Floating Rocks and Lost Islands

What do pumice rafts and an island in the south pacific have in common? What is a pumice raft, for that matter.

An article from the Mother Nature Network published in April 2013 talks of an island that didn't really exist. Documented in the late 1800's, it was never again seen since, but the information lingered on maps for hundreds of years. It eventually made its way into being digitized and put into Google Maps as 'Sandy Island'. When scientists went to find this island, it wasn't there at all.

One of the hypothesis to why it was documented in the first place mentions something called pumice rafts. You may have heard of pumice in certain soaps, scrubs, or chunks to use due to their airy and abrasive nature. What they actually are is a type of volcanic rock, that solidified quickly full of gas bubbles. Amazingly, they are buoyant enough to float on water. It just so happens that the area that 'Sandy Island' was documented may very well be a pumice raft highway for the stuff created in underwater volcanoes.

I cant help but be reminded of Jan Mark's RIDING TYCHO, where the protagonist has an important experience with logs that mysteriously float along a sea current near her island. But can you imagine, being lost at sea and coming upon a gigantic hunk of floating rock? What if it was adrift so long it had its own small ecosystem present upon it, maybe reminiscent to THE LIFE OF PI?

Nature is really cool.

You can find the original article here: http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/computers/stories/why-theres-a-fake-island-on-google-earth

The Facinating Art of Robert Steven Connett

As content creators, in whatever form it takes for you, we should always be on the lookout for inspiration. There is no shame in hoarding a folder full of images saved off the internet, a word document full of interesting articles, or even a physical box full of clippings and snippets.

Being constantly bombarded by so much information makes this magpie behavior benefit us. Certainly not to plagiarize those things, but to spark a flurry of our own creative ideas. Tread carefully, but not with shame.

Fortunately there are some platforms that are 'collecting friendly', in that they provide the ability to save favorites that we like and give credit to the content creators. DeviantArt hosts a few of my favorites that I intend to share over a period of time. But I wanted to start off with the art of Robert Steven Connett (RSConnett).

His gallery is host to the freaky, eerie, and alien, depicted in oils on canvas. Its not something that can be described, because viewing these works is its own unique experience. Every piece is intricate and fascinating, with hidden faces and coils not apparent at first. I've been a silent appreciator of Robert's work for a few years now, and its always exciting to see a new piece.

You can find his entire gallery at http://www.grotesque.com/ and http://rsconnett.deviantart.com/