But What IS It?
Yet another in the never-ending list of studies that tell us what we all know already (namely, in this case, that children learn better when allowed to discover things for themselves ~ the problem here is that it's so much EASIER and QUICKER for adults/teachers to just EXPLAIN it to them than to LEAD them in the right direction, but don't get me started!): http://www.economist.com/node/18741484
World Environment Day ~ June 5
The Butterfly Effect
This Isn't Your Parents' Treasure Hunt
Treasure hunts have gone upscale and high-tech, and now they're called geocaching: http://insteading.com/2011/05/28/what-geocaching-can-teach-your-family/
FWIW ~ Broken Meters
Used to be you could park at a broken meter, no problem. It makes sense: In many areas, there are few enough places to park, and it's not a driver's fault that a particular meter hasn't been fixed yet. Well, apparently, some cities beg to differ. Here's the story on parking at a broken meter in and around L.A., courtesy of the June issue of AAA's Westways magazine:
- Long Beach, Ventura, Pasadena, and Newport Beach ~ verboten
- Santa Barbara County ~ 45 minutes only
- Los Angeles and San Diego counties ~ allowed, except at the new meters that take cash or credit cards
Tunny Machine Writes Again!
England's National Museum of Computing has recreated a Tunny machine, one of those ingenious devices used to decrypt Nazi messages during World War II (story and video): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13566878
You Are Here
 |
| credit: T.H. Jarret (IPAC/SSC) |
Revealing Secrets Under the Sand
Satellite images show undiscovered pyramids and even an entire town in Egypt (story and video):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13522957
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13522957
 |
| credit: BBC/Digital Globe |
Starry, Starry (Underwater) Night
In this TED talk, bioluminescence expert Edith Widder shares her love of the glowing, colorful denizens of the deep (video): http://www.ted.com/talks/edith_widder_the_weird_and_wonderful_world_of_bioluminescence.html
Art en Plein Air
Another great TED talk, this one by Amit Sood, who created Art Project to help other aficionados visit the world's great museums whether or not they are able to actually travel to them (video): http://www.ted.com/talks/amit_sood_building_a_museum_of_museums_on_the_web.html
Peace Out
This year, the Global Peace Index, put out by the Institute for Economics and Peace, holds few surprises and, though the world is less peaceful for the third year running, there was some good news. The three most peaceful countries were Iceland, New Zealand, and Japan, while the three least peaceful were Somalia, Iraq, and Sudan. (story, video, and link to interactive map) http://www.visionofhumanity.org/info-center/global-peace-index-2011/
Things to Do ~ May 28 & Beyond
May 28, Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium: http://www.smsymphony.org/program4.html
May 28, 29, 30, Fiesta Hermosa, Hermosa Pier: http://www.fiestahermosa.com/
May 28, June 3, 4, "Java Drama" talent showcase, Santa Monica High School: http://www.samohitheatre.org/
May 29, last day of "NHRA: Sixty Years of Thunder," Petersen Automotive Museum, mid-Wilshire: http://www.petersen.org/default.cfm?docid=1079
May 29, Nature Walk, Santiago Oaks Regional Park, Orange: http://www.ocparks.com/santiagooaks/default.asp?Show=events_5&SubShow#1016091
May 29, Celebrate Puppetry Pre-Festival Workshop, McGroarty Arts Center, Tujunga: http://www.mcgroartyartscenter.org/events-a-exhibitions/276-celebrate-puppetry-pre-festival-workshops.html
May 29, last day of Bishop Mule Days Celebration, Bishop: http://muledays.org/
May 29, Wildflower Hike, Charmlee Wilderness Park, Malibu: http://www.malibucity.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/DetailGroup/CID/3801/NavID/174/
May 28-30, The Festival at the National Orange Show, San Bernardino: http://nosfestival.com/
May 28-29, Cajun & Blues Music Festival, Simi Valley: http://simicajun.org/2011/
May 28-29, Scots Fest, Costa Mesa: http://scotsfest.com/
May 28-30, I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival, Santa Barbara: http://imadonnarifestival.com/
May 28-30, Valley Greek Festival, Northridge: http://valleygreekfestival.com/
May 28-30, 38th Annual Topanga Days: http://www.topangadays.com/
May 29-30, JazzReggae Festival, UCLA: http://jazzreggaefest.com/
May 30, "Honor and Remembrance," Los Angeles National Cemetery, Westwood: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=210461952318074
May 30, Free Day at LACMA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, mid-Wilshire: http://www.lacma.org/programs/FamilyDaysIntro.aspx#Target_Mondays
May 30, Free Admission at the Nixon Library, Yorba Linda: http://events.nixonfoundation.org/2011/04/10/commemorate-memorial-day/
