thanks for the "small world" stories shared in the comments of the little boxes post! they reminded me of another little ditty with just as much intrigue... particle man, by they might be giants! it's also a fantastic stand-by karaoke song. here's the video version from the tiny toons animated series.
Particle Man
Particle man, particle man
Doing the things a particle can
What's he like? It's not important
Particle man
Is he a dot, or is he a speck?
When he's underwater does he get wet?
Or does the water get him instead?
Nobody knows, Particle man
Triangle man, Triangle man
Triangle man hates particle man
They have a fight, Triangle wins
Triangle man
Universe man, Universe man
Size of the entire universe man
Usually kind to smaller man
Universe man
He's got a watch with a minute hand,
Millenium hand and an eon hand
When they meet it's a happy land
Powerful man, universe man
Person man, person man
Hit on the head with a frying pan
Lives his life in a garbage can
Person man
Is he depressed or is he a mess?
Does he feel totally worthless?
Who came up with person man?
Degraded man, person man
Triangle man, triangle man
Triangle man hates person man
They have a fight, triangle wins
Triangle man
and here they are at TED: ideas worth sharing.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
presidential shudders
i'm so disappointed that there are multiple pictures of the current president of the united states that make me so uncomfortable, i shudder. this occured at the olympics this week.
i know photographers try to snap photos at moments of blunder, but...
he also attempted to give the german chancellor, merkel, a backrub at the G8 summit in 2006, which resulted in these shots:
shudder.
by the way, did you hear the one where the US president left the G8 summit meeting by saying "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter!" ?
yeah, that really happened. in poor taste, mr. president.
i know photographers try to snap photos at moments of blunder, but...
he also attempted to give the german chancellor, merkel, a backrub at the G8 summit in 2006, which resulted in these shots:
shudder.
by the way, did you hear the one where the US president left the G8 summit meeting by saying "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter!" ?
yeah, that really happened. in poor taste, mr. president.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
little boxes all the same
i've liked this song for a long time!! little boxes, written by malvina reynolds, here performed by pete seeger:
LYRICS:
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes made of ticky tacky
Little boxes, little boxes
Little boxes all the same
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same
And the people in the houses all went to the university
Where they all were put in boxes, little boxes all the same
And there's doctors and there's lawyers and business executives
And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same
And they all play on the golf course and drink their martini dry
And they all have pretty children and the children go to school
And the children go to summer camp and then to the university
Where they all got put in boxes, and they all came out the same
And the boys go into business and marry and raise a family
In boxes, little boxes, little boxes all the same
There's a green one, and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same
LYRICS:
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes made of ticky tacky
Little boxes, little boxes
Little boxes all the same
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same
And the people in the houses all went to the university
Where they all were put in boxes, little boxes all the same
And there's doctors and there's lawyers and business executives
And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same
And they all play on the golf course and drink their martini dry
And they all have pretty children and the children go to school
And the children go to summer camp and then to the university
Where they all got put in boxes, and they all came out the same
And the boys go into business and marry and raise a family
In boxes, little boxes, little boxes all the same
There's a green one, and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same
beijing 2008 olympic grounds in google earth 3D
welcome to the 2008 olympic games!
the universe today has a great post relating how various materials developed for space science are now being used in the 2008 olympics, by both athletes and organizers!
here's a video showing the olympic buildings from google earth 3D, showing where the buildings are around beijing.
the medals awarded this year to the winning athletes by the chinese, are unique in that they are all embedded with jade!
here's an image from interesting photo essay describing how the 2008 olympic medals are made:
i also like the pictographs for the 2008 beijing olympics. the theme of "the beauty of the seal" from the chine central academy of fine arts, was selected the winner of the competition to design the seals. the symbols are based on "the strokes used for seals, which were widely used in inscriptions on bones and bronze vessels in ancient China some 3,000 years ago."
have fun athletes!
the universe today has a great post relating how various materials developed for space science are now being used in the 2008 olympics, by both athletes and organizers!
here's a video showing the olympic buildings from google earth 3D, showing where the buildings are around beijing.
the medals awarded this year to the winning athletes by the chinese, are unique in that they are all embedded with jade!
here's an image from interesting photo essay describing how the 2008 olympic medals are made:
i also like the pictographs for the 2008 beijing olympics. the theme of "the beauty of the seal" from the chine central academy of fine arts, was selected the winner of the competition to design the seals. the symbols are based on "the strokes used for seals, which were widely used in inscriptions on bones and bronze vessels in ancient China some 3,000 years ago."
have fun athletes!
