Author: Team Blookup
Building skyscrapers inside giant sequoias
Since 2006 the architecture magazine eVolo organizes the Skyscraper competition, a contest during which teams of architects from all over the world come up with ambitious (sometimes crazy) projects that not only challenge the limits of construction working but also rethink the way man-made buildings interact with the environment.
This year more than 400 projects have been examined by the jury, only 3 won the competition and 22 received honorable mentions, the project we are introducing today received one of these.
At the very heart of this team of South-Korean architects, the Giant sequoia is one of many numerous victims of human activities and although it is now protected, its life span has shortened due to climate change. In addition, the roots of this giant are very small in comparison to its height and do not grow deep in the ground; so when the core starts to rot the sequoia collapses under its own weight.
The project intends to reconcile mankind and nature with a more respectful approach of architecture by replacing the empty and/or rotting space inside the said giant in order to build skyscrapers inside that will neither harm the trees nor drastically change the landscape. The new structure build inside the sequoia acts like a new backbone that will prevent the tree from collapsing. The working space inside the “sequoiascraper” (Yup, I just made it up) should be dedicated to arts and research. A bold project that, if it ever sees the light of day, will prove that there are alternatives to bending nature to our own will and deforming the landscape. Hats off to them!
___________________________
Interview: Pamela Breitberg captures nature’s beauty and shares it on a blog
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so imagine a blog full of photographs! Today we have the chance of interviewing Pamela Breitberg who is going to tell us about her blog and her passion for photography!
– Tell us a little bit about yourself : You, your passions, your hobbies, your projects…
I am recently retired from teaching. I am a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) who taught science lab to 1st through 8th grade elementary students in the inner city of Chicago. Prior to that I was a professional portrait and wedding photography.
My “hobbies” are being outdoors: walking and biking, and photography: micro, portrait style and candid all which reinforce my appetite for learning. My passionate hobby is nature photography which I share through this blog and various books. The blog is a way for me to share the wonders and beauty of being outdoors observing nature. I am an avid reader as well. My blog has stimulated desire to research while I try to include some scientific or folk information on species in my images.
Projects, at the moment, are on hold while I continue photography as a method to stop and reflect on God’s gifts and wonders. The past few years have been stressful with health issues and passing of both my parents; being outdoors and photography has been a blessed self-therapy. Giving is the best therapy, it has been said, and so my blog is my venue for giving. I am touched each time someone “likes” or comments on one of my posts.
—————————————————————————–
– What is your blog about and why did you want to address this subject when starting it?
My blog is photography, primarily of plants and animals in the United States’ Midwest. I now spend some of the year along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, so I’ve begun to include images of that nature. My writing includes scientific information, folklore and personal observations and experiences. Occasionally I add photography tips as well.
I originally began my blog to share my photography with my parents who lived 300 miles away. It has been a surprising thrill to discover that my blog is read worldwide. Now that my parents are no longer reading the blog I continue to share my images and thoughts with the many followers of my blog; what a wonderful vehicle to share my passions. I feel as though I know some of my followers as I read their blogs and we share common interests in nature and photography. It is sharing that gives back indeed.
—————————————————————————
– Why did you want to turn your blog into a book?
BlookUp intrigued me because it was an EASY way to turn my blog into book format and have a hard copy of my work. It’s always nice to physically hold a book and browse through it. The hard copy is for myself. I took advantage of the e-book format for sale because it’s affordable for readers and is more environmentally friendly (less use of paper).
—————————————————————————
– How did you find out about BlookUp? What did you think about the making process of your blook?
I saw the ads for BlookUp while on WordPress, reading others’ blogs. The process of making the books via BlookUp were painless and straight forward. I made two volumes to make each book more manageable in size. It was very easy for me edit out any posts that I did not want to include.
Thank you so much Pamela for this interview! Don’t forget to check out her blog to see more gorgeous photos!
Textolife turns your SMS into books!
If you regularly visit this blog (and if you have just arrived, welcome to you!), you must know that since 2011, BlookUp is the platform that transforms your blogs and social networks into books and is compatible with a little more than 10 different blogging platforms!
