During spring runoff, Grand Canyon’s drinking water may appear turbid or cloudy. This annual turbidity has been exhaustively researched and is not harmful to health. Grand Canyon National Park regularly tests the water to ensure it is safe to drink. Learn more….
http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/refilling_stations.htm
Dear mother earth
I am sorry for what we have done.
I have tried to use less litter but sometimes I just forget. When I am at school I don’t have any litter in my lunch box. At home we are growing plants in our vegetable garden and try not to buy things with plastic wrapping.
What we should be more careful of is trees and plants, without plants we can’t breath without us trees can’t breath.
One of my mum’s friends is making a non-plastic market.
Did you know that in some places in the world there is more plastic than plankton so little fish eat plastic and then bigger fish eat little fish with plastic inside them then we catch the fish with plastic inside and then we cook it and the plastic melts and we end up eating that plastic that we made.
I am so sorry for what we have done.We will change!
Yours sincerely
Ellia
SIZE OF THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH
http://howbigreally.com/dimension/environmental_disasters/great_pacific_garbage_patch#australia
http://howbigreally.com/dimension/environmental_disasters/great_pacific_garbage_patch#slovakia
Today is one of my God children’s birthday.
He is a very special child: very lovable and easy to be drawn to. We live a long way away from each other, be it geographically or emotionally. I don’t know him much. I wish I could get to know him, I’d like to understand his differences, his likings, his views on things and people, his understanding of the world, what he likes doing, where he likes to be or go… We had some special time together a few months back and we were able to make connections, for few seconds at a time. He is smart, and kind, actually no, he’s not just kind, he is especially very sweet.
The journey he’s taking his parent through is a tough one. I have the utmost respect for both but his mother especially. She has been and is still going through all the dilemmas mums go through, and will still keep going when we won’t have to any more. Like many mothers she has given herself up, and more, for her children. She is highly inspiring. She is the best mum he could have hoped for.
We often take goodness for granted and sometimes we need to stop and watch the bigger picture, look back and appreciate what others do for us. Everyday. After day. After day… Mothers are amazingly underestimated but I believe this beautiful boy is who he is today because of the guidance of his parents, his mother…
I still remember my first connection with him. We had gone for a walk, just the two of us. I was surprised his parents encouraged me to take him away by myself. I didn’t know what to expect. They trusted me, they trusted him. I had no idea what I was doing, I was scared. He wasn’t. He didn’t know me, we had seen each other a few times over the years but he had never really met me before. When we walked out, he reached out for my hand. That was it, that was the moment. My heart melted.
I was told he was a good walker, it was true. Despite his young age he was quite happy to just walk, talk, laugh… I let him choose the way, asking him where to go, left or right? He wasn’t sure so we just kept going where ever his pace was taking us, without thinking… it was very interesting. Soon we found the dead leaves on the road side were crackling under our weight… it made music… that was it! He glanced at me, like only he can do, and let me in… for a few seconds I felt connected. Music connected us. It seems to play a very important part in his life. We are both melomaniacs.
Today I wish I could be with him just for an hour, to celebrate his 9th birthday with a play of his choice.
Happy birthday Petit Prince!
There’s a huge pile of clean clothes that need my attention on the bed. I don’t think I can sleep with 3 loads of washing on my feet tonight. Got to think quickly… It’s getting late, the day has been very long again today… I need motivation… I just can’t leave it for tomorrow, simply because unfolded loads of washing perpetually seem to multiply overnight…
I’ll just set the lap top with something entertaining on it. Let me see….mmm it’s been a long time since I’ve watched Woodstock, the movie. It doesn’t matter how many times I watch this movie, I always thoroughly enjoy it. It’s been a constant A+ over the years, seeing me through younger years to just married, to mothers years until now almost 40… still a great movie.
