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why do people laught at casey luskin?
installment #30 of thunderf00t's awesome why do people laugh at creationists? see the whole playlist!
fence braid
like it? click it and see a more general image as well.
i got my lens back yesterday a few hours after i broke its focusing mechanism -- good as new. i went out on a walk to see what i could capture with it and i found myself another cool fence...
supersense: why we believe in the unbelievable
on point of inquiry, bruce m. hood:
'in this discussion with d.j. grothe, bruce m. hood explains how his agenda is different than the common skeptical agenda to disprove supernatural claims, and instead is an attempt to explain why people believe hold such beliefs in the first place. he argues that everyone is born with a "supersense," an instinct to believe in unseen forces and to recognize patterns and infer their causation, citing examples such as seeing jesus in a grilled cheese sandwich, or the case of the "haunted scrotum." he explains how this supersense is universal, and that even skeptics and rationalists often exhibit it in their lives through rituals and the owning certain valued possessions, such as richard dawkins' prizing of objects once owned by charles darwin or mit growing saplings from the tree under which newton first discovered the laws of gravity. he details how rituals give a perceived sense of control to believers, and how they may actually affect a believer's performance. he talks about the "secular supernatural," contrasting it with the "religious supernatural." he argues against daniel dennett's and richard dawkins's thesis that religious belief results primarily from indoctrination in childhood. and he defends the position that unbelievable beliefs serve important social functions.'
'in this discussion with d.j. grothe, bruce m. hood explains how his agenda is different than the common skeptical agenda to disprove supernatural claims, and instead is an attempt to explain why people believe hold such beliefs in the first place. he argues that everyone is born with a "supersense," an instinct to believe in unseen forces and to recognize patterns and infer their causation, citing examples such as seeing jesus in a grilled cheese sandwich, or the case of the "haunted scrotum." he explains how this supersense is universal, and that even skeptics and rationalists often exhibit it in their lives through rituals and the owning certain valued possessions, such as richard dawkins' prizing of objects once owned by charles darwin or mit growing saplings from the tree under which newton first discovered the laws of gravity. he details how rituals give a perceived sense of control to believers, and how they may actually affect a believer's performance. he talks about the "secular supernatural," contrasting it with the "religious supernatural." he argues against daniel dennett's and richard dawkins's thesis that religious belief results primarily from indoctrination in childhood. and he defends the position that unbelievable beliefs serve important social functions.'
animal morality
on the telegraph:
'scientists studying animal behaviour believe they have growing evidence that species ranging from mice to primates are governed by moral codes of conduct in the same way as humans.
until recently, humans were thought to be the only species to experience complex emotions and have a sense of morality.
but prof marc bekoff, an ecologist at university of colorado, boulder, believes that morals are "hard-wired" into the brains of all mammals and provide the "social glue" that allow often aggressive and competitive animals to live together in groups.
he has compiled evidence from around the world that shows how different species of animals appear to have an innate sense of fairness, display empathy and help other animals that are in distress.'
keep reading...
via RD
'scientists studying animal behaviour believe they have growing evidence that species ranging from mice to primates are governed by moral codes of conduct in the same way as humans.
until recently, humans were thought to be the only species to experience complex emotions and have a sense of morality.
but prof marc bekoff, an ecologist at university of colorado, boulder, believes that morals are "hard-wired" into the brains of all mammals and provide the "social glue" that allow often aggressive and competitive animals to live together in groups.
he has compiled evidence from around the world that shows how different species of animals appear to have an innate sense of fairness, display empathy and help other animals that are in distress.'
keep reading...
via RD
nothing sweet...
... about me.
like it? give it a click then!
(today, i'm bipolar. i broke a lens :'( but.... they're gonna fix it right away :-) )
like it? give it a click then!
(today, i'm bipolar. i broke a lens :'( but.... they're gonna fix it right away :-) )
jesus & mo: cars and athens
click pic to read it properly at jesus&mo.
for an overview of events, visit this is not my country.
for me, it's sad that the outrage is ignited following an incident over a religious symbol instead of the difficult conditions immigrants face.
the power of a flower
wanna see the whole thing? give it a click
on saturday, lia said to mr.g: tell helen to come and take a picture of the amaryllis.
helen didn't go... she was too busy to fuss with flowers.
she finally went to have a peek yesterday evening and was stunned -- a bunch of fully-bloomed gorgeosity!
never underestimate the power of a flower.
the greatest show on earth by richard dawkins
click image to RD
'charles darwin's masterpiece, "on the origin of species", shook society to its core on publication in 1859. darwin was only too aware of the storm his theory of evolution would provoke but he would surely have raised an incredulous eyebrow at the controversy still raging a century and a half later. evolution is accepted as scientific fact by all reputable scientists and indeed theologians, yet millions of people continue to question its veracity. in "the greatest show on earth", richard dawkins takes on creationists, including followers of 'intelligent design' and all those who question the fact of evolution through natural selection. like a detective arriving on the scene of a crime, he sifts through fascinating layers of scientific facts and disciplines to build a cast-iron case: from the living examples of natural selection in birds and insects; the 'time clocks' of trees and radioactive dating that calibrate a timescale for evolution; the fossil record and the traces of our earliest ancestors; to confirmation from molecular biology and genetics. all of this, and much more, bears witness to the truth of evolution. "the greatest show on earth" comes at a critical time: systematic opposition to the fact of evolution is now flourishing as never before, especially in america. in britain and elsewhere in the world, teachers witness insidious attempts to undermine the status of science in their classrooms. richard dawkins provides unequivocal evidence that boldly and comprehensively rebuts such nonsense. at the same time he shares with us his palpable love of the natural world and the essential role that science plays in its interpretation. written with elegance, wit and passion, it is hard-hitting, absorbing and totally convincing.'
