Greetings from the Middle East
My Mom and Dad are on a trip in the Middle East (where we spent many of the years of my childhood):
Greetings from Jerusalem… wanted to send you word that we are having an unbelievably wonderful time in the Middle East.
We are seeing signs of the tension here… ALL interesting, will tell you more later. Syria was incredible. Our days have been full of sights and sounds of the ME… keep wishing you were here to experience it. The swirl of life is intense and always full of person to person interactions that are welcoming and important. Seems we have made an impression with our own spirit of willingness to interact… people have responded with such kindness and generosity.
Food is incredible. Swam in the Dead Sea today and saw the Qumran ruins and community structures…
Could go on and on. Love you all.
Wish I was there.
another novel
Or a subplot in the last one:
Jamie Paulin-Ramirez was a straight-A nursing student when she abruptly left Colorado last fall with her 6-year-old son and turned up in Ireland, where her parents say she was arrested this week in an alleged plot to assassinate a Swedish cartoonist.
Yukio Ota’s exit sign
Fans of Ota’s running man point to two key advantages: It’s a pictogram, and it’s green.
And plenty more on international vs. American signage.
Jihad Jane
There is a novel in the details of this as well.
Colleen LaRose spent long days caring for her boyfriend’s father in a second-floor apartment in Pennsburg, a small town north of Philadelphia.
But online, federal authorities say, the devoted caretaker developed a daring alter ego, refashioning herself as “Jihad Jane” while helping recruit and finance Muslim terrorists — and eventually moving overseas to try to kill an artist she perceived as an enemy to Islam.
quote out of context
When I… see the homeless, like, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, they’re pulling out, like, crazy looks and they, like, pull shit out of like garbage cans.
(via marginal revolution)
photo out of context
(via marginal revolution)
the traffic women of North Korea
Their uniforms, it is said, were designed by Kim Jong II. They rotate only counter-clockwise.
from the comments
Walt:
Having Nickelback perform at the Closing Ceremony may be the closest thing we Canadians ever get to knowing how you Americans felt being represented by Bush.
Olympic Artists
There was once such a thing:
The dream of uniting sport and art, as they were once paired in the original Greek Olympiads, was in fact central to the mission of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the godfather of the Games. The goal was “to reunite in the bonds of legitimate wedlock a long-divorced couple — Muscle and Mind,” the baron loftily announced to an organizing committee in an early attempt to get the idea off the ground. But while the first athletic competitions got under way in Athens in 1896, it was not until the Stockholm Games in 1912 that medals would be given for architecture, sculpture, painting, music and literature.
So I think that this
is kind of a big deal.
quote out of context
‘Yes, we drank vodka,’ he would reply. And here is a toast we had: To Roosevelt, To Stalin, To Studebaker!’
photo out of context
Mossad identity theft?
The Tom Clancy-esque assassination of a Hamas commander presumably by Mossad (the Israeli intelligence agency) in Dubai recently caused some Israeli citizens to be concerned about identity theft.
At least seven people who live in Israel share names with suspects identified by Dubai police. One, a British-Israeli citizen named Melvyn Adam Mildiner, said the passport photo on the Dubai wanted flier was not him but the passport number was correct. He also denied having been to Dubai.
Another of the seven, Stephen Hodes, denied any link to the case in an interview with Israel Radio and said he, too, had never visited Dubai.
“I’m shocked. I don’t know how they got to me. Those aren’t my photographs, of course,” Hodes said. “I don’t know how they got to my details, who took them. …. I’m simply afraid. These are powerful forces.”
While we’re at it, I’ll post the picture again. It feels less Tom Clancy to me and more Wes Anderson.
this just in
Egypt’s famed King Tutankhamun suffered from a cleft palate and club foot, likely forcing him to walk with a cane, and died from complications from a broken leg exacerbated by malaria, according to the most extensive study ever of his more than 3,300-year-old mummy.
the rare earth crisis of 2009
China is the only country capable at the moment of mining and processing the rare earth elements used in dozens of emerging technologies. With China’s increase in consumption, however, manufacturers around the world are concerned China may limit or halt the export of such materials.