May 30, Walk for Warriors 5K Walk/Run, Veterans' Affairs Campus, West Los Angeles: http://walkforwarriors.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=468500
May 30, Canoga Park Memorial Day Parade: http://www.canogaparkmemorialdayparade.com/
June 2-4, Long Beach Coin, Stamp, & Collectible Expo, Long Beach Convention Center: http://longbeachexpo.com/visitor_info/show_info.html
June 2-5, Wine, Waves, and Beyond, San Luis Obispo County: http://www.winewavesandbeyond.com/events.php
June 2-5, 4th Annual Flying Fish Festival, Catalina Island: http://www.catalinachamber.com/FlyingFish/
June 3, 17, July 16, Meet the Grunion, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, San Pedro: http://www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org/education/programs-individual-family/meet-the-grunion.asp
June 4, Green City Fair, TreePeople, Beverly Hills: http://www.treepeople.org/green-city-fair
June 4, Morro Bay Music Festival: http://mbmusicfest.com/index.html
June 4, Celebrate Puppetry Festival, McGroarty Arts Center, Tujunga: http://www.mcgroartyartscenter.org/events-a-exhibitions.html
June 5, 11th Annual Los Angeles River Ride, Griffith Park Autry Center, Los Angeles: http://la-bike.org/events/11th-annual-los-angeles-river-ride-june-5th-2011
June 9-Aug. 13, "Much Ado About Nothing," various locations: http://www.shakespearebythesea.org/
June 11, Arboretum Entomologists' Bug Safari, Fullerton Arboretum: http://fullertonarboretum.org/edu_general_children.php
June 11, Kids Rock! Concert & Festival, Hancock Park: http://www.childrensnatureinstitute.org/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=39
June 11, 24th Annual Open House, Guide Dogs of America, Sylmar: http://www.guidedogsofamerica.org/1/2010/12/24th-annual-open-house/
June 12, VW Classic, Irvine: http://www.bugorama.com/events/
June 17, COLA Artists [sic] Project: Ian Ruskin and Sheetal Gandhi, downtown: http://www.grandperformances.org/en/events/department-of-cultural-affairs-cola-artists-project.html
June 18 (registration deadline June 12), Walk the Farm benefit for Japan's farms, Irvine: http://www.quickeventplanner.com/17678-WalktheFarm/
June 18-19, Pasadena Chalk Festival: http://pasadenachalkfestival.com/
June 19, Rodeo Drive Concours d'Elegance, Beverly Hills: http://rodeodrive-bh.com/CNC/CNC_about.html
Through June 19 (closed Memorial Day), Tanaka Farms Strawberry Tours, Irvine: http://www.tanakafarms.com/
June 26, Nuts for Mutts 5K Walk and Show, Calabasas: http://nutsformutts.org/
Through July 10, America's Favorite Animal Shelter contest, online: http://www.care2.com/animalsheltercontest/
Through Sept. 4, "More Than a Dream: Aviation Development in Southern California," Autry National Center, Griffith Park: http://theautry.org/collections/aviation-development-in-southern-california-1
Through Sept. 4, Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy," Orange County Museum of Art: http://www.ocma.net/index.html?page=current
Through Sept. 4, Houdini: Art and Magic, Skirball Cultural Center: http://www.skirball.org/exhibitions/houdini
Through Sept. 5, Butterfly Pavilion, Natural History Museum, Exposition Park: http://www.nhm.org/site/activities-programs/butterfly-pavilion
Through Sept. 11, Butterflies Alive, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: http://www.sbnature.org/exhibitions/673.html
Through Sept. 25, "Race: Are We So Different?," Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: http://www.sbnature.org/exhibitions/694.html
May 28, 29, 30, Fiesta Hermosa, Hermosa Pier: http://www.fiestahermosa.com/
May 28, June 3, 4, "Java Drama" talent showcase, Santa Monica High School: http://www.samohitheatre.org/
May 29, last day of "NHRA: Sixty Years of Thunder," Petersen Automotive Museum, mid-Wilshire: http://www.petersen.org/default.cfm?docid=1079
May 29, Nature Walk, Santiago Oaks Regional Park, Orange: http://www.ocparks.com/santiagooaks/default.asp?Show=events_5&SubShow#1016091
May 29, Celebrate Puppetry Pre-Festival Workshop, McGroarty Arts Center, Tujunga: http://www.mcgroartyartscenter.org/events-a-exhibitions/276-celebrate-puppetry-pre-festival-workshops.html
May 29, last day of Bishop Mule Days Celebration, Bishop: http://muledays.org/
May 29, Wildflower Hike, Charmlee Wilderness Park, Malibu: http://www.malibucity.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/DetailGroup/CID/3801/NavID/174/
May 28-30, The Festival at the National Orange Show, San Bernardino: http://nosfestival.com/
May 28-29, Cajun & Blues Music Festival, Simi Valley: http://simicajun.org/2011/
May 28-29, Scots Fest, Costa Mesa: http://scotsfest.com/
May 28-30, I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival, Santa Barbara: http://imadonnarifestival.com/
May 28-30, Valley Greek Festival, Northridge: http://valleygreekfestival.com/
May 28-30, 38th Annual Topanga Days: http://www.topangadays.com/
May 29-30, JazzReggae Festival, UCLA: http://jazzreggaefest.com/
