For a person who is an admirer of the great Buddhist architecture, Buddhist Monastery or the Pagoda is usually the first thing that may ever come to his mind. Taktshang, a Monastery located in Bhutan, is one such fascinating wonder spots of Buddhist that is located at the edge of a mountain cliff and is situated at the height of over 2300 feet and at the foot of the Paro valley. The Monastery was built in the year 1692 and is also considered as one of the holy and religious places that are located in Bhutan. The very word Taktshang has its meaning known as “Tigers Nest” certainly does have a curious legend behind it that does explain the real reason why and how did these series of thirteen hanging caves were given such an interesting name.
Taktsang Monastery as it was before fire destroyed the roof
When speaking of the real legend and stories that are related to the construction of Monastery Taktshang, you can easily find its roots dated back to nearly 8th century and is also linked with the existence of real historical figure of Padmasambhava or Guru Rinpoche, as was better known. Guru Rinpoche is also called as the second Buddha as he was also responsible for the spread of the Buddhism religion across Bhutan and Tibet. He was also believed to be having some of the miraculous powers, as was believed by a number of common devotees who followed him; Guru Rinpoche had also traveled to a number of places along with the long lasting company of a number of tantrics and consorts of dakini, who were also believed to be vanquishing demons.
Holy poses
One of the former wife of a renowned emperor called Yeshe Tsogyal had also managed to join the company of Guru Rinpoche, willingly came to be known as the flying tigress so that she could in fact bear the guru to the top of the mountain cliff of Bhutan to the present place where the famous Monastery of Taktshang still stands. Amongst the various caves, one of the caves had also become a famous meditation place for the Guru Rinpoche where he had managed to come out with his eight manifestations, and later in the years this places was also declared as a holy place for most of the monastery and so it had derived it name the “Tigers Nest”.
Taktsang from the cafeteria
The original construction of the Tigers Nest Monastery has an equally interesting tale behind it. It is said that notwithstanding the sheer cliff face where Guru Rinpoche decided to land, the air-borne dakinis bore building material on their backs to facilitate the construction process. It remained a place of worship for the people and stood sturdily through the fire damages of April 19, 1998. The Bhutan government took extensive steps to restore it in its original glory by referring back to ancient pictures and other testimonials. It took years of toil and perseverance until the renovation was completed in 2005.
Tiger’s Nest Monastery with the fire destroyed part
Taktshang Monastery – Paro, Bhutan / Photo from ray_in_la
Today you can visit all the temples of the Taktshang Monastery standing at an altitude of 10,200 feet. However, prior to the ascending the slope on mule-back or foot, as a non-Bhutanese you require a special permit and a guide for the venture. Once you begin the trek, you can experience the close touch of nature in the woodland leading to the ascending slope with interspersing sound of a bell. However, if you are not used to walking for rough stretches on mountainous paths, you will do best to take a horse or a mule.
Taktshang
Tying Prayer Flags on a small Shrine in Bhutan
You have to be patient through your trek to catch the first glimpse of the much-coveted monastery, for you cannot see anything for the major part of the trek because of the interposing vegetation. Look out for the small prayer wheel as when you reach it, you can see what your eyes were thirsting for. When you reach up to the cafeteria viewpoint, the vision will get clearer and get provisions for ret and refreshment. From this point, you must ready yourself to climb a series of stone steps, cross a waterfall and accept the difference between what the monastery looked from a distance and what it really looks when you actually get there.
Precarious
What is remarkable about the Tigers Nest Monastery is the variation of the four temples that appear different from one another. One of these is fabled to be the famous spot for the three-month meditation of Guru Rinpoche and the birthplace of one of the leading lamas. You must rest sufficiently and save some energy for the journey back. If you had covered the monastery-wards journey on foot, the second half of it can get particularly fatiguing. Yet the charm of the Taktshang Monastery is such that you will want to come back repeatedly.
A Nasa scientist has condemned film producers over a viral marketing campaign that suggests the world will come to and end in 2012.
By Nick Allen in Los Angeles
Sony Pictures set up a website for an organisation called the Institute for Human Continuity
Sony Pictures set up a website for an organisation called the Institute for Human Continuity which predicts a cataclysmic denouement for Earth three years from now.
It suggests that "after two decades of rigorous research from the world's top astronomers, mathematicians, geologists, physicists, engineers, futurists, we know that in 2012 a series of cataclysmic forces will wreak havoc on our planet".
It even details how elections have begun for the leader of the post-2102 world, offers survival kits and asks people to sign up to a lottery to be saved.
In fact, the website is a vehicle for promoting 2012 - a disaster movie about the end of the world based on predictions in the Mayan calendar.
It stars John Cusack and is directed by Roland Emmerich, who was behind the blockbusters Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow. The film will include scenes of a tsunami washing an aircraft carrier into the White House and Los Angeles falling into the sea.
According to the website scientists have been tracking a previously unknown Planet X which is on the edge of the solar system and on a collision course with Earth.
