" 21 st Century Cowboys"

the cowboys all went underground
they let their horses run free

it was hard to do
times change
the trails have all been blazed

cowboys never die
they just took off their boots
put away the saddles and
hung up their guns
and watched the world
grow
closing up around them
they sit back and wonder
if their horses made it

occasionally
they take out their guns
keeping them well oiled
and polished
keeping the leather
of their holsters soft
and quick smooth
they wonder if
they'll ever need them again
putting them away
never unloaded

the cowboys are back
no need for hats
no sun at night
just the electric
neon lights
the smell of
leather boots
trousers
and holsters
permeates the air

times change
and the world needs
its cowboys
no need for a horse
nor a place for it to feed
the city
supplies most their needs
and only the ones
that haven't forgotten them
have seen them

at least
their horses are truly free
  • republicrider
wildcat2030: Manila is one of the world’s five dirtiest cities, but graffiti? That’s not a problem. It’s not that people don’t paint on the walls in the hyper-polluted Philippines capital, because they do. But they do it with a paint that actually eats smog out of the air. The catalytic paint, called Boysen KNOxOUT, reacts with light and water vapor to filter out nitrogen oxides. An environmental scientist interviewed in this BBC video says it can scrub out 20 percent of polluting nitrogen. Manila is deploying the paint in the form of massive murals, which are both beautiful and, because of their size, effective. Eleven square feet of paint-covered surface can absorb as much pollution as a full-grown tree, and these murals are close to 11 THOUSAND square feet. If we could get this stuff into the hands of street artists and taggers, it would be like having an army of energetic teenagers planting trees all over the city all day, every day. (via Super-polluted city tries to clean itself with smog-eating paint | Grist)

wildcat2030:

Manila is one of the world’s five dirtiest cities, but graffiti? That’s not a problem. It’s not that people don’t paint on the walls in the hyper-polluted Philippines capital, because they do. But they do it with a paint that actually eats smog out of the air. The catalytic paint, called Boysen KNOxOUT, reacts with light and water vapor to filter out nitrogen oxides. An environmental scientist interviewed in this BBC video says it can scrub out 20 percent of polluting nitrogen. Manila is deploying the paint in the form of massive murals, which are both beautiful and, because of their size, effective. Eleven square feet of paint-covered surface can absorb as much pollution as a full-grown tree, and these murals are close to 11 THOUSAND square feet. If we could get this stuff into the hands of street artists and taggers, it would be like having an army of energetic teenagers planting trees all over the city all day, every day. (via Super-polluted city tries to clean itself with smog-eating paint | Grist)

No sugarcoating this giveaway Phase out the federal sugar program When lawmakers with a stake in Big Sugar talk about the federal program that props up their pet industry, they invariably sugarcoat the bitter facts.Consider this wad of marshmallow from U.S. Sen.Kent Conrad, the North Dakota Democrat whose state is a big sugar-beet producer: “There is no cost to the government at all from the sugar program.”Why, yes, the government bears no cost. But American consumers do.Everyone in effect pays a tax on foodstuffs from one end of the grocery store to the other. The surcharge comes to you courtesy of sugar lobbyists who have saddled the U.S. economy with import quotas and other central-planning gimmickry. It’s true, as Conrad says, that the government pays no direct subsidies. But through its regulations, it imposes an estimated $3.5 billion a year in costs on shoppers and industry.Congress needs to stop this wasteful, unfair program. We’re concerned that when lawmakers take up agriculture legislation this year, they will leave the protectionist sugar racket just the way it is. more….

No sugarcoating this giveaway

Phase out the federal sugar program

When lawmakers with a stake in Big Sugar talk about the federal program that props up their pet industry, they invariably sugarcoat the bitter facts.

Consider this wad of marshmallow from U.S. Sen.Kent Conrad, the North Dakota Democrat whose state is a big sugar-beet producer: “There is no cost to the government at all from the sugar program.”

Why, yes, the government bears no cost. But American consumers do.