May 30, "Honor and Remembrance," Los Angeles National Cemetery, Westwood: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=210461952318074
May 30, Free Day at LACMA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, mid-Wilshire: http://www.lacma.org/programs/FamilyDaysIntro.aspx#Target_Mondays
May 30, Free Admission at the Nixon Library, Yorba Linda: http://events.nixonfoundation.org/2011/04/10/commemorate-memorial-day/
May 30, Walk for Warriors 5K Walk/Run, Veterans' Affairs Campus, West Los Angeles: http://walkforwarriors.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=468500
May 30, Canoga Park Memorial Day Parade: http://www.canogaparkmemorialdayparade.com/
June 2-4, Long Beach Coin, Stamp, & Collectible Expo, Long Beach Convention Center: http://longbeachexpo.com/visitor_info/show_info.html
June 2-5, Wine, Waves, and Beyond, San Luis Obispo County: http://www.winewavesandbeyond.com/events.php
June 2-5, 4th Annual Flying Fish Festival, Catalina Island: http://www.catalinachamber.com/FlyingFish/
June 3, 17, July 16, Meet the Grunion, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, San Pedro: http://www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org/education/programs-individual-family/meet-the-grunion.asp
June 4, Green City Fair, TreePeople, Beverly Hills: http://www.treepeople.org/green-city-fair
June 4, Morro Bay Music Festival: http://mbmusicfest.com/index.html
June 4, Celebrate Puppetry Festival, McGroarty Arts Center, Tujunga: http://www.mcgroartyartscenter.org/events-a-exhibitions.html
June 5, 11th Annual Los Angeles River Ride, Griffith Park Autry Center, Los Angeles: http://la-bike.org/events/11th-annual-los-angeles-river-ride-june-5th-2011
June 9-Aug. 13, "Much Ado About Nothing," various locations: http://www.shakespearebythesea.org/
June 11, Arboretum Entomologists' Bug Safari, Fullerton Arboretum: http://fullertonarboretum.org/edu_general_children.php
June 11, Kids Rock! Concert & Festival, Hancock Park: http://www.childrensnatureinstitute.org/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=39
June 11, 24th Annual Open House, Guide Dogs of America, Sylmar: http://www.guidedogsofamerica.org/1/2010/12/24th-annual-open-house/
June 12, VW Classic, Irvine: http://www.bugorama.com/events/
June 17, COLA Artists [sic] Project: Ian Ruskin and Sheetal Gandhi, downtown: http://www.grandperformances.org/en/events/department-of-cultural-affairs-cola-artists-project.html
June 18 (registration deadline June 12), Walk the Farm benefit for Japan's farms, Irvine: http://www.quickeventplanner.com/17678-WalktheFarm/
June 18-19, Pasadena Chalk Festival: http://pasadenachalkfestival.com/
June 19, Rodeo Drive Concours d'Elegance, Beverly Hills: http://rodeodrive-bh.com/CNC/CNC_about.html
Through June 19 (closed Memorial Day), Tanaka Farms Strawberry Tours, Irvine: http://www.tanakafarms.com/
June 26, Nuts for Mutts 5K Walk and Show, Calabasas: http://nutsformutts.org/
Through July 10, America's Favorite Animal Shelter contest, online: http://www.care2.com/animalsheltercontest/
Through Sept. 4, "More Than a Dream: Aviation Development in Southern California," Autry National Center, Griffith Park: http://theautry.org/collections/aviation-development-in-southern-california-1
Through Sept. 4, Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy," Orange County Museum of Art: http://www.ocma.net/index.html?page=current
Through Sept. 4, Houdini: Art and Magic, Skirball Cultural Center: http://www.skirball.org/exhibitions/houdini
Through Sept. 5, Butterfly Pavilion, Natural History Museum, Exposition Park: http://www.nhm.org/site/activities-programs/butterfly-pavilion
Through Sept. 11, Butterflies Alive, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: http://www.sbnature.org/exhibitions/673.html
Through Sept. 25, "Race: Are We So Different?," Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: http://www.sbnature.org/exhibitions/694.html
Just Because ~ "Dammit I'm Mad"
Demetri Martin's 224-word palindromic poem:
"Dammit I'm Mad"
Dammit I’m mad.
Evil is a deed as I live.
God, am I reviled? I rise, my bed on a sun, I melt.
To be not one man emanating is sad. I piss.
Alas, it is so late. Who stops to help?
Man, it is hot. I’m in it. I tell.
I am not a devil. I level “Mad Dog.”
Ah, say burning is, as a deified gulp,
In my halo of a mired rum tin.
I erase many men. Oh, to be man, a sin.
Is evil in a clam? In a trap?
No. It is open. On it I was stuck.
Rats peed on hope. Elsewhere dips a web.
Be still if I fill its ebb.
Ew, a spider… eh?
We sleep. Oh no!
Deep, stark cuts saw it in one position.
Part animal, can I live? Sin is a name.
Both, one… my names are in it.
Murder? I’m a fool.
A hymn I plug, deified as a sign in ruby ash,
A Goddam level I lived at.
On mail let it in. I’m it.
Oh, sit in ample hot spots. Oh wet!
A loss it is alas (sip). I’d assign it a name.
Name not one bottle minus an ode by me:
“Sir, I deliver. I’m a dog”
Evil is a deed as I live.
Dammit I’m mad.
Now, THAT's Magic!
