Community of igloos. (Illustration from Charles Francis Hall's Arctic Researches and Life Among the Esquimaux, 1865)

Building an igloo in Cape Dorset

An igloo (Inuit language: iglu,^[1] Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᒡᓗ, plural: iglooit or igluit) or snowhouse is a type of shelter built of snow, originally built by the Inuit.

Although igloos are usually associated with all Inuit, they were predominantly constructed by people of Canada's Central Arctic and Greenland's Thule area. Other Inuit people tended to use snow to insulate their houses, which were constructed from whalebone and hides. Snow is used because the air pockets trapped in it make it an insulator. On the outside, temperatures may be as low as −45 °C (−49 °F), but on the inside the temperature may range from −7 °C (19 °F) to 16 °C (61 °F) when warmed by body heat alone.^[2]

Nomenclature[link]

The Inuit word iglu (plural igluit) can be used for a house or home built of any material,^[1] and is not restricted exclusively to snowhouses (called specifically igluvijaq, plural igluvijait), but includes traditional tents, sod houses, homes constructed of driftwood and modern buildings.^[3][4] Several dialects throughout the Canadian Arctic (Siglitun, Inuinnaqtun, Natsilingmiutut, Kivalliq, North Baffin) use iglu for all buildings, including snowhouses, and it is the term used by the Government of Nunavut.^[5][6][1] An exception to this is the dialect used in the Igloolik region. Iglu is used for other buildings, while igluvijaq,^[7] (plural igluvijait, Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᒡᓗᕕᔭᖅ) is specifically used for a snowhouse. Outside Inuit society, however, "igloo" refers exclusively to shelters constructed from blocks of compacted snow, generally in the form of a dome.

Types[link]

There are three traditional types of igloos, all of different sizes and all used for different purposes.

• The smallest was constructed as a temporary shelter, usually only used for one or two nights. These were built and used during hunting trips, often on open sea ice.
• Intermediate-sized igloos were for semi-permanent, family dwelling. This was usually a single room dwelling that housed one or two families. Often there were several of these in a small area, which formed an Inuit village.
• The largest igloos were normally built in groups of two. One of the buildings was a temporary structure built for special occasions, the other built nearby for living. These might have had up to five rooms and housed up to 20 people. A large igloo might have been constructed from several smaller igloos attached by their tunnels, giving common access to the outside. These were used to hold community feasts and traditional dances.

Construction[link]

An igloo side view diagram; opening to the right, optional window may be composed of an ice block

An igloo's snowbrick laying method

The snow used to build an igloo must have enough structural strength to be cut and stacked appropriately. The best snow to use for this purpose is snow which has been blown by wind, which can serve to compact and interlock the ice crystals. The hole left in the snow where the blocks are cut is usually used as the lower half of the shelter. Sometimes, a short tunnel is constructed at the entrance to reduce wind and heat loss when the door is opened. Because of snow's excellent insulating properties, inhabited igloos are surprisingly comfortable and warm inside. In some cases, a single block of ice is inserted to allow light into the igloo. Animal skins were used as door flaps to keep warm air in. Igloos used as winter shelters had beds made of snow, covered with twigs and caribou furs. Architecturally, the igloo is unique in that it is a dome that can be raised out of independent blocks leaning on each other and polished to fit without an additional supporting structure during construction. An igloo that is built correctly will support the weight of a person standing on the roof. Also, in the traditional Inuit igloo the heat from the kudlik (qulliq, stone lamp) causes the interior to melt slightly. This melting and refreezing builds up a layer of ice that contributes to the strength of the igloo.^[8]

The sleeping platform is a raised area. Because warmer air rises and cooler air settles, the entrance area acts as a cold trap whereas the sleeping area will hold whatever heat is generated by a stove, lamp or body heat.

The Central Inuit, especially those around the Davis Strait, lined the living area with skin, which could increase the temperature within from around 2 °C (36 °F) to 10–20 °C (50–68 °F).

[edit] Nanook of the North

The 1922 documentary Nanook of the North contains the oldest surviving movie footage of an Inuit constructing an igloo. In the film, Nanook, whose real name was Allakariallak, builds a large family igloo as well as a smaller igloo for sled pups. Nanook demonstrates the use of an ivory knife to cut and trim snow block, as well as the use of clear ice for a window. His igloo was built in about one hour, and was large enough for five people. The igloo was cross-sectioned for filmmaking, so interior shots could be made.

See also[link]

An Inuit inside of an igloo (upper-right corner of image), circa 1900 – 1923. Photograph by Canadian Geological Survey.

