I have great news! UC Berkley has recently released a report stating that they have found a new organism that is native to the Gulf of Mexico that….
dum, dum, dum!!
EATS OIL! It has been going all over the news recently, and I had to share it with all of you! According the the Telegraph report:
It thrives in cold water in the deep sea where temperatures are around 5C (41F) and scientists said it may have adapted over time, through a process of natural selection, due to periodic leaks and natural seeps of oil in the Gulf.
When the bacteria were found to have acted on oil they consumed half of it in 1.2 to 6.1 days, giving an average of about three days. By comparison at the site of the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989 the average “half life” was seven days.
Around 95 per cent of the bacteria in the oil plume were the new type, while outside only five per cent were.
How cool is that?! Nature is by far the coolest thing in the world. If you didn’t believe in the old adage, “Nature always finds a way,” I hope you do now. Professor Hazen from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory went on to say, “What we know about the degradation rates fits with what we are seeing in the last three weeks. We’ve gone out to the sites, and we don’t find any oil, but we do find the bacteria.” On top of all this there has been a fear that oil consuming organisms would consume large amounts of oxygen, but it has been found that this little guys do not! Very cool all the way around!
I’d forgotten how I much I used to enjoy seeing faces in my shoes when I was a kid (sneakers were the best with all the “eyes”) until my son started pointing out different everyday objects that had smiles, winks, scowls and various other human qualities. Everyday objects that appear to have human emotions.
Check out some of these funny faces.
I can’t decide if this one is a grumpy old man or just pensive.
This one just has so much character it makes me SMILE!
Confused in aisle two…
Hmmmm….this one looks mighty familiar
Say “Cheese”
BOO!
Here’s looking at you. Hope these brought a smile to your Sun-shiny faces -
Okay, okay, so this isn’t very zen-like at all and doesn’t really create a relaxing atmosphere with which you can meditate to (trust me, I tried finding some sort of inspirational loop-hole with little luck), but the video does create smiles, and at the start of a fresh new week, you can never have too many of those.
Happy Monday, SuperForesters, go out there and do what everybody says you can’t.
Today I have stumbled upon this incredibly fun and entertaining video! Watch the grooves and the moves of this young buck, and become thoroughly entranced. After that put on a song and do some of your own dancing!
Pretty cool, huh? Go get your groove on SuperForest!
I’ll be the first to admit I’ve never actually seen a Star Wars movie. But despite my ignorance, I do know enough about it to know that “Star Wars Yoga” is an absolute gem. Created by writer/designer Matthew Latkewicz, “Star Wars Yoga” goes where few geeks have gone before and creates “a bold fusion of two seemingly disparate cultural phenomenons” with mighty poses including “X-Wing”, “Downward Facing Wookie”, “TIE Fighter”, and “Speeder Bike”.
Looks pretty complicated? Not to worry. The fine folks at TIME have put together a nice instructional video!
Hello SuperForesters! I’d like to share with you my very first D.I.Y. project! I have to admit that this is not a unique idea; you know what they say about there being “no original ideas”, however I didn’t let that stop me from doing the project! The first thing you will need is an abundance of corks. I amassed mine from my family’s passion for good wine, but you can also visit a local restaurant or wine bar and ask them to save the corks for you, they just might do it!
After you’ve collected many corks, get yourself a basic frame. I found mine at a craft store, but it would be even better if you could reclaim some wood and make your own frame.
Take some time and practice patience when arranging the corks within the frame. Because the corks are not all the same size and some may be slightly warped, it will take a calm, creative eye to arrange them so they all fit nicely.
When you are ready, pick the corks up two by two, and glue underneath them, gently pressing them into the glue as you put them back in place. This will keep your design together while you glue the corks down.
After all of the corks have been glued to the frame, place some heavy books on top to help the glue set and adhere the corks securely. Leave the books on overnight or for a few hours.
Ta-da! The frame is now complete and ready to hang on your wall! I am going to use mine as a “vision board” to keep myself mindful of my goals and intentions on a daily basis.
What do you think, SuperForesters? Should I leave my frame minimalist or should I paint it?
Self-pride and self-love are distinct. I have at various points of my life mistaken the two. My project now is to defuse the former and infuse in myself the latter.
Pride is rejection. As we all take to believe, pride springs from the ego. Pride is a wall that separates ourselves from our insecurities, as well as other people. We may hide behind or stand above it in order to feel content in who we are. Through the conveyance of pride, I make myself the other, safe in my tower. When I push away others I do the same to a part of me. That security is a fiction; we were never separate.
Self-love is an acceptance or embrace of what I am, and the universe suggests that acceptance is the right path. I seek to love every iteration of myself: before I was born, when I was an infant, when I was eight, when I was seventeen, when I was twenty, who I was last month, what I was last night, and, of course, that which I am today. I cannot deny any single instance of me; for if I have anything, I have myself.