I can’t remember if I’ve folded quickly or slowly, I hope I didn’t put my husband’s undies in the children’s pile or their little tee-shirts on his… Anyway, the clothes are folded up all into the shelves (hopefully the right ones! lol), I run back to the pause button to keep watching… How cool is that? You can pause… there’s no advertisement either…
Later on, when my chores are done, here I am, in the comfort of my homey bed, watching people run in the mud and trash themselves, listening to the best rock and roll History will ever know, sucking in every bit of love that is oozing out this revolutionary hippie vision of the world by the present(we’re in 69) new generations of America…
Who would have thought this would happen? I am not only talking about such an eventful repercussion on the world, but I mean sitting in bed with a piece of technology that allows anyone to view colourful sounding moving pictures, with no wire attached, no fee… it’s highly enjoyable and still perfectly legal, in pure luxury and all of that for free!!Somehow it feels wrong. Wrong by them, all those people from back then…
Now when you look back at 1969, they had none of that and were probably happier, definitely less stressed and their future was looking bright and happy despite the amount of children from the baby boomer’s years. They developed creativity to make human connections with the world, they enjoyed life as it was coming,believed in themselves, in a better world too, were hard working and they still had values. Values that have completely vanished today…
Somehow it feels wrong to watch this movie tucked under the comfort of my spotless doona. We all have more than we actually need, our never ending greed for materialistic nonsense has brought us nothing but more worries to keep up with the Jones. We’ve created so much need for material items we can’t figure out how to be happy without those… we’re constantly missing the point. And we’re still seeking “happiness” or love or both and more… As long as we ignore our human fellows’ needs, rights, love and all we are signing for failure if you ask me … we will not find happiness. Buying more won’t satisfy our eternal quest for happiness. Sharing, touching or being touched emotionally as well as physically is what we’re all lacking. That’s what love does. I am not talking about the love you find in the family, I am talking about friendship love. Ok you’ll say you have 279 friends on Facebook but really… let’s be honest, how many real friends do you have today?
Back then, they had it all worked out… peace, love, drugs and rock and roll. And who cares about the future? lol
What a date they chose! When you think about it, they couldn’t have picked a better year for this festival, promoting peace and music through so much love… lol
And who doesn’t know about Woodstock 43 years later?
Many articles have been written, many websites and blogs… It has certainly set a different mind on what are peace and rock & roll and how they can work together hand in hand despite all the preconceived ideas.
How did this event come together, make History, ruin some people on the way and snow ball into such a Woodstock frenzy still up to this day?
Who wouldn’t have liked to be 20 in that little suburban part of New York on those 4 days of August 1969?
How many stars regretted turning this “little” festival down?
Have you watched the movie? Have you got a black vinyl disc (I think you called those LPs) at home? Who hasn’t been affected in a way of no return by this amazing state of love around music? and by the music itself…
I grew up with this kind of music around. Dad was religiously playing those big black discs, only once each in order to not use them. He had some huge machine to record it all on, a 3 hours track band going around the two poles. Occasionally he would play the enormous music-tapes-like, spreading happy party ambiance through the whole house. I’m not sure mum enjoyed it as much as he did but Dad and I surely did! The cover of that disk was such a scene for a young girl like me. I was born 3 years after Woodstock and wish I had been born earlier to witness this amazing experience with my own eyes and heart. Music was passion back then. Many greatly talented musicians. real music was invented. Today, our poor children only have poor replicas of those days. Our today music is dead compared to 30 years ago…
Here are a few bits and pieces gathered around for you to feast on! Please add more links if you feel the need.
Have fun!
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock
Woodstock Music & Art Fair (informally, Woodstock or The Woodstock Festival) was a music festival, billed as “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music”. It was held at Max Yasgur‘s 600-acre (2.4 km²; 240 ha, 0.94 mi²) dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969. Bethel, in Sullivan County, is 43 miles (69 km) southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, in adjoining Ulster County.
