a generic blog
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Rocky statue on eBay
This famous ten foot tall bronze statue of Rocky is up for auction as a fundraiser for the International Institute for Sport and Olympic History. Starting bid is $1,000,000. From the listing:
Rockybw-1Created for the movie ROCKY III the statue was erected on the top steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. After the filming ended a furious debate arose in Philadelphia between the Art Museum and the City's Art Commission over the meaning of "art." Claiming the statue was not "art" but rather a "movie prop" the city considered various alternate locations and settled upon the front of the Spectrum sports complex in South Philadelphia. It was later returned to the Art Museum where it was used in the filming of ROCKY V, as well as MANNEQUIN (Andrew McCarthy) and PHILADELPHIA (Tom Hanks). Again it was removed to the front of the Spectrum where it stands today. ¶ 3:32 PM 0 comments
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Scientific American Mind: Natural-Born Liars
Scientific American Mind: Natural-Born Liars
The new issue of Scientific American Mind has an interesting article about why we lie to each other, and to ourselves: (selected passages)
We lie by omission and through the subtleties of spin. We engage in myriad forms of nonverbal deception, too: we use makeup, hairpieces, cosmetic surgery, clothing and other forms of adornment to disguise our true appearance, and we apply artificial fragrances to misrepresent our body odors. We cry crocodile tears, fake orgasms and flash phony "have a nice day" smiles. Out-and-out verbal lies are just a small part of the vast tapestry of human deceit.
The obvious question raised by all of this accounting is: Why do we lie so readily? The answer: because it works. The Homo sapiens who are best able to lie have an edge over their counterparts in a relentless struggle for the reproductive success that drives the engine of evolution. As humans, we must fit into a close-knit social system to succeed, yet our primary aim is still to look out for ourselves above all others. Lying helps. And lying to ourselves--a talent built into our brains--helps us accept our fraudulent behavior.
If this bald truth makes any one of us feel uncomfortable, we can take some solace in knowing we are not the only species to exploit the lie. Plants and animals communicate with one another by sounds, ritualistic displays, colors, airborne chemicals and other methods, and biologists once naively assumed that the sole function of these communication systems was to transmit accurate information. But the more we have learned, the more obvious it has become that nonhuman species put a lot of effort into sending inaccurate messages. ¶ 7:14 PM 0 comments
The new issue of Scientific American Mind has an interesting article about why we lie to each other, and to ourselves: (selected passages)
We lie by omission and through the subtleties of spin. We engage in myriad forms of nonverbal deception, too: we use makeup, hairpieces, cosmetic surgery, clothing and other forms of adornment to disguise our true appearance, and we apply artificial fragrances to misrepresent our body odors. We cry crocodile tears, fake orgasms and flash phony "have a nice day" smiles. Out-and-out verbal lies are just a small part of the vast tapestry of human deceit.
The obvious question raised by all of this accounting is: Why do we lie so readily? The answer: because it works. The Homo sapiens who are best able to lie have an edge over their counterparts in a relentless struggle for the reproductive success that drives the engine of evolution. As humans, we must fit into a close-knit social system to succeed, yet our primary aim is still to look out for ourselves above all others. Lying helps. And lying to ourselves--a talent built into our brains--helps us accept our fraudulent behavior.
If this bald truth makes any one of us feel uncomfortable, we can take some solace in knowing we are not the only species to exploit the lie. Plants and animals communicate with one another by sounds, ritualistic displays, colors, airborne chemicals and other methods, and biologists once naively assumed that the sole function of these communication systems was to transmit accurate information. But the more we have learned, the more obvious it has become that nonhuman species put a lot of effort into sending inaccurate messages. ¶ 7:14 PM 0 comments
New Scientist 11 steps to a better brain - Features
New Scientist 11 steps to a better brain - Features
Smart drugs - Does getting old have to mean worsening memory, slower reactions and fuzzy thinking?
Food for thought - You are what you eat, and that includes your brain. So what is the ultimate mastermind diet?
The Mozart effect - Music may tune up your thinking, but you can't just crank up the volume and expect to become a genius
Bionic brains - If training and tricks seem too much like hard work, some technological short cuts can boost brain function
Gainful employment - Put your mind to work in the right way and it could repay you with an impressive bonus
Memory marvels - Mind like a sieve? Don't worry. The difference between mere mortals and memory champs is more method than mental capacity
Sleep on it - Never underestimate the power of a good night's rest
Body and mind - Physical exercise can boost brain as well as brawn
Nuns on a run - If you don't want senility to interfere with your old age, perhaps you should seek some sisterly guidance
Attention seeking - You can be smart, well-read, creative and knowledgeable, but none of it is any use if your mind isn't on the job
Positive feedback - Thought control is easier than you might imagine
------
Attention seeking
PAYING attention is a complex mental process, an interplay of zooming in on detail and stepping back to survey the big picture. So unfortunately there is no single remedy to enhance your concentration. But there are a few ways to improve it.
The first is to raise your arousal levels. The brain's attentional state is controlled by the neurotransmitters dopamine and noradrenalin. Dopamine encourages a persistent, goal-centred state of mind whereas noradrenalin produces an outward-looking, vigilant state. So not surprisingly, anything that raises dopamine levels can boost your powers of concentration.
One way to do this is with drugs such as amphetamines and the ADHD drug methylphenidate, better known as Ritalin. Caffeine also works. But if you prefer the drug-free approach, the best strategy is to sleep well, eat foods packed with slow-release sugars, and take lots of exercise. It also helps if you are trying to focus on something that you find interesting.
The second step is to cut down on distractions. Workplace studies have found that it takes up to 15 minutes to regain a deep state of concentration after a distraction such as a phone call. Just a few such interruptions and half the day is wasted.
Music can help as long as you listen to something familiar and soothing that serves primarily to drown out background noise. Psychologists also recommend that you avoid working near potential diversions, such as the fridge.
There are mental drills to deal with distractions. College counsellors routinely teach students to recognise when their thoughts are wandering, and catch themselves by saying "Stop! Be here now!" It sounds corny but can develop into a valuable habit. As any Zen meditator will tell you, concentration is as much a skill to be lovingly cultivated as it is a physiochemical state of the brain. ¶ 7:08 PM 0 comments
Smart drugs - Does getting old have to mean worsening memory, slower reactions and fuzzy thinking?
Food for thought - You are what you eat, and that includes your brain. So what is the ultimate mastermind diet?
The Mozart effect - Music may tune up your thinking, but you can't just crank up the volume and expect to become a genius
Bionic brains - If training and tricks seem too much like hard work, some technological short cuts can boost brain function
Gainful employment - Put your mind to work in the right way and it could repay you with an impressive bonus
Memory marvels - Mind like a sieve? Don't worry. The difference between mere mortals and memory champs is more method than mental capacity
Sleep on it - Never underestimate the power of a good night's rest
Body and mind - Physical exercise can boost brain as well as brawn
Nuns on a run - If you don't want senility to interfere with your old age, perhaps you should seek some sisterly guidance
Attention seeking - You can be smart, well-read, creative and knowledgeable, but none of it is any use if your mind isn't on the job
Positive feedback - Thought control is easier than you might imagine
------
Attention seeking
PAYING attention is a complex mental process, an interplay of zooming in on detail and stepping back to survey the big picture. So unfortunately there is no single remedy to enhance your concentration. But there are a few ways to improve it.
The first is to raise your arousal levels. The brain's attentional state is controlled by the neurotransmitters dopamine and noradrenalin. Dopamine encourages a persistent, goal-centred state of mind whereas noradrenalin produces an outward-looking, vigilant state. So not surprisingly, anything that raises dopamine levels can boost your powers of concentration.
One way to do this is with drugs such as amphetamines and the ADHD drug methylphenidate, better known as Ritalin. Caffeine also works. But if you prefer the drug-free approach, the best strategy is to sleep well, eat foods packed with slow-release sugars, and take lots of exercise. It also helps if you are trying to focus on something that you find interesting.
The second step is to cut down on distractions. Workplace studies have found that it takes up to 15 minutes to regain a deep state of concentration after a distraction such as a phone call. Just a few such interruptions and half the day is wasted.
Music can help as long as you listen to something familiar and soothing that serves primarily to drown out background noise. Psychologists also recommend that you avoid working near potential diversions, such as the fridge.
There are mental drills to deal with distractions. College counsellors routinely teach students to recognise when their thoughts are wandering, and catch themselves by saying "Stop! Be here now!" It sounds corny but can develop into a valuable habit. As any Zen meditator will tell you, concentration is as much a skill to be lovingly cultivated as it is a physiochemical state of the brain. ¶ 7:08 PM 0 comments
Science Journal: Scientists research questions few would ask
Science Journal: Scientists research questions few would ask
Friday, May 27, 2005
By Sharon Begley, The Wall Street Journal
Not every scientist can discover the double helix, or the cellular basis of memory, or the fundamental building blocks of matter. But fear not. For those who fall short of these lofty goals, another entry in the "publications" section of the ol' c.v. is within your reach.
