The Great Pacific Garbage Patch within the North Pacific Gyre, is now twice the size of Texas, and still many people are not yet aware of it. The patch is a result of marine pollution such as dumping from large ships, as well as every day litter on beaches and coast. But most of it, believe it or not, is garbage that has been blown by wind off of land. In fact, an estimated 80% of the garbage in the patch comes from land based sources, whereas only 20% comes from ships. What exactly is in the patch? Plastic. The answer is always plastic. Plastic is a synthetic material invented by man that never degrades. Some love it just for that reason.

Unfortunately, this is plastic’s biggest fault. Our culture of disposable plastics like bottled water, packaging, grocery bags, single serving containers, etc. has not yet replaced “real plastic” with green biodegradable versions. Plastic does not biodegrade, it just photo degrades, meaning that it breaks down visually until it becomes so small and invisible while still maintaining its toxic molecular structure that it makes its way into the food source of the smallest of aquatic organisms– plankton. The key to life in the oceans. Plankton is the most abundant life form on earth, and now in the plastic gyre, it is found only 1 to each 7 pieces of floating plastic.

This isn’t the only organism to ingest our plastic waste– sea turtles, fish, jelly fish, and others– are all known to have mistaken brightly colored bits of plastic as food. Not only is the plastic non-ingestible and can do all sorts of harm to their stomachs and throats (imagine swallowing a frisbee every day), but plastic contains a host of toxic chemicals like cancer causing BPA (bisphenol A) and Polysterene (which contains poisons like flame retardants and benzene, known carcinogens). The plastic also absorbs other organic pollutants in the water like DDT (the banned pesticide), PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and others which are known as endocrine disrupters, meaning that they alter the levels and state of hormones of the animals that ingest them. And this isn’t just about the fish turning androgynous– the humans like us that eat them can be greatly affected too. All those warnings about women eating fish during pregnancy? They’re not only because of mercury content, but also because of toxic chemicals that have been absorbed by sealife through the ingestion of plastics which have in turn absorbed these chemicals.

One of the animals most greatly affected is the Albatross. This starring character from Coleridge’s The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner is severely threatened by our current consumptive habits. Specifically, the Black Footed Albatross and Laysan Albatross, who make their home on isolated tropical islands in the North Pacific Gyre, are currently considered an endangered species. Not only are they accidentally caught by longline fishing, but they are prone to eating the colorful pieces of floating plastic that resemble food in the garbage patch. The plastic causes all sorts of havoc in their stomachs, and leaves them full with less room for real food. Parents of albatross chics bring these plastic bits resembling food back to their hungry chics, who’s stomachs fill up too quickly with poisons and in-digestible materials. They barely make it a few months on this diet.

Chris Jordan, a photographer that deals with ideas surrounding America’s vast consumption habits and its resulting consequences, took a trip out to the Pacific Gyre and Garbage patch and found a gut wrenching subject for a new body of work. The stomach of baby albatross chics. What he found was truly shocking and horrific, even unbelievable. But believe it. This is photography in the classical sense in that he is photographing what already exists in front of him without additional creation or manipulation.

“These photographs of albatross chicks were made just a few weeks ago on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.”

“To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world’s most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent.”

The images are straight-forward in their approach, photographed from a similar vantage point and distance, leaving the viewer with nowhere to go but facing the reality of what he’s setting in front of them. Various states of death and decay are portrayed, from some birds that seem fairly in tact, like their death might have occured just a few days ago, to others that are merely a pile of bones. However, it becomes clear right away the message and purpose of the photographs. Chris is clearly highlighting the contents of these baby chics’ stomachs– plastic. The closer and longer you look, the more you can identify. Fishing line is prevalent, as are hundreds of bottle caps, can openers, cigarette lighters, stuff you wouldn’t imagine. If humans ate these things on a daily basis we would suffer a great deal. Now imagine a baby bird, a fraction of our size, eating the same thing. Eating our garbage which it mistakes as food. Why are we using a material that is meant to last forever to make things designed to be used for only a few seconds and then tossed away?