Pressures from without and within, the lingering hurts of past days, tug at our hearts. We shrink away from the hurt we felt then, and in doing so hide that part of ourselves. The key is to accept, even to love, that hurt. Without noticing, the pain evaporates.
To reject a part of our past is to lose a piece of our living flesh. We must gather up the many selves that we have been and love them, appreciate the beauty in them, rejoice in them. We find parts of our history banal and insignificant, but we must listen to the poets when they urge us to find equal beauty in a blazing sunset as in the hairs of our arms.
With this trust, we may bound into the future knowing that you and I will love whoever we become.
-Arrived at my new school, Claremont McKenna College.
-Met my new and amazing roommate, and so many other people.
-Gone surfing in Santa Barbara!
-Gotten involved in a massive water fight!
-And I am sure I forgetting lots of stuff…
During that time I had little to no internet access, and now for the first time, in what feels like years, I have been able to sit down and read my dearest friend’s words and comments in my favourite place. Being away from SuperForest this time was unique. I have taken breaks from writing before, but I always kept reading. This time I couldn’t even read, and that sensation was very strange. I missed you! So, I write this after catching up on all the posts and comments I had missed out on! Reading the wonderful words of my fellow Team SuperForesters has brought me so much joy, excitement, contentedness, and gratitude. Thank you Team for being you, and for doing what you do. So, now that I have said that more about what I have been up to.
My first night in L.A. led me to being invited to a Crowed House concert, which was simply amazing! Check out this great video I got the chance to record!
After that I moved to my new home for the next four years! I quickly ended up leaving for an orientation trip: Surfing in Santa Barbara! This was my first time surfing, and what an experience it was. The waves hitting you as you waited for that perfect swell, only to be disappointed one second, and then be thrilled the next. Then all of a sudden to be thrown into the ocean by the wonderful forces of nature, only to pop up panting with excitement! I loved it!! I also got the chance to meet, and get to know 20 or so of my future classmates, along with three older students! Soon after that…
I came back to CMC to officially move in! I met my room mate, Donald. And let me tell you, we hit it off immediately! This is going to be an amazing year! I have met so many incredible people, and gotten a taste for so many amazing things to come. I am drooling at the thought of starting classes (Tuesday), and then delving into my major…which is SuperForest (at least hopefully): Economics, Environment, and Politics! A totally amazing and incredible interdisciplinary major that I am so excited for. There is so much on the horizon to be excited for!
All of that brings me to two ideas, thoughts, and/or emotions that have been popping up, especially as I have read up on my SuperForest: Love & Gratitude. There is so much love to be given in the world. Everyday and every second, and if you ever doubt whether you should hold back or go full out in love, choose the latter. Which ties in perfectly with gratitude. My next four years are going to be amazing, shared with amazing people. The opportunity was given to me because of soooo many amazing and inspiration people, most namely my parents. Thank you Mom & Dad!
I am bursting with possibilities, ideas, and so much else right now. I am now on a mission to share SuperForest, Sun Shines On, Simply Smiles, Blend Apparel, Matt Wadleigh LoVE Foundation, and everything else I am tied to with my new amazing community. SuperForest is going to take the Claremont Colleges by storm! With the help of SuperForester Chris of course, who is going to Pitzer, my neighbour school (literally down the street from my dorm). I am on a new slate with new chances and opportunities, and I can’t wait to share it with you all!
More to come soon, but in the mean time keep doing what you do best SuperForest, I love you very much! It is now time for me to pull on my Blend shirt, head over the Pitzer campus, and have a little luau with the other Claremont Colleges’ freshman! What an exciting journey life is, and how wonderful it is to share it with you! Stay safe, smile, be LoVE, and take care SuperForest!
Several months ago, I posted a picture of an “elephant sweater” on my tumblr. There was no denying its adorable qualities, and even at a glance, it always made me smile. But like most things we find on the internet, we eventually forget about it. Such was the case with sweet “elephant sweater”. Little did I know, it would come blasting back into my consciousness when I least expected it.
I was eating an In-N-Out burger while parked at a lovely spot overlooking the ocean (the only way to properly eat an In-N-Out burger) and all of a sudden, my phone started buzzing with alerts. One after the other, emails marched into my inbox and continued on through the night. Dozens and dozens of people were “reblogging” and “liking” the elephant sweater I’d long forgotten and before I knew it, that post had 640 “notes” (pretty much tumblr’s closest equivalent to “comments” on a regular blog). I was, and still am, stunned. To experience the internet’s domino effect, first hand, is something that fills you with wonder and empowerment. And after getting past the initial shock, my thoughts naturally shifted toward SuperForest. I began to ask myself whether us SuperForesters would be capable of creating a similar torrent with something that was actually meaningful or having the potential to create lasting change.