______________________________________________
A single question was the origin of the creation of BlookUp: “What if all my digital contents disappeared suddenly?”. The answer seemed obvious: Go back to the book, the physical object. To the compilation, the collection, the immortalization of our work and our moments spent together on the Web!
Our virtual contents and exchanges can be frail and ephemeral, like our SMS, MMS, chat messages and other short, instant conversations tools. Textolife understood that, and that’s why this online platform offers you (since 2013) to print all your SMS / MMS, WhatsApp or Messenger conversations!
Sending SMS is a harmless, daily activity, and sometimes the conversations are so long that even your phone can have a hard time going back in history! It is easy to neglect these odinary exchanges, however, small forgotten treasures, sweet words, funny or moving photos are hidden inside them!
It’s also this idea of sharing good moments and memories that started Textolife, when Yasmine wanted to offer to her family (including her sister Laura, who will also be at the origin of the concept) a collection of all their group conversations! This first book was very tedious to “handmake”, with a lot of screenshots and using Word for layout…
Be assured that today, you just have to back up your conversations using the help provided for Android, IPhone, WhatsApp and Messenger, sign in and start creating your book via a mobile app or directly from the online tool!
A book of 40 pages costs about €15, and if you only want the PDF version, it will cost you €3.90 (downloadable from your personal account at anytime!).
Sounds great, right? Go ahead, and revive your SMS with Textolife!
BlookUp: Blog, Medias, frequency, news and THANK YOU!
At the end of 2016, we gave you informations about BlookUp‘s blogging and social networking activities. Today, we – already- have to update you on the situation!
THANK YOU !
In the first place (yes, we start the article by the last element of our title, like some kind of blog punks), we would like to thank you from the bottom of our heart for your growing support, your shares, your commitment…
In 2017, significant subscriptions goals have been reached for all our communication platforms, and that is obviously thanks to you!
WORDPRESS
GOAL REACHED: 5,000 SUBSCRIBERS
The blog is still there, in French (here) and in English (here. Like, no, really, no need to click, you’re already there 😉 ), but as some have noticed, our publication rhythm has kind of declined; No more publications on Tuesdays and Fridays but don’t panic, we explain why!
The first reason to this is simply our desire to propose a unique rendez-vous, every Wednesday, in order to make every article more like a weekly celebrity coming to sign autographs at a given time. Punctuality is key!
The second reason is also quite simple, and that’s…
Tumblr is the latest active network of BlookUp. This microblogging platform will be ideal to share with you the daily life of our startup!
Our Tumblr will be more like a Facebook page, a Twitter or an Instagram account, with a freer and more casual tone. The publications are to be short but more numerous, and this is why WordPress articles, longer and therefore more demanding in terms of research and writing, will be posted once a week to ensure their quality!
That being said, if you have a Tumblr account (or if you are just curious!), Subscribe to this new blog and enter the daily BlookUp life, joys, pains, environment, team… And much more!
SOCIAL NETWORKS
REACHED GOAL: 3,500 SUSCRIBERS |
REACHED GOAL: 1,200 FOLLOWERS |
REACHED GOAL: 1,200 SUSCRIBERS |
(Click on the images to access the corresponding social network!)
There are also some changes on the social networks side, which regularly relay each publication from the WordPress blog (and soon Tumblr), and had a fairly fixed number of publications per day… Now we blow up the locks, get free, and we post, we share, we react live!
We are as well increasing the emphasis on mages… For the pure pleasure of the eyes!
_________________________________
So, are you ready to choose your favorite platform(s)? Subscribe, and don’t be shy: Participate! 😄
Interview: hiMe printed the book of her story as a Refugee
Summer is light and joyful, but many things can happen under the sun. Some are less light, but are also essential to know, essential to History and Memory. It might take a while, but things do get lighter and sunnier when you begin to write them down.
hiMe, from the blog A Refugee’s Journey, shares all that with you today: Her journey, her blog, her blook.
______________________________________
First, tell us about yourself : You, your passions, your hobbies, your projects…
I was a refugee and resettled in Melbourne, Australia in 1984 after spending four years trying to escape the communist regime in Vietnam . While trying to flee, I experienced being hunted, shot at, imprisoned and one of the many witnesses to the rape of my female defectors.