But the site has been so successful that hundreds of people have been convinced that something terrible is about to befall the planet.
Dr David Morrison, a senior scientist at Nasa's Astrobiology Institute, said he had received more than 1,000 inquiries from worried members of the public.
That included teenagers saying they would rather commit suicide than witness the world end. Dr Morrison said the website was "ethically wrong". But Vikki Luya, Sony's publicity director said: "It is very clear that this site is connected to a fictional movie. This can readily be seen in the logos on the site."
Like it or not, we’re bombarded with advertisements from companies encouraging us to purchase the latest and greatest products they have to offer each and everyday. Slick magazine ads and TV commercials feature great photography, memorable taglines, models and more to lead us into temptation.
More recently, some of that advertising space has been filled with a different kind of message created by ad agencies who’ve teamed up with environmental groups, government and others to ask us to buy into something else: the protection of the planet. Whether or not you think these ads make us think and act differently, one thing’s for sure – it’s nice to see some socially responsible ads out there! Read on, and you’ll discover 20 awesomely creative environmental ads from around the world.
To see larger resolution images, click on the campaign name link or name of the ad.
1. Face for Green Korea United
Agency: Daehong Communications Campaign Name: Rescue us Tagline: We are drowning. Rescue us from global warming. Produced in South Korea.
A powerful ad showing that rising sea levels directly impact humans. The companion ad in this campaign depicts an island in the shape of a hand, slowly being overtaken by the sea.
2. Swimming Pool for Regional Environmental Awareness
Agency: Naga DDB Malaysia Produced in Malaysia.
Swimming pool is a really cool ad where a city’s skyline is completely immersed in water. The writing on the wall: “Don’t let this be our future. Save our rainforest, stop global warming.”
3. Industrial Pollution for China Environmental Protection Foundation
Campaign Name: Shan Shui Agency: JWT Produced in China.
A familiar style of Chinese painting called “Shan Shui” – literally “mountain-water” – where artists depict spectacular natural vistas for viewers’ admiration is updated for the reality of the 21st century; a closer inspection of Industrial Revolution reveals “mountains” of high-rise buildings, endless hydro towers and a set of highways. The set of three ads also includes beautiful “paintings” of Global Warming and Automotive Pollution.
4. Lady for Evergreen
Campaign Name: Be the root Tagline: Be the root. Nature in the city begins with all of us. The harder you try, the more it will thrive. We need your help. Agency: ZiG Inc. Produced in Canada.
Putting down your roots has new meaning in this ad that urges us to bring nature back to the city.
5. Green Song for MTV
Agency: 180 Amsterdam Produced in the Netherlands
A catchy tune and colourful graphics makes this a memorable ad for the MTV generation.
6. Ice for WWF
Campaign Name: Light On Tagline: When you leave the light on, you are not the only one who pays. Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Produced in the Ukraine.
This is a cool series of three ads where nature’s flora and fauna are represented in wallpaper you might find in a child’s bedroom. Ice features cute polar bears and penguins floating on small ice floes.
7. Dolphin for Veolia Environnement
Campaign Name: Veolia Environnement 2009 Tagline: The environment is an industrial challenge Agency: BETC Euro RSCG Produced in France.
Dolphin is one of six print ads in the 2009 Veolia Environnement campaign. All feature aerial views of sprawling cities with a strategically placed animal or plant image embedded in the city-scape to create a thought-provoking series of ads.
Tagline: On average 50 to 100 feet of beach is lost for every foot of sea-level rise. How long before land disappears all together? You decide. Help stop global warming. Agency: Percept Gulf Produced in the Unite Arab Emirates.
This picture, called Sand Specimen, shows a little bit of sand stored in a jar, and reminds us of those old museum specimens of extinct species.
9. Revenge for Cencosud
Tagline: Bring Your Bag. Agency: Kepel & Mata Produced in Argentina.
This is a great video to remind us to bring our own bags to the store. A bit Lion King-ish, but that’s not a bad thing! Translated, the text at the end of the video reads: “We’re all innocent. We’re all guilty. Plastic bags destroy the environment. Bring your bag.”
Campaign Name: Nature preservation Tagline: The world needs more trees. Agency: DDB&Co. Produced in Turkey.
Look closely and you’ll see that each inch of the tree trunk is covered in koala bears: it’s the only tree they can find!
11. Air Conditioners for Columbia Sportswear Company
Tagline: The air cooling your home is heating the world. Agency: Prolam/Y&R S.A. Produced in Chile.
From ACT’s website:
“Columbia Sportswear Company has sponsored a warning to Santiago residents with an outdoor advertisement challenging the use of air conditioners. A banner held against an apartment block wall shows a man and his child struggling to cope in a flood. Air conditioning units project through the art work. ‘El aire que enfria tu hogar. Calienta el mundo’ is translated in English as ‘The air cooling your home is heating the world.’”
