Category: Odds and sods

Odds and sods

The Tragedy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Hans von Dohnanyi

In January 1933, German conservatives, facing a political deadlock, engineered a way for Adolf Hitler, leader of Germany’s largest political party, to become chancellor, with a predominantly conservative cabinet. They thought he would be their “captive”—the first of many fatal illusions that eased Hitler’s path to power. Soon it was clear that his regime would eliminate all opposition and establish total control over what had … Continue reading The Tragedy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Hans von Dohnanyi

Unknown's avatarvijayraghavendranLeave a comment
Odds and sods

Unchartered Territories

Felix Baumgartner skydive The key questions answered What was the most likely thing to kill him during his supersonic jump, what happened to his balloon – and is he married? All the questions about the Austrian daredevil you want answered. Readmore… The Fall A journey to the bottom of the ocean James Cameron’s trip to the Challenger Deep Werner Herzog: Encounters at the end of the … Continue reading Unchartered Territories

Unknown's avatarvijayraghavendran1 Comment
Odds and sods

Prisons

Two contrasting articles on prisons. One from ‘The New Yorker’ and the other one from ‘The Guardian’. Six million people are under correctional supervision in the U.S.—more than were in Stalin’s gulags. A prison is a trap for catching time. Good reporting appears often about the inner life of the American prison, but the catch is that American prison life is mostly undramatic—the reported stories … Continue reading Prisons

Unknown's avatarvijayraghavendranLeave a comment
Odds and sods

Interesting Speeches!

Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian film actor, screenwriter, producer and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema (Source: Wikipedia). He gave this interesting talk at IIT Bombay, India. He ♣♣♣ Shahrukh Khan (born 2 November 1965), often credited as Shah Rukh Khan and informally referred to as SRK, is an Indian film actor. Often referred to in the media as “The King of Bollywood”, Khan has acted in over 70 … Continue reading Interesting Speeches!

Unknown's avatarvijayraghavendranLeave a comment
Odds and sods, Sustainability

Tiny Houses

Source: The New Yorker ANNALS OF DESIGN about Jay Shafer and the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. Tiny houses are built on trailer platforms. Typically, they are between a hundred and a hundred and thirty square feet, roughly the size of a covered wagon. They aren’t toys or playhouses or aesthetic gestures, and they aren’t shacks or cottages, either. Shacks don’t have kitchens and bathrooms, and … Continue reading Tiny Houses

Unknown's avatarvijayraghavendranLeave a comment
Odds and sods

The Great Animal Orchestra

Biophony is the collective sound vocal non-human animals create in each given environment. The term was coined by Dr. Bernie Krause. The study of natural soundscapes is called soundscape ecology (wikipedia). In this video, Dr. Bernie Krause, creator of Wild Sanctuary, demonstrates that every living organism produces sound. This presentation focuses on the symbiotic ways in which the sounds of one organism affect and interrelate … Continue reading The Great Animal Orchestra

Unknown's avatarvijayraghavendran1 Comment
Odds and sods, Sustainability

Wind Powered Sculpture

Source: The New Yorker If you’re like many people, you’ve probably come across Theo Jansen’s kinetic sculptures in videos online. Jansen, aged sixty-three, is a Dutch artist who lives in Delft, near the North Sea. For the past twenty-one years, he has devoted himself to constructing animals that can walk on the beach powered only by the wind. His name for his animals is Strandbeests, … Continue reading Wind Powered Sculpture

Unknown's avatarvijayraghavendranLeave a comment