assist you in finding the perfect parts and accessories. Please do not hesitate to call McLaughlin’s toll free at 1-866-531-0123 or visit our website www.FunOutfitters.com which now has Arctic Cat parts online. … arctic cat team visor beanie winter hat knit 2010 tan black snowmobile snowmobiling parts clothing accessories klim hmk new women men size color style sled sledding weather warm trail ride riding race racing lounge wear gear youth sale save instructional how to do it yourself fix …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HloNGYRImlo&hl=en

My Links : Best HDTV For You Convection Oven

The permanent Arctic sea ice that is home to the world's polar bears and usually survives the summer has all but disappeared, a Canadian researcher said Friday.University of Manitoba Arctic researcher David Barber said experts around the world believed the ice was recovering because satellite images showed it expanding, but the thick, multiyear frozen sheets have been replaced by thin ice that cannot support the weight of a polar bear.”Polar bears are being restricted to a small fringe of where this multiyear sea ice is. As we went further and further north, we saw less and less polar bears because this ice wasn't even strong enough for the polar bears to stand on,” said Barber, who just returned from an expedition to the Beaufort Sea.

via The Associated Press: Canadian researcher says arctic ice is thinning.

Lovely song…

I’m sure most of you are familiar with these images that have been circulating the blogosphere:

First, let me point out that Al Gore has failed at proving that Global Warming exists. That’s like trying to prove that Santa exists. Sure, wouldn’t it be dandy? But facts are facts and fiction is fiction. So, what does a has-been politician do when his life’s work has been proven time and time again to be a fraud? Well, if this has-been politician is Al Gore; he resorts to Photoshopping “evidence”. I mean, Photoshop trumps science, right? Wrong. Sorry, Al. It doesn’t. Just like whining about pregnant chads doesn’t win an election. YES, we all remember your whiny ass complaining about pregnant chads and dimples on ballots.

In the images above you can clearly see that several massive hurricanes have been Photoshopped. It’s been proven that hurricanes are at a 30 year low. Here are some graphs I found at Watts Up With That:

Both Northern Hemisphere and South Hemisphere AND therefore overall Global hurricane activity has continued to sink to levels not seen since the 1970s. Even more astounding, when the Southern Hemisphere hurricane data is analyzed to create a global value, we see that Global Hurricane Energy has sunk to 30-year lows, at the least. Since hurricane intensity and detection data is problematic as one goes back in time, when reporting and observing practices were different than today, it is possible that we underestimated global hurricane energy during the 1970s.

Using a well-accepted metric called the Accumulated Cyclone Energy index or ACE for short (Bell and Chelliah 2006), which has been used by Klotzbach (2006) and Emanuel (2005) (PDI is analogous to ACE), and most recently by myself in Maue (2009) , simple analysis shows that 24-month running sums of global ACE or hurricane energy have plummeted to levels not seen in 30 years.

Why use 24-month running sums instead of simply yearly values? Since a primary driver of the Earth’s climate from year to year is the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) acts on time scales on the order of 2-7 years, and the fact that the bulk of the Southern Hemisphere hurricane season occurs from October – March, a reasonable interpretation of global hurricane activity requires a better metric than simply calendar year totals. The 24-month running sums is analogous to the idea of “what have you done for me lately”. During the past 6 months, extending back to October of 2008 when the Southern Hemisphere tropical season was gearing up, global ACE had crashed due to two consecutive years of well-below average Northern Hemisphere hurricane activity. To avoid confusion, I am not specifically addressing the North Atlantic, which was above normal in 2008 (in terms of ACE), but the hemisphere (and or globe) as a whole. The North Atlantic only represents a 1/10 to 1/8 of global hurricane energy output on average but deservedly so demands disproportionate media attention due to the devastating societal impacts of recent major hurricane landfalls.

Interesting, indeed. Visit Watts Up With That for more information. Unless you’re a liberal. From what I understand; you liberals aren’t all that interested in facts and information. But, it’s there if you ever decide to quit being morons.

If you look at the second image I posted; the one with the faux-hurricanes… you’ll notice that the Arctic has magically disappeared! Funny, since the Arctic ice is currently at the SAME levels as 1979. The good people at Daily Tech pointed this out.

(click to enlarge)

Rapid growth spurt leaves amount of ice at levels seen 29 years ago.

Thanks to a rapid rebound in recent months, global sea ice levels now equal those seen 29 years ago, when the year 1979 also drew to a close.

Visit Daily Tech for more information.

Also, NASA points out that the average temperature of the water near the top of the Earth’s oceans has significantly cooled since 2003. CLICK FOR NASA ARTICLE

BBC has found that we have not observed any increase in global temperatures for the last 11 years. Yes, that’s over ONE DECADE. CLICK FOR BBC ARTICLE

So… tell me… Why does Florida appear to be dissolving in Al Gore’s lame Photoshopped images? What the hell happened to CUBA? Last time I checked; Cuba still exists. Also; look at the SIZE of those faux-hurricanes. Anyone who actually believes this Global Warming bullshit simply WANTS to. There is no other conclusion.

Here’s something fun:
Letting Al Gore know we aren’t falling for his junk science, Portland, Oregon 11/18/09

Wake up, people. He’s cashing in and making BILLIONS off of easily influenced MORONS.

