As our attention spans get shorter, more sites offer ways to keep up-to-date on anything and everything, all the time. Newsmap presents the world's news about everything, all on one page, and in an impressive palette. Select from a number of countries and disciplines, or combination thereof, and Newsmap does the rest. Colour is used to distinguish the areas of interest, and how recent any news item may be - from less than ten minutes, to more than one hour ago.
Thanks to the internet, nearly anything can be found quickly now - including a black Christmas tree. (They call it 'Tuxedo Black', to reconcile any hesitation you may have in buying one for your surly 16-year-old.) Treetopia.com might not be able to get your 'In the Navy' blue tree to you by Friday, but they're sure a great resource to check out for Boxing Day sales. The array of colours is staggering, and they come lit, or not. A nice way to mix a little extra brilliance into your tree next year.
This one below is the Stephen J. Colbert Tree. For real.
While a fruit cake renaissance may be yet to come, poinsettias are becoming cool again.
The plant originally came from Mexico and while revered by the Aztecs, eventually became a symbol of Christmas to the Mexican culture. It became tradition to decorate them around Christmas time. Then in 1824, the American Ambassador to Mexico - Joel Poinsett (see where this is going?) was so impressed with the red plants that he brought them up to the U.S. and thus began their Americanization.
In the late 19th Century, a California farming family named the Eckes started selling them widely. Back then they were three feet tall. They've since been cultivated to grow smaller, and brighter. Oh, and they've never been poisonous. That's only ever been a rumour, viciously started no doubt, by another, less fortunate California farming family.
Martha Stewart wants to show you a few things to do with poinsettias.
Happy Holidays from all of us at Haft2.
Here's a site that puts the humanity back in the way we tell time. The Human Clock is a site with thousands of photos depicting people that are somehow displaying the time. Every minute, the clock updates with a new photo. The pics themselves are fascinating due to the variety of the banal.
Click here to check out the Human Clock.
Need more of this? Check out this link to their other site - The Human Calendar.
This weekend, Britain's Royal Opera House will debut a work unlike any other they've exhibited before. The libretto to 'The People's Opera' was written solely by Twitter users - "Tweeters", I suppose. For months, the venerable ROH has been accepting additions and plot twists 140 characters at a time. Once the story began to take shape, the Opera moved forward with composing corresponding music, which will be performed by an orchestra, one baritone and one soprano.
To date, users have determined that the story will involve a talking cat, a secret potion and a man kidnapped by birds. Throw in some colour forecasting and it sounds like a typical day at Haft2.