References[link]

Notes[link]

Sources[link]

• Richard Gv. Condon, Julia Ogina and the Holman Elders, The Northern Copper Inuit (ISBN 0-8020-0849-6)
• Igloo – the Traditional Arctic Snow Dome

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Igloo

Look up igloo in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Watch How to Build an Igloo (National Film Board of Canada)
• Building an Igloo, by Hugh McManners
• Field Manual for the U.S. Antarctic Program, Chapter 11: "Snow Shelters", pp. 140-145
• Traditional Dwellings: Igloos (1) (Interview; Library and Archives Canada)
• An article on igloos from The Canadian Encyclopedia
• How to Build an Igloo (wikiHow)
• UIUC Students build an igloo

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since July 2009. Its lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. Tagged since November 2009.

Raymond Paul "Ray" Mears (born 7 February 1964) is an English woodsman, instructor, author and TV presenter. His TV appearances cover bushcraft and survival techniques, and he is best known for the TV series Ray Mears' Bushcraft, Ray Mears' World of Survival, Extreme Survival, Survival with Ray Mears, Wild Britain with Ray Mears and Ray Mears Goes Walkabout.

Early life[link]

Mears grew up in Kenley, Greater London, and the North Downs, where he discovered a countryside abundant with wildlife. Educated at Reigate Grammar School, a co-educational independent school in Reigate, Surrey, he learned to track foxes in the forest at a young age. As a boy, he desired to sleep out on the trail, but unable to afford camping equipment, he resorted to setting up camp using what he could find in his surroundings.

Interests[link]

Mears's enthusiasm for his subject, combined with his broad knowledge of survival and the uses which may be made of plants, trees and other natural materials found in woodland, forest or desert, have made him a popular figure in TV broadcasting in the UK.^{[citation needed]} He has travelled extensively across the world for his TV series and has learned survival techniques from the indigenous peoples he has met. In his programmes he demonstrates his knowledge of the wild, how to find food from seeds, berries, roots and other growing things, and how to survive by constructing temporary shelters, fires and canoes from natural materials.

Mears has practiced Judo for many years. He once proudly on TV when challenged as a guest wrestled the then winner of a 6 player bushmans tournament. Mears emerged victorious after a strenuous and competitive match. The bush community were most impressed.

Mears is particularly interested in the survival of groups of resistance fighters and partisans for extended periods during the Second World War, such as the Norwegian heavy water plant saboteurs (see The Real Heroes of Telemark^[1]) and the Bielski brothers in Belarus (see Extreme Survival).

Personal life[link]

Mears met his partner, Rachel, in 1992 when she attended one of his five day survival courses. The couple lived in East Sussex with her two adult children, and married in 2005, after Rachel was diagnosed with breast cancer. Rachel died from cancer in 2006, aged 50, and her ashes are scattered in the Ashdown forest near their home.^[2]

While filming a documentary in Wyoming in 2005 Mears was involved in a serious accident. The helicopter in which he and his camera crew were travelling struck the ground during a steep low level turn, and broke apart, rolling to a stop. The fuel tank was ruptured in the accident, and escaping fuel covered Mears and the crew. No fire occurred, and Mears was able to escape the wreckage and assist in the rescue and first aid of one of the crew who was badly injured. Mears escaped uninjured.^[3]

Non-television work[link]

Mears started his bushcraft company aged 19. Mears' first book, The Survival Handbook, was published in 1990. Mears has continued to publish books, both standalone works, and as accompaniments to his TV series.

In September 2007, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Oxford Brookes University, and in the same year he began to deliver public lectures across the United Kingdom on his experiences in front of and behind the lens.

In July 2010, Mears was asked by Northumbria Police to help them track fugitive killer Raoul Moat, after he fled his temporary tent-based shelter in the village of Rothbury.^[4]

Television[link]

Mears has made a number of series for BBC television, visiting various parts of the world and covering such topics as bushcraft and survival skills, the traditional culture of indigenous peoples, and the achievements of noted explorers.

In 2009 he was approached by ITV to present a planned revival of its long-running nature documentary series Survival.^[5] The resulting three-part series was rebranded Survival with Ray Mears and broadcast on ITV1 in 2010. Each episode followed Mears as he used his tracking skills to locate bears, wolves and leopards. In a Radio Times interview to promote the series, Mears complained of being typecast by the BBC.^[6] This series was followed by Wild Britain with Ray Mears, also broadcast by ITV.