click over to RD to find links to pre-order.
the trouble with bubbles
like it? click it!
i bought one of those plastic bubble makers with batteries and a fan on sunday.
i didn't know taking pictures of bubbles was so hard! my shots didn't come out looking very special, so i thought i'd play around with white balance hues.
summer's coming
if you're stateside, you're probably sick of this. but if you hear it blasting out of a car somewhere in athens, it's me.
miss riding your bike in beijing?
now you can relive the experience:
note: this video is probably pointless if you ain't done it.
note: this video is probably pointless if you ain't done it.
putting pieces of the out campaign together
spotted on brexians' flickr photostream:
click pic to source
come out
reach out
speak out
keep out
stand out
the out campaign
click pic to source
come out
reach out
speak out
keep out
stand out
the out campaign
agenticity
on scientific american, michael shermer's why people believe invisible agents control the world.
<snip>
'souls, spirits, ghosts, gods, demons, angels, aliens, intelligent designers, government conspirators, and all manner of invisible agents with power and intention are believed to haunt our world and control our lives. why?
</snip>
read all about it...
<snip>
'souls, spirits, ghosts, gods, demons, angels, aliens, intelligent designers, government conspirators, and all manner of invisible agents with power and intention are believed to haunt our world and control our lives. why?
</snip>
read all about it...
a voyage that mattered
from dr. robert bloomfield's lecture, part of the darwin now exhibition in athens.
click on any image to enlarge all
this was a fascinating lecture, with lots of information on the factors that influenced charles darwin on the road to the development of his theory for the origin of species, as well as thoughts on how darwin's principles will be fundamental factor in protecting our environment, leading up to 2010, the year of biodiversity.
click on any image to enlarge all
this was a fascinating lecture, with lots of information on the factors that influenced charles darwin on the road to the development of his theory for the origin of species, as well as thoughts on how darwin's principles will be fundamental factor in protecting our environment, leading up to 2010, the year of biodiversity.
seth shostak on colbert
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Seth Shostak | ||||
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carolyn porco: could a saturn moon harbor life?
'carolyn porco shares exciting new findings from the cassini spacecraft's recent sweep of one of saturn's moons, enceladus. samples gathered from the moon's icy geysers hint that an ocean under its surface could harbor life.'
simply, thanks
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a flower from my building's lovely garden, dedicated to StathisZ, anndulan and Kounelli.
thanks for your wonderful testimonials :-)
ida
from bbc news:
'the beautifully preserved remains of a 47-million-year-old lemur-like creature have been unveiled in the us.
the preservation is so good, it is possible to see the outline of its fur and even traces of its last meal.
the fossil, nicknamed ida, is claimed to be a "missing link" between today's higher primates - monkeys, apes and humans - and more distant relatives.'
full article
i do have to laugh at the term 'missing link'... it's an archaic term... there is no such thing.
there's a great whole website with information on ida at revealing the link.
'the beautifully preserved remains of a 47-million-year-old lemur-like creature have been unveiled in the us.
the preservation is so good, it is possible to see the outline of its fur and even traces of its last meal.
the fossil, nicknamed ida, is claimed to be a "missing link" between today's higher primates - monkeys, apes and humans - and more distant relatives.'
full article
i do have to laugh at the term 'missing link'... it's an archaic term... there is no such thing.
there's a great whole website with information on ida at revealing the link.
'discovering darwin' at the evgenidio foundation
more darwin now events in athens!
this time it's at the evgenidio foundation, monday, june 1st, at 19:30 at the foundation's ampitheater.
discovering darwin
speakers:
alison pearn
kostas krimpas
george k. rodakis
address:
syngrou 387
paleo faliro
telephone for reservations: 2109469631-32, 2103692342
you can print the invitation for two here (word document). there will be simultaneous translation to and from english.
this time it's at the evgenidio foundation, monday, june 1st, at 19:30 at the foundation's ampitheater.
discovering darwin
speakers:
alison pearn
kostas krimpas
george k. rodakis
address:
syngrou 387
paleo faliro
telephone for reservations: 2109469631-32, 2103692342
you can print the invitation for two here (word document). there will be simultaneous translation to and from english.
my 'unweaving the ice crystal halo' is on opod!
my picture, unweaving the ice crystal halo, is featured today on opod (atmospheric optics of the day)! hit it while it's hot!
page's permalink
woohoo!
and the milky way rises
have you ever seen this? i've seen it, sleeping on a beach in crete. it wasn't a deep sleep and i'd wake up about every 1/2 hour and see the milky way in a new position. it was one of the most awesome and memorable experiences i've ever had.
via the bad astronomer
via the bad astronomer
itteh bitteh kitteh
like it? click it!
a neighbor's cat had kittens and she wanted some shots. i was only too happy to oblige.
click to embiggen!
we were gawking at the kittens when mama cat appeared, staring assertively at us with those gorgeous green eyes. she then proceeded to a guarded feeding session.
a kitten from another batch came to see what the excitement was all about.
dr robert bloomfield lecture – BC-AD: before charles and after darwin
i'm reposting a comment left by julia baracco on my darwin now in athens post, as is, caps and all:
"
Dr Robert Bloomfield Lecture:
'BC-AD: Before Darwin and After Charles'
As part of our Darwin Now Exhibition, the British Council and the Goulandris Natural History Museum are delighted to invite you to a lecture on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution entitled 'BC-AD: Before Charles and After Darwin' by Dr Robert Bloomfield, Head of Innovation at the Natural History Museum in London, NESTA Fellow and organiser of Darwin200.
Date/Time: 20 May 2009, 7 p.m.