- 41 degrees on the street, I’m sitting at my room and thinking about my diploma work. My diploma work is about Population of the Scandinavian Arctic (Northern part of Norway, Finland and Sweden). I’m not sure in 100% that it will be the title of my work, but it’s work name at the moment. There are a lot of articles about the Arctic on Internet; exactly I’ve found more about Alaska, Canadian North and Greenland. So I guess, it will be very important scientific research work.

Now I’m writing about definition of the Arctic by Arve Elvebakk. And I’m wondering that there are so many different criterions of defining the Arctic boundary: the Artic Circle, the 10 degrees July isotherm, occurrence of permafrost, areas inhabited by northern indigenous peoples, the polar tree line. According to Arve Elvebakk, the last one is a major criterion (Elvebakk, A. 2001. Definition of the Arctic for the CAFF flora group. In: CAFF technical report No. 10 Proceeding of the first International Conservation of Arctic Flora and fauna (CAFF) – Flora Group Workshop, 27.-29. March. pp 10-16.).

I know Arve Elvebakk since January of this year. He’s studied us at University of Tromso. His lectures were so interesting, had a lot of information about the Arctic. He was in all places of the Circumpolar World, and he has a lot of experience, expressions… He is great teacher, good man. I think he is really in love with his subject. And it’s so pity that we haven’t a teacher like him in our university.

More about my diploma work. The second Part will be about geographic and economic characteristic of the Scandinavian Arctic and a history of these territories. And in the third part I will show Population in more detailed: inhabitants, dynamic, migrations etc. And I’m thinking about the fourth part – about indigenous peoples. I think it’s more interesting thing because of we also have indigenous peoples, but it has a lot of differences in governmental supports for them. Of course our republic’s doing everything for helping them, but it’s nothing against countries of the Scandinavian Arctic.

Maybe it’s like that because Norway is the one of richest countries of the World. Who knows….who knows…

Award wining photographer, David Burdeny stunned me with his nature photography. Especially the arctic serie just shows, what a beautiful pieces of design our Earth contains :]

Via Iain Claridge

The biggest challenge to spending a winter at Greenland’s Summit Station isn’t the isolation, the dark, or even the cold. Rather the largest difficulty with living at and operating the station through the Winter Solstice and beyond is willing one’s fingers and brain to fire on all cylinders working outside in temperatures that range between -25ºC and -70ºC.

Life In The Far North

Check out the 2007 POLAR-PALOOZA video above with PFS’ Kathy Young for a good overview of life at Summit Camp during the summer. Although it was shot two years ago (before CH2M HILL purchased VECO), daily life remains remarkably similar.  Remove most of the people, the sunlight and knock the temperatures into the negative 20s and below, and you can imagine Summit in the winter.

This season’s five-person crew arrived Nov. 4 to operate Summit Station through the winter months, taking over for the five-person crew that tended the station after it closed for the season in late August. On Nov. 14, the team observed the last official sunrise/sunset until January 29, 2010.  They inhabit winterized buildings, share meal and housekeeping duties, and have about 300 movies to watch during downtime.

Game and movie room at Summit Camp's Big House. Photo: Karl Newyear

Clearly the team is there for much more than downtime. As manager Karl Newyear notes, they come for the self-reliance and the sense of adventure. ”It’s intriguing to me that humans can adapt to places as inhospitable to life as the top of the icecap,” he says.  But mostly they come because they’ve been hired to maintain the infrastructure needed to support almost 30 year-round science experiments housed at the station.

Meet The Crew

Mindng the Summit. The crew from left to right: Glenn Grant, Shane Brazzel, Karl Newyear (front), Katie Koster, Mark Melcon (aka Commander).

Fortunately, members of the experienced winter crew are well-suited to extreme temperatures. This rugged and hearty team brings collective polar experience to the job. Camp Manager Newyear spent 10 years as a marine projects coordinator in Antarctica. A logistics specialist with a Ph.D. in oceanography, Newyear lives in Parker, CO., when he’s not on ice.

"Business casual" means something different in Greenland. Karl Newyear in front of Summit Camp's Green House.

Mechanic Shane Brazzel comes to Greenland from Antarctica’s McMurdo Station, where he was a heavy equipment mechanic and on the construction crew. The dirt-bike-loving Californian works nine hours a day, seven days a week checking the generators, monitoring mechanical systems, operating and maintaining station vehicles (snowmobiles, Cat 933 track-loader, and Cat D-6 tractor), and making water by dumping buckets of snow into the melter.

Mark Melcon (aka Commander) is a polar legend with about 20 deployments to Antarctica, eight to Greenland, and one to Alaska. After spending last summer on the Summit construction crew, he’s back for the winter and maintaining his own personal brutal work schedule: rise at 4 a.m., begin working around 7:30 and average about nine hours a day.

Glenn Grant, science technician, is in Greenland for the first time after spending more than a decade in Antarctica. Since 1995, he has worked at Antarctic research stations at Palmer, McMurdo, and the South Pole, on both south polar research ships (Nathanel B. Palmer, Laurence M. Gould), and logged six winter seasons. When not in a polar region, he maintains residence in Port Townsend, WA, and works on other science projects, including some at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO, the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center, in the Bahamas, and aboard the NOAA research vessel RAINIER.

Glenn launches a weather balloon, one of the many responsibilities of the winter crew at Summit. Photo: Karl Newyear

Rounding out the team is NOAA science technician Katie Koster, who also spent her early fall working at Summit, thus adding an element of continuity and familiarity between the Phase I crew (which has scattered around the globe) and the current crew. Katie, a meteorologist, has observed weather at New Hampshire’s Mount Washington as well as at the South Pole (and she’s also a seasoned Summiteer, having worked the 2008 summer and phase I winter as well). An accomplished cyclist and runner, Katie also has been an ice hockey referee.

General Lifestyle

All in a day's work: Katie and Glenn head off to monitor science experiments for absent researchers. Photo: Karl Newyear

All adventurers, the self-selective staff in the far north say spending the winter in Greenland gives them the unique experiences of living in clean air without light pollution, having unrivaled views of the stars and aurora borealis.

With Internet access and routine communication with Polar Field Service staff  as well as colleagues in Kangerlussuaq, they aren’t entirely isolated. And despite the cold, they spend much of their time outside doing physical work. Those seeking an extra adrenaline rush can use one of the three spinning cycles, the rowing machine, free weights, or the rock-climbing practice board, and staffers have been known to strap cross-country skis (or snow kites) on.

Wind-affected snow surrounds Summit Camp in the winter. Photo: Bill McCormick

About Summit Camp

Located at the peak of the Greenland ice cap at 72°34′44.10″N 38°27′34.56″W. Summit is a scientific research station sponsored by the National Science Foundation, operated by CH2M Hill Polar Services (CPS) with research guidance from the Summit Science Coordination Office.

Visitors to this site will know that I’m preparing for a challenge of a lifetime, a scientific expedition to the Arctic Pole which will take place early next year. I’m doing this to raise money for the Fire Fighters Charity that does so much to help injured Fire fighters and if I ever I needed reminding why this is so important, it was the therapy session I attended at Harcombe House, in Chudleigh, Devon on Sunday. I met Fire Fighters who had suffered amongst other things snapped achilles tendons (apparently this is as painful as it sounds) and broken ankles who were being pushed, pulled and supported in their journey back to full fitness. My personal session involved physiotherapy advice, group circuit training and in depth session in the therapy pool whilst others did this plus work related exercises such as running out lengths of hose and climbing steps in breathing apparatus to simulate the tasks they will be returning to shortly. Throughout the day, I along with injured Fire fighters received the highest possible level of support, advice and attention from Nicky and Rob and I also left with a personal strength training programme in my very sweaty hands! This level of advice, support and therapy is only possible due to the facilities of the Fire Fighters Charity and as you would expect, it relies heavily on donations to keep the service going. I’m immensely grateful to the two corporate sponsors already on board, PBiGold and Airwave who have committed to support the Charity and to everyone who has made a donation so far on my justgiving site. I do have some space left on my Arctic kit if other companies want to be associated with this world first, I’m even prepared to carry a branded flag and fly it at the pole itself – how often does an opportunity like that come along! ITV and BBC news have confirmed they will be covering the story next year but what we will look like doing interviews at the end of the expedition doesn’t bear thinking about. Weeks of exhausting work, limited sleep, limited food and freezing temperatures are all certain, frostbite or polar bear bite marks? Let’s hope not. However, if the worst should happen, I know I couldn’t be in better hands than the Fire Fighters Charity and for that I’m incredibly grateful…

Even plants have a social life.

Stephen King writes a good book review.

The US Navy is planning for an ice-free Arctic.

Sometimes the designer matters as much as their design.

The Green Economy has yet to benefit women and minorities.

Scientists have uncovered a large expanse of “corrosive” water in the Canadian Arctic that is putting the marine food web at risk.

The waters have been so altered by climate change and melting sea ice that plankton, shellfish and fish may have trouble building their protective shells and skeletons, an international team reports Friday in the journal Science.

The oceanographers have documented a “rapid” drop in the levels of carbonate, a compound used to produce shells and bones, in the top 50 metres of the surface waters of the Beaufort Sea and more northerly Canada Basin over the last decade. The levels are now so low the water is at “corrosive” levels and they warn the “Arctic ecosystem may be risk.”

via Climate change causing ‘corrosive’ water to affect Arctic marine life: study.

(Ed. Note: After you read that, read this: Half of the world’s oxygen is produced via phytoplankton photosynthesis.)

Humbug is the third album by the British alternative rock band Arctic Monkeys. Like their last release, Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007), Humbug was released first in Japan, on 19 August 2009, followed by Australia, Brazil, Ireland and Germany, on 21 August 2009. It was then released in the UK on 24 August 2009, in the US the following day and in Greece on 31 August. The release preceded the band’s headline performances at the Reading and Leeds Festivals at the end of that week. The album’s cover was revealed on the band’s website on 22 June 2009. In Ireland and United Kingdom, the album went straight to number one, within the first week of release with sales of 96,000 in UK, outselling the rest of the top five albums combined. Worldwide, the album sold 191,000 copies in its first week of release.

Track Listing

1. “My Propeller”
2. “Crying Lightning”
3. “Dangerous Animals”
4. “Secret Door”
5. “Potion Approaching”
6. “Fire and the Thud”
7. “Cornerstone”
8. “Dance Little Liar”
9. “Pretty Visitors”
10. “The Jeweller’s Hands”

Genre: Indie rock, Post-punk revival

More @ Wikipedia
Arctic Monkeys Official Homepage

(for Kaden)

I have seen you.



