Help Shine a Light on Child Mortality

All over the world children continue to die in such numbers that it is sometimes difficult to believe that we are all living in the same century.  Charity Human Appeal has recently released this video to raise awareness not only of the shocking numbers of children who are dying but what causes these awful child mortality rates too. It forms part of their #shinealight campaign to end child mortality and global poverty.

The release of the video has been timed to coincide with the beginning of Ramadan when Muslims throughout the world reflect on their relationship with those less fortunate than themselves (amongst many other things, of course).

The video shows two children but the shadow of one of them freezes.  When the camera pans to what is making the shadow we do not see the child but the many causes of child mortality around the world.  Rotting food, damaged medical equipment, dirty water, weapons and ammunition all come together to make this an extremely powerful visual metaphor for the things that kill children each and every day.

To focus on just one aspect of this shadow sculpture – the food that is crawling with insects represents the 3 million young lives lost to malnutrition each year.  However, this can be stopped.  Human Appeal’s activity in Syria alone over the last two years benefited over 2.7 million people.

There are ways you can help.  You could share this post through your social media channels.  You can also share directly from the video on Facebook or retweet it on Twitter.

Da Vinci Project

For some reason these lines from Edgar Allan Poe sprang to my mind as I watched Alain Escalle’s visually ravishing Da Vinci Project: All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.  As a visual diary of the Renaissance world it evokes a time when knowledge made a return to Europe and with it new visions for humanity.  It is a fantasy within a reverie – and is completely spellbinding.

Calbuco: A Volcano Erupts

If you are a timelapse photographer, like Martin Heck, you must dream of something like a volcano erupting when you just happen to be in the vicinity with all your equipment.  I wouldn’t like to calculate the odds but that is exactly when happened. Located in southern Chile the volcano picked April 22 2015 to pop off, just when Heck was traveling away from the neighboring volcano Osorno.  The footage he captured is simply stunning.

Boogers

Sometimes life is no fun.  When you are a young girl with a host of allergies it often becomes miserable.  Such is the case with Boogers who is constantly producing industrial amounts of snot.  Yet there may be help at hand, perhaps through her grandmother’s home made remedies but undoubtedly through the strength of her imagination.

This charming Colombian animated short, directed by Pavel Molano Rincón captures the resourcefulness possessed by so many children with difficulties as well as an insight in to how they come to terms with their condition.

Tiny Tunes: Singing Songs about the Important Things in Life

Stop what you’re doing and watch this because it will probably change your life. OK, it absolutely won’t but I think you might become an instant fan of Tiny Tunes, a new band singing songs about the important things in life such as gas, size, the future, style, food and that’s it really.   They prove, finally, that you really don't need a twenty minute Muse epic if you are searching for profundity in your music.

Created by Andy Martin these tiny little songs could last you a lifetime and contain vast amounts of sensible advice.  My favourite I think is “when I’m dead, I’m gonna freeze my head.” Perhaps, the song about food is probably more accurately me at the end of the day.

Doctor Who Classic Series Mega-Quiz: How Many Monsters Can You Name?

If you are a little bored and just happen to be a fan of the TV series Doctor Who (or the part of it now called the classic series) then this might just alleviate your situation. We have taken forty of the old-time monsters and wrapped them up in to a picture-based multiple choice quiz. How many will you get out of forty? Please don’t forget to share this quiz on Facebook if you enjoyed it!

If the answer you choose goes GREEN, then you got it right.  If it goes RED then you got it wrong.  You will also see how many other people chose the different answers (in terms of a percentage). Ready? Let's go!

The Fermi Paradox vs The Great Filter

The Fermi Paradox wonders why we have not encountered intelligent extra-terrestrial life as statistically it must exist. However, once you throw the concept of the Great Filter in to the mix the (possibly) sad reality of why ET has never coming a’ knocking becomes clear.  This is a personal project by Alex Verlan inspired by Dan Carlin's 'Hardcore History' series.  So, where is everybody? Oh. Oh dear.

Hola Llamigo

Down on the piñata farm, things are looking a little bleak for one young boy and his best friend.  They live on what can only be called a factory farm. As their friendship grows so does the danger until one day things, inevitably, come to a head.  This lovely, funny and utterly daft animated short was created by Charlie Parisi and Christina Chang during their time at Ringling College of Art and Design.