Granite Reflection
A World Unsubmerged
Devil’s Golfcourse, Death Valley National Park, California
Steve Sieren has a fantastic portfolio of landscape (and other) photography. I absolutely love the sets from the California Coastline, Mountain Gold, and Desolate Desert.
Definitely worth a look see: Link – Thanks Steve!
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Here’s another magic trick: how to produce smoke just by rubbing two fingers together.
Link [metacafe] – Thanks Holly H.!
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Here’s the best Lord of the Rings re-creation ever: The Muppet Show in Ham’s Deep!
Whenever I’m in Toronto, I try to duck down to Queen Street West for a visit to The Silver Snail, one of the coolest comic book and collectible stores around. They frequently dress up the front windows with displays and last year achieved what I felt was the pinnacle of the craft; an impressively detailed recreation of the battle for Helm’s Deep from the Lord of The Rings -using Muppet Show action figures.
Hundreds of penguins in place of attacking orcs, Sweetums as Gandalf, Beaker in full battle armor… It was an elaborate display of slightly twisted imagination, creativity and skilled model building.
Link | Article at Geekdad – Thanks Lee!
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Here’s a magic trick you can learn: the Cardini Single Production, or how to conjure up cards from thin air!
(Warning: magic spoiler – something gets lost when you figure out the trick behind the magic) Link [Metacafe] – Thanks Freshome
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From Washington Post:
ON A WARM AND RAINY THURSDAY EVENING IN JULY 1941, inside a War Department office in Washington, a small group of Army officers hastily assembled for a meeting and listened in disbelief to the secret plan outlined by their commander.
What’s the secret plan? The largest office building in the world: The Pentagon.
Here’s the story: Link | Photo Gallery (How The Pentagon Got Its Shape) – Thanks Mikolka!
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More than fifty years ago, a volcano in the Mexican state of Michoacan suddenly rose from the ground and buried two villages under lava and ashes.
Today, the only trace of the villages is the church tower of San Juan Parangaricutiro, the church that rises above a field of black lava: Link – Thanks aberron!
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This hexagonal clay prism (often called the Taylor prism) records the deeds of the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, c. 689 BCE. Sennacherib was an important figure in the Old Testament and is mentioned in II Kings. (I saw this piece when I was at the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute on Saturday but wasn’t able to get a good photo. Fortunately you can find just about anything on the internet.) Here’s the commentary from the Oriental Institute:
On the six inscribed sides of this clay prism, King Sennacherib
recorded eight military campaigns undertaken against various peoples
who refused to submit to Assyrian domination. In all instances, he
claims to have been victorious. As part of the third campaign, he
beseiged Jerusalem and imposed heavy tribute on Hezekiah, King of
Judah-a story also related in the Bible, where Sennacherib is said to
have been defeated by "the angel of the Lord," who slew 185,000
Assyrian soldiers (II Kings 18-19).
There is a complete translation of all six columns at the Sennacherib Prism site where I found the photo. And here is Byron’s poem, "The Destruction of Sennacherib," to complement it:
The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still.And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride:
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail;
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpets unblown.And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!– George Gordon Lord Byron (1788-1824)
It is unclear what actually caused Sennacherib to lift the siege of Jerusalem, but illness within the camp may have had at least something to do with his decision. Besieging armies throughout history have been beset by disease as a result of poor sanitary conditions and close quarters.
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The ballot text reads “Do you agree with the reunification of Austria with the German Empire that was enacted on 13 March 1938, and do you vote for the party of our leader Adolf Hitler?,” the large circle is labelled “Yes,” the smaller “No.”
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Wade Meredith of Healthbolt has a neat list of 26 cognitive biases – basically ways our minds distort our views of reality (or why what you think is right is actually wrong!)
For example:
1. Bandwagon effect – the tendency to do (or believe) things because many other people do (or believe) the same. Related to groupthink, herd behaviour, and manias. Carl Jung pioneered the idea of the collective unconscious which is considered by Jungian psychologists to be responsible for this cognitive bias.
2. Bias blind spot – the tendency not to compensate for one’s own cognitive biases.
3. Choice-supportive bias – the tendency to remember one’s choices as better than they actually were.
Link – via Beautiful English Online
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Neighbors were completely surprised to learn that when modest-living Hector Guy Di Stefano and his wife Doris died, they left a $264 million estate to be divided equally among 8 charities, among them them the Salvation Army [wiki] and Greenpeace [wiki].
