Tag Archive for 'cnn.com'

We’re All Related

Morning All,

Jackson here.

I’ve been fortunate enough in my life to do a great deal of traveling. And while I haven’t been everywhere, I have been to a lot of wheres, and one of the things that’s always stood out to me is the way that certain faces pop up again and again on folks all around the world.

You’re standing there looking at a crowd of people walking by, and you think: “hey, that looks like Mike! Fuzzier eyebrows and darker skin, but that’s Mike!”
Pretty soon, you’re seeing Mike-variations everywhere you look.

Well, as it turns out, that because in all likelihood those multiple doppel-Mikes all share a common ancestor. To go one step further, we ALL share a common ancestor.

Just saw this on cnn.com:

Humans nearly wiped out 70,000 years ago, study says

“The report notes that a separate study by researchers at Stanford University estimated that the number of early humans may have shrunk as low as 2,000 before numbers began to expand again in the early Stone Age.

“This study illustrates the extraordinary power of genetics to reveal insights into some of the key events in our species’ history,” said Spencer Wells, National Geographic Society explorer in residence.

“Tiny bands of early humans, forced apart by harsh environmental conditions, coming back from the brink to reunite and populate the world. Truly an epic drama, written in our DNA.”

Did you get those numbers?
2,000 people. Roughly half men and half women, are the mitochondrial grandparents of every human being you pass on the streets. The cat who sells you your paper and coffee in the morning? That’s your long lost grand-cousin, thrice removed.

That’s why we can’t keep harming one another. Using violence on your fellow human beings is like smacking your brother or sister: bad manners.

Look around at the faces you pass during your day, for these are the faces of your family.

Love to all,

-Jackson

World’s Oldest Oil Paintings Discovered

Wowzers! They may not look like much, but these oil paintings discovered in a cave in Afghanistan have completely rewritten the art history books.

Parse this:

“KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) — Scientists have found what they described this week as the earliest oil paintings ever discovered.

Afghan murals show oil painting was going on for centuries earlier in Asia than Europe.

Murals found on cave walls in Afghanistan prove that painting with oil had been going on in Asia for centuries before artists used the technique in Europe, scientists said this week.

Until now, art historians believed that oil painting started in Europe in the 15th century.

Scientists found the murals in a network of caves where monks lived and prayed in the Afghan region of Bamiyan, according to a statement on the Web site of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, where the ancient paintings were analyzed.”

Here’s the original story from cnn.com: World’s Oldest Oil Paintings

Ha ha ha! Love history. You think you’ve got it right and then blammo! Turns out you were off by a couple centuries.

It’s wonderful to think how much there is to relearn and reexamine.

Here’s to discovery!

The New Hotness: Free!

Ooooooh! You know what’s so hot right now?

Free.

It seems that there is money to be made in giving things away for free. We’re not sure how exactly, something to do with page clicks or banner ads or something, but the point is that the cost of good and services, especially online services is dwindling, and in many cases, that dwindling means that things are completely free.

Gmail: Free
Youtube: Free
Wikipedia: Free
CNN.com: Free
Slashdot: Free
Fandango: Free
Skype: Free

And now we’ve got two more runners in the “give it away, give it away, give it away now” race.

Photoshop and South Park.

Unlikely bedfellows, we know.

Check it:

(image via ars technica)
Ars Technica – “Photoshop now free”

And:

(from killerstartups.com)

Seriously, go to South Park Studios and watch every episode from every season, streaming instantly, when and where you want it.

Free! All for free!

What’s next?

Free cars? Free houses? Free clothes?

Where will it all end?

We’re excited to find out!