Friday, August 8, 2008
resident alien
i just took a test called how british are you, created by rewboss. well, i got about 3 out of 13... maybe 4. care to guess which ones? i'll try this out again in several months and see if some of them make any more sense!
slow motion lightning
this is awesome. i've never seen lightning like this... i've only imagined! anyone know more about who took the video?
found at buzzfeed
found at buzzfeed
solar eclipse 2008 photo
this great image from catalin beldea at astro foto, combines two shots of the total solar eclipse last week: one from the very beginning and one from the very end. also, check out the homepage of astrofoto.com. i really enjoy the photo collage!
found on APOD yesterday.
found on APOD yesterday.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
night sky august 2008
this month provides many nice planetary alignments and the perseids meteor shower: usually the best of the year!
five planets will be visible with the naked eye this month: mercury, venus, mars, jupiter, and saturn!! starting on august 11th, we'll be able to see mercury, venus, and saturn approaching each other low on the western horizon. they'll be challenging to see since they are settling early with the sun, but all the planets are bright so they should be spottable... venus will be the brightest at magnitude -3.9, the mercury at -0.6 and saturn will be the faintest of the three at 0.8. mars hangs above the trio and jupiter shines brightly in the southern sky (see full night sky maps here).
august 13th provides a closeness between venus and saturn of less than a degree in the sky. if you hold out your arm at full length, your pointing index finger (one degree across) will easily block both planets! also on this night, the bright planet jupiter in the south will be 3 degrees north of the moon!
on august 16th, there will be a partial lunar eclipse visible from much of the world, best in africa and europe. since we just saw such a brilliant total solar eclipse due to the tight alignment of the sun, the moon, and the earth as the moon passed between the larger orbs, it's not surprising that the three are still aligned so tightly as the moon swings around the opposite side of the earth and passes thru our shadow!
after mid-august, saturn sinks in the sky each night, while mercury and venus rise higher. venus will shine brightly after sunset for the rest of the year, returning to its status as the "evening star." on august 20th, mercury and venus will be less than a degree apart, and both very bright!
the perseids meteor shower occurs between august 11-13th this year, peaking before dawn on august 12th for north american viewers. look below the sideways "W" of cassiopeia in the northeast to find the direction from which all the meteors will be shooting across the sky: the radiant. in reality, if you stand outside under the dark sky for a little while, you'll most likely see one bright streak or more overhead per minute after the gibbous moon sets at 1:30 am EDT.
enjoy!!
five planets will be visible with the naked eye this month: mercury, venus, mars, jupiter, and saturn!! starting on august 11th, we'll be able to see mercury, venus, and saturn approaching each other low on the western horizon. they'll be challenging to see since they are settling early with the sun, but all the planets are bright so they should be spottable... venus will be the brightest at magnitude -3.9, the mercury at -0.6 and saturn will be the faintest of the three at 0.8. mars hangs above the trio and jupiter shines brightly in the southern sky (see full night sky maps here).
august 13th provides a closeness between venus and saturn of less than a degree in the sky. if you hold out your arm at full length, your pointing index finger (one degree across) will easily block both planets! also on this night, the bright planet jupiter in the south will be 3 degrees north of the moon!
on august 16th, there will be a partial lunar eclipse visible from much of the world, best in africa and europe. since we just saw such a brilliant total solar eclipse due to the tight alignment of the sun, the moon, and the earth as the moon passed between the larger orbs, it's not surprising that the three are still aligned so tightly as the moon swings around the opposite side of the earth and passes thru our shadow!
after mid-august, saturn sinks in the sky each night, while mercury and venus rise higher. venus will shine brightly after sunset for the rest of the year, returning to its status as the "evening star." on august 20th, mercury and venus will be less than a degree apart, and both very bright!
the perseids meteor shower occurs between august 11-13th this year, peaking before dawn on august 12th for north american viewers. look below the sideways "W" of cassiopeia in the northeast to find the direction from which all the meteors will be shooting across the sky: the radiant. in reality, if you stand outside under the dark sky for a little while, you'll most likely see one bright streak or more overhead per minute after the gibbous moon sets at 1:30 am EDT.
enjoy!!
mathematician joke
Monday, August 4, 2008
herb identification
...it's not as easy as it smells.
how many different types can you identify in this bunch?
how many different types can you identify in this bunch?
nina simone
sing like it is, lady - with your perfect style!