You said that you were fragile

but that was only half true



you said that you were lonely
but it was only love that tricked you
into coming to this place of blindness

to find some holy grail

you thought you’d left behind—



you said that you were angry
but even your rage is pure

as the elusive dragonfly
skipping concentric ghost-ripples

of wind over still water-surface;
as snowy owls in night trees

and patient spiderwebs;

hunger constructing silken

catwalks to capture beauty—



you warned me of your delicacy,

but I flipped right through your preface
and saw into the moonstone eye

of your heart-story, like aurora
borealis, silvery contrails



of heroically falling dreams

streaking and shifting in blue turns

as they tremble and singe in the atmosphere

of a dense planet, over polar magnitudes

where entire seasons are devoted
to the exclusive practice
of darkness or light—



You are strength that bleeds alone,
the snow-blind burn of heartache,

and the calm before a wave-crest breaks
in froth on the foam-lit shore.



You walk barefoot in your Arctic surf
and smile. Your eyes hold the secret
fortitude of stars. You are a lucky number

in your own back pocket,

waiting for the worthy hand
to draw you. 



You told me you see ghosts.

Is this such a bad thing?

You are the luna moth

clinging to the moonbeam,
dancing in circular vespers,

protecting the sanctity

of dark.

I have seen you.




© Sarah Noack 2007

Documentary Filmmaker Completes Northwest Passage Trip

 

The M/V Bagan cruises past icebergs as she makes her way through The Storied Northwest Passage. Documentarian Sprague Theobald and Hole in the Wall Productions will bring us stories from their 5-month cruise. Photo: © HITW Productions; http://northwestpassagefilm.com

Filmmaker Sprague Theobald completed a trip through the Northwest Passage, arriving in Ketchikan, AK, Oct. 27 on a 57-foot Nordhavn power boat, reports the Fairbanks Daily News Miner. Theobald and his crew, which included was his son, Sefton Theobald; master diver Greg Deascentis; and cameraman Ulli Bonnekamp, among others, departed Newport, R. I., on June 16. During the journey, the team was hit by an ice floe that trapped their boat in the ice for days. “It was worth the risk, but I would not do it again,” Theobold told Yachting Magazine. “We have yet to talk publicly about the more terrifying moments of the trip.” During the voyage, he interviewed Inuit elders, other sailors attempting the passage, politicians, and conservationists as he collected material for a full-length documentary, Braving the Northwest Passage, forthcoming. Learn more about the adventure at his blog.

Emmy-winning filmmaker Sprague Theobald eyes sea ice from the bow of the Began. Photo: © HITW Productions (http://northwestpassagefilm.com). To visit the Web site, click on the picture.

The Associated Press reports that strict commercial fishing limits in the Arctic will go into effect Dec. 3, following a push from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop a plan to regulate commercial fishing in the Arctic in the wake of melting sea ice. The restrictions prohibit industrial fishing in nearly 200,000 square miles of U.S. waters in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

Much Arctic Warming Linked To Sea Ice, Cloud Cover Changes

A study published in the Nov., 2009, issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters asserts that much of the dramatic change documented in the Arctic over the past 20 years correlates with changes in sea ice concentration and cloud cover. Lead author Yinghui Liu (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin) writes that sea ice loss in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas in the fall account for significant surface warming. Specifically, the researchers analyze the influence of trends in sea ice concentration and cloud cover on surface temperature in the Arctic from 1982 to 2004. They find that sea ice concentration and cloud cover play a large role in observed temperature trends. For instance, their analysis shows that surface warming associated with sea ice accounts for more than 0.9 degrees Celsius (1.62 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade of the observed 1.1 degrees Celsius (about 2 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade warming trend in autumn. In addition, in winter, cloud cover changes explain 0.91 degrees Celsius (1.64 degrees Fahrenheit) of the 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.16 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade surface temperature cooling, and in spring, 0.55 degrees Celsius (0.99 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade of the total 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degree Fahrenheit) per decade warming is attributable to cloud cover. The authors note that their model provides insight into the causes of recent temperature trends and could be extended to study the influences of other parameters such as sea ice thickness.

Study Links Climate Change to California Drought

U.S. News & World Report publishes a story that the centuries-long droughts experienced by the state of California over the past 20,000 years coincided with thawing Arctic Ice Caps. The research, published online in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters  by UC Davis doctoral student Jessica Oster and geology professor Isabel Montanez, present evidence from analysis of stalagmites from Moaning Cavern and Black Chasm in the central Sierra Nevada. The authors compared climate records from Greenland with the climate records from the stalagmites. At the end of the last ice age about 15,000 years ago, California became much drier. When Arctic records indicate a cooling period about 13,000 years ago, the data show California experienced wetter weather. The scientists don’t offer an explanation for the relationship between Arctic temperatures and California’s precipitation. But the article says that climate models developed by others suggest that “When Arctic sea ice disappears, the jet stream—high-altitude winds with a profound influence on climate—shifts north, moving precipitation away from California.”

The Copenhagen Climate Conference is less than a month away (December 6 – 18).

