Milan’s Vertical Forest

Milan’s Vertical Forest from Stefan Boeri Architects.

The Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) will be the greenest building in Milan when completed, which is one of Europe’s most polluted cities.

Milan’s Vertical Forest from Stefan Boeri Architects.

Designed by Stefan Boeri Architects, as part of their BioMilano vision to incorporate 60 abandoned farms into a greenbelt surrounding the city. The Bosco Verticale building has a green façade planted with dense forest systems to provide a building microclimate and to filter out polluting dust particles. The living bio-canopy also absorbs CO2, oxygenates the air, moderates extreme temperatures and lowers noise pollution, providing aesthetic beauty and lowering living costs.

Milan’s Vertical Forest from Stefan Boeri Architects.

Each apartment balcony will have trees (900 plantings are planned for the two buildings) that will provide shade in the summer and drop their leaves in winter to allow in winter sunlight. Plant irrigation is provided via a grey-water filtration. Additionally, photovoltaic power generation will help provide sustainable power to the building.

Visit: http://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net/

Via Inhabitat

Earthbag Homes

' I have no money,
no resources,
no hopes,
I am the happiest man alive.'
-Henry Millar-

Time Does not Bring Relief: You all have lied

BY EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY

Time does not bring relief; you all have lied   

Who told me time would ease me of my pain!   

I miss him in the weeping of the rain;   

I want him at the shrinking of the tide;

The old snows melt from every mountain-side,   

And last year’s leaves are smoke in every lane;   

But last year’s bitter loving must remain

Heaped on my heart, and my old thoughts abide.   

There are a hundred places where I fear   

To go,—so with his memory they brim.   

And entering with relief some quiet place   

Where never fell his foot or shone his face   

I say, “There is no memory of him here!”   

And so stand stricken, so remembering him.

Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Time Does Not Bring Relief” from Collected Poems. Copyright 1931, © 1958 by Edna St. Vincent Millay and Norma Millay Ellis. Reprinted with permission of Elizabeth Barnett and Holly Peppe, Literary Executors, The Millay Society.

Source: Twentieth-Century American Poetry (2004)

Do Not Stand

Do not stand at my grave and weep;

I am not there.

I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn's rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush,

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there.

I did not die.

"Written at least 50 years ago, this poem has been attributed at different times 

to J.T. Wiggins (an English 'migr' to America), two Americans: Mary E. Fry and

 Marianne Reinhardt, and more recently to Stephen Cummins, a British soldier 

killed in Northern Ireland who left a copy for his relatives. Others claim it is a 

Navajo burial prayer.

The following was taken from The London Magazine December / January 2005:

Mary Elizabeth Frye nee Clark was born in Dayton, Ohio, on November 13th 1905. 

She died on September 15th 2004. Mary Frye, who was living in Baltimore at the

 time, wrote the poem in 1932. She had never written any poetry, but the plight 

of a German Jewish girl, Margaret Schwarzkopf, who was staying with her and her 

husband, inspired the poem. She wrote it down on a brown paper shopping bag. 

Margaret Schwarzkopf  had been worrying about her mother, who was ill in Germany. 

The rise of Anti-Semitism had made it unwise for her to join her mother. When her 

mother died, she told Mary Frye she had not had the chance to stand by her mother's

 grave and weep.

Mary Frye circulated the poem privately. Because she never published or copyrighted

it, there is no definitive version. She wrote other poems, but this, her first, endured.

 Her obituary in The Times made it clear that she was the undisputed author this famous

 poem, which has been recited at funerals and on other appropriate occasions around the

 world for seventy years. A 1996 Bookworm poll named it the Nation's Favourite Poem" 

[London Magazine Editor, Sebastian Barker] "

This poem was read at George Best's Funeral  3rd December 2005

Riley Dog

half-baked cookies in the oven ... fruitcakes on the street ...

6:59 AM

I’ve been told
that people in the army
do more by 7:00 am
than I do
in an entire day

but if I wake
at 6:59 am
and turn to you
to trace the outline of your lips
with mine
I will have done enough
and killed no one
in the process.