Series[link]

• Wild Tracks (BBC, 1994)
• Tracks (BBC, 1994–97)
• Ray Mears' World of Survival (BBC, 1997–98, 2 seasons of 6 episodes each)
• Ray Mears' Country Tracks (BBC, 1998, 2002–03)
• The Essential Guide to Rocks (BBC Education, 1998)
• Ray Mears' Extreme Survival (BBC, 1999–2002, 3 seasons of 6 episodes each)
• Ray Mears' Adventure Special (BBC, 2001) – Mears takes Ewan McGregor into the Honduran jungle on the trail of the prehistoric people of the Mosquito Coast.
• Ray Mears' Real Heroes of Telemark (BBC, 2003)
• Ray Mears' Bushcraft (BBC, 2004–05, 2 seasons of 5 episodes each)
• Ray Mears' Wild Food (BBC, 2007, 5 episodes)
• Ray Mears Goes Walkabout (BBC, June 2008, 4 episodes)^[7] – Mears tours the Australian outback. An accompanying hardcover book was published in the UK by Hodder and Stoughton in March 2008. In the series Mears meets one of his heroes: Les Hiddins (aka "The Bush Tucker Man"). He also heads to the Kimberley region to meet the reputed aboriginal artist and bush guide Ju Ju Wilson.
• Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness (BBC Two, Autumn 2009, 6 episodes) – Mears follows in the footsteps of pioneers who opened up Canada, such as Samuel Hearne, John Rae and David Thompson.
• Survival with Ray Mears (ITV, Spring 2010, 3 episodes)
• Wild Britain with Ray Mears (ITV, Autumn 2010, 6 episodes) - To be followed in 2011 by extended 60 minute episodes with exclusive additional content to be broadcast on UKTV's natural history channel Eden.

Books[link]

• The Survival Handbook (1990)
• The Outdoor Survival Handbook (1992)
• Ray Mears' World of Survival (1997)
• Bushcraft (2002)
• Essential Bushcraft (2003)
• The Real Heroes of Telemark: The True Story of the Secret Mission to Stop Hitler's Atomic Bomb (2003)
• Ray Mears' Bushcraft Survival (2005)
• Wild Food by Ray Mears & Professor Gordon Hillman (2007)
• Ray Mears Goes Walkabout (2008)
• Vanishing World - A Life of Bushcraft (2008)
• Northern Wilderness (2009)

Quotations[link]

Quotations by Ray Mears include:

• "Bushcraft is what you carry in your mind and your muscles."
• "The great thing about bushcraft is that wherever you go, the skills go with you."
• "One of the great things about bushcraft is that skills you learn in your back garden can be used all over the world." ^[8]
• "Knowledge is the key to survival and the best thing about that is: it doesn't weigh anything."
• "You cannot underestimate the importance of preparation."
• "As far as I'm concerned, these people are just showmen." On Bear Grylls^[9]

See also[link]

• Les Hiddins
• Mors Kochanski
• Lofty Wiseman
• Richard Proenneke
• Les Stroud
• Bear Grylls
• Rüdiger Nehberg
• Bruce Parry
• Lars Monsen

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Ray Mears on Myspace
• Ray Mears at the Internet Movie Database
• Ray Mears Woodlore on Facebook
• Ray Mears Bushcraft's channel on YouTube
• Ray Mears' Survival shows on Dave (UKTV)
• Photographs of 2005 helicopter accident
• Wild Britain on itvWILD

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (August 2009)

Karen O
Karen O at All Tomorrow's Parties festival, December 2009
Background information
Birth name	Karen Lee Orzolek
Born	(1978-11-22) November 22, 1978 (age 33)[1] South Korea
Origin	New Jersey, United States
Genres	Indie rock,[2] art punk, alternative rock
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	Since 2000
Labels	Interscope
Associated acts	Yeah Yeah Yeahs Native Korean Rock

Karen Lee Orzolek (born November 22, 1978), better known by her stage name Karen O, is the vocalist for New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Early life[link]

Karen O was born in November 1978^[1] in South Korea to a Korean mother and a Polish father.^[3][4][5] She eventually moved to the United States, where she grew up in Englewood, New Jersey.^[6] She has commented on her childhood: "It's almost embarrassing how well-behaved I was, which is probably why I do things like spit water on myself onstage as an adult."^[7] She attended Oberlin College, but transferred to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She is now based in Los Angeles.

Career[link]

Karen O is best known as the frontwoman for the band Yeah Yeah Yeahs. She has also been noted for her sense of fashion, wearing ostentatious outfits made by her friend, fashion designer Christian Joy. In the early days of the band, she became well known for her outrageous antics during live shows.^[4]

Playboy made an offer for her to pose on their cover. Karen O said on the subject, "I was approached but I said no. Who knows though? Maybe I'll do it in the future, but now doesn't seem to be the right time."^[8] Since then, however, Karen stated in an interview with Associated Press magazine that she has changed her mind and would never do Playboy because of the audience that Playboy magazine attracts.^[9]

During a tour for the 2003 Livid Festival in Australia, at a sideshow at The Metro in Sydney, she accidentally danced off the stage and was reluctantly taken to a hospital. A few days later at the Sydney leg of the Livid Festival, she appeared in a wheelchair pushed by Angus Andrew.^[10]

Karen O won Spin Magazine's Sex Goddess Award in both 2004 and 2005. In 2006, she was named one of rock's hottest women by Blender.^[11] In 2007, Karen O placed #3 on Spinner.com's Women Who Rock Right Now.^[12] In February 2010, she won a Shockwaves NME Award for the Hottest Woman.^[13]

She began working on a small side project called Native Korean Rock and the Fishnets with fellow NYC musicians in 2008.^[14]

In 2009, she contributed backing vocals, screaming animal sounds and noises to the songs "Gemini Syringes", "I Can Be A Frog", and "Watching the Planets" on The Flaming Lips album Embryonic.