Nicklen has the job that we all dream of. Flying to distant places and shooting photos of some of the most amazing things in the world. But as always, there is a downside to this awesome job.

Nicklen dives into Arctic waters only to almost get a body part ripped off. Take a look at some of his photos and check out his youtube video.

His photos can be seen on his site @ http://www.paulnicklen.com/gallery.html

I LOOOOOVED missionary stories when I was younger. And when I say loved, I mean uncomfortably titilated by a concept so foreign to my Jewish soul. Not like having a crush on a bad boy, more like casting side-long glances at the smelly kid with oily hair whom you secretly found cute. You can barely live with yourself for the shame and squirmy good feeling you got out of it. Since Jews cannot missionize to non-Jews, (or goys, as we not-so-secretly call you all; and FYI: it’s not as benign of a word as you might think. Oh, schlemeil! Jew Police might come get me for giving away one of our secrets.) this concept of setting out to wilds unknown to ask people to give up their culture of thousands of years puzzled me. And I just really liked the word “savage.” Took me a few books to realize it was NOT a compliment. That said, whatever your take on missions, I am hoping we all find the following cover just a really poor choice for portraying the story of the first priest to visit the Arctic and woo the Eskimos. His name was Father Patrick Joseph Frank O’Malley Murphy, or close to that. And apparently he walked right off of the set of “Hawaii 5-0″ and onto the frigid Arctic landscape to bring hope and something to heathens (another word I still love.)

Looks like a deal is about to go down.

Oh, I didn’t mention the book is titled “MY Eskimos”? Oh, how could I forget such a patronizing detail? Perhaps now is a good time to mention this golden thread persists throughout the entire book. Dude lovingly refers to the group he infiltrates constantly this way. We all know what that means. Doesn’t mean he thinks sweetly and protectively of them like a father (never mind that I am sure the Eskimos already have daddies). “My” in such a context implies creepy ownership. Like as in “my Hummel figurine collection” or “my slave girl” or “my ex-husband shackled in my basement.”

Then let’s take a look at the crazy art going on here. I am really unclear why the two dudes in the forefront find now a good time to try out for a modern dance troupe based on aerobics moves. With their sunglasses and shady demeanors, it looks more like the priest introduced Arctic drug-running to his Eskimos than the love of Jesus. And what’s John Turturro doing on the right there? Or maybe that’s a thin Alfred Molina? This is a lot more benign that most of the missionary books I had the pleasure of working on this summer (need to find the Victorian one that thought pretty much every activity was to set the stage for sex. Eating dinner? Clearly the ritual leading to sex! Talking to your neighbor? Same thing. Rinse, repeat.)

Three cheers for missionaries and avoiding eye contact with them!