There is a desperation apparent in these pictures. It is the result of the death and decay in the photographs, but also in the feelings of disgust and horror the viewer is experiencing. Chris is showing us the direct result of our habits. He is making the clear connection between society’s consumptive and wasteful habits and the consequences of that. He is showing us that our garbage doesn’t just disappear at night never to be thought of again. That is has dire consequences, and not just for an animal thousands of miles away, but also closer to home, in the food that we eat and the ocean in which we swim. We have altered the composition of the ocean forever. Now, every sample of water or sand from anywhere in the world, contains plastic. Is this the world we want to leave for our children and our grandchildren?

If you’d like to hear Chris talk about the ethics involved in photographing these birds (ie. no plastic was added or moved in the process), you can do so via this 2 minute clip on vimeo. And to see more of his work, please visit his website.

“All art is quite useless”

“If I die…what a beautiful death! To die in the exercise of your passion”

As we went to bed I managed to get beautiful shots of Dunedin submerging into the night. The wind was just a light breeze. Then, Katka had to go to Jane (or do girls also go to John?) and my flip flop got stuck in the sliding door, which resulted in rather chilly rest of the night in the camper van.

We get up the first time at 07:30 to the van rocking heavily with wind gusts. After solving the “flip-flop” issue we still chill till 08:30. Some cold front has moved in, bringing heavy clouds, strong winds and occasional horizontal shower with it.

We drive back to Dunedine and emerse ourselves in Cadbury’s world of chocolate. The tour takes about 40min and includes melted chocolate tasting and also viewing a chocolate waterfall in one of the silos.

Content we get groceries across the street, drive around this beautiful city with steep streets and georgeous old buildings and go check out the steepest street in the world (19 degrees incline). We first drive up Baldwin St. and then I have a “wonderful” idea of running up the street. Badly out of shape I get tunnel vision 90% up and end up walking the last 20m. My lungs still hurt!

We drive back through the town, admire some of the old cathedrals and warehouses. Then we park on the main street, take a walk around, check out a few surf shops, chat with friendly staff and grab tea and ginger flavoured latte at Starbucks. In one of the surfshops we chat with the girls and ask about “free” showers and she “again” brings up the great idea of public swimming pool. We drive there, “invest” into swimming goggles and after great 1km swim and NZD 5.50 p.p. entrane fee, leave clean. Observation: who came up with the idea of separating cold and burning hot water pipes? You either burn yourself or freeze?

Though the weather has been scatchy, we decided to book the animal watching tour with Elm Wildlife Tours. We drive to Portobello on Otago Peninsula and wait for the mini- bus to pick us up. Warren, our drive and guide is very nice and knowledgable. He actually visited Poprad in Slovakia and caught us off guard asking if we know where Dedinky is. We don’t! First we drive over the green hills covered in sheep to the other side of the peninsula. We see some sea gulls, black backs, kingfisher, royal spoonbills, pied stilts, variable oystercatchers, black swans and other birds which I unfortunately can’t name. Then we take a tour at the Royal Albatross Center. We learn that albatross are a lot like humans. They mate for life, sometimes they switch partners, the oldest recorded bird was 62 yrs old before it disappeared, they are solitary when on the ocean but reunite with their mate on land, if he/she doesn’t show up the first year they come back again and only after two years do they look for a new one, they can fly at max of 120km/h, furthest recorded distance they travel in a day is over 1000km and they can live out at sea for years without coming back to the land, as they can hydrate from salty water. Their wing span is up to 3,3m and since they are mainly gliders they do not really flap their winds that much. After the presentation and a brief movie we go up to the observation hideout. They are stunning! We watch some 8-10 albatross soaring in the strong winds. Words can’t express what we feel watching these massive but gracious birds.

