SuperForest Comics: Chairs.

In the wake of the Peace Alphabet exercise, I developed a real hankering for drawing, so I'm going to post little t'ings and bits and bobs here and there.

(And no, I am totally not procrastinating from doing something I should be!)

Love!

-Jackson

The World Provider

Good Morning SuperForest,

We have heard the future of rock and roll and it sounds a lot like The World Provider.
Like a golden, screaming, phoenix of awesomeness, TWP descends from the clouds to snatch your still beating heart from your chest.







The World Provider myspace.
The World Provider site.

I went to the show, and got some pictures:









I walked in thinking The World Provider was some ironic hipster joke, and by the end of the show I was screaming.

Transportation Tip 1: Right Turn Theory

Here at SuperForest, we promote and encourage the use of bicycles, walking, and other environgentile forms of transportation. But when you do have to drive to get around, here is a transportation tip that will be easier on mother earth and your wallet.

In 2004, UPS unveiled what they called the Right Turn Theory. This theory basically takes into account the fact that if one makes more right turns in their commute, they spend less idle time stuck at a red light and eventually saves fuel and money. A fairly simple idea, if you make more right turns, you spend less time waiting in a long line of cars or stuck at a traffic light. But now the real questions, does it work? Is UPS really experiencing any differences by simply switching up their routes?

The differences were noticed right away. Four months after adopting this theory in New York City alone, UPS reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 1000 metric tons and since 2004, UPS has saved around $600 million dollars a year. That’s right, Brown went Green. Now imagine what a difference this could make if all of us drivers did this?

For more information click here!

Donuts and Bacon '08: A Taste We Can Believe In! (Updated!)

From zazzle.

Update:
(Oooooh! Just found a song that goes with the shirt!)

Jordan Clarke - Broadcast 2000's "Get up and Go."

Jordan Clarke's video for Broadcast 2000's song "Get up and Go."


Broadcast 2000 "Get up and Go" from Jordan Clarke on Vimeo.

Makes me wanna go outside and run around! Really, really bad.
(via)

Ask SuperForest: Carolyn's Question!

Good Morning SuperForest!

We have received a question from SuperForester Carolyn:

"Hi Jackson and Co.

I'm Carolyn and I read your blog multiple times a day... admittance is the first step to recovery, right? However, I don't wish to recover from reading Superforest anytime soon.

Let's get down to business. I'm in dire need of a costume idea. In the past I've had some pretty stellar homemade Halloween costumes, but for some reason I'm having a brain-block this season...

So, details... Ummm, I'm in college so naturally I have little money to spend on extravagant's. I don't play the half naked costume game. And I'd really like to be the most eco-friendly trick or treater on my block.

Any ideas ya'll have would be much much much appreciated. Thankssssss!

Kindly,
Carolyn"

Dear Carolyn,

Thank you for your excellent question.
Thanks to our friend, the internet, the "sweet recycled Halloween costume" meme is in full effect.

A quick search reveals some very tasty morsels!
Morsels like this cardboard crocodile:



Or Umbrella Bat!



Oooooo! Or the CloroxBot!



Cardboardy Lego Overlords! Kachoowwww!




Between MAKE, instructables, and a google search, there is a world of recycled costume opportunities at your fingertips.

Here's a gallery of recycled costumes from dailygreen.

Papier-mache is also very cheap and easy to do, and most grocery stores and bakeries have old flour that they would otherwise be throwing away.

Here's a amazingly brief video showing how to make a very sophisto-looking wolf mask:



I really love papier-mache! You can do anything with it. It is remarkably strong and forgiving, and you can finish the surface any way you like.

Give it a spin.

Here's a very cool Joker mask made using air-dry clay and papier-mache together:



We hope that this inspires everyone at home to give making their own costumes a try.
Fun, easy, and good for the environment.

Thank you for your question, Carolyn.

Have a safe and happy Halloween everybody!

Love,

Team SuperForest



Got questions? Ask SuperForest!

Obama's Ad.

Remarkable for the four words he never utters: John McCain, Sarah Palin.
They never come up. Not once.

Emmanuel Guibert's Magic Trick.

Just got this in from SuperForester Christine!
Be sure to watch until the end.



"Emmanuel Guibert, as he creates the art for ALAN’S WAR with water and an eye dropper."

