Zhang Gong’s Works of Art
At Project 798, Zhang Gong is making waves with cartoons in famous works of art such as Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” and Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks”.
Progressive Glasses on the Progressive Road
It has been an incredible pain lately … to have to pick up glasses in order to read. One of the downfalls of advancing age is definitely the threshold where you start losing your ability to see words clearly up close. On a visit to the optometrist the other day, I found that it would cost over $1,000 to get a high density pair of progressive glasses done. Given the current unsettling and uncertain global economy, shocked was not an adequate word to describe my state upon hearing that. I need to see to work and that price is just far too much. I decided to get the much cheaper but more cumbersome to use bifocals or even go cheaper by just getting reading glasses when my friend told me to just go online and do some shopping there.
Thankfully, within minutes, I was able to find glasses at 50% off the retail price in the optometrist’s store. There was also an article in the Chicago Tribune discussing the sorry state of eyeglass prices and how the internet has really revolutionized the way we buy things and at what price we buy them at. It disclosed just how ridiculous the price ranges are for the exact same pair of frames and lenses from store to store.
Since Americans spend about $16 billion a year on eyeglasses so you can imagine how much profit is being made by those charging over $1,000 when there are internet retailers like zennioptical charging just $37 for progressive lenses. I’ve never tried them myself but there’s so little to lose given the alternative. If you’re looking for glasses yourself, I suggest you do the same.
Longest Skateboard Journey in the World
It started in Switzerland back in June 2007 and finally ended in Shanghai in October 2008. New Zealander Rob Thompson travelled a total of 12,000 kilometers on his own throughout Europe, US and China on a recumbent bicycle and skateboard. What an amazing feat! You can read all about his travels in his blog, 14 degrees off the beaten track and look at his photostream in Flickr.
