PICA ~ 2nd Language Learning on Kickstarter...

Video game entrepreneur Vicky Wu Davis shares the word of her PICA project on Kickstarter!

"PICA is a 2nd language learning tool for 3-6 year olds, teaching Chinese, French, Spanish and ESL through immersive play."

Lisbon's Blood Vessels ~ Urban Maps Experiment

Copenhagenize spots Pedro Miguel Cruz's urban mapping experiment Lisbon's Blood Vessels...

The President ~ NatGeo Spotlights Giant Sequoia!

NatGeo spotlights this Snow Tree giant sequoia!

"Cloaked in the snows of California’s Sierra Nevada, the 3,200-year-old giant sequoia called The President rises 247 feet. Two other sequoias have wider trunks, but none has a larger crown, say the scientists who climbed it. The figure at top seems taller than the other climbers because he’s standing forward on one of the great limbs."

Stellar Cathedral ~ NASA Spots NGC 6357...

NASA APOD spots Stellar Cathedral!

Picturing SF ~ Essential Sci Fi Visuals & Images!

Charlie Jane Anders at io9 shares top 21 Pictures that Sum Up the Whole History of Science Fiction...

"Every era in science fiction's history has shown us a new vision of the strange and futuristic, and one image can spawn a million reflections in your mind's eye."

Here's just a sampling of my favorites, in chronological order...

Culture of Bribery ~ China's Societal Sickness...

Dan Levin reveals a corrupt and despicable culture of bribery in his NYTimes piece A Chinese Education, for a Price...

"For Chinese children and their devoted parents, education has long been seen as the key to getting ahead in a highly competitive society. But just as money and power grease business deals and civil servant promotions, the academic race here is increasingly rigged in favor of the wealthy and well connected, who pay large sums and use connections to give their children an edge at government-run schools. Nearly everything has a price, parents and educators say, from school admissions and placement in top classes to leadership positions in Communist youth groups. [...] Corruption is pervasive in every part of Chinese society, and education is no exception."

Autom ~ Crowdfunding Robocoach via Indiegogo!

MIT Media Lab spinoff Intuitive Automata's Autom robocoach seeks your support via Indiegogo!

"Autom is a health coach. She talks to people about diet and exercise and gives customized, tailored feedback and advice to each person about how to be healthier. She started her life as a weight loss coach and that's where she still excels, helping people to stick with a diet more effectively than other programs out there."

Pirate Fishing ~ AlJaz's P&P Catches Criminals

AlJazeera's People & Power investigates illegal fishing by international criminals in Sierra Leone's exclusive zone...

WKRP Turkeys Away ~ Promo Goes Very Wrong

Short version of classic WKRP TV show episode Turkeys Away... Full version on Hulu!

Climate & Conflict ~ MIT's Sterman on Soapbox...

Sloan Systems Professor John Sterman on Soapbox at MIT Museum!

Within Two Worlds ~ Goldpaint's Timelapse Arc!

Neatorama spots Brad Goldpaint's Within Two Worlds timelapse!

King's Cross Inferno ~ Learning From Disaster...

It was 25 years ago that the King's Cross Inferno killed 31 and maimed dozens more in the most deadly subway event in London Tube history. The most badly burned survivor is Kwasi Afari Minta who shares his painful story in the Daily Mail / Sunday Mirror...

"He has endured 30 operations in 25 years, procedures that have caused him immense suffering. With his 'claw-like' hands and debilitating pain every time he closes his eyes, he cannot cope with anymore operations. But despite his torment, he still regards himself as 'one of the lucky ones'. He told the Sunday Mirror: 'When I meet people I knew from before the fire, that's when the problems start, if they react badly and sympathise. I don't want tears or sympathy. But I'm still here. I have my son. Most of the time I feel lucky."

Here's short contemporary investigation report... Full docu from NatGeo's Seconds From Disaster... Finally, here's a Firetactics review and "trench effect" lessons.

Erupting Prominence ~ NASA on Giant Sun Burst

NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spots giant eruption!

Iconic Bottle ~ Coca-Cola's Enduring Contours...

CBS Sunday Morning spotlights the emergence of Coca-Cola as a business and most especially their iconic contour bottle design!

"Everyone, from Pop artist Andy Warhol to American football great “Mean Joe” Greene, has been mesmerized by its memorable, hourglass figure. We’re talking about the Coca-Cola Company’s legendary glass contour bottle, which debuted in 1916. The iconic vessel was the brainchild of designers at the Root Glass Company in Terre Haute, Ind., who were tasked with creating a beverage container that could be easily identified by shape alone. Their inspiration for the now legendary 6.5-ounce Coke bottle: the gourd-shaped cocoa pod."

How to Rob Africa ~ AlJaz's P&P Investigation...

AlJazeera's People & Power shares How to Rob Africa, an expose investigation asking...

"Why does the Western world feed Africa with one hand while taking from it with the other? [...] International money laundering regulations are supposed to stop the proceeds of corruption being moved around the world in this way, but it seems the developed world's financial system is far more tempted by the prospect of large cash injections than it should be. Indeed the West even provides the getaway vehicles for this theft, in the shape of anonymous off-shore companies and investment entities, whose disguised ownership makes it too easy for the corrupt and dishonest to squirrel away stolen funds in bank accounts overseas. This makes them nigh on impossible for investigators to trace, let alone recover. [...] The continent is rich is natural resources that are being exploited for big profits, but the money is rarely used for the benefit of the people. Instead it goes to line the pockets of corrupt officials who then often smuggle it out to be deposited in secret offshore bank accounts in the developed world. So who facilitates these transactions? And how and why does the developed world make it so easy to launder this dirty cash? In this revealing investigation for People & Power, [Zimbabwean journalist Stanley] Kwenda and the Ghanaian undercover journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, set off to find out."

Megacities ~ Guardian Interactive Global Map

The Guardian spotlights growing Megacities via interactographic...

Dust to Dust ~ Burning Man 2011 Timelapse!

Lovely Burning Man timelapse Dust to Dust shared by our MIT Neuroventures guest speaker Todd Huffman! See also Todd's work on the aerial GigaPan...

DJ Focus ~ Sierra Leone's Kelvin Doe @ MIT!

DJ Focus -- i.e. teenager Kelvin Doe from Sierra Leone -- is the youngest person ever invited to the "Visiting Practitioner's Program" at MIT. Why? He is...

"...an engineering whiz living in Sierra Leone who scours the trash bins for spare parts, which he uses to build batteries, generators and transmitters. Completely self-taught, [now 15 year old] Kelvin has created his own radio station where he broadcasts news and plays music."

Plus check this CNN What's Next piece DIY Africa: Empowering a new Sierra Leone by MIT Media Lab's David Sengeh on Innovate Salone...

"The youth of Sierra Leone are ready and capable of transforming their country. By providing them with resources and creative freedom, we can spark the joy of discovery that results in innovation and ultimately, national development."

Help support Innovate Salone's escalation.

Shine ~ Misfit's Simple Essential Activity Tracker

Check out MIT alum Sonny Vu's latest venture Misfit and their Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for Shine, a simple minimalist wireless activity tracker...

bebionic3 ~ Ackland Shares Myoelectric Hand!

IEET spots Nigel Ackland's bebionic3 hand...