and in honor of ms. simone, here's a cover of her classic, be my husband, by my brightest diamond.
and in honor of ms. simone, here's a cover of her classic, be my husband, by my brightest diamond.
london bananas
have you noticed as many banana peels in london as the founder of london bananas has? if so, send pictures so we can all enjoy this strange phenomenon!
i hope to soon contribute to this unusual project ;)
i hope to soon contribute to this unusual project ;)
total solar eclipse from a plane!
share the enjoyment of these folks that viewed last friday's total solar eclipse from a plane over the canadian arctic at 27,000 ft above the earth's surface!
found at live leak via neatorama
found at live leak via neatorama
Saturday, August 2, 2008
what they did conversation
this is a useful bit of strategic insight from ill doctrine video blogger, jay smooth. in three minutes he enlightens us on the crucial difference between having the “what they did conversation” and the “what they are conversation.”
carnival of space - #65
this week's carnival of space is up at 21st century waves! enjoy the space writing of the blogiverse!
Friday, August 1, 2008
she's leaving home. bye, bye.
after a month-long stay in ohio, i'm leaving today! it has been wonderful to spend so much time with my family and old friends. i'm amazed that this emotionally challenging visit leaves me feeling rejuvenated as well! thank you family for welcoming me so warmly and sending me off so well!
i also wanted to thank all the readers of this blog for sharing your enthusiasm and giving me such interesting feedback! i really enjoy talking about science, astronomy, life, the universe, and everything, and it's fantastic when people respond to what i'm throwing out into the vast blogiverse!
my adventures continue with a weekend trip to baltimore, a long stop in charlotte, and then a finale stopover in austin, before heading east...
here are a couple energetic versions of my favorite cat stevens songs to enjoy as i continue my journey.
as a side note: when i play/sing "the wind" (the first song), i change the line "where i'll end up only god really knows," to "where i'll end up, only time really knows." it suits me better.
i also wanted to thank all the readers of this blog for sharing your enthusiasm and giving me such interesting feedback! i really enjoy talking about science, astronomy, life, the universe, and everything, and it's fantastic when people respond to what i'm throwing out into the vast blogiverse!
my adventures continue with a weekend trip to baltimore, a long stop in charlotte, and then a finale stopover in austin, before heading east...
here are a couple energetic versions of my favorite cat stevens songs to enjoy as i continue my journey.
as a side note: when i play/sing "the wind" (the first song), i change the line "where i'll end up only god really knows," to "where i'll end up, only time really knows." it suits me better.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
quicksand jesus
just a couple highway exits north of where i grew up in ohio, you'll find this recently-built 60 foot statue right next to the interstate:
the names i've heard for this... tribute (?)... include:
touch down jesus
king of kings
big J.
drowning jesus
"high five"-ing the lord, jesus
worlds largest christ (W.L. christ)
quicksand jesus (as my little sister calls him)
and finally, big butter jesus...
as described in this hilarious song by comedian heywood banks:
don't forget to "spread" the word!
the names i've heard for this... tribute (?)... include:
touch down jesus
king of kings
big J.
drowning jesus
"high five"-ing the lord, jesus
worlds largest christ (W.L. christ)
quicksand jesus (as my little sister calls him)
and finally, big butter jesus...
as described in this hilarious song by comedian heywood banks:
don't forget to "spread" the word!
scenes of ohio
yellow springs...
(more knit grafitti here and here.)
cincinnati...
(quicksand jesus)
cleveland...
(rock and roll hall of fame)
(more knit grafitti here and here.)
cincinnati...
(quicksand jesus)
cleveland...
(rock and roll hall of fame)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
partial solar eclipse: august 1, 2008
while millions of people will get to see the total solar eclipse this friday, billions of people will get to experience a partial solar eclipse at the same time! larry koehn at shadows and substance has a fantastic series of animations to show the level of partiality seen from various places around the globe: go check them out: here!!!!
total solar eclipse: august 1, 2008
this friday, august 1st, 2008, us earthlings will be treated to one of my favorite solar system shows: a total solar eclipse! lucky viewers in parts of canada, northern greenland, the arctic, central russia, mongolia and china will see this memorable event firsthand. the rest of us can sit comfortably in our jealousy as we watch the solar eclipse in real time, on NASA tv!! the peak is at 7:09 EDT, but tune in earlier to see the buildup to the event!
