ZipiNotes

ZipiTweets: Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-31

zipizapeartisans — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Reading: http://twitthis.com/gu8yeh #

ZipiTweets: Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-24

zipizapeartisans — Sun, 24 May 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Watching: “In Videos: Worms in Love | Serious Eats” (http://twitthis.com/42c4fp) #
Looking at: http://twitthis.com/lhhx7e #
Looking at: “Photo of the Day: ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ Cake | Serious Eats” (http://twitthis.com/oe3j4u) #
Watching: http://twitthis.com/ep33o5 #

ZipiTweets: Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-10

zipizapeartisans — Sun, 10 May 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Looking at: “Oh Joy!: bits of sunshine…” (http://twitthis.com/j8n29v) #
Looking at: “Make: Online : Jim’s skulls” (http://twitthis.com/r78l7h) #
Looking at: “Ruth Borgenicht’s incredibly intricate chain-mail-style stoneware pieces” (http://twitthis.com/kgjtml) #
Reading: “Harvest Green: Vertical Farm by Romses Architects wins Competition : TreeHugger” (http://twitthis.com/ubxo3f) #
Looking at: “40 Stunning and Creative Graffiti Artworks | Inspiration | Smashing Magazine” (http://twitthis.com/8y5hzl) #
Reading: “Bendable Concrete Heals Itself — Just Add Water” (http://twitthis.com/qhdzv4) #
Reading: “mental_floss Blog » Invasion of the Zombie Animals” (http://twitthis.com/fljqv6) #
Looking at: “¿Qué te ha pasado? :: Cuarto derecha” (http://twitthis.com/oppeqp) #
Looking at: “Metal Heads Urban Art – Neatorama” (http://twitthis.com/zp4yox) #
Reading: “Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities – Boing Boing” (http://twitthis.com/8fkb4j) #
Reading: http://twitthis.com/vqsck2 #
Laughing at: “”Tie-pography”" (http://twitthis.com/4m4ppp) #
Looking at: “Toycutter: blog of toy hacks” (http://twitthis.com/ggawm3) #
Watching: “YouTube – Playing For Change: Song Around the World ” (http://twitthis.com/qweoh8) #

World Fair Trade Day 2009 (plus D:2:E wrapup)

shaula — Sat, 09 May 2009 21:48:15 +0000

Happy World Fair Trade Day, everyone! (And a happy Fair Trade Fortnight, too — the celebrating stretches on through May 16.)

In addition to the World’s Largest Coffee Break, which has turned into an annual tradition, festivities for this year’s WFTD include the multi-city “Big Bang Stomp.” Folks across the globe — in London, Seattle, Reykjavik, Dakar, Nairobi, Tokyo, Manila, Christchurch (New Zealand), and the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu — are picking up drums (or even buckets and trash-can lids) and making a joyful racket to get the word out about fair trade.

On a related note, we went to the second-annual Down:2:Earth expo last month, and we had a blast. Just like we did last time! The highlights:

checking out the fascinating panel “The Future of Cars”
sampling a tasty amuse bouche prepared by chef Mary Dumont (of the way-upscale Harvest restaurant in Cambridge)
reading anonymous confessions of un-green behavior, as scrawled on a ZipCar
gawping at local designers’ handiwork at the “Eco-Chic Fashion Show”
seeing some familiar faces — like Equal Exchange and Mass Farmers Markets!

Check it out!

Oh, and a short ZipiZape Artisans update for y’all: As you may have noticed, our online store, www.zipizapeartisans.com, is currently offline. Fear not; we shall return. We’ve got a big relaunch in the works, so we’ll be on hiatus until we finish our retooling the site. Call it spring cleaning. In the meantime, you can still hang with us here. Or on MySpace. Or on Twitter.

ZipiTweets: Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-03

zipizapeartisans — Sun, 03 May 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Reading: “”No natives allowed” (interesting, though brief, take on land protection)” (http://twitthis.com/7u9wx8) #
Reading: “Hoja Santa – Cheese Course – Slashfood” (http://twitthis.com/tui26l) #
Laughing at: “Japanese bird cooking spaghetti ” (http://twitthis.com/qxe5×9) #
Reading: “Eating Nile Monitors in Florida | Serious Eats (color me horripilated)” (http://twitthis.com/2m4bxh) #

ZipiTweets: Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-04-26

zipizapeartisans — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Reading: “Lifehacker – Inexpensive Vegetable Trellis Grows Vegetables in Small Spaces – gardens” (http://twitthis.com/n2u85m) #
Reading: “Lifehacker – A Master List of Free Online Language Lessons – Language” (http://twitthis.com/tw5fc3) #
Reading: “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Your Old Gadgets – Wired How-To Wiki” (http://twitthis.com/kawyki) #
Reading: “Moleskine Retro PDA Part 9 – Garden Planner on Flickr – Photo Sharing!” (http://twitthis.com/z5q7qe) #
Reading: “How to Grow Herbs Indoors : Easy? Maybe not. Rewarding? Hell yeah. – CHOW” (http://twitthis.com/ly37i8) #
Reading: “Self Watering Garden – Using recycled water from an air conditioner” (http://twitthis.com/yphgvc) #
Reading: “HOW TO: Use Social Media to Champion International Causes” (http://twitthis.com/vhivp5) #
Looking at: “Infinite Photograph — (amazing interactive photo mosaic)” (http://twitthis.com/3bqbjj) #
Reading: “Lifehacker – Reduce Your Footprint this Earth Day – Environment” (http://twitthis.com/p3lhxr) #
Reading: “Lifehacker – Run the OLPC OS From a Thumb Drive – Olpc” (http://twitthis.com/ud2n7l) #
Reading: “World Malaria Day 2009″ (http://twitthis.com/28nvwi) #
Looking at: “Earth Day 2009 – Boston.com” (http://twitthis.com/bm2kjw) #
Check out: “Nambale Harambee fundraiser for Nambale village in Kenya (May 8 @ Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center)” (http://twitthis.com/4lveup) #
Looking at: “Lifehacker – MapEcos Dishes the Dirt on Toxic Facilities – Google Maps mashup” (http://twitthis.com/z7cdlc) #