Venue: Angelos Goulandris Amphitheatre, Goulandris Natural History Museum - Gaia Centre, 100 Othonos Street, 145 62 Kifissia
Telephone: 210 801 5870
Details:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/greece-science-darwin-now-exhibition.htm
"
thank you, julia!
"
Dr Robert Bloomfield Lecture:
'BC-AD: Before Darwin and After Charles'
As part of our Darwin Now Exhibition, the British Council and the Goulandris Natural History Museum are delighted to invite you to a lecture on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution entitled 'BC-AD: Before Charles and After Darwin' by Dr Robert Bloomfield, Head of Innovation at the Natural History Museum in London, NESTA Fellow and organiser of Darwin200.
Date/Time: 20 May 2009, 7 p.m.
Venue: Angelos Goulandris Amphitheatre, Goulandris Natural History Museum - Gaia Centre, 100 Othonos Street, 145 62 Kifissia
Telephone: 210 801 5870
Details:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/greece-science-darwin-now-exhibition.htm
"
thank you, julia!
athens circle, athens square
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the crystal ball strikes again: athens at dusk, taken from pendeli mountain, looking south towards ymittos mountain.
i shot this sunday evening and i've placed my approximate position on the map on its flickr page.
nea makri
like it? give it a click, why don't ya?
thank goodness for mr.g. he got my off my lazy ass sunday evening, and offered the encouragement and patience i often need go take a daily picture.
we stopped for some hot chocolate at a little cafe/restaurant on pendeli overlooking nea makri. i set up the tripod and switched cut-outs for the shaped bokeh.
everything was sweet.
i've placed this on the flickr page map -- we were looking due east over the town towards the sea.
unweaving the ice crystal halo
click to see all four shots
'after sleeping through a hundred million centuries we have finally opened our eyes on a sumptuous planet, sparkling with color, bountiful with life. within decades we must close our eyes again. isn’t it a noble, an enlightened way of spending our brief time in the sun, to work at understanding the universe and how we have come to wake up in it? this is how i answer when i am asked—as i am surprisingly often—why i bother to get up in the mornings.' - richard dawkins, unweaving the rainbow: science, delusion and the appetite for wonder
(about the book, dawkins says: my title is from keats, who believed that newton had destroyed all the poetry of the rainbow by reducing it to the prismatic colors. keats could hardly have been more wrong, and my aim is to guide all who are tempted by a similar view, towards the opposite conclusion. science is, or ought to be, the inspiration for great poetry.)
click to see all four shots
it pays for people to know your personal obsessions. i woke up late yesterday morning and started puttering around the house, internet and flickr, minding my own (and the world's) business, when i got an urgent call to rush outside with the camera to capture an ice crystal halo, specifically a circumscibed halo!
i spent about an hour outside from about noon to just past 1:00, trying to find spots to see the halo entirely and a decent post to hide the sun itself... but in vain. i resorted to using my lens cap.
EDIT: i just got word from les that he's going to feature these this week on atmospheric optics' picture of the day!
i've sent these over to les cowley at atmospheric optics, a website which analyzises rainbows, halos, glories, coronas, rays and shadows -- anything to do with light in the atmosphere -- to get an idea of the structure of the halo. i also had a chat with my friend, jonathan shock, who believes this halo includes a infralateral arc and a parhelic circle.
i had captured another halo in beijing in january 2008. its set on flickr is here and its 'anatomy' is here.
jonathan has some wonderful captures himself: two over santiago and one thrilling specimen over the eiffel tower!
our common ancestor
at the wall street journal:
'in what could prove to be a landmark discovery, a leading paleontologist said scientists have dug up the 47 million-year-old fossil of an ancient primate whose features suggest it could be the common ancestor of all later monkeys, apes and humans.
anthropologists have long believed that humans evolved from ancient ape-like ancestors. some 50 million years ago, two ape-like groups walked the earth. one is known as the tarsidae, a precursor of the tarsier, a tiny, large-eyed creature that lives in asia. another group is known as the adapidae, a precursor of today's lemurs in madagascar.
based on previously limited fossil evidence, one big debate had been whether the tarsidae or adapidae group gave rise to monkeys, apes and humans. the latest discovery bolsters the less common position that our ancient ape-like ancestor was an adapid, the believed precursor of lemurs.'
read on...
via RD
'in what could prove to be a landmark discovery, a leading paleontologist said scientists have dug up the 47 million-year-old fossil of an ancient primate whose features suggest it could be the common ancestor of all later monkeys, apes and humans.
anthropologists have long believed that humans evolved from ancient ape-like ancestors. some 50 million years ago, two ape-like groups walked the earth. one is known as the tarsidae, a precursor of the tarsier, a tiny, large-eyed creature that lives in asia. another group is known as the adapidae, a precursor of today's lemurs in madagascar.
based on previously limited fossil evidence, one big debate had been whether the tarsidae or adapidae group gave rise to monkeys, apes and humans. the latest discovery bolsters the less common position that our ancient ape-like ancestor was an adapid, the believed precursor of lemurs.'
read on...
via RD
SETI's regular laser pulse
has astrophysicist ragbir bhathal, who works with SETI, found a signal from an extraterrestrial signal?
at the australian:
'after you've spent more than 20 years hunting for an alien signal, you think you'd be celebrating if you noticed a mysterious pulse suddenly rising up on your computer readouts. a regular pulse, amid the random clatter of the cosmos, suggests that someone very smart at the other end is sending a message.
but when ragbir bhathal, an astrophysicist at the university of western sydney, who teaches the only university-based course on SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) in australia, detected the suspicious signal on a clear night last december, he knew better than to crack open the special bottle of champagne he has tucked away for the history-making occasion.
