Games, General Geekery, and what knots found on the web
Monday, July 8, 2013
Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research Real place for a Modern horror setting
Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research
An abandoned horticulture institute gloomily presides over rows of derelict and vine-wrought greenhouses
The Boyce Thompson Institute vacated its original Yonkers location decades ago, but the greenhouses that it left behind remain lush with plant life, now growing from the outside in.
Rising from a sea of suburban commercial sprawl, the empty Boyce Thompson Institute looms menacingly. Years of neglect have allowed it to be thoroughly vandalized and marauded, leaving the vacant shell of a building that was once at the forefront of plant research. Rows of empty greenhouses have been taken back by nature, forested in moss and overgrown with vines. Leafy foliage creeps its way in through the broken glass, lending a strange beauty to the deteriorating structures and their slow decay.
William Boyce Thompson originally made his fortune as a copper magnate in the early 1900's, purchasing 22 acres of land in northwest Yonkers with the intent of building a summer home that would overlook the Hudson river. Always a lover of plants and gardens, Thompson was actively involved in the process of planning and planting the landscapes surrounding his new manor. On a 1917 trip to Russia, Thompson found himself deeply moved by the poverty he observed. He returned home convinced of the need to find a sustainable food supply for the world's ever-growing population. Inspired by the idea that agriculture and social justice were intricately linked, Thompson determined to build a horticulture institute on his remaining land in Yonkers. The Boyce Thompson Institute was established in 1920 to research plant growth, germination, potentialities and disease, and Thompson remained passionate about the study of horticulture for the remainder of his life.
In 1978, facing a steep rise in Yonkers' city taxes and with heavy urban air pollution becoming increasingly problematic for their research, the Boyce Thompson Institute relocated their facilities to the Cornell University campus. The building left behind in Yonkers was actively leased out for use until the mid-1990's, but the greenhouses have been in disuse and left to their own accord ever since the 1970's.
The property currently belongs to the city of Yonkers which is actively seeking out proposals for new development, but for the time being the Boyce Thompson Institute stands vacant and seemingly forgotten. Vandals, vagrants and nature continue to take their toll on the abandoned building and Thompson's greenhouses are left to the plants.
Rising from a sea of suburban commercial sprawl, the empty Boyce Thompson Institute looms menacingly. Years of neglect have allowed it to be thoroughly vandalized and marauded, leaving the vacant shell of a building that was once at the forefront of plant research. Rows of empty greenhouses have been taken back by nature, forested in moss and overgrown with vines. Leafy foliage creeps its way in through the broken glass, lending a strange beauty to the deteriorating structures and their slow decay.
William Boyce Thompson originally made his fortune as a copper magnate in the early 1900's, purchasing 22 acres of land in northwest Yonkers with the intent of building a summer home that would overlook the Hudson river. Always a lover of plants and gardens, Thompson was actively involved in the process of planning and planting the landscapes surrounding his new manor. On a 1917 trip to Russia, Thompson found himself deeply moved by the poverty he observed. He returned home convinced of the need to find a sustainable food supply for the world's ever-growing population. Inspired by the idea that agriculture and social justice were intricately linked, Thompson determined to build a horticulture institute on his remaining land in Yonkers. The Boyce Thompson Institute was established in 1920 to research plant growth, germination, potentialities and disease, and Thompson remained passionate about the study of horticulture for the remainder of his life.
In 1978, facing a steep rise in Yonkers' city taxes and with heavy urban air pollution becoming increasingly problematic for their research, the Boyce Thompson Institute relocated their facilities to the Cornell University campus. The building left behind in Yonkers was actively leased out for use until the mid-1990's, but the greenhouses have been in disuse and left to their own accord ever since the 1970's.
The property currently belongs to the city of Yonkers which is actively seeking out proposals for new development, but for the time being the Boyce Thompson Institute stands vacant and seemingly forgotten. Vandals, vagrants and nature continue to take their toll on the abandoned building and Thompson's greenhouses are left to the plants.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Alaskan Tribe Starts Video Game Studio
Alaskan Tribe Starts Video Game Studio
They could have put their money into more traditional businesses, like a funeral home or a dry cleaner or real estate development. Instead, the Cook Inlet Tribal Council of Alaska chose to fund a video games company. They say it's the first one in the United States owned by indigenous people.
Upper One Games announced its founding this week at the Games For Change Festival in New York. USA Today reports that it will partner with E-Media, a New York-based company founded by a former Activision executive, to release two titles next year. (A screenshot of one is above). The tribe's president said they looked to video games, instead of other investments, because they wanted to connect their efforts to their youth.
One title, which is planned for a commercial release, will be based on traditional Alaska stories, though subsequent efforts will explore other cultures as well. As for the studio's name, Upper One is a play on Lower 48, the term by which Alaskans commonly refer to the contiguous United States.