Harry Potter sings Tom Lehrer's "The Elements" song (always knew I liked that boy!) (video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSAaiYKF0cs&feature=related
The Iceman Humeth
Wim Hof, aka "Iceman," uses meditation to adjust his body to freezing temperatures: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/dutch-iceman-uses-meditation-to-influence-bodys-response-to-extreme-cold/2011/05/22/AFzoO48G_story.html
Stickin' It to 'Em
 |
| The Big One, by Kent Hathaway |
Scotch tape sculpture contest winners: http://www.offtherollcontest.com/main/Winners.aspx
Like Watching a Car Wreck
... or Mel Gibson ... or Charlie Sheen. Photos of abandoned sites and objects, like power plants, planes, and ships: http://www.devicemag.com/2010/04/29/abandoned-technology-scattered-across-the-globe/comment-page-1/
Green Machine
Creative, amusing little robo-planters by a Colombian sculptor: http://www.instructables.com/id/New-Robo-planters/
Things to Do ~ May 22 & Beyond
May 22, Seneca's The Madness of Hercules, Getty Villa (recommended for age 13 and up): http://www.getty.edu/museum/programs/performances/theater_lab.html?utm_source=egetty115&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=egetty115
May 22, California Strawberry Festival, Oxnard: http://www.strawberry-fest.org/
May 22, 29, Celebrate Puppetry Pre-Festival Workshop, McGroarty Arts Center, Tujunga: http://www.mcgroartyartscenter.org/events-a-exhibitions/276-celebrate-puppetry-pre-festival-workshops.html
Through May 22, The Renaissance Pleasure Faire, Irwindale: http://renfair.com/socal/
May 24-29, Bishop Mule Days Celebration, Bishop: http://muledays.org/
May 25, Parent Discussion and Support Group: "What Parents of Gifted Students Need to Know About College Planning," Pacific Center for Creative Learning, Santa Monica: http://www.pcclschool.org/www.pcclschool.org/Calendar.html
May 25, "Probing the Very Early Universe With the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation," CalTech, Pasadena: http://events.caltech.edu/events/event-7782.html
May 26, Fowler Out Loud: A Cappella Night, Fowler Museum, UCLA: http://www.fowler.ucla.edu/events/fowler-out-loud-cappella-night
May 26-30, The Festival at the National Orange Show, San Bernardino: http://nosfestival.com/
May 27, Shark Lagoon Night (free), Aquarium of the Pacific: http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/newsevents/eventsdetail/shark_lagoon_nights/
May 28-29, Cajun & Blues Music Festival, Simi Valley: http://simicajun.org/2011/
May 28-29, Scots Fest, Costa Mesa: http://scotsfest.com/
May 28-30, I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival, Santa Barbara: http://imadonnarifestival.com/
May 28-30, Valley Greek Festival, Northridge: http://valleygreekfestival.com/
May 28, 29, 30, 38th Annual Topanga Days: http://www.topangadays.com/
May 29, Wildflower Hike, Charmlee Wilderness Park, Malibu: http://www.malibucity.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/DetailGroup/CID/3801/NavID/174/
May 29-30, JazzReggae Festival, UCLA: http://jazzreggaefest.com/
May 30, "Honor and Remembrance," Los Angeles National Cemetery, Westwood: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=210461952318074
June 17, COLA Artists [sic] Project: Ian Ruskin and Sheetal Gandhi, downtown: http://www.grandperformances.org/en/events/department-of-cultural-affairs-cola-artists-project.html
June 18 (registration deadline June 12), Walk the Farm benefit for Japan's farms, Irvine: http://www.quickeventplanner.com/17678-WalktheFarm/
Through June 19 (closed Memorial Day), Tanaka Farms Strawberry Tours, Irvine: http://www.tanakafarms.com/
Through July 10, America's Favorite Animal Shelter contest, online: http://www.care2.com/animalsheltercontest/
Through Sept. 4, Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy," Orange County Museum of Art: http://www.ocma.net/index.html?page=current
Through Sept. 4, Houdini: Art and Magic, Skirball Cultural Center: http://www.skirball.org/exhibitions/houdini
Through Sept. 5, Butterfly Pavilion, Natural History Museum, Exposition Park: http://www.nhm.org/site/activities-programs/butterfly-pavilion
May 22, California Strawberry Festival, Oxnard: http://www.strawberry-fest.org/
May 22, 29, Celebrate Puppetry Pre-Festival Workshop, McGroarty Arts Center, Tujunga: http://www.mcgroartyartscenter.org/events-a-exhibitions/276-celebrate-puppetry-pre-festival-workshops.html
Through May 22, The Renaissance Pleasure Faire, Irwindale: http://renfair.com/socal/
May 24-29, Bishop Mule Days Celebration, Bishop: http://muledays.org/
May 25, Parent Discussion and Support Group: "What Parents of Gifted Students Need to Know About College Planning," Pacific Center for Creative Learning, Santa Monica: http://www.pcclschool.org/www.pcclschool.org/Calendar.html
May 25, "Probing the Very Early Universe With the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation," CalTech, Pasadena: http://events.caltech.edu/events/event-7782.html
May 26, Fowler Out Loud: A Cappella Night, Fowler Museum, UCLA: http://www.fowler.ucla.edu/events/fowler-out-loud-cappella-night
May 26-30, The Festival at the National Orange Show, San Bernardino: http://nosfestival.com/
May 27, Shark Lagoon Night (free), Aquarium of the Pacific: http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/newsevents/eventsdetail/shark_lagoon_nights/
May 28-29, Cajun & Blues Music Festival, Simi Valley: http://simicajun.org/2011/
May 28-29, Scots Fest, Costa Mesa: http://scotsfest.com/
May 28-30, I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival, Santa Barbara: http://imadonnarifestival.com/
May 28-30, Valley Greek Festival, Northridge: http://valleygreekfestival.com/
May 28, 29, 30, 38th Annual Topanga Days: http://www.topangadays.com/
