Mushroom Home: Art in Nature

As one of the most fascinating homes in the world, the Mushroom house not only demonstrates an architect's ingenuity in creating a beautiful and comfortable home but also in blending art with nature in its unique design. The result is a dream home made up of five interconnected pods, in a natural environment surrounded by trees.

Built in 1971 by James H. Johnson, the five pods sit on concrete and steel "stems". Two pods are used as bedrooms, the center pod holds the kitchen and sitting room, the fourth pod serves as a living and dining area with a fireplace, and the fifth pod is used as a deck.

As a local landmark in Perinton, New York, the Mushroom Home attracted the attention of several artists who contributed 9,000 ceramic tiles for the interior of the home.

This home may not be totally eco-friendly, but the concept of building a home that blends in with nature is indeed inspirational. It's possible to build a beautiful home without destroying the natural surrounding. We should have more homes like this!

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Best dancing on ice: Daisuke Takahashi at GPF 2011

One of the most impressive men's figure skating ever was by Daisuke Takahashi of Japan in the Men's Final Grand Prix 2011. He performed brilliantly - dancing on ice!

The music itself was not the ordinary classical but the blues (Blues for Klook). Takahashi captured the feel of the blues with smooth and expressive moves, high jumps and timely gestures beautifully. It's rare nowadays to watch figure skaters perform their numbers as though they are REALLY dancing, not just doing their routine of jumps, spins and footsteps.

Though he messed up the quad jump at the beginning, but for the rest of the program he made everyone in the audience feel the music through his skating. He was sensational! It's no wonder that he received a standing ovation for his great performance.

What an inspirational skater!

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Winter art of Nature: Snowflakes

Winter is here. In some colder places, snow quietly falls from the sky.

Snow consists of millions and millions of snowflakes which are crafted by the elements of weather. Each snowflake is as individual and unique as people are or any living thing on this planet.

Though as common as raindrops from the clouds or sand grains on the beach, snowflakes seem to be shrouded in mystery. Scientists have tried to solve the puzzle: "Is it really true that no two snowflakes are alike?"

The birth of a snowflake begins when a tiny dust or pollen particle comes into contact with water vapor. Then, the water vapor freezes the particle as a tiny crystal of ice high up in Earth's atmosphere.

Interestingly, the molecules of water that form each ice crystal naturally arrange themselves into a hexagonal shape. All snowflakes start out as a hexagonal crystal of ice and then "grow" delicate extensions (arms) forming intricate patterns. As snow crystals tumble through the air, they enlarge their shapes in an infinite number of ways of being six-sided.

The patterns of snowflakes can be grouped into the following:

1. Hexagonal plate - six-sided flat shapes, sometimes with a star pattern in the center of a hexagonal plate

2. Stellar plate: hexagonal plates that have bumps or unbranched arms, giving the snowflake a "star" appearance

3. Stellar dendrite: branching six-sided shapes

4. Fernlike stellar dendrite: branches of a snowflake that look feathery or like the fronds of a fern

5. Needles: look like needles which may be solid, hollow, or partially hollow

6. Column: six-sided columns that may be short and wide, long and thin, capped or even twisted

7. Bullets: column-shaped snowflakes tapered at one end, forming a bullet shape

8. Irregular: snowflakes that may have grown unevenly, broken, melted, or stuck to other snow crystals

What researchers know is that snowflakes form different shapes at different temperatures. In addition, pollution and other impurities in the air may contribute to the shape of a snow crystal. Believe it or not, most snowflakes are imperfect!

The weather temperature plays a major role in shaping the snowflakes. Here's a list of different temperatures that influence the patterns of ice crystal growth:

thin plates: 32-25F
needles: 25-21F
hollow columns: 21-14F
sector plates: 14-10F
dendrites: 10-3F

So, back to the question: "Is it really true that no two snowflakes are alike?"

What do you think?

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Why a hobby is good for you?

Humans are part of Nature's creation. Thus, humans have innate creativity which should be expressed in one way or another. The best way for any human to express his/her creative side is to have a hobby that suits his/her personality.

As a healthy approach to opening ourselves up to imaginative thinking, discovery and exploration, having a hobby is to spend hours a day or days a month or weeks a year in a "specialized pursuit" for pleasure. A hobby is never a waste of time because it involves you in making things of your own, gaining personal knowledge and learning new skills.

A hobby could be anything as long as it gives you pleasure in doing it. Having a hobby gives you self-esteem, satisfaction, a sense of achievement as well as a sense of personal growth. It has been proven that a hobby can improve memory and alleviate the effects of aging.

The things that a hobby could do for you:

- gives relief from over-working or stress
- gives you private time to have with yourself
- gives you independent and pleasure from within, not depending on entertainment or friends
- reveals your unique talent
- challenges you to improve yourself
- gives you a chance to meet and share with people of similar taste
- gives you an alternative career if you have mastered it

The Keirsey Temperament Theory developed by educational psychologist, David Keirsey, identifies four main personality temperaments that have their own traits, behaviors, preferences and tendencies. Knowing your type of personality can be useful for determining the kind of hobby that would appeal to you.

1. Guardians - practical, hardworking individuals who take responsibilities seriously. They are productive, making things run smoothly and doing voluntary work. They enjoy acquiring knowledge that can be put into practical use. Suggested hobbies: carpentry, photography, model building.

2. Artisans - fun-loving and creative individuals with a natural inclination for the arts. These people are usually identified as the ones with natural "talent". Suggested hobbies: drawing, painting, sculpting, fashion design, cooking, horticulture, music or theatre performance.

3. Idealists - deep thinkers who seek self-improvement as well as improvement for the world at large. Some idealists may be visionaries and healers and they are drawn to the "unknown". Suggested hobbies: reading on psychology, mystery or social justice; writing, designing, art, music, dance.

4. Rationals - logical problem-solvers who enjoy gaining theoretical and practical knowledge. They incline to be inventors who show an appreciation for technology and mental exercise. Suggested hobbies: computer programming, car mechanics, electronics.

Here's a list of well-known hobbies:

1. fishing
2. sewing
3. handicrafts
4. playing music
5. bird watching
6. restoring cars, fixing things
7. carpentry
8. reading, writing
9. collecting
10. model building
11. painting, drawing, designing
12. photography
13. gardening
14. cooking, baking

Instead of being a couch potato or moping around doing nothing during your spare time, think of a hobby you want to master for life. Put your precious time to better use. Get a hobby!!!

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