RenoVous

  Gemma Chan Amal Clooney Bella Hadid Viola Davis Kristen Stewart Rebecca Hall Aweng Chuol Maisie Williams Ashley Graham I disagreed with Vogue's #10 so much, so I'm giving it to Ruth Negga.

  The Pulpi geode is the 2nd largest in the world, but the largest that can be visited. Located in Almeria, Spain, it was found in 1999 by the Madrid Mineralogist Group. It is considered a worldwide phenomenon not just for it's size, but the transparency and perfection of the plaster crystals.  It is estimated that the crystals are in an age range from 2 million to 60,000 years old. The formation is a mixed karski-hydrothermal process by which, first the dissolution of dolomite was produced, and then the gypsum crystals formed with the injection of hydrothermal waters from the volcanic activity of Cabo de Gato. The Naica crystals in Mexico are the largest in the world.  It was discovered by miners in 2000. The cave is located on a fault above an underground magma chamber.  The magma heated groundwater that was saturated with sulfide ions.  Oxygen slowly diffused into the hot water and oxidized the sulfides to sulfates, which precipitated as anhydrite.  When...

  There are about 361 species and 113 genera of hummingbirds and they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.  They are mostly found in the tropics, such as Ecuador, where over 132 species live. Named and known for their fast beating wings, which produce an audible hum, rates vary from 12 beats to around 80 beats per second in the smallest hummingbirds. The bee hummingbird of Cuba weighs only 1.95 grams and is the world's smallest bird. As you might guess, they have the highest mass-specific metabolic rate of any homeothermic animal.  Because of this, they are also one of the few groups of birds known to go into torpor, a deep sleep-like state that allows them to slow down when temperature and food conditions demand it. Speaking of Ecuador - this hasn't been very lively, but maybe we'll catch something cool. This one definitely has more visitors. Smithsonian

 Wall Canyon Reservoir It was a much needed escape.

  On this day in 1883, after 14 years of construction, the Brooklyn Bridge was opened to the public. Designed by John Roebling, it was the largest suspension bridge built at the time. He was born in Germany in 1806, and was a pioneer in the design of steel suspension bridges.  After immigrating to Pennsylvania at the age of 25, he eventually found work as a civil engineer and established a successful wire-cable factory. His major technological breakthrough was a web truss added to either side of the roadway which greatly stabilized the structure.  Before Brooklyn, he bridged the Niagara Gorge and the Ohio River. Roebling was not able to see his work completed.  Before construction began, he was taking a few final compass readings of the East River when a boat smashed his toes.  Three weeks later he died of tetanus.  His son Washington had assisted in the design and took over as Chief Engineer. He was among more than 100 workers who suffered from compression...

  We're about midway through the event, so here's some of the best fashion so far. Viola Davis Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Jennifer Connelly Alicia Vikander Letitia Wright Riz Ahmed Anne Hathaway Nidhi Sunil Talia Storm Cindy Bruna

  If you saw a headline about "Human Composting" you might not see the fun in this, especially once I tell you this is about death. Specifically, what we do with our bodies after we've died.  Burials and cremations are the norm, but there has been a push to consider more eco-friendly alternatives, and now, there's composting. Natural organic reduction is a process that transforms human remains into soil, which sequesters carbon and improves the health of our natural surroundings. Conventional burial not only takes up valuable land, but it pollutes the soil and contributes to climate change through manufacture and transport.  Cremation burns fossil fuels and emits carbon dioxide and particulates into the atmosphere. NOR uses natural microbes on our body and in the environment to begin the cycle.  The body is surrounded by wood chips, alfalfa, and straw and sealed off while the body and plant material combine.  The microbes power charge on the molecular level, res...

  The best way to celebrate? Get out into the sun and enjoy the day! This is considered the true end of winter, a time to start planting for the coming summer. You may recall I got ahead of myself and planted some things already - some did not survive the freeze that returned after false spring, and I should have known. But it has been lovely this week, and I have plans to meet a friend for some drinks on a patio after work. So cheers to that, fun in the sun!!

 It is International Museum Day so I told Google I was feeling artistic.  From there I found an online exhibition: 10 Scandalous Fashions That Rocked History Link I'm not relating it here exactly, but it is definitely the blueprint. 1. Marie Antoinette's sexy gaulle - 1783, Le Brun. 2. Bearing all in the First French Empire (1804-1815) - 1808, Blondel 3. The Corset Controversy (1820s-1900) - 1896, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec 4. A shocking shoulder - John Singer Sargent's original  Madame X  caused an outrage over a slipped strap, 1884. 5. Women wearing bloomers mid-19th century for riding bicycles - 1895, Beraud 6. The Little Black Dress by Chanel, 1927. 7. Dior Decadence, 1947. 8. The Bikini, 1945 - Pinup Art by Knute Munson 9. The Mini Skirt by Mary Quant, 1960s 10. Bondage in the 70's, the punk scene, with Vivienne Westwood.

  I didn't follow along as much as I did last year, but I still wanted to check out the top 5 at least. Winner: Ukraine Second: UK Third: Spain Fourth: Sweden Fifth: Serbia I was also curious about Italy, who won last year but came in sixth this time. Norway caught my eye as well, in tenth place. lol

  Doja Cat Machine Gun Kelly Kali Ulchis Heidi Klum Liza Koshy Giveon City Girls - Yung Miami and JT Florence Welch Mary J. Blige - ICON Award Diddy - Host