instead, he's spent the past few months meticulously investigating whether the unrecognised signature was caused by a glitch in his instrumentation, a rogue astrophysical phenomenon, or some unknown random noise.'
read on...
at the australian:
'after you've spent more than 20 years hunting for an alien signal, you think you'd be celebrating if you noticed a mysterious pulse suddenly rising up on your computer readouts. a regular pulse, amid the random clatter of the cosmos, suggests that someone very smart at the other end is sending a message.
but when ragbir bhathal, an astrophysicist at the university of western sydney, who teaches the only university-based course on SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) in australia, detected the suspicious signal on a clear night last december, he knew better than to crack open the special bottle of champagne he has tucked away for the history-making occasion.
instead, he's spent the past few months meticulously investigating whether the unrecognised signature was caused by a glitch in his instrumentation, a rogue astrophysical phenomenon, or some unknown random noise.'
read on...
life's first spark, in a lab
on wired:
'a fundamental but elusive step in the early evolution of life on earth has been replicated in a laboratory.
researchers synthesized the basic ingredients of RNA, a molecule from which the simplest self-replicating structures are made. until now, they couldn’t explain how these ingredients might have formed.'
read on...
'a fundamental but elusive step in the early evolution of life on earth has been replicated in a laboratory.
researchers synthesized the basic ingredients of RNA, a molecule from which the simplest self-replicating structures are made. until now, they couldn’t explain how these ingredients might have formed.'
read on...
a string of
like it? click it!
she really likes her beautiful, new necklace. last time, i asked her. this time, she asked me.
isn't this enough? just this world?
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storm, a 9-minute beat poem by tim minchin... maybe you'll want to read it, too.
a taste:
'isn’t this enough?
just this world?
just this beautiful, complex
wonderfully unfathomable world?
how does it so fail to hold our attention
that we have to diminish it with the invention
of cheap, man-made myths and monsters?
if you’re so into shakespeare
lend me your ear:
“to gild refined gold, to paint the lily,
to throw perfume on the violet… is just fucking silly”
or something like that.'
i've previously embedded this video here.
WTF star trek moments, explained
wondering WTF those wacky star trek writers were thinking? read frequently-asked-WTFs, and their answers, on darth mojo!
calatrava fire and ice
like it? give it a click and be rewarded with 8 pictures
click to see a set of 8 pictures.
this diptych is the same structure, by spanish architect, santiago calatrava -- looking to the west and to the east.
i went to visit OAKA (the center of the 2004 athens' olympics) for a shoot when i realized that there was a soccer match on -- panathinaikos and aek were playing -- so i rushed to take these and get out of there before it finished to beat the traffic.
i placed this general position on the map on its flick page. more images from OAKA in this set.
pz myers' commencement speech at keck school of medicine
although this speech was addressed to an audience of graduates in the fields of science and medicine, it could just as easily be applied to anybody in any corner of society.
<snip>
'many of you may disagree with how i personally use my academic freedom, and that's fine -- i'm a strong believer in stochastic processes, and while individuals may go off in directions we don't like, i'm confident that the aggregate activity of large numbers of smart people expressing themselves in public will end up making the world a better place.'
</snip>
it's a pleasure to read it all.
<snip>
'many of you may disagree with how i personally use my academic freedom, and that's fine -- i'm a strong believer in stochastic processes, and while individuals may go off in directions we don't like, i'm confident that the aggregate activity of large numbers of smart people expressing themselves in public will end up making the world a better place.'
</snip>
it's a pleasure to read it all.
let the planet hunt begin..
at JPL:
click image to source
'NASA's kepler spacecraft has begun its search for other earth-like worlds. the mission, which launched from cape canaveral, fla., on march 6, will spend the next three-and-a-half years staring at more than 100,000 stars for telltale signs of planets. kepler has the unique ability to find planets as small as earth that orbit sun-like stars at distances where temperatures are right for possible lakes and oceans.
"now the fun begins," said william borucki, kepler science principal investigator at nasa's ames research center, moffett field, calif. "we are all really excited to start sorting through the data and discovering the planets."'
read on...
click image to source
'NASA's kepler spacecraft has begun its search for other earth-like worlds. the mission, which launched from cape canaveral, fla., on march 6, will spend the next three-and-a-half years staring at more than 100,000 stars for telltale signs of planets. kepler has the unique ability to find planets as small as earth that orbit sun-like stars at distances where temperatures are right for possible lakes and oceans.
"now the fun begins," said william borucki, kepler science principal investigator at nasa's ames research center, moffett field, calif. "we are all really excited to start sorting through the data and discovering the planets."'
read on...
the enlightening
like it? click it!
'when you make the finding yourself -- even if you're the last person on earth to see the light -- you never forget it.'
-- carl sagan, the demon-haunted world
EDIT: viewers interpret pictures in their own ways. when seeing this, some see a crystal ball and magic, whereas i thought of the unknown being made clearer by optical glass... nothing supernatural about it.
the shatner scene i wish they'd kept
-- red alert: spoilers --
via trekmovie.com
there's also a nice 'the original cast: where are they now?' at people.
via trekmovie.com
there's also a nice 'the original cast: where are they now?' at people.
elephants' wings
'once upon a time, four blind men were walking in the forest, and they bumped into an elephant.
moe was in front, and found himself holding the trunk. "it has a tentacle," he said. "i think we have found a giant squid!"
larry bumped into the side of the elephant. "it's a wall," he said, "a big, bristly wall."
curly, at the back, touched the tail. "it's nothing to worry about, nothing but a piece of rope dangling in the trail."
eagletosh saw the interruption as an opportunity to sit in the shade beneath a tree and relax. "it is my considered opinion," he said, "that whatever it is has feathers. beautiful iridescent feathers of many hues."'
read the rest of pz myers' tale...
via RD
moe was in front, and found himself holding the trunk. "it has a tentacle," he said. "i think we have found a giant squid!"
larry bumped into the side of the elephant. "it's a wall," he said, "a big, bristly wall."
curly, at the back, touched the tail. "it's nothing to worry about, nothing but a piece of rope dangling in the trail."
eagletosh saw the interruption as an opportunity to sit in the shade beneath a tree and relax. "it is my considered opinion," he said, "that whatever it is has feathers. beautiful iridescent feathers of many hues."'
read the rest of pz myers' tale...
via RD
crystal sunset
like it? what are you waiting for? let me know by giving it a click.