From here we drive along the hills and low tide bays to the next stop. We park on top a hill surrounded by sheep and walk down to the green/dark blues heavy seas to observe a colony of Fur seals. Some of them just rest while others ars a bit more active. We see a young cub only few hours old bothering the mother tired from the birth. We walk back up the hill in chilly winds and then walk down to another beach where we see sea lions playing in the waves and one of them just goes ballistic and swims “butterfly” style for good 100m. We watch a yellow eyed penguin walk right by us. They are the rarest in the world with only 5000 of them left. Then we hide in a shelter on the beach and actually witness “landing” of other 6 of these cute little birds. To see them swim out, stand up, rearrange and re-waterproof their fathers and then walk towards us is just awesome. They actually follow through and climb the hill behind us all the way to their nests. The hill is good 200m high! Amazing. This tour is not cheap by any means (NZD 258,- for the two of us) but it was worth every penny. We thank Warren as he drops us back at the van and after short drive park for the night in Portobello. What an amazing blessing to be able to observe animals an birds in their own habitat!!!

Explore the incredible Galapagos in the company of expert naturalists in a luxurious vessel.

…to be an albatross.

Ungainly on the ground, awkward, clumsy. That’s how I feel. I stumble through life, without any plans; I used to have them, you know.

Once in the air though, an albatross is among the most graceful of all birds – they can fly for hours, and they need aspire to nothing. If only I could learn to fly through life like an albatross airborne, rather than stumble through like an albatross grounded…

This video has no real relevance – I just like Corrosion of Conformity.

Fucking hate feeling like this though…

Admittedly this post is a tad early, but I’m ready to get these holidays started! I’m actually not traveling this Thanksgiving, but I figured you might be traveling … even if it’s just be from Big D to Funkytown. (That’s Dallas to Ft. Worth for you non-DFWers.)

And what does a good road trip or plane ride need besides great company? Good tunes, man. So in honor of the turkey that sacrificed himself (or tofu for all you weirdos), here’s some tryptophanic tunes. Bon Appetit!

1. Half Way Home • TV on the Radio
2. Two Weeks • Grizzly Bear
3. Shiny • The Decemberists
4. Hideaway • Karen O and the Kids
5. Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want • She & Him
7. Turn a Square • The Shins
8. Albatross, Albatross, Albatross • Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
9. Lisztomania • Phoenix
10. Dashboard • Modest Mouse
11. Shampoo Suicide • Broken Social Scene

………………………………………………………………………………………

Want more mixed well? Check the archives here.

These photographs of albatross chicks were made in September 2009 on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.

To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world’s most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent.

~Chris Jordan
October 2009

http://www.chrisjordan.com/
http://www.midwayjourney.com/

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/center/articles/2009/cnn-11-03-2009.html

Jag har tidigare bloggat om nyheten att sopor som driver runt i världens hav bildar stora sammanhängande sjok som blir som flytande öar och tar upp allt mer plats i haven.  Nu såg jag på nätet att dumpade sopor bidrar till att allt fler albatrossar går en för tidig död till mötes. Fåglarna vet inte bättre än att de tror att allt som flyter på ytan eller strax under kan vara mat och fångar det i tron att det är fisk eller smådjur och sväljer det helt. Sen går de en grym svältdöd till mötes. Detta är ju för bedrövligt att det får fortgå så.

Engångständare överlever Albatrossar i livslängd.

Bilderna är från http://chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=11

I came across the most disturbing photographs today, courtesy of the website Life Without Plastic. Chris Jordan is a photographer who recently spent some time on Midway Atoll, “a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific” as he describes it on his website. There, he found a few of the tens of thousands of albatross chicks who have perished with bellies full of human plastic waste fed to them by their parents.

If there exists a more powerful visual cue of the horrific impact that we ignorant humans are having on this planet, I don’t want to see it. I warn you, it’s pretty heart-wrenching. Please see Mr. Jordan’s website here and click on the “Midway: Message from the Gyre” link to see the collection.

Please – stop using disposable plastics! And for the love of the planet, RECYCLE!