Sketch

If I knew what I know now then
way back when we first met
I’d point to the sunset and say

I drew that for you

see

it’s wrinkling in the rain.

Skin 2

I don’t imagine you
saran-wrapped in black latex
or seeping out the edges
of something tight and red

I don’t close my eyes
to dream of your back
arched at the impossible angle
of a bow pulled tight
encouraging your shoulder blades
to drip the blood
of stockpiled broken hearts
but I hope the sound
of you not shielding your eyes
from my blinding humility
will one day top the charts

it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard
and you’re the charlie chaplin of your beautifuls
because you make me believe it
when you say it all without saying a word

looking at you it occurred to me
I could sit around all day
wearing nothing but your kiss

you make mirrors
want to grind themselves
back down into sand
because they can’t do your reflection justice

and this just in
I am done with those
who in life would have made me fight
an army of imperfections
a battalion of flaws
tonight we’re going to keep this city up
when they hear our bodies
slap together like applause.

Surprise

I found god
inside a cracker jack box

smaller than I expected.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

Ingredients

• Dark Chocolate Cake
• 3 pints green mint chocolate-chip ice cream
• 2 pints white mint chocolate-chip ice cream

Directions

1. Trim cake layers to 6-inch squares. Slice each layer in half horizontally, making a total of 4 layers. Cut a 6-inch square of cardboard or foam; set aside.
2. Microwave green ice cream until softened, about 20 seconds. Transfer ice cream to a medium mixing bowl, and stir with a rubber spatula. Place in the freezer. Microwave white ice cream until softened, about 20 seconds, and transfer to another mixing bowl. Stir with a rubber spatula.
3. Place one cake layer on the cardboard. Using an offset spatula, spread 2 cups white ice cream over the cake. Place another cake layer on top of ice cream. Place cake and bowl of white ice cream in the freezer for 20 minutes.
4. Remove the cake and the bowl of green ice cream from the freezer. Stir ice cream with the spatula to soften. With the spatula, evenly spread 2 cups green ice cream over cake. Place a third cake layer on top. Return the cake and the bowl of green ice cream to the freezer for 20 minutes more.
5. Remove the cake and the bowl of white ice cream from the freezer, and spread the remaining 2 cups white ice cream over the top; place the fourth cake layer on top of the white ice cream. Return the cake to the freezer for 20 minutes more.
6. Remove the cake and bowl of green ice cream from freezer, and spread 2 cups green ice cream over top. Return cake and ice cream to freezer, and chill the cake until firm, about 1 hour.
7. Remove the cake and remaining 2 cups green ice cream from freezer. Using a long serrated knife, trim 1/4 inch from all sides of the cake, making them even. Using an icing spatula, quickly spread the remaining green ice cream around the sides of the cake. Return the cake to freezer; freeze until completely hardened.

Terry Border

Cookie Crumbs

Terry Border is one of our favorite creative people on the planet. He never ceases to amaze us, as he takes boring, everyday objects and makes them come alive!

What's great about his work is that it can be enjoyed by everyone. Young or old, we can all get a good chuckle out of his hilarious, bent objects.

"I always knew that my weird point of view was my gift or perhaps curse, so I'm glad I finally found a use for it," Terry says. "As far as getting ideas, I simply try to amuse myself. I look at objects and wonder what they remind me of and then I create a sort of story about that. I have a good sense of humor. I like to laugh but I can't tell a joke to save my life."


Rejection


Ice Cube Dreams


Pick Him


Crime Scene


Chained to the Desk


Peanut Mourning


The American Way


Waiting for the Train


Practical Yolker


Bruised

Home-made BBQ sauce

Ridiculously easy and delicious. Vary the ingredients to your taste.

Ingredients

Serves: 8

• 120g (4 oz) ketchup
• 2 tablespoons dark brown soft sugar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 dash hot sauce, such as Tabasco
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation method

Prep:10  mins |Cook:10  mins

1.	In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the ketchup, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, garlic, mustard powder and salt. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before brushing on your favourite barbecued meats.