But there was a snag: the couple left the money to Greenpeace International Inc., but before they died, Greenpeace International Inc. was dissolved and absorbed into a larger outfit, Greenpeace Fund. All of the charities had no problem with this technicality (after all, they weren’t expecting any money – the Di Stefanos didn’t tell them beforehand). All, except for one: the Salvation Army.
Apparently, $33 million wasn’t enough for the Salvation Army – it sued to prevent Greenpeace from its share of the bequest, arguing that the entity the Di Stefanos had left money to no longer existed and that the money should instead be divided equally amongst the remaining 7 charities! The rest of the charities stood to gain an extra $6 million, but no one wanted to come near Salvation Army’s lawsuit.
Earlier this May, the Salvation Army and Greenpeace settled their lawsuit: it seems like the Salvation Army will get the $6 million extra share of Greenpeace’s slice of money, while Greenpeace will still get about $27 million.
Ain’t that a crazy story?
Links: Seattle Times | LA Times articles – via Don’t Tell the Donor
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Here’s a tale of toddler behaving badly: It took a group of 10 Buddhist monks a whole week to create an intricate sand art. They were half done, that is, until a two-year-old toddler arrived!
Hit play or go to Link [YouTube]
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Here’s an inspiring tale of Kelli Lim, a triple amputee who beat the odds to become a doctor:
The Michigan native, 26, does not use a prosthetic arm and manages to perform most medical procedures – including giving injections and taking blood – with one arm. She walks on a pair of prosthetic legs.
"Just having that experience of being someone so sick and how devastating that can be – not just for me but for my family too – gives me a perspective that other people don’t necessarily have," Lim said.
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India’s Tata Motors plans to introduce the first mass produced car powered entirely from compressed air. The CityCat model, shown above, has a range of 125 miles, and scoots around at up to 68 mph. Filling up is a breeze – either use a special air compressor at a gas station for about $2.00, or just plug it in for 4 hours at home.
Unfortunately, there’s no plans to export these to the United States – yet. Link via Digg
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There’s been a post about David Armand here on Neatorama earlier. Here are a few more clips – plus the old one, since it’s been removed from YouTube.
Via Videofeber
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In a recent raid on an al-Qaeda "torture chamber" in Iraq, US soldiers captured a set of drawings depicting crude torture methods like "putting head on a vise," "blowtorch to the skin," and the medieval favorite "eye removal."
The Smoking Gun has the story: Link – via i-am-bored
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Artist Philippa Lawrence travelled all over Wales to wrap majestic dead trees as part of her art project:
One of the most prominent trees was located next to the A48 on the outskirts of Cardiff. It was wrapped in pale blue cloth and had red tips and could be seen from the roadside for a year.
The Bound project also saw a tree wrapped in red cotton voile at Llanyre, near Llandrindod Wells.
Another in the Conwy Valley was wrapped in yellow paper, while the tree at the National Botanic Garden of Wales was covered in white bandages.
Link – via eBaumsworld
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What is that black spot on Mars? Turns out its an entrance to a really, really deep cave on the planet:
The hope for the HiRISE images was that we could see some details from inside the hole. But as you can see by the highly stretched version at right, there is absolutely nothing visible inside that hole. It’s black black black black black. HiRISE is a very sensitive instrument, and Mars’ dusty atmosphere scatters quite a bit of light around, so there is certainly light entering that cave hole and bouncing around the interior. But it seems that the cave is so big and so deep that almost none of the light that enters the cave comes out. It’s deep, and it’s big; the hole that we see really is just a skylight on a big subterranean room. How big? We’ll never know for sure without visiting it, but I expect that Cushing and his coauthors and the HiRISE team will be crunching the numbers on the illumination conditions and the sensitivity of the camera to put a lower limit on how deep that cave must be for HiRISE to be able to see nothing at all inside it.
Link – via Blue’s News
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Here’s something amazing: the pistol shrimp uses its claw as a sonic weapon!
As the claw snaps shut it fires a blast of bubbles. Incredibly as the bubble collapses it momentarily reaches the temperature of the sun. This implosion causes a shockwave that stuns.
Link [YouTube]
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No children like homework, but it’s supposed to be good for them, right? Right?