'... there was a time when god was a part of science. newton thought that his research on physics helped clarify god's celestial plan. so did linnaeus, the swedish botanist who devised our current scheme for organizing species. but over centuries of research we have learned that the idea "god did it" has never advanced our understanding of nature an iota, and that is why we abandoned it. in the early 1800s, the french mathematician laplace presented napoleon with a copy of his great five-volume work on the solar system, the mechanique celeste. aware that the books contained no mention of god, napoleon taunted him, "monsieur laplace, they tell me you have written this large book on the system of the universe, and have never even mentioned its creator." laplace answered, famously and brusquely: "je n'avais pas besoin de cette hypothese-la," "i have had no need of that hypothesis." and scientists have not needed it since.'
- jerry coyne, seeing is believing
i saw ca omid's beautiful images and i couldn't resist getting one of these. very cool.
i took this in northern athens, on the intersection of kifissias avenue and attiki odos. my position is on the map, on the original flickr page.
the reason project
'the reason project is a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation devoted to spreading scientific knowledge and secular values in society. drawing on the talents of some of the most prominent and creative thinkers across a wide range of disciplines, the reason project seeks to encourage critical thinking and wise public policy through a variety of interrelated projects — all with the purpose of eroding the influence of dogmatism, superstition, and bigotry in our world.'
sam harris
co-founder and ceo
annaka harris
co-founder
the reason project advisory board:
clifford s. asness,
peter atkins,
jerry coyne,
richard dawkins,
daniel c. dennett,
brent forrester
rebecca goldstein
ayaan hirsi ali
christopher hitchens
lawrence krauss
harold kroto
bill maher
ian mcewan
steven pinker
salman rushdie
ryan scott
lee m. silver
j. craig venter
ibn warraq
steven weinberg'
greece bars google's street view pending details
from physorg:
'greece's data protection agency monday barred google from taking any more images on the nation's streets for its street view feature, pending "additional information" from the us search engine service.'
read the rest...
'greece's data protection agency monday barred google from taking any more images on the nation's streets for its street view feature, pending "additional information" from the us search engine service.'
read the rest...
2 minutes in beijing
a wonderful video that accurately conveys much of the feeling one gets when seeing the sights of beijing -- and, if you've been, evokes pangs of nostalgia:
created by david at randomwire. thank you, david!
created by david at randomwire. thank you, david!
star trek: my thoughts
-- red alert: a few spoilers ahead --
i saw star trek last night. or rather… my mother, my sister, her husband, my brother, my partner, my daughter… and i saw star trek last night.
like my picture? click it!
i've been a fan of star trek all my conscious life. i've seen TOS countless times in reruns. i bought paraphernalia -- magazines, books, concordances, models and blueprints.
when you're a kid, things are imprinted deeply into your memory -- but it's always selective. for me, star trek was never mainly about the science. it also was not only about the starships, battles, aliens,languages, costumes and details. that is all extremely cool but i'm not a star trek trivia buff -- if you quiz me, i'll fail.
for me, star trek is important because:
1. it had characters so well developed, i feel i know them as close friends.
2. it projected of a humanitarian world view and social commentary and helped shape me into the person i am today.
the bad astronomer, phil plait, has a wonderful write up of the existing -- or non-existing -- science in the movie. it's a pleasure to read his comments, as well as the comments from his readers below. i read it before and after seeing the movie -- and it helped, both times. if you haven't already, go read it. it's fun and enlightening.
the special effects were exceptional. i find myself hard-pressed to imagine how they could be any better, at least in a two-dimensional screen.
the very best, and highly memorable scene in the special effects department, is, by far, the enterprise emerging from the clouds on titan, with saturn and its rings in the background. we have carolyn porco, star trek's science advisor, to thank for this imagery. it was a moment i was expecting as i knew about it beforehand, but still i gasped as i saw it, audibly, as i did several times through this film.
yes, the bridge looks like an applestore but i don't mind. i don't understand why engineering had to look like a brewery (what's with all the pipes) but again, i don't mind. TOS sets had a minimalism that was popular in the 60's, but aesthetics change and i have no qualms with the designs being in tune with the tastes of 2009.
now…
why i liked star trek: the characters and the acting
as i said, star trek's characters are my virtual childhood friends. i know them well. i know how they feel and how they react. i know their little tics and quirks. i know how their bodies stand and move and i catch the tiniest movements in facial muscles that tell me that they are who are.
star trek was not a cast of imposters. i am stunned, awed and humbled by the work these people have done. for me, it's the best part of this movie.
a lot has been written about zachary quinto's wonderful performance, and the great collaboration he had with nimoy to get to the spirit of the character. quinto did such an exceptional job, that i mostly forgot i was seeing a new spock and just thought i was seeing spock. spock.
quinto brought new elements to the character, but blended them seamlessly into this most familiar persona. i had to sometimes forcefully remind myself that it was quinto, and i was successful in doing so only because of the minor differences in facial features between quinto and nimoy.