Con questo post su Midway, ultimo lavoro del fotografo Chris Jordan, si apre la collaborazione di Fabio Severo con minima & moralia. Fabio è fondatore e autore del blog hippolytebayard, uno spazio che ospita interessanti ragionamenti sulla fotografia contemporanea e interviste esclusive con alcuni dei protagonisti. Ci sembrava importante aprire un canale di comunicazione con questa forma espressiva anche perché le speculazioni sulla fotografia e, più in generale, sullo statuto delle immagini sembrano avere l’incredibile capacità di dirci dove ci troviamo.

di Fabio Severo

Questa fotografia mostra gli oggetti di plastica rinvenuti nello stomaco di un giovane albatross di Laysan, raccolti e disposti dalla dott.ssa Cynthia Vanderlip, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Hawaii.
Foto: Rebecca Hosking/Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society

Atollo di Midway, “a più di duemila miglia dal continente più vicino”, alcune settimane fa.
Carcasse di piccoli di albatross fotografati come reperti investigativi, la stessa immagine per ogni animale morto, la più triste forma di tipologia fotografica. Dentro ciò che è rimasto di questi uccelli, e dove una volta c’era il loro stomaco piccoli oggetti di plastica dai colori sbiaditi formano composizioni astratte, racchiuse dallo scheletro degli animali. Questo è Midway, l’ultimo lavoro di Chris Jordan, una documentazione del disastro ambientale che sta accadendo in “uno dei più remoti santuari marini”, vicino a ciò che è stata chiamata la Great Pacific Garbage Patch, un vortice di spazzatura al centro dell’Oceano Pacifico del Nord che si stima sia diventato grande almeno quanto lo stato del Texas.

Difficile pensare un modo più forte di esprimere come l’idea di un luogo incontaminato nel nostro pianeta sia praticamente perduta, una volta che ci si rende conto che questi cuccioli in fondo sono stati uccisi dai loro stessi genitori che li hanno nutriti con spazzatura che hanno raccolto dall’oceano credendo fosse cibo.

Dopo Running the Numbers, in cui aveva realizzato enormi immagini utilizzando migliaia e migliaia di diversi oggetti la cui massa rappresentava la portata dei principali dati dell’inquinamento e della produzione di massa, Jordan cambia drasticamente approccio pur indirizzando il suo lavoro verso le stesse problematiche globali: mentre nella precedente serie le immagini erano assemblate dall’autore in dei murali di strati di informazioni e di significato che quasi schiacciavano lo spettatore, qui la realtà parla da sola, come lui stesso tiene a dirci. “Neanche un singolo pezzo di plastica presente in queste fotografie è stato mosso, disposto, manipolato o alterato in alcun modo. Le immagini riproducono l’effettivo contenuto dello stomaco di questi uccelli”, scrive Jordan.
La stessa persona che ha prodotto quei mosaici che nascondevano terribili verità dietro immagini innocue ora ci mostra come quegli oggetti che lui stesso manipolava possono presentarsi in composizioni ancora più assurde: creature viventi che celano l’impossibile nei loro stomaci. La natura è quindi ora letteralmente invasa, come le muraglie di merci di Jordan suggerivano che stesse accadendo. Ed è riuscito a esprimerlo nel modo più semplice possibile, ritornando ad una delle radici dell’immagine fotografica stessa: la registrazione della realtà.

In fotografia spesso si sceglie di affrontare problematiche sociali, dichiarando di cercare una qualche sorta di verità e suggerendo un “Io c’ero” del fotografo, sostenendo le immagini con la verità della storia che queste vogliono raccontare. Ma spesso queste immagini sono confuse, mostrano poco e cercano di colpire lo spettatore con uno stile aggressivo. Non c’è verità riconoscibile in questo tipo di fotografie, ma le loro didascalie ci informano di un luogo, di persone, di un momento che starebbero mostrando e noi quindi in qualche modo le crediamo vere, le assumiamo come elementi della storia, come una forma distorta di prova.
Ma con Midway l’atto che il fotografo compie dicendo “è esattamente come state vedendo” ritrova una dignità e un’importanza, l’affermazione di verità si trasforma in un’assunzione di responsabilità e il compito diventa raccogliere tracce da un luogo lontano e mostrarle nel modo più fedele possibile.