the bag-carried charms of lonely school-girls

blue crushed dreams drowned at noon-day

vented fortunes melted and re-created

morphed laughters reflected in a magenta pool

shadowy remains of the over-large green lantern

vultured skulls swinging by their guitar strings

music honeyed lions pondering the dancing stars

there a stare – here a smile – everywhere death

paper-thin mannequins feasting on shrimp salads

oceanic largesses buttoned and stored sideways

sun-dried tomatoes drank with overmuch salt

zion led saints proportioning those fairly decked nuns

swing crushed remains – the bread cracks of yore

the vegan induced convulsions of some carnivore

emperor dreamed lords dressed in nakedness

street whispered symphonies overtaken with sun-dried laughters

slithering oysters wrestling with some stranded toe

darling buds gnashing their teeth as they gently kiss those receding winds

suffocated wedding bands recalling past conquests

suffused pleasures desiring a proper vessel

the sweaty palms of boys chained in boarding schools

green sullied roof tops laced in brown jacaranda leaves

death masked violins overran with a craving for strings

there be but a remainder of mats – herded feet whistling their displeasure

overmuch excitement – the sure emblem of lovers at war

gloried bosoms rounder than the fairest august apple

middle apportioned fortunes starved of the seasons fallings

i pose a conundrum – suppose i cared

those circular yearning s teasing the pathetic fortunes of our failings

trombone led bands cowering beneath flute dresses

museum honeyed murals of masters unknown

leather clobbered loins remained upon the chiefest lizard cliffs

shop stewed beans rustling in their metal prisons

willows distantly dancing a fresh of the flowing muds

the punished sounds of choirs hanged at dawn

boot driven passions remained on a plastic plate

a loose lip here – a shoe there – everywhere death

numidian mushrooms sheltered beneath kilimanjaros shoulders

kissed birds overcome with grief

the booked imaginings of shy pupils giggling in rain

pampered lobsters sunbathing in their coffins

oiled thighs standing erect besides michelangelo’s david

yellow scented lusts of husbands given over to theatre

comedy driven longings – the perpendicular stares of wronged lover

the karoo streams – kalahari basins – toureg chants – gorgon encampments

they all be but simple venison servings

table laid charms bottled in salt

how fair are those dancing bears – even the same fur-less devils

suspended aloft that soon disappearing iceberg

night stars rushing purposefully to their deaths

sychellian crustaceans wallowing in grief

the bushveld  tropics leaning gently upon fair mozambique’s cheeks

soon-approaching monsoons announcing their arrival in himalayan chants

train hurried suns murmuring for a lack of attention

the haired touching of lovers stranded at and in the sea

easterly badlands housed in some papal estate

toe-tugged yearnings elegantly decked in straw skirts

of epher’s children – salute them with a gentle tug in either direction

craven red shoes seated upright in some rainy mud hut

of mau mau and his abandoned harlots – whistle only and touch not

burning forests housed wholly in her mouth

olympian straits considered and rejected

righteousness forced upon unwilling saints – they chose sin instead

snow-covered churches overcome with laughter

coat pocketed jealousies of rivals resorting to righteousness – dueling

scorched lands immigrating downward and into hell

cherry scented mustangs awash in fresh aloe

dew carried feet refusing the flung serving of fresh boots

the remaining african horn fed to the nomadics of eritrea

diseased waters bottled and sent to epher’s descendants

soap deprived ankles painted in valley yellow

dark suns prejudiced at the sight of blue oranges

suited bullfrogs desiring an audience with the priest

mournful dirges of some tragic anthem lorded over the plains

serengeti woodlands teaming with overmuch grasshoppers

lateral – dental – palatial

the rice grown hatreds of aphrite’s rude cousins

millet rinsed touchings of loves and lovers clothed in burnings

sight condemned ancients rehearsing their final movements

hurried motionings of sharks harpooned at the high deserts

drunk instructors condemned to the wine cellars

drought moustaches grown arrogant with the occasional brush

ankle dipped hands dancing on freshly painted ceilings

roman centurions sheepishly waiting upon the priests

the back covered lashes of whips crying at dawn

zebra teethed lions lying sideways – the feed was much

meditating monks nightly preaching patience as they doubt its efficacy

rib jointed searchings of parents transfixed upon some tragic statute

guitar stringed understandings of lovers soon to be loosened

hurricane gales refusing freely gifted medications – they instead desire destruction

