Jeffrey McDaniel (via tiportiff)(Source: ohmissnatalie, via tiportiff)
I miss T’eo
Does anyone remember my date with the presidents daughter on Disney?!?!?!
Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.
45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.
The questions raised:
*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
*Do we stop to appreciate it?
*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…
How many other things are we missing?
(Source: iliveforaliving, via darthxrevan)
I just want to buy an xbox and play video games and watch netflix.
(Source: jonwithabullet, via bl0winonmedicinal)
“What is Cob?”
Cob is a traditional building technique using clay, sand, straw and water- wet enough to shape, yet dry enough to build up without forms. The clay acts as the glue, while the sand gives strength to the mixture and the straw gives the walls tensile strength once hardened into place. It dries to a hardness similar to lean concrete and is used like adobe to create self supporting, load bearing walls. A cob house is essentially monolithic. This with it’s curved walls gives them greater strength in earthquakes. Earth is an abundant resource that can produce beautiful and sustainable homes with a minimal footprint.
Most of the materials used for building an earth house are unprocessed, natural and local products such as sand, clay, straw and recycled materials.
Cob invites creativity to be expressed in the process of building your space. Because cob is very flexible to work with, you are able to create just about any shape, curves, arches, shelves, benches, niches, fireplaces and ovens.
Earth homes are cool in summer, warm in winter. Cob’s resistance to rain and cold makes it ideally suited to cold, rainy climates like the Pacific Northwest, and to desert conditions.
History of Cob
COB is not a new material it is a building material that has been around for centuries. The word cob comes from an Old English root meaning a rounded mass or lump. It was started in England around the 13th century from other types of earth building techniques like adobe, sod, rammed earth, straw-clay, and wattle-and-daub just to name a few. Thousands of cob houses have weathered rainy England for hundreds of years.. Earth is probably still the world’s most common building material. With recent rises in the price of lumber and increasing interest in natural and environmentally safe building practices, cob is enjoying a renaissance. In this age of environmental degradation, dwindling natural resources, and chemical toxins hidden in our homes, doesn’t it make sense to return to nature’s most abundant, cheap and healthy building material?
What are the advantages of building with cob?
- Cob is gentle on the planet. Earth is non-toxic and completely recyclable, creates no waste, and requires minimal tools to construct.
- “Buildability” – Cob homes are owner built. It is easy to learn, cob is a very flexible and forgiving medium.There is obviously, quite a bit of labor involved but if time is not a factor, a house of this type could be built with just a couple of workers. Basic carpentry, plumbing and electric skills are required.
- It is Affordable and Inexpensive – The walls of the home are made entirely of natural resources that are available under your feet.
- Fire proof
- Cob is very durable and requires little upkeep
- Energy Efficiency – A cob house provides a large amount of thermal mass. This helps keep the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It is ideal for passive solar homes.
- Fun – If you like playing in the mud, this is the house for you. Seriously, this is an excellent style of house to build for those with imagination. You can be very creative with the walls of your house. Also a Safe building material with kids.
(via bearinwolfsfur)
(Source: sil3nt-contradictions, via queenofdubstep)
Sup World?
I’m already sucking at doing my homework. All these freaking reading assignments! It sucks.