The 'August Riots'

It has taken me some time to post about the 'August Riots' that occurred, here, in the UK. There are 2 reasons for this; firstly I have been lazy, secondly I wanted to see if anything more would erupt or, rather, if the riots would intensify...which they did not.

I had briefly heard or read something about riots occurring in London, but thought nothing of it and went on with my day. While leaving work, I received a text from a friend, saying to be careful walking through town, as there are riots going on. I was not too concerned but I did become more aware of everything around me. As I approached the city centre, there was a sea of neon yellow and a numerous amount of police vans bobbing among the streets. I battle to see what was going on but as I drew closer, I identified a bunch of hooded teens on their push bikes, some as young as 12 years old. It was then I realised how pathetic the whole situation was. These kids were using the death of a man, they never knew, as an excuse to defy the police and society and to steal some new clothing. It makes me sick and it just proves that the kids in this country have no pride in themselves or in their country, its embarrassing. They have no sense of right and wrong and believe they are entitled to everything for free. Everything in this country is spoon-fed to the British  benefits are a huge cause of this problem. I am shocked at how dependent, a large majority of this country, are on the benefit scheme. They  are getting allowances, free job seeking assistance, housing and why? Why are irresponsible, pregnant teens getting all of these benefits? I am sure this and similar questions get asked daily and I wish somebody could wake up and see what a negative influence this is having on society. Once people start depending on something, it is a painful struggle to take it away from them, especially when you are the one who gave it to them in the first place.

These 'riots' have provoked a number of very serious questions about society and the police. I am not intensely familiar with the rioting control techniques,  but I do know that whatever the English police thought would work, did not. They failed miserably and whether this was due to the government or with them directly is a question that is being heatedly debated. Regardless, they failed, and these anti-social kids saw the weakness and took complete advantage. It is terribly sad and it says a lot about the lack of respect for the police and higher authorities. I am no where near qualified to control riots and maintain order in society, but I can tell you one thing that would have got these kids to stop, a water cannon, a massive, huge, powerful water cannon! A reporter on BBC news said something along the lines of 'the rioters will not be out tonight as it is raining...' , suggesting that water is the teen-rioters weakness (they are probably too concerned they will get their 'threads and garms' ruined). That, to me, would be a certainty that the water cannon needs to be set loose on these guys.
Patrick Mercer, a Conservative MP and former army officer, told the BBC Today programme: "In Northern Ireland just a few weeks ago, we had very serious riots including the use of firearms, where water cannon and plastic rounds, not lethal weapons, were used without anyone batting an eyelid.
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/09/theresa-may-water-cannon-riots)


I have been talking to various people about their feelings and views on the situation and majority of people had a very similar view to my own. There was an older gentleman, whom I had the pleasure of conversing with, a teacher that works with teens and has been for 25 years now. He had a different view to mine and spoke from the angle of the teens. He said that no one realised how hard it is for kids these days and he spoke of the disadvantages they are having to deal with. I listened and agreed with a few of the points he made, but I still do not believe that they can use 'disadvantage' as an excuse. There are so many more young teens, all over the world, who are severely disadvantaged, they have no food, water or basic amenities, yet I do not see them starting fires and stealing from shops. How dare these spoilt kids try and blame their actions on being 'disadvantaged', why because you cannot afford to buy a ridiculous, over-priced pair of shoes?
Ignorance is bliss for these brats, they have no comprehension of the suffering and struggle that people have to fight through to survive everyday.

How are we going to change the way these kids think and act? There is no doubt a change needs to occur and if there is a positive that people need to take from this, it is that we all need to work together to make this work. It seems that they  'August Riots' managed to bring together many neighbourhoods and communities and there has been an air of unity across all cultures. There are fanatics, who are trying to turn this into a cultural matter, but I think that the 'kids looting' has won the attention of the British public, which is a first!