The proliferation of scientific journals and meetings makes it possible to publish or present papers whose conclusion inspires less "Wow! Who would have guessed?" and more "For this you got a Ph.D.?" In what follows (with thanks to colleagues who passed along their favorites), names have been withheld to protect the silly.
Want job satisfaction? A "careful choice of career is the key," researchers concluded in a paper this spring in the Journal of Economic Psychology. Choosing a career based on a well-lubricated encounter at a bar, it turns out, may not be the most promising route to career satisfaction. People who choose their jobs carefully are more likely to be satisfied with them than those who take a flying leap into the great unknown.
In April, scientists reported in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research that college students tend to drink much more alcohol than they think. Or, may I suggest, than they like to think. Or than they admit to their parents. Or remember.
Want to reduce problems with medications, such as harmful side effects or drug combinations that will kill you? The solution is at hand: "Communication between primary-care physicians and patients can reduce" such problems and the chance that patients will be harmed. That is especially true if doctors encourage their patients to -- wait for it -- tell them when they experience a bad side effect, concluded a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in January. When patients reported an adverse effect, they were more likely to be switched to a different drug than if they never mentioned it. For this, let us be grateful.
In what its sponsors called a "landmark study," scientists found that when your fingers are numb and turning that lovely robin's-egg blue, you make more typing effors. Er, errors. "When employees get chilly," the scientists concluded, "they are not working to their full potential." Achoo!
Investigators working on that finger-in-the-chili case at Wendy's may find inspiration in a study published online in March in the Annals of Emergency Medicine. Every year some 28,000 kids and adults wind up in hospital emergency rooms because some mishap has cut off a finger; one high-risk group is men over 55. Apart from digits lost in workplace accidents, the most common cause of finger amputation in the men is -- drumroll, please -- power tools. So anyone looking suspiciously at, oh, sinks or toasters for their finger-gobbling potential can more profitably focus on chainsaws.
Taking nothing, especially not their readers' intelligence, for granted, the researchers advise men who use power tools to "avoid exposing their fingers to direct contact" with razor-sharp blades spinning at a few thousand rpm. Wise advice, to be sure, although you've got to think that anyone who didn't know this is in for more serious problems than a lost finger.
Just in case you were wondering whether it's a good idea to suck up carcinogens and respiratory poisons when your airways are already crippled, scientific proof is at hand. A study found that asthma worsens the effects of smoking, putting puffers at greater risk for the kinds of lung problems that smoking causes than people without asthma. If you do not have asthma, your airways are in somewhat better shape to withstand a toxic assault. Bottom line: Doctors should urge asthmatics to quit smoking.
Far be it from me to belittle research on forensic science, since I have written about the importance of questioning such conventional wisdom as the reliability of fingerprint evidence and the credibility of confessions. But surely we can do better than a February study in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review that concluded that it's easier to identify someone close to you than someone more than a football-field-length away. At 450 feet, the scientist concludes, "the human visual system starts to lose small details."
If you had found yourself in the nation's capital earlier this month, you might have heard researchers at an American Heart Association conference proclaim that if you work full time and watch television, play videogames or surf the Internet in your off hours, then you are probably not engaging in as much heart-healthy physical activity as full-timers who spend no time with TV, videogames and the computer.
Full-time workers who spend more of their down time in front of a screen also get significantly less exercise than part-time workers who spend the same number of hours glued to one screen or another, but do other things with the rest of their time. (Memo to self: Working full-time eats up ... time.) While the finding fails the "tell us something we didn't know" test, at least it does so with statistical significance: It was based on data from 4,500 people. ¶ 6:56 PM 0 comments
Friday, May 27, 2005
By Sharon Begley, The Wall Street Journal
Not every scientist can discover the double helix, or the cellular basis of memory, or the fundamental building blocks of matter. But fear not. For those who fall short of these lofty goals, another entry in the "publications" section of the ol' c.v. is within your reach.
The proliferation of scientific journals and meetings makes it possible to publish or present papers whose conclusion inspires less "Wow! Who would have guessed?" and more "For this you got a Ph.D.?" In what follows (with thanks to colleagues who passed along their favorites), names have been withheld to protect the silly.
Want job satisfaction? A "careful choice of career is the key," researchers concluded in a paper this spring in the Journal of Economic Psychology. Choosing a career based on a well-lubricated encounter at a bar, it turns out, may not be the most promising route to career satisfaction. People who choose their jobs carefully are more likely to be satisfied with them than those who take a flying leap into the great unknown.
In April, scientists reported in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research that college students tend to drink much more alcohol than they think. Or, may I suggest, than they like to think. Or than they admit to their parents. Or remember.
Want to reduce problems with medications, such as harmful side effects or drug combinations that will kill you? The solution is at hand: "Communication between primary-care physicians and patients can reduce" such problems and the chance that patients will be harmed. That is especially true if doctors encourage their patients to -- wait for it -- tell them when they experience a bad side effect, concluded a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in January. When patients reported an adverse effect, they were more likely to be switched to a different drug than if they never mentioned it. For this, let us be grateful.
In what its sponsors called a "landmark study," scientists found that when your fingers are numb and turning that lovely robin's-egg blue, you make more typing effors. Er, errors. "When employees get chilly," the scientists concluded, "they are not working to their full potential." Achoo!
Investigators working on that finger-in-the-chili case at Wendy's may find inspiration in a study published online in March in the Annals of Emergency Medicine. Every year some 28,000 kids and adults wind up in hospital emergency rooms because some mishap has cut off a finger; one high-risk group is men over 55. Apart from digits lost in workplace accidents, the most common cause of finger amputation in the men is -- drumroll, please -- power tools. So anyone looking suspiciously at, oh, sinks or toasters for their finger-gobbling potential can more profitably focus on chainsaws.
Taking nothing, especially not their readers' intelligence, for granted, the researchers advise men who use power tools to "avoid exposing their fingers to direct contact" with razor-sharp blades spinning at a few thousand rpm. Wise advice, to be sure, although you've got to think that anyone who didn't know this is in for more serious problems than a lost finger.
Just in case you were wondering whether it's a good idea to suck up carcinogens and respiratory poisons when your airways are already crippled, scientific proof is at hand. A study found that asthma worsens the effects of smoking, putting puffers at greater risk for the kinds of lung problems that smoking causes than people without asthma. If you do not have asthma, your airways are in somewhat better shape to withstand a toxic assault. Bottom line: Doctors should urge asthmatics to quit smoking.
Far be it from me to belittle research on forensic science, since I have written about the importance of questioning such conventional wisdom as the reliability of fingerprint evidence and the credibility of confessions. But surely we can do better than a February study in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review that concluded that it's easier to identify someone close to you than someone more than a football-field-length away. At 450 feet, the scientist concludes, "the human visual system starts to lose small details."
If you had found yourself in the nation's capital earlier this month, you might have heard researchers at an American Heart Association conference proclaim that if you work full time and watch television, play videogames or surf the Internet in your off hours, then you are probably not engaging in as much heart-healthy physical activity as full-timers who spend no time with TV, videogames and the computer.
Full-time workers who spend more of their down time in front of a screen also get significantly less exercise than part-time workers who spend the same number of hours glued to one screen or another, but do other things with the rest of their time. (Memo to self: Working full-time eats up ... time.) While the finding fails the "tell us something we didn't know" test, at least it does so with statistical significance: It was based on data from 4,500 people. ¶ 6:56 PM 0 comments
Changes In Community Size Affect The Outcome Of Competition
Changes In Community Size Affect The Outcome Of Competition
Changes In Community Size Affect The Outcome Of Competition
Competition is a pervasive feature of life. Yet, how can so many organisms coexist when some must be better competitors than others? In a study to be published in the July 2005 issue of The American Naturalist, researchers show that chance may play a role in coexistence because, although poor competitors generally lose, they may occasionally get lucky.
Using theory developed for population genetics, the study demonstrates that stochastic events may override competitive ability in determining the outcome of competition: inferior competitors are relatively more likely to emerge victorious in ecological communities where the role of chance is increased because communities are small, shrinking, or both. When communities are large or increasing in size, the opposite is true: superior competitors are more likely to win.