During the sometimes rainy weekend, thirty-two acts performed outdoors in front of 500,000 concert-goers.[2] It is widely regarded as a pivotal moment in popular music history. Rolling Stone called it one of the 50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock and Roll.[3]
The event was captured in the 1970 documentary movie Woodstock, an accompanying soundtrack album, and Joni Mitchell‘s song “Woodstock” which commemorated the event and became a major hit for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
Woodstock was initiated through the efforts of Michael Lang, John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, and Artie Kornfeld. It was Roberts and Rosenman who had the finances. Lang had experience as a promoter and had already organized the largest festival on the East Coast at the time, the Miami Pop Festival, which had an estimated 100,000 people attend the two day event. Roberts and Rosenman placed the following advertisement in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal under the name of Challenge International, Ltd.: “Young men with unlimited capital looking for interesting, legitimate investment opportunities and business propositions”.[4]
Lang and Kornfeld noticed the ad, and the four men got together originally to discuss a retreat-like recording studio in Woodstock, but the idea evolved into an outdoor music and arts festival, although even that was initially envisioned on a smaller scale, perhaps featuring some of the big name artists who lived in the Woodstock area (such as Bob Dylan and The Band). There were differences in approach among the four: Roberts was disciplined, and knew what was needed in order for the venture to succeed, while the laid-back Lang saw Woodstock as a new, relaxed way of bringing businesspeople together.[4] There were further doubts over the venture, as Roberts wondered whether to consolidate his losses and pull the plug, or to continue pumping his own finances into the project.[4]
In April 1969, newly-minted superstars Creedence Clearwater Revival were the first act to sign a contract for the event, agreeing to play for $10,000. The promoters had experienced difficulty landing big-name groups prior to Creedence committing to play. Creedence drummer Doug Clifford later commented “Once Creedence signed, everyone else jumped in line and all the other big acts came on.” Given their 3:00 a.m. start time and non-inclusion (at Creedence frontman John Fogerty‘s insistence) in the Woodstock film, Creedence members have expressed bitterness over their experiences at the famed festival.[5]
Woodstock was designed as a profit-making venture, aptly titled “Woodstock Ventures”. It famously became a “free concert” only after it became obvious that the event was drawing hundreds of thousands more people than the organizers had prepared for. Tickets for the event cost $18 in advance (equivalent to $75 in 2009 after adjusting for inflation)[6] and $24 at the gate for all three days. Ticket sales were limited to record stores in the greater New York City area, or by mail via a post office box at the Radio City Station Post Office located in Midtown Manhattan. Around 186,000 tickets were sold beforehand and organizers anticipated approximately 200,000 festival-goers would turn up.[7]
The crowd and stage in 1969. Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in 1968.
The concert was originally scheduled to take place in the 300-acre (1.2 km2) Mills Industrial Park (41°28′39″N 74°21′49″W) in the town of Wallkill, New York, which Woodstock Ventures had leased for $10,000 in the Spring of 1969.[8] Town officials were assured that no more than 50,000 would attend. Town residents immediately opposed the project. In early July the Town Board passed a law requiring a permit for any gathering over 5,000 people. On July 15, 1969, the Wallkill Zoning Board of Appeals officially banned the concert on the basis that the planned portable toilets would not meet town code.[9] Reports about the ban, however, turned out to be a publicity bonanza for the festival.[10]
According to Elliot Tiber in his 2007 book Taking Woodstock, Tiber offered to host the event on his 15 acres (61,000 m2) motel grounds, and had a permit for such an event. He claims to have introduced the promoters to dairy farmer Max Yasgur.[11] Lang, however, disputes Tiber’s account, and says that Tiber introduced him to a real estate salesman, who drove him to Yasgur’s farm without Tiber. Sam Yasgur, Max’s son, agrees with Lang’s account.[12] Yasgur’s land formed a natural bowl sloping down to Filippini Pond on the land’s north side. The stage would be set at the bottom of the hill with Filippini Pond forming a backdrop. The pond would become a popular skinny dipping destination.
The organizers once again told Bethel authorities they expected no more than 50,000 people.
Despite resident opposition and signs proclaiming, “Buy No Milk. Stop Max’s Hippy Music Festival”,[13] Bethel Town Attorney Frederick W. V. Schadt and building inspector Donald Clark approved the permits, but the Bethel Town Board refused to issue them formally. Clark was ordered to post stop work orders.
The late change in venue did not give the festival organizers enough time to prepare. At a meeting three days before the event, organizers felt they had two choices. One option was to improve the fencing and security which might have resulted in violence; the other involved putting all their resources into completing the stage, which would cause Woodstock Ventures to take a financial hit. The crowd, which was arriving in greater numbers and earlier than anticipated, made the decision for them. The fence was cut the night before the concert.
