colors of the wind

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[hegartyt]

This is a bit of a late post, I’ve had a busy week!  Tuesday evening was definitely a highlight of the week, as it was Family Formal Hall.  

Stephanie and I kicked off the night by getting ready together (aka attempting to do our makeup, deciding on flats instead of heels, and letting our hair out of messy buns/ponytails).  We then donned our gowns and headed to dinner early so we’d be able to be sure to get all of fam A seated together.  The three course dinner included pheasant.  

After dinner and a quick change, we reconvened in Seb’s room.  He has really cool light up speakers, so that was fun!  Next stop was Cindies, which is one of the main clubs in Cambridge.  It’s basically a massive dance party plus an outdoor area where you can take a break and hear enough to actually hold a conversation.  I was lucky enough to not have any lectures on Wednesday, so I could sleep in the next morning.   

[sixteensmallstepstohappiness]

1. push yourself to get up before the rest of the world - start with 7am, then 6am, then 5:30am. go to the nearest hill with a big coat and a scarf and watch the sun rise. 2. push yourself to fall asleep earlier - start with 11pm, then 10pm, then 9pm. wake up in the morning feeling re-energized and comfortable. 3. erase processed food from your diet. start with no lollies, chips, biscuits, then erase pasta, rice, cereal, then bread. use the rule that if a child couldn’t identify what was in it, you don’t eat it. 4. get into the habit of cooking yourself a beautiful breakfast. fry tomatoes and mushrooms in real butter and garlic, fry an egg, slice up a fresh avocado and squirt way too much lemon on it. sit and eat it and do nothing else. 5. stretch. start by reaching for the sky as hard as you can, then trying to touch your toes. roll your head. stretch your fingers. stretch everything. 6. buy a 1L water bottle. start with pushing yourself to drink the whole thing in a day, then try drinking it twice. 7. buy a beautiful diary and a beautiful black pen. write down everything you do, including dinner dates, appointments, assignments, coffees, what you need to do that day. no detail is too small. 8. strip your bed of your sheets and empty your underwear draw into the washing machine. put a massive scoop of scented fabric softener in there and wash. make your bed in full. 9. organise your room. fold all your clothes (and bag what you don’t want), clean your mirror, your laptop, vacuum the floor. light a beautiful candle. 10. have a luxurious shower with your favourite music playing. wash your hair, scrub your body, brush your teeth. lather your whole body in moisturiser, get familiar with the part between your toes, your inner thighs, the back of your neck. 11. push yourself to go for a walk. take your headphones, go to the beach and walk. smile at strangers walking the other way and be surprised how many smile back. bring your dog and observe the dog’s behaviour. realise you can learn from your dog. 12. message old friends with personal jokes. reminisce. suggest a catch up soon, even if you don’t follow through. push yourself to follow through. 13. think long and hard about what interests you. crime? sex? boarding school? long-forgotten romance etiquette? find a book about it and read it. there is a book about literally everything. 14. become the person you would ideally fall in love with. let cars merge into your lane when driving. pay double for parking tickets and leave a second one in the machine. stick your tongue out at babies. compliment people on their cute clothes. challenge yourself to not ridicule anyone for a whole day. then two. then a week. walk with a straight posture. look people in the eye. ask people about their story. talk to acquaintances so they become friends. 15. lie in the sunshine. daydream about the life you would lead if failure wasn’t a thing. open your eyes. take small steps to make it happen for you.

Sixteen Small Steps to Happiness   (via acceptvnce)

[mapsontheweb]

Concept for a high-speed rail network in North America

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[natgeofound]

A sled dog, tied to a whale rib, howls under the midnight sun in Alaska, 1969.Photograph by Thomas J. Abercrombie, National Geographic Creative

[kushandwizdom]

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

John Lennon (via kushandwizdom)

[huffpostarts-deactivated2016121]

Artist Documents Each And Every Day With A Miniature ‘Postcard For Ants’

[ponderation]

[thedolab-blog]

[mothernaturenetwork]

Why fixing climate change may turn out to be a bargain We’ve been told for years that tackling climate change will be costly and might ‘destroy’ the economy. According to two new studies, however, measures to stabilize the climate could pay for themselves.

[wildcat2030]

High-Flying Algae Airships are Self-Sufficient Airborne Cities - Architect Vincent Callebaut recently unveiled a blue-sky plan for a high-flying fleet of self-sufficient aircraft that are one part zeppelin cities and one part hydrogen-generating floating farms. Dubbed Hydrogenase, the algae-producing airborne cities are 100% emission-free and are capable of generating hydrogen gas without consuming land needed for crops or forests. (via High-Flying Algae Airships are Self-Sufficient Airborne Cities | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building)

[architecture-effects-blog]

Jean Nouvel’s Responsive Solar Facade at Institut du Monde Arabe

In the early eighties famed architect Jean Nouvel, in conjunction with Architecture-Studio, won the competition to design what would become the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA). It was conceived during the Grands Projets, a major development initiative headed by the French government, as a forum to explore the relationship of the Arab culture with France. Jean Nouvel, known for his innovative façade detailing, proposed an advanced responsive metallic brise soleil based on an archetypal element of Arabic architecture, the mashrabiyya. Drawing inspiration from the traditional lattice work that has been used for centuries in the Middle East to protect the occupants from the sun and provide privacy, Nouvel created a modular system of mechanized panels that could react dynamically to changing sunlight. Each made of several hundred light sensitive diaphragms, the panels could sensitively regulate the amount of light allowed to enter the building. During the various phases of the lens, a shifting geometric pattern of squares, circles, and octagons are formed and showcased as both light and void. As a result, the IMA’s interior spaces are dramatically modified, along with the exterior appearance, throughout the day. While these ocular devices create an incredible aesthetic, they are perhaps most innovative for their environmental performance. Since solar gain is easily mitigated by closing or reducing the aperture sizes, the building can be climate controlled efficiently without relying on energy-intensive air conditioning systems. Though completed almost three decades ago, the building remains a powerful example of alternative ways of imagining an “ecological” and culturally-aware architecture. 

[staceythinx]

The Lotus Building in Wujin, China by Studio 505 is as smart as it is beautiful.

Studio 505 on the energy efficiency of their design:

The project has been designed to minimize energy usage- with over 2500 geothermal piles driven through the base of the artificial lake, The entire lake water mass and ground beneath is utilized to pre-cool (summer) and pre-warm (winter) the air conditioning systems for both the lotus and the two storey building beneath the lake. The project is also mixed mode and naturally ventilated and utilizes evaporative cooling from the lake surface to drive a thermal chimney within the main flower pod.

[i-get-lost-in-your-smile]

[micdotcom]

15 breathtaking photos of this weekend’s vivid Aurora Borealis 

[rasputinmaxim-deactivated201802]

Seek not the favour of the multitude; it is seldom got by honest and lawful means. But seek the testimony of few; and number not voices, but weigh them. - Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant (via rasputinmaxim)

[mygloomysunday-deactivated20150]

Rules of love sur We Heart It.