'I don't care if people hat my guts;
I assume most of them do. The important
question is whether they are in the position
to do anything about it.'

William S Burroughs

Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies from The New York Times

Total Prep and Baking Time: 1 hour 30 minutes, plus 24 hours to chill the dough

Yield: 18-20 large cookies (I used a #40 ice cream scoop, which is a bit more than 2 tablespoons, and got about 40 cookies)

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1 2/3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content(now, I did not have these, so I used Guittard 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate chips, as well as about 1/2 pound of semi-sweet Guittard chocolate pieces, which I chopped – I loved the look and texture of this combination)
sea salt or fleur de sel, for sprinkling

1. Sift together the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a medium sized bowl and set aside.

2. In the bowl of your mixer, cream together your butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, until combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add in the vanilla and mix. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, until just moistened. Fold in your chocolate until evenly added throughout the dough. Press plastic wrap against the dough, making sure it is completely covered, and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, or as long as 72 hours (I left mine for 36 hours).

3. When you are ready to bake, bring the dough to room temperature so that you can scoop it out, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line and/or grease your baking sheets. Scoop your dough out onto the sheets. I used a #40 ice cream scoop, which is about the size of 2 tablespoons, but you can make them even larger, if you like. Do not press the dough down – let it stay the way it is. Sprinkle the cookies lightly with a bit of fleur de sel or sea salt. Bake 10-12 minutes for smaller cookies (mine took about 11 minutes), or 18-20 minutes for larger cookies.

4. Allow the cookies to cool slightly on your baking sheet, then move them to another surface to cool completely. You can enjoy these warm, room temperature, or cold. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

Nutella Stuffed French Toast with Warm Maple Strawberry Syrup

Ingredients

For stuffed French toast

sliced bread
Nutella
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk, half and half or cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon agave or honey
olive oil or butter for cooking

For Syrup

1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1/4 cup maple syrup, I used grade B

Additional Ingredients

Fresh Strawberries for garnish

Method

1. Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Combine eggs, milk, vanilla and agave or honey in a large bowl. Whisk well. Spread Nutella on bread and make a sandwich. Dip in egg mixture and coat completely on both sides.

2. Drizzle olive oil or melt butter in skillet. Brown French toast on each side.

3. Combine strawberries and maple syrup in a microwave safe bowl for cooking in the microwave or in a small saucepan to cook on the stove. Heat through until strawberries are mushy.

4. Serve warm strawberry maple syrup over French toast with a few fresh strawberries.

One Minute Peanut Butter Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 heaping tablespoon flour
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon milk
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar (give or take)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, brown sugar, baking powder, peanut butter and flour.
2. Pour batter into a greased ramekin. Microwave for 30 seconds.
3. While the cake is microwaving, stir together milk and powdered sugar, adding more powdered sugar if necessary to thicken frosting.
4. Remove cake from ramekin (or don’t), pour frosting over top.
5. Enjoy!

Grilled Eggplant Rolled with Ricotta and Basil

Thanks to...

FifteenSpatulas.com

Ingredients: 1 large eggplant 1 cup ricotta cheese 4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature 1 tbsp olive oil 1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano, grated 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 1/4 cup chopped basil salt and pepperDirections: Thinly slice the eggplant (down the length of the eggplant, so you get the longest pieces possible), and rub the pieces with salt.  Place the eggplant in a colander and let it drain for one hour.  This process is called purging and what we're doing is letting the salt draw out any juices carrying super bitter flavor. While the eggplant drains, mix together the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, olive oil, parmigiano, red pepper flakes, and chopped basil.  Season with salt and pepper, and taste.  Make desired seasoning adjustments. After the eggplant has been purged, rinse the slices well, then dry with paper towels. Preheat a grill (or a big cast iron pan) and grill the eggplant about 3 minutes on each side  (depending on thickness).  Taste a little piece before you remove the eggplant to make sure  it's cooked through.  Undercooked eggplant really doesn't taste good. Place a small spoonful of the cheese mixture at the base of the eggplant, then roll it up.  Enjoy!