May 29, Wildflower Hike, Charmlee Wilderness Park, Malibu: http://www.malibucity.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/DetailGroup/CID/3801/NavID/174/
May 29-30, JazzReggae Festival, UCLA: http://jazzreggaefest.com/
May 30, "Honor and Remembrance," Los Angeles National Cemetery, Westwood: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=210461952318074
June 17, COLA Artists [sic] Project: Ian Ruskin and Sheetal Gandhi, downtown: http://www.grandperformances.org/en/events/department-of-cultural-affairs-cola-artists-project.html
June 18 (registration deadline June 12), Walk the Farm benefit for Japan's farms, Irvine: http://www.quickeventplanner.com/17678-WalktheFarm/
Through June 19 (closed Memorial Day), Tanaka Farms Strawberry Tours, Irvine: http://www.tanakafarms.com/
Through July 10, America's Favorite Animal Shelter contest, online: http://www.care2.com/animalsheltercontest/
Through Sept. 4, Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy," Orange County Museum of Art: http://www.ocma.net/index.html?page=current
Through Sept. 4, Houdini: Art and Magic, Skirball Cultural Center: http://www.skirball.org/exhibitions/houdini
Through Sept. 5, Butterfly Pavilion, Natural History Museum, Exposition Park: http://www.nhm.org/site/activities-programs/butterfly-pavilion
On Again, Off Again
World's Most Useless Contraption, new and improved (story and video): http://www.japanator.com/the-most-useless-machine-strikes-back--19460.phtml
Don't Panic
 | |
| Who is this man and why is this photo by Jill Furmanovsky here? |
Meeting of the Minds
Video archive from last week's Nobel Laureate Symposium on Global Sustainability, Stockholm: http://globalsymposium2011.org/live/video-archive
Picture This
Winning images in the World Photography Awards competition: http://www.worldphoto.org/images/image-gallery/5867/
 |
| Rohingya refugee; photograph by Javier Arcenillas |
Inventing the Future
Some of the entries competing for the €1-billion prize at the European Future Technologies Conference and Exhibition, including graphene (story and video): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9491789.stm
Standing Tall
A man who was paralyzed from the chest down is able to stand and even walk thanks to electrical stimulation to his spinal cord. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13444036
Carried Away
Because we're all wondering, a handy-dandy flow chart to help you determine whether you will ascend or be left behind on May 21: http://peasandcougars.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/will-you-be-raptured-flowchart/
Can You Subitize?
subitize (v) ~ to perceive, without counting, the number of objects in a small group (from Latin "subitus," meaning "sudden") Humans can do this up to about four, while chimps have us beat by about two. Take the test: How many can you subitize? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6577241.stm
Eine Kleine Music Website
Mozart and Engelbert and Brahms, oh, my! KUSC's enchanting, educational website about classical music and the musicians who wrote and played it (for children and adults ~ really ~ no, really): http://www.classicalkusc.org/kids/
"Like" the ASPCA
Apparently, June is Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat Month. Who knew? Anyway, the ASPCA is putting a call out to shelters to waive adoption fees in June. This is from their newsletter:
"To help spread the word and encourage similar programs, Fresh Step litter will donate $1 (up to $100,000) to the ASPCA for every “like” received on its Facebook page from June 1 through July 31, 2011, at www.facebook.com/freshstep. The money will help support this program and other cat care initiatives."
For more info, go to http://www.aspca.org/news/monthly-member-newsletter/may-2011.aspx#1
"To help spread the word and encourage similar programs, Fresh Step litter will donate $1 (up to $100,000) to the ASPCA for every “like” received on its Facebook page from June 1 through July 31, 2011, at www.facebook.com/freshstep. The money will help support this program and other cat care initiatives."
For more info, go to http://www.aspca.org/news/monthly-member-newsletter/may-2011.aspx#1
Does Colbert Know About This?
In honor of Bear Awareness Week, a pop quiz. You may open your Blue Books now: http://bearinfo.org/baw-quiz/
Around the World on 80 Rays
Good Day, Sunshine! Successful completion of the first completely solar-powered flight around the world! (video): http://solarimpulse.com/
Just Because ~ 'Light in August'
Light in August
by William Faulkner
—1—
Sitting beside the road, watching the wagon mount the hill toward her, Lena thinks, 'I have come from Alabama : a fur piece. All the way from Alabama a-walking. A fur piece.' Thinking although I have not been quite a month on the road I am already in Mississippi, further from home than I have ever been before. I am now further from Doane's Mill than I have been since I was twelve years old.
She had never even been to Doane's Mill until after her father and mother died, though six or eight times a year she went to town on Saturday, in the wagon, in a mail-order dress and her bare feet flat in the wagon bed and her shoes wrapped in a piece of paper beside her on the seat. She would put on the shoes just before the wagon reached town. After she got to be a big girl she would ask her father to stop the wagon at the edge of town and she would get down and walk. She would not tell her father why she wanted to walk in instead of riding. He thought that it was because of the smooth streets, the sidewalks. But it was because she believed that the people who saw her and whom she passed on foot would believe that she lived in the town too.