Here's a tasty boingboing article about Alan's War, if it tickles your fancy.

Special thanks to "X-tine 2 tha Norrie."

Dan Wagner: Obama Letter Project Video

We just recieved a follow-up to an earlier post about the Obama Letter Project by photographer Dan Wagner.



Sayeth the Dan:

"People in New York, and Washington DC holding up 3-foot tall letters spelling Obama. As a photographer, I love to communicate and express myself through the photographs I create. I needed a way to share my excitement and hope for the future that a Barack Obama Presidency would represent. Please let your comments reflect the positive energy shared by everyone who participated in this project."

Marvelous.

I don't know about y'all, but November 4th can't get here soon enough.

Obama, Japan Loves Obama the Man!

Obama, Japan is a small fishing village that's gone wild for Barack Obama.



For further reading.

Meet the Planet Patrol

I've found a website that's perfect for junior SuperForesters. It's made by kids for kids and goes by the name Planet Patrol. It's filled with news, games, fun facts and competitions etc, and is currently calling all junior eco-journalists to get on board. Please pass this on to youngsters. Hopefully, it will further fuel their excitement and curiosity about the environment.

Randall Munroe's Webcomic - xkcd: Tesla Coil

Funny! xkcd! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

xkcd is drawn by Randall Munroe, who is excellent.

3 Technologies To Watch

Good Evening SuperForest!

There are three technologies in the world today that you must keep an eye on. Not because they are dangerous, but because the three, used in tandem, will completely up-end the current life equation here on Earth. Not to oversell it, or anything...

The first machine is one we've mentioned recently, Dean Kamen's water purifying device:



The second device is also a Dean Kamen project, a machine that turns heat energy into electricity, enough to power the first machine:



The third (and by far the cutest,) technology is the RepRap self-replicating rapid prototyper:



The RepRap project is extraordinary. An open-source (free) design, cheap to produce and capable of replicating itself like a Mogwai. Download the plans for one, make ten thousand.

(Check out an earlier SF post about what the RepRap will allow us to do...)

These three technologies will allow pockets of humans to live free of all tethers. When everyone has access to free clean water and power, there will be no grids. When everyone has access to a mini-manufacturer, there will be no need to manufacture off site and ship goods.

Freedom and justice for all.

Obviously this will shake things up a bit. That's why as always, we're going to have to put our heads together, use our manners, and do what we humans do best: cause and solve problems.

As long as we work together, there's no technology that can divide us.

Here's Dan Kamen's site.
And the RepRap Project site.

I Got Summons'ed! (Updated!)

Good Morning SuperForest!!!

Today in NYC it is rainy and gray.
I've got to go down to the ol' courthouse because I was an extremely naughty monkey and was riding my bicycle on the sidewalk.

The NYPD was kind enough to point this out and now I must cruise down and face the music.
So, light posting today, but I will definitely try to post once I get back.

Love.

-Jackson

(Update:)

All charges dismissed. Not sure why, but I made sure to wear my nattiest tie.
That straight rhymes, homes.

Special thanks to SuperForester Anthony, who gave me the lucky tie.

Public Transportaroni

The city I live in has proposed a Street Railway System or (Cable Car or Trolley Car) to beef up our local public transportation.

WHOA JOEY!

Go city!

What a glorious idea! Cable Cars are energy efficient AND energy effective. They can connect with tracks from bigger main line trains and take you into the city from out-lying airports or train stations. They don't rely on fossil fuel and emit VERY little if NO CO2. With more points of entry and exit, getting on and off is much quicker and easier. They hold a wonderful sense of history and whimsy. You can easily add cars for high usage months. Since no extra platform structures, high rails, highways or roads are needed to run the system there is very little new building that needs to be done. And the city itself will essentially "own the system". So a pass paid for to ride the city rail cars goes back to the city.

Einstein!





So if you have a Cable Car in the place where YOU live, don't you think that
DING!-DING! is calling your name?!

Neighborhood of make real, please Mr. Trolley~

Love,

TV

"As Famous As The Dodo."

From wikipedia:

"The dodo (Raphus cucullatus) was a flightless bird endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. Related to pigeons and doves, it stood about a meter tall, weighing about 20 kilograms (44 lb), living on fruit and nesting on the ground.

