back at the lake for the first time this spring
—
“this is a wonderful day, i have never seen this one before.”
-maya angelou
—
irish hills, michigan, usa – spring 2022
the design i imagined i would be a part of
more what my part looked like
—
it was a last-minute impulse decision
my friend who was on our high school swim team
said she was going to join our new synchronized swim team
(now known as artistic swimming in the olympics)
i thought it sounded like fun
so i followed along ready to become an aqua artist
looking back
not sure at all why i made this choice
as i clearly remember my p.e. teacher
just weeks before
telling me
(after a 10-minute treading water test)
that i resembled someone who had been shipwrecked
thrashing around just trying to survive
(quite accurate really)
even so
i jumped into the water
where my vision of grace and being a mermaid
quickly blurred into reality
and one reason why you did not see me in the recent olympics.
—
“sometimes you are in sync with the times, sometimes you are in advance, sometimes you are late.”
-bernardo bertolucci
—
image credits: google images
water from air
Two billion people on earth are without clean drinking water, and this problem will only be exacerbated by the climate crisis.
Fortunately, independent businesses are working on a myriad of differing solutions. One Israeli company, Watergen, has taken advantage of the fact that the Earth’s atmosphere contains 13 billion tonnes of fresh water and developed technology that filters water vapor out of the air.
Michael Mirilashvili, the leader of Watergen, told BBC, “A big advantage of using atmospheric water is that there’s no need to build water transportation, so no worries about heavy metals in pipes for example or cleaning contaminated water from the ground or polluting the planet with plastic bottles.”
The technology works by quickly drawing air into the machine and using condensation to produce fresh water at the low cost of seven to 15 cents per liter. The machine does use electricity, but if this can be supplied via renewable sources, the machine would have a very little environmental impact.
Water gathered from the atmosphere still faces the issue of condensing air pollution. Although lead was banned in 1999, it is still found in UK air in 2021. However, partner researchers from Tel Aviv University proved this to be a small obstacle when they were able to extract the water to a quality set by the World Health Organization.
Watergen’s technology can provide up to 1,585 gallons of water per day and has already been used at hospitals in the Gaza Strip and villages in Central Africa.
—
“water is the driving force of all nature.”
-leonardo da vinci
—
source credits: BBC news, Natalie Lisbona, Optimist daily
As lockdown has forced many cinemas to close their doors due to social distancing measures, many cinephiles have turned to drive-ins to watch their favorite flicks. And while drive-ins may make an exciting cinema experience, a floating movie theater in Paris takes outdoor movie-going to another level, swapping out cars with boats.
Next week, the waters of the iconic Seine river in the French capital will see the arrival of a floating movie theatre where people can enjoy themselves in socially distant boats.
The “Le Cinéma sur l’Eau”, or “cinema on the water”, will be held on July 18 to celebrate the return of Paris Plages, an annual event organized by the French capital, that creates temporary beaches along the Seine and the Bassin de la Villette during the summer.
The floating cinema will welcome 150 locals who will be able to kick back in one of 38 small electric boats to watch “Le Grand Bain”, a French comedy about a group of men who start a synchronized swimming team and “A Corona Story”, a short film about COVID-19.
Each boat will seat four to six people, making sure that the groups consist of family or friends to makes sure social distancing measures are met. Also, to make sure that as many as people can benefit from this boat-cinema experience, another 150 people will be able to watch from deckchairs on dry land.
To get the chance to attend such an exceptional movie night, Parisians can enter a raffle for free tickets from July 7 – 16.
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“solitude is not the same as loneliness. solitude is a solitary boat floating in a sea of possible companions.”
-robert fulghum
—
photo/text credits: derya ozdemir, interesting engineering, daily optimist, paris