The Seed Vault, buried deep in the permafrost of Norway, is an undertaking by the world to store the seeds of all the world as a kind of back up drive for the biodiversity of the world; something we are rapidly losing as technology overruns the natural beauty of the planet. Seed vaults are nothing new, countries have been storing the templates for their basic agricultural foundations for decades, but this marks the first time the world has come together to create a single, high tech repository for seeds in a place that couldn’t suffer from power failure induced thaws by dint of its location.
Now that this process of recording our flora and fauna has begun, scientists will be able to study the genetic templates of seeds and potentially create genetic hybrids to thrive in areas less than conducive to supporting plant life. It’s not the scientific savior of our world, but a step in the right direction none the less. With a little luck it’s only a matter of time now until we get the gene bank and instant bio-engineered upgrades we’ve always dreamed of.
If you are in San Fransisco tonight I would recommend going to Gallery 1988 for the opening of Bittersweet, an exhibition of work by Kathie Olivas which includes a stunning array of custom vinyl toys, along with equally amazing paintings and prints. The show runs through March 22nd.
Not only can Jonny McGovern, known in his musical endeavors (though I’m sure it’s not limited to that field) as The Gay Pimp, write one hell of a catchy, hilarious pop tune but his videos are a gas. Even now, being long familiar with Jonny McGovern’s comedic and musical stylings, I can’t help tittering girlishly every time I hear “Soccer Practice”.
Part of me feels that the title should read S. Petersen’s Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters!!! as the exuberant enthusiasm that the phrase “Cthulhu Monsters” evokes is deserving of the additional punctuation.
The dwindling bee population is an issue that concerns us greatly. Not only do we enjoy the sweet fruits of bee labor, but the glorious gardens through which we wheel Ross on his day trips from “the home” would cease to exist were it not for the hard work of our striped mascot’s forebears.
Adam Makarenko is a photographer that grieves the tragic loss of the bee with us, producing stunning photographs of the world of Langstroth Range, a bee paradise in which they drift lazily among fields populated with only the most rare, delectable plants and take on a monstrous size more in keeping with the pants-shitting terror they inspire in the uninformed.
There remains no explanation for the mysterious disappearance of the bees, but if there is indeed a just and loving Creator in this universe it has transported them to this wonderland free from cell phone death rays and douchebag frat boys with a freezer and some string. Now if only I could find a saddle and a way in.
In sheer defiance of the World Wide Web Consortium's will, Ectomo was designed using a non-web-standard font. Luckily, it is included in the excellent font pack released by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, which can be freely downloaded in Mac and PC formats here. Ectomo should still look fine without it, though.