When she was twelve years old her father and mother died in the same summer in a log house of three rooms and a hall, without screens, in a room lighted by a bugswirled kerosene lamp, the naked floor worn smooth as old silver by naked feet. She was the youngest living child. Her mother died first. She said, "Take care of paw." Lena did so. Then one day her father said, "You go to Doane's Mill with McKinley. You get ready to go, be ready when he comes." Then he died. McKinley, the brother, arrived in a wagon. They buried the father in a grove behind a country church one afternoon, with a pine headstone. The next morning she departed forever, though it is possible that she did not know this at the time, in the wagon with McKinley, for Doane's Mill. The wagon was borrowed and the brother had promised to return it by nightfall. ...
Tasteful Fashion
Photographer Fulvio Bonavia mixes fashion with flora and fauna (was this where Gaga got her meat dress idea?): http://www.fulviobonavia.com/
FWIW, personal faves: the sardine belt and lichen purse!
FWIW, personal faves: the sardine belt and lichen purse!
Words to the Wise (Traveler)
A useful and interesting collection of travel tips from fellow travelers: http://www.gadling.com/100wordsorless
Just Because ~ Fridtjof Nansen
Jack of all trades, master of all, Norwegian sportsman, explorer, scientist, politician, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930) is a man worth knowing about (video; two that weren't made to go together but that do better than those that were): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQvyCRopaqQ&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiOok-T6ctM
Can You Hear Bee Now?
We've all heard that the world's population of honey bees has been falling, and a few theories have been put forth as to why. The latest, from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is the result of a review of 83 experiments that show that cell phone signals disrupt the bees' communication: http://www.usnewsweekly.info/study-finds-cell-phone-signals-disrupt-bee-colonies-newsfactor/
Pennies From Heaven
Why Walk When You Can Ride?
Under the heading Best Use of a Moving Walkway EVERRR:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EUEcaAc6LC8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EUEcaAc6LC8
Freedom Writer
My friend Mary Daly's poignant memories of growing up in the South at a time of great transition: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-daily/freedom-riders-by-any-oth_b_860761.html?ref=fb&src=sp#sb=1122810,b=facebook
Memories of the Way We Were
A heads-up to parents/loved ones of young children: Ask your little one about his/her earliest memories and jot them down before they're gone for good: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13351681
Marching One by One (Hurrah!)
 |
| echinopla melanarctos |
"Stamp Out Hunger" ~ May 14
The 19th Annual Stamp Out Hunger National Food Drive is on. Put nonperishable food items out for your mail carrier to collect along with your outgoing mail: http://www.nalc.org/commun/foodrive/
Things to Do ~ May 13 & Beyond
May 14, Kodomo no Hi, the 28th Annual Children's Day Celebration, Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, Little Tokyo, downtown: http://www.jaccc.org/childrensday.php
May 14, Auditions for National Children's Chorus, http://www.nationalchildrenschorus.com/
May 14, 15th Annual Open House, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA: http://www.fowler.ucla.edu/events/cotsen-open-house
May 14-15, Big Sunday Weekend (Pitch In, Help Out, Give Back), Everywhere!: http://www.bigsunday.org/
May 14-15, Bug Fair, Natural History Museum, Exposition Park: http://www.nhm.org/site/activities-programs/bug-fair
May 15, Museums of the Arroyo Day, Gamble House, Heritage Square, Los Angeles Police Historical Society Museum, Lummis Home and Garden, Pasadena Museum of History, Los Angeles and Pasadena: http://www.museumsofthearroyo.com/
May 15, Living History Day, Los Encinos State Historic Park, San Fernando Valley: http://www.experiencela.com/calendar/event/5883
May 15, McCabe's Children's Concert: Gustaver Yellowgold: http://www.mccabes.com/condata.html and http://www.gustaferyellowgold.com/index.html
May 15, 51st Annual Topanga Banjo-Fiddle Contest & Folk Festival, Topanga: http://www.topangabanjofiddle.org/
May 15, 37th Annual Spring Plant Sale, Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino: http://www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary.aspx?id=3904
May 16, "Timeless: Marxist Dances at the Beach," Annenberg Community Beach House, Santa Monica: http://www.annenbergbeachhouse.com/activities/cultural-programs-events-and-tours.aspx
May 16, Screening of Lord Jim, Billy Wilder Theater, Hammer Museum, Westwood: http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2011-05-16/lord-jim-1965
May 17, "A Sustainable Future for Los Angeles," Temescal Gateway Park, Pacific Palisades: http://www.lamountains.com/programs_calendars.asp
May 15, 22, 29, Celebrate Puppetry Pre-Festival Workshop, McGroarty Arts Center, Tujunga: http://www.mcgroartyartscenter.org/events-a-exhibitions/276-celebrate-puppetry-pre-festival-workshops.html
May 13, 20, 27, Shark Lagoon Nights (free), Aquarium of the Pacific: http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/newsevents/eventsdetail/shark_lagoon_nights/
May 19, Japan Relief Benefit Screening of Gaia Symphony No. 6, Irvine Valley College: http://www.ivc.edu/news/Pages/IVC%20Hosting%20Japan%20Relief%20Benefit%20Screening%20of%20Gaia%20Symphony,%20No-%206.aspx
Through May 22, The Renaissance Pleasure Faire, Irwindale: http://renfair.com/socal/
Through Sept. 4, Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy," Orange County Museum of Art: http://www.ocma.net/index.html?page=current
Through Sept. 4, Houdini: Art and Magic, Skirball Cultural Center: http://www.skirball.org/exhibitions/houdini
