I am going to keep this short, but I had to find time to post this. Only a week until I move so not much time for anything right now. Please see the large photo below of a lighthouse sculpture by Japanese artist Takanori Aiba. It is fantastic! The comments (indented below) are from the Twisted Sifter website where I first saw this sculpture.
As a follow-up from yesterday’s Picture of the Day, the Sifter was compelled to do a full feature on Takanori Aiba’s incredible miniature sculptures. The level of detail and intricacy in his work is truly mind-blowing. Each sculpture is like a miniature world, bursting with life and stories.
This article may be a bit outside the scope of this website, but then maybe not.
Everybody loves a lighthouse, whether it is on the sea, in your garden or in your computer as is this PC/Mac program called Minecraft. This may not be to everybody’s interest but I am sure there are a few of my readers out there who play the game and might be interested.
I have never explored Minecraft, but a short description will more than help you understand the fascination. I might even give it a try. You all know my fascination with Lego!
The literal description: Minecraft is a first-person, free to play indie PC/Mac game created by one person, with crafting, building and exploration at its center. The graphics are straight out of 1991. There are no characters and there is no story. There are none of the “production values” that define gaming these days, but within those narrow confines lies one of the most innovative and endlessly fascinating game in existence… and it’s still in Alpha.
While there are various versions and builds available out, there are three basic play-modes to Minecraft: Single Player Creative, Multiplayer Creative, and Single Player Survival. All three plop you down into a huge, open world, filled with different natural resources you can exploit and bend to your will.
Single Player Creative mode is like an infinite LEGO set. You can create fantastic structures out of basic building blocks all day if you’d like. You can try it out for free, in-browser, right here. Multiplayer Creative is the same deal, with others. – g4tv.com
So, here is a short video on how to build a Minecraft lighthouse:
For an update on what a Mise Tale is then please see Mise Tales One.
Power supply resumes at Unoosaki lighthouse in Soma 2 November 2012 The Unoosaki lighthouse in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, has resumed full operations after power was restored 19 months after the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami.
As a result, the lighthouse is now fully able to help ships safely navigate the waters off Fukushima Prefecture.
The Japan Coast Guard’s office in the prefecture, the Fukushima Coast Guard Office, unveiled the lighthouse to the media on Nov. 1, which is observed as “lighthouse day” in Japan [I did not know that!]. . . . more
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“Bubble Delight” by Cecile & Ronaldo Lobo of Bridgeport“For the Birds” by John Sudell of Greenwich
A model lighthouse made by a Bridgeport couple is helping to light the way for visitors in The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk as part of the aquarium’s 11th annual “Festival of Lighthouses.” – more
You may have heard of this John Carpenter film – myself, I have never seen it. I was going to write about it, but May, the author at Completely Coastal has done such a good job, I thought I would turn you over to her. Enjoy . . . [link]
A Northern California fishing town, built 100 years ago over an old leper colony, is the target for revenge by a killer fog containing zombie-like ghosts seeking revenge for their deaths. – Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
This is the first in a series of reviews on the new wave of British Columbia India Pale Ales (IPAs). This province already produces some Continue reading Mise Tales Fifteen→
As a lighthouse keeper, we watched every Winter and Spring for “Asian” debris to wash ashore around our lighthouse. Mainly we were interested in the glass fishing floats, but we came across hundreds of items every year, and this was in the years 1977 – 2001. Every piece of this debris was usually coated with goose-neck barnacles and other marine life which came from who knows where.
Now we are terrified of a few marine animals on a barge, or motorcycle coming ashore from the tsunami debris? Please read the article below and come to your own conclusion.
In my opinion, debris, with marine life, has been coming ashore around the world. How do you think isolated islands get populated?
