The Daily Croissant

Kudzu Bug
- 20 Nov 2011
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- 19November11 Ecology Kudzu insects
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Kudzu is an amazingly prolific invasive plant that has been devastating large areas of farmland, fields, and woods in the southern United States. When it first arrived, it spread uncontrollably because it had no natural enemies. Now, one has been found - a beetle that arrived as another accidental immigrant.

But the new arrival is a mixed blessing, because it also eats other legumes, including soybeans. This video was prepared by entomologists at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Science.

via youtube.com

More via Wall Street Journal
Storm over Puyehue-Cordón Caulle
- 20 Nov 2011
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- 19November11 Chile Lightning Volcanoes
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Photograph by Ricardo Mohr

A cloud of lightning-topped ash rises toward a starry sky during the June eruption of southern Chile's Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcano complex in a picture submitted to My Shot in October. The summer eruption grounded flights in Chile and neighboring Argentina.

This month officials began evacuating people from the immediate vicinity of the Hudson Volcano, 470 miles (756 kilometers) south of Puyehue-Cordón Caulle, according to the Associated Press. Recent releases of steam and ash from the volcano have had authorities in Chile and Argentina on high alert, AP reports.

via news.nationalgeographic.com
Meanwhile, Somewhere in a Chinese Desert....
- 20 Nov 2011
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- 19November11 Earth from Space Earthscapes puzzles
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New photos have appeared in Google Maps showing unidentified structures in the middle of the Chinese desert.

It’s located in Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Gansu, north of the Shule River, which crosses the Tibetan Plateau to the west into the Kumtag Desert. It covers an area approximately one mile long by more than 3,000 feet wide.

You can check it out yourself in Google Maps here.

via wired.com
Thanksgiving Dinner, 1924
- 20 Nov 2011
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- 19November11 Historical Holidays Photographs Thanksgiving
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Washington, D.C., circa 1924. "Park View Citizens Association store." National Photo Company Collection glass negative.

via shorpy.com
Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
- 20 Nov 2011
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- 19November11 China Tombs World Heritage Site archaeology
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This photo was taken at Ling En Temple of Chang Ling. It shows a replica of the golden crown of Wanli Emperor (ca. 1600) of Ming Dynasty of China. The original piece was excavated from Ding Ling at 1960s and are on display at Ding Ling museum.

This is one of a pair of facing statues representing a functionary waiting to deliver his reports to the emperor. The reports would be in the form of vertical ideogramic script brushed onto a number of wood or ivory tablets.

via world-heritage-tour.org

The Ming and Qing imperial tombs are outstanding testimony to a cultural and architectural tradition that for over 500 years dominated this part of the world. By reason of their integration into the natural environment, they make up a unique ensemble of cultural landscapes.

From time immemorial, the rulers of China attached great importance to the building of imposing mausolea, reflecting not only the general belief in an afterlife but also an affirmation of authority. When the Ming dynasty came to power (1368), an overall design was adopted. This was characterized by the attempt to achieve great harmony between a natural site meeting certain precise selection criteria and a complex of buildings fulfilling codified functions. The natural site, a plain or broad valley, must offer the perspective of a mountain range to the north, against which the tombs would be built, with a lower elevation to the south. It must be framed on the east and west by chains of hills, and feature at least one waterway. In order to harmonize with the natural setting, a number of buildings are constructed along a main access road several kilometres in length, known as the Way of the Spirits, which may branch off into secondary Ways leading to other mausolea.

Patrimonium-mundi.org :

visit this site in panophotographies - immersive and interactive spherical images
Doug Powell's Duzzle Art
- 20 Nov 2011
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- 19November11 art puzzles
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"I have been experimenting with random puzzle pieces from jigsaw puzzles since 2001. The classic puzzle pieces offered an interesting deflection for paint while creating Retro Spin Art. Since 2007, I have been creating detailed mosaic portraits of the human face. My specialty is being able to show great detail right down to eye lashes, lips and other fine facial features.

I have slowly developed and refined the technique of creating this art and have coined the term to describe it as Duzzle Art."

via duzzleart.com
The Opte Project : a Fractal Dandelion
- 20 Nov 2011
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- 19November11 Connections Maps Visualization internet
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In 2004 Barrett Lyon’s friends bet him $50 that he couldn’t map the entire Internet in a day. Within two weeks the self-described technologist and entrepreneur had created a program that could output a detailed visualization of Internet connectivity in a few hours. Seven years and billions more Internet-connected devices later, Lyon is still at it. This cosmic-looking image, one of his newest creations, traces the millions of routes along which data can travel and pinpoints the hubs receiving the most traffic.

Internet giants such as AT&T and Google manage the most heavily used networks, which appear here as glowing yellow orbs; they tend to concentrate in the center of the sphere. The less popular local networks (red) sit on the periphery. Although Lyon’s visualizations have appeared in computing textbooks and at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, he says he has yet to collect on his bet.

via opte.org

Kudzu Bug

Storm over Puyehue-Cordón Caulle

Meanwhile, Somewhere in a Chinese Desert....

Thanksgiving Dinner, 1924

Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Doug Powell's Duzzle Art

The Opte Project : a Fractal Dandelion

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