church chimed machinations – the loud shadows of sarcadortal hems

leather-covered sweaters speaking of soon returning father abraham

marsh covered bibles resurrected to their mournful parents

papered lips pretending to care yet found out

fortuned souls buried in moses’ bosoom

piano starved school children emaciated and in need of fresh cassava

drunk pilgrims desecrating their holy places

curses courtiers given over to overindulgence

pleasured hips forgetting how to dress

earth abused servants despising their hoes

equator neglected bears doubly aggrieved

polluted musics distilled in yellow barley

tomato crushed dreams of lovers separated by war

tributaries of untamed passions spewing from eva’s bosom

tribal instincts of mothers caressing their pops – confused loves

crucified sailors condemned for purity of passions

the yellow ribbons circling about in their blue trousers

bus driven fears of known futures

boiled mannequins cascading in sheltered rage

the oiled ankles of lovers destined to fail

teaming marshes pregnant with the anticipation of your impending hanging

what would shylock do

such purity contained in those unassuming holy loins

not a penny more or less

the weighty pendulums of earthly expectations placed shoulderwise

upon such lowly flesh – pray for his rich poverty

freely consider the run – jonah did

circular chains layered outwardly upon her cheeks

wandering stares of the decomposing tortoise

craged backs of prisoners rejoicing at the sight of a whip

unseemly lovings of the nile priests

snow married rains competing for the mastery

roaming preachers begging for fresh underwear

any recall the simple pleasures of death

hyacinth troubled waters refusing to suffocate

consider the daffodils and their fair cousins – the black mamba

following – continue your runnings

street dancing muses overtaken with giggling willows

haggard poets taking up whistling

layered burnings of victims returned from their nightly flames

the bleached denials of lovers untrained in the art – of lying

caressed lips of saints hanged and burned by the eclipse

green creeks snaking around eva’s proud towers

ever populated with the bagged trifles of smiles sealed and delivered

expected rains falling only the honest sinners

touch not but freely reach

the flasked remains of wars forced upon the innocent

dirt condemned shoulders praying for rain

honeyed nights scribing the moanful chants of reunited lovers

built ruins of some ancient king – god

boot-straped cowboys jeaned and straightwith saddled

onion ringed stairs of pilgrims unfurling their carpets in prayer

stoned devils loosened on an unassuming friday afternoon

the shamelessly chanted charms of choirs rehearsing compassion

free range grains frustrated at the sight of a sickle

garden manufactured sandals covered in cassava peelings

the red vases of fortunes’ train soon approaches

temple plundered riches housed in some temple

boat driven suspenders tugging the wily doe

arabian summers spend it hibernation

square run destinies married to music slithered hands

love-worn seagulls taking up residence on greenland’s beaches

the pilgrim stares of submerged penguins

superfluous gains of tormentors destined to burn

collected unicorns aimlessly peddling their air cycles

terrace covered nakedness of summers spent at the arctic

zerubabel conducted symphonies arrested by the passing eclipse

the retrograde joys of past loves recalled in regret

of pains  known and grown out of – try harder

vase-shaped frustrations – even the same man nurtured

sandals of ambitions dead at birth

any care pass along the rope – how make you a proper noose

how sweet the contradiction daily raping humanity

baleful mourns of innocence hushed in the still of the night

bewildered stares fixed upon the priestly robes of the temple vultures

scavengers given over to overmuch prayer – before consuming their flesh

teeth mapped meats shaking with fear

with love and for love yet always serving self

hades scented saints marching triumphantly towards their sabbath pews

those proper passions gently housed in some harlots bosom

care consider her kind

rude awakenings of skirts hugged one upon another

round fingers – the meandering coins emblazoned with sea fortunes

sword kissed deaths transfixed upon some tragic mount

that they too desire to commune with father moses – any care find him

knee-nursed yearnings of some crawling pop

kettle-whispered lovings of mothers overcome with joy

loves journeyed in darkness only to be condemned by the searching light

some waffled longings of imprisoned cousins – twice removed

fortunes plundered and straightaway surrendered to mightier foes

watched yearnings of those round face anthills

care imitate the socialized hatreds of the sheppard

joyous singings at the news of the stranded winters upon the seas

today be the burial of some tragic figure – some son of three parents

scared remains of lovers burned in love – rather it be love that burned then -

or love caused these burnings – love burned them – in a word: they be dead

the dragon costumes singularly common yet without a mother

companies of soldiers bewailing their blood-muddied swords

pure-bred expectations of fathers married to daily runnings

parisian harlots – even those decadent damsels of notre dame

lamp lighted walkings of some painted corridor

symphonic laughters given over to overmuch prayers

recall the butterfly laced travels of righteous odysseus

the drought peopled apartments quietly screaming for chardonnay

touched purities of priests aggrieved in spirit yet glad in the flesh

palm lined libraries of cairo giddily seated adjacent jerusalem’s famous lamps

summer covered carpets laced with gerbera ferns

nightly runnings of forbidden lovers conspiring their next escapes

apostolic sureties of saint eva – blessed be her musical loins

poems collected in empty wooden wine skins

coerced laughters masked in the lying giggles of the anaconda

prayerful knees of the arabian monk wrestling with an empty sea shell

rehearsed returns of the blue women of the green lagoon

liberian tiles refusing their ordained marriages to cuban cements

any care hear of the loud shrills of the debauched crickets

plimsol expectations of princes ignored in plain sight

the returned piercings of lapped waters dancing in a great danes mouth

restrained sheep recalling their wild histories as dakota mustangs

of sacrifices a dove yet wholly unrepentant

rosy mornings carried in an empty jar

that the sistine chapel was erected by a harlot – aye even eva

that most righteous and upwardly decked saint of the weeping sheets

known of most for her convulsing inducing hands

virgin pilgrims remained upon their store-bought piety

some raisin cured yawns of the whited sepulchers housing her blessed remains

glass layered centuries of accusations returned and loosened

sweet-honeyed chirpings of the wooly mammoth

crane-spoted hyenas jumping rope in the serengeti plains

crowned turtles desiring the company of boiling lobsters

any recall the tearful repentances of proud nabucco

slaves become masters and enslaving their fellow slaves

how that in running – they instead lost themselves

have a care

Copyright arctic trend

Back to nature, venom, natured inspired colors, biocides, pharmaceutical, and finding the soul in a product are important for this new season. We are finding heritage, memories and stories to be important again.

Some of these trends are found in products from Lulea based Annika Brannstrom, Lapland Wild Design and Skelleftea born designer Lina Huring.

Annika Brannstrom works in an area far removed from the glamorous areas in the big cities. This applies to more than mere geography. She is in sync with the future and her views on product design are more tuned into environmental awareness, craftsmanship and spiritual guides. She works from a little shed that she has transformed into a workshop in Bergnaset, a suburb to Lulea. She takes reindeer horns, leather and Swarovski crystals and creates new modern pieces with roots in her childhood. Her pieces are intricate, robust and graceful all mixed into beautiful candelabra, jewelry or chandeliers. Meanwhile she works with a regular job as a SOS emergency operator.

Lapland Wild Design

Lapland Wild Design

Skelleftea born designer Lina Huring makes unique witty designs that tell a story. Her pieces often are created with questions about the human body, pain and esthetics. Lina’s first furniture collection will be shown at Stockholm furniture fair 2010 this coming February. Her designs are a mix of beauty and a new normal, sometimes perceived as disgust. Very Cool. Here are some of her current pieces. Looking forward to her new furniture collection in February. Until then Good Luck!

Huring design Fox

Huring Design Hurt

Huring design Vesuvio Traytable

November 13, 2009
Churchill, Manitoba

Polar bear cub

Last night a polar bear visited us at the Studies Center.  Following dinner and preceding our evening lecture Shannon heard a loud knock at one of the side doors.  The door leads outside from the quiet lounge area and is not used by visitors to the Center.  This entrance is specifically used to load luggage in and out of the building.  A new group of students was expected at the Center last night so when Shannon heard the knock at the door her first assumption was that a representative from the new group was at the door.  Thankfully, before she considered opening the door Shannon thought aloud, “I wonder if there’s a bear out there . . .” Shannon’s statement prompted Jenny, a volunteer at the Great Bear Foundation, to look out the window.  Sure enough, there was a large polar bear, standing upright, banging forcefully on the door.

The bear made its way to a window in the quiet lounge and peered in at the guests who were gathering for an impromptu happy hour glass of wine.  After satisfying its curiosity with that room, the bear walked around the building and pressed its face against the window of one of the dorm rooms.  Our classmates Jeremy, Elissa, Steven, and Christina, were startled by the bear’s big face in their bedroom window.  Within minutes the Studies Center staff scared the bear away by firing flares into the sky.