I love singing, acting and writing.
______________________________________
Before the Fall of Saigon in 1975, I was voted the Head of Press, in charge of the production of my class’ wall newspaper every semester in high school.
In the 1990s, I used to write satire poems for a Vietnamese newspaper in Sydney for years before I got married.
I joined Vietnamese and Australian community choirs as well as theatre groups.
My other hobby is to translate English songs and novels into Vietnamese.
What is your blog about and why did you want to address this subject when starting it?
I was encouraged to turn my attention to writing because of its emotional therapeutic effect.
______________________________________
From what I encountered since arriving in Australia as a lonely, young and naive refugee and was “taken into care” by the Church, I have a need to tell my story to the public.
There was also a heavy past with life under the communist regime as well as my escape and the refugee camp that I want to document.
Not to forget are memories of my life before the Communist took over and situations I faced in my new life in Australia: living with the enemy, unjust age discrimination at work, being coached to make fraudulent claim in the workplace, sexual harassment…
I desire to express my gratitude to my new country – Australia – as well as the Australian soldiers who fell during the Vietnam war.
I would like to have a say about what I find as unacceptable or unfair in the Vietnamese culture comparing to the Australian one and I wish there will be a change in the Vietnamese culture. The discrimination I come into contact with in Australia made me recount what the Chinese in Vietnam being discriminated against.
I want the memories, the history to be written down for my children and the younger generations of Vietnamese, Australian and the others to read for years to come when I will no longer be on earth.
______________________________________
After printing the first part of my blog, I want to continue blogging for the upcoming second book which will include topics about: global economic downturn, terrorism, mass immigration and capitalised communist countries (including Vietnam) that has changed Australia and the world’s view about refugees in general and the Vietnamese boat people in particular.
My future project also includes creating a twin blog which will be a translation into Vietnamese of my current blog A Refugee Journey – Vietnam to Australia.
What contents (articles, illustrations) are you the most proud of?
I love writing small poems to accompany each of my stories. I feel excited at the challenge to write poems in different styles. Until now, I have written 61 different forms of poems.
I collect facts, pictures and videos to support my stories. Below are some of the illustrations in that category.
Xuân, at the outskirts of Saigon.
to Henry Nguyen Bao Hoang – an American citizen.
______________________________________
What moment of your blogger life was the most memorable for you so far?
When SBS Insight (Australia’s leading forum for debate and powerful first person stories) contacted me in regard to my “Foot Voting” story. The survivor guilt mentioned in my account was the theme they wanted to research for a TV broadcast.
Why did you want to turn your blog into a book?
I want to have all my writings on a long-lasting, Internet-independent, computer-independent media that can be kept for years and readily to be read.
______________________________________
How did you find out about BlookUp?
I am glad that BlookUp followed my blog and that was how I found out about it.
What are the positive and negative points of the making of your blook?
With BlookUp, it was very easy to make my book. I had many trials in making my book with different publishing web sites. I found the publishing softwares those sites provided were complicated to use and rejected some of my pictures for not of high resolution. Unlike
BlookUp, the other publishing websites made the price of the book high.
I would love if BlookUp can offer more color choices as well as designs for the book cover. It would be nice if there are more different internal format for the book.
______________________________________
Do you enjoy the final result? What does your family and friends think about your blook?
I am very happy with the final result. The pictures are sharp, the colorsilk are lively and the texts are clear and crisp. My family and friends really appreciate the book.
Would you recommend BlookUp?
I certainly will highly recommend BlookUp to other bloggers.
______________________________________
Thank you hiMe for taking the time to answer our questions with such details, for your documented work and precious testimony!
Also follow hiMe on:
Turning a cookbook into lasagna (yummy)!
Do you like lasagna made with fresh pasta? You do, but you don’t know the recipe and don’t always have all the ingredients at hand’s reach?
Stop everything you’re doing right now! You’ll have no more excuses preventing you from cooking succulent homemade lasagnas!