The dodo has been extinct since the mid-to-late 17th century. It is commonly used as the archetype of an extinct species because its extinction occurred during recorded human history, and was directly attributable to human activity.

The adjective phrase "as dead as a dodo" means undoubtedly and unquestionably dead. The phrase "to go the way of the dodo" means to become extinct or obsolete, to fall out of common usage or practice, or to become a thing of the past."

Okay, so "dead as a dodo" used to mean that something was gone, baby, gone. Ne'er to return.

Now, it really should mean: "So famous for being absent that it actually comes back to life, albeit in different form."

Meaning: The dodo is biologically extinct, but culturally bigger than ever.

Witness the above picture, the Muji pop-out DIY dodo.

The Muji dodo is just the most recent entry into a gargantuan heap of dodo-related gear.

There are plush toys:





T-shirts:



Record labels and websites:



Aimee Mann albums:


Porcelain figurines:








Calendars:


Coffee cups:



It goes on and on. These were just the first and quickest things I could find.

Now, "as dead as the dodo" should mean gone AND forgotten, not gone and endlessly reproduced in every conceivable form...

Let me think... Is there a dodo musical?

There is indeed!



Dodo food products? Ummmm... no.

Alright, I'm going to get to work on "Cap'n Jackson's lightly breaded and fried Dodo Sticks *" and y'all get to work coming up with a new phrase that means what "as dead as the dodo" should mean, m'kay?

How about "as dead as the broad-faced potoroo?" Maybe the problem is that once you call attention to something's absence, well, it sort of ceases to be entirely absent.

You at home come up with a new phrase, tell it to us and we'll all spread it around!
One day, you could be "as famous as the dodo."

Fun with language!

Love to All,

Jackson


* ("Dodo meat" is actually sustainably line-caught herring)

Green City

Hey peeps,

I have a bit of a confession to make: I am a sucker for sweet video games.

I try to steer clear and be more productive with my time, but sometimes they are just too good to resist.

That being said, I LOVE it when games can be incorporated into and used as teaching tools. Like putting words to song, it makes it easier to learn when you are having fun.

Well that is exactly what the people over at Alternative Energy have done. Using EA Games' Sim City Societies, Alternative Energy incorporates a great teaching tool into the already popular video game. Alternative Energy explains:

Through an initial Web tutorial, students will learn to build their own virtual SimCity based on societal model, and in the proceeding lessons, set specific goals, monitor their city’s energy use and chart growth. The students will then control their city, choosing more environmentally-friendly and alternative energy options for city infrastructure.

Students can choose to implement over 500 unique objects into their city, ranging from workplaces to residential buildings and venues, and they can even choose to “bulldoze” pollution-causing buildings or allocate more money to energy research within their city.

As the program progresses, students will monitor their city’s pollution, energy output and health risks, while researching green initiatives, environmental issues and real-world green design applications at home.

Students get to learn how to be more sustainable and get to play video games? Awesome.

It says the lessons are for middle and high schoolers but I bet we could all learn a bit from this great program. If you know any teachers looking for a way to reach out to their students about the environment, this would be a great start!

Hope everyone had a great weekend,

-spoon

(found via treehugger. I believe Sim City Societies retails for about 20 clams, or you can pick it up at Amazon for $9)

Charles Stone III: Wassssup! Eight Years Later

This is incredible for so many reasons.

Enjoy, mes amis.

2000



2008



Man, I love this piece!

I hadn't known that the original "Wassup!" ad had been based on a short film by Charles Stone III, and I really love that he then took it back from Budweiser to do this follow-up piece.

Thank you to Mr. Charles Stone III for the reminder that everything is going to be just fine.
You are so right!

There's a strong wind a blowin' and that wind has the smell of change for the better on it.

My Sad Ignorance of Islam

Good Morning SuperForest!

Jackson here.
I have a confession to make. I am sadly lacking in knowledge and experience about one of Earth's major religions: Islam.

I know what I was taught in school: the eight pillars of Islam (or is it five?) The role of the Prophet Mohammad (or is it Muhammad?) but there my experience ends.

I have never been to a mosque, never recited a verse of the Koran in Arabic, never really tasted Islam.

I am wonderfully curious! I want to know more.