in contrast, little has been written about chris pine's outstanding performance -- and much has been written about how only shatner can truly be kirk. i adore william shatner's work and captain kirk was very much his creation, but i don't know if people realize what an amazing work pine has done in playing kirk. maybe it's because I wasn't expecting it, but pine's rendition of kirk blew me away.
i don't think pine and shatner collaborated at all on this -- if not, pine has not only done his homework, he's completed a phd. he must have watched and rewatched and rewatched kirk's scenes -- 'arena', 'amok time', the dramatic and especially the comic moments -- everything -- because, many times, i was convinced he was shatner. no, he did not do the shatner talk but he did the shatner walk, stance, smile, smirk, and polishing-the-floor-during-a-beating. in the final scene, when he walked in and, after looking around, exclaimed 'bones!', smiled, glanced momentarily down and bounced his head from side to side, as shatner did in happy end-of-episode scenes, i gasped, loudly.
chris pine succeeded in transferring the essence of the original kirk into a character with new elements, as quinto has, seamlessly. chris pine is not shatner, but he is kirk.
pine will never read this, but: congratulations, mr. pine.
karl urban looked and sounded like mccoy. zoe saldana was a brilliant uhura -- one that both paid homage to nichelle nichols work but updated the character to our contemporary views on women. scotty was a brilliant scot but didn't have innate pride that doohan had breathed into the character. anton yelchin was a true russian, struggling over his pronunciation of B's and breaking away from the much-loved monkees' davy jones look created for walter koenig. john cho was a great sulu but his role was not as revealing as i would have wished.
i found eric bana's nero indifferent. winona ryder evoked very little much-needed emotion. ben cross was a fine sarek.
and leonard nimoy is nothing short of legendary.
why i didn't like star trek : the (un)content
the movie's plot served one purpose: to reboot star trek. it was devised to transfer the original star trek universe into a new, malleable timeline. a group of people travel back in time, and change events, creating an alternate universe where everything is the same and everything is different. the characters we know intimately now have to deal with a tweaked set of circumstances -- spock has lost his home and mother, and is a hot lover. kirk has lost his father and knows how to drive. that was fine and necessary. this is an alternate star trek universe giving writers the freedom to create interesting stories unshackled by TOS events.
the value in the outstanding episodes of TOS is that they are true science fiction: they are all about exploring the human condition by creating extreme conditions to make a point. ' the city on the edge of forever' and 'a taste of armageddon', commented on war, and 'a private little war' on the vietnam war, in particular. 'let that be your last battlefield' commented on racism and 'plato's stepchildren' featured the first interracial kiss on american television. 'the mark of gideon' explored the problem of overpopulation. these episodes were not about things we don't have to really know about that happened in a galaxy far, far away -- they were about humanity's collective experience.
gene roddenberry's star trek universe was optimistic: humanity had grown out of its primitive childhood, solved the properties that enslave it and was on its way to realizing great potential for discovery and creation. some people complained that it was so optimistic, it was downright bland.
the present plot was indifferent and could have been applied to just about any space opera of today. roddenberry's vision is conspicuously missing, and it's a disservice to audiences. films can be art as they have the potential to spread messages and to inspire. the makers of star trek have made business decisions and not artistic or moral ones. their problem was how to satisfy die-hard trekkies who have derived and invested large chunks of thought with star trek while, at the same time, draw in new fans among younger people who know very little about and are, for the most part, indifferent to anything trek. i suppose that, judging by the first weekend's response, they've been successful.
still, i've been wondering if all of the references on the internet to president obama's being a vulcan express a deep need for people to again find direction and to pursue a peaceful and creative coexistence of humanity based on mutual respect and reason.
racism is not as generally prevalent, but it's there. intolerance has not disappeared... pick a group, any group. war, hate, insanity -- we still got it. i'd love it if these issues were addressed. for me, the problem is not to create a newfangled trek to draw in younger paying audiences, but to find a way to excite young people with the original humanitarian principles of star trek, the quality that i suspect was the main the reason for its spectacular success and fan loyalty.
while i had mixed thoughts and feelings while i was viewing the film, in the final scene, i experienced a swelling of emotion i didn't expect. i found myself crying like an idiot. i felt as if i had just met up again with much loved, long-lost friends.
star trek was -- and seems to still be -- a product of its times. i'm hoping that, despite our present difficulties, we'll find the strength to pull ourselves, our messages and our art, towards the original, positive, humanitarian principles that conceived it.
i want to keep loving star trek.
note: i plan to perhaps tweak or edit this post, or perhaps add thoughts at the end. i don't consider it completely finished.
i saw star trek last night. or rather… my mother, my sister, her husband, my brother, my partner, my daughter… and i saw star trek last night.
like my picture? click it!
i've been a fan of star trek all my conscious life. i've seen TOS countless times in reruns. i bought paraphernalia -- magazines, books, concordances, models and blueprints.
when you're a kid, things are imprinted deeply into your memory -- but it's always selective. for me, star trek was never mainly about the science. it also was not only about the starships, battles, aliens,languages, costumes and details. that is all extremely cool but i'm not a star trek trivia buff -- if you quiz me, i'll fail.
for me, star trek is important because:
1. it had characters so well developed, i feel i know them as close friends.