ZipiTweets: Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-04-19

zipizapeartisans — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Reading: “An interactive map of vanishing employment across the country. (Horrifying.)” (http://twitthis.com/762dqy) #
Reading: “Survival Guide to Edible Quantum Physics, Ingesting The Higgs Boson” (http://twitthis.com/ubrsmf) #
Laughing at: “Craftzine.com blog : Internet Cross Stitch Sampler” (http://twitthis.com/e6wgm3) #

ZipiTweets: Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-04-19

zipizapeartisans — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Reading: “An interactive map of vanishing employment across the country. (Horrifying.)” (http://twitthis.com/762dqy) #
Reading: “Survival Guide to Edible Quantum Physics, Ingesting The Higgs Boson” (http://twitthis.com/ubrsmf) #
Laughing at: “Craftzine.com blog : Internet Cross Stitch Sampler” (http://twitthis.com/e6wgm3) #

ZipiZen: A Field Guide to Recognizing Your Eggs, Part II

shaula — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:27:47 +0000

Since our last egg safari, our field researchers have discovered many, many more new species of eggs. This handy guide will get you up to speed.

Dyed Eggs
Originally, Tea Eggs acquired their unique crackle pattern from being boiled in soy sauce.

^{Link + instructions}

But over time, they’ve evolved far more colorful markings. Though they’re easily domesticated, should you spot these in the wild, approach delicately, pinkies up.

^{Link + instructions}

These cascarones — the feistiest, most festive variety of the dyed-egg family, traditionally cracked on the forehead — can achieve their brilliant colors with natural dyes.

^{Link + instructions}

Tons more after the jump.

Architectural Eggs
Neither of these conceptual entities have hatched yet, but you’ll know how to spot them when they do. Designer Michael Rosenthal predicts that someday, this humungous ovoid eco-hotel will tower over Miami.

^Link

Industrial designer Zhdanova Irina’s self-contained, mobile, huevo-shaped kitchen — dubbed the EGGo — fits a water-reservation tank, a stove, and a sink in its roly-poly frame. (Click the link for more photos.)

^Link

Antique Eggs
Long extinct, here’s the outer husk of an 1895 Cadbury Egg, a specimen that enters the fossil record a mere 16 years after the first White House Easter Egg Roll.

^Link

Hollywood Eggs
These cinephile eggs — previously seen mimicking the world’s scariest Easter Bunny, Frank from Donnie Darko — have recently taken to impersonating WALL-E’s sleek futurebot EVE.

^Link

Imposter Eggs
Much like the luna moth with its predator-spooking eyespots, these strange creatures oh-so-cleverly camouflage themselves as eggs — don’t be fooled!

Cupcake as egg.

^Link

Creme brulee as egg.

^Link

Yarn as egg.

^{Link + instructions}

Pound cake as egg.

^{Link + instructions}

Rice Krispies treats as eggs.

^Link

Not-So-Ancient Eggs
Despite their mind-boggling monikers — Thousand-Year-Old Eggs, or Century Eggs — these exotic edibles are aged no longer than a few months before they take on their strange black-and-amber hue (and strong sulphurous taste).

^{Photo courtesy Fotoos Van Robin}
^Link

X-Ray Eggs
We’re not sure why these ethereal eggs have evolved to sport such porous shells, but they sure are lovely.

^{Link to eggs by Franc Grom}

^{Link to eggs by Ron Cheruka}

Sculpture Eggs
A close relative to the X-Ray Egg, these sculpted beauts may masquerade as houses and baby buggies, but we can see right through them.

^Link

Almost Visible From Space Eggs
Like some kind of physical manifestation of Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, these enormous fried eggs blanketed the Netherlands for six months last year.

^Link

Just Plain Purty Eggs
Though not terribly functional, these eggs turn heads with their stunning plumage.

^Link

^{Link + instructions}

And here’s a far more high-tech species.

^Link

Egg Tracks: A Field Guide to Recognizing Your Egg Cartons
When eggs shed their cartons, they need not make landfills their new natural habitat. Here are a few examples of creative, eco-friendly uses of egg cartons.

Egg cartons = art.

^{Link (plus 20 other interesting green uses)}

Egg cartons = lights.

^Link

Egg cartons (recycled) = shoeboxes.

^Link

And here’s a new conceptual carton that “tessellates to allow easy stacking to minimise transport costs.”

^Link

Happy egg hunting, everyone!

ZipiTweets: Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-03-29

zipizapeartisans — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Check out: “Earth Hour, this Saturday, March 28″ (http://twitthis.com/d5jpgx) #
Watching: “Out: The Milky Way parades to its new home” (http://twitthis.com/6rshnz) #
Reading: “Maple syrup New England – maple sugar season – Boston.com” (http://twitthis.com/kw7vmv) #
Looking at: “Your Wildlife shots: Gallery I – Boston.com” (http://twitthis.com/4vfw5x) #
Check out: “‘Waterfall’ (April 2-26 @ Nave Gallery, Somerville)” (http://twitthis.com/mpta2w) #