Is there anyone in the New York area who would be willing to act as a guide? Some one willing to invite me along to experience Islam?

I would be forever grateful. I pledge to bring my best manners, a most open mind, and a heart unclouded. If anyone out there would be willing to help, please email me:

superforestnyc(at)gmail(dot)com.

I had a thought the other day: I will live a finite time. I want to experience as much as I can.

Thanks for your help!

Love,

Jackson

The Trickle Up Effect

Good Afternoon SuperForest!

Jackson Here.

I was talking the other day with the ever-amazing SuperForester Damani, (he of the Good's for Goods Campaign.) We were discussing Dean Kamen's two new inventions.

Specifically, we were discussing how many folks in the US would happily cut their energy usage to live more sustainably, and how these machines will, in addition to stabilizing the quality of life for many African men, women, and children, it will also allow many of us "First Worlders" (shudder..) to live a life untethered to a power bill, or a water bill, or any sort of grid whatsoever.

Simply put, a victory for one group of humanity now translates into a victory for all of humanity. If we work together, and convince the powers that be to mass produce Mr. Kamen's devices, then we can all get the chance to benefit from them.

This year, the One Laptop Per Child Project will release version two of their laptop. Last year, they had a great deal, where every laptop bought in the US meant that a matching laptop would go to a needy child. This year I believe they're doing the same.

Apply that thinking to the distribution of the Freedom Two (as I will now be calling the pair in absence of a formal name from DEKA.) I buy a pair, a village in Africa gets a pair. One purchase frees two hundred people from the grid. Drinking water for a hundred on their end, and the same for me and my peeps. Bargain.

That really excites me, as the will to get behind the Freedom Two is clearly evident in the success of micro-loan sites like Kiva.

The time is right for a great reorganizing of priorities and vision, and this product, idea, movement, is a clear indicator of the growing social will to help others, and in turn, help themselves.

Exciting times, y'all!

Whooopppeee!

Have a great day, and a wonderful and safe weekend.

Love,

SuperForester Jackson

Holes to Heaven

When it comes to stars, the sun seems to be getting all the attention on this blog. Solar Panels are a constant theme, The Sun Jar made a cameo, and just last week, Jackson posted some jaw dropping photos of it. As much as I love the sun, it seems like other stars in our beautiful universe are being left in the dark. Recently, I came across this great photo gallery featuring stars and found some pretty spectacular stuff.

Nobody knows how many stars exist, but to give you an idea, our universe contains more than 100 billion galaxies and in each of those galaxies an estimated 100 billion stars exist. Here are some pictures of just a few of those stars thanks to our friends at NASA.

Oddly enough, when I was looking at these pictures, I couldn’t help but think of David Bowie...

That's pretty far out man!

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Down By The River

1969.

Painting for Congo!!!!

Hi Everyone,

I just received this unbelievable email from my dear friend and amazing artist, Sara Woster:

"I am writing you to ask for your help in a fundraiser I am doing to raise money for the women of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The war in Congo is the deadliest since World War II. Over 5.4 million people have already died and almost half of those are under the age of 5.

This month the fighting has been escalating, which has caused an escalation in the violence and the attacks on the women and girls of Congo. They have been gang raped, tortured and forced to watch their husbands and children being murdered in front of them.

Anderson Cooper did a powerful story on 60 Minutes that is hard to watch but may inspire you to do something.



You can read more about the facts here:

www.enoughproject.org
www.runforcongowomen.org

Women for Women International has held a fundraiser for the past few years called Run for Congo. I cannot and will not Run for Congo, but I can Paint for Congo.

From now until the end of November in exchange for a small donation of $27 you can receive from me an 8 x 11 original painting on paper that will make the perfect holiday gift for somebody you either love, or are obligated to buy something for. You provide the subject matter or a photo of somebody or something near and dear to your heart and you will receive a lovely, original painting from me. Go to Target, get yourself a frame, and you have given somebody a thoughtful gift while helping to save the world.

I uploaded some samples of my illustrations on Flickr for anybody who may not be familiar.