May 14, Auditions for National Children's Chorus, http://www.nationalchildrenschorus.com/
May 14, 15th Annual Open House, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA: http://www.fowler.ucla.edu/events/cotsen-open-house
May 14-15, Big Sunday Weekend (Pitch In, Help Out, Give Back), Everywhere!: http://www.bigsunday.org/
May 14-15, Bug Fair, Natural History Museum, Exposition Park: http://www.nhm.org/site/activities-programs/bug-fair
May 15, Museums of the Arroyo Day, Gamble House, Heritage Square, Los Angeles Police Historical Society Museum, Lummis Home and Garden, Pasadena Museum of History, Los Angeles and Pasadena: http://www.museumsofthearroyo.com/
May 15, Living History Day, Los Encinos State Historic Park, San Fernando Valley: http://www.experiencela.com/calendar/event/5883
May 15, McCabe's Children's Concert: Gustaver Yellowgold: http://www.mccabes.com/condata.html and http://www.gustaferyellowgold.com/index.html
May 15, 51st Annual Topanga Banjo-Fiddle Contest & Folk Festival, Topanga: http://www.topangabanjofiddle.org/
May 15, 37th Annual Spring Plant Sale, Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino: http://www.huntington.org/huntingtonlibrary.aspx?id=3904
May 16, "Timeless: Marxist Dances at the Beach," Annenberg Community Beach House, Santa Monica: http://www.annenbergbeachhouse.com/activities/cultural-programs-events-and-tours.aspx
May 16, Screening of Lord Jim, Billy Wilder Theater, Hammer Museum, Westwood: http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2011-05-16/lord-jim-1965
May 17, "A Sustainable Future for Los Angeles," Temescal Gateway Park, Pacific Palisades: http://www.lamountains.com/programs_calendars.asp
May 15, 22, 29, Celebrate Puppetry Pre-Festival Workshop, McGroarty Arts Center, Tujunga: http://www.mcgroartyartscenter.org/events-a-exhibitions/276-celebrate-puppetry-pre-festival-workshops.html
May 13, 20, 27, Shark Lagoon Nights (free), Aquarium of the Pacific: http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/newsevents/eventsdetail/shark_lagoon_nights/
May 19, Japan Relief Benefit Screening of Gaia Symphony No. 6, Irvine Valley College: http://www.ivc.edu/news/Pages/IVC%20Hosting%20Japan%20Relief%20Benefit%20Screening%20of%20Gaia%20Symphony,%20No-%206.aspx
Through May 22, The Renaissance Pleasure Faire, Irwindale: http://renfair.com/socal/
Through Sept. 4, Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy," Orange County Museum of Art: http://www.ocma.net/index.html?page=current
Through Sept. 4, Houdini: Art and Magic, Skirball Cultural Center: http://www.skirball.org/exhibitions/houdini
Bike Week L.A. ~ May 16-20
Let's roll! Bike Week is almost upon us, and Metro, among other organizations, has big plans: http://www.metro.net/around/bikes/bike-to-work/
Phineas Gage Redux
Andrew Linn must be the luckiest man in Las Vegas. He's alive and telling his story after a car accident that left him with a metal fence pole through the neck: http://www.lvrj.com/news/las-vegas-native-survives-pipe-through-head-thanks-to-doctors-121551849.html
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch
After 13 years underground, the cicadas have begun emerging in the South (story, pictures, video): http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110510/NEWS01/305100041/Cicadas-ready-to-buzz-after-13-years-underground
Modern Glassics
Video ~ how Dale Chihuly makes his glass sculptures and installed his current exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston: http://www.mfa.org/chihuly-music/
Left, Chihuly's "Persian Ceiling," de Young Museum, San Francisco. Photo by Teresa Nouri Rishel. © 2008 Chihuly Studio
The Golden Spike
On May 10, 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed: http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/rail.html
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcAoIlyw9i0
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcAoIlyw9i0
Pow! To the Moon, Alice!
A start-up called Moon Express is aiming high: to be a "FedEx for space": http://blogs.forbes.com/tomiogeron/2011/05/02/names-you-need-to-know-moon-express/
Does the Number 42 Exist in the Octonions?
Why the universe has to have 10 dimensions, 8 is a special number, and the sum of all integers equals -1/12 (story and video). http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=octonions-web-exclusive
Buddha's BirthdayBirthdayBirthday ...
From everything your intrepid bloguista (moi) can deduce, you'd be safe celebrating anytime from April 8 to about May 17. For a full explanation guaranteed to leave you informed and confused, see http://buddhism.about.com/od/buddhistholidays/tp/whenisbuddhasbirthday.htm !
 |
| Siddhartha Gautama (from http://festivals.iloveindia.com/buddha-purnima/) |
Four in a Row ~ May 9-12
Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars will be hanging out together this week (story and video): http://stardate.org/mediacenter/201105-four-planets-huddle-dawn-next-week
Just Because ~ 'The Grapes of Wrath'
The Grapes of Wrath
by John Steinbeck
Chapter One
To the red country and part of the gray country of Oklahoma, the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth. The plows crossed and recrossed the rivulet marks. The last rains lifted the corn quickly and scattered weed colonies and grass along the sides of the roads so that the gray country and the dark red country began to disappear under a green cover. In the last part of May the sky grew pale and the clouds that had hung in high puffs for so long in the spring were dissipated. The sun flared down on the growing corn day after day until a line of brown spread along the edge of each green bayonet. The clouds appeared, and went away, and in a while they did not try any more. The weeds grew darker green to protect themselves, and they did not spread any more. The surface of the earth crusted, a thin hard crust, and as the sky became pale, so the earth became pale, pink in the red country and white in the gray country.
