Hobbiton Revisited: Hobbit Homes Are Now Sheep Shelters

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Top 10 Cities for Finding Cheap & Tasty Street Food

[ By Steph in Food & Health, Geography & Travel. ]

Even when you’re hitchhiking and crashing in hostels, traveling can make a big dent in your bank account, so finding cheap eats is essential. Luckily, in many cities around the world, street carts aplenty offer a dizzying array of mouth-watering local specialties that are prepared fast and easily enjoyed on the go. These 10 cities, from Hanoi to Oregon, tempt travelers with tasty meals that rival restaurant offerings – for a pittance.

Marrakech, Morocco

(image via: steve & gemma copley)

In 2009, The New York Times named Marrakech the culinary destination of the year, and street food plays no small part in that designation. As soon as the sun goes down, the city’s central square is quickly populated with temporary food stalls where gastronomes can sample skewered meats, grilled vegetables and bean soups. Simple steamed mushroom-like snails and sheep’s brains are among the more exotic offerings, along with a seemingly endless buffet of spiced North African salads and dried fruits.

Don’t miss: slow-cooked lamb spiced with cumin and served on a round of bread, along with a glass of mint tea.

Tel Aviv, Israel

(images via: israel with moshe, wikimedia commons)

Vegetarian options abound in Tel Aviv, where you can fill steaming rounds of pita bread with crispy falafel and as many dips and salads as you can fit onto a plate for less than $4 U.S. Most options are healthy, and there are plenty of kosher offerings as well. Meat eaters flock to shawarma – meat rotating on a spit – which in Israel is typically turkey.  It’s served in a flatbread wrap with tahini, hummus, tomatoes, cucumber and a mango-based condiment called amba.

Don’t miss: Lafa, a large pita bread baked in an oven called a taboon and packed with the fillings of your choice. Once wrapped up, it’s the size of a gigantic burrito, so bring your appetite.

Istanbul, Turkey

(image via: john walker)

Food critics sing the praises of street eats in Istanbul, where twisted rounds of simit – sesame-covered bread  -  beckon in glass cases alongside sugary Sultan’s Lips. In Turkey, meat is king, and while vegetarian dishes are certainly available, standout dishes are nearly always carnivorous, and often include organ meats like tripe. Turkish coffee, kebabs of all imaginable combinations and varieties, and icli kofte (ground meat and spices in a bulgur wheat shell) are among the treats unique to this region.

Don’t miss: lamb slow-roasted in clay pit ovens and served on flatbread; real ‘Turkish Delight’, an ancient sugar-and-nut confection that little resembles the corn-syrup-and-powered-sugar versions found in the West.

Bangkok, Thailand

(image via: alex masters, wikimedia commons)

Some people say the best food in Thailand is served by street vendors. Indeed, a walk along any main street in Bangkok will reveal the irresistible sights and smells of sticky rice with mango, jumbo pawns in curry known as ‘mee krob’, coconut ice cream and roti pancakes. Adventurous eaters will find not only pig organ soup worthy of Anthony Bourdain (containing brain, bladder, heart and penis), but buffets of fried bugs.

Don’t miss: the main event in Thailand – noodles! Egg and rice noodles, thin and fat; Pad Thai, Thai Basil, Khao Soi and more are served as a quick snack for under a dollar a plate.

Singapore

(image via: chooyutshing, sarahgoldsmith, virtualern)

Singapore is a notoriously fastidious nation, so it’s no surprise that actual street vendors are outlawed. But such restrictions haven’t stopped this Southeast Asian island from gaining a reputation as one of the world’s foremost street food destinations. Government-regulated food courts known as “hawker centers” proffer re-imagined Asian foods – particularly Chinese, Indian and Malay – bearing a distinctly Singaporean flair. Deep-fried bananas, raw spring rolls called ‘popiahs’ and a coconut soup with noodles known as Curry Laksa are among the standouts. For those who like a mix of sweet and savory, there’s Ais Kacang, an odd shaved ice dessert with sweet syrups on top of a bed of red beans, sweet corn, palm seed and grass jelly (or even more perversely, jelly beans).

