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hey guys :)
well, the packing is going - and going - two weeks left - i have a back-log of articles and thoughts to share with you guys - but most of them are going to have to wait for a little while
i have been watching X-Files - marathon style - i never watched the show when it was on - it started while i was in uni - the only things i watched remotely regularly during college was Star Trek: TNG, Highlander and Xena - i wanted to watch the X-Files for a long time - especially being one of those kids who read hoards of ghost stories under the covers with a flashlight, in spite of totally freaking herself out - X-Files is just the adult version - i'm rather enjoying it - and it's making packing easier:)
the latest song i have in my head is from the score of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (well, actually, this track is from the 1st movie, but roughly the last 2/3rds is used in the second movie - when the kids first return to Narnia - the beach scene)
i loved the movie - which got me thinking about the books again - while i was packing up my books *sniff*, i thumbed through them and eventually came to the last pages of the last book - The Last Battle - spoiler alert! - for those of you who haven't read the books yet and care - so, basically a lot of people die in the train crash at the end of the book, including the kids - except for Susan, right? - when i was very young and read these for the first time, i thought - cool - they all get to spend the rest of their "lives" with a bunch of talking animals in an enchanted land - now, i'm reading the last few pages going - wow - C.S. Lewis sure has a death-wish fantasy - i mean - it reads like we're actually supposed to feel sorry that Susan has chosen the "real world" over the fantasy world - and we're supposed to feel bad for her that she hasn't died! - and we're not supposed to feel bad that she's lost practically her entire family (and a couple of friends) in a horrific train accident, because we're supposed to feel sorry for her because she's chosen to leave the fantasy behind - therefore, is not with her siblings, parents, relatives and friends when they die - and is consequently not frolicking with them or with a bunch of talking animals and assorted fantasy sentients in Aslan's country at the end of the series - now, i'm thinking - dude, i'd rather be alive - this is totally morbid - now, i know a little about C.S. Lewis' life, so i'm not so surprised - but, it's just a wee bit disturbing
now, the track below is entitled, "Evacuating London" - which does play while the kids are doing so in the first movie - on the train - but, in the second movie, they've just arrived in Narnia - and are have a grand time playing on the beach - as usual, i'm playing it over and over again - before i go to bed this time - just to detox - enjoy:)
何か、「チラリ」と見えている物を見せてください。
Vox Hunt : A glance of ...
so, keep in mind a few things
1. i am a huge sci-fi/fantasy geek - and proud of it
2. i would rather be made to listen to "Ice, Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice for 12 hours straight than watch a minute of the Sex and the City movie - alternatively, you would have to pay me a minimum of the price of one pair of Carrie's Manolo Blahniks (i can buy a lot of books with that - for me or to give away) before i'd watch the whole movie - and then i'd still need to detox with a Star Trek: The Next Generations marathon, or Firefly, or Babylon 5, or Stargate: SG-1, or the extended versions of all three LOTR movies in a row, or Farscape, or even the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice (clocking at over five hours)
my rant at the end will not be so surprising to any of you who know me
Iron Man (2008)
Iron Man, directed by actor and director,
John Favreau is a slick and well-paced ride from beginning to end. Favreau has never directed a picture on this
action scale before, having previously worked on movies such as Elf and
Zathura: A Space Adventure. It is to
his credit that he cast Robert Downey Jr. to play the title role. Downey Jr. certainly embodies Tony Stark - a
brilliant inventor, unapologetic weapons manufacturer, and billionaire playboy,
who finds his conscience and makes a really freakin' cool robo-suit out of
necessity after he is captured by a fighting faction in Afghanistan, who is apparently
using "his weapons" to blow people up. Well, that's in addition to the American military, who is already
using “his weapons” to blow people up in Afghanistan, Iraq, etc.
While the whole playboy billionaire thing
seems to be popular, wishful-thinking fodder for comic book writers to base
their superheros on (Batman, Green Arrow, etc.), Downey Jr. brings something
new to this role, and is rather magnetic (no pun intended). He is emminently watchable - full of
brashness, humour, arrogance, intelligence, and charm. Robert Downey Jr. really made the movie.
