Feeding the Commons
As I was wandering the tangled tubes of the internet this morning, I stopped at Capital Viewpoint, a blog about one of my passions, Michigan politics. I recently re-stumbled upon StumbleUpon, so I dutifully hit the “I like it” button in my toolbar.
It struck me that this simple and almost reflexive act was like giving a lost visitor directions, planting a tree, picking up a piece of trash or any of the 10,000 other things one does to enhance a community they love. Every day the web sprawls larger. Much of it is meaningless information created to look like meaningful information – piles of copies that obscure what is good. It seems to me that it’s a good thing whenever/however all of us can take a moment where we can to make a mark, pay a compliment or call out something to others.
This photo is titled “Jumping the sun on the salt flats” and was taken on the saltflats of Uyunu, Bolivia. Wikipedia says that the Salar de Uyuni are the largest salt flats in the world – 25 times bigger than Bonneville. The photographer, Lars Kristian Schjønhaug, is from Trondheim (about which I now know 100% more). To my encyclopedic knowledge that Trondheim is a city the Vikings in Civilization will build, I can now add the fact that fall is beautiful there as well.
PS: There was some pretty cool stuff on Salar de Uyuni including a note that Internet phenomenon “Where the Hell is Matt?” danced there. He does, it’s the first one. He also was sent a pretty cool video, included below.
wizardkitten said,
December 10, 2006 at 3:22 pm
Yes, I finally made it to your blog (been busy)… wow, what a shot.
Pretty, pretty. I’ll be back!
Lars Kristian Schjønhaug said,
December 10, 2006 at 4:40 pm
Thank you for using my picture in your blog!
farlane said,
December 12, 2006 at 4:22 pm
Thanks Wiz! Nice music videos you have there.
You are totally welcome Lars. It is one of the 10 coolest photos I have ever seen. I would ask “how many jumps did it take?” but I prefer to think that it was just one perfect moment.