Paolo Pellegrin, uno dei fotografi in prima linea della Magnum, ha detto: “Mi interessa di più una fotografia ‘incompiuta’, una fotografia che sia suggestiva e che possa suscitare una conversazione o un dialogo. Esistono immagini che sono come chiuse, finite, in cui non c’è modo di entrare.” Che possiamo dire delle immagini di Midway allora? Sono immagini “incompiute” così come lo intende Pellegrin, oppure sono “chiuse” e “finite”?
Raramente mi è capitato di vedere un lavoro che abbia affrontato una tematica sociale in modo così forte come Jordan ha fatto con queste immagini, raramente ho visto uno stile visivo semplice, sincero e tanto efficace come questi ritratti post mortem di un’innocenza primordiale. La cosiddetta fotografia documentaria qui esprime il suo senso più profondo, quello di ‘produrre documenti’, proprio come un autore così apparentemente ‘manipolatore’ come Chris Jordan è riuscito a fare.

All images except image n.1 © Chris Jordan

When you think of the albatross what comes to mind? Of an enormous seabird? Of a loyal parent travelling the world’s oceans in search of food for their young? Of an incredibly long-lived bird of up to 60 years?

However you may not be aware that 18 of the world’s 22 species of albatross are at serious risk of extinction. The reason? Introduced species like rats eating eggs and young birds, but also the hooks used in long-line fishing. The albatross tries to snatch squid and fish off of these lines but get the hooks caught in their throats resulting in an agonising death. 100,000 birds are killed by long-line fishing each year.

They really are true ocean going birds, spending the vast majority of their lives at sea, only returning to land occasionally to feed their young. They can travel tens of thousands of kilometres on each journey. One bird was known to travel 1,800 km in 24 hours, this would add up to 320,000 km in one year! That’s about eight times round the Earth each year!

Wandering albatross (RSPB)

So what can be done to protect these amazing animals?

The RSPB and their international partners are involved in a campaign to protect the birds, they outline many things that can be done to prevent them being caught on lines. People can help by donating to the RSPB – this could by streamers that would be attached to lines, or bird identification guides for fishing boats.

More sad yet amazingly revealing photos of the effects of our throw away society

seen here by Chris Jordan.

News

• Five British soldiers are killed in Afghanistan.
• Election results: Republicans Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell win the governorships of New Jersey and Virginia respectively, but Democrat Bill Owens pulls off an upset in NY-23.
• A slim majority in Maine rejects gay marriage.

Green

• Some new photos illustrate the impact our dependency on plastic (and our inability to dispose of it properly) has on marine wildlife.
  

Miscellaneous

• The U2 concert at the Rose Bowl that I was at was a record-breaker!

The Otago Peninsula - just outside of Dunedin

All these lambs may be cute, but they’re starting to cramp our style! We had plans for a couple of really cool hikes in Dunedin, but when we got there we found out that the tracks had been closed for lambing season because they were on private land. Bummer.

Instead, we spent an afternoon touring about the Otago Peninsula. I feel a bit like a broken record, but I have to say it… it was gorgeous (just like all of New Zealand). Dunedin is a big university town, but the hills and cliffs of the Otago Peninsula makes the exam special happy hours seem a million miles away.

The view of Dunedin from the Otago Peninsula

I was super excited about our trip out to the peninsula because of the Albatross colony at Taiaroa Head. Albatross are the giant (wingspan 3m) white birds that spend most of their lives at sea; this particular colony is the only mainland colony in the southern hemisphere, and is now a protected nature reserve. It’s Spring down here, so it is also nesting time. Since 19 of the 21 species of Albatross are threatened by extinction, nesting time is treated very carefully at the colony, and visits are not allowed. Although I was a little disapointed not to see them, I can appreciate and respect that it is better to close the reserve and give them so peace and quiet!