The fantastic Terence Howard plays a
military man and Stark's best friend. I
quite enjoyed seeing him on screen, and I expect he will have a bigger role in
the upcoming sequels. The last time I
saw, rather, heard Jeff Bridges was as the surfing guru in the animated Surf's
Up. I enjoyed him in Iron Man as well.
(I think the baldness was a new look for him, and it worked for him here.) In
addition, I would like to mention that I was quite impressed with the
Pakistani/American actor, Faran Tahir, who played the leader of the guerilla
faction in Afghanistan (also sans a hair on his head). He
was definitely a presence, and will be seen next in JJ Abram’s upcoming Star
Trek movie.
If there is one problem I have with the
movie, it is with the female characters, which were sadly underdeveloped and
disappointing. These two women fell
into the very convenient, but hardly original categories of “madonna” and/vs.
“whore” - characterizations far to simplified and shallow for what they could
have been. The intrepid reporter,
Christine Everhart, played by Leslie Bibb of TV's Popular and Crossing Jordan,
actually is the woman who asks Tony Stark the "hard questions", but
is treated rather harshly by the writers (and, therefore, by Stark's female
personal assistant), simply because of the fact that she sleeps with Stark on
the “first date”. Of course, Pepper just might have been jealous. Gweneth
Paltrow plays Pepper Potts, Stark's personal assistant, or as I like to call
her, his anachronistic "Girl Friday", who supports her "Mr.
Stark" through all his dastardly military dealings, never once questioning
anything until he has his change of heart (again, no pun intended). Apparently, what is most important about her
is that even though she is completely besotted with him, she keeps her legs
welded shut till the bitter end and beyond.
But, she still manages to keep the snarky comments to a maximum. Also, color me annoyed to notice copious
shots of her spiky footwear (product placement, anyone?) throughout the movie -
while she goes on a dangerous fact-finding mission, and even during the
climactic battle. Why does Hollywood
rarely put a woman in sensible shoes during the action in such a movie? Yes, that's a rhetorical question. But, please, it's just plain idiotic. In addition, Pepper whines so much about why
Stark has to go out and risk his life, be a hero, and save the world, that I
could only wonder if the writers have ever attributed such traits as honor,
sacrifice, or valor to women. I have,
and I was not amused. I look forward to
the day Hollywood, again, can turn out female characters in the action movies I
wish I could be entirely proud of.
However,
despite this rant, Iron Man is highly enjoyable and not a movie to miss,
especially if you are a fan of the action/superhero genre, or of Robert Downey Jr.
This morning, I got up bright and early, ate some Cheerios, and headed out to a bus waiting to take me and a bunch of other geeks on a tour of some of the scientific facilities in Boulder, Colorado.
Our first stop was the Boulder branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
First, let me say, Boulder is gorgeous. I will definitely have to go back when I'm not stuck with a tour group to explore it more thoroughly, but I think I may want to live there.
But back to the NOAA. We first stopped at the security station outside. A security officer came onto the bus and said that we were all going to have to get off and go through a metal detector, so anything we didn't want to take through the metal detector we should leave on the bus. Being the good Americans we are, we didn't question this, but did as we were told. We were all given temporary name badges, and went through the metal detector, then got back on the bus which took us on to the main building.
Now... since we could leave whatever we wanted on the bus and were given an opportunity to retrieve it before going into the main building, can someone please explain to me what the hell the purpose of the metal detector was? These people need training on how to design a security checkpoint system, because this ain't it.
Anyway, here's my temporary name badge.
Yep. I should have expired... nine minutes ago now. Maybe they were on Greenwich Mean Time.
A half-size prototype of a weather satellite, suspended from the ceiling just inside the door.
Some neat artwork in the lobby.
Pics from the solar observation lab...
Some neat artwork on the wall outside the solar lab.
The blue and white cylindars are sample bottles full of... well... air. The NOAA receives 40,000 samples per year from volunteers and organizations around the world, and analyzes them for levels of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, etc.
This is the lab where actual weather forcasts are accurately made... or not.
Just two of the several rows of parallel supercomputers used to model climate change and weather patterns.
Computer simulation only goes so far. This rather cluttered lab is where actual chemical reactions are tested at various pressures. When we entered the lab, our tour guide said, several times, "DO NOT STARE INTO THE FLASHING GREEN LASER!" The first question to be asked by one of my fellow tourists was, while they were looking avidly around the lab, "Where's the laser?"
