This Nebulous Thing We Call the Internet: What Is It, Really?

A 2003 map of worldwide internet traffic. (CC The Opte Project / Barrett Lyon)

 

 “Omnia vivunt, omnia inter se conexa”

Everything is alive; everything is interconnected.”

~ Cicero

The Beauty of Global Connectivity

I love the internet. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t feel as if it’s some sort of magical plaything I get to use. I can’t imagine my world without it. The images above and below are visual maps of internet connectivity produced by Barrett Lyon and the Opte Project. Lyon figured out a way to “take a picture” of the internet by tracking, tracing and mapping internet data (see The Opte Project FAQ for more details). The image below was just released publicly in 2014—prior to that, it could only be seen in one edition of Discover Magazine or by visiting the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. For me, both images powerfully and perfectly convey the visual beauty of our global inter-connectivity.

The Bushy-tailed Woodrat

 

“You only need sit still long enough in some attractive spot in the woods
that all its inhabitants may exhibit themselves to you by turns.”

~ Henry David Thoreau

A Delightful Encounter on Mount Indefatigable

Some years ago, as my partner and I rested on the rocks at the top of the outlier peak of Mount Indefatigable in Kananaskis Country (a beautiful mountain park in Alberta, Canada), I felt a light, slightly scratchy tickle on my bare calf. I looked down to see that it was the fellow pictured above, a cute rodent which I later identified as a Bushy-tailed Woodrat. It had the longest whiskers I’d ever seen. This little guy was intent on licking the salt minerals from my leg. I sat quietly, trying not to move or giggle. I was literally tickled pink! He continued to delicately lick my leg, totally unafraid, showing no signs of stopping until we finished our lunch and got up to continue on our mountain hike.

A Jar of Security: A Poem

A Jar of Security

I tried to contain love once,
catching some
and putting it in a jar
so I could be sure to see it
any time I pleased.

I punched holes in the top,
carefully arranged fresh leaves
and small pots of honey water.

It fluttered around beautifully
until the morning I awoke
to find its limp, lifeless
shadow at the bottom of the jar,
a note carefully pinned on:

Sorry,
I couldn’t stay.
I left what I could.

I love you.

~ by madlyinlovewithlife
From my collection of poetry, “Blowing Rings Around the Moon”
© 2010 madlyinlovewithlife

Love is…

Love is a funny thing. More often than not, the popular notion of love is confused with romance or other feelings, like infatuation, lust, insecurity or even jealousy and possessiveness. When I was very young, I learned the hard way that what I thought was love on my part, wasn’t. But isn’t that what those early relationships are for? To put yourself out there and learn from your own life experience what makes the stuff of good relationships?

Seven Uplifting Feel-Good Documentaries

Documentary Film

I love many types of film, including feature films, short films, animations and documentaries, especially feel-good documentaries. Here are my all time favourite, good-feeling documentaries—I love them because they always leave me feeling good about life and humanity.