This work extends previous models of coexistence by suggesting that inferior competitors need not rely solely upon superior dispersal ability to persist with better competitors. Results can also help explain why biological invasions frequently occur in communities that have been degraded and fragmented by anthropogenic activities, because rapid reductions in the size of communities make it relatively more likely that inferior exotic species will usurp native species, even if natives are better competitors. Given ongoing habitat change and the incalculable costs of biological invasions, stochasticity may have consequences for competitive interactions that are anything but lucky. ¶ 5:18 AM 0 comments
Changes In Community Size Affect The Outcome Of Competition
Competition is a pervasive feature of life. Yet, how can so many organisms coexist when some must be better competitors than others? In a study to be published in the July 2005 issue of The American Naturalist, researchers show that chance may play a role in coexistence because, although poor competitors generally lose, they may occasionally get lucky.
Using theory developed for population genetics, the study demonstrates that stochastic events may override competitive ability in determining the outcome of competition: inferior competitors are relatively more likely to emerge victorious in ecological communities where the role of chance is increased because communities are small, shrinking, or both. When communities are large or increasing in size, the opposite is true: superior competitors are more likely to win.
This work extends previous models of coexistence by suggesting that inferior competitors need not rely solely upon superior dispersal ability to persist with better competitors. Results can also help explain why biological invasions frequently occur in communities that have been degraded and fragmented by anthropogenic activities, because rapid reductions in the size of communities make it relatively more likely that inferior exotic species will usurp native species, even if natives are better competitors. Given ongoing habitat change and the incalculable costs of biological invasions, stochasticity may have consequences for competitive interactions that are anything but lucky. ¶ 5:18 AM 0 comments
Friday, May 27, 2005
Researchers Pinpoint Brain's Sarcasm Sensor
- Forbes.comResearchers Pinpoint Brain's Sarcasm Sensor
By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, May 23 (HealthDay News) -- Oh yeah, right!
No, it's true -- many of you don't go a day without dishing out several doses of sarcasm. But some brain-damaged people can't comprehend sarcasm, and Israeli researchers think it's because a specific brain region has gone dark.
The region, according to the researchers, handles the task of detecting hidden meaning, a crucial component of sarcasm. If that part of the brain is out of commission, the irony doesn't come through, the scientists report in the May issue of Neuropsychology.
"People with prefrontal brain damage suffer from difficulties in understanding other people's mental states, and they lack empathy," said study co-author Simone Shamay-Tsoory, a researcher at the University of Haifa. "Therefore, they can't understand what the speaker really is talking about, and get only the literal meaning."
The findings, Shamay-Tsoory said, could help rehabilitation centers do a better job of helping brain-damaged patients adjust to the world and understand other people.
In their study, Shamay-Tsoory and her colleagues first enrolled 58 subjects -- 25 participants with prefrontal-lobe damage, 17 who were healthy and 16 who had damage to the posterior lobe of the brain.
Then they tested each person by exposing them to several "neutral" and sarcastic comments recorded by actors as part of a story. This "sarcasm meter" was designed to gauge how well the subjects could comprehend the unique kind of irony that is sarcasm.
For example, actors read phrases such as "don't work too hard" in both a neutral sense (meaning "you're a hard worker") and a sarcastic sense (meaning "you're a real slacker"). Each comment came in proper context as part of a story about, say, a worker who's sleeping or a worker who's grinding away at his job.
All the subjects understood the sarcasm except for those with damage to the prefrontal area, which is above the eye sockets and behind the forehead. And among those, people with damage to a specific area known as the ventromedial area had the most trouble deciphering sarcasm.
The researchers think lesions in several parts of the brain can contribute to an inability to understand sarcasm. But, they wrote, this particular area is important because it draws on your innate recognition of the emotions of other people -- empathy -- and past experiences to comprehend a speaker's intentions.
Brian Knutson, an assistant professor of neuroscience at Stanford University, said the findings make sense because the brain's cortex handles a variety of sophisticated tasks, and sarcasm could be on the list.
The findings also reflect a growing interest in how emotion is processed by the brain. "Emotion has not been a popular topic in science for a long time," because it's difficult to measure, he said, but things are changing. ¶ 11:56 AM 0 comments
By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, May 23 (HealthDay News) -- Oh yeah, right!
No, it's true -- many of you don't go a day without dishing out several doses of sarcasm. But some brain-damaged people can't comprehend sarcasm, and Israeli researchers think it's because a specific brain region has gone dark.
The region, according to the researchers, handles the task of detecting hidden meaning, a crucial component of sarcasm. If that part of the brain is out of commission, the irony doesn't come through, the scientists report in the May issue of Neuropsychology.
"People with prefrontal brain damage suffer from difficulties in understanding other people's mental states, and they lack empathy," said study co-author Simone Shamay-Tsoory, a researcher at the University of Haifa. "Therefore, they can't understand what the speaker really is talking about, and get only the literal meaning."
The findings, Shamay-Tsoory said, could help rehabilitation centers do a better job of helping brain-damaged patients adjust to the world and understand other people.
In their study, Shamay-Tsoory and her colleagues first enrolled 58 subjects -- 25 participants with prefrontal-lobe damage, 17 who were healthy and 16 who had damage to the posterior lobe of the brain.
Then they tested each person by exposing them to several "neutral" and sarcastic comments recorded by actors as part of a story. This "sarcasm meter" was designed to gauge how well the subjects could comprehend the unique kind of irony that is sarcasm.
For example, actors read phrases such as "don't work too hard" in both a neutral sense (meaning "you're a hard worker") and a sarcastic sense (meaning "you're a real slacker"). Each comment came in proper context as part of a story about, say, a worker who's sleeping or a worker who's grinding away at his job.
All the subjects understood the sarcasm except for those with damage to the prefrontal area, which is above the eye sockets and behind the forehead. And among those, people with damage to a specific area known as the ventromedial area had the most trouble deciphering sarcasm.
The researchers think lesions in several parts of the brain can contribute to an inability to understand sarcasm. But, they wrote, this particular area is important because it draws on your innate recognition of the emotions of other people -- empathy -- and past experiences to comprehend a speaker's intentions.
Brian Knutson, an assistant professor of neuroscience at Stanford University, said the findings make sense because the brain's cortex handles a variety of sophisticated tasks, and sarcasm could be on the list.
The findings also reflect a growing interest in how emotion is processed by the brain. "Emotion has not been a popular topic in science for a long time," because it's difficult to measure, he said, but things are changing. ¶ 11:56 AM 0 comments
Darth Tater Puns
Darth Tater Puns
Darth Tater Puns
Winning Puns
Periods 1/2
"No, I am your totter" by Henry / "I am your pottotter" by Katharina / "I am your Potato...Potato...Potato" (said with a high, fast voice) by Keiko and Erin
"Trust your peelings" by Emily
"Luke, I have drained you well" by Lea
Periods 4/5
"Luke, I am your farmer" by Andrew
Period 6
"If only you knew the power of the deep fried" by Mr. Miller
"Prepare to be tater-totted" by Angie
"Darth Tater is an invader" by Emma
Honorable Mention
Periods 1/2
"May the forks be with you" by Emily
"Use the fork, Luke" by Corey
"Luke, come to the dark side of the farm" by Henry and Joel
"Luke Fry-walker" by Ben and Joseph
"Attack of the Yukon Golds" by Luke G.
"The Refry of the Jedi" by Henry
"Im-peel-ier walkers coming your way" by Henry
"I will not farm you father" by Henry
"May the fertilizer be with you" by Luke G.
"May the fries be with you" by Tom
"It's your father's light flavor" by Emily
"Mash Windu" by Luke G.
Periods 4/5
"He will join us or be deep fried in fatty acids" by Luke P.
"The spud strikes Back" by Colin
"Use the potato" by Austin
"If any of you shall fall in battle you will be crushed and turned into potato chips" by Itai
"Lord Tater" by David
Period 6
"Darth Tater began on the light side but succumbed to the dark side of the spores" by Grant
"Luke, I am your totter" (spoken with an English accent) by Rachel
"The Death Star got fried" by Camilo
"The royal fryness's daughter, Princess Leia, was always known for trying to use her hair to cover her unsightly ears" by Regina
Mr. Miller
"Asteroids do not concern me, Admiral. I want that chip, not excuses"
"Now the circle is complete. When I left you I was but the learner, now I am the frymaster"
¶ 11:27 AM 0 comments
Darth Tater Puns
Winning Puns
Periods 1/2
"No, I am your totter" by Henry / "I am your pottotter" by Katharina / "I am your Potato...Potato...Potato" (said with a high, fast voice) by Keiko and Erin
"Trust your peelings" by Emily
"Luke, I have drained you well" by Lea
Periods 4/5
"Luke, I am your farmer" by Andrew
Period 6
"If only you knew the power of the deep fried" by Mr. Miller
"Prepare to be tater-totted" by Angie
"Darth Tater is an invader" by Emma
Honorable Mention
Periods 1/2
"May the forks be with you" by Emily
"Use the fork, Luke" by Corey
"Luke, come to the dark side of the farm" by Henry and Joel
"Luke Fry-walker" by Ben and Joseph
"Attack of the Yukon Golds" by Luke G.