Got all that?
The air tanks all along the wall are the various types of gasses used in the experiments. The woman who designed the lab (I can't remember her name right now) won a Nobel prize for discovering the chemical process in which CFCs break down the Ozone.
Okay, I've got a lot more, but it's really late. More tomorrow.
This is in the lobby of the NOAA. It uses ultrasonic vibrations to generate steam from water without heating it, then pumps it up into this large bowl which you can blow down into or run your hands through. It doesn't really serve any scientific purpose, really, but it's fun to play with.
The highlight of the tour for most of us was Science on a Globe. This a six-foot diameter sphere suspended from the ceiling, then four projectors use it as a spherical movie screen to project a globe onto it. This allows presenters to show any array of global information on the sphere, animated. The effect looks exactly what you would expect a hologram of the Earth to look like.
Topo maps.
The night side of the topo map shows the lights that are visible form human activity. Our presenter told us how to recognize the differen types of lights. White are electric lights - cities. Purple lights in the ocean (particularly near Japan) are fishing boats using lights to attract squid to the surface so they can turn them into calamari. Red lights are fires, usually big slash-and-burn operations. Blue lights are oil rig flares.
A view of the globe seeing the tops of the clouds color-coded to show the infrared spectrum. Also, the globe-like head of the kid in front of me apparently trying to simulate an eclipse as seen from beyond the dark side of the moon.
An animation showing the formation of hurricanes in the Atlantic.
The next animation I have is a really cool one showing global warming from the 1870's (as based on ice core samples) and projected into the year 2200 (based on computer models), but the clip is bigger than the Vox limit of 50 megs. When I get back home I'll see if I can work it into a smaller file. All of the other videos I took were also over 50 megs. Hmmph!
After Science on a Sphere, the tour took us into a conference room where one of their employees demonstrated on a big screen the NOAA's experimental island in Second Life. It looked neat, but unfortunately my bandwidth at home just can't handle Second Life.
After leaving the NOAA, we went to the National Center for Atmospheric Research. It was a much shorter tour and there wasn't nearly as much to see, but their building was neat, and they had a very basic science museum just inside the door.
The building was designed by architect I. M. Pei after visiting Mesa Verde National Park.
A view of the Flatirons Mountains from right outside the NCAR facilities.
Some door archways on the exterior of the NCAR facility. For comparison, here is a shot I took at Chaco Canyon National Historic Park:
Another view of the Flatirons.
Back inside the NCAR facility, a mural showing the different altitudes where various atmospheric phenomena exist. From this mural, I learned about a type of cloud that I hadn't heard of before: noctilucent clouds. They are much higher in the atmosphere that other cloud formations, and as such they can sometimes reflect light from the sun back down toward the night side of the planet, making them appear to glow. I wonder how many UFO sightings such clouds have caused. They're also interesting because scientists don't yet understand how clouds can form at such high altitudes or why we're seeing them in lower latitudes in the last couple of decades than we used to.
An early air sampler rocket, meant to take samples of air at high altitudes. This one was used at the White Sands Missile Range.
Finally, since we're going white water rafting Sunday and we forgot to pack hats to protect us from the sun, I bought a couple of floppy fishing hats at the NCAR gift store for Strix and me.
Yes, my face really is that round. Sad, huh?
It's time for lunch. More later!
my fondest memories of the Fourth of July are when my family would go see the Cleveland Orchestra at their summer home, Blossom Music Center - the giant clam-like amphitheatre:) - they'd play Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, among bombastic things - and then at the end, there were fireworks - when i was a toddler, i screamed and screamed during them - but, as i got older, i enjoyed them immensely - i still do - i never forget what they signify, but i love fireworks - if NZ didn't have Guy Fawkes day, i'd miss them entirely:)
thie article below has some info about this US day of celebration that you may or may not know
it's storming here - hope it doesn't rain on any of your fireworks across the ocean:)
6-30-01
Top 5 Myths About the Fourth of July!
