Not Sure What I Think About This...

Taken from Ananova.com...

Artists Erect Giant Pink
Bunny on Mountain

An enormous pink bunny has been erected on an Italian mountainside where it will stay for the next 20 years.

The 200-foot-long toy rabbit lies on the side of the 5,000 foot high Colletto Fava mountain in northern Italy's Piedmont region.
Viennese art group Gelatin designed the giant soft toy and say it was "knitted by dozens of grannies out of pink wool".
Group member Wolfgang Gantner said: "It's supposed to make you feel small, like Gulliver. You walk around it and you can't help but smile."
And Gelatin members say the bunny is not just for walking around - they are expecting hikers to climb its 20 foot sides and relax on its belly.
The giant rabbit is expected to remain on the mountain side until 2025.

I'm torn. I am against spoiling the natural landscape, and can only imagine the stink and the sogginess. Rain, animals... This is going to be disgusting in a few months, nevermind 20 YEARS!

On the other hand... WHEEE! Giant fluffy bunny! I can camp on his tummy! It was knitted by grannies! I can feel like I'm a Lilliputian! Wheee!

Soon, Soon...

This morning the air is infused with a most strange sound. It is just a low hum if I stay in the apartment, but if I venture out onto the balcony it fills the whole courtyard. It sounds like an orchestra tuning up before a performance. It's really most odd. A constant low tone joined intermittently by shorter bursts at various pitches. It took me a minute of head scratching before I figured out what it is. A traffic jam. These must be cars horns. I reckon it's gotta be a real mess about 200 m southeast of here. Perhaps it has something to do with one of the bridges crossing the Liffey River. Anyways, it was most interesting. I write 'was' because it seems that in the short space of time it has taken me to compose this short note, all is quiet again. Well, aside from the usual thumps and bumps from the construction taking place across the way. Anyhoo, I just wanted to throw up a little note. I've a lot of pictures I would like to put up here but I don't think I'll have the time today. Soon, soon...

In the meantime, I thought I'd put up this picture of a billboard. These Guinness sponsorship ads are all around. I really love them. They are all so very dramatic. This one is for Ireland's native sport, hurling (no, I don't mean throwing up after a night of drinking). (Random note: Colette used to play the women's version of hurling, camogie.)The set location is the Giant's Causeway. While these ads usually draw inspiration from Irish mythology, I don't know this particular story yet. Irish myths are perfect for the purpose of these ads though, in that traditional Irish sports often play an important role in the stories.

Sidenote: I've just learned about the connection between the Guinness brewery and a famous notorious book of world records. For more, click HERE.

Living Statue

I just saw this picture on the CBC News website and something about it is quite amazing to me. I figured I would post it up here (along with it's given caption) because... Well... I feel like it. :) I have always been fascinated by photojournalism. While I don't think it's something I would excel at, I do find it quite compelling. It can be such a powerful medium. It's a unique combination... art and news combined. These images don't just report current events, they can help shape them. Pictures can serve as an emotional trigger, or can humanize events a world away. It's really quite an amazing thing. Anyways, the caption for the photo reads: A Palestinian man on a horse is seen on the beach Sept. 13 near the former Israeli settlement of Neve Dekalim. Thousands of residents of the southern Gaza Strip came to the coast. They had not been able to do so previously because the Israeli army had occupied and separated the area for 38 years. (Abid Katib/Getty Images)

Northern Rumblings

I don't know how much information from this side of the pond makes it's way over to North America. Recently there has been a few few days of rioting and violence in the North. Things were looking up in terms of the Northern Ireland conflict just a few months ago. The was a voluntary demilitarization of one segment and it was announced that all further conflict would be political, not physical violence. This latest incident was the result of a parade being derouted. At least, that's what I have gleaned. There is a lot of information flying around, but as I don't have the history behind me I find that some of it goes in one ear and out the other. Everytime I read an article, it is filled with accronyms that I then go and decipher and with names that have no impact or relenvence to me. Anyways... for anyone who wants to know more about the whole situation, feel free to Google. I feel like I don't really have anything clever to add. I just thought I would reiterate, for anyone who may be worried, that I am alright. There is nothing going on in the Republic of Ireland (the southern half of the island in which I am currently staying) and even the rioting up North seems to be calming down. Can't find a good photo of the events of the past few days, but if I stumble upon one I will put it up here.

Heh Heh...

Just a quick note today. I thought I'd throw up this little comic I found. It totally reminded me of Sylvia and myself. Can you tell whose who? If not, ask Sylv. She has been subjected to my freak outs (depicted to the left) on more than one occasion. Alright, gotta jet. I'll be back here soon...

Dark Day

Yesterday was a bit depressing in terms of international events. Just watching the news was enough to make me want to crawl into bed and pull the cover over my head. It was the one year anniversary of the Beslan school siege, in which 344 civilians were killed. Nearly 200 of those fatalities were children, and many hundreds more were injured. It is impossible to put any figures to the psychological trauma inflicted. Yesterday also brought news of the damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina. Most distressing is the lawless desperation and violence developing in the affected regions. ><Side Note: I hope that both Nathan, Hope and Melanie (as well as their family and friends) are safe and secure.>< In addition to these two tragedies, there were the deaths in Iraq. Not from gunfire or bombs, but from fear. The death of nearly 1000 Shia pilgrims in a stampede caused by rumours of an imminent suicide bomb attack. Add on to these three incidents the on-going devastation in Niger and a handful of the 'usual' incidents on local news (the same stuff as in Canada)... The evening news was quite the depressing half-hour. I promise not to be such a downer next time I write here. Anyways, thanks for listening to my ranting.

"Your regularly scheduled programming will resume shortly. Please stand by."

Final Note: The photograph in this entry was stolen from CBC.ca. It shows a child playing in one on the football stadiums in which people were trying to seek shelter from the hurricane. There were lots of photos to choose from depicting the events I have discussed above. I figured this one isn't overwhelmingly depressing, and really just a very compelling photo. The beam of light from the broken roof makes it seem very surreal and alien abduction-ish.