Category Archives: Entries

Feeding your soul or stuffing it?

Photo by Ting W. Chang ( flickr.com/photos/ssdctw/2260263714/ )

Exotic food. Food for the soul? A creative’s daily bread? Exotic foods might be hard to find in this global food market. Is anything rare, unusual, fresh? What are the things that are hard to find for creatives that they need and would seem exotic or strange to others? A lot of Americans don’t like exotic foods. They find comfort in the predictable. My father still eats the same crappy white bread he did when I was a kid, as stale as it is.

My wife keeps a stash of ‘exotic/special’ Japanese foods in the closet for when she gets the craving. My daughter’s favorite snack is dried salted small fish which makes most people gag just thinking about it. Is it an exotic food? Not in Japan. It’s a matter of perspective. To the people near us they may not be exotic but to those far off whether in geographical distance or world view they may be. What are the cravings of creatives? What ‘exotic foods’ could we or do we keep on hand or go and buy when we need a design fix? For me it is thrift store finds and lately tobacco barn viewings…. Read more…

Gun barrels into ploughshares

'Harvest Nation Sculpture Project' on Terra Furna Public Art

The guys over at Terra Furna Public Art posted on their site back in May of last year about a very cool sculpture project they were working on.

The concept comes from the ancient text “They shall forge their swords into ploughshares”. Our thought is that Canada has been a nation of peacekeepers for decades, and our influence has had a significant part in many nations’ histories. From Korea to Bosnia to the more recent Afghanistan, our soldiers can be found doing their best to encourage the world to put down their arms.

Our idea was to get our hands on a Howitzer gun barrel, or tank barrel, and forge that into a plough as a modern interpretation of the text. Our idea has developed into a larger, more ambitious idea with the inclusion of other elements that reinforce the message of peacekeeping.

The Harvest Nation Sculpture Project on terrafurna.com. Lots more photos.

Welcome to March…

via State Library of Queensland, Australia

… where the theme is Exotic Foods here on OCSPLORA.com.

Coloured illustrations of meat and poultry piled onto elaborate silver serving stands, 1901

February photo number four

Shot at a playground in New York City by Eric Corpus.

February photo number three

Shot by Mark Hill outside a church in western Massachusetts. ‘Which is the life part and which is the edge? Depends on your perspective. Are they both fighting for their lives? Or living on the edge of each other in harmony?’

[TED Talks Tuesday] James Cameron’s story

'James Cameron: Before Avatar ... a curious boy' on TED.com

If you are into big films, sci-fi stories, oceanography, or biographies of creative people, check out this TED Talk. James Cameron talks about growing up, making films, changing career tracks mid-life, deep ocean exploration, leadership, and of course, Avatar.

James Cameron: Before Avatar … a curious boy

February photo number two

‘Congo Rebel: Looking a killer in the eyes’. Shot in Goma, Congo (DRC) by Steve Evans.