$27 is the amount that it costs for Women for Women International to support and educate a woman in Congo for one month. You can always round up to $30 or, if you are still rich after last week, round up to $100. My goal is to paint at least 100 paintings between now and Christmas but I would love to do many more so please forward this email on to anybody you know who might like to help the women of Congo while crossing a name off of their holiday gift list. If I receive your request before December 1st I can guarantee that you will receive your painting before December 15th. But the earlier you get me a check and your painting specifics, the more quickly the money will get to the people of Congo and the less panic I will have to go through in mid-December.

I'm sure that you have somebody who would like a painting of something:

Your dad might like a painting of your mother.
Your mother might like a painting of her dog.
Your boy dog might like a painting of a girl dog.
Your boyfriend might like a painting of his favorite Led Zepplin album.
Your grandma might like a painting of Liberace.
And if you haven't heard, everybody loves Obama.

You can either donate on line and then email me a digital image.

Or you can mail me a photo of something/someone you would like me to paint and a check written out to "Women for Women International" with "Run for Congo Women" in the memo line.

If you prefer, The International Rescue Committee is also doing great things to help the people of Congo.

Thank you, Sara"

I personally own a few of her paintings! She is amazingly talented and this is an unbelievable opportunity to own a gorgeous (and personalized!!) painting, while doing something to help put an end to a devastating tragedy.

If you have the means, support this cause!

You can also email Sara directly for any further information at sarawoster@hotmail.com.

Amazing.

Niki

Eric Hirshberg: Republicans for Obama.

"I started asking around and found a number of my liberal friends were having a similar experience. So we asked these folks if they would appear on camera and share with the world why they changed. It seemed to me that the most convincing argument a conservative on the fence could hear might not come from a liberal, or even from Obama himself, but instead, from one of their own; a conservative who had crossed over. So we turned on the camera, and they did the rest."

-Eric Hirshberg on huffpo

This is pretty extraordinary:



Brought to you by Conservatives for Change.com

Wow. When politics and morality jump tracks!
Here's the original huffpo article.

What do y'all think about this?

Thank you, Eric, for this remarkable document!


Love,

Jackson

Billy May's Nike Hindsight - Sport Glasses Give Spider Sense

Here at SuperForest we're madly in love with bicycles and bike safety, so these Nike Hindsight glasses, while still in the concept stage, have tickled and titillated us.

Special lens technology enhances the wearer's field of view, giving him or her an extra 25 degrees of peripheral vision.

Basically, wear these and you can see frontways and sideways at once, (plus a little behindways too!) Great for avoiding cars, trucks, pedestrians, and other cyclists while you're out running or biking.

Mas clever, no?

The Hindsight was designed by the frightfully talented Billy May.
(Saw it at Yanko Design.)

Agucadora: There's Money in Them There Waves!

Just saw a tasty little tidbit on DVICE about the opening of "Agucadoura, the world's first wave farm off (the) coast (of Portugal), consisting of three Wave Energy Converters generating a total of 2.25MW.

The elongated metal contraptions bob up and down with the waves, while internal pistons, attached to the sea floor, remain stationary and pump hydraulic fluid. This drives electric generators, whose power is brought ashore by underwater electrical cables. The wave farm is now tapping into enough constant, renewable energy to power 1500 homes."

- Charlie White @ dvice

Got that? These little dandies wiggle about in the ocean and generate electricity.
More dandies wiggling = more homes powered.

Wave power is so cool. Scalable, carbon-free, and limitless waves make limitless power.

What a wonderful world.

Here's an earlier SF post: Wave Power Round Up.

Tap'd NY: The Anti-Bottled Water, Bottled Water

Good Morning all!

I had heard about this company a while back, but the great SwissMiss reminded me this morning about Tap'd.

"Tap'dNY is a New York City bottled water company with a local twist and knack for honesty. We don't travel the world from Fiji to France seeking water or offer the usual bottled water gimmicks. We work with NYC’s public water system to source the world's best tasting tap water, purify it through reverse osmosis and bottle it locally, leaving out ludicrous transportation miles."

Of course, at the beginning this sounded a little cookoo to me, but there are times when you are on the go and realize you have forgotten your Sigg Bottle and your dying for a drink. So, in times like that...go local!

Here's a link to their manifesto.
Here's a link to the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) NY Water Quality Report.
And here's a link to the Wiki for the Ashokan Reservoir. It is in the beautiful Catskills and is one of the 19 reservoirs and 3 lakes that supply NYC with water.

I'm thirsty!

Niki