Don’t miss: Chili crab, often considered to be the national dish of Singapore. Large soft-shell crabs are cooked in a spicy chili sauce and served on a bed of rice, or a Chinese bun.

Mexico City, Mexico

(images via: wikimedia commons)

Who can resist an authentic taco stand? Mexico City is bustling with sidewalk taquerias, the best of which are surrounded by a mob of hungry customers at lunchtime. Sometimes the menus are so complex – with up to a dozen varieties of salsa – that it can be hard to choose. A large burrito packed with beans and cheese along with veggies and smoky sauces will run you under two bucks. Tacos, tamales, quesadillas and flautas can be filled with beef, pork, fish, lobster or any number of vegetarian goodies – but vegetarians should be aware that tortillas and masa are often cooked in pig fat.

Don’t miss: roasted ears of corn with chipotle sour cream and lime juice; oblong sandal-shaped fried masa called huarache topped with onions, potato, cilantro, queso and dried seasoned meat.

Paris, France

(images via: drquimbo, kevinspencer)

If you want to eat cheap in France’s most glamorous city, take to the streets. Parisian food vendors tend to have an international flavor, and Greek gyros overflowing with meat and french fries are a common sight, as are Israeli-style falafel wraps. Pastries can be found all over town, including cookies called macarons in flavors like vanilla and pistachio. The French version of a hot dog is a fun choice, stuffed into a baguette and smothered in melted cheese. Inexpensive sandwiches are everywhere, like the croque-monsieur (ham and cheese).

Don’t miss: crepes, the ultimate French street food. Crepe stands are on nearly every corner, topping the thin pancake-like rounds with either savory fillings like ham, cheese and eggs or sweet treats like Nutella with Grand Marnier or jam.

Mumbai, India

(image via: bluesmoon, kirti poddar, mojosaurus)

Vegetarian travelers in search of quick, cheap and tasty culinary delights can’t pass up Mumbai, where meatless options are the rule rather than the exception. Head to Khao Galli (“Eat Street”) which is lined on both sides with food stalls hawking pav bhaji (vegetable curry with bread), aloo pakora (chunks of onion fried in chickpea batter), samosas (savory pastry stuffed with potato, onion and spices), paneer uttapam (grilled Indian farmer’s cheese in a lentil flour crepe) and much more. For safety, seek out busy stalls that specify use of mineral water in their cooking.

Don’t miss: vada pav, an Indian street food favorite – spicy fried potato balls on a warm bun – and a cup of real chai tea.

Hanoi, Vietnam

(image via: jaxincpt, savourasia)

In Hanoi, street food is a way of life. In the alleyways of Old Town, outdoor tables are packed with locals enjoying dishes like bún (round rice noodle soup with beef, chicken or tofu), bánh cuốn (minced pork and mushrooms wrapped in a pancake-like roll) and snails boiled in ginger, lemongrass and lemon leaf. In the 6-8 weeks of Vietnamese winter, indulge in lẩu, a hot pot of broth that comes with a huge tray of add-ins like seafood, tofu and tarot root and cooks right on your table. Most dishes don’t cost more than a few dollars.

Don’t miss:  the simple flat noodle soup with beef or chicken called phở, which can be found throughout the city and is emblematic of Vietnamese cuisine; a glass of chè, a thick goopy drink starring green beans, black beans, corn, lotus seeds or taro served over crushed ice and topped with sweetened condensed milk.

Portland, Oregon

(images via: wikimedia commons)

Let’s say you can’t leave America, but you still want to sample the street food of the world. America has dozens of fantastic street food cities, not the least of which are New York City, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, but one has it all: Portland, Oregon. Burritos, Korean barbecue, Thai noodles, Vietnamese sandwiches – practically everything on the rest of this list is available on the streets of Portland along with American meals like pizza, burgers, grilled cheese and vegan wraps. With over 500 food carts to choose from, it would take years to try it all. Check out FoodCartsPortland.com for details and reviews.

Don’t miss: Garden State, an award-winning local favorite, serves up grilled alaskan cod with caper berries, napa cabbage, potato, oranges and mint vinaigrette on ciabatta. Get it with a side of chickpea fries, all for under $12.