"The Refry of the Jedi" by Henry
"Im-peel-ier walkers coming your way" by Henry
"I will not farm you father" by Henry
"May the fertilizer be with you" by Luke G.
"May the fries be with you" by Tom
"It's your father's light flavor" by Emily
"Mash Windu" by Luke G.
Periods 4/5
"He will join us or be deep fried in fatty acids" by Luke P.
"The spud strikes Back" by Colin
"Use the potato" by Austin
"If any of you shall fall in battle you will be crushed and turned into potato chips" by Itai
"Lord Tater" by David
Period 6
"Darth Tater began on the light side but succumbed to the dark side of the spores" by Grant
"Luke, I am your totter" (spoken with an English accent) by Rachel
"The Death Star got fried" by Camilo
"The royal fryness's daughter, Princess Leia, was always known for trying to use her hair to cover her unsightly ears" by Regina
Mr. Miller
"Asteroids do not concern me, Admiral. I want that chip, not excuses"
"Now the circle is complete. When I left you I was but the learner, now I am the frymaster"
¶ 11:27 AM 0 comments
谈北京：也说鲍家街旧院
也说鲍家街旧院
丰年
见到最近北京晚报上一篇短文“鲍家小院有院府”，引起我很大的兴趣。鲍家街现在中央音乐学院那个院子里，从1950至1956年，我整整居住过六年。记得那时是鲍家街21号。解放前，此地早先是“民国大学”，解放后不久曾作为新华社的托儿所。1950年春，当时隶属中直机关的北京俄文专修学校由南宽街搬到了这里。
这个大院原是清宣宗道光皇帝第七子醇亲王奕的府第，故也称七爷府。据说清光绪帝即出生于此，因此其殿堂的绿色琉璃瓦屋顶均镶着黄色边缘。后来醇亲王府迁至什刹海边，这里就空废了，直到我们搬进去住的时候，恐怕已是几易其主了，历经半个多世纪，可是这个府第的房屋和格局仍没有多大的变化，只是已十分陈旧，有的地方则有些破败了。面向鲍家街的东门是后来开的，“民国大学”时期就作为正门。原来王府的正门是向南的，有宽大的门房，也是琉璃瓦顶，俄专搬来后，一度作为宿舍，住过一些男学员。大门外有一对巨大的石狮子，后来被搬进了大门内院里，现在大概还在。
大门进去是三进大院，中间还有一道仪门。其正殿早年已被焚毁，只剩下殿基，成了一个平台。记得有一次，著名作家老舍先生还被请来在这个平台上作过关于如何谈、写小说的演讲。其东西两侧的厢房，大概在“民国大学”时期经过修葺，隔成多间，用做办公室和教室。在西厢房后面还有一个完整的小院落。院中还有几枝果树，这里后来被学校用做幼儿园。在府第的三进正屋之后，便是一个很大的后院。那时早已与前面部分隔断，成为北京市三十四中学的校舍。院内有一座两层绣楼，想是当年王府内眷居住之所，它的后墙紧靠着鲍家街北段。
府院的西侧，从大门西去的围墙内一直通往后院是个不小的花园，那时一直被关闭着，花园的西墙外便是当年的太平湖。园内早已一片荒芜，众多树木已经凋残，但池塘、溪流的遗迹尚在，西边有一土山，山面的亭台均已坍塌，池边的假山亦已残损零落。看上去，此地几十年来竟无人过问。俄专搬来后不久，经彻底拆除平整，在那里盖了一座用做办公和教室用的三层洋楼。其三楼上有一个可容三百多人的小礼堂。1951、1952年间，朱德和刘少奇同志还曾先后在这里作过报告。
其后俄专又陆续在院内进行了一些修建，拆除了大门，在原大门的东南建了几座筒子楼宿舍。又在大殿遗址的东侧建了一个饭厅兼礼堂，内设有舞台，著名京剧艺术家程砚秋曾在此为当时的苏联专家和全校师生演出过“祝英台抗婚”。
鲍家街确实很短，在我的印象中，那时在这条街上只有俄专和毗邻的三十四中学两家。俄专校门（即府院东门）对面是一片空地，上面有几处临时搭建起来的平房，开着几家卖杂货和修理什么的小铺子。沿街往北去数十米，再向右拐，就是当时直通宣内大街的石驸马大街，其东现在叫新文化街。
自中央音乐学院迁来后，将近半个世纪，我虽一直住在北京近郊，因多病年老，却未再到过那往日栖身之地。想来，鲍家街，还有那王府旧院，早已变换新颜了，但那旧日的景象，现在偶尔回忆起来，依然似在眼前，令人怀念 ¶ 12:24 AM 0 comments
丰年
见到最近北京晚报上一篇短文“鲍家小院有院府”，引起我很大的兴趣。鲍家街现在中央音乐学院那个院子里，从1950至1956年，我整整居住过六年。记得那时是鲍家街21号。解放前，此地早先是“民国大学”，解放后不久曾作为新华社的托儿所。1950年春，当时隶属中直机关的北京俄文专修学校由南宽街搬到了这里。
这个大院原是清宣宗道光皇帝第七子醇亲王奕的府第，故也称七爷府。据说清光绪帝即出生于此，因此其殿堂的绿色琉璃瓦屋顶均镶着黄色边缘。后来醇亲王府迁至什刹海边，这里就空废了，直到我们搬进去住的时候，恐怕已是几易其主了，历经半个多世纪，可是这个府第的房屋和格局仍没有多大的变化，只是已十分陈旧，有的地方则有些破败了。面向鲍家街的东门是后来开的，“民国大学”时期就作为正门。原来王府的正门是向南的，有宽大的门房，也是琉璃瓦顶，俄专搬来后，一度作为宿舍，住过一些男学员。大门外有一对巨大的石狮子，后来被搬进了大门内院里，现在大概还在。
大门进去是三进大院，中间还有一道仪门。其正殿早年已被焚毁，只剩下殿基，成了一个平台。记得有一次，著名作家老舍先生还被请来在这个平台上作过关于如何谈、写小说的演讲。其东西两侧的厢房，大概在“民国大学”时期经过修葺，隔成多间，用做办公室和教室。在西厢房后面还有一个完整的小院落。院中还有几枝果树，这里后来被学校用做幼儿园。在府第的三进正屋之后，便是一个很大的后院。那时早已与前面部分隔断，成为北京市三十四中学的校舍。院内有一座两层绣楼，想是当年王府内眷居住之所，它的后墙紧靠着鲍家街北段。
府院的西侧，从大门西去的围墙内一直通往后院是个不小的花园，那时一直被关闭着，花园的西墙外便是当年的太平湖。园内早已一片荒芜，众多树木已经凋残，但池塘、溪流的遗迹尚在，西边有一土山，山面的亭台均已坍塌，池边的假山亦已残损零落。看上去，此地几十年来竟无人过问。俄专搬来后不久，经彻底拆除平整，在那里盖了一座用做办公和教室用的三层洋楼。其三楼上有一个可容三百多人的小礼堂。1951、1952年间，朱德和刘少奇同志还曾先后在这里作过报告。
其后俄专又陆续在院内进行了一些修建，拆除了大门，在原大门的东南建了几座筒子楼宿舍。又在大殿遗址的东侧建了一个饭厅兼礼堂，内设有舞台，著名京剧艺术家程砚秋曾在此为当时的苏联专家和全校师生演出过“祝英台抗婚”。
鲍家街确实很短，在我的印象中，那时在这条街上只有俄专和毗邻的三十四中学两家。俄专校门（即府院东门）对面是一片空地，上面有几处临时搭建起来的平房，开着几家卖杂货和修理什么的小铺子。沿街往北去数十米，再向右拐，就是当时直通宣内大街的石驸马大街，其东现在叫新文化街。
自中央音乐学院迁来后，将近半个世纪，我虽一直住在北京近郊，因多病年老，却未再到过那往日栖身之地。想来，鲍家街，还有那王府旧院，早已变换新颜了，但那旧日的景象，现在偶尔回忆起来，依然似在眼前，令人怀念 ¶ 12:24 AM 0 comments
Thursday, May 26, 2005
This image released by the British Museum on Thursday May 19, 2005 shows a hoax cave painting of a primitive man pushing a supermarket trolley which was on display in the British Museum in London. The work was planted by an anonymous 'art terrorist' called Banksy and museum staff were alerted Wednesday May 18, 2005, after he put a message on his website, saying that the 10in by 6in rock, 'had remained in the collection for quite some time'. This is not the first time Banksy has stuck fake objects to gallery walls and waited to see how long it takes before curators notice. (AP Photo/British Museum/HO) ¶ 5:58 PM 0 comments
A gypsy music band Orkestar Agusevi Djambo of Macedonia walks in Prague's city center May 26, 2005. The Czech Republic hosts the World Roma Festival Khamoro 2005. REUTERS/Petr Josek ¶ 5:57 PM 0 comments
Ryan Devany, a member of staff at Butterfly World, near Edinburgh, Scotland, gets a close look at two new baby green Yemen Chameleons hatched in the last two weeks Thursday, May 26, 2005. The chameleons may reach up to two feet in length. (AP Photo/David Cheskin / PA) ¶ 5:56 PM 0 comments
At the market : A young boy arranges 'badami' mangoes on top of a truck at the Naroda friut market in Ahmedabad in western India. (AFP/Stringer ) ¶ 5:55 PM 0 comments
Monday, May 23, 2005
Return of the Dragon (Meng long guo jiang) is the top box office movie in Hong Kong history. ¶ 2:06 AM 0 comments
Meng long guo jiang (Return of the Dragon) is the first Hong Kong film shot in Europe (Italy). ¶ 2:04 AM 0 comments
A man walks with a dog along a dry cracked reservoir bed in Alcora, eastern Spain Friday May 20, 2005. Spain is suffering the driest period with the lowest rainfall since 1947. (AP Photo/ Fernando Bustamante) ¶ 1:27 AM 0 comments
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Mariano's vision : A car drives through a light installation by Italian artist Lucio Mariano in Magdeburg as part of the city's 1,200th anniversary. (AFP/DDP/Ronny Hartmann) ¶ 3:52 PM 0 comments
Riders pass the crest of the tower of the 'Kingda Ka' roller coaster and head down a 456-foot drop at Six Flags amusement park in Jackson, New Jersey. The roller coaster is billed as the tallest and fastest on Earth(AFP/Stan Honda) ¶ 3:51 PM 0 comments
Kite competition : A boy stands by a three-layer kite during a competition in a public park of Manila. (AFP/Joel Nito) ¶ 3:51 PM 0 comments
US Puzzle Championship
US Puzzle Championship: "Mountain View, USA (May 1, 2005) The U.S. Puzzle Championship will be held on Saturday June 18, 2005 at 1pm ET. Please read the rules and register here before June 16, 2005."