Most recently, I was informed by a family friend that this school has been in the running for the Kohl’s Cares Contest to win a donation of $500,000. Twenty schools in this competition will be receiving a grand total of ten million dollars! Crazy, right? What’s even crazier is that TERI school is currently ranked at number 87, which is already a huge achievement considering the school serves only 600 clients annually in what is already an underserved and underrepresented part of our community. But maybe with our help, we can give them that extra boost they need to receive the donation and give this “little engine that could” story the fairy tale ending it deserves.
Here’s all we have to do. If you have a facebook account, click on the button below. Once the Kohl’s Cares application is running, you are given a total of twenty votes to give to any schools of your choice (but are given a limit of five votes per school). Vote for TERI five times (or however many times you prefer) and you’re done, the school will be a tiny bit closer at climbing the list. It takes seconds, it’s for a great cause, and it will give us SuperForesters a chance to flex our community strengthening muscles.
Voting ends on September 3rd.
What do you say? Getting people to create lasting and positive change by spreading the word via the web can’t be that difficult, right? Should be a cinch.
I mean, if “elephant sweater” can do it…
My biggest thank you’s go out to anyone that votes, I have 15 votes left, if you have a school you’d like me to vote for, please drop their name in the comments section below and I’ll gladly vote for them, as well.
Every month SuperForester Jordan “rediscovers” a literary gem from the vast treasure trove of an art form that, in our technological age, has become largely under-appreciated and “lost”.
This week’s poem was found by SuperForester Heather, who discovered it by way of youtube where an adorable 3 year old graces us with a memorized reading (impressive!). I don’t think I’ve found a more popular youtube video about poetry. I recommend starting the video and then reading along with the poem, written by the always funny and fantastic Billy Collins, who I’ve posted about before.
Litany
You are the bread and the knife,
The crystal goblet and the wine…
-Jacques Crickillon
You are the bread and the knife,
the crystal goblet and the wine.
You are the dew on the morning grass
and the burning wheel of the sun.
You are the white apron of the baker,
and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.
However, you are not the wind in the orchard,
the plums on the counter,
or the house of cards.
And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.
There is just no way that you are the pine-scented air.
It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge,
maybe even the pigeon on the general’s head,
but you are not even close
to being the field of cornflowers at dusk.
And a quick look in the mirror will show
that you are neither the boots in the corner
nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.
It might interest you to know,
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
that I am the sound of rain on the roof.
I also happen to be the shooting star,
the evening paper blowing down an alley
and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.
I am also the moon in the trees
and the blind woman’s tea cup.
But don’t worry, I’m not the bread and the knife.
You are still the bread and the knife.
You will always be the bread and the knife,
not to mention the crystal goblet and–somehow–the wine. dd
Billy Collins
The Genius of Billy Collins is the way he plays with the conventions and history of poetry, the way he reinvents the traditions and art that has come before him and then twists them to both pay honor to his predecessors while also creating his own original work. This poem for instance is a sent up to Shakeaspeare’s most famous Sonnet: “My mistresses eyes are nothing like the sun”, and the entire tradition of Litany (that is romantic worship) Poetry. But Billy can tell you all of this better in person:
I’m taking The 100 Thing Challenge, wherein I slowly and thoughtfully whittle my belongings down to 100 Things in an effort to simplify my life, become a more conscious consumer, gain a little clarity, loose some clutter, save some money, and find some peace. Want to join me? Here’s the introduction.
I spent some time last weekend making a list of everything I own. Well, correction: making a list of some of the things I own. After the first 500 things or so it got to be a little tedious and I stopped, because the list-making served it’s purpose: to show me that I have way to many unnecessary Things.
A sampling: 45 t-shirts (definitely don’t need that many), 3 pairs of sunglasses (2 that haven’t been worn in over a year), 7 scarves (I wear 3), 2 copies of When Harry Met Sally (…), 17 pairs of shoes (I wear 4, maybe 5)… you get the idea.
I don’t need 45 t-shirts, or 17 pairs of shoes, or 2 copies of When Harry Met Sally. Duh.
This realization gave me the kick-start I needed to begin the whittling process. Over the last week I’ve gone through my closet and a few drawers, making gut decisions on what to keep and what to pass on. Later, I will go back through more thoughtfully, but for now, this was a good start, and good practice.
I gave one dress (never worn) to my roommate, who wore it last week. I shipped another dress (worn twice in 5 years) and a pair of shoes (ditto) to an old roommate (extra bonus: surprising an old friend with something nice!). The rest is in a pile in my living room, waiting to be taken to Goodwill.
This part of the challenge has felt good, but it hasn’t gotten hard yet. I’m also nowhere near 100 yet. I’m just sort of taking it piece by piece right now, slowly cleaning out drawers and cupboards and boxes. It’s been nice uncovering old Things, that I’ve loved, and it’s been refreshing to say goodbye to other Things, that I don’t love.
SuperForesters are all over planet Earth, all united in exploring how to redefine "environmentalism" and "sustainability" to encompass every aspect of our lives.
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