Earthbag dome in Australia

An Australia a team of happy young builders raised an earthbag dome from the soil of Milkwood Organic Farm in the hills near Mudgee, Australia. A structurally strong house was created from a bunch of bags, earth, stones, clay and lime. They held a EarthBag Building Workshop to show hands on how a low-impact natural building technique, utilising resources from nature, could be made with minimal costs.

Axel 'tamping' down the newly laid course of bags at Milkwood.

See more photos of earthbag workshop.



Earthbag construction is suited to sites where an ideal soil mix is not present for rammed earth building.  Basically it consists of filling of bags with soil, which is then compressed with hand tools. The moisture content of the soil is important. Barbed wire is included between each row to hold the bags in place and provide extra wall strength.

Milkwood is a small organic farm being created from scratch by

Kirsten and Nick.  In April they are holding a comprehensive Natural Building course with Sam Vivas of Viva Eco Homes. The course, designed for the home builder, covers light earth, cobb, load-bearing straw bale, mud rendering techniques and reciprocal roofs. They are rather passionate about natural building, and the empowerment that comes from having the skills to build non-toxic, living homes from natural materials.

OTHER RELATED LINKS:
Permaculture Research Institute of Australia
Photoset of our 2010 EarthBag Workshop at Milkwood Farm
How to make an earthbag dome – pdf by the Permaforest Trust

Hindu wedding traditions: Saptapadi

 

Agni is the Hindu god of fire and the acceptor of sacrifices. He is present in many traditional Hindu ceremonies such as the honouring of a birth (diva lamp), birthdays (birthday candles), prayers (diva lamp), weddings (Yagna) and death (cremation).

The Hindu wedding ceremony is in essence a fire-sacrifice and no Hindu marriage is considered complete unless in the presence of the Sacred Fire. This has a deep origin in the ancient ceremony of cementing the bonds of friendship and alliance. A Hindu wedding  incorporates many of the timeless rituals and customs from the Vedic period.



The Saptapadi सप्तपदी is the most important component of Hindu weddings.  Sapta means seven and padi means steps in Sanskrit and the Saptapadi is a ceremony where seven encirclements of the Holy Fire by the bride and the groom together. This symbol of Agni is witness to the vows they make each other. Walking around the fire together, the most important part of the ceremony, they say a vow with each step to each other for this life long union.

The vows are about sharing, strength, wealth, health, happiness, children, comfort and friendship. During the pheras or steps, the Gods are invoked to shower blessings on the bride and the groom. It is believed that when a married couple takes seven pheras together, their married life will be happy for a long time. You can read and download the vows here.

In every region of India their are small differences such as which partner walks first and which hand is held but always there are circles around the Holy Fire.

• In North India, the first six circuits are led by the bride, and the final one by the groom.
• In Central India, the bride leads the first three or four circuits.
• In some areas of Western India, only four steps, signifying Artha (prosperity) Dharma (righteousness) Kama (energy) and Moksha (detachment).

With each circuit, the couple makes a specific vow:

• In South Indian weddings, after each saying a mantra at each of the seven steps, the couple say these words together:

"Now let us make a vow together. We shall share love, share the same food, share our strengths, share the same tastes. We shall be of one mind, we shall observe the vows together..."

• In North Indian weddings, the bride and the groom say the following words after completing the seven steps:

"We have taken the Seven Steps. You have become mine forever. Yes, we have become partners. I have become yours. Hereafter, I cannot live without you. Do not live without me. Let us share the joys. We are word and meaning, united. You are thought and I am sound. May the night be honey-sweet for us. May the morning be honey-sweet for us..."

After the completion of the seven steps ceremony, the couple sit down with the wife now on the left side of her husband. Now the couple are husband and wife. The husband garlands the wife and the wife garlands her husband.


RESOURCES:
Mythology, An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Principal Myths and Religions of the World by Richard Cavendish.
A South Indian Wedding – The Rituals and the Rationale by Padma Vaidyanath

Fossilized giant

This photo of a ‘fossilized Irish giant’ was taken at a London rail depot, and appeared in the December 1895 issue of Strand Magazine. The giant was allegedly dug up by a Mr Dyer while prospecting for iron ore in County Antrim (Ireland).

It was 12 ft 2 in (3.71 m) tall, weighed 2 tonnes, and had 6 toes on its right foot. After being exhibited in Dublin, it was brought to England and exhibited in Liverpool and Manchester at sixpence a head, ‘attracting scientific men as well as gaping sightseers’. After a legal dispute over ownership, nothing more appears to have been heard or seen of the exhibit.

This story only gets weirder... read more here 

Have you seen dirty car art?

We don't mean writing "wash this car" in the dust with your fingers and we don't count smiley faces!

Scott Wade does use his fingers and also paint brushes and other tools to create amazing art works in the dust on the windows of cars - Mona Lisa, The birth of Venus, Uncle Albert and so much more. The only way to understand is to visit his gallery. 

Scott Wade in action



    Scott sees art wherever he looks!

Scott started doing art in the fine white dust that ended up on the cars where he lives in San Marcos, Texas, USA. " I mostly use a fan brush, and sometimes camel hair watercolor brushes, and bristle brushes for effect." says Scott who also factors in the wind, tree sap, dew, mist and whatever else comes onto the screen in the final creation.

Frank Zappa epitomizes weird and wonderful

Zappa and band at Buffalo NY 1980 courtesy of Eddie Berman
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993)


Words cannot explain.
You need to hear his varied musical genres and see his performances and films and read what he said. 

"So many books, so little time." Frank Zappa 

"A mind is like a parachute. It doesnt work if it's not open." FZ

"Frank Zappa dabbled in virtually all kinds of music—and, whether guised as a satirical rocker, jazz-rock fusionist, guitar virtuoso, electronics wizard, or orchestral innovator, his eccentric genius was undeniable." 2004 Rolling Stone Album Guide

"On a personal level, freaking out is a process whereby an individual casts off outmoded and restricted standards of thinking, dress and social etiquette in order to express CREATIVELY his relationship to his environment and the social structure as a whole" Frank Zappa  in Nik Cohn's AwopBopaLooBopaLopBamBoom

zappa.com official zappa website

Are they weird or wonderful?