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A Striking Beauty: 7 Shocking Scenes Of Volcano Lightning

February 1, 2011 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments 

[ By Steve in 7 Wonders Series, Nature & Ecosystems, Science & Research. ]

Red-hot lava, suffocating ash clouds and ear-splitting explosions: volcanoes assault the senses in a BIG way. Now you can add lightning to nature’s igneous arsenal, as advances in modern high-speed photography have enabled scientists to document the beauty and wonder of volcanic lightning in all its ex-static glory.

Chaitén Volcano, Chile

(images via: Daily Mail UK and Snopes)

When Chile’s Chaitén volcano awoke from a 9,500 year long slumber on May 2, 2008, it did so in a big way. Within days, the volcano that stands 1,122 meters (3,681 ft) above sea level had expelled a 30,000 meters (98,000 ft) tall ash cloud into the formerly clear Andean air. Easily visible from space, the cloud was blown south-east by upper level winds across the entire width of neighboring Argentina, to finally dissipate over the South Atlantic ocean.

(image via: Quality Junkyard)

Chaitén isn’t especially tall as volcanoes go, but it made up for its stature with one of the most electrifying displays of volcanic lightning ever seen. Volcanologists aren’t exactly sure what causes volcanic lightning due to the difficulty of installing sensors in such a hostile environment, but it’s thought that static charges in the swirling clouds of ash build up to immense levels until they’re released as visible lightning.

Eyjafjallajökull Volcano, Iceland

(images via: National Geographic and Left Coast Rebel)

On March 20, 2010, Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano roared into action for the first time since 1823, it did more than disrupt air travel across a good portion of Europe: it provided photographers with an excellent opportunity to record some spectacular scenes of volcanic lightning.

(images via: National Geographic and Krunker)

Eyjafjallajökull’s eruption was primarily ash with relatively low amounts of flowing lava. Tick, massive ash clouds brought darkness to areas of southern Iceland only relieved by copious flickers and flashes of volcanic lightning.

(image via: NASA/APOD)

Though the most active phase of Eyjafjallajökull’s 2010 eruption only lasted about 2 months, volcanologists are waiting for the other show to fall. Historic records three major eruptions of the nearby Katla volcano which followed Eyjafjallajökull’s eruptions in 920, 1612, and 1821-23. Should Katla blow, it’ll make Eyjafjallajökull look small.

Mt. Vesuvius, Italy

(images via: Semjazza, John William Godward and Daniele Pollice)

Mount Vesuvius, located about 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) east of Naples, Italy, is one of the world’s most famous – and most dangerous – volcanoes. The mountain has erupted dozens of times since the catastrophic destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, most recently in the spring of 1944 when dozens of American bombers were damaged or destroyed by falling ash and red-hot rocks.

(image via: Muse On News)

Vesuvius has erupted with some regularity over the course of recorded history with 8 eruptions occurring in the 19th century and 3 more in the 20th. Ominously, longer periods of quiet have led to stronger, more explosive eruptions – and today several million people live within close proximity to the volcano’s crater and slopes.

Mt. Sakurajima, Japan

(images via: Photovolcanica, Daily Mail UK and The Volcanism Blog)

Sakurajima is a composite volcano with three peaks located in Kagoshima Bay, just south of the Japanese city of Kagoshima. Formerly an island, Sakurajima’s 1914 eruption produced lava flows over a period of months, eventually joining the island to the mainland. In 1955, Sakurajima entered a period of heightened activity and in 2010 it erupted spectacularly to the delight of volcano geeks the world over.

Check out the following video, taken on February 8, 2010, which shows Sakurajima shooting an incandescent spire of molten rock thousands of feet into the sky accompanied by brilliant flashes of lightning:

February 2010 eruption of Mount Sakurajima, via Xximomixx

(image via: The Matrix Data Bank)

Sakurajima draws from the same reservoir of magma that supplied a massive volcano that erupted explosively 22,000 years ago, forming the 17 by 23 km (10.5 by 14.3 mile) wide Aira caldera. An eruption on a similar scale today would cause the loss of lives and livelihoods at an unmeasurable scale.

