MetaFilter posts tagged with desert

"....Because it is bitter, and because it is my heart."

orthogonality — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:26:04 -0800

From these various anthropological approaches, a basic dichotomy has emerged between two types of societies from very different ecosystems: societies born in rain forests and those that thrive in deserts.... Begin with religious beliefs. A striking proportion of rain forest dwellers are polytheistic, worshipping an array of spirits and gods.... But desert dwellers... are usually monotheistic. Of course, despite allegiances to a single deity, other supernatural beings may be involved, like angels and djinns and Satan. But the hierarchy is notable, with minor deities subservient to the Omnipotent One. This division makes ecological sense.... Desert societies, with their far-flung members tending goats and camels, are classic spawning grounds for warrior classes and the accessories of militarism.... Rain forest cultures also are less likely to harbor beliefs about the inferiority of women; you won’t be likely to find rain forest men giving thanks in prayer that they were not created female, as is the case in at least one notable desert-derived religion.... (Previously, previously, previously)

"Grab a chance and you won't be sorry for a might have been."

rollbiz — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:55:05 -0800

The Dzrtgrls explore mines, ghost towns, rockhounding spots, petroglyphs, geocaching and metal detecting sites, and take lots of great pictures in the process.

Desert Plants, Chihuly Glass

netbros — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 19:40:27 -0800

Nestled amid the red buttes of Papago Park in Phoenix, the Desert Botanical Garden hosts one of the world’s finest collections of desert plants. Home to 139 rare, threatened and endangered plant species from around the world, the Garden offers interesting and inspiring experiences, while their website offers gardening help including good growing guides. The Desert Botanical Garden has educational programming and research for children as well as adults. The internationally acclaimed living collection of over 20,000 desert plants, with particular emphasis on those inhabiting the Sonoran Desert, continues to serve the public and scientific community. The Desert Botanical Garden is presenting an exhibition by renowned artist Dale Chihuly (prev on MeFi, thanks mjjj) through May 2009. Chihuly: The Nature of Glass features new and unique works of glass artfully located throughout the Garden. Dale Chihuly is known for his innovative glass sculptures, and his work is immediately recognizable for its grand scale and vibrant colors.

Ancient Oases

homunculus — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 13:12:29 -0800

10 Incredible Ancient Oases.

Lost Tribes of the Green Sahara

homunculus — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:00:29 -0800

Lost Tribes of the Green Sahara. "How a dinosaur hunter uncovered the Sahara's strangest Stone Age graveyard."

Bloom in the desert

hortense — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:52:00 -0800

Very nice High definition video from Phillip Bloom music is "28 Ghosts IV" by Nine Inch Nails. Deer Vegas music is Deer Stop" by Goldfrapp lots more shorts at these links along with info about the 35mm adapters used to make these videos.

Night Vision

homunculus — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:50:17 -0800

The Light-Painter of Mojave D: An Interview with Troy Paiva (previously) about his photography and his new book, Night Vision: The Art of Urban Exploration. [Via BLDGBLOG]

Now it's dark.

dhammond — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 21:00:40 -0800

Lost America is a purdy website featuring night photography of ghost towns, urban exploration, decommissioned military facilities, airplane graveyards, and other roadside abandonments of the American west.

Bono's Joshua Tree RIP

hortense — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:47:16 -0800

Iconic joshua tree has fallen... many fine photographs centering on the national park and lots of information about the trees are included on this fan site. via "Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes really... pressure... and time..." -- Morgan Freeman's character Red in the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" metaphorically explaining why his friend Andy escaped from prison

The Salton Sea

brownpau — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:13:02 -0800

Jonson takes pictures of The Salton Sea, which is a strange place, like some kind of huge, perpetual, Burning Man, but by a huge, salty, polluted, manmade lake with distant shores, dying fish, has-been resort towns, Salvation Mountain, fundie dinos, fountains of youth, and nice churches. [via mefi projects] [previously] [howdy]

Death Valley Slideshow

hortense — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 00:00:34 -0800

Death Valley car trip photos including some panoramas of the racetrack and its mysterious stones, and cute kids. via

The Tatooine Hotel

gottabefunky — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 21:31:04 -0800

You may know that some of the Tatooine parts of Star Wars were filmed in Tunisia . But did you know you can spend the night in Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen's distinctive underground house? In the middle of the desert, local people have taken up residence in the 30-year-old set.

the large soundness of nature

salvia — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 19:12:15 -0800

The moral terrain of the desert. Mary Austin describes a desert "where the borders of conscience break down... where the boundary of soul and sense is as faint as a train in a sand-storm... [where] the senses are obsessed by the coil of a huge and senseless monotony” -- is that the desert of photographer Richard Misrach? Joan Didion describes a "country so ominous and terrible that to live in it is to live with antimatter, [where] it is difficult to believe that 'the good' is a knowable quantity... [T]here is some sinister hysteria in the air out here tonight” -- is that the desert of photographer Bill Lesch? Possibly the most depressing are these suburban deserts.

