Life As A Human Likes…

Life As A Human Likes is a weekly feature of fascinating, enlightening, fun or perhaps just odd blogs and websites that enliven the experience of being human. This week, we feature a bit of a mixed bag…something for the dreamers, something for the schemers and something for the …um… wieners.

Amazing Humans

#1 Favela Painting

About one third of the population of Rio de Janeiro lives in favelas (slums). Many are on steep hillsides surrounding the city. They have a reputation as dangerous areas fraught with large drug gangs of local child soldiers. But according to Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhan of The Favela Project, there are beautiful urban structures in the favelas and most people there want peaceful lives.

To bring new life and colour to the favelas, The Favela Project is painting each house according to an elaborate plan which result sin nothing less than works of art. The dream is for one day to have entire hillsides of beautiful painted favelas.

Inspirational

#2 Far Beyond the Stars

It’s a tough job to be inspirational without being schlocky. But I think Everett Bogue manages to achieve this in Far Beyond the Stars — and a lot of it has to do with his minimalist approach. In fact, he’s the author of The Art of Being Minimalist and his writing has been featured on the Zen Habits.

Once a writer for New York Magazine, Everett quit to pursue a “minimalist location-independent life”. His blog is designed “to teach you how you can apply minimalism in order to live and work from anywhere”.

Eye Opening

#3 PostSecret

Hmm. We all have secrets. Some secrets are shocking. Some are enlightening. And some should probably never be told.

PostSecret is a website that lets you in on the secret life of humans. In some cases these secrets restore faith, in others they make you wonder what the hell…? People can go to PostSecret, create a postcard with their secret on it, and then post it anonymously online.

Just for Fun

#4 Clouds365

If you have forgotten what it was like to lie on your back and cloud gaze, then Clouds 365 will bring it all back to you. Clouds 365 is multimedia artist Kelly DeLay’s commitment to “do something creative every day”. Beginning July 1, 2009, Delay began shooting images or videos of clouds every day for 365 days. “Clouds 365 is not intended to be separate from my everyday life,” says Kelly. “I want this practice of observation to be tied into the fabric of my life—the habit of looking up and noticing the patterns and beauty of the clouds that envelop us every single day.”

Why Did They Bother? But Hey, Why Not….?

#5 Hats of Meat

Hats of Meat features artistic haberdashery made out of cold cuts, steaks, sausages, hamburger.

This site could seriously push me the last few inches into total vegetarianism, but you’ve sort of got to admire the human innovation.

Methinks some people have way too much to eat.

Recent Kerry Slavens Articles:

• After the Riot: Mob Psychology at Work in Vancouver
• Before I Became a Mother....
• The Big Death: Reactions to the Killing of Osama Bin Laden
• Bolivia to Pass Laws Granting Mother Nature Equal Rights with Humans
• Unstable World: Thoughts After the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan