Folding Circles

Each of these spheres demonstrates that
triangles form where great circles meet.

The elements used to make these sculptures began as flat circles. "Children in school should be folding circles as often as they are drawing them." says sculptor Bradford Hansen-Smith who has combined art with geometry and traveled the world conducting workshops to people of all ages. He has received three patents on transformational movement systems (See definition of transformational geometry at "Fun with Geodesics"). Visit wholemovement.com to see many of his circle based sculptures, circle folding tutorials and a more detailed explanation about the wholemovement approach to geometry.

Home Boys fight against Homelessness

See our new link "Home Boys Episodes" to see the first two episodes of the Home Boys cartoon. These cartoons are less than a minute long, fun to watch and educate us about homelessness, community service, volunteer work, refugees, natural disasters and other issues surrounding the great need for temporary and permanent shelter. Would YOU like to write and direct an episode of "Home Boys"? Whether you are 2 or 200 years old, if we like it we will post it! The video should be no more than one minute long and it can be about anything as long as it is G-rated. Our main character "Doug" -- breakdancing in the picture -- is an upstanding citizen of his "hood" and is always interested in bettering his community. You can make your own cartoons at Xtranormal.com. Then send us the link to your published cartoon.

Make a Geodesic Lampshade

How do you get from this...

to this...

You can make lots of sturdy, beautiful things with triangles. Follow the link to easy-to-follow pictorial instructions on the Yanko Design website. Don't forget to attend the Maine Organic Gardeners and Farmers Association's annual Common Ground Country Fair this year.  Meet inventor Richard Fischbeck and see his patented RanDome geodesic emergency shelter -- the solution to the need for ultra low-cost transitional and emergency housing.

to this?

Bottled Sunlight

In the slums of many third world countries, homes are constructed out of cement blocks with corregated sheet aluminum roofs.  This prevents any natural light from getting in. See how they light their homes.  You will be hard pressed to find a greener solution. On another topic, don't forget to stop by the RanDome booth in Maine at the Common Ground Country Fair September 23-25, 2011, where you can speak to RanDome inventor Richard Fischbeck about geodesic shelters and take part in fun educational activities.

 

Freddie Mercury - People on Streets - Under Pressure

"Do children ask to be homeless?"  "Do soldiers who fought and were crippled fighting in our wars deserve to be humiliated?" In the song, "Under Pressure" Freddie sings about a few of society's ills, one of them is the "people on the streets." Those who have never had the misfortune of getting caught in the sometimes uncontrollable spiral which leads to the loss of a safe place to live may simply "turn away like a blind man" as the lyrics say.  This reaction is common - moreso in times of economic crisis where insecurity begets nonsolidarity. But to those of you who chalk homelessness off to, "They're all lazy" or "They're all nuts." or "They're all addicts." or even "They like being homeless."  Think again.  If you are a kid,  there are ways you can help.

For more information and statistics visit:  The National Coalition for the Homeless and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Visit The official Queen website

Lyrics to "Under Pressure" 
Song by Freddie Mercury and David Bowie

Mm ba ba de
Um bum ba de
Um bu bu bum da de
Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for
Under pressure - that burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
Um ba ba be
Um ba ba be
De day da
Ee day da - that's o.k.
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming 'Let me out'
Pray tomorrow - gets me higher
Pressure on people - people on streets
Day day de mm hm
Da da da ba ba
O.k.
Chippin' around - kick my brains around the floor
These are the days it never rains but it pours
Ee do ba be
Ee da ba ba ba
Um bo bo
Be lap
People on streets - ee da de da de
People on streets - ee da de da de da de da
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming 'Let me out'
Pray tomorrow - gets me higher high high
Pressure on people - people on streets
Turned away from it all like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Keep coming up with love
but it's so slashed and torn
Why - why - why ?
Love love love love love
Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking
Can't we give ourselves one more chance
Why can't we give love that one more chance
Why can't we give love give love give love give love
give love give love give love give love give love
'Cause love's such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
Under pressure
Pressure </div>

Opportunities in Socially Responsible Design

"The future is not going to be the skyscraping cities of New York." How can a volunteer-run hot chocolate drive fund an entire school for 600 kids including class 3 classrooms and a rainwater collection system?  Even though Cameronn Sinclair gave this talk in 2006, the information is equally applicable today and in any geographical location. Creative, sustainable solutions to emergency and transitional shelter. Humanitarian efforts by architects and engineers to give local solutions to local problems by involving communities in the design process - from planning to building. With open source architecture inventors and designers are encourage to freely share their unique solutions with no fear of their ideas being stolen and profited upon by large companies.  A creative commons license allows people to implement a technology for non-commercial purposes - providing solutions during tragic and desperate emergency situations while protecting the rights of the inventor and while assisting in the testing of the idea in real life situations around the world.