Legendary Tigers
The 29 Legendary Tigers celebrate culture, history, numbers, technology and of course Tigers
#8
Eight is considered extremely lucky in Chinese culture. You see, eight is pronounced as 'Ba', which sounds similar to 'Fa' and that word has a very lucky meaning indeed. 'Fa' means 'to prosper' or more to the point 'to make a bundle of money' and even as specific as 'becoming rich in a short time'.
#9
Nine is considered the most significant number in Norse mythology and is woven throughout the sagas. The sacred tree of Norse cosmology, Yggdrasil, symbolizing the cycle of life, death and rebirth, sits at the center of nine worlds. Very often when counting the days, nights or people around a significant Norse mythical event, they total nine. Indeed, when the Norse God Odin sacrificed himself to himself, he spent nine days hanging from Yggdrasil until the ninth night when the runes were revealed, providing him immense wisdom and power.
#10
Number ten on the pitch, the attacking midfielder, is the pinnacle of football glory. One in twenty five people on the globe play football. So, it can be reasonably argued that the greatest to wear ten, Pele, Maradona, Messi, to name a few, reached not only football glory, but global sporting domination.
#23
Everyone wants to be like the undisputed owner of number twenty-three, Michael Jordan. His talent, passion, dedication, perseverance and achievement in basketball, business and life are matched by few. Sports fans across the globe recognize the significance of the number twenty-three jersey and the jumpman himself.
#42
Fourty-two is an interesting number in itself, but it's also the sum of 12 and 30, the birthday of The Jungle Book author, Rudyard Kipling. Through his storytelling, he brought into consciousness the iconic, villainous Tiger, Shere Khan. This Tiger's thirst for humans and the morality within the novel reflect the spirituality and beautiful, ferocious Tigers of India, where the author spent much of his youth.
#69
Sixty-nine resembles the yin and yang of Chinese philosophy, which symbolizes the two universal contrary forces as interconnecting to give rise to each other. Yin is often female and yang male. The French call it soixante-neuf and describe it similarly as a mutually beneficial agreement. The internet considers it to be the sex number and squares don't have time for that.
#88
The letter eight, meaning prosperity in Chinese culture, is considered even better as a pair. More prosperity comes with eighty-eight and more lucky meaning as well. The Chinese character for eighty-eight resembles a joy character in pair - double joy. You'll find this number throughout Asian culture including the Petronas Twin Towers (Ambush Tiger #831), which each have eighty-eight floors.
#101
The first of January marks the birthday of the communication protocol that unleashed the world's information, connected the globe and birthed a new human right. The Transfer Control Protocol / Internetwork Protocol (TCP/IP) allowed computers to talk to each other and it's establishment is truly the birthday of the Internet.
#103
The birthday of a monetary revolution. The spark that started the democratization of money. The beginning of a decoupling of assets from the centralized authorities that have forever governed them. On January third, Satoshi Nakamoto brought the first bitcoins into existence by mining the genesis block. The creator of Bitcoin summed up his motivation well in that first block. The genesis block includes a reminder of the long, long history of centralized banking failures reflected in the days news headline. "The Times Jan/03/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for bank"
#180
At the dawn of the twentieth century, one-hundred thousand Tigers ranged widely over Asia. As with all wildlife since that time, they've lost much ground to humans. Today, wild Tigers can be found in just thirteen countries: Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Bhutan, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, China, Malaysia, Russia, Nepal and Myanmar. Declining by ninety-five percent, Tigers are now endangered and most people will never see a live Tiger, except in the zoo. You can help turn it around. Support wild Tiger conservation today through organizations like wwf.org, wcs.org, and iucn.org.
#214
On February
the fourteenth day celebrates
our fertility
On Valentine's day, couples around the world express their love for each other with doting and presents. This day of love has been celebrated for more than a millennium and what a great time of year for it too. As winter fades, promise of spring flowers emerges, embracing for warmth, observe lovers urges.
#314
What's in a circle? Life, some might say, but what else is inside includes Pi and Pie. The mathematical constant Pi relates two distances of a circle, longest across and distance around. Pi was first methodically calculated by Archimedes of Greece. The same Greece that gave us the delicious pie pastry we know and love. Archimedes very likely proved that, unlike cake, you can have your Pi(e) and eat it too.
#326
March twenty-sixth of each year marks independence for Bangladesh, a country that proclaimed the Tiger as their national animal. Bengal Tigers range over these lands and when the right two Bengals mate, they produce the White Bengal Tiger. The beauty of this Tiger comes from it's lack of red and yellow pheomelanin, a genetic trait both parents must carry.
#420
The bionic, the bomb, the black, the herb, the sensi, the chronic, the sweet mary jane, the shit, the ganja, the reefer, the bad, the budha, the homegrown, the ill, the maui-maui, the method, the pot, the shake, the wacky and one other name for it is the four-twenty. The plant was first cultivated in Central Asia and later recreational usage was documented in twentieth century United States of America, where it was noted that smokin' bones in the staircase was a preferred method of enjoyment.
#427
Born on the twenty-seventh day of April, Samuel Morse gave us the first method for transmitting information over long distances, the Telegraph. The first telegraph he sent reflected his thoughts on the magnitude of the invention. Transmitting in morse code he posited "what has god wrought?". The Telegraphy along with the telephone, television, computer and internet were all created in the United States of America, which it can be said more than any other, has given the world the means to connect, learn and prosper.
#517
Released on May the seventeenth, Minecraft is an outsized classic that combines the fun of Lego, sandboxes, video games, exploration, creativity and problem solving. It's fun and that is what children need, but it is also educational. With fun as their motivator, today's youth study a wide range of disciplines in Minecraft. Science, math, computer science, language arts, history & culture, art & design, citizenship, social emotional, equity & inclusion, climate & sustainably and much more are taught and learned.
