“The earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and in triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of the dot on scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner of the dot. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity — in all this vastness — there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It is up to us. It’s been said that astronomy is a humbling, and I might add, a character-building experience. To my mind, there is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”
—Carl Sagan (via illuminatedbeing)
April 2011
6 posts
GoDaddy CEO Shoots Elephant, Posts Video: Critics Outraged - Ecocentric - TIME.com →
ecocentric.blogs.time.com
We all shoot vacation videos, but most of us choose to keep them to ourselves — or, at worst, share them with our Facebook friends. Bob Parsons, CEO of the Internet-hosting firm GoDaddy.com, which you know from its lame Super Bowl ads and absolutely nothing else — likes bigger exposure. Parsons recently posted a video of his trip to Zimbabwe, where he shot an elephant.
Reaching
In a stand of cypress trees…
© Pamir Kiciman 2011
Silver Pads
I love how the light this day and B&W setting, plus exposure gave this these water lilies an otherworldly look.
© Pamir Kiciman 2010
“And if we dare to look into those eyes, then we shall feel their suffering in our hearts. More and more people have seen that appeal and felt it in their hearts. All around the world there is an awakening of understanding and compassion, and understanding that reaches out to help the suffering animals in their vanishing homelands. That embraces hungry, sick, and desperate human beings, people who are starving while the fortunate among us have so much more than we need. And if, one by one, we help them, the hurting animals, the desperate humans, then together we shall alleviate so much of the hunger, fear, and pain in the world. Together we can bring change to the world, gradually replacing fear and hatred with compassion and love. Love for all living beings.”
—Jane Goodall (via illuminatedbeing)
Jane Goodall's 10 Best Things We Can Do For Animals
Pamir Kiciman
Jane Goodall’s 10 Best Things We Can Do For Animals (a sample, audio has all of them):
2. Respect all life. WHAT TO DO: Become a vegetarian.
4. Teach our children to respect and love nature. WHAT TO DO: Create places for birds to nest.
5. Be wise stewards of life on earth. WHAT TO DO: Do not eat commercially farmed animals.
7. Refrain from harming life in order to learn about it. WHAT TO DO: Become an ambassador for dogs that need to be adopted.
10. Act knowing we are not alone and live with hope. WHAT TO DO: Donate to animal-related causes.