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Our Ocean Backyard by Gary Griggs – Article #111
INVASION FROM THE SEA
A 66-foot long concrete and steel floating dock washed onto the Oregon coast near Agate Beach in early June. The Japanese consulate in Portland confirmed that the dock was one of four used by commercial fishermen for unloading squid and other catch at the port of Misawa, that had been ripped away from the coast during the March 2011 tsunami. It took about 15 months for the floating structure to make the roughly 5000-mile trip across the north Pacific, traveling about 10 miles a day.
Scientists from Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center discovered that the dock contained an estimated 100 tons of encrusting organisms, or about 13 pounds per square foot. These included several species of barnacles, as well as mussels, starfish, urchins, anemones, worms, limpets, snails and algae – dozens of species.
In thirty-two (32) years living on and beachcombing the British Columbia (BC) coast in many different areas, I still believe that the press is making a big, and false, hoopla over this.
Sure, every year debris comes on the western North American (NA) coasts in the wintertime – a lot of it from Asia (not only Japan!). This year seems to be an exceptionally good year for garbage with tides and currents working well together to bring it to the NA shores, and the debris is also supplemented by the Japanese tsunami of March 2011. Don’t panic! It has been happening every year, with or without the tsunami!
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The Story from Ms. McFarling:
Harley-Davidson ( Peter Mark / Kyodo News, Associated Press / May 2, 2012 ) A rusting Harley-Davidson from Miyagi prefecture, Japan, was discovered on a remote beach in British Columbia in late April and photographed May 2.
For months, West Coast residents have been bracing for an onslaught of items drifting toward us since last spring’s tsunami in northeastern Japan, which swept apartment buildings, cars, even entire villages, into the sea.
Now we are seeing the first trickle of that debris. A ghost ship arrived in the Gulf of Alaska this spring. A rusting Harley Davidson from Miyagi prefecture was discovered on a remote beach in British Columbia. A soccer ball found on an Alaskan island and marked with a personal message was returned to its delighted teenage owner in the tsunami-devastated town of Rikuzentakata.
Like dreams — or nightmares — these wayward bits of other people’s lives bring us closer to the distant disaster. They make the world smaller. A number of groups have started projects to reunite recovered possessions with their former owners. And one beachside town in Oregon is hoping tsunami “treasure hunting” will result in increased tourism.
But now that the first unlikely items have reached us, we’re also beginning to worry: Will the debris be radioactive? Will human remains turn up? Will mountains of scrap cover our beaches? One blogger callously suggested the Japanese government should pay for the cleanup.
In the early days of exploration a flag of ownership was placed upon new-found-lands to claim ownership, even though on the other side of the island, or bay there may have been another flag from a different country.
One problem with a flag – it doesn’t last very long.
But build a lighthouse and claim ownership and that light is visible to all peoples for years into the future. Build it high enough and it is visible for 360 degrees. Put some men on it and it becomes your property. Hmmm!
An impressive 33-metre-long aquarium went on display in Taipei, Taiwan on Friday at the opening ceremony of an aquarium expo.
The aquarium is believed to be the longest in the world and was built to celebrate Taiwan’s centennial this year. It features scenery and landmarks from around the island and 100 species of domestic cichlid fish.
The tank holds 28 tons of water and is made of tempered glass with an extra explosion-proof layer.
The aquarium has seven sections with nearly 30 modelled landmarks, including the Yehliu Geopark at the north coast, the landmark Taipei 101 building, Taiwan’s highest Jade Mountain, the Taroko National Park, and the Eluanbi Lighthouse down south. Each of the tanks is connected with a curved tank displaying waterfalls.
OK, what is it? Check out this Youtube page to see it in action!
From the webpage, it says:
It’s not a lamp in the shape of an evil toad. It’s a lamp that mimics the behavior of todais, a.k.a. Japanese lighthouses. Prior to today, I thought that todai meant all you can eat sushi. The Evul Todai Lighthouse Lamp brings color, aroma, and motion to any space and captures the serenity and handsomeness of white Japanese lighthouses.
I like it it! neat idea! But the price is a little steep for me. See the webpage here. Another site with more photos and story is located here.
