Goose-Steppin’ at Zombie Lake

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For your Halloween pleasure…the 1981 B-flick (as in “bad”) Zombie Lake. A review from badmovies.org helps us set the stage:

A single female wanders through an idyllic copse sheltering a secluded gazebo, wherein she gets into her birthday suit and heads for the water. Before you can swallow that first fist full of popcorn, Ms. Skinny Dipper is getting dragged to her doom by a zombie wearing a costume patterned after the regular army uniform of either the Wehrmacht or Panzergrenadiers. Let me repeat that: An innocent nubile young woman is attacked by an Aqua Nazi Zombie while skinny dipping, in broad daylight, in a country lake.

h2o mp3: We Still Drink the Same Water – Teitur

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Teitur is 34-year-old singer-songwriter Teitur Lassen, who the NY Daily News described as “The Norse Whisperer.” He was born in the Faroe Islands, a lightly populated groups of islands between Iceland, Scotland and Norway. It is a place, he says, that is “an idyllic place for kids to grow up, because people can always see the water from wherever they are.”

We Still Drink the Same Water is from the 2008 release The Singer. The album has been called quiet, beautiful, harsh and contemplative, very natural and somehow Nordic sounding. It’s also been called melancholy, self-indulgent and unstructured, so you decide! This is a painful track about coping with the loss of a relationship.

Lyrics
I might take a holiday,
I need to get out of my own way and put an end to all of this running away.
I’m thinking that we might as well quench our thirst and get up where we fell.
Since we float in the same well we still drink the same water

It’s still the same, nothing has changed.
We still drink the same water.

Play the track

[audio:http://thirstyinsuburbia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/teitur-westilldrinkhesamewater.mp3]

Download We Still Drink the Same Water – Teitur
Low-fi 64kbps file for sampling.
Like it? Support the people who make music. Buy this track at iTunes or Amazon.com.


You Can’t Do your Laundry on Twitter

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And I don’t believe you can get “free water” on Facebook, either. In colonial Guatemala, people gathered at public water tanks and washbasins do the laundry. But the activity encompassed more than laundry; the public water basin was the gathering place to share news and gossip and build community connections.

That’s why today, many still use the public washbasins even though most of them have running water at home. In the post Water Tanks and Colonial Style Social Networks on antiguadailyphoto.com, Rudy Girón writes:

As I took these pictures, I took the time to talk to several of the women doing the laundry and I asked what were some of the reasons for utilizing the public washbasins even though most of them have running water at home. These are some of the answers:

  • Los lavaderos públicos, public washbasins are more comfortable because they are larger and the water is closer.
  • At the lavaderos públicos, public washbasins I get to see and talk to my friends and neighbors.
  • Los lavaderos públicos, public washbasins have plentiful of free water.
  • At the lavaderos públicos, public washbasins I get to see things and people, sort of free entertainment.
  • Los lavaderos públicos, public washbasins provide less distractions than being at home doing the laundry.
  • At the lavaderos públicos, public washbasins the temperatures are cooler and thus more comfortable.
  • Los lavaderos públicos, public washbasins are my only choice since I do not have running water at home.

This is part of the water series on antiguadailyphoto, which is worth a look–the photos and posts give a wonderful glimpse into the social, cultural and historical background on local water issues in Central America.

The Great Pumpkin, Water Storage Version

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The folks from Circleville, Ohio, sure know how to whip up some soaring enthusiasm for their annual Pumpkin Show, first held in 1903. (While it sounds quaint, it has grown into an extravaganza that attracts 400,000 visitors!)

The water tower, which holds a million gallons, was built in 1976 but it wasn’t until 1997 that it was painted to resemble a giant gourd. (The stem doesn’t really have a function, it was added for authenticity!)

Curious, semi-obscure fact: apparently, the water footprint of a pumpkin is similar to that of a cucumber, about 240 liters per kg. (Source) Perhaps someone who is a better number-slinger can calculate the water footprint of the 2009 Pumpkin Show “biggest pumpkin” winner. Dr. Bob Liggett set a new Pumpkin Show record this year with his 1,635.5 lb. winning entry.

Photo: Pickaway County Ohio State Extension

Nemo, txt u l8r

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What if you could send a text message to the fishes and find out first-hand how they’re doing? U R SO FINNY, LOL! Sound crazy? Of course, this is just crazy enough to be true.

The Amphibious Architecture project aims to remind us that the water is more than just a pretty reflective surface, it is a habitat that is a “teeming body that’s alive with organisms whose health affects our health while our activities affect their health.

From September 17 through November 7th, two sites along the East and the Bronx Rivers in New York will be installed with a network of floating interactive buoys with sensors below water and light emitting diodes (LEDs) above the water. The sensors monitor water quality and the presence of aquatic life. THe LEDs repond to the sensors, giving above-surface humans a visual cue as to what’s going on below.

Now, the texting part: an SMS interface allows “homo-citizens” to text-message the fish and receive real-time information about the river, and hopefully, spark a larger public interest and dialogue about local waterways. (You’ll get a message back that looks something like, Underwater it is now quiet. The last fish swam by 17 minutes ago. D O level is 7.6 mg/L which is mg/L average.

The project was commissioned for the Architectural League of New York’s exhibition Toward the Sentient City and was developed by xClinic Environmental Health Clinic at New York University and the Living Architecture Lab at Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

Halloween Costumes for the Water Obsessed

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Halloween is this Saturday! You haven’t gotten your costume together yet, you say? Thinking you’re “too serious” to dress up at all? Here are some costume ideas that will show the world you’re thinking about water all the time, all day every day, holidays included. (It goes without saying that many of these hunks of polyester and foam do not come in “green” and are quite unsustainable.)

