by Loti | Jun 3, 2013 | Africa, Animals, Insects
Africa. A dung beetle. One of the coolest bugs alive in my mind. Not only do they eat, breed and mate in dung, they are depicted throughout Egyptian history (the scarabs shown in ancient paintings), are the subject of an Aesop fable (The Dung Beetle and Eagle), and have recently been featured in studies on their GPS capabilities. Plus, they play an important role in agriculture. Wow. So here we have a dung beetle, on a road in Africa, rolling his ball of dung as fast as he can so robber beetles don’t steal it (and his girl, as the female often goes along with the ball). I’m not sure what I was thinking when I took this picture 5 years ago. Little did I know it would turn into one of my many new fascinations! This species of dung beetle (there are over 6,000 different species) harvests material from a fresh dung pile and shapes it into a ball. Then he rolls it away before some bigger beetle steals it? And he must roll it in a straight line, otherwise he just goes around in circles which invites robbers. New studies show, at night, they use the Milky Way as a guide making it the first known animal species to use a celestial compass. And they are very important in agriculture. Australia imported 23 species of beetle to clear dung from the fields which keeps the fly population down and off the cattle. Basic animal husbandry. They also improve soil structure by recycling nutrients. Who would have thought? Oh and by the way, they are the strongest insect...
by Loti | May 30, 2013 | Art, United States
West Palm Beach. I don’t pretend to understand modern art. In fact, until this morning, I don’t remember ever reading a definition of it. According to Wikipedia, it is art created from the 1860’s (including Impressionists like Matisse, Van Gogh and Seurat) until the 1970s. Van Gogh, a modern artist? I had no idea. In the modern art era, artists threw away old traditions of viewing the world and used new techniques and fresh ideas to look at things differently. So what is Contemporary Art and is it the same as Modern Art? Generally it is art created since World War II by still living artists so there can be overlap between the two. Take the disc in this photo made by Jacopo Foggini, exhibited at Whitespace in West Palm Beach. He uses methacrylite, an industrial material used in making automobile lights, to create sculptures, chairs, lights and tables. In all sorts of cool colors. His works are considered Contemporary art as he is still very much alive. And I love it. So much to learn in this fascinating world. And to think I have just discovered there is Modern and Contemporary art I like. Including Van Gogh, O’Keeffe and now, Foggini. Just amazing! ...
by Loti | May 28, 2013 | Art, Flowers, Food, United States
Boston. I don’t really think of a banana as a flower, but it turns out it is a flower, an herb (the world’s largest), a fruit and a berry. Well that is pretty cool. Here you see it recreated by the Blaschka’s in their amazing Harvard glass collection. Everything you see is made of glass. Every one knows bananas are really good for you, but I didn’t know they are slightly radioactive. That’s because of all the potassium which shows up as potassium 40 isotope. I also didn’t know they are the 4th largest world crop behind rice, wheat and maize with India being the largest producing country followed by Uganda. Really! And the Cavendish, the main banana we eat, is currently being infected by an unstoppable disease and will probably disappear during our lifetime. Hopefully replaced by another one. Wow. Who would have thought the banana had so much going on. Good thing I just finished one for breakfast. > > >...
by Loti | May 24, 2013 | Art, Flowers, United States
Boston. Amazing, stunning, impossible! All terms that come to mind as I view the Harvard Museum’s collection of glass flowers. Why don’t I know about these beautiful replicas of over 830 plant species made by father and son team, Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka, between 1887 and 1936? Turns out they were commissioned by Harvard beginning in 1886 to use as models for teaching botany. Back then, there were no photos, just paper maiche and wax models. The Blaschka’s were able to make scientifically accurate glass models using various glass making techniques which they perfected over a 50 year period. Unfortunately their glass making processes died with the Blaschka’s and no one has been able to duplicate these amazing flowers. Dale Chihuly, one of my favorite glass artists, said the exhibit of flowers was mind boggling and extraordinary. So if you get to New England, be sure to put this on your bucket list. You won’t be disappointed. I know I wasn’t. I am still learning about the flowers and some other specimens the Blaschka’s made. There is a whole world out there. I just have to pick my head up and look! ...
by Loti | May 23, 2013 | Cambodia, Food
Boston. The restaurant advertised Cambodian/French cuisine. Never having eaten Cambodian, we figured why not. Plus it had a photo of a huge elephant beckoning us inside. How could we go wrong? Cambodian food, it turns out is delicious and very healthy. One of the world’s oldest cuisines, it has an emphasis on simplicity, freshness and seasonality. During the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970’s, the cuisine was almost wiped out and forgotten. How glad I am that it is making a come back! The staple foods are rice and freshwater fish. During the rainy season, the whole country is inundated with monsoon rains turning the country into rice paddies. Almost every meal is served with rice. And for fruit, the durian (remember this fruit is banned in many places because of the smell) and mangosteen are the 2 most popular. The food is much like Thai, but without the spiciness. There is a French influence since Cambodia was once a French colony. Lunch yesterday was a shrimp stir fry with a coconut milk, lemongrass broth and brown rice. Yum! If you haven’t tried Cambodian food, I highly recommend it. Especially if the restaurant features a welcoming elephant! ...