2. it projected of a humanitarian world view and social commentary and helped shape me into the person i am today.
the bad astronomer, phil plait, has a wonderful write up of the existing -- or non-existing -- science in the movie. it's a pleasure to read his comments, as well as the comments from his readers below. i read it before and after seeing the movie -- and it helped, both times. if you haven't already, go read it. it's fun and enlightening.
the special effects were exceptional. i find myself hard-pressed to imagine how they could be any better, at least in a two-dimensional screen.
the very best, and highly memorable scene in the special effects department, is, by far, the enterprise emerging from the clouds on titan, with saturn and its rings in the background. we have carolyn porco, star trek's science advisor, to thank for this imagery. it was a moment i was expecting as i knew about it beforehand, but still i gasped as i saw it, audibly, as i did several times through this film.
yes, the bridge looks like an applestore but i don't mind. i don't understand why engineering had to look like a brewery (what's with all the pipes) but again, i don't mind. TOS sets had a minimalism that was popular in the 60's, but aesthetics change and i have no qualms with the designs being in tune with the tastes of 2009.
now…
why i liked star trek: the characters and the acting
as i said, star trek's characters are my virtual childhood friends. i know them well. i know how they feel and how they react. i know their little tics and quirks. i know how their bodies stand and move and i catch the tiniest movements in facial muscles that tell me that they are who are.
star trek was not a cast of imposters. i am stunned, awed and humbled by the work these people have done. for me, it's the best part of this movie.
a lot has been written about zachary quinto's wonderful performance, and the great collaboration he had with nimoy to get to the spirit of the character. quinto did such an exceptional job, that i mostly forgot i was seeing a new spock and just thought i was seeing spock. spock.
quinto brought new elements to the character, but blended them seamlessly into this most familiar persona. i had to sometimes forcefully remind myself that it was quinto, and i was successful in doing so only because of the minor differences in facial features between quinto and nimoy.
in contrast, little has been written about chris pine's outstanding performance -- and much has been written about how only shatner can truly be kirk. i adore william shatner's work and captain kirk was very much his creation, but i don't know if people realize what an amazing work pine has done in playing kirk. maybe it's because I wasn't expecting it, but pine's rendition of kirk blew me away.
i don't think pine and shatner collaborated at all on this -- if not, pine has not only done his homework, he's completed a phd. he must have watched and rewatched and rewatched kirk's scenes -- 'arena', 'amok time', the dramatic and especially the comic moments -- everything -- because, many times, i was convinced he was shatner. no, he did not do the shatner talk but he did the shatner walk, stance, smile, smirk, and polishing-the-floor-during-a-beating. in the final scene, when he walked in and, after looking around, exclaimed 'bones!', smiled, glanced momentarily down and bounced his head from side to side, as shatner did in happy end-of-episode scenes, i gasped, loudly.
chris pine succeeded in transferring the essence of the original kirk into a character with new elements, as quinto has, seamlessly. chris pine is not shatner, but he is kirk.
pine will never read this, but: congratulations, mr. pine.
karl urban looked and sounded like mccoy. zoe saldana was a brilliant uhura -- one that both paid homage to nichelle nichols work but updated the character to our contemporary views on women. scotty was a brilliant scot but didn't have innate pride that doohan had breathed into the character. anton yelchin was a true russian, struggling over his pronunciation of B's and breaking away from the much-loved monkees' davy jones look created for walter koenig. john cho was a great sulu but his role was not as revealing as i would have wished.
i found eric bana's nero indifferent. winona ryder evoked very little much-needed emotion. ben cross was a fine sarek.
and leonard nimoy is nothing short of legendary.
why i didn't like star trek : the (un)content
the movie's plot served one purpose: to reboot star trek. it was devised to transfer the original star trek universe into a new, malleable timeline. a group of people travel back in time, and change events, creating an alternate universe where everything is the same and everything is different. the characters we know intimately now have to deal with a tweaked set of circumstances -- spock has lost his home and mother, and is a hot lover. kirk has lost his father and knows how to drive. that was fine and necessary. this is an alternate star trek universe giving writers the freedom to create interesting stories unshackled by TOS events.
the value in the outstanding episodes of TOS is that they are true science fiction: they are all about exploring the human condition by creating extreme conditions to make a point. ' the city on the edge of forever' and 'a taste of armageddon', commented on war, and 'a private little war' on the vietnam war, in particular. 'let that be your last battlefield' commented on racism and 'plato's stepchildren' featured the first interracial kiss on american television. 'the mark of gideon' explored the problem of overpopulation. these episodes were not about things we don't have to really know about that happened in a galaxy far, far away -- they were about humanity's collective experience.
gene roddenberry's star trek universe was optimistic: humanity had grown out of its primitive childhood, solved the properties that enslave it and was on its way to realizing great potential for discovery and creation. some people complained that it was so optimistic, it was downright bland.
the present plot was indifferent and could have been applied to just about any space opera of today. roddenberry's vision is conspicuously missing, and it's a disservice to audiences. films can be art as they have the potential to spread messages and to inspire. the makers of star trek have made business decisions and not artistic or moral ones. their problem was how to satisfy die-hard trekkies who have derived and invested large chunks of thought with star trek while, at the same time, draw in new fans among younger people who know very little about and are, for the most part, indifferent to anything trek. i suppose that, judging by the first weekend's response, they've been successful.
still, i've been wondering if all of the references on the internet to president obama's being a vulcan express a deep need for people to again find direction and to pursue a peaceful and creative coexistence of humanity based on mutual respect and reason.
racism is not as generally prevalent, but it's there. intolerance has not disappeared... pick a group, any group. war, hate, insanity -- we still got it. i'd love it if these issues were addressed. for me, the problem is not to create a newfangled trek to draw in younger paying audiences, but to find a way to excite young people with the original humanitarian principles of star trek, the quality that i suspect was the main the reason for its spectacular success and fan loyalty.
while i had mixed thoughts and feelings while i was viewing the film, in the final scene, i experienced a swelling of emotion i didn't expect. i found myself crying like an idiot. i felt as if i had just met up again with much loved, long-lost friends.
star trek was -- and seems to still be -- a product of its times. i'm hoping that, despite our present difficulties, we'll find the strength to pull ourselves, our messages and our art, towards the original, positive, humanitarian principles that conceived it.
i want to keep loving star trek.
note: i plan to perhaps tweak or edit this post, or perhaps add thoughts at the end. i don't consider it completely finished.
black and white
like it? click it!