¶ 5:09 AM 0 comments
Relax to win Sensor - Royal Philips Electronics
Relax to win Sensor - Royal Philips Electronics
Orange Brand Futures group, the major UK cell phone service providers, developed the computer game 'Relax to Win' with Media Lab Europe. The game is based on the concept that the more you relax, the more you will achieve in the game.
In order to realize the concept, Philips Design designed a device to measuer the player's galvanic skin response and sends the data by wireless connection to a PC or cell phone screen. To play the game, simply slide it between any two fingers and relax. You see yourslef on screen as a friendly dragon; the more you relax the more your dragon will float and eventually fly. the mesh-like textile material contains sensors but is soft to the touch.
Even when not in use, the mysterious form is not out of place worn on the body like a piece of jewellry or a key ring.
¶ 4:56 AM 0 comments
Orange Brand Futures group, the major UK cell phone service providers, developed the computer game 'Relax to Win' with Media Lab Europe. The game is based on the concept that the more you relax, the more you will achieve in the game.
In order to realize the concept, Philips Design designed a device to measuer the player's galvanic skin response and sends the data by wireless connection to a PC or cell phone screen. To play the game, simply slide it between any two fingers and relax. You see yourslef on screen as a friendly dragon; the more you relax the more your dragon will float and eventually fly. the mesh-like textile material contains sensors but is soft to the touch.
Even when not in use, the mysterious form is not out of place worn on the body like a piece of jewellry or a key ring.
¶ 4:56 AM 0 comments
Friday, May 20, 2005
The Color of Victory Is Red, Scientists Say
The Color of Victory Is Red, Scientists Say - New York Times
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Published: May 18, 2005
Wearing red increases the chance of victory in sports, say British researchers who clearly do not follow the Cincinnati Reds.
"Across a range of sports, we find that wearing red is consistently associated with a higher probability of winning," wrote Dr. Russell Hill and Dr. Robert Barton, researchers in evolutionary anthropology at the University of Durham, in a paper that will appear on Thursday in the journal Nature.
Steve Marcus/Reuters
The research began a year ago, Dr. Barton said in an interview, on a hunch based on observations in the animal kingdom, where red coloration is often associated with male dominance. Zebra finches that have been fitted with red leg bands, for example, tend to become dominant, while those given blue bands are more submissive. In humans, anger reddens the face, so the color may send subtle signals of fierceness.
The two researchers studied results of the 2004 Summer Olympics to eliminate the possibility of a home team advantage, and found that contestants in tae kwan do, boxing and wrestling were issued red or blue protective gear at random. "It's almost as if somebody had designed an experiment for us," Dr. Barton said.
Dr. Hill said the evidence of a beneficial effect emerged, with red-wearing contenders winning 6 out of 10 bouts in close matches. "Even we were surprised at how consistently the results have been coming out across the range of sports we have looked at," he said. They have taken a preliminary look at soccer as well, and found that in the Euro 2004 international soccer tournaments, the five teams that wore predominantly red shirts did better.
The researchers suggested that their work might help to explain the fashion statement made by executives and politicians who wear bright red "power" ties, but they sounded bemused when asked whether their work could shed light on the phenomenon of Republican "red states" and Democratic "blue states." Still, Dr. Hill noted that on British electoral maps, red is the Labor Party's color. And like the Republican Party in the United States, Labor is on a winning streak.
A consultant who advises corporate clients on the use of color applauded the report. "Red is the color of fire and blood," said the consultant, Jill Morton, chief executive of Colorcom, a company based in Hawaii. "Red speaks of extremes - heat, excitement, bellicosity, passion, intensity - and is perhaps the most powerful color of the spectrum."
Dr. Barton acknowledged that the work might not hold up under further analysis. "All scientific results are a bit provisional, of course," he said.
¶ 1:42 PM 0 comments
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Published: May 18, 2005
Wearing red increases the chance of victory in sports, say British researchers who clearly do not follow the Cincinnati Reds.
"Across a range of sports, we find that wearing red is consistently associated with a higher probability of winning," wrote Dr. Russell Hill and Dr. Robert Barton, researchers in evolutionary anthropology at the University of Durham, in a paper that will appear on Thursday in the journal Nature.
Steve Marcus/Reuters
The research began a year ago, Dr. Barton said in an interview, on a hunch based on observations in the animal kingdom, where red coloration is often associated with male dominance. Zebra finches that have been fitted with red leg bands, for example, tend to become dominant, while those given blue bands are more submissive. In humans, anger reddens the face, so the color may send subtle signals of fierceness.
The two researchers studied results of the 2004 Summer Olympics to eliminate the possibility of a home team advantage, and found that contestants in tae kwan do, boxing and wrestling were issued red or blue protective gear at random. "It's almost as if somebody had designed an experiment for us," Dr. Barton said.
Dr. Hill said the evidence of a beneficial effect emerged, with red-wearing contenders winning 6 out of 10 bouts in close matches. "Even we were surprised at how consistently the results have been coming out across the range of sports we have looked at," he said. They have taken a preliminary look at soccer as well, and found that in the Euro 2004 international soccer tournaments, the five teams that wore predominantly red shirts did better.
The researchers suggested that their work might help to explain the fashion statement made by executives and politicians who wear bright red "power" ties, but they sounded bemused when asked whether their work could shed light on the phenomenon of Republican "red states" and Democratic "blue states." Still, Dr. Hill noted that on British electoral maps, red is the Labor Party's color. And like the Republican Party in the United States, Labor is on a winning streak.
A consultant who advises corporate clients on the use of color applauded the report. "Red is the color of fire and blood," said the consultant, Jill Morton, chief executive of Colorcom, a company based in Hawaii. "Red speaks of extremes - heat, excitement, bellicosity, passion, intensity - and is perhaps the most powerful color of the spectrum."
Dr. Barton acknowledged that the work might not hold up under further analysis. "All scientific results are a bit provisional, of course," he said.
¶ 1:42 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Indian boys sit on the roof of a house during sunset in the northern Indian city of Jammu May 18, 2005. REUTERS/Amit Gupta ¶ 9:57 PM 0 comments
A patch of new plants in the woods of Michigan. A hunter once told me they were from nuts buried by a squirels the previous winter. The squirrel fails to come back and retrieve the nuts and in the spring the plants grow. :) ¶ 12:14 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Top Ten Favorite Words (Not in the Dictionary)
Merriam-Webster Online: "Top Ten Favorite Words (Not in the Dictionary)
1. ginormous (adj): bigger than gigantic and bigger than enormous
2. confuzzled (adj): confused and puzzled at the same time
3. woot (interj): an exclamation of joy or excitement
4. chillax (v): chill out/relax, hang out with friends
5. cognitive displaysia (n): the feeling you have before you even leave the house that you are going to forget something and not remember it until you're on the highway
6. gription (n): the purchase gained by friction: 'My car needs new tires because the old ones have lost their gription.'