Tavurvur, Papua New Guinea

(images via: Sneak Me, Epoch Times and Wikipedia)

Tavurvur is one of several active volcanoes occupying the Rabaul caldera on New Britain, a sickle-shaped island just east of Papua New Guinea. In 1994 Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted simultaneously – of the five people killed during the eruptions, one was struck by volcanic lightning.

(image via: Pictopia)

Tarvurvur may not be well known due to its relative isolation but its eruptions can be epic in scope. In 1937, a double eruption of Tarvurvur and Vulcan killed over 500 people while a 2006 eruption led off with an explosion that shattered windows up to 12 kilometers (7.45 miles) away. Tarvurvur’s most recent eruption was in January of 2009 but if history is any indication, another one won’t be long in coming.

Mt. Redoubt, Alaska, USA

(images via: Ground Truth Trekking, Ephemerata Weather Radar and Geology.com)

Mount Redoubt, located approximately 180 km (110 miles) southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, is a 9,000 ft (2,700 m) high stratovolcano prone to violent eruptions. Mount Redoubt has been active for thousands of years and has erupted no less than four times in the 20th century. It’s most recent eruption was in early 2009.

(image via: LiveScience)

An expedition dedicated to unlocking the mystery of volcanic lightning hit paydirt in March of 2009 when Mount Redoubt, obviously ready for its close-up, put on a spectacular sound and light show. “The lightning activity was as strong or stronger than we have seen in large Midwestern thunderstorms,” said physicist Paul Krehbiel of New Mexico Tech. “The radio frequency noise was so strong and continuous that people living in the area would not have been able to watch broadcast VHF television stations.”

Mt. Shinmoedake, Japan

(images via: MSNBC and NY Daily News)

Mount Shinmoedake, part of the Kirishima cluster of volcanoes in southwestern Japan, began erupting explosively in late January of 2011. The new eruption is the largest since 1959 and is the third major eruption this century. The volcano is currently expelling massive clouds of thick, roiling ash – at night these clouds are lit up by bright, blue-white lightning bolts.

Here’s a short video showcasing some of Mount Shinmoedake’s latest pyrotechnics:

Mount Shinmoedake, January 27, 2011, via Ebi3828

(image via: Reuters)

Mount Shinmoedake has another claim to fame: it was the location of SPECTRE’s headquarters in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice. One thing’s for certain: this is one volcano that’ll leave you shaken AND stirred!

(image via: Volcano Discovery)

We’ll close this post with an electrifying image of Anak Krakatau, the steadily growing successor to Krakatoa (which exploded catastrophically, “East of Java”, in 1883). The “Child of Krakatoa” first appeared in 1927 and its eruptions have grown more powerful as time goes by. The above image, taken in November of 2010, may foreshadow the future… will the son follow in the footsteps of his father? The answer might be… en-lightning.

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Snow Rollers: Tumblin’ Tumbleweeds Of Icy White Delight

January 25, 2011 by admin · View Comments 

[ By Steve in Geography & Travel, Nature & Ecosystems, Science & Research. ]

Snow Rollers… not your grandfather’s whitecaps, unless gramps is an Eskimo! This rare winter phenomenon can occur anywhere in the world if conditions are just right, and the eerie beauty of a meadow covered in frozen white waves is, for those lucky enough to witness them, a rare pleasure indeed!

Mother Nature’s Snowmen

(images via: Global Times and NOAA)

Most everyone has enjoyed the experience of making a snowman, and those who have done so know that the easiest way to make one is to start with a small snowball, then roll it in snow until it becomes a BIG snowball. Do this three times, pile the snowballs atop one another, and you’ve got your basic snowman. Of course, the weather outside has much to do with your success – because the weather determines the texture and consistency of the snow.

(images via: Telegraph UK)

Snow Rollers are somewhat similar to the snowballs used to make snowmen but they are much more dependent on not only the weather, but the condition of the snow on the ground.

