Category: Frogs

Textile Protest, Alt-Reality Animation, Nature Dream at MOLAA by da-AL

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The Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, California, is a great way to spend a rainy day with visiting family!

What a delight to visit MOLAA with Angela!

On display were arpilleras — textiles sewn by the women of MEMCh (Movement for the Emancipation of the Chilean Woman) to protest the 17-year-long fascist regime of Agosto Pinochet. The dictator seized control of Chile with the backing of United States President Nixon in 1973 and further support of later U.S. President Bush’s family. (More about the exhibition here)…

Bullets rain down on seekers of justice in Chile…
Women had to be creative to get word out about the killings…
“Children search trash cans for bread.” “Not everyone has running water.”
Books are burned…
All are forced to worship the dictator…

Dreams, politics, and beauty merge in the art of Argentine artist Matias Duville…

Transcendent and political art by Argentine artist Matias Duville…

Award-winning animation was also on display — the alternative worlds created by Quique Rivera, a Puerto Rican animation artist, sculptor, photographer, and film director. His sculptures such as these…

Quique Rivera sees things differently…
His underwater world is like no other…

…created videos such as these! Also, more about the Museum of Latin American Art is here and here and here.

Where’s your favorite place to take visitors?…

You Are Amazing by Roy Lennic

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Thanks for the fab pic, Ryan McGuire of Gratisography.com

Fellow blogger Roy Lennic describes himself: “I’m just a guy of substance who is limited to a certain place, such that my thoughts are the only thing to express… I write whatever comes to mind, but most importantly what can inspire and help people have good reasoning and make good choices in their lives.”

Roy’s favorite post…

Beautiful Creature

Beauty is not only in the bedazzlement. It’s not only in the flashy colors, and the glowing smile on your face. Beauty is much more than that. It’s not the flourishing glitter that people cant stop to admire or the wonderful natural appearance that strikes people’s eyes.

Beauty is in how you endure having all that on you despite all the flaws.  Beauty is how you fight to keep the fire blazing in you – to be always hot and spicy. Beauty is in the strength that you use to transform yourself with style. Beauty is the natural capability of your wits to become sassy and mesmerize the world with your glow.

Beauty is not just how the sunrise reflects in your eyes. It’s not just how the world seems to rhyme on your face. It’s not only how unique you are with your attributes, but how you out stand the normality and become amazingly special.

Beauty is in the scars that prove how you have had a conclusive victory in overcoming a bout of monstrous life’s adventure. Its how you walk through a tornado without losing a smile on your face. Beauty is how you exult even when times seem heartbreaking.

Beauty is how you thrive magnificently to impose a glow, bright enough and absolutely indispensable.

Beauty is not just how exclusively beautiful you are, but how people feel and look beautiful too when they are with you.

You are beautiful.

Videos: Costa Rica animals, food, money, and plants

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A mere 0.1% of Earth’s landmass, Costa Rica harbors 5% of Earth’s biodiversity. Environmental protection is Costa Rica’s middle name. Ecotourism rewards Ticos (Costa Ricans) with jobs and commerce. Other countries take note: caring for Mother Nature pays off in $mucho$ $dinero$.

25% of its land is nationally protected. Compare that to the developing world’s average of 13% and the developed world’s average of 8%. Each Costa Rican drains the Earth a third less than each North American does.

Crops include coffee and sugar cane.

Tap or hover over photos for captions and to enlarge them.

From caterpillar to pupa to butterfly.
Optimism springs eternal at a taco stand.
Typical Costa Rica all day fare: rice, beans, stew, fresh grilled cheese, and thick bread
Varied sizes lessen mistakes.
Colorful Costa Rican currency features local wildlife.
Lively downtown San Jose.
A red macaw oversees a butterfly sanctuary.
These puffy little yellow birds were everywhere.
Costa Rican hummingbirds come in many colors and sizes including this iridescent green.
Coati
A coffee Plantation
These coffee berries taste sweet before they’re processed.
Coffee remains are composted.
A calf at the coffee plantation.
Milled ugar cane gets recycled into paper.
Sugar cane juice.
Sugar cane juice boiled into syrup.
Sugar cane syrup whipped into candy.
A bottle of Cacique: potent fermented sugar cane alcohol.
These insides of a cocoa bean taste sweet and nothing like processed chocolate.
Cocoa becoming chocolate.
Hanging bridges like this one let you view the cloud forest from up high.
A fern tree from below.
A fern tree from above.
Bromeliads like this one grow up high and are homes to frogs.
Bromeliads like this one grow in all colors on the ground.
Bug tracks on leaves.

What do you think about when you think of butterflies?

Learn more about Costa Rica here and here.