By HNN Staff
#1 Independence Was Declared on the Fourth of July. America's independence was actually declared by the Continental Congress on July 2, 1776. The night of the second the Pennsylvania Evening Post published the statement: "This day the Continental Congress declared the United Colonies Free and Independent States." So
what happened on the Glorious Fourth? The document justifying the act
of Congress-you know it as Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of
Independence-was adopted on the fourth, as is indicated on the document
itself, which is, one supposes, the cause for all the confusion. As one
scholar has observed, what has happened is that the document announcing
the event has overshadowed the event itself. When did
Americans first celebrate independence? Congress waited until July 8,
when Philadelphia threw a big party, including a parade and the firing
of guns. The army under George Washington, then camped near New York
City, heard the new July 9 and celebrated then. Georgia got the word
August 10. And when did the British in London finally get wind of the
declaration? August 30. John Adams, writing a letter home
to his beloved wife Abigail the day after independence was declared
(i.e. July 3), predicted that from then on "the Second of July, 1776,
will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt
to believe it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the
great anniversary Festival." A scholar coming across this document in
the nineteenth century quietly "corrected" the document, Adams
predicting the festival would take place not on the second but the
fourth. #2 The Declaration of Independence was signed July 4. Hanging
in the grand Rotunda of the Capitol of the United States is a vast
canvas painting by John Trumbull depicting the signing of the
Declaration. Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams wrote, years
afterward, that the signing ceremony took place on July 4. When someone
challenged Jefferson's memory in the early 1800's Jefferson insisted he
was right. The truth? As David McCullough remarks in his new biography
of Adams, "No such scene, with all the delegates present, ever occurred
at Philadelphia." So when was it signed? Most delegates
signed the document on August 2, when a clean copy was finally produced
by Timothy Matlack, assistant to the secretary of Congress. Several did
not sign until later. And their names were not released to the public
until later still, January 1777. The event was so uninspiring that
nobody apparently bothered to write home about it. Years later
Jefferson claimed to remember the event clearly, regaling visitors with
tales of the flies circling overhead. But as he was wrong about the
date, so perhaps he was wrong even about the flies. The
truth about the signing was not finally established until 1884 when
historian Mellon Chamberlain, researching the manuscript minutes of the
journal of Congress, came upon the entry for August 2 noting a signing
ceremony. As for Benjamin Franklin's statement, which has
inspired patriots for generations, "We must all hang together, or most
assuredly we shall hang separately" … well, there's no proof he ever
made it. #3 The Liberty Bell Rang in American Independence. Well
of course you know now that this event did not happen on the fourth.
But did it happen at all? It's a famous scene. A young boy with bond
hair and blue eyes was supposed to have been posted in the street next
to Independence Hall to give a signal to an old man in the bell tower
when independence was declared. It never happened. The story was made
up out of whole cloth in the middle of the nineteenth century by writer
George Lippard in a book intended for children. The book was aptly
titled, Legends of the American Revolution. There was no pretense that the story was genuine. If
the Liberty Bell rang at all in celebration of independence nobody took
note at the time. The bell was not even named in honor of American
independence. It received the moniker in the early nineteenth century
when abolitionists used it as a symbol of the antislavery movement. If
you visit the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, encased in a multi-million
dollar shrine (soon to be replaced by an even grander building), a tape
recording made by the National Park Service leaves the impression that
the bell indeed played a role in American independence. (We last heard
the recording three years ago. We assume it's still being played.) The
guides are more forthcoming, though they do not expressly repudiate the
old tradition unless directly asked a question about it. On the day we
visited the guide sounded a bit defensive, telling our little group it
didn't really matter if the bell rang in American independence or not.
Millions have come to visit, she noted, allowing the bell to symbolize
liberty for many different causes. In other words, it is our presence
at the bell that gives the shrine its meaning. It is important because
we think it's important. It's the National Park Service's version of
existentialism. As for the famous crack … it was a badly designed bell and it cracked. End of story. #4 Betsy Ross Sewed the First Flag. A
few blocks away from the Liberty Bell is the Betsy Ross House. There is
no proof Betsy lived here, as the Joint State Government Commission of
Pennsylvania concluded in a study in 1949. Oh well. Every year the
throngs still come to gawk. As you make your way to the second floor
through a dark stairwell the feeling of verisimilitude is overwhelming.
History is everywhere. And then you come upon the famous scene. Behind
a wall of Plexiglas, as if to protect the sacred from contamination, a
Betsy Ross manikin sits in a chair carefully sewing the first flag.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is where Betsy sewed that first famous
symbol of our freedom, the bars and stripes, Old Glory itself. Alas, the story is no more authentic than the house itself. It was made up in the nineteenth century by Betsy's descendants. The
guide for our group never let on that the story was bogus, however.