#521
"Tiger in a Tropical Storm", arguably the most famous Tiger art of all time, was painted by Henri Rousseau. Born May twenty-first, Henri first found success through this painting and it remains one of his best works. It is a showcase of his talents for vivid dream-like scenes, meticulous layering, mastery of shades and his trademark silver rain. The intense focus of a Tiger mid-hunt set amongst a jungle in duress sated the public's appetite of the day, providing a fantastical journey to far away lands and exotic beasts.
#523
Born May twenty-third, Carl Linnaeus of Sweden invented the modern system of naming organisms and gave the Tiger it's scientific name of Felis tigris. He positioned it within the parent genus Felis, distinguishing it from lions, leopards, jaguars, ocelot, domestic cats and lynx. With refinement of the taxonomy, Tigers are now known to be most closely related to leopards, lions, and jaguars of the Panthera lineage.
#618
A thing does not come to be known as the golden ratio by chance. Also known as the golden section, the divine proportion and Phi it's equal to zero decimal six-one-eight. For over two millennia, Phi has been posited as a universal law expressing the perfect formation of nature and thus the most beautiful ratio that can be achieved. Leonardo Da Vinci and other renaissance artists utilized it in their works. A contemporary, less precise, but more memorable, take on Phi exists in the compositional rule know as the rule of thirds. When taking photographs, group the background, sky, water, forest, and buildings into thirds and position the subjects in thirds as well. It's irrational and beautiful.
#623
On June twenty-third, the generative art project that spawned the Non-Fungible Token Standard and birthed the industry was launched. CryptoPunks' ten thousand uniquely generated, 8-bit style collectible avatars are the faces that launched a thousand projects. The Ambush Tigers collection as with many others owe a part of their inspiration and ecosystem to the initial work of Larva Labs and their CryptoPunks.
#717
South Korea reveres Tigers, holding them in high enough esteem that they are the designated as the national animal. Not once but twice the Tiger has been the countries' official mascot of the Olympic Games. The OG mascot Hodori, meaning Tiger-boy, appeared during the Summer Olympics, which opened on July seventeenth.
#721
The NFT evolution from experiment to global market, are bookended by the creation of the first NFTs and the eventual seven-twenty-one Ethereum NFT standard. The NFT named Quantum and created by the McCoy's, is widely recognized as the first NFT in existence. The McCoy's journey into NFT lore was nourished by their studies and passion for combining art and digital technology.
#730
July thirtieth is the birthday of the blockchain that revolutionized cryptocurrencies. The Ethereum network, with it's smart contracts, is the home of the first NFT project to gain significant traction, CryptoKitties. Ethereum continues to be the largest market for NFTs including massively successful generative art projects like the OG CryptoPunks (Ambush Tiger #623) and celebrity-revered Bored Ape Yacht Club.
#777
Seven... days of the week, paths to heaven, days of creation, seas, planets, gods, colors in the rainbow, wonders of the world, notes on a musical scale. There are many references to the number seven and tales of why it is lucky. Perhaps it is the rebellious nature of this prime number that appeals to us. It's the only number in the set of finite numbers between one and ten that can't be divided or multiplied by a number in the group and still remain in the group. It's a loner, a rebel. For whichever reason, seven is considered the worlds favorite number. Roll two dice and your odds of rolling seven are higher than any other number. The three sevens of a slot machine have become the very symbol of gambling fortune.
#818
India is one of the few select countries that have chosen to place the Tiger at the height of importance as their national animal. And it is in India where Machali the most famous Tiger of all lived. During her life Machali captured the attention of the nation and the world, appearing in many documentaries, honored with awards and her own postal stamp. She was a significant force in the regeneration of India's Tiger population, birthing eleven cubs and fiercely defending them, even fighting and killing a twelve foot crocodile. She was the most photographed Tiger in history and the oldest as well. Passing away August eighteenth of natural causes, she was honored with flowers and a funeral pyre as the world mourned the loss of the Tigress Queen of Ranthambore.
#831
August thirty-first is the official independence day of Malaysia, a country that honors the Tiger as it's national animal. The Malayan Tiger symbolizes bravery and strength and it's image has been adopted by public agencies, national sports, various industries and in the Malaysian coat of arms. Malaysia's adoration for the Tiger is reflected by it's unofficial nickname, Uncle Stripes.
#888
If a single eight represents prosperity and two eights are double joy, then three eights must be considered triple prosperity and joy. In fact, the ideal number of eights is, you guessed it, eight. The obsession with the number eight can be seen throughout Chinese culture. Anything of reference is considered more valuable if it has eights, including addresses, phone numbers, prices, dates, building floors, business names and anything else you can imagine. Even NFTs.
#1128
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
William Blake, born November twenty-eighth, gave us one of the most famous pieces of Tiger literature with his poem "The Tyger". This poem is part of a larger literary collection by Blake, which challenged eighteenth century religious belief through the acknowledgment of contraries. The ferocity of the Tiger is contrasted with the kindness of the lamb in order to question the contemporary belief that the lord is only ever benevolent. It has even been argued that the poem questions the very existence of God. Perhaps it was a simple misunderstood acknowledgement of God's duality in creation.
I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the Lord, do all these things.
- Isaiah 45:7
#1226
NFTs, cryptocurrencies, the internet and so much, much more are made possible through the invention of the computer. It was mid-twentieth century when the first electronic programmable general-purpose computers were built. However, designs for these computers predate the building by over a century. Charles Babbage, born December twenty-sixth, designed the Analytical Engine, the world's first programmable general-purpose computer, prior to the invention of electricity. His Analytical Engine was never built due to practical limitations, but his design included all of the essentials required for modern day computing: input, output, processing, and memory.