See What Condition Your Condition Is In

(images via: Likers and Earth Science POD)

Meteorologists investigating Snow Rollers have turned up some common factors that seem to be prerequisites for their formation. The snow, for starters, needs to be sticky enough to hold together once the ball gets rolling, so to speak. Referring back to snowman-making, the ideal type of snow is loose in consistency while the “stickiness” derives from an air temperature slightly below freezing.

(image via: C.Atrox)

Ground temperature is important as well – it should also be slightly below freezing in order to provide a little bit of lubrication between the various layers of snow. The most critical of such layers is formed from ice, so that embryonic Snow Rollers can initially break free from their anchoring substrate. This is NOT good, however, if you’re in a mountainous area standing downslope. Can you say “avalanche?”

Winter Wind FTW

(images via: MPR News and Terre Haute)

Now let’s talk about wind. Too stiff a breeze will simply shift snow and blow it into drifts. For Snow Rollers to form on a relatively flat ground surface, the wind must be of a certain speed and it has to blow consistently – no gusts, as newly formed Snow Rollers are often delicate.

(image via: Ilmajaam.ee)

Wind can also come into play by shaking clumps of snow off of tree branches or overhanging rocks, cliffs or what have you. If the clump should fall on an unstable snow pack and the wind is blowing just right, Snow Rollers or natural snowballs can form.

A Step On A Slippery Slope

(images via: Crop Circle Science and NOAA)

Gravity will sometimes act to assist Snow Roller formation. An inclined surface often needs less of a shove from the wind to get Snow Rollers in motion. Falling snow clumps as mentioned above can also “hit the ground rolling”, and end up at the bottom of a valley greatly increased in size.

(image via: Wikipedia)

Now here’s something you don’t see every day – then again, who’d really expect to? Give nature a slippery surface, add snow, fine tune the temperature and you’ve got a recipe for twin Snow Rollers. Too cool for school… though not THIS school.

Field Of Dreams

(image via: KATU.com)

Classic Snow Rollers, however, are typically seen on clear, flat fields upon which gravity plays no part. Their creation, propagation and lateral motion is governed strictly by the wind – as well as the aforementioned snow and ground conditions. A newly discovered field of Snow Rollers can look like a meadow scattered with miniature white hay bales – so artificial, onlookers find themselves scouting for footprints of the makers.

Roll Out The White Carpet

(image via: Wikipedia)

There are physical limits to the size of Snow Rollers. You won’t see an entire field rolled up like a cheap carpet, for example, as weight and stress conspire to keep most Snow Rollers looking much like rolled-up sleeping bags. The very wide Snow Rollers shown above, photographed in the Giant Mountains of the Czech Republic, are as rare as they are ephemeral.

(images via: Crop Circle Science and NOAA)

Snow Rollers also gain weight as they roll, and sooner or later – often sooner – the weight of the Snow Roller combined with resistance from the fresh snow ahead of it counteracts the forces of wind and inertia. The biggest reported Snow Rollers were roughly 2 feet (60cm) in diameter.

The Hole Truth

(image via: Morning Earth)

One salient feature common to most Snow Rollers is the “donut hole” in the middle. One would think that it would be impossible to roll a blanket of something as fragile as snow around, well, nothing… and you would be correct.

(images via: Terre Haute, Enquirer and Burlington Free Press)

Snow Rollers do indeed have filled holes at their inception, however this initial layer of snow is usually thin due to the baby Snow Roller’s size, and soon crumbles under the stress and vibration incurred as the Snow Roller picks up speed and snow.

(image via: Enquirer)

Snow Rollers are as delightful as they are rare – the latter accentuating the former. Winter may seem to offer nothing but chills and spills, but rare and special natural phenomena like Snow Rollers provide those lucky enough to witness them an undoubtedly warm thrill. Let’s roll!

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Man-Made Mountains: 12 Terrain-Inspired Buildings

October 22, 2010 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments 

[ By Steph in Art & Design, Geography & Travel. ]

It juts out of the landscape and into the clouds, covered in grass, butterflies flitting about – but it’s no naturally-occurring mountain. It’s a high-density housing development, or a massive mixed-use complex. These 12 buildings disguised as mountains or hills pay homage to the land in which they are nestled in harmonious bio-mimicry (or perhaps geo-mimicry) rather than stark artificiality.