7. phonecrastinate (v): to put off answering the phone until caller ID displays the incoming name and number
8. slickery (adj): having a surface that is wet and icy
9. snirt (n): snow that is dirty, often seen by the side of roads and parking lots that have been plowed
10. lingweenie (n): a person incapable of producing neologisms"
What a lovely bunch of vocabularians (persons who make up new words) you are! Lasterday (refers to any day before today) we squinched (action required to fit something into a space that is slightly too small) a schmiglet (a small unit of measurement) of your awesomtastic (so wonderful the words just meld in your mouth) one-of-a-kind entries into this space in preparation for today's Top Ten reveal. With so many chizzy (awesome, super, happening) creations to choose from, we admit to becoming a bit flusterpated (a state of being flustered that's so intense, one's actions and words become bound up) and fahoodled (confused, esp. when trying to think of too many things at once). We craughed (to cry and laugh simultaneously), we troddled (to wander around without knowing of doing so), and finally decided to use the schwack (a large amount) of multiple entries received as the basis for the Top Ten—this is, let's not forget, all about favoritism. ¶ 2:55 PM 0 comments
1. ginormous (adj): bigger than gigantic and bigger than enormous
2. confuzzled (adj): confused and puzzled at the same time
3. woot (interj): an exclamation of joy or excitement
4. chillax (v): chill out/relax, hang out with friends
5. cognitive displaysia (n): the feeling you have before you even leave the house that you are going to forget something and not remember it until you're on the highway
6. gription (n): the purchase gained by friction: 'My car needs new tires because the old ones have lost their gription.'
7. phonecrastinate (v): to put off answering the phone until caller ID displays the incoming name and number
8. slickery (adj): having a surface that is wet and icy
9. snirt (n): snow that is dirty, often seen by the side of roads and parking lots that have been plowed
10. lingweenie (n): a person incapable of producing neologisms"
What a lovely bunch of vocabularians (persons who make up new words) you are! Lasterday (refers to any day before today) we squinched (action required to fit something into a space that is slightly too small) a schmiglet (a small unit of measurement) of your awesomtastic (so wonderful the words just meld in your mouth) one-of-a-kind entries into this space in preparation for today's Top Ten reveal. With so many chizzy (awesome, super, happening) creations to choose from, we admit to becoming a bit flusterpated (a state of being flustered that's so intense, one's actions and words become bound up) and fahoodled (confused, esp. when trying to think of too many things at once). We craughed (to cry and laugh simultaneously), we troddled (to wander around without knowing of doing so), and finally decided to use the schwack (a large amount) of multiple entries received as the basis for the Top Ten—this is, let's not forget, all about favoritism. ¶ 2:55 PM 0 comments
Monday, May 16, 2005
Silent 'Piano Man' poses beach riddle
Silent 'Piano Man' poses beach riddle - Yahoo! News: "LONDON (Reuters) - A smartly dressed man found wandering in a soaking wet suit near an English beach has baffled police and care workers after he refused to say a word and then gave a virtuoso piano performance.
The man, wearing a formal black suit and tie, was spotted by police in Kent on April 8 and taken to a psychiatric unit where it proved impossible to identify him because he stayed silent.
It was only after he was given a pen and paper that care-givers were given an intriguing clue to his possible background when he drew an intricate picture of a grand piano.
He was taken to the hospital's chapel where he played classical music on the piano for hours.
However, despite his picture being posted on the National Missing Persons Helpline's (NMPH) Web site, no one has come forward to identify him.
'Very little is known about him as he has not been speaking with staff at the hospital where he is being cared for, but he has a talent for playing classical piano,' an NMPH spokesman said in a statement. Newspapers said members of the public had contacted authorities to say they may have seen the man giving concert performances around Europe.
The Daily Telegraph said the man, in his 20s or 30s, is believed to be English and may have suffered a mental breakdown.
His story echoes the 1996 Oscar-winning film 'Shine,' in which actor Geoffrey Rush played Australian pianist David Helfgott, who overcame a nervous breakdown to return to performing." ¶ 3:23 PM 0 comments
The man, wearing a formal black suit and tie, was spotted by police in Kent on April 8 and taken to a psychiatric unit where it proved impossible to identify him because he stayed silent.
It was only after he was given a pen and paper that care-givers were given an intriguing clue to his possible background when he drew an intricate picture of a grand piano.
He was taken to the hospital's chapel where he played classical music on the piano for hours.
However, despite his picture being posted on the National Missing Persons Helpline's (NMPH) Web site, no one has come forward to identify him.
'Very little is known about him as he has not been speaking with staff at the hospital where he is being cared for, but he has a talent for playing classical piano,' an NMPH spokesman said in a statement. Newspapers said members of the public had contacted authorities to say they may have seen the man giving concert performances around Europe.
The Daily Telegraph said the man, in his 20s or 30s, is believed to be English and may have suffered a mental breakdown.
His story echoes the 1996 Oscar-winning film 'Shine,' in which actor Geoffrey Rush played Australian pianist David Helfgott, who overcame a nervous breakdown to return to performing." ¶ 3:23 PM 0 comments
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Hand Gestures Linked To Better Speaking
Hand Gestures Linked To Better Speaking: Dr. Elena Nicoladis and her research colleagues observed the hand gestures of bilingual children as they told the same story twice, first in one language and then the other. The researchers were surprised by what they saw.
"The children used gestures a lot more when telling the story in what they considered to be their stronger language," said Nicoladis, a psychologist at the U of A. "These results seemed counter-intuitive to us. We thought the children would be more inclined to use gestures to help them communicate in their weaker language."
Based on these results and the results of earlier studies, Nicoladis believes there is a connection between language and memory access and gesturing.
"What we think is going on here," Nicoladis said, "is that the very fact of moving your hands around helps you recall parts of the story--the gestures help you access memory and language so that you can tell more of the story."
"Initially, we thought gestures were related to meaning--that they meant something on their own. But now we believe they are more related to language," she added.
Nicoladis also pointed to another study she and her colleagues conducted that showed Chinese women who spoke English at a higher level than Chinese men also exhibited more hand gestures when talking English than the men did.
The researchers also have preliminary results to show that 8 to 10 year-old girls use more hand gestures and were able to retell more of the story of a cartoon they had just watched than their male coevals were able to. Nicoladis added that it is well-documented that girls develop language skills faster than boys.
She speculates that all of this knowledge may come in handy for people who have difficulty speaking, such as ESL students and some elderly people.
"If you're in a situation where it's important to get the language out and you're having difficulty, it may help to start making gestures," said Nicoladis, who conducts most of her research on hand gestures with Dr. Paula Marentette of the University of Alberta Augustana College.
"There's certainly a lot more work that needs to be done before we can understand everything about gestures and why we make them," Nicoladis added. "But the results so far have given us a lot to think about." ¶ 9:46 PM 0 comments
"The children used gestures a lot more when telling the story in what they considered to be their stronger language," said Nicoladis, a psychologist at the U of A. "These results seemed counter-intuitive to us. We thought the children would be more inclined to use gestures to help them communicate in their weaker language."
Based on these results and the results of earlier studies, Nicoladis believes there is a connection between language and memory access and gesturing.
"What we think is going on here," Nicoladis said, "is that the very fact of moving your hands around helps you recall parts of the story--the gestures help you access memory and language so that you can tell more of the story."
"Initially, we thought gestures were related to meaning--that they meant something on their own. But now we believe they are more related to language," she added.
Nicoladis also pointed to another study she and her colleagues conducted that showed Chinese women who spoke English at a higher level than Chinese men also exhibited more hand gestures when talking English than the men did.
The researchers also have preliminary results to show that 8 to 10 year-old girls use more hand gestures and were able to retell more of the story of a cartoon they had just watched than their male coevals were able to. Nicoladis added that it is well-documented that girls develop language skills faster than boys.
She speculates that all of this knowledge may come in handy for people who have difficulty speaking, such as ESL students and some elderly people.
"If you're in a situation where it's important to get the language out and you're having difficulty, it may help to start making gestures," said Nicoladis, who conducts most of her research on hand gestures with Dr. Paula Marentette of the University of Alberta Augustana College.
"There's certainly a lot more work that needs to be done before we can understand everything about gestures and why we make them," Nicoladis added. "But the results so far have given us a lot to think about." ¶ 9:46 PM 0 comments
John Cleese writing Aardman film
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | John Cleese writing Aardman film
Monty Python star John Cleese is writing the next feature film for Aardman Animations, the makers of Wallace and Gromit have announced.