Alaskan Tribe Starts Video Game Studio
Archaeologists find secret chamber at Drum Castle - Heritage - Scotsman.com
Archaeologists find secret chamber at Drum Castle - Heritage - Scotsman.com
Archaeologists find secret chamber at Drum Castle
Drum Castle, near Banchory, is the oldest intact building in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. Picture: Complimentary
Archaeologists find secret chamber at Drum Castle
Drum Castle, near Banchory, is the oldest intact building in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. Picture: ComplimentaryARCHAEOLOGISTS have discovered a secret medieval chamber and its ancient loo - hidden for centuries - during a conservation scheme to protect the oldest castle keep in Scotland.
The remarkable discovery has been made at the 700-year-old medieval tower at the National Trust for Scotland’s Drum Castle near Banchory
Drum Castle, the seat of the Chief of Clan Irvine for centuries, has the oldest keep in Scotland and is the oldest intact building in the care of the trust.
The trust is planning to bring in specialists to remove cement pointing on the ancient tower and replace it with traditional, breathable lime mortar to help preserve the historic keep.
And the hidden chamber - complete with its medieval toilet - was uncovered while initial archaeological investigations were being conducted by Dr Jonathan Clark from FAS Heritage.
Dr Clark explained: “We knew that there were hidden passages because there were window openings at first floor level, but we couldn’t see from the inside of the tower where the windows were because they are hidden by the bookshelves of the nineteenth century library.
“So we set out to unblock two window openings on the west face of the tower to establish the form and condition of these interior spaces. Before we unblocked the windows we wondered if the passages had been filled up with rubble at some point in the history of the evolution of the ancient tower and that there would be nothing to see.”
He continued: “We were surprised that when we carefully unblocked the windows and peered in, and through the dim light of a torch and the mists of dust and trapped for centuries, to find a perfectly preserved medieval chamber, complete with the remains of the guarderobe (toilet) including the remains of the original toilet seat and the original entrance doorway for the medieval hall.”
Dr Clark said: ““This adds greatly to our knowledge of how the interior of the Tower of Drum was used in the medieval period. In due course it should contribute to a greater knowledge of how fourteenth century towers were used in their heyday.”
The archaeologists also discovered a second secret chamber in the tower today as their investigations continued.
Dr Clark revealed: “As work continued this morning, we made another exciting discovery – a second chamber which legend says is where Mary Irvine hid her brother for three years after defeat in the Battle of Culloden. This is a huge discovery for Drum.
“We will now be carefully photographing and measuring what we have discovered so that we can add it to the plans that we have been preparing on the Tower of Drum as part of the bigger project of conservation and archaeological investigation on this important castle.”
Drum Castle, which also features a Jacobean wing and later Victorian remodelling, was developed by generations of Irvines from the 13th Century to 1975, having been given the land by King Robert the Bruce. Legend has it that the barony, and the holly on the Irvine crest, were awarded after William de Irwyn guarded the king sleeping under a bush of the spiky plant.
Drum Castle, the seat of the Chief of Clan Irvine for centuries, has the oldest keep in Scotland and is the oldest intact building in the care of the trust.
The trust is planning to bring in specialists to remove cement pointing on the ancient tower and replace it with traditional, breathable lime mortar to help preserve the historic keep.
And the hidden chamber - complete with its medieval toilet - was uncovered while initial archaeological investigations were being conducted by Dr Jonathan Clark from FAS Heritage.
“So we set out to unblock two window openings on the west face of the tower to establish the form and condition of these interior spaces. Before we unblocked the windows we wondered if the passages had been filled up with rubble at some point in the history of the evolution of the ancient tower and that there would be nothing to see.”
He continued: “We were surprised that when we carefully unblocked the windows and peered in, and through the dim light of a torch and the mists of dust and trapped for centuries, to find a perfectly preserved medieval chamber, complete with the remains of the guarderobe (toilet) including the remains of the original toilet seat and the original entrance doorway for the medieval hall.”
Dr Clark said: ““This adds greatly to our knowledge of how the interior of the Tower of Drum was used in the medieval period. In due course it should contribute to a greater knowledge of how fourteenth century towers were used in their heyday.”
The archaeologists also discovered a second secret chamber in the tower today as their investigations continued.
Dr Clark revealed: “As work continued this morning, we made another exciting discovery – a second chamber which legend says is where Mary Irvine hid her brother for three years after defeat in the Battle of Culloden. This is a huge discovery for Drum.
“We will now be carefully photographing and measuring what we have discovered so that we can add it to the plans that we have been preparing on the Tower of Drum as part of the bigger project of conservation and archaeological investigation on this important castle.”
Drum Castle, which also features a Jacobean wing and later Victorian remodelling, was developed by generations of Irvines from the 13th Century to 1975, having been given the land by King Robert the Bruce. Legend has it that the barony, and the holly on the Irvine crest, were awarded after William de Irwyn guarded the king sleeping under a bush of the spiky plant.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
‘Mental Illness’ Isn’t all About Brain Chemistry | UA Magazine
‘Mental Illness’ Isn’t all About Brain Chemistry | UA Magazine
Wonder how many gamers face the silent challenge of mental illness?
Wonder how many gamers face the silent challenge of mental illness?
Monday, July 1, 2013
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