 7, 1974, a Frenchman named Philippe Petit, aided by a team of sneaky co-conspirators, managed to string a wire between the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Center, 1350 feet above the ground. At 7:15 that morning he stepped out on the wire and danced on it for roughly an hour while police waited to arrest him.

“Meeting the Gods” is how he refers to it. “I’m nonreligious, but the combination of the Twin Towers, my balancing pole, the police, the onlookers, it was a sacred presence, an amazing piece of theater.” Philippe Petit

“Man on Wire,” a documentary chronicling Philippe Petit’s walk between the World Trade Center’s towers on Aug. 7, 1974, opened in New York on Friday, June 25, 2008. It opens nationwide on Aug. 8, 2008.

Interesting info about Phillipe

Time Photo Gallery

Recent interview with Philippe (video)

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness… read more

fact:
If you were a member of the Second Continental Congress in 1776, you were a rebel and considered a traitor by the King of England. You knew that a reward had been posted for the capture of certain prominent rebel leaders and signing your name to the Declaration meant that you pledged your life, your fortune, and your sacred honor to the cause of freedom. more facts

last sentence of the declaration:
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Would you have signed after acknowledging that last sentence? Happy Forf of July!

In July 1776, the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation was about 2.5 million. Check out this population clock from the U.S. Census Bureau for current figures.

Ever seen a tornado close up?

Is this picture real or fake? Many sites are reporting it as questionable. For instance, the lighting looks abnormal for 9 PM.

“A huge tornado funnel cloud touches down in Orchard, Iowa, Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 9:04 p.m. The Globe Gazette and Mitchell County Press News reported that Lori Mehmen of Orchard, took the photo from outside her front door”. (via Yahoo news)

The image below is of a storm photographed by Mike Hollingshead. He’s quite a persistent storm chaser. Check out his new book and website at the links below for some awesome photography!

Adventures in Tornado Alley: The Storm Chasers

Mike’s site: Extreme Instability

Sometimes when the light is reflecting off of the ice crystals that form clouds, the result is a spectrum of colors forming a rainbow. This rare inverted rainbow known as the “fire rainbow” photo was taken in New Jersey in late May. See it large at APOD.

This is such a great read. It’s quite a real-time societal experiment. The article is a very well written summary of a bizarre controlled experiment in a bustling plaza in Washington D.C. I can’t imagine myself walking past this as if it weren’t there, but most folks did. Certainly read, but while you do, here is an audio recording of the event. I found it hard to believe.

Well, I’m back! Had to post this as a follow up to the previous ZZ post. The two videos are certainly coincidental as I had no idea that ZZ Top would be on American Idol. I thought it was pretty cool that David Cook won the competition. His musicianship was the real reason that I would tune in. I happened into the show the night that Cook did All Right Now by Free. To me, he stood apart from the others. Runner up for me would have been Carly Smithson. I’m glad musicianship and heart prevailed!

ZZ Top w/ David Cook - Sharp Dressed Man
(also, check out this 1983 live video of Under Pressure)

I really like this performance!

Filming conventional high-speed action fare is hard enough, but to bring the classic cartoon Speed Racer to life, the Wachowski brothers had to contend with 300mph racecars sporting fanciful features like robotic reconnaissance pigeons and wheels that can rotate 180 degrees. With 2,300 visual-effects (VFX) shots—twice as many as last year’s eye-popping 300—it heralds the future of summer-blockbuster fare: The entire movie, aside from the human actors, exists only in a computer. See how they shot the movie

I will have to see this one at IMAX!

Happy or sad? Read this story and wonder if you could live this life of fish, rum, beach, ocean and cocaine?

At first glance, Bluefields in Nicaragua looks like any other rum-soaked, Rastafarian-packed, hammock-infested Caribbean paradise. But Bluefields has a secret.

People here don’t have to work. Every week, sometimes every day, 35kg sacks of cocaine drift in from the sea. The economy of this entire town of 50,000 tranquil souls is addicted to cocaine. An intruiging social science story…

 
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