¶ 9:34 PM 0 comments
Monty Python star John Cleese is writing the next feature film for Aardman Animations, the makers of Wallace and Gromit have announced.
¶ 9:34 PM 0 comments
A Chinese man walks behind a wooden carved window in China's capital Beijing May 12, 2005. Wooden carved windows are used in traditional buildings and are now used a decorative features in newly-built skyscrapers. REUTERS/Jason Lee ¶ 8:01 PM 0 comments
South Koreans look at a large Chinese lantern at the World of Lights Expo 2005 in Ilsan, north of Seoul, April 22, 2005. Big sizes of lamps decorating the main construction are exhibited at the festival with the concept of 'light.' This event runs from April 22 to June 19. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon ¶ 8:00 PM 0 comments
An unidentified youth jumps from one pillar to another at the new Holocaust memorial in Berlin May 12, 2005. The memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe, which consists of 2,711 charcoal-grey rectangular pillars, which rise from the ground and form a tight grid through which visitors can wander, opened to the public on Thursday. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz ¶ 7:58 PM 0 comments
Thursday, May 12, 2005
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| With the exception of the wire strings, this instrument is entirely constructed out of LEGO parts--the keyboard, jacks, jack rack, jack rail, plectra, soundboard, bridge, hitch pins, tuning pins, wrestplank, nut, case, legs, lid, lid stick, and music stand are all built out of interlocking ABS (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene) plastic bricks and related pieces. And is playable. Specifications include a 1 x 8' disposition (single choir (one string per note), middle C corresponds to middle C on other instruments), single manual (one keyboard), 61 note range (5 octaves, C-c'''', A415), 6 x 3 ft. dimension, approximate 150 lbs. weight, and an estimated 100,000 LEGO piece count. The strings (brass gauges .012-.018 and steel gauges .008-.012) exert approximately 325 lbs. of tension. |  | |||||||||||||||||
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 | It's taken two years of theorizing, designing, collecting parts, building, testing, and rebuilding. Originally, upon thinking about the potentials of making a LEGO musical instrument, I had hoped to reproduce a piano, but ditched the idea due to the enormous tension involved (40,000 lbs.)--there's a reason why pianos have steel frames. Its ancestor, the harpsichord, seemed more practically possible--the key/jack workings are simple levers, the strings are plucked, it's smaller, and it maintains less tension. Coincidentally, I was in my Bach phase anyways. The important considerations during design were strength, efficiency, and durability. Anticipating the tension of the strings, the instrument had to be built strong, yet be able to incorporate the functions and mechanisms on a lifesize scale. With many moving parts, it also had to withstand the repeated demands of a keyboard instrument. Several prototypes of the various sections were made. After finalizing designs, I started amassing the necessary LEGO parts. | |||||||||||||||||
| This instrument would not have been as sturdy without the use of larger sized bricks, such as the 2x8 and 1x16. Staggering these and the sheer reach they afford established the structural integrity. Large plates (mostly 6x8 thru 6x16) and wing shaped pieces (6x6 and 6x12) were packed abundantly (three plates thick) to build the interlacingly secure bottom. A three braced frame in the soundchamber and a two brick thick grid under the bottom plates completed the foundation. Also, Technic ("mechanical" LEGO) parts were relied upon to create the keyboard pivots, locking supports for the soundboard and wrestplank, bridge and nut mounts, hinges for the lid, underside of the jack rail, and the tuning and hitch pins. Foremost amongst these were the holed 1x16 brick, 2x8 plate, 1x7 liftarm, and long friction pin. However, as tight as the pins held in the holes, they weren't capable of keeping taut, let alone pitch. Taking pipe cleaners dabbed with PVC cement, I melted the holes so that the pins could hold the strings tightly while still being able to turn for tuning. Acoustically, the instrument would benefit from being as smooth as possible, so instead of having the standard LEGO studs exposed, I covered them up with tiles (smooth topped flat pieces). Besides the functional studs that align the strings on the bridge and nut, no external stud is untiled. Likewise, the entire unseen floor of the soundchamber is decked with hundreds of 1x8 tiles. The end result is as resonant as LEGO will get. Single studded 1x2 plates were most convenient not only to build between studs (which was necessary for jack alignment), but as the basis for the plectra--after some bansaw and surgical scalpel mutilation. Some of the more whimsical LEGO elements were integrated as well: arches (and inverse arches) for the soundhole, roof slopes for the "curvature" of the internal frame and leg decorations, rubber tires to reduce the "clack" of the keys and jacks, and cloth capes (as worn by the likes of the Hermione Granger minifig) for the dampers. Mosly these were ordered in bulk from LEGO Shop At Home and Bricklink, with some parts (the majority of the 1x8 tiles) obtained from the Legoland California Model Shop store. |  | |||||||||||||||||
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 | I started with the keyboard first, making sure it was translateable on a lifesize scale into LEGO. Luckily, there's just enough space between the keys--any less and the friction would've caused them to stick. Elemental to this design is the sideways alignment of the bricks on the natural keys as the accidentals are built with the conventionally upward pointing stud. After designing a preliminary jack (which itself went through a dozen evolutions, especially after being strung), the rack was built. Despite having a single manual, the rack is double rowed, half a stud displaced. This allowed for the key/jack configuration. These designs were repeated 61 times. The casing was made next. This was standard building. Well, the bentside was done with turntables to swivel the bricks as they traced the angles of the winged bottom. After going through about a third height of the case, the five legs were attached. These took advantage of skeletally stacked grid patterned 2x8s and the weight of the instrument for firm elevation. The soundboard and wrestplank were built laterally in relation to the casing--the studs face to the side. This was done in order to preserve the smoothness of the bricks' sides and to counter the tension of the strings--with this design, as the strings pull they hold the soundboard and wrestplank together rather than ripping them apart if built otherwise. Technic parts were used to secure these directional changes of the studs. As the bridge is mounted upon the soundboard, reasonable speaking length (the distance between the bridge and nut) recalculations called for several revisions of that entire section. Then it was locked into place as the case continued its building. The lid was constructed, but removed to enable easier access for stringing. LEGO as a medium holds rather well, not to mention is heavier than hell on a compoundedly large scale. This weight is what holds the parts together and ultimately handles the tension. During stringing, as I cranked the tuning pins, often I'd hear a disturbing creak off in a corner. I'd check the case, soundboard, and wrestplank for faults as there was the fear that the whole thing would implode. There's a certain self personification projected onto an instrument of one's own building. I spine crackingly empathized with the literal tension. A growing crack was forming behind the tuning pins, to the point that each added string increasingly threw all the others out of tune. I reinforced the wrestplank (doubling its thickness). So far, it's holding. | |||||||||||||||||