MVRDV: China Hills – A Vision of Future Cities

(images via: mvrdv)

How can you accommodate millions of urban inhabitants in a way that blends in with the environment? Architecture firm MVRDV has an idea for China: sky-high towers that resemble exaggerated hills. Each residential ‘mountain’ could house up to 100,000 people in the terraced outer rings while offering retail, industry, leisure and technology in the core. The result once built looks not like a sprawling city, but like an artificial addition to the country’s mountain ranges.

Gwanggyo Power Center’s Towering Hills

(images via: mvrdv)

Vertical greenery makes this concept for Gwanggyo Power Center – again by MVRDV – look even more like a natural part of the landscape rather than harshly artificial towers of steel and glass. Designed for the as-yet-unbuilt ‘future city’ of Gwanggyo in South Korea, which is envisioned as an entirely self-sufficient home to 77,000 people.

La Maison-Vague: Wavy Green Hill House

(images via: patrick nadeau)

Vaguely hobbit-like yet thoroughly modern, this hill house by Patrick Nadeau has a wave-shaped green roof that extends all the way to the ground on either side – almost (the house is raised to create a bench around the perimeter). La Maison-Vague, currently under construction in Reims, France, has a facade made of double-skin polycarbonate glass and is planted with grasses, succulents and delicious-smelling herbs like thyme and lavender.

Rolling Green Stadium in Slovenia

(images via: sadar vuga architects)

From a distance, the new Sports Park Stozice in Slovenia may not look like an actual hill, but it does seem as if it has a green roof – an illusion, thanks to reflective finish that changes color according to the weather and the distance of the viewer. Set mostly underground, this football stadium, sports hall and shopping center with room for 12,000 spectators was designed to fit into an abandoned 40-foot-deep gravel pit.

Green-Roofed Skyscraper by Graft Architects

(images via: graftlab)

With its glassy facade, living roof and vertical greenery, the AO Project by Graft Architects could be an icy mountain rising above an urban landscape. In fact, it’s an apartment complex designed to meet strict space limitations for a Japanese client in an undisclosed location. Details are scarce, but the project is set to be completed in 2012.

Lace Hill: Giant Living Man-Made Mountain

(images via: inhabitat)

It’s a building. It’s a mountain. It’s a living man-made mountain, with a building inside it. The appropriately named Forrest Fulton Architects came up with this uber-creative concept for a mixed-use development in Armenia which bears a perforated living facade inspired by traditional Armenian lace needlework. Lace Hill fits right into the hilly landscape, sites the parking lot underground for maximum aesthetics and contains offices, apartments, a hotel, retail and restaurants.

Fake Hills: Multi-Use Complex in Beihai, China

(images via: mad architects)

Think of it as a compromise between the sky-high silhouettes of modern high-rise architecture and the more curvilinear landscapes that such buildings are often set against. ‘Fake Hills’ by MAD Architects is under construction in Beihai, China and will offer high-density urban housing along a narrow waterfront site. MAD says “This shape can maximize the views of residents, but can also easily appear to be a monolithic break between the waterfront and the land behind it.  The solution is twofold: to cut into the slab, creating a sculpted form which references the shape of the hills that dominate the region’s landscape, and to cut openings through the structure, to further allow space, views and light to penetrate it.”

Taipei Pop Music Center’s Glassy Hills

(images via: design boom)

Hills and canyons aren’t exactly common features in urban spaces, but if Mario Bellini Architects has their way, Taipei will soon have both – artificially constructed, of course. Their vision for the Taipei Pop Music Center is “a single body wrapped in a plastic ‘mantle plant’” – and while it’s not clear exactly what that means and whether the greenery on the structure is live or not, it’s certainly a sight to behold, especially with those glass passageways connecting one ‘hill’ to another.

