Ice shelf brink of collapse | Reuters

 

Ice shelf brink of collapse

Mon Apr 6, 2009 11:24pm EDT

Apr 6 - A new survey indicates Arctic ice is thinner and melting away faster than ever before, while in the Antarctic, the Wilkins ice shelf is on the brink of collapse.
A six-year NASA report concludes Arctic ice is thinner and melting away faster than previously thought due to global warming.
The report was released as news that the Wilkins ice shelf in Antarctica was a on brink of disintegrating.
Satellite photos taken by the European Space Agency confirm that the thread of ice connecting the ice shelf to land had shattered leading scientists to warn that the entire ice shelf could soon break up and disappear.
The Wilkins Shelf would be one of the largest slabs of ice to ever break off.
NASA coordinated with the National Snow and Ice Data Center to collect the data for the study. They combined the results from several ground research expeditions and images from ICESat, NASA's Ice Cloud, and land Elevation satellites.
Arctic ice is important because it reflects sunlight back into space. The less ice here is, the more of the sun's rays hit the ocean thereby heating the planet even more. The warmer the planet, the higher the chance that sea levels will rise. The 'dynamic effects' NASA scientist Tom Wagner talks about are events such as the Wilkins break.

Asteroid hits Earth, scientists collect samples | World | News.com.au

 

STUNNED astronomers watched as an asteroid hit the Earth's atmosphere and fell to ground, before they collected samples in an historic first.

Star-gazers watched a car-sized asteroid explode into a brilliant meteor shower as it crashed into Earth's atmosphere, then wandered into a Sudanese desert to pick up the pieces, a study reports.

It was the first time ever that scientists recovered fragments from an asteroid detected in space, according to the study, published in the British journal Nature this week.

"Any number of meteorites have been observed as fireballs and smoking meteor trails as they come through the atmosphere," said co-author Douglas Rumble, a researcher at the Carnegie Institution.

"But to actually see this object before it gets to the Earth's atmosphere and then follow it in -- that's the unique thing."

The drama unfolded like an overheated Hollywood script, according to a reconstruction of the event by Nature.

Asteroid hits Earth, scientists collect samples | World | News.com.au

2 Komodo dragons kill man in Indonesia

 

Two Komodo dragons mauled a fruit-picker to death in eastern Indonesia, police and witnesses said Tuesday, the latest in a string of attacks on humans by the world's largest lizard species.

The dark side of Pink Floyd - Times Online

 

The dark side of Pink Floyd

It’s rock music’s most complicated saga, involving ego wars, madness and death. Robert Sandall explains why nothing — not even $250m — can put the pieces of Pink Floyd together again

The dark side of Pink Floyd - Times Online

Find the Big Dipper in the Big Bear - Space.com- msnbc.com

 

Find the Big Dipper in the Big Bear

Big Dipper will be nearly overhead around 11:30 p.m. local daylight time

Look high in the sky toward the northeast this time of year and you can't miss the Big Dipper. Making out the Big Bear (Ursa Major) could prove a little more challenging. This map shows them at around 8 p.m. from mid-northern latitudes this weekend.

By Joe Rao

updated 3:35 p.m. CT, Fri., March. 20, 2009

Scholars are fairly sure that the oldest of our star groups trace back to the Mesopotamian peoples of five or more millennia ago. In fact, the creatures that were made into the ancient Western constellations are similar to those in the Bible. And there are hints that some are far older.

The fact that the Big Dipper, now nearly overhead for most northern observers at around 11:30 p.m. local daylight time, formed a bear to American Indians and to cultures of the Old World and Siberia suggests that our Ursa Major is a very ancient star pattern.

In Angola, pope condemns sorcery - Africa - msnbc.com

 

Papal visit
Pope Benedict XVI makes his first visit to Africa since becoming pontiff to make an appeal for “international solidarity” in the face of the economic crisis.

updated 7:40 a.m. CT, Sat., March. 21, 2009

LUANDA, Angola - Pope Benedict XVI appealed to the Catholics of Angola on Saturday to reach out to and convert believers in witchcraft who feel threatened by "spirits" and "evil powers" of sorcery.

On his first pilgrimage to Africa, the pope drew on the more than 500 years of Roman Catholicism in Angola, saying that Christianity was a bridge between the local peoples and the Portuguese settlers.

"In today's Angola, Catholics should offer the message of Christ to the many who live in the fear of spirits, of evil