Albatross in flight. Photo credit: Royal Albatross Colony & Centre

The roads were very narrow and windy, but luckily there was very little traffic!

Beautiful pasture and hills

The girl we were couch surfing with told us that we had to check out Sandfly Bay and the sea lion colony. On the eastern side of the peninsula the coast at Sandfly Bay was very exposed and it was a really windy day. We could barely stand straight at the view point, so we decided not to go down onto the sand dunes… personally, I’m not a big fan of being turned into a piece of human sand paper.

A bit windy and wavy at Sandfly Bay

Fits of giggles as we were almost blown away!

Miranda won the contest for "Best Hair" today!

Back in Dunedin, I watched a ‘classic’ New Zealand flick called Black Sheep. I usually don’t watch horror films, but I was assured that it wasn’t actually scary. It wasn’t, but it was hilarious. I would consider it an essential component of any trip to New Zealand.

"An experiment in genetic engineering turns harmless sheep into blood-thirsty killers that terrorize a sprawling New Zealand farm" - IMDb

I will never look at sheep the same way again.

if you ever wanted to be jonathan livingston seagull, this video is for you.

I have spent a couple of hours over the last week or two reading and viewing Chris Jordan’s video blog about his “Midway Journey.”  At www.midwayjourney.com, Chris shares photos and video clips as he journals his experience walking amid the decimation of young Albatross birds on the Midway Atoll.  As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, Chris has some truly exceptional insight into the current state of waste on our planet.  I’m going to come right out say that this guy is a true visionary, a rare genius of visual communication.  Given that I am a teacher of visual arts, that statement is not to be taken lightly.  Chris has an ability to allow us to see realities about our world that we simply cannot (or chose not to) see.  Chris’ works encourages us to break down the barriers that exist in an age in which we are bombarded with statistics and factual information.  Chris has an exceptional ability to use a visual media to inspire change. 

The Midway Atoll is an oasis of sand, coral (and now plastic waste) in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles from the nearest continent.  Chris’ new photographic work documents the decimation of thousands of baby Albatross birds that occurs each year on the Midway Atoll.  Chris explains that, “The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.”

Some may find the visuals that Chris has captured to be disturbing or disgusting.  Regardless, the images speak clearly – and very loudly – about the impact of our ways of life and mass consumption and waste.  Statistics and facts attempt to communicate that our human mass consumption is causing significant changes to our planet.  There is a plethora of information outlining that our ways of living are responsible for the destruction and extinction of exceeding species of life.  However, statistics and facts lack emotion and immediate connection to our reality.  This is where Chris’ work truly comes to life.  Chris’ images do what statistics and facts often cannot.  They make us feel our impact.  These images make these realities actually matter to us.  The message is extremely clear.

With a name like Worlds of Wordcraft, it goes without saying that we play a substantial amount of video games in this class. So far, it’s been mostly contained to Lord of the Rings Online, but this is changing with the introduction of Neverwinter Nights 2. Now, I wouldn’t consider myself a gamer; I’m nowhere close to that. In fact, outside of what’s required for this class, I haven’t played video games once. I have, however, dabbled in video games over the years. I’ve owned a few game consoles, starting with the Sega Genesis, and including the Nintendo 64 and Xbox 360. Yet, not once has any aspect of my life, whether academic, personal, or otherwise, suffered. I play them when I have time, and enjoy doing so.

The games in this class, however, I do not enjoy. Don’t get me wrong; they’re both two great games, but just not my cup of tea. I guess that quests are just for certain people, and I am not one of them. This doesn’t bother me, nor should it bother the game designers, or the professors. After all, you can’t please everyone.

