the struggle of the dead

There are pencils that turn into plants when you’re done using them. 

The ‘Sprout Pencil’ is the first sustainable pencil in the world that can be planted after use.

“We have chosen the seeds for our pencils with great care, and they germinate quickly: i.e. within 1-3 weeks, depending on the seed variety. Most plants can be grown both indoors and outdoors.” 

It’s made of natural materials: the body is cedar wood, and the “lead” is a mixture of clay and graphite.

Sprout pencils are available in 22 varieties, including sunflower, mint, lavender, sage, forget-me-not, cherry tomato, sweet pea, cilantro, and wild strawberry.

What to do

“When the Sprout Pencil has become too short to write with, it is ready to be planted. Follow the simple instructions below and see your Sprout pencil sprout.”

They are also available in the colored pencil variety, which makes me oh-so-happy! 

After this image became so popular, the quote passed me by on an almost daily basis. Eventually, my brain settled on a bit more darkish interpretation of ‘the crows leading you home’. 

The Cemetery Oracle was born out of necessity, of creating something I needed but could not find.

I travel often, and find myself in places where laying out and shuffling a full deck isn’t always practical. I also don’t always find myself drawn to traditional tarot imagery. 

After a year of research, I created this deck using cemetery photos I have taken all around the world, and ascribed each card six different meanings based on questions and answers many of us seek.

You can preorder the next batch here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/604865613/pre-order-cemetery-oracle-cards

Emily writes, “64oz Games is working once again to improve Braille accessibility in popular board games, this time in tabletop RPGs. This kickstarter will allow them to purchase a high resolution 3d printer to produce a polyhedral die set (D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20 & Percentile) with Braille as well as print numbers. This will also allow them to continue to produce high quality Braille teaching materials that improve Braille literacy world wide.”

There’s more to this than just putting Braille glyphs on the dice – they have to remain balanced! $10 gets you one die, $50 gets you a whole set. The rewards are danged cool, too, including Braille dice earrings!

By copyrighting his property as an artwork, he has prevented oil companies from drilling on it.

Peter Von Tiesenhausen has developed artworks all over his property in northern Alberta.  There’s a boat woven from sticks that is gradually being reclaimed by the land; there is a fence that he adds to each year of his life, and there are many “watching” trees, with eyes scored into their bark.

Oil interests pester him continually about drilling on his land.  His repeated rebuffing of their advances lead them to move toward arbitration.  They made it very clear that he only owned the top 6 inches of soil, and they had rights to anything underneath.  He then, off the top of his head, threatened them that he would sue damages if they disturbed his 6 inches, for the entire property is an artwork.  Any disturbance would compromise the work, and he would sue.

Immediately after that meeting, he called a lawyer (who is also an art collector) and asked if his intuitive threat would actually hold legally.  The lawyer visited, saw the scope of the work on the property, and wrote a document protecting the artwork.

The oil companies have kept their distance ever since.

How about a plush hospital to warm up your heart in those cold days?