Rusting Rainbow
April 11, 2016 12:33 PM Subscribe
The soothing educational tones of Reading Rainbow combined with the exciting technical explanations of Geordi La Forge: Levar Burton explains how to Combat the Pervasive Menace of Corrosion. In this series of DoD-sponsored educational videos, Levar Burton and various luminaries in the field explain how corrosion works and how to fight it.
All seven installments for your viewing enjoyment:
Corrosion Comprehension 1: Combating the Pervasive Menace (features AI sidekick CASS, the Corrosion Assessing Simulation System)
Corrosion Comprehension 2: Portraying Polymers
Corrosion Comprehension 3: Specifically Ceramics
Corrosion Comprehension 4: Operating in Corrosive Environments
Corrosion Comprehension 5: Policies, Prevention & Procedures In Combating the Pervasive Menace
Corrosion Comprehension 6: Accelerated Testing and Tracking
Corrosion Comprehension 7: Material Sustainment on Air Land & Sea
Bonus (sadly, does not feature Levar Burton): The Pervasive Menace Music Video
(Via Rust: The Longest War by Jonathan Waldman [Powells, Amazon]. Waldman describes the relationship between Levar Burton and Dan Dunmire, 'corrosion czar' and the driving force behind these videos: "Burton, though, believes in Dunmire's program, which is why he's continued to shoot the rust videos, and why he bills Dunmire at a reduced rate. It's also why, at Dunmire's 2011 corrosion conference in Palm Springs, California, he praised Dunmire in a keynote speech, comparing him in spirit and authenticity to the greatest men he had known: Alex Haley, Gene Roddenberry, and Fred Rogers. [...] Burton also admitted he'd become a rust evangelist because of Dunmire.")
this is my first FPP! as soon as I read about this I knew Metafilter would want to see it
All seven installments for your viewing enjoyment:
Corrosion Comprehension 1: Combating the Pervasive Menace (features AI sidekick CASS, the Corrosion Assessing Simulation System)
Corrosion Comprehension 2: Portraying Polymers
Corrosion Comprehension 3: Specifically Ceramics
Corrosion Comprehension 4: Operating in Corrosive Environments
Corrosion Comprehension 5: Policies, Prevention & Procedures In Combating the Pervasive Menace
Corrosion Comprehension 6: Accelerated Testing and Tracking
Corrosion Comprehension 7: Material Sustainment on Air Land & Sea
Bonus (sadly, does not feature Levar Burton): The Pervasive Menace Music Video
(Via Rust: The Longest War by Jonathan Waldman [Powells, Amazon]. Waldman describes the relationship between Levar Burton and Dan Dunmire, 'corrosion czar' and the driving force behind these videos: "Burton, though, believes in Dunmire's program, which is why he's continued to shoot the rust videos, and why he bills Dunmire at a reduced rate. It's also why, at Dunmire's 2011 corrosion conference in Palm Springs, California, he praised Dunmire in a keynote speech, comparing him in spirit and authenticity to the greatest men he had known: Alex Haley, Gene Roddenberry, and Fred Rogers. [...] Burton also admitted he'd become a rust evangelist because of Dunmire.")
this is my first FPP! as soon as I read about this I knew Metafilter would want to see it
Had me the moment he said "I'm going to take you on a journey..." Yep, I'm taking a trip through the dangers of Corrosion Town.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 12:42 PM on April 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by lesbiassparrow at 12:42 PM on April 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
I read Rust and could not figure out where these videos were located. Thank you!
posted by Hactar at 12:44 PM on April 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Hactar at 12:44 PM on April 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
"In this series of DoD-sponsored educational videos, Levar Burton..."
Is this some strange propaganda exercise or just Dada?
posted by sherief at 1:06 PM on April 11, 2016
Is this some strange propaganda exercise or just Dada?
posted by sherief at 1:06 PM on April 11, 2016
"In this series of DoD-sponsored educational videos, Andrew Eldritch stares moodily over a desert expanse for seven minutes while a drum machine plays."
posted by selfnoise at 1:19 PM on April 11, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by selfnoise at 1:19 PM on April 11, 2016 [3 favorites]
Somebody needs to tweet this at Neil Cicierega, so he can mash up some sound clips from it with both the Reading Rainbow theme and Sisters of Mercy.
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:22 PM on April 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:22 PM on April 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
Is this some strange propaganda exercise or just Dada?
No, Brent Spiner played Data; this is Geordi.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:25 PM on April 11, 2016 [11 favorites]
No, Brent Spiner played Data; this is Geordi.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:25 PM on April 11, 2016 [11 favorites]
Is this some strange propaganda exercise or just Dada?
posted by sherief at 1:06 PM on April 11 [+] [!]
No, Brent Spiner played Data; this is Geordi.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:25 PM on April 11 [+] [!]
It took a whole nineteen minutes for that joke to be made? C'mon, guys. We're better than that.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 1:34 PM on April 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by sherief at 1:06 PM on April 11 [+] [!]
No, Brent Spiner played Data; this is Geordi.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:25 PM on April 11 [+] [!]
It took a whole nineteen minutes for that joke to be made? C'mon, guys. We're better than that.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 1:34 PM on April 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm confused.
Is this an American version of Look Around You and I'm just not getting the humour?
Or is this an act of long-term economic sabotage that aims to prevent American children from studying science by making it painfully, earnestly boring?
Or does someone think that this is something children will enjoy? Has that person ever interacted with a child? I mean, I've got a PhD in metallurgy and if someone had shown me this video when I was at school, I'd have stopped studying science and become a performance poet specialising in interdisciplinary neo-Dadaist art interventions with the specific aim of mocking this kind of shit.
posted by happyinmotion at 1:48 PM on April 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Is this an American version of Look Around You and I'm just not getting the humour?