For me, this close encounter with a polar bear at the Studies Center sparked images of the zoo.  In this case, we humans were in a building, behind windows secured with bars, as polar bears looked in at us with curiosity.   It seemed a fitting display of karma, and while safety is imperative, I was happy that we were all reminded of our place in Churchill.  This is the polar bear’s home, they have the upper-hand here – we are the strange alien creatures in their land.

This morning approximately half our group (myself included) set out on a Tundra Buggy to get a closer look at the bears.  I have mixed feelings about the buggies.  Their impact on the tundra is a hot topic and disputed from both advocates and protesters.  At the same time, the buggies potentially allow us to get closer to the bears and observe more of their natural behavior.  This year we’ve been fortunate to have many close encounters with bears right off the main publicly accessible roads in Churchill. I considered giving up my space on the buggy, but I’m happy I maintained it.

Using a rock as a pillow

From the buggy we saw 5 different sets of moms with cubs ranging in age from 10 months to two years old.  The first mom we saw was walking with her male cub that was almost the same size his mom.  Once she assessed the area and felt her cub was safe, the mom found a rock to use as a pillow and rested comfortably.  Meanwhile, the curious young cub made his way up to our buggy.  I had my telephoto lens on, so at a certain point the bear was too close to photograph.  This was actually a blessing – it allowed me to put the camera down and observe the bear through the open window and the back deck.  On several occasions the bear made his way toward me on the buggy and looked at me with curious, sweet eyes.  I feel a deep connection with the bears, an understanding, and an unspoken communication.  Their eyes share a story of vulnerability and playfulness.  In these moments it’s important to remember their sheer strength and power.  One look at a 900-pound bear crossing the ice serves as a quick reminder that any encounter closer than the one we were experiencing could be deadly.  After inspecting the buggy from all angles, the cub made its way back to his mother and rested by her side.

Polar Bears Sparring

Just as were about to pull away and continue down the path, we saw 2 bears that had previously been resting approach each other.  “It looks like we might see some sparring,” our buggy guide J.P. noted.  He turned the vehicle off and we observed the sparring bears for what seemed to be at least half an hour.  Sparring is a natural play-fighting that allows the bears to practice for the real battles they face during mating season.  Male bears in Churchill outnumber female bears by an estimated ratio of 3 to 1, so often males need to fight for mating rights.  The 2 bears sparred for a while and then a third bear approached.  All 3 bears circled each other, assessing another sparring match.  2 bears – one that fought previously and the new bear – engaged in another round of sparring.  The third bear, tired from the first match, made its way to our vehicle and inspected us curiously.

As the sparring bears concluded their match, a mom, followed closely by her 2 young cubs

Mom and cubs single file

approached us from the other direction.  The cubs were born in January and walked in a single-file line behind their mother.  A male bear was following them at a distance.  Hungry male bears will attack and eat cubs, so the mom was moving her cubs swiftly to safety.  Once the mom and cubs got a safe distance from the male, she laid back on the ice and we watched as she nursed the young cubs. We counted our blessings again as it’s rare to observe nursing behavior.

All in all we counted close to 40 bear sightings today.  It was extremely special to observe the sparring and nursing behavior and to have the bears approach us so closely.  As we headed back to town toward the end of the tour we came across an older male bear that was quite a character.  He was rolling over, biting his paws, and stretching.  When he noticed us, he lifted his head and looked at us between his legs, then went back to his playful polar bear

Polar bear yoga

yoga.  He was extremely flexible, pulling his back legs over his stomach and up toward his mouth.  He looked at us as if he knew were taking pictures and he was hamming it up for the cameras.  As people cooed about how “cute” the bear was, we were once again reminded of his power.  After another half hour of playful stretching and tumbling, the bear sat up.  When he arose, back to us, we could see the battle scars from fights during the years.  J.P. estimated that the large male was 6 to 7 years old.  It’s almost as if our “cute” bear friend wanted to remind us of his size and power, being sure to sit up before we pulled away.

We saw several bears resting; other younger bears were out testing the ice.  We watched as one bear hopped from one block of ice to another and practiced thumping the ice with its two front paws.  Another mom with two slightly older cubs approached us as we made our way back to town.  Again, the bears were too close to photograph.  I spoke softly to the bears as they approached me on the buggy.  Then I heard J.P., “look at that sunset!”  We turned our attention away from the bears and saw an exquisite sunset.  I’ve seen a lot of beautiful sunsets throughout my travels and at home over the Santa Monica ocean, but this sunset with its beam of light radiating from vertically from the horizon through the sky was the most magnificent sunset I’ve seen.  Later I learned that this type of sunset is often referred to as a candlestick sunset and is quite common in the North.

As with the magical bear, fox, sunset, Arctic hare day that preceded today, tonight’s sunset punctuated another perfect day.

The Finnish Bioart Society (established May 2008) is an organisation supporting, producing and creating activities around bioart, and creating public discussions about biosciences, biotechnologies and bioethics. Additionally it is the finnish contact-node in international networks of bioarts.

The society is also the motor behind the plan (Ars Bioarctica) that aims at introducing bioart as an own area to educational institutions.

http://www.kilpiscope.net/