German design agency Korefe created for the publishing house Gerstenberg a unique recipe book, a special edition subtly titled “The Real Cookbook” (“Das Echte Und Einzige Kochbuch”)!
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
What do you think? Real concept to develop or just a marketing thing? in any case, we are are now HUNGRY.
______________________________________
Growing trees out of books!
A small publishing house in Argentina recently made a totally organic book that gives back to nature what it took from it by growing into a tree (Which might remind you of our previous article about the Japanese blooming newspapers). What’s their secret? Well first, unlike the majority of books, this one is made using organic ink along with acid-free pages that allow it to be planted without harming the soils. Seeds are put inside the paper during the making process and will wait until their time comes to grow into a magnificent tree!
Pequeño Editor, the publishing house specialized in books for children, wanted to deliver a message to their young readers: “Books come from trees. Today, a tree comes from a book.”
Even though changing the way we make books on a global scale seems difficult (If not impossible), we have to salute the effort made by the people of this publishing house who do not only show us an eco friendly alternative but also educate children in the process!
“If your plan is for one year plant rice. If your plan is for ten years plant trees. If your plan is for one hundred years educate children” – Confucius
If you want to know more about Pequeño Editor and their work, be sure to check out their Facebook and Twitter page!
[Update] The Book and Bed hotel in Tokyo : an original concept !
Japanese people are known for having crazy ideas, and at BlookUp we love a concept that stands out!
In Tokyo, the owners of this hostel just made every book lover’s dream come true: An accommodation bookshop. Don’t let the name fool you though, the books are not for sale; however you can read as many of them as you want while being comfortably seated on one of the sofas!
As for the beds, customers can choose between sleeping in bunks if their budget is tight or inside a bookshelf and being surrounded by hundreds of books: The ultimate bookworm’s nest! However, comfort might not be the first words to come to your mind while looking at the mattresses, and the staff is well aware of that.
The staff focused their efforts into providing the most unique experience as they could, the idea behind the accommodation bookshop was to create a space where people would be able to do what they enjoy the most until they ultimately fall asleep. And for those among you that always drink something while reading, well you are sorted because you can get coffee and other drinks at the bar inside the hostel!
Tokyo is not the only city to have a Book and Bed hotel, Fukuoka and Kyoto also have their own. If you cannot make it all the way to japan, you can check out their Instagram and get a glimpse of the magic of this place!
20 of abandoned books leading to open a free library in Bogota!
Twenty years ago in Bogota, a man decided to save as many abandoned books as he could. José Alberto Guitierrez, to call him by his full name, drives a Garbage truck around the columbian city and found out that people threw away their books so he decided to save them by taking them to his house, this initiative got him the title of “Lord of the books”.
_____________________________
With the house slowly being filled with abandoned books, José Alberto, along with his wife Luz Mery and their three children turned the ground floor of their house into a free library they called “La Fuerza de las palabras” (The Power of words in English). The library became famous very quickly, to the point that volunteers from all around the country (and even from abroad) came to Bogota in order to help José Alberto and his family. In addition to this library, Luz Mery came up with the idea of opening a “Hospital” for old and damaged books that she would fix with her sewing skills.
José Alberto became so popular in South America that he was invited to the International Book Fairs in Bogota, Monterrey (Mexico) and Santiago (Chile). Shortly after, book donations came from all over the continent to the point that their library now contains more than 25 000 books. With space becoming an issue for the family (The surface of the library being 90m² or almost 108 square yards), the reading sessions they held for the kids of the neighborhood stopped and the library only opened when someone knocked at the door to get a book.
_____________________________
The news of the Guitierrez’ free library reached one of the disarmament zones of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC), who recently signed a peace treaty with the government thus ending 50 years of conflicts. One of the rebels reached out to José Alberto and his family to ask them for books so that they could prepare for their reintegration into the society.
Through “The Power of words” José Alberto wanted to show the world that not only people waste food but also books, and that this loss of intellectual nourishment was almost as deplorable as Food wastage. He also stated: “Books transformed me. So I thought that in places like these, it would be a symbol of hope, a symbol of peace”
If you want to know more about José Alberto and his family’s work, we invite you to visit their website!
_____________________________