Maybe not, according to Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish. In their book The Case Against Homework, the authors argued that despite that time children spend doing homework has been skyrocketing in recent years, there is no evidence that that helps them succeed academically.
Indeed, too much homework may even hurt as it robs children of their time to play, sleep, and exercise. What do you think?
Link: The Case Against Homework website | Sara Bennett’s website Stop Homework | A nice review in Boing Boing
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Willy Volk of Gadling wrote about some really, really weird things people keep in jars.
Believe me, the octopus on the left is probably the least weird thing you’ll find in this article: Link – Thanks Willy!
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Psst! Wanna rent a labyrinth? You can rent this replica of Chartres labyrinth from the Labyrinth Company: Link – via Coquina Daily
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What influenced George Lucas’ Star Wars? A lot of classics went into the creation of Star Wars. Here’s ABC World News webcast on what inspired George Lucas.
For instance, did you know that Yoda was modeled after Einstein? Link – Thanks Natalie Raabe!
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It seems to be of some use and I think it’s a cool thing to design and make by yourself. Click image to play or follow the link to CollegeHumor.
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Part of the Star Wars Celebration IV in Los Angeles last week was The Vader Project. DKE Toys distributed Darth Vader helmets to 66 participating artists to embellish in their unique styles. Link to story. Link to gallery of helmets. -via The Official Star Wars Blog
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At the beginning of January 2005 my love for paper evolved into a love for collage. This photoset is a place I post some of my work – some are cut x paste, others digital… but all are made with mostly vintage and antique paper.
Link -via Everlasting Blort
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A mashup of the multiplayer online game World Of Warcraft and the early 90’s song “I’m Too Sexy”, by the British pop band Right Said Fred.
Link [YouTube] – via Uber-Review
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Our weekly collaboration with Cellar Image of the Day brings us the image of this strange animal: a rare soft-shelled turtle called Cantor’s giant turtle.
A 24-pound female Cantor’s giant turtle — known for its rubbery skin and jaws powerful enough to crush bone — was captured and released by researchers in March, U.S.-based Conservation International and World Wildlife Fund said in a statement. …
The species can grow up to 6 feet in length and weigh more than 110 pounds. It was last spotted by scientists in the Cambodian wild in 2003. It also was found in small numbers in Laos, but appears to have disappeared from Vietnam and Thailand.
The turtle has a rubbery skin with ribs fused together to form a protective layer over its internal organs. It protects itself from predators by spending 95 percent of its life hidden in sand or mud with only its eyes and nose showing.
Link – Thanks Rebecca! Don’t forget to check out Cellar IotD for more fun images!
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The following is reprinted from Uncle John’s Legendary Lost Bathroom Reader. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor was one of the most dramatic incidents in U.S. history – and the source of persistent questions. Did President Roosevelt know the attack was coming? If so, why didn’t he defend against it? Here’s some insight from It’s a Conspiracy!
Shortly after dawn on Sunday, December 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes launched an all-out attack on Pearl Harbor [wiki], the major U.S. military base in Hawaii. Within two hours, they had damaged or destroyed 18 warships and more than 200 aircraft, killing 2,403 American soldiers, sailors, and marines, and wounding 1,178. Americans were stunned and outraged. The next day, FDR delivered a stirring speech to Congress in which he referred to the day of the attack as "a date which will lie in infamy." In response, Congress declared war, and the country closed ranks behind the president. Despite America’s commitment to the war, however, questions arose about Pearl Harbor that were not easily dismissed: How were we caught so completely by surprise? Why were losses so high? Who was to blame? Did the president know an attack was coming? Did he purposely do nothing so America would be drawn into the war? Although there were seven full inquiries before the war ended, the questions persist to this day. UNANSWERED QUESTION #1 Suspicious Facts • Although several U.S. command posts received machines for decoding "Purple," Pearl Harbor was never given one. • Messages intercepted in the autumn of 1941 suggested what the Japanese were planning:
