miscellaneous badassery
Not only does the engine run off of methane, which is abundant in all kinds of interesting destinations like like Saturn’s moon Titan, but it looks freaking awesome. Check the full res version for the full effect.
ARTICLE/VIDEO [press release, more info, full res video] (NASA)
At first glance, the manuscript appears to be a medieval Christian prayer book.
But on the same pages as the prayers, experts using a high-tech imaging system have discovered commentary likely written in the third century A.D. on a work written around 350 B.C. by the Greek philosopher Aristotle.
The discovery is the third ancient text to emerge from the layers of writing on the much reused pages. In 2002 researchers had uncovered writings by the mathematician Archimedes and the fourth-century B.C. politician Hyperides.
Last year one of the pages was found to contain a famous work by Archimedes about buoyancy that had previously been known only from an incomplete Latin translation.
Project director William Noel, curator of manuscripts at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, called the latest discovery a “sensational find.”
LINK/IMAGES [website: more info & image bank]
ARTICLE ["New Layer of Ancient Greek Writings (...)] (National Geographic)
Proposed for construction in Shanghai to coincide w/ the 2010 World Expo. The Chinese character 人 (romanized “ren”) means person or people.
The first building, emerging from the water, is devoted to the activities of the body, and houses the sports and water culture center. The second building emerging from land, is devoted to the spirit and enlightenment, and houses the conference center and meeting facilities. The two buildings meet in a 1000 room hotel, a building for living.
The design comes from the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) in Copenhagen. Previous World Expo architecture includes the Eiffel Tower and Seattle’s Space Needle.
LINK/IMAGES/VIDEO [a few more pics and a nice overview video] (Inhabitat)
LINK/IMAGES [World Expo architecture]
Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille comes out June 29th. In the meantime you can catch two 9-minute clips from the movie at Disney’s website. These may not be available for long so check them out before they’re gone.
LINK/VIDEO [Disney's home page w/ previews]
LINK [Ratatouille website]
VIDEOS [trailers] (Apple)
This slipped by me unnoticed until today. Mstislav Rostropovich, former director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC and virtuoso cellist died last Friday morning in Moscow, the city he considered home. Included in this post is a recording of him playing Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in C with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.
ARTICLE [(...) Mstislav Rostropovich Dies (...)"] (Washington Post)
LINK [Google News search for "rostropovich dies"]
ARTICLE [Mstislav Rostropovich] (Wikipedia)
AUDIO [Rostropovich - Haydn Cello Concerto No. 1 in C, Mvt. I]
AUDIO [Rostropovich - Haydn Cello Concerto No. 1 in C, Mvt. II]
AUDIO [Rostropovich - Haydn Cello Concerto No. 1 in C, Mvt. III]
Update: Encore: Bach’s Suite No. 2 for Cello in D Minor — a piece he’s better known for and something more demonstrative of his skill. Podcast updated.
AUDIO [Rostropovich - Bach Suite No. 2 For Cello Solo In D Minor, Mvt. I]
AUDIO [Rostropovich - Bach Suite No. 2 For Cello Solo In D Minor, Mvt. II]
AUDIO [Rostropovich - Bach Suite No. 2 For Cello Solo In D Minor, Mvt. III]
AUDIO [Rostropovich - Bach Suite No. 2 For Cello Solo In D Minor, Mvt. IV]
AUDIO [Rostropovich - Bach Suite No. 2 For Cello Solo In D Minor, Mvt. V]
AUDIO [Rostropovich - Bach Suite No. 2 For Cello Solo In D Minor, Mvt. VI]
9 Beet [sic] Stretch is Ludwig van Beethoven’s 9th symphony stretched to 24 hours, with no pitch distortions.
It’s broadcasting 24/7 as a streaming webcast, and will be released to DVD later this year. A classic Beethoven symphony takes on the ethereal dissonant properties of something reminiscent to a Philip Glass composition — I’ve been listening to it now for a couple hours. See the website for more info, including photos of public spaces where the work has been exhibited.
AUDIO [24/7 webcast] (via Raudio)
AUDIO [10-minute excerpt MP3]
LINK/AUDIO/IMAGES [official website]
I was at MerleFest this weekend listening to Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Alison Kraus, etc.
When it got dark someone started selling these glowing juggling balls with an RGB LED inside that quickly strobed through all three colors, creating the illusion of constant white light. The effect of this was when you moved or tossed the ball around the white light’s persistence deteriorated, creating a cool rainbow ghosting trail. Maybe these are common in different circles but they are completely new to me.
Check the videos for a better idea of what I’m talking about. You can buy them from the same guy I bought them from at his company’s website: $14 for a set of three.
VIDEO [my ball @ MerleFest]
VIDEO [someone juggling three]
BUY [Jolly Lama Creations]
While still in pre-production, the KeyPort is designed to collect all your keys into one compact unit. You can make copies of your original keys on special blanks and program the built in wireless remote for your car. Other features include RFID and an LED flashlight.
No word on price, but the idea is so simple it would be silly to charge a premium for novelty — there will be plenty of copycats in due time.
LINK/IMAGES [KeyPort website] (via NOTCOT)
You probably definitely want to check the full size version. I wish I knew who the artist was, where it’s located, etc. — all those really interesting/useless things us monkeys like to keep track of.
IMAGE [full size] (via Wooster Collective)
Update: the artist is Blu who can also be seen around Megunica. (Thanks Josue.)
Miscellaneous badassery, curated by Justin Ruckman.
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