Monthly Archives: December 2012

Nikon Cameras Capture Changes in Climate

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ice12I dare anyone to tell me there is no such thing as global warming. Go ahead, try it. After Hurricane Sandy, when our shore lines rose several feet and ruined the lives of thousands upon thousands, I just can’t imagine that there is anyone still in denial. Just in case there still is, I want to tell you the story of James Balog, an acclaimed environmental photographer for National Geographic who traveled to the Northern Glaciers to document their disappearance. The daring Balog and his adventurous crew actually installed 25 time-lapse Nikon cameras across Greenland, Iceland, parts of Alaska, and Glacier National Park in Montana to capture how the landscape was changing.

The Nikons were stationed for three years and snapped pictures every hour as long as there was daylight. That was a pretty risky move considering the cameras were delicate and the weather conditions were the harshest conditions on the planet. The Northern climate is not the nicest environment for technology. The stationary pictures, plus the dare devil shots the crew took on visits to the area, became the focus for a riveting and award-winning documentary called “Chasing Ice.” The 75-minute film won “Excellent in Cinematography” at the Sundance Film Festival. The movie was a real eye opener that should inspire each of us to start making a difference. Scarlett Johansson and Joshua Bell performed the theme song, “Before My Time” by J. Ralph Feat.

The documentary opened up nationwide the other day and it is not to be missed. The entire project started in the Spring of 2005 when Balog was assigned to tell the story of the Earth’s changing environment for National Geographic. At first Balog was slightly skeptical about climate change. On his first trip he realized that what he was witnessing could be the biggest story in human history. “Chasing Ice” depicts a photographer trying to deliver evidence and hope to our carbon-powered planet.

I first heard about the documentary from my daughter Whitney, who made me promise that Eliot and I would not miss it. I want you to make me the same promise. Go see it. It will change your life as it changed ours.

The Museum of Modern Art Exhibits Video Games As New Art Category

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video games

Pac-Man

I am so happy that the Museum of Modern Art in New York is adding video games to its collection. Some of the games I have seen over the years contain the most dramatic and imaginative art. Finally they are going to get the recognition they deserve. MoMA is going to start with 14 games and then increase to 40.

Paola Antonelli, a senior curator at the museum, said, “The list of video games were selected after evaluating each work based on “behavior” (the behavior a game elicits from a player), aesthetics, space (physical environments built by code), and time.

MoMA is not the first museum to honor video games. The Smithsonian Museum just showcased “The Art of Video Games,” an 80-title exhibition. MoMA is proud to join in. Most of the games were donated.

This initial group will be shown in the Museum’s Philip Johnson Galleries, March 2013. The lineup is:

• Pac-Man (1980)
• Tetris (1984)
• Another World (1991)
• Myst (1993)
• SimCity 2000 (1994)
• vib-ribbon (1999)
• The Sims (2000)
• Katamari Damacy (2004)
• EVE Online (2003)
• Dwarf Fortress (2006)
• Portal (2007)
• flOw (2006)
• Passage (2008)
• Canabalt (2009)

Over the next few years, MoMA would like to complete this initial selection with Spacewar! (1962), an assortment of games for the Magnavox Odyssey console (1972), Pong (1972), Snake (originally designed in the 1970s; Nokia phone version dates from 1997), Space Invaders (1978), Asteroids (1979), Zork (1979), Tempest (1981), Donkey Kong (1981), Yars’ Revenge (1982), M.U.L.E. (1983), Core War (1984), Marble Madness (1984), Super Mario Bros. (1985), The Legend of Zelda (1986), NetHack (1987), Street Fighter II (1991), Chrono Trigger (1995), Super Mario 64 (1996), Grim Fandango (1998), Animal Crossing (2001), and Minecraft (2011).

First Man to Wear a Sanitary Napkin

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He may not be the first man to walk on the moon but he is just as proud to be the first man to wear a sanitary napkin. Arunachalam Muruganantham of India was on a mission when he learned that women in under-developed countries around the world were still wearing rags rather than sanitary pads.

He recently told his story at a Ted conference where both men and women applauded him because he not only invented a very inexpensive sanitary napkin but is putting thousands of people to work in poor countries. They are needed to operate the mini sanitary napkin-making machine that he made as well.

Muruganantham of Jayaashree also developed a business model that allows women’s groups to invest in their own sanitary napkin-making unit that is designed to employ up to ten women. The new invention is capable of making 120 napkins per hour.

“‘My vision is to make India a 100% napkin-using country,’ said Muruganantham at a conference in Jaipur. ‘We can create 1 million employment opportunities for rural women and expand the model to other developing nations.'”

Watch the video to hear his story.