above is an image from the eclipse of oct. 24, 1995, taken in dundlod, india by NASA's fred espenak (aka mr. eclipse). below is an image of the shadow of the moon on earth as seen by the international space station 230 miles above earth's surface, during a solar eclipse in 2006!
many people have commented to me over the years about the suspicious fact that we experience eclipses on the surface of the earth, implying there is some other significance to the alignment of our moon, the earth, and sun.
eclipses occur because the sun and the moon have the same angular size in our sky, even thought their physical sizes and distances from us differ greatly. the angular size of an object is how big it appears to be when we view it, which is dependent on the physical size of he object and its distance to us. a tall tree 10 meters away appears way taller than it does when we are standing 100 meters away from it.... but the tree is physically the same height! the phenomenon encompassed by the expression "angular size" is why cool tricks like "crush your head" work!
when the moon passes right in front of the sun from earth's point of view, the moon blocks the sun because the two have the same angular size! we call this a solar eclipse. for me, the purely coincidental accident for the object orbiting around us to have the same angular size in the sky as the object that we are orbiting around... is so soo fascinating and beautiful and simple, that its existence alone satisfies my cosmic curiosity without having to attach some other mysterious significance to the event. i appreciate it for what it is and try not to attach a more complicated and frivolous meaning that, in my opinion, distracts from its original beauty.
sometimes the simplicity of acknowledging how things physically came to exist is more fascinating and satisfying than attempting to create and apply a synthetic significance to them.
enjoy the solar eclipse!!
above is an image from the eclipse of oct. 24, 1995, taken in dundlod, india by NASA's fred espenak (aka mr. eclipse). below is an image of the shadow of the moon on earth as seen by the international space station 230 miles above earth's surface, during a solar eclipse in 2006!
many people have commented to me over the years about the suspicious fact that we experience eclipses on the surface of the earth, implying there is some other significance to the alignment of our moon, the earth, and sun.
eclipses occur because the sun and the moon have the same angular size in our sky, even thought their physical sizes and distances from us differ greatly. the angular size of an object is how big it appears to be when we view it, which is dependent on the physical size of he object and its distance to us. a tall tree 10 meters away appears way taller than it does when we are standing 100 meters away from it.... but the tree is physically the same height! the phenomenon encompassed by the expression "angular size" is why cool tricks like "crush your head" work!
when the moon passes right in front of the sun from earth's point of view, the moon blocks the sun because the two have the same angular size! we call this a solar eclipse. for me, the purely coincidental accident for the object orbiting around us to have the same angular size in the sky as the object that we are orbiting around... is so soo fascinating and beautiful and simple, that its existence alone satisfies my cosmic curiosity without having to attach some other mysterious significance to the event. i appreciate it for what it is and try not to attach a more complicated and frivolous meaning that, in my opinion, distracts from its original beauty.
sometimes the simplicity of acknowledging how things physically came to exist is more fascinating and satisfying than attempting to create and apply a synthetic significance to them.
enjoy the solar eclipse!!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
binbrook milky way image
here's a nice scenic night in binbrook, from Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn's astrophotography collection at weather and sky photography.
she took a series of images then digitally added them together to create the detailed milky way image across the sky and the delicate reflection of both stars and the galaxy in the lake. the bright object toward the left is the planet jupiter. you can also see the orange glow of a town on the horizon.
she took a series of images then digitally added them together to create the detailed milky way image across the sky and the delicate reflection of both stars and the galaxy in the lake. the bright object toward the left is the planet jupiter. you can also see the orange glow of a town on the horizon.
NASA and google
this morning google reminded me that today is NASA's birthday!
the last 50 years of space science at NASA have truly changed our fundamental ways of thinking about our universe. no organization can always be perfect, but i think NASA has provided exceptional insight into our universe, not to mention introducing an incredibly iconic logo into our daily lives. happy future explorations NASA!
the last 50 years of space science at NASA have truly changed our fundamental ways of thinking about our universe. no organization can always be perfect, but i think NASA has provided exceptional insight into our universe, not to mention introducing an incredibly iconic logo into our daily lives. happy future explorations NASA!
astropixie on the radio!
last week, i was interviewed for a radio show on WAIF 88.3 in cincinnati. the interview went really well (i thought) and i had tons of fun! a blog reader was kind enough to record the show and send me a copy and here's my attempt to post it for all to hear!
i havent had a chance to listen to the whole thing yet, but i dont remember saying anything terribly incorrect! i think at one point i talked about the sun becoming a black hole if it were all smashed down into a small volume of less than 3 km in radius (the schwarzschild radius for the sun). i may have quoted the units wrong there, but i meant 3 km! ;)
if the interview is not embedded above, then click HERE for the mp3 file. if anyone has better audio embedding options, let me know! thanks steveJ and davin!
i havent had a chance to listen to the whole thing yet, but i dont remember saying anything terribly incorrect! i think at one point i talked about the sun becoming a black hole if it were all smashed down into a small volume of less than 3 km in radius (the schwarzschild radius for the sun). i may have quoted the units wrong there, but i meant 3 km! ;)
if the interview is not embedded above, then click HERE for the mp3 file. if anyone has better audio embedding options, let me know! thanks steveJ and davin!