Europium: This extremely rare but critical chemical makes the red color for television monitors and energy-efficient LED light bulbs. China is the only country today that produces europium, dysprosium and terbium, which are necessary for either boosting the efficient operating temperature of magnets or for producing red in color displays. In December, USGS scientists discovered Alaskan deposits of europium, but even the few U.S. companies that mine rare earth elements must send the resources to China for processing.
Lanthanum: A primary component of the nickel-metal hydride battery in Toyota’s popular hybrid car, Prius. The Prius also incorporates neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium. Lifton estimates that Toyota may use as much as 7,500 tons of lanthanum and 1,000 tons of neodymium per year to build its Prius cars. That dependence on rare earth elements has prompted the company to search for alternative sources outside China.
Neodymium: This represents a main component of the permanent magnets at the heart of the most efficient wind turbines. China’s own wind production efforts could consume all the available neodymium production and leave nothing for the rest of the world’s booming wind industry, Lifton notes in a recent report titled “The Rare Earth Crisis of 2009.” Neodymium is also used in the glass of incandescent light bulbs produced by General Electric, which has unsurprisingly invested in both Chinese and alternative sources of rare earth elements.
Authorities also released photos of the 11
Dubai’s police chief said Monday an 11-member hit squad carrying European passports and disguised in wigs, fake beards and tennis clothes was behind the mysterious killing of a Hamas commander in his hotel room last month.
this unique 18-minute genre has its own requirements
From a Wired article on how to ace a TED Talk:
“I’m surprised to see that half the people here know my career in some detail and the other half don’t know who I am,” he says.
Science is fine, but not when it messes with our illusions.
If she had included solar power and African child warriors, it would have been so perfect a TED talk that there would have been no need for others.
Wolfram wraps his talk by saying that when it comes to trying to boil down the universe to a simple algorithm, “it’s almost embarrassing not to at least try.”
“Just because someone has an ego,” he says, citing a writer whose name I can’t read from my scribbled notes, “doesn’t mean he’s wrong.”
the newly discovered Sundaland clouded leopard
“Despite our powerful spot lights and the roar of our vehicle’s engine, it walked around our vehicle calmly,” he told AFP.
Flames, a heroic person, a low angle so it sort of thins out my face
Sky
Sky from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.
Read more about the project HERE.
The McItaly
Italy’s agricultural minister has endorsed — and faces criticism for endorsing — a McItaly burger made with Italian beef, Asiago cheese and artichoke spread.
On the McItaly’s promotional material is a seal saying “Under the patronage of” the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry — a highly coveted government endorsement that is more often seen on museum exhibits and cultural initiatives than fast-food containers.
Fidler’s castle
A UK man who secretly built a castle by hiding it with bales of hay has been ordered to tear it down.
To keep prying eyes from noticing his unauthorized abode, Fidler placed bales of hay and tarpaulin around his dream home in Salfords, Surrey, authorities said. The court ruled he could not benefit from his deception.
Authorities said he incorporated two grain silos into the design, covering them with material to give them a castellated appearance.
Seoul’s floating islands
Along with two other artificial islets, Vista and Tera, to be launched by the end of April, the cluster of man-made floating islets will be used for conventions, water sports, restaurants, performances and exhibitions.
Trailer for El Topo (Alejandro Jodorowsky. 1970)
The strangest movie I’d recommend?
Allen Klein presents an ABKCO Film.
Neanderthal Teeth
Three Neanderthal teeth, as well as knives and animal bones, have been found in a cave in Poland, leading to speculation that the site may be a Neanderthal burial ground.
“No one ceremoniously buries one human tooth,” said Schwartz, who was not involved in the research, but reviewed an early version of the paper.