On the Other Hand • "The [Japanese] Ambassador in Washington was never told of the plan," Kahn says, "Nor were other Japanese diplomats or consular officials. The ship of the strike force were never radioed any message mentioning Pearl Harbor. It was therefore impossible for cryptoanalysts to have discovered the plan. Despite the American code breakers, Japan kept her secret." • Actually, Washington had issued a warning to commanders at Pearl Harbor a few weeks earlier. On November 27, 1941, General George Marshall sent the following message: "Hostile action possible at any moment. If hostilities cannot, repeat CANNOT, be avoided, the United States desires that Japan commit the first over act. This policy should not, repeat NOT, be construed as restricting you to a course of action that might jeopardize your defense." • But the commanders at Pearl Harbor were apparently negligent. The base should have at least been on alert, but the antiaircraft guns were unmanned and most people on the base were asleep when the attack came. UNANSWERED QUESTION #2 Suspicious Facts • Toland says that although Seaman Z and his superior officer allegedly reported their findings to the Office of Naval Intelligence, whose chief was a close friend of the president, Pearl Harbor never got the warning. On the Other Hand
• Prange notes, "It would be interesting to know how the 12th Naval District in San Francisco could pick up information that the 14th Naval District, much nearer the action in Honolulu, missed." • Finally, Prange reports that years after the war, "Seaman Z" was identified as Robert D. Ogg, a retired California businessman. Ogg flatly denied that he had said the unusual signals were "the missing carrier force," nor was he even sure that the transmission were in Japanese – "I never questioned them at the time." UNANSWERED QUESTION #3 Suspicious Facts • FDR told a British emissary that the United States "would declare war on Japan in the latter attacked American possessions … [but] public opinion would be unlikely to approve of a declaration of war if the Japanese attack were directed only against British or Dutch territories." • Earlier that year, on July 25, 1941, Roosevelt froze Japanese assets in the United States. • In 1937, Japan sank a U.S. warship in China’s Yangtze River, and relations between America and Japan began deteriorating. Both countries made a public effort to negotiate, but FDR presented a series of impossible ultimatums to the Japanese negotiators and openly loaned money to the Nationalist Chinese, whom the Japanese were fighting at the time.
• According to columnist Pat Buchanan, Roosevelt also committed an act of war against Japan in August 1941, when he secretly approved sending a crack U.S. Air Force squadron, the "Flying Tigers [wiki]," to fight alongside the Chinese Nationalists. Although these fliers were officially "volunteers," Buchanan claimed that they were "recruited at U.S. bases, offered five times normal pay [and] sent off to fight Japan months before Pearl Harbor, in a covert operation run out of FDR’s White House … Though their planes carried the insignia of the Chinese army, [they] were on active duty for the United States." On the Other Hand |
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The article above is reprinted with permission from Uncle John’s Legendary Lost Bathroom Reader. This special edition book covers the three "lost" Bathroom Readers – Uncle John’s 5th, 6th and 7th book all in one. The huge (and hugely entertaining) volume covers neat stories like the Strange Fate of the Dodo Bird, the Secrets of Mona Lisa, and more … Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts. Check out their website here: Bathroom Reader Institute
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Oxypedia, whose motto is "where the shrimp are always jumbo," is an excellent source for oxymorons.
See if you agree with their Top 50 Oxymoron picks, including gems like temporary tax increase, clearly misunderstood, pretty ugly, and many more.
Link – via Miss Cellania (great topic today: English Language)
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Bunk Strutts of Say No to Crack ran across this mysterious dried fruit, called Igde Pshat, from a local grocery store.
IS THIS THE PERFECT SNACK FOOD, OR WHAT? No significant nutritional value, it’s grown in third world countries, tastes good, and it’s cheaper than dried mango. And no, it doesn’t taste like Pshat.
Here’s the story of how Bunk met Igde Pshat: Link
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Got
a neat story? Share it with the world by writing your very own Neatorama
blog post with the Upcoming
Queue. Who knows, you might just win something ... 
• By the summer of 1940, the United States had cracked Japan’s top-secret diplomatic code, nicknamed "
• To prove his point, Prange quotes reports written by Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the air attack on Pearl Harbor: "The Force maintained the strictest silence throughout the cruise … [Admiral] Genda stressed that radio silence was so important that the pilots agreed not to go on the air even if their lives depended upon it." The chief of staff for Fleet Admiral Nagumo adds, "All transmitters were sealed, and all hands were ordered to be kept away from any key of the machine."
• FDR told close aides that if the Allies were to be victorious, the U.S. had to enter the war before Japan overran the Pacific and Germany destroyed England.
