Island Homes During Mississippi River Flooding

When the waters of the Mississippi River broke in April 2011, it created one of the largest and the most damaging floods in the U.S. in the past century. Flooding was caused by two major storm systems that deposited record levels of rainfall on the Mississippi River watershed.

When that additional water combined with the springtime snowmelt, the river and many of its tributaries began to swell and spill over. Certain areas were inundated with 20-30 feet of water forcing evacuation of tens of thousands of homes in areas along the Mississippi and the Yazoo River. But many decided to stay put building dykes around their houses instead, creating tiny island homes.

A levee protects a home surrounded by floodwater from the Yazoo River on May 18, 2011 near Vicksburg, Mississippi. The flooded Mississippi River is forcing the Yazoo River to top its banks where the two meet near Vicksburg causing towns and farms upstream on the Yazoo to flood. (Photo: Scott Olson)

A levee partially protects a home surrounded by floodwater from the Yazoo River, on May 18, 2011 near Vicksburg, Mississippi. (Photo: Scott Olson)

A house in Vicksburg, situated along the Yazoo River, surrounded with tons of earth and sand. Photo: Getty Images

A house in Vicksburg, situated along the Yazoo River, surrounded with tons of earth and sand. Photo: Getty Images

A house in Vicksburg, situated along the Yazoo River, surrounded with tons of earth and sand. Photo: Getty Images

This aerial shot over Vicksburg shows the ominous rise of floodwater around homes. Photo: Getty Images

A flooded home surrounded by a makeshift levee that failed in Vicksburg, Mississippi, is pictured Tuesday, May 17, 2011. (Photo: Dave Martin)

Brittany Pearce (right) stands atop a mound of sandbags in front of her grandparents' house in Stephensville, Louisiana, on May 15, 2011. (Photo: Sean Gardner)

Volunteers fill sandbags to help in the fight against rising floodwater May 7, 2011 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo: Scott Olson)

Tugboat owner Jerry Vatson walks across a makeshift walkway from a barge where his boat is anchored to land, amidst rising floodwater from the Mississippi River, in Vidalia, Louisiana, on Tuesday, May 17, 2011. (Photo: Gerald Herbert)

A boat carrying prison trustees, who are used as workers against the flood, motors through Mississippi River floodwaters, past the Riverside Medical Complex, which is protected by a wall of Hesco baskets in Vidalia, Louisiana, on Thursday, May 19, 2011. (Photo: Gerald Herbert)

Sandbags laid out in piles protect a road in Stepensville, Louisiana. Photo: Getty Images

Dennis Barkemeyer (right) inspects a temporary levee built around a medical center in Vidalia, Louisiana. Photo: Getty Images

Submerged buildings are seen near Lake Providence, Louisiana, on May 18, 2011. (Photo: Eric Thayer)

Sources: The Atlantic / Daily Mail

Ivanhoe Reservoir Covered With 400,000 Black Plastic Balls

In 2007, the Department of Water Protection in Los Angeles detected high levels of bromate, a carcinogen that forms when bromide and chlorine react with sunlight, in Los Angeles’s Ivanhoe Reservoir. Bromide is naturally present in groundwater and chlorine is used to kill bacteria, but sunlight is the final ingredient in the potentially harmful mix.

The 102-year-old facility serves about 600,000 customers downtown and in South Los Angeles. When the Department of Water Protection realized the problem, they began construction of a new underground reservoir in Griffith Park, but while the new facility was being built they had to determine a way to keep the sunlight out of the water.

The possibility of tarps and metal coverings were explored but they were either too expensive or will take too long to install. So one of the DWP's biologists, Brian White, suggested "bird balls," commonly used by airports to prevent birds from congregating in wet areas alongside runways. The balls are made of polyethylene and cost only 40 cents each. The coating contains carbon and black is the only color strong enough to deflect ultraviolet rays.

400,000 balls were dropped into the reservoir on June 2008, where they will remain for the next four to five years until the new underground reservoir is completed.

[via LATimes]

Photos of Bullets Sliced in Half by Sabine Pearlman

Sabine Pearlman's intriguing photo series "Ammo" features images of a variety of ammunitions that have been neatly cut in half to reveal the surprisingly varied and intricate contents inside. Pearlman shot a total of 900 cross-sections of ammo, in a World War II bunker in Switzerland last October, documenting the meticulous and dangerous beauty that lies beneath the bullets' casings.

"I was originally intrigued by the ambiguous nature of the subject matter," she says. "The cross-sections reveal a hidden complexity and beauty of form, which stands in vast contrast to the destructive purpose of the object. It is a representation of the evil and the beautiful, a reflection of the human condition."

The ammo was cut in half by a munitions specialist who devised a technique to defuse the rounds before cutting them in half.

“It is a dangerous process, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing!,” warns Pearlman.

Some flavor of 5.56x45 loaded with a steel projectile in a copper half-jacket to protect the bore

5.56mm XM216 SPIW Flechette

7.62/.220 Salvo Squeezebore

The images are quite fascinating. It’s pity, the photographer failed to provide captions that could have explained what each bullet type is. Apparently, a knowledgeable Redditor was able to recognize some of these bullets. The captions that you find underneath these images are based on his identification. Please be aware, they might not be correct (but I believe they are).

About the photographer:

Sabine Pearlman was born and raised in Austria. She moved to the US in 2004, and today lives and works in Los Angeles. As a photographer, she strives to create a poetry of images by synergizing the "big picture" with the small details. Educated at Pratt Institute, Otis College of Art and Design and Santa Monica College, Sabine's work has been exhibited at numerous galleries nationally and internationally.

7.62x51mm Plastic short-range training tracer

This one is curious - it looks like a 7.62x51mm but the interior looks like a 'sabotage' cartridge as it appears to be loaded with a blasting cap and a small amount of explosive. Upon further consideration, I believe it may be a 7.92mm Mauser rather than a 7.62mm NATO based on the case dimensions and bullet construction.

6.5x55mm wood bullet blank (guessing at the cartridge on that one, it looks right!)

.450 Adams - the case appears too short and the bullet is too short, the cavity too shallow and it doesn't have enough grease grooves to be a .455 MkII.

.38 Speer Target

.38 Special Glaser

.224 BOZ

9x19mm Cobra "High Safety Ammunition" - steel darts inside a polymer sabot

9x19mm Israeli riot control - steel balls embedded in amber resin

9x19mm - looks much like a British 9mm MkIIz

9x19mm - solid brass hollow point - unsure of maker

9x19mm - either a tracer or possibly an explosive projectile. Not sure what that filler is

via Imaging Resources

Historic Black and White Photos Restored in Color

There is a long standing debate of whether black and white photos of the historic era should be colorized. Last year there was a media uproar when Swedish artist Sanna Dullaway started promoting her business as a photo restorer by coloring iconic black and white images of yesteryears. Now there is an entire group of talented photo artists who contribute their work to an obscure section on the social news website Reddit. Below is a collection of some of their most popular creation.