October 30, 2010
The limits of adhesion
The Hunter Valley Steamfest in New South Wales, Australia holds a Great Steam Train race every so often. [more inside]
Graphic Gothics
Winter of the Witch
Low video quality, high Halloween value: the beautiful, original, Hermione in a magical tale. Her last line in the film is delightful.
The USS Gerald R. Ford
In 2015, if all goes well, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the most powerful warship ever built, will begin service in the U.S. Navy - retiring the venerable Enterprise (CVN-65). Though displacing the same 100,000 tons as her Nimitz-class counterparts, increased automation will let her operate with hundreds fewer crewmembers. Capable of launching 90 planes, including the F-35C Lightning II, on 220 sorties a day, she will defend herself against anti-ship missiles with the Raytheon RIM-162 ESSM. [more inside]
Apps That Inspire
CreativeApplications.Net scours the net for platform independent apps that help sharing and engaging with information. They look at OSX, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Web Apps, Flash, Physical Interfaces, Max MSP development, Processing and others. [more inside]
Word to your Mo-Ther!
Polka medleys are a trademark of Weird Al Yankovic in which he covers the era's most iconic songs on accordion. His next album will likely include Polka Face. But, if you like some of the older stuff... [more inside]
I'm Thomas Jefferson and I approve this message.
Some political watchers are saying this could be the nastiest, most negative election season of all time. [SLYT]
From Shakespeare To The Sitcom
Graham Crowden, character actor, has died at 87 after a 52 year career on stage, television, and film. In the United States he may be best known for playing the whimsical Tom Ballard alongside Stephanie Cole's cynical Diana in the BBC series Waiting for God, often shown on PBS. Born in Edinburgh in 1922, he had a distinguished career on stage, particularly at Olivier's National Theatre, undertaking (among other roles) The Player King in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
In 1974, citing an inability to commit to a single role, he turned down the part of the Fourth Doctor, which eventually went to his friend Tom Baker. A few years later, in 1977, he played in Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky.
He had another star turn on television in a previous BBC series, A Very Peculiar Practice, as the physician Jock McCannon.
His last role was in 2008 in an episode of Foyle's War, "Broken Souls."
Said his agent Sue Grantley to the BBC, "We will all miss him enormously."
And it's neither English, nor a horn. Oh, wait.
The noble timbre of the French horn is of course ideal for the stirring Star Wars theme.
The physics of drying off
The Wet-Dog Shake (SLYT). Scientists have worked out the optimum amount of shaking that animals have to do to dry themselves after getting wet. Filming in slow motion, they captured various animals shaking themselves off, from a wet mouse to a big grizzly bear. [more inside]
"Whore-loween?"
Frustrated by the limited costume ideas out there for women? Join in the increasingly loud backlash and ridicule for the "sexy" Halloween costume, now a major stock in trade at party stores. In a time when "Goldilocks, in a snug bodice and platform heels, gives the impression she has been sleeping in everyone’s bed" and "sexually active plaid children" are celebrated cultural icons, projects like Take Back Halloween are promoting costume ideas like Frida Kahlo and Hatshepsut as alternatives to the "skank suit." Bitch magazine chimes in with suggestions like Angela Davis and Peggy Hill. Voices in the feminist blogosphere are arguing for other approaches to the holiday that's all about alternate identity. Meanwhile, the Ms. blog wonders what sexy Halloween costumes for men might look like, and Jezebel solicits photo submissions featuring your least sexy costumes. Find and share more ideas via the Twitter hashtag #feministhalloween.
Toxic illnesses linked to BP oil dispersants
Although some claim most of the oil is gone, and new tests for dispersants say seafood and people are safe, the reality is of course much different.
However, an investigation by an Al Jazeera online correspondent finds toxic illnesses linked to BP oil dispersants along the Gulf coast.
Trisha Springstead is a registered nurse of 36 years who lives and works in Brooksville, Florida. "What I'm seeing are toxified people who have been chemically poisoned," she said, "They have sore throats, respiratory problems, neurological problems, lesions, sores, and ulcers. These people have been poisoned and they are dying. Drugs aren’t going to help these people. They need to be detoxed."
"Let's be honest, there have been aspersions cast on the navy for years"
Out and Proud - Gay and lesbian personnel from the New Zealand Defence Force talk about their lives. In his 30-year career with the army, Wood has attended conferences with officers from American services. The notable difference is that Wood can stand alongside his partner of seven years, Gerald Johnstone, and introduce him as such.
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