Everyone in effect pays a tax on foodstuffs from one end of the grocery store to the other. The surcharge comes to you courtesy of sugar lobbyists who have saddled the U.S. economy with import quotas and other central-planning gimmickry. It’s true, as Conrad says, that the government pays no direct subsidies. But through its regulations, it imposes an estimated $3.5 billion a year in costs on shoppers and industry.

Congress needs to stop this wasteful, unfair program. We’re concerned that when lawmakers take up agriculture legislation this year, they will leave the protectionist sugar racket just the way it is.

more….

Why Dreams Are Forgotten After Waking

Why Dreams Are Forgotten After Waking

michio kaku

michio kaku

“Women who can hypnotize people just by sitting and breathing have a spooky power.” (via Angelina Jolie December cover story in Vogue by Vicki Woods)

“Women who can hypnotize people just by sitting and breathing have a spooky power.” (via Angelina Jolie December cover story in Vogue by Vicki Woods)

theantidote: “They emerged from Holly’s secret alleys into a back street. The city was louder here. Varjak could hear the shrieks and roars of those metal monsters close by. There were people too; their long, striding shadows flickered on the walls and their shoes click-clacked on the pavement.” ‘Keep your head down,’ said Holly as she led the way through black, rain-soaked streets. ‘Don’t get seen. You can’t be too careful in this part of town.’” Dave McKean Illustration from Varjak Paw by SF Said (via liquidnight:)

theantidote:

“They emerged from Holly’s secret alleys into a back street. The city was louder here. Varjak could hear the shrieks and roars of those metal monsters close by. There were people too; their long, striding shadows flickered on the walls and their shoes click-clacked on the pavement.”

‘Keep your head down,’ said Holly as she led the way through black, rain-soaked streets. ‘Don’t get seen. You can’t be too careful in this part of town.’”

Dave McKean

Illustration from Varjak Paw by SF Said

(via liquidnight:)

“Blondes make the best victims. They’re like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints.” — Alfred Hitchcock Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren, 1963, photographer unknown [photo via Everyday_I_Show]

“Blondes make the best victims. They’re like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints.”

— Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren, 1963, photographer unknown

[photo via Everyday_I_Show]

(Source: liquidnight)

The End of Men EARLIER THIS YEAR, WOMEN BECAME THE MAJORITY OF THE WORKFORCE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN U.S. HISTORY. MOST MANAGERS ARE NOW WOMEN TOO. AND FOR EVERY TWO MEN WHO GET A COLLEGE DEGREE THIS YEAR, THREE WOMEN WILL DO THE SAME. FOR YEARS, WOMEN’S PROGRESS HAS BEEN CAST AS A STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY. BUT WHAT IF EQUALITY ISN’T THE END POINT? WHAT IF MODERN, POSTINDUSTRIAL SOCIETY IS SIMPLY BETTER SUITED TO WOMEN? A REPORT ON THE UNPRECEDENTED ROLE REVERSAL NOW UNDER WAY— AND ITS VAST CULTURAL CONSEQUENCES Via the Atlantic  continue

The End of Men

EARLIER THIS YEAR, WOMEN BECAME THE MAJORITY OF THE WORKFORCE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN U.S. HISTORY. MOST MANAGERS ARE NOW WOMEN TOO. AND FOR EVERY TWO MEN WHO GET A COLLEGE DEGREE THIS YEAR, THREE WOMEN WILL DO THE SAME. FOR YEARS, WOMEN’S PROGRESS HAS BEEN CAST AS A STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY. BUT WHAT IF EQUALITY ISN’T THE END POINT? WHAT IF MODERN, POSTINDUSTRIAL SOCIETY IS SIMPLY BETTER SUITED TO WOMEN? A REPORT ON THE UNPRECEDENTED ROLE REVERSAL NOW UNDER WAY— AND ITS VAST CULTURAL CONSEQUENCES

Via the Atlantic  continue