Thursday, December 14, 2006

Traveling Auf Der Walz.. Since the Middle Ages, German craftsmen have gone 'auf der Walz' (taken to the road) as part of a kind of working-pilgrimage that artisans make after completing an apprenticeship with a master craftsman. These travels are meant to teach them about work and life and takes precisely three years and one day; they are not allowed to return home before this time. The trip can take these young craftsmen and women (all must be under the age of 30) halfway around the world (and often does) and they are allowed only a small rucksack. Other than that, they can bring along their uniform (a simple black and white affair that almost defies description), their tools, undergarments, a sleeping bag, a book and their trademark walking stick. Although today this is a dying tradition, and is often more traditionally known as being a Journeyman today, it still exists and has inspired some to write about the strage travellers they see on the road. Indeed, perhaps the most famous work this tradition inspired is Australian poet Banjo Patterson, whose work Walzing Matilda is believed to have been inspired by this fascinating yet waning custom. [MetaFilter] 10:14:30 PM

Leticia Leticia (#19077). [Solomodels Showcase Photos] 10:00:38 PM

Venus Express Venus Express sees right down to the hell-hot surface. Thanks to ESA`s Venus Express data, scientists obtained the first large-area temperature maps of the southern hemisphere of the inhospitable, lead-melting surface of Venus. [PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news] 9:56:19 PM

Good Times Watching the Store The Advertisement.. Found tucked away in a box, while looking for something entirely different. [The Cartoonist] 9:50:40 PM

Via Nodalities The 3D Internet. If you have been reading Nodalities' sister blog Panlibus recently you cannot have failed to have missed that we at Talis have not only been watching Second Life with interest, but are actively involved in aiding the library community experiment with it and understand what it is all about. Most of the chatter in those postings, and many others on the subject, was around how you interact with people, represent your organization inside a virtual world. I attended a Second Life event in London yesterday to hopefully find out more about it and how it might influence what Talis is doing in Second Life. The presentations were slanted at the marketing fraternity, educating the audience on how/why they can represent their brands within Second Life. The main speaker was Glenn Fisher, Director, Marketing Programs for Linden Lab [The organization that runs Second Life], followed by a presentation from Rivers Run Red [a London branding agency helping to shape Second Life] 'Creating successful brand presence in Second Life - Integrating Second Life in to your marketing offerings' - see what I mean. Nevertheless it was an interesting session which... (Second Life - Platform image taken by Eric RiceEr displayed in Flickr) Technorati Tags: Secondlife, Platform, Web 2.0, Web 3.0, 3d Internet, Linden Lab [Nodalities] 9:46:29 PM

Refugee Crisis Point Iraqi refugees. Iraq has become the world's fastest-growing refugee crisis. Life there is a living hell, but the exodus is threatening to destabalize its neighbors. The US accepts only 500 Iraqi refugees a year, but president Bush has the legal authority to admit 20,000 more. Perhaps he'll do it for Christmas. [Via No Quarter.] [MetaFilter] 7:07:40 AM