'the world is black, the world is white
it turns by day and then by night
a child is black, a child is white
together they grow to see the light, to see the light'
"black and white" is a song written in 1954 by david i. arkin and earl robinson. the most successful recording of the song was the pop version by three dog night in 1972.
the top 10 greatest mysteries...
....as compiled by livescience
10. what drives evolution?
9: what happens inside an earthquake?
8: who are you?
7: how did life arise on earth?
6: how does the brain work?
5: where is the rest of the universe?
4: what causes gravity?
3: is there a theory of everything?
2: does alien life exist?
1: how did the universe begin?
humans want to know. for me, no made-up answer will do.
10. what drives evolution?
9: what happens inside an earthquake?
8: who are you?
7: how did life arise on earth?
6: how does the brain work?
5: where is the rest of the universe?
4: what causes gravity?
3: is there a theory of everything?
2: does alien life exist?
1: how did the universe begin?
humans want to know. for me, no made-up answer will do.
ni ai wo ma?
like it? click it!
the university of hard knocks saved me from the trappings of consumerism. now, when i go shopping, i come home with more images and less crap.
spiral-tuality xxxiv
click pic to source on its flickr page
i found this image on flickr and just had to ask encouragement if i could add it to my spiral-tuality series. lucky for us, he said, yes!
if you love looking up at the sky, check out his wonderful photostream!
'collision' sneak peek
video description:
'a preacher and an atheist walk into a bar...
preview of the first 13 minutes of the forthcoming documentary "collision". the film follows renowned author and anti-theist christopher hitchens and pastor douglas wilson as they debate the topic: "is christianity good for the world?". a darren doane film.'
'a preacher and an atheist walk into a bar...
preview of the first 13 minutes of the forthcoming documentary "collision". the film follows renowned author and anti-theist christopher hitchens and pastor douglas wilson as they debate the topic: "is christianity good for the world?". a darren doane film.'
collision - 13 min vimeo exclusive sneak peak from collision movie on vimeo.
carolyn porco and star trek
obviously i'm looking forward (with slight wariness) to seeing star trek on saturday.
i have a myriad of reasons to be curious about this film, but one of the important ones is that one of my favorite scientists, carolyn porco, is star trek's science advisor, which guarantees some riveting scenes.
get that? carolyn porco meets star trek!
her latest installment on the captain's log, gene roddenberry meets george lucas, points to exactly that effect...
'and don't be surprised to find a scene or two in this film informed by the dazzling saturnian sights we have come to know so well. this is one movie cassini fans won't want to miss!'
yes, carolyn, i don't want to miss it!
carolyn is, of course, on the credit roll at the end of the film, but i have inside information that 'science consultant' is listed after 'romulan and klingon language consultant'.
they sure know their priorities.
blinded
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'mama always told me not to look into the eyes of the sun
but mama, that's where the fun is...'
alexander, chiaroscuro
like it? click it!
i have a secret passion for portraiture... and it's the type of photography that's the most intimidating for me.
i want the subject to feel that the image expresses his/her sense of self, and i want it to be emotionally moving for the viewer. i want it to be technically skillful and aesthetically pleasing.
i don't want to be a pain for the
and i really don't know enough about portraits.
three currently favorite photographers who do amazing portraits (among other work) -- on flickr -- are betie bet (recent example, the thinker), L.J. (recent example, (untitled)), and sunmamma (recent example, I will always remember the day the sun shone dark on your hair & I forgot where we were & kissed you lightly on the nose & suddenly there was no more secret.).
alexander was willing to humor me. as we sat down to lunch with friends several days ago, with no preparation and with intense light on one side and darkness to his right, i gave it a go.
alex is good-looking and confirmation of the fact is welcome. besides that, tell me what you think of the picture... constructively? (she asks nervously).
obama is spock
on salon, jeff greenwald says obama is spock.
there are many similar comparisons on the internet, but two points in this article especially made an impression on me.
first, this expresses my thoughts:
'"i am a first-generation 'star trek' fan, and i've long argued that many of my deepest political convictions emerged from my experience of watching the program as a young man growing up in atlanta during the civil rights era," declares henry jenkins, co-director of the mit comparative media studies program and author of "convergence culture." "in many ways, my commitment to social justice was shaped in reality by martin luther king and in fantasy by 'star trek.'”'
and secondly, this was pretty funny:
'"about a year and a half ago, i was at a political event," nimoy recalled. "one of our current campaigners for the office of president of the united states saw me -- and as he approached, he gave me the vulcan hand signal." you can practically hear nimoy's eyebrow raise. "it was not john mccain."'
you must read it all.
there are many similar comparisons on the internet, but two points in this article especially made an impression on me.
first, this expresses my thoughts:
'"i am a first-generation 'star trek' fan, and i've long argued that many of my deepest political convictions emerged from my experience of watching the program as a young man growing up in atlanta during the civil rights era," declares henry jenkins, co-director of the mit comparative media studies program and author of "convergence culture." "in many ways, my commitment to social justice was shaped in reality by martin luther king and in fantasy by 'star trek.'”'
and secondly, this was pretty funny:
'"about a year and a half ago, i was at a political event," nimoy recalled. "one of our current campaigners for the office of president of the united states saw me -- and as he approached, he gave me the vulcan hand signal." you can practically hear nimoy's eyebrow raise. "it was not john mccain."'
you must read it all.
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