Magic Mountains: Green Business District for Chongqing, China

(images via: inhabitat)

Designed to fit into the natural skyline of Chongqing, China, ‘Magic Mountains’ by CEBO/Chongqing University features green-topped groupings of skyscrapers that are arranged in such a way that they form a hill-shape as a whole. Higher peaks indicate dense housing while lower, rolling hills represent outlying neighborhoods with lower populations.

That’s No Mountain – It’s a Luxury Resort

(images via: mvrdv)

It certainly cuts a dramatic profile, jutting out into the sky, and if it were a natural landscape feature it would be no less an attraction. But this isn’t just a lush green hill; it’s a luxury resort in Montenegro designed by MVRDV, an architecture firm with quite an oeuvre of hill- and mountain-inspired concepts. ‘Galije’ honors its previously untouched slice of coastal land by disturbing its beauty as little as possible, allowing native flora and fauna to take its rightful place right on the building’s surface.

California Academy of Sciences’ Natural Curves

(images via: calacademy.org)

Concepts are all fine and well, but isn’t it nice to see stunning projects like these made reality every now and then? The California Academy of Sciences is ahead of the curve with grassy curves of its own, sporting a hilly green roof that pays homage to the landscape of San Francisco. A rooftop observation deck allows visitors to get a close look at the green rooftop, which hosts a wide array of native wildlife including birds and butterflies.

The Berg: Man-Made Mountain in Germany

(images via: archdaily)

Sure, there’s Space Mountain in Tomorrowland and a few other artificial theme-park mountains that are only remarkable for the roller coasters they contain. But what about man-made mountains that are just as fun, on a much bigger scale? The Berg would be the biggest artificial mountain in the world, designed as an unprecedented tourist attraction in Berlin, Germany that would not only provide a haven for wildlife but also hold recreation space for the city’s inhabitants.

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Positive Quote Wednesday - on Autumn

September 15, 2010 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments 

Yes, I realize we don’t all experience Fall in the traditional orange and yellow leaf falling and chilly air way. But collectively we can appreciate the wonder of this time of year, even symbolically.

The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August, and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many.  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.  ~Albert Camus

It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life.  ~P.D. James

Bittersweet October.  The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter.  ~Carol Bishop Hipps

Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.  ~George Eliot

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.  ~Stanley Horowitz

No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one autumnal face.
~John Donne

Besides the autumn poets sing,
A few prosaic days
A little this side of the snow
And that side of the haze.
~Emily Dickinson

October’s poplars are flaming torches lighting the way to winter.  ~Nova Bair

falling leaves
hide the path
so quietly
~John Bailey, “Autumn,” a haiku year, 2001, as posted on oldgreypoet.com

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came -
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.
~George Cooper, “October’s Party”

Youth is like spring, an over praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes.  Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits.  ~Samuel Butler

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.  ~Elizabeth Lawrence

Beth

Filed Under: Positive News
Tagged: butler, children, dancing, earth, emily-dickinson, green, news, party, professor, professor-wind, snow, time, traditional, weather

Positive Quote Wednesday - on Autumn

September 15, 2010 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments 

Yes, I realize we don’t all experience Fall in the traditional orange and yellow leaf falling and chilly air way. But collectively we can appreciate the wonder of this time of year, even symbolically.

The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August, and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many.  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.  ~Albert Camus

It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life.  ~P.D. James

Bittersweet October.  The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter.  ~Carol Bishop Hipps

Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.  ~George Eliot

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.  ~Stanley Horowitz

No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one autumnal face.
~John Donne

Besides the autumn poets sing,
A few prosaic days
A little this side of the snow
And that side of the haze.
~Emily Dickinson

October’s poplars are flaming torches lighting the way to winter.  ~Nova Bair

falling leaves
hide the path
so quietly
~John Bailey, “Autumn,” a haiku year, 2001, as posted on oldgreypoet.com

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came -
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.
~George Cooper, “October’s Party”

Youth is like spring, an over praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes.  Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits.  ~Samuel Butler

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.  ~Elizabeth Lawrence

Beth

Filed Under: Positive News
Tagged: autumn, bishop, butler, dancing, emily-dickinson, george-cooper, green, oliver-wendell, professor, professor-wind, samuel-butler, snow, weather

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