Indeed, she provided so many details that we became convinced she
really believed it. She told us how General George Washington himself
asked Betsy to stitch the first flag. He wanted six point stars; Betsy
told him that five point stars were easier to cut and stitch. The
general relented. After the tour was over we approached
the guide for an interview. She promptly removed her Betsy Ross hat,
turned to us and admitted the story is all just a lot of phooey. Oh,
but it is a good story, she insisted, and one worth telling. Poor
Betsy. In her day she was just a simple unheralded seamstress. Now the
celebrators won't leave her alone. A few years ago they even dug up her
bones where they had lain in a colonial graveyard for 150 years, so she
could be buried again beneath a huge sarcophagus located on the grounds
of the house she was never fortunate enough to have lived in. So
who sewed the first flag? No one knows. But we do know who designed it.
It was Frances Hopkinson. Records show that in May 1780 he sent a bill
to the Board of Admiralty for designing the "flag of the United
States." A small group of descendants works hard to keep his name
alive. Just down the street from Betsy's house one of these
descendants, the caretaker for the local cemetery where Benjamin
Franklin is buried, entertains school children with stories about
Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration, who is also credited with
designing the seal of the United States. We asked him what he made of
the fantasies spun at the Betsy Ross house. He confided he did not want
to make any disparaging remarks as he was a paid employee of the city
of Philadelphia, which now owns the house. The city seems
to be of the opinion that the truth doesn't matter. Down the street
from the cemetery is a small plaque posted on a brick building giving
Hopkinson the credit he rightly deserves. As long as the tourists come. #5 John Adams and Thomas Jefferson Died on the Fourth of July. Ok,
this is true. On July 4, 1826, Adams and Jefferson both died, exactly
fifty years after the adoption of Jefferson's Declaration of
Independence, which the country took as a sign of American divinity.
But there is no proof that Adams, dying, uttered, "Jefferson survives,"
which was said to be especially poignant, as Jefferson had died just
hours before. Mark that up as just another hoary story we wished so
hard were true we convinced ourselves it is. Have a Happy Fourth!
Don S. Davis From 'Stargate SG-1' Dies
By WAYNE HALL Source: GateWorld Jun-30 - 2008
Davis was a co-star during the first seven years of "Stargate SG-1." As a result of a medical condition, he cut back to making guest appearances on "SG-1" until the show wrapped at the end of its 10th season.
He also brought Gen. Hammond to several episodes of "Stargate: Atlantis."
His final franchise appearance will be in the upcoming direct-to-DVD film, "Stargate: Continuum," scheduled for release on July 29.
He appeared in numerous films, including "Far Cry," "Woodshop" and "Vipers," all of which are in post-production.
He guest-starred on several television shows, such as "Supernatural," "The Dead Zone" and "Flash Gordon."
Davis met fellow Stargate star Richard Dean Anderson during work on "MacGyver" when Davis served as a stunt double for Dana Elcar.
He was born in Aurora, Mo., in 1942, and served in the U.S. Army. An accomplished artist as well as actor, Davis married Ruby Fleming-Davis in 2003. They were residents of British Columbia.
His family released a statement that said "so many of you have been touched by not only the work and art of Don S. Davis, but by the man himself, who always took the time to be with you at the appearances he loved, that it is with a tremendous sense of loss I must share with you that Don passed away from a massive heart attack on Sunday morning, une 29.
"On behalf of his family and wife, Ruby, we thank you for your prayers and condolences. A family memorial where Don's ashes will be scattered in the ocean will take place in a few weeks, and should you wish to, please make a donation to the American Heart Association in Don's memory."
"Stargate: Atlantis" executive producer Joseph Mallozzi told reporters during a conference call July 1 that Davis would certainly be missed.
"He had a bigger heart and was even nicer than the Hammond character that he played," Mallozzi said. Fans "would approach him in the sense that they were approaching Gen. Hammond. but once they got to know him, they got to know Don Davis, a very warm-hearted, incredibly self-deprecating man, who sadly will be incredibly missed by not just the fans, but anyone who worked with him."