12. City Again Forest for Greenpeace
Tagline: Forests for life Agency: Beijing Dentsu Advertising Co., Ltd. Produced in China.
Our furry friends have been pushed to the brink of a cliff (read: extinction) in the war between animals and the machines (powered by us humans) in this ad, called City Again Forest.
13. The dying screensaver for Red Sea Coral Rescue Team
Agency: Shimoni Finkelstein DraftFCB Produced in Isreal.
The text in the 2nd screen in The dying screensaver ad says, “Beauty doesn’t last forever. Only 30% of the red coral sea reef is still alive. Please help protect it. www.redsearescue.org” It’s an interesting take on those pretty desktop aquariums that pop up when computers are left idle; imagine if that aquarium imitated what was really happening in the real world? It wouldn’t be a pretty sight.
14. Agbar desert for Aigües de Barcelona
Tagline: Our water is thirsty. Agency: road Produced in Spain.
Instead of green roofs, here’s a cracked, dry land called Agbar desert sitting atop an urban landscape. It’s not a nice sight at all.
15. Treebike for Livegreentoronto
Tagline: Resources. Tips. Debates. Live Green at Toronto. Agency: Agency59 Produced in Canada.
The City of Toronto’s Live Green Toronto program is a five-year, $20-million initiative that aims to promote and support actions at the local level to reduce emissions, clean the air and protect the climate. Represented by the Treebike here, the program includes community animators who help people find information, link them to environmental groups and cash in on rebates – all to reach Toronto’s target of an 80 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
16. Printer for Trees for Africa
Tagline: Think before you print Agency: Lowe Bull Produced in South Africa.
A pretty neat ad that brings the message home about the impact that printing reams of paper has on the African forest.
17. Sea for Biocorner
Campaign Name: Protect our colors Tagline: Protect our colors Agency: Air Produced in Belgium.
This side-by-side comparison of a colourful sea and murky waters packs a real punch.
18. Bomb for Greenpeace
Tagline: Stop the catastrophe Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Produced in Romania.
In Bomb, an image of a tree in the shape of a mushroom cloud sends a powerful message about the consequences of cutting it down.
19. Iceberg candle for NRDC
Agency: Beijing Dentsu Advertising Co., Ltd. Produced in China.
A small family of penguins stand on a shrinking Iceberg candle. Sadly, they’ve got no place to go.
20. Banana for BUND/Friends of the Earth
Campaign Name: Travelling Fruits Tagline: Travelling fruits cause pollution. Agency: McCann-Erickson Brand Communications Agency GmbH Produced in Germany.
In 2005, the estimated environmental cost of transporting food in the UK was 9 billion pounds. This banana boat is one of three ads in a campaign about the polluting effects of food transport, specifically targeted around fruits. Along with the banana, there’s also a coconut truck and a pineapple airplane.
Muchlikeitsancestors, thisdinosaurfromthe 2004 SapporoSnowFestivalinJapan, isprobablyextinctnow, butfrom a verydifferentcause—theendofwinter. Photo courtesy of Doug Mann via PhotoMann.com.
Church
Atthe 2007 IceandSnowFestivalinHarbin, China, thisreligious-inspiredstructurewascreatedfromicethatwasaccentedwithmulticoloredlightstoresemble a cathedral. Photo courtesy of TK via Flickr.com.
Warrior
PhotographerPeterVilleriuscapturedthisdetailedcarvingof a soldierinuniform—madeentirelyoutofice—whileinthecityofEindhovenintheNetherlands. Photo courtesy of Peter Villerius via Flickr.com.
Dirt Bike
Ice sculptor Janson Iwakami can create just about anything out of frozen water, including company logos, centerpieces and sculptures, like this motorbike. Photo courtesy of Janson Iwakami via AmazingIce.com.
Car
ThisslickChevyonice—alsocreatedbyJansonIwakami—wascommissionedfor a ’50s-themedfestivalinSeattle. Vroom!Photo courtesy of Janson Iwakami via AmazingIce.com.
Gymnast
Fairbanks, Alaska, ishometotheWorldIceArtChampionships, andinthe 2007 thisimpressivegymnastcarvingwasondisplaythere. Wethinkit’s goldmedal–worthy. Photo courtesy of Terry Feuerborn via Flickr.com.
"Webelievethatoursearchresultsanduserexperiencewillgreatlybenefitfromtheinclusionofthisup-to-the-minutedata, andwelookforwardtohaving a productthatshowcaseshowtweetscanmakesearchbetterinthecomingmonths.
"Thatway, thenexttimeyousearchforsomethingthatcanbeaidedby a real-timeobservation, say, snowconditionsatyourfavouriteskiresort, you'llfindtweetsfromotheruserswhoarethereandsharingthelatestandgreatestinformation."
Thearrivaloftwoannouncementsbacktobackis, ofcourse, nocoincidence, althoughMicrosoftwillfeelthatithaswon a smallvictorybyshowingoffthetechnologyattheWeb 2.0 conferenceandgettingthenewsoutfirst.
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