Or is this an act of long-term economic sabotage that aims to prevent American children from studying science by making it painfully, earnestly boring?
Or does someone think that this is something children will enjoy? Has that person ever interacted with a child? I mean, I've got a PhD in metallurgy and if someone had shown me this video when I was at school, I'd have stopped studying science and become a performance poet specialising in interdisciplinary neo-Dadaist art interventions with the specific aim of mocking this kind of shit.
posted by happyinmotion at 1:48 PM on April 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Or is this an act of economic sabotage that aims to prevent American children from studying science by making it painfully, earnestly boring?
I assume it's a corporate training/info series that Burton was paid to film, like a lot of actors do. That it was boring probably depends on your relationship to material sciences. That it was sincere, well, that's because Levar Burton only has two gears - lovably sincere, and earnestly sincere.
posted by Think_Long at 1:53 PM on April 11, 2016 [6 favorites]
I assume it's a corporate training/info series that Burton was paid to film, like a lot of actors do. That it was boring probably depends on your relationship to material sciences. That it was sincere, well, that's because Levar Burton only has two gears - lovably sincere, and earnestly sincere.
posted by Think_Long at 1:53 PM on April 11, 2016 [6 favorites]
Also, because I'm trying to be better about supporting the front page posts I love, this is a fantastic post. The exact type of ephemera that I would never see without it being drawn to my attention. Sounds like you found it yourself after reading about it in a book? Pro move!
posted by Think_Long at 1:53 PM on April 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Think_Long at 1:53 PM on April 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
That introductory video becomes 100% more hilarious if you mentally replace the word "corrosion" with "communism".
posted by dephlogisticated at 2:07 PM on April 11, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by dephlogisticated at 2:07 PM on April 11, 2016 [3 favorites]
Is it just me or is the music just way too loud? I'm interested in the subject, but I have a hard time understanding what Inspector No Fun is saying under that sciencey music.
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 3:22 PM on April 11, 2016
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 3:22 PM on April 11, 2016
Thanks for this. My background is electrical engineering, but I work for a company that makes oil & gas drilling technology. Many of our tools are made from specialty high-strength, non-magnetic stainless steel barstock. But for the really nasty, corrosive hydrogen sulfide (H2S) filled holes we have to use a very-high-nickel alloy that costs $200+ per inch. Some of our tools are 20 ft. long.
I'm always looking to expand my knowledge outside of my academic background; I'll be watching these.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 3:48 PM on April 11, 2016
I'm always looking to expand my knowledge outside of my academic background; I'll be watching these.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 3:48 PM on April 11, 2016
MCMikeNamara, Think_Long, thanks for your kind words!
Hactar, these were only posted to Youtube in February, so maybe they weren't around when you looked.
happyinmotion, I don't think this is aimed at children. My sense is that it's more intended for the people in charge of maintaining aircraft carriers, airplanes, and other metallic Department of Defense assets. In Rust, Dan Dunmire talks about trying to change people's behavior so that they actively work to prevent corrosion damage, rather than waiting until things actually break.
posted by fermion at 4:31 PM on April 11, 2016
Hactar, these were only posted to Youtube in February, so maybe they weren't around when you looked.
happyinmotion, I don't think this is aimed at children. My sense is that it's more intended for the people in charge of maintaining aircraft carriers, airplanes, and other metallic Department of Defense assets. In Rust, Dan Dunmire talks about trying to change people's behavior so that they actively work to prevent corrosion damage, rather than waiting until things actually break.
posted by fermion at 4:31 PM on April 11, 2016
Well, it ain't the phone book, but it's damn close. And I'm still listening.
posted by Etrigan at 4:49 PM on April 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Etrigan at 4:49 PM on April 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Is it just me or is the music just way too loud?
The music is always too loud.
posted by sneebler at 6:01 PM on April 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
The music is always too loud.
posted by sneebler at 6:01 PM on April 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
“Hi, I'm LeVar Burton; join me as we journey to some of the most corrosive places in America.”
“Washington — the District of Columbia. . . .”
posted by mubba at 7:17 PM on April 11, 2016
“Washington — the District of Columbia. . . .”
posted by mubba at 7:17 PM on April 11, 2016
Ok, that makes more sense. The US Department of Defense seems to be entirely in its own cultural world.
posted by happyinmotion at 3:33 AM on April 12, 2016
posted by happyinmotion at 3:33 AM on April 12, 2016
The US Department of Defense seems to be entirely in its own cultural world.
I shit you not, the highlight of some drill weekends is flipping through the latest PS Magazine. Imagine having to write for a very specialized and highly trained audience that might have started that training with a substandard high school education.
posted by Etrigan at 7:27 AM on April 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
I shit you not, the highlight of some drill weekends is flipping through the latest PS Magazine. Imagine having to write for a very specialized and highly trained audience that might have started that training with a substandard high school education.
posted by Etrigan at 7:27 AM on April 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
This is totally awesome. Thanks for the links!
(and I have to admit I did a little squee at my desk when Bill Abbott came on)
posted by blurker at 8:10 AM on April 12, 2016
(and I have to admit I did a little squee at my desk when Bill Abbott came on)
posted by blurker at 8:10 AM on April 12, 2016
Etrigan, that magazine is really fascinating! It says that Will Eisner used to do all the illustrations? Between Eisner and Burton, I am wondering how many more instances there are of "the U.S. military brings in legendary artist to explain extremely dry technical topics." I need more!
posted by fermion at 11:37 AM on April 12, 2016
posted by fermion at 11:37 AM on April 12, 2016
« Older MFA novels prefer names like Ruth, Pete, Bobby... | 😬 or 😀? Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 12:39 PM on April 11, 2016