I don’t spend my free time playing computer games. This class  gives us that option, and suggests that we do. Under normal circumstances, this would be a conflict. However, one of the great things about Worlds of Wordcraft is its flexibility. For the most part, we’re only required to spend a minimal amount of time playing them. We’re encouraged to play more, if we desire, but not forced to. Our gaming experience has no effect on our grade, and I like it that way. These games aren’t for me, so I play them minimally. I’ll play them as much as I need to, and won’t forego my responsibilities in the class, but I won’t play them beyond what’s necessary. Therefore,  I don’t feel like playing games takes away from my personal and academic lives.

In fact, only once have I felt like playing these games was a burden. This occurred while I was writing the second paper. I needed all the time I had to write, and during that time was my one opportunity to go on a raid with the class and collect pictures of the old forest. Obviously a conflict arose, and I ended up writing instead. I was forced to compromise, and take solo pictures of the area, and of myself being eaten by the weakest of monsters. That being said, gaming for the class has not been an albatross around my neck.

-Matt Thumser

Midway: Message from the Gyre By Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan’s work inspires me as an artist and confronts me as a human being.  A few years ago I encountered Jordan’s “Prison Uniforms, 2007″ a 6 panel 10ft x 23ft photograph. It depicted 2.3 million folded prison uniforms, equal to the number of Americans incarcerated in 2005. Initally I did not know what I was looking at, so I searched out the text and after recalibrating what I had been looking at with the title I was profoundly effected.

The Midway images are a equally morbid and beautiful. The sadness and suffering captured in the photos is so painterly it is almost as Anselm Keifer arranged the plastic and feathers.

Many artists struggle with wanting to make the world a better place with their art. Everyday passionate debates and strong convictions fall on the deaf ears of our brushes and chisels. How can an artist use their passion and most importantly their art practice to effect real change? I have been telling anyone who would listen to watch/ listen to Kate Grenville’s Artist in a time of climate change lecture. The conversation about our planetary reality needs to happen in this society, not every painting can be Eco-Guernica nor should be. I agree with Grenville that artists have a unique set of talents that persuade and enlighten, Chris Jordan is one of those artists.

Death by plastic.

Today I ran across a photo blog that spoke to the evils of dumping garbage in the ocean. Apparently, there is a floating garbage dump in the Pacific that is estimated to be the size of TEXAS! The contents of this dump are ingested not only by sea life, but by birds as well. The photos above drive home an “incovenient truth” – that all of our “convenience” advancements are ultimately going to be our undoing. We are going to be the instruments of our own demise. I know that sounds incredibly pessimistic for me, but the photographs bothered me that much. And yet, for every plastic bottle I might save from the garbage, there are hundreds that are littered along the highways. What’s the point, then? I guess the point is that I have to answer to my own conscience.

So this is isn’t exactly a new video (it came out in August this year), but it is kinda cool, if a bit wierd. If you like this style you should check out other videos by director Matt Daniels (http://www.thinklab.com/), they are basically in the same vain, but watch them in HD because they look awesome!

If you liked that you should also check out the Dirty Projectors video for ‘Stillness is the move’

god llamas are cool

This is a much different entry than a lot of my readers are used to.  I just felt like it was important enough to let a a few people know what’s happening out there that we don’t see everyday.  It’s not too often that I start taking a political stance on things.  I don’t really feel the need to try and persuade anyone away from his or her beliefs, but sometimes there are problems in this world today that are just plain obvious, no matter where you come from or what you believe.  And most of the time, we’re oblivious to the obvious.  I was passed along a link earlier today about the rapid depleting albatross population, which is, of course, our fault.  I know the environment isn’t at the top of most people’s list of “things to un-fuck up” but in all honesty, it’s something that we’ve taken for granted for far too long.  This post is a collection of albatross carcasses captured on the Midway Atoll, which is a small stretch of sand in the middle of the North Pacific.

Here’s an excerpt from the site:

“These photographs of albatross chicks were made just a few weeks ago on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.

To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world’s most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent.”

Here’s the link to the rest of the photographs. And a short video detailing the source of the problem.

Kinda makes you think…