In 2011, she contributed vocals on the song "Pinky's Dream" on the David Lynch debut album Crazy Clown Time.

On the collaboration project with N.A.S.A. on The Spirit of Apollo, she appears on the track "Strange Enough", together with Ol' Dirty Bastard and Fatlip.

O's vocal approach has been described as "ethereal",^[15] sometimes compared to indie folk artist Quinn Marston,^[16] and has been described as "yelping" at times.^[17] She described her approach:

We still have to grab people by the collar … We put out a record every three years now; we could easily be forgotten. If you look at a lot of our peers that we came up with, a lot of them have disappeared.

—Karen O in the Los Angeles Times, 2009^[17]

Soundtrack work[link]

O was featured in the track "Cut Me Up" by Har Mar Superstar for the soundtrack to the 2005 horror film House of Wax. For the movie Jackass 2, Karen O collaborated with electronic artist Peaches and Johnny Knoxville to record a track entitled "Backass"; for Jackass 3D, she covered the Roger Alan Wade's "If You're Gonna Be Dumb" under the alternative title of "If You're Gonna Be Dumb, You Gotta Be Tough". In 2007, she also contributed vocals to a version of Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" for the I'm Not There movie soundtrack.^[18] At the end of episode 409, "Brothers Cinco", of the Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! she performed a short song.

In May 2011, it was reported that Karen O had collaborated with Trent Reznor on a cover version of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" for the soundtrack to the English-language version of the film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, for which Reznor composed the score.^[19] In December 2011 it was announced that the song would open the soundtrack album, be released as the opening single, and be available free to all who pre-ordered before the official release date (December 9).^[20]

[edit] Where the Wild Things Are

Karen O composed all of the songs on the soundtrack of Where the Wild Things Are (with the exception of a cover of the Daniel Johnston song,"Worried Shoes") in collaboration with Carter Burwell. The film was directed by her former boyfriend Spike Jonze. She is listed on the soundtrack as "Karen O and the Kids".^[21] Karen O and her Yeah Yeah Yeahs bandmate Nick Zinner co-wrote "All is Love", which was nominated for the "Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media", a songwriter's award, at the 2010 Grammy Awards.^[22]

Karen O at Bumbershoot 2009.

Video work[link]

In 2004 Karen O, using the moniker Marshmellow, directed the music video for "We Fenced Other Gardens with the Bones of Our Own" by the Liars, fronted by her then boyfriend Angus Andrew.^[23][24] The following year she directed the "Blessed Evening" video for Foetus with her then boyfriend Spike Jonze working as cinematographer.^[25] In 2006 she directed the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' video "Cheated Hearts".^[26][27]

Under the moniker Kids With Canes, Karen O and her boyfriend Barney Clay directed the music video for the Tiny Masters of Today song "Hologram World", released on February 8, 2008. Karen also contributed vocals to the song, served as choreographer of the video, in which she appears along with Yeah Yeah Yeahs bandmates Nick Zinner and Brian Chase as well as Mike D from the Beastie Boys, Gibby Haynes from the Butthole Surfers, Russell Simins from the Blues Explosion and Sam James from The Mooney Suzuki.^[28]

[edit] The KO At Home demo leak

On December 10, 2006, a home-recorded album titled KO at Home was leaked via an invite-only BitTorrent tracking site. The album, originally a personal gift to Dave Sitek of the NYC band TV on the Radio, was discovered inside a suitcase Sitek left behind in a New York City apartment. The disc's 14 tracks and scan of the cover – a photograph of Karen O, with a poem written by Oscar Wilde on the back side of the photo – quickly spread. The music news site stereogum.com broke the story of the leak^[29] the following morning and continued their coverage^[30] when Sitek lashed out at the fan who leaked the demos.^[31] Eventually Sitek followed up his comments with an apology letter.^[32] Karen O's response to the leak was "shit happens" and although she was somewhat "grossed out," she offered advice on which of the songs she liked the most,^[33] namely the tracks "Pumpkin" and "Snakes and Worms".

Personal life[link]

In 2011, Karen O married longtime boyfriend Barnaby Clay.^[34]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Karen O

• Yeah Yeah Yeahs official website
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs on Myspace
• 2010 interview with Karen O