Monday, July 28, 2008
another of murphy's laws
... according to murpheys-laws.com:
An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less until he knows absolutely everything about nothing.
An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less until he knows absolutely everything about nothing.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
visualizing music: claire de lune
here's a cool visualization of one of the most wonderful songs ever written: claire de lune from claude debussy's suite bergamasque. while it's a mesmerizing accompaniment to the beautiful music, somehow it doesnt represent what i intuitively feel when playing the piece. i find that the visuals are upside-down, because i experience the high pitched keys to be on the right, which should be on the bottom of the screen. but i imagine it might be awkward for the lowest of the horizontal lines to represent the highest notes. anyway... enjoy!
created by stephen malinowski using the music animation machine
created by myself
created by stephen malinowski using the music animation machine
created by myself
Friday, July 25, 2008
carnival of space #64
the beatles fan at music of the spheres is celebrating the fact that the carnival of space is turning 64 this week... by hosting! there are some great astonomy articles over there if you're looking for a little reading.
young me - now me
ze frank introduced a fun contest called youngme - nowme. i picked out a picture to recreate a while ago, but was a little busy and then i forgot to stage the photoshoot when my sister came to town! but today.... we finally did it!
here's cori's collection!
i highly recommend trying out this project... it's fun!! or you can check out the official winners of the youngme - nowme contest.
here's cori's collection!
i highly recommend trying out this project... it's fun!! or you can check out the official winners of the youngme - nowme contest.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
cincinnati radio show!
my trip to UC last week was very nice. they kindly took me to an indian restaurant for lunch and then i sat in a room with the astronomy undergraduate students and talked about their research projects until the time came to give my talk. it's neat to see so many undergrad students interested in astronomy at UC: when i was there, i was the only one! here's a picture from way back then...
the talk went well i thought. i received a lot of questions from the physicists who have more recently become interested in astronomy. i tried to skip some of the details of methodology i use to derive quantities, like morphologies of galaxies, but of course attentive listeners jump right on what you don't tell them and ask anyway!
after the talk, one of the newer astronomy students, davin, mentioned to me that he's read this blog before! i was surprised and flattered and even more excited to find out that he hosts a science-y radio show on a local station - WAIF 88.3! i gladly accepted his invitation to do an hour interview this wednesday from 1-2pm EST, so tune in if you have the time and interest!
the talk went well i thought. i received a lot of questions from the physicists who have more recently become interested in astronomy. i tried to skip some of the details of methodology i use to derive quantities, like morphologies of galaxies, but of course attentive listeners jump right on what you don't tell them and ask anyway!
after the talk, one of the newer astronomy students, davin, mentioned to me that he's read this blog before! i was surprised and flattered and even more excited to find out that he hosts a science-y radio show on a local station - WAIF 88.3! i gladly accepted his invitation to do an hour interview this wednesday from 1-2pm EST, so tune in if you have the time and interest!
Monday, July 21, 2008
cycle the grass away!
exercise, a nice yard, and no ridiculously loud or wasteful motor.... brilliance!
unfortunately, the creator is unknown :(
unfortunately, the creator is unknown :(
Saturday, July 19, 2008
simon's cat
as a cat person, i find this hilarious! i imagine it's pretty funny for non-cat people as well! meet simon's cat, created by tandem films:
Thursday, July 17, 2008
periodic table - sodium
theres a brand new video series about each element in the periodic table up on youtube! the folks creating these entertaining and informative tidbits are located at my future academic affiliation: the university of nottingham!!
my favorite video so far is about sodium...
one guy in the science team can certainly be inducted into the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists!
my favorite video so far is about sodium...
one guy in the science team can certainly be inducted into the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists!
jupiter by the moon - july 2008
here are a couple pictures of bright jupiter next to the moon tonight from my mom's porch in ohio!
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