Just consider this an investment in Halloween for the next several decades. This Raindrop costume from animalmascots.com is pricey at $1,279. (Don’t forget to include in your budget add-on expenses for the carrying case ($199) and “cooling vest” ($119).

Also from animal mascots.com; the $1,195 water bottle costume. Expensive, but pure…just like real bottled water! You’ll likely need the same budget-busting accessories as above.

The “Caught in the Rain” costume from spicylegs.com is only $17.91, but remember…it includes: Wig, Tie, and Umbrella but does not include shirt, pants, shoes or newspaper!

This fanciful Water Fairy creation from Kyotosong on Etsy is multiple shades of blue and white shimmery tulle that gives the appearance of water. Lillies with “water drops” accent the front of the dress as well as the wings. The wings are painted to match, with glitter accents and “water drops”. A reasonable $45 for this handcrafted item.

This blue fish mascot costume from milanoo.com “makes you vivid.” The head is shaped by special foam all covered with plush. The soles of the feet are water-proof, which is funny if you think about it. $125.99 and it’s yours.

This Toilet costume from costumecraze.com apparently does not come in dual flush. It’s $64.99, and not surprisingly, is in stock.

For this Toilet Paper costume you can do it the old-fashioned way and make it yourself for about $35, directions on instructables.com.

Many Small Choices, One Big Impact

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Brand new from GOOD, a leading web provider of infographic splendidness, is the video Your Daily Water Use, produced in conjunction with Whole Foods Market. From their description,

Thirsty? So is everyone else. We’re headed for a water shortage. Here’s how a few simple choices can reduce your daily water use by 1,213 gallons.

The water-saving suggestions on the video include a bit of pesky and perplexing water footprint data, but I suppose I’ll go ahead and make the switch from wine to beer for the greater good…at least through tailgate season. (The video includes a bouncy music track by Dim Dim that sounds a lot like my phone’s built-in ringtone!)

Word Up: The Photography of Shinichi Maruyama

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Born in Japan and now working in New York, artist and photographer Shinichi Maruyama engineers the collision of water and black India ink and captures the moment that the two meet at 7,500th of a second. Recent advancements in strobe light technology enable these stunning abstract images, where the camera can record the extraordinary detail of physical events that occur faster than our eyes can perceive them.

The series Kusho, which means “writing in the sky,” is reminiscent of Japanese calligraphy but executed in the air rather than on the flat surface of paper, using a variety of techniques to achieve a range of effects. Maruyama observes, “Not knowing what you are going to get impresses me strongly. We do now know what we have until we look at the actual photography.”

View the gallery of Kusho images at Shinichi Maruyama’s website

Information on Shinichi Maruyama via Bruce Silverstein Gallery

Kusho Installation View, Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York, NY

Kusho Installation View, Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York, NY

Kusho Installation View, Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York

Kusho Installation View, Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York

The Biggest Balls Of Them All

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Soccer Ball Water Tower, Mistlin Sports Park, Ripon, California (Thanks Adrian Mendoza, www.amenfoto.com)

Basketball Water Tower, Hebron, Illinois (Thanks, dharder9475 on Flickr)

Baseball Water Tower, Ellsworth, Illinois (Thanks, tlindenbaum on Flickr)
Water Tower Rend Lake Golf Course IL
Golf Ball Water Tower, Rend Lake Golf Course, Illinois (Thanks PJKnapp on Webshots Travel)

Beach Ball, Pensacola, Florida (Thanks, Andreas & Jo-Anne on PicasaWeb)


8 Ball Water Tower, Tipton, Missouri (Thanks, www.worldslargestthings.com)

Brittani and Kourtni Confront the Water Crisis

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(Click the letter image for a larger, more readable view!)

Dear Ethiopian Girlfriends,

Hey what’s up! We’re thinkin about ya cos the gals over at water.org posted up some snaps of you on Facebook. (Why don’t you have your own Facebook page?)

Annnywaaaay…Me and the girls were just chatting and were wondering…what’s the deal with all that freight you’ve got strapped across your backs?

I couldn’t figure it out, Tiffani thought you guys were on your way to class and those totes were your backpacks–styles being different over in Ethiopia and all. Since the weather there looks warm and  you’ve got towels around your waist, I told her you guys were probably on your way to the pool and those must be your float-y things.

So I texted Erin over at water.org, and we just about DIED when she told us that you guys were carrying WATER! When we asked her why you didn’t just didn’t get some out of the fridge, we were FLOORED when she told us that you spend practically all day every day getting water from faraway polluted sources, then have to carry those heavy things all the way home on your backs! (You must be WAY LATE for class!)

So right off we asked Erin for your address so we could UPS some Dasani right over, but Erin told us that wasn’t too practical, given where you live. She had the great idea for us to get in with the “Women Can’t” campaign they have going on to let more people know about the problem. So right then we all  friended it on Facebook and told all our peeps on Twitter. We even decided to skip the mall this weekend and send the bucks along to help out.

So send some NEW pics soon…this time, without that tank on your back!

Love and Hugs, Brittani and Kourtni

Women Can’t: Resources and Information at www.water.org, including avatars, backgrounds and wallpapers, posters and more.

Water.org on Twitter, on Facebook and on YouTube