The influx of attendees to the rural concert site in Bethel created a massive traffic jam. Fearing chaos as thousands began descending on the community, Bethel did not enforce its codes.[9] Eventually, announcements on radio stations as far away as WNEW-FM in Manhattan and descriptions of the traffic jams on television news programs discouraged people from setting off to the festival.[14][15] Arlo Guthrie made an announcement that was included in the film saying that the New York State Thruway was closed.[16] The director of the Woodstock museum discussed below said this never occurred.[17] To add to the problems and difficulty in dealing with the large crowds, recent rains had caused muddy roads and fields. The facilities were not equipped to provide sanitation or first aid for the number of people attending; hundreds of thousands found themselves in a struggle against bad weather, food shortages, and poor sanitation.[18]
On the morning of Sunday, August 17, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller called festival organizer John Roberts and told him he was thinking of ordering 10,000 New York State National Guard troops to the festival. Roberts was successful in persuading Rockefeller not to do this. Sullivan County declared a state of emergency.[14]
We were ready to rock out and we waited and waited and finally it was our turn … there were a half million people asleep. These people were out. It was sort of like a painting of a Dante scene, just bodies from hell, all intertwined and asleep, covered with mud.
And this is the moment I will never forget as long as I live: a quarter mile away in the darkness, on the other edge of this bowl, there was some guy flicking his Bic, and in the night I hear, ‘Don’t worry about it John. We’re with you.’ I played the rest of the show for that guy.
Although the festival was remarkably peaceful given the number of people and the conditions involved, there were two recorded fatalities: one from what was believed to be a heroin overdose and another caused in an accident when a tractor ran over an attendee sleeping in a nearby hayfield. There also were two births recorded at the event (one in a car caught in traffic and another in a hospital after an airlift by helicopter) and four miscarriages.[19] Oral testimony in the film supports the overdose and run-over deaths and at least one birth, along with many logistical headaches.
Yet, in tune with the idealistic hopes of the 1960s, Woodstock satisfied most attendees
From http://www.woodstockstory.com/
Woodstock was the pop culture music event of the decade and arguably to this day the single most profound event in the history of music. Acts from all around the world met at Max Yasgur‘s Farm in Bethel, NY on August 15-18, 1969 for a celebration of peace and music. What began as a paid event drew so many viewers from across the world that the fences were torn down and it became a free concert open to the public. 500,000 youthful individuals gathered peacefully at Woodstock 1969 creating the largest gathering of human beings in one place in history. Woodstock 1969 defined an entire generation and its effects on music and American culture can still be felt today.
” TIME IS LOVE “
Just after the famous Summer of Love, came Woodstock. The event that brought individuals from all over the world to one location to show how much difference a little love can make. The largest gathering in any one location to date, Woodstock 1969, an event constantly on the edge of catastrophe went over without incident thanks to love. The magnitude of Woodstock does not need to be replicated in order to make the world a better place, small scale acts of love and peace can go a long way in everyday life and help to make the world a better place. Don’t think of Woodstock 1969 as an outlet for love, but a shape of how love can and will eventually change the world.
The 1960s represented a much different time in American culture. The recently adopted hectic lifestyle and breakneck speed in technological advances has made it virtually impossible to slow down and recognize the important things in life. The world has changed so rapidly in the last 40 years that the truth is, it would be incredibly difficult to organize another Woodstock 1969 or live by the same ideals of the time period. That doesn’t mean that steps can’t be made once again make peace, love, and music recognized as the essence of happiness.
What has become a lack of time in people’s minds is simply a misappropriation of the time given. It’s proven that certain things strengthen mood and relationships with others. Love is one of the most powerful forces on planet earth, and isn’t even close to being exercised enough. If there’s one thing that Woodstock 1969 showed the world, it’s that the power of peace and love cannot be denied and can change the world forever. 40 years after Woodstock the achievement of the 1960s counterculture is still remembered. Who’s to say that a conscious effort to love others can’t once again change the world for the better?
Put down the cell phone, turn off the computer, stop worrying about making a jillion dollars; spend time with your family, your kids, or show kindness to complete strangers. Great acts of love happen every day all over the world. Let’s stop seeing these as isolated incidences and take a unified approach in making the world a better place. Time is love, peace is love, music is love; take the time to embrace these parts of life as 500,000 people did in 1969. Share your thoughts on improving the world as well as your experiences at http://www.timeisloveblog.com
Damoris 