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| The final jack design couldn't be realized until they were activated. Only after seeing (and hearing) how they were plucking the strings could I devise the plectra all within the space of about four studs. At this point I'd figured out I was gonna use the single studded 1x2 plate securely attached (and adjustably so) to a 1x7 liftarm as the most minimally complicated and maximally effective solution. Two problems occurred: the back end of the plate was hitting the neighbouring string and there was a nasty downward pluck. Simply, I shaved off the edges with a bansaw to allow for only one string to get struck and I carved out the bottom of the plucking end with a surgical scalpel to allow for a sweep upon return. This didn't completely eliminate the downward pluck, but it was better. Dampers also helped the matter by silencing the ringing of the strings when the keys are released. For these, cloth capes were rolled, cut, and glued (Duco cement) onto the bottom of sliced single studded 1x2 plates. The jack rail serves to contain the jacks from flying out of the rack and acts as a buffer which determines key action. I've set it pretty tight, giving the jacks very little room to move--beyond my preferences, this was purposeful as restricting the leeway presents a more consistent sound. Hubless tires suspended on axels, one per jack, were hung underneath the rail. Along with the jack rail, the nameboard is removeable just in case any adjustments are needed. Due to the odd angles of the bridge and nut, the strings come in from whacky directions, which means each plectrum has a different orientation. All 61 notes need to be uniquely calibrated. The lid was tricky in that building it sideways (for smoothness) meant that it crumbled from it's own weight. Supports were made, but still couldn't keep it together. So I glued (PVC cement) the supports. The lid hinges on Technic parts with the case, but the front flaps were made with actual LEGO hinges (bases and tops). The lid stick is seemingly flimsy, but like the rest of the instrument, is a sturdy combination of large bricks with studs going at opposite directions, packed with plates, fastened with Technic parts, tiled for smoothness, and serves its little function. Music stand simile. |  | |||||||||||||||||
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| Thanks: - Robert Portillo, for expertise and wire - Umberto Belfiore, for recording and helping with the lid - Eric Harshbarger, for leg attachment assistance - Mike Wong, for bumping into it and dude, proving just how stable it is - UCLA Music Library, for reference material Reference: - Kern, Evan J.: Harpsichord: Design and Construction (New York, 1980) - Neupert, Hanns: Harpsichord Manual: A Historical and Technical Discussion (Kassel, 1960) - Paul, John: Modern Harpsichord Makers (London, 1981) - Ripin, Edwin M., ed.: Early Keyboard Instruments (New York, 1989) - Schott, Howard: Playing the Harpsichord (Mineola, 2002) - Zuckermann, Wolfgang Joachim: The Modern Harpsichord: Twentieth-Century Instruments and Their Makers (New York, 1969) | ||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
1966--1976 电影一览表
Re:Re:Re:旧照片--旧记忆-名都有约-搜房网
1966--1976 电影一览表 zt来自〈〈强国论坛〉〉
（包括舞台艺术片）
1970年2部
北京电影制片厂1部：《智取威虎山》 （京剧）
八一电影制片厂1部：《红灯记》 （京剧）
1971年2部
北京电影制片厂1部：《红色娘子军》 （舞剧）
长春电影制片厂1部：《沙家浜》 （京剧）
1972年5部
北京电影制片厂与上海电影制片厂合拍1部：《海港》 （京剧）
北京电影制片厂1部：《龙江颂》 （京剧）
上海电影制片厂1部：《白毛女》 （舞剧）
八一电影制片厂1部：《红色娘子军》 （京剧）
长春电影制片厂1部：《奇袭白虎团》 （京剧）
1973年4部
北京电影制片厂与上海电影制片厂合拍1部：《海港》 （京剧，重拍）
长春电影制片厂3部：《艳阳天》
《战洪图》
《青松岭》
1974年17部
北京电影制片厂4部：《杜鹃山》 （京剧）
《侦察兵》
《南征北战》 （重拍）
《送货路上》 （湖南花鼓戏）
上海电影制片厂4部：《火红的年代》
《无影灯下颂银针》
《渡江侦察记》 （重拍）
《一副保险带》
八一电影制片厂2部：《平原作战》 （京剧）
《闪闪的红星》
长春电影制片厂5部：《创业》
《钢铁巨人》
《平原游击队》 （重拍）
《向阳院的故事》
《半篮花生》 （越剧）
珠江电影制片厂1部：《沙家浜》 （粤剧）
中央新闻纪录电影制片厂1部：《园丁之歌》
1975年24部
北京电影制片厂6部：《海霞》
《红雨》
《决裂》
《草原儿女》 （舞剧）
《烽火少年》
《渡口》 （河北梆子）
上海电影制片厂6部：《战船台》
《春苗》
《第二个春天》
《小将》
《人老心红》 （淮剧）
《拣煤渣》 （淮剧）
八一电影制片厂4部：《沂蒙颂》 （舞剧）
《激战无名川》
《红灯记》 （维吾尔语歌剧）
《雷雨之前》
长春电影制片厂5部：《金光大道》（上集）
《车轮滚滚》
《长城新曲》
《黄河少年》
《沙漠的春天》
西安电影制片厂2部：《碧海红波》
《阿勇》
珠江电影制片厂1部：《小螺号》
1976年40部
北京电影制片厂7部：《反击》
《山花》
《沸腾的群山》
《宝莲灯》 （上、下集，河北梆子）
《青春似火》
《牛角石》
《海上明珠》
上海电影制片厂13部：《欢腾的小凉河》
《年轻的一代》 （此片系重拍）
《磐石湾》 （京剧）
《征途》
《难忘的战斗》
《江水滔滔》
《审椅子》 （京剧）
《新风歌》
《金锁》
《阿夏河的秘密》
《管得好》 （吕剧）
《三定桩》 （莱芜梆子）
《小店春早》 （黄梅戏）
八一电影制片厂4部：《红军不怕远征南——长征组歌》 （舞台艺术片）
《南海风云》
《红云冈》 （京剧）
《南海长城》
长春电影制片厂7部：《雁鸣湖畔》
《芒果之歌》
《长空雄鹰》
《锁龙湖》
《山村新风》
《金光大道》（中集）
西安电影制片厂1部：《开山的人》
珠江电影制片厂3部：《枫树湾》
《山里红梅》
《红霞万朵》 （黄梅戏）
峨嵋电影制片厂2部：《寄托》
《春潮急》
广西电影制片厂1部：《主课》
中央新闻纪录电影制片厂1部：《两张图纸》 （湖南花鼓戏此主题相关图片如下：
¶ 11:00 PM 0 comments
1966--1976 电影一览表 zt来自〈〈强国论坛〉〉
（包括舞台艺术片）
1970年2部
北京电影制片厂1部：《智取威虎山》 （京剧）
八一电影制片厂1部：《红灯记》 （京剧）
1971年2部
北京电影制片厂1部：《红色娘子军》 （舞剧）
长春电影制片厂1部：《沙家浜》 （京剧）
1972年5部
北京电影制片厂与上海电影制片厂合拍1部：《海港》 （京剧）
北京电影制片厂1部：《龙江颂》 （京剧）
上海电影制片厂1部：《白毛女》 （舞剧）
八一电影制片厂1部：《红色娘子军》 （京剧）
长春电影制片厂1部：《奇袭白虎团》 （京剧）
1973年4部
北京电影制片厂与上海电影制片厂合拍1部：《海港》 （京剧，重拍）
长春电影制片厂3部：《艳阳天》
《战洪图》
《青松岭》
1974年17部
北京电影制片厂4部：《杜鹃山》 （京剧）
《侦察兵》
《南征北战》 （重拍）
《送货路上》 （湖南花鼓戏）
上海电影制片厂4部：《火红的年代》
《无影灯下颂银针》
《渡江侦察记》 （重拍）
《一副保险带》
八一电影制片厂2部：《平原作战》 （京剧）
《闪闪的红星》
长春电影制片厂5部：《创业》
《钢铁巨人》
《平原游击队》 （重拍）
《向阳院的故事》
《半篮花生》 （越剧）
珠江电影制片厂1部：《沙家浜》 （粤剧）
中央新闻纪录电影制片厂1部：《园丁之歌》
1975年24部
北京电影制片厂6部：《海霞》
《红雨》
《决裂》
《草原儿女》 （舞剧）
《烽火少年》
《渡口》 （河北梆子）
上海电影制片厂6部：《战船台》
《春苗》
《第二个春天》
《小将》
《人老心红》 （淮剧）
《拣煤渣》 （淮剧）
八一电影制片厂4部：《沂蒙颂》 （舞剧）
《激战无名川》
《红灯记》 （维吾尔语歌剧）
《雷雨之前》
长春电影制片厂5部：《金光大道》（上集）
《车轮滚滚》
《长城新曲》
《黄河少年》
《沙漠的春天》
西安电影制片厂2部：《碧海红波》
《阿勇》
珠江电影制片厂1部：《小螺号》
1976年40部
北京电影制片厂7部：《反击》
《山花》
《沸腾的群山》
《宝莲灯》 （上、下集，河北梆子）
《青春似火》
《牛角石》
《海上明珠》
上海电影制片厂13部：《欢腾的小凉河》
《年轻的一代》 （此片系重拍）
《磐石湾》 （京剧）
《征途》
《难忘的战斗》
《江水滔滔》
《审椅子》 （京剧）
《新风歌》
《金锁》
《阿夏河的秘密》
《管得好》 （吕剧）
《三定桩》 （莱芜梆子）
《小店春早》 （黄梅戏）
八一电影制片厂4部：《红军不怕远征南——长征组歌》 （舞台艺术片）
《南海风云》
《红云冈》 （京剧）
《南海长城》
长春电影制片厂7部：《雁鸣湖畔》
《芒果之歌》
《长空雄鹰》
《锁龙湖》
《山村新风》
《金光大道》（中集）
西安电影制片厂1部：《开山的人》
珠江电影制片厂3部：《枫树湾》
《山里红梅》
《红霞万朵》 （黄梅戏）
峨嵋电影制片厂2部：《寄托》
《春潮急》
广西电影制片厂1部：《主课》
中央新闻纪录电影制片厂1部：《两张图纸》 （湖南花鼓戏此主题相关图片如下：
¶ 11:00 PM 0 comments
A girl is visible through the Europe Gate, which is a light transmitting concrete statue made in 2004 to celebrate Hungary's European Union membership, exhibited in Komarom, west of Budapest May 10, 2005. The statue is made of LiTraCon, a new building material invented by Losonczi, which is a combination of optical fibres and fine concrete and can be produced as prefabricated building blocks and panels. LiTraCon is a global patent. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh ¶ 9:41 PM 0 comments