In the water-cut gullies the earth dusted down in dry little streams. Gophers and ant lions started small avalanches. And as the sharp sun struck day after day the leaves of the young corn became less stiff and erect; they bent in a curve at first, and then, as the central ribs of strength grew weak, each leaf tilted downward. Then it was June, and the sun shone more fiercely. The brown lines on the corn leaves widened and move in on the central ribs. The weeds frayed and edged back toward their roots. The air was thin and the sky more pale; and every day the earth paled.
In the roads where the teams moved, where the wheels milled the ground and the hooves of the horses beat the ground, the dirt crust broke and the dust formed. Every moving thing lifted the dust into the air: a walking man lifted a thin layer as high as his waist, and a wagon lifted the dust as high as the fence tops, and an automobile boiled a cloud behind it. The dust was long in settling back again. ...
Can You See Me Now?
It is claimed that the Tibetan Eye Chart can strengthen one's eyes and vision. See for yourself: http://www.wellnesshour.net/tibet.htm
Organic 411
If you want to track down local, organic produce and other farm products, stores, restaurants, and Farmers' Markets: http://www.localharvest.org/
One Fish, Two Fish
From National Geographic, a guide to sustainable, safe fish: http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/take-action/seafood-substitutions/
Chew on THAT for a While
The increasingly ubiquitous cellulose in our food, what it is, and why it's there: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703834804576300991196803916.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_health
Pandiculation
 |
| Are we boring you? |
Halley's Debris
Late Thursday night into early Friday morning (May 5-6), the Earth will pass through the densest section of debris from Halley's Comet, resulting in a meteor shower that will be seen best (too bad for us) in the southern hemisphere ~ but, if the clouds lift during the night, it still may be worth a shot: http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2011/0505/In-tonight-s-meteor-shower-watch-falling-debris-from-Halley-s-Comet
¿¡¿El Cinco de QUE?!?
The one place in Mexico where Cinco de Mayo is actually celebrated more than Independence Day and the famous battle is reenacted, with "the French carry[ing] baguettes on their backs and the Mexicans, in big straw hats, carry[ing] baskets of chicken legs and green onions." http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2011/0505/Cinco-de-Mayo-in-Mexico-hand-stitched-costumes-no-guacamole
No Retreat
The first official World Chess Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz (1336-1900), once said that "chess is not for timid souls." He had nooooo idea: http://www.theworld.org/2011/05/chessboxing-united-kingdom/
National Public Gardens Day ~ May 6
 |
| L.A. County Arboretum |
FWIW ~ Pink Cadillac
On May 4, 1984, Bruce Springsteen released "Pink Cadillac." Here's a video of him playing it with the E Street Band in 1995: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD5Vythvxig . For those who can stomach it (I admit it, I couldn't), here's a 1985 performance: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqask_bruce-springsteen-pink-cadillac-198_music . Painful.
Water, Water Everywhere
A new report from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program says that Arctic ice is melting faster than heretofore predicted and could result in the level of the ocean rising by about 5 feet in this century: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_ARCTIC_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=KVUE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
The 'Nutcracker Man' Who Wasn't
Paranthropus boisei, nicknamed "Nutcracker Man" for his formidable teeth and jaw, actually ate not nuts but grasses. This reverses 50 years of thinking and, in the words of the chairman of the anthropology department at the University of Arkansas, "reminds us that in paleontology, things are not always as they seem." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/03/nutcracker-man-paranthropus-boisei-grass_n_856848.html
More Things in Heaven and Earth
Beautiful shots of May 3rd's solar eclipse (betcha didn't know there'd been one!) show mountains on the moon, magnetic fields on the sun: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/05/03/135963982/todays-distraction-spotting-mountains-on-the-moon
And a Beetle Shall Guide Them
An MIT graduate student is about to test a method of gathering water from mist that improves upon the current one, thanks to the crafty little Namib Beetle: http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2011/05/technology_monitor
DIY Science
A cool new website, with ideas for experiments for ages (they say) 6 to 12 (I say it depends on the child and parental involvement ~ why not 3 to 12? Have yet to see more than the first two entries, but so far, "12" is pushing it ... imho): http://www.scientificamerican.com/section.cfm?id=bring-science-home
Operation Twitter
An Abbottabad resident who was up late unknowingly Twittered the first news the rest of the world had about the invasion of Bin Laden's compound: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13257940
Lost and Found
Patty Bullion of Alabama, though not herself left homeless by the tornadoes, found someone's pregnancy ultrasound photo in her backyard. That was just the first of other people's treasured memories and possessions to land there. So what did she do? She started a Facebook page on which people can list the things they've found and others can look for the things they've lost: http://newsone.com/nation/associatedpress1/alabama-facebook-tornado/
The Decider, You
What's most important in a good law school? Is it the cost, the library, the bar-pass rate? The Ranking Game lets you decide the priorities and see which schools rise to the top of your very own list: http://monoborg.law.indiana.edu/lawrank/play.shtml
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)