Night Ice

jessamyn — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 15:04:12 -0800

"The Bible describes how to make ice on the desert. Please describe the procedure and explain how it fits your knowledge of heat transfer."

Your assignment: make ice in the desert. Without electricity. Without extra chemicals. Without extra gadgetry or imports. Oh, and the temperature is about 55 degrees (13C). It can be done, there is science behind it. And yet we seem to have forgotten something that everyone used to know.

amazon drought nearing climate tipping point

stbalbach — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 00:05:01 -0800

The Amazon rainforest becomes "a desert" after three consecutive years without rain - the trees die. Next year would be the third year of an ongoing drought. The forest contains 90 billion tons of carbon (or about 45 years of stored human emmisions at current rates) - 3/4's of the carbon is released within a year of dieing. The Amazon is "headed in a terrible direction".

When the Desert Winds Turn Deadly

digaman — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 08:46:57 -0800

"The sky turned orange as the storm approached, until total darkness blanketed the ground." Sandstorms in Iraq -- caused by heating of the desert sand and a northwesterly summer wind known as the shamal -- can kill. (A similiar storm over Interstate 5 in California in 1991 caused a deadly 164-car pileup.) They can also be uncannily beautiful and dream-like when seen from a distance (WMP link).

What to Take When Deploying To the Middle East

tellurian — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 21:54:17 -0800

Living and working in the desert. I was reading this interesting article when I came upon this: [more inside]

Rock art in the Sahara

Wolfdog — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 08:49:10 -0800

Rock art tour in the Sahara.

Death in the Desert

hortense — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 23:57:40 -0800

Remains of guru's disciple identified Shortly after the 1998 death of "A Separate Reality" guru Carlos Castaneda, whose peyote-fueled sorceric journeys into the Mexican desert captured the imagination of a generation in the 1970s, five of his closest disciples made out their wills, disconnected their telephones, and disappeared into thin air. via

Coso Rock Art

LarryC — Sat, 30 Jul 2005 07:26:46 -0800

Coso Rock Art: "The Coso Rock Art District, a National Historic Landmark deep in the U.S. Navy's testing station at China Lake, contains one of America's most impressive petroglyphic and archeological complexes . . . . Coso rock art has become famous for its stylized representational symbolic system, a system that has intrigued—and baffled—archeologists and lay observers for decades." A guide to the rock art types here. See also A Guided Tour of Coso Rock Art and the Coso Gallery.

Death Valley Wildflowers

loquacious — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 02:06:24 -0800

Death Valley in bloom. Lots more here and the story is here. Flickr photos with tags deathvalley+flowers. (Full disclosure: I work on Flickr. -ericost) NPR did a segment recently. Desert USA has a guide. The Death Valley National Park news page has a link to two PDFs. Wildflower Update. (via MetaTalk, five fresh fish, monju_bosatsu, ericost, euphorb, ori, and the MeFi community. All text and copy directly lifted from the thread.)

Brian Lockett's various museums

hortense — Mon, 31 Jan 2005 23:39:31 -0800

The Goleta Air & Space Museum/ Goleta Natural History Museum While looking for hot spring photos, I found this virtual museum. It is loaded with amazing shots of warbirds in flight and the latest in space travel On the other hand some very well done nature photography. Including desert panoramas This is all the work of one man.

When dunes collide

homunculus — Thu, 25 Dec 2003 15:41:57 -0800

The mating habits of barchan sand dunes.

Dude, Where's My Oxygen?

archimago — Wed, 10 Sep 2003 07:19:17 -0800

Columbia Univ. severs ties with Biosphere 2. I remember when Biosphere 2 opened and watched as the team of starry-eyed scientists entered the self-sustaining environment. It's even been the subject of a bad Hollywood movie. But now the structure may become nothing more than a giant scrap pile of steel and glass in the desert. The mission of the project was impressive, and despite glitches such as acidic water and "crazy ant" infestation, should an experiment be abandoned because it didn't go as expected? Or is it just man's folly to try and replicate intelligent design?

burning man 2003

specialk420 — Sat, 30 Aug 2003 15:57:59 -0800

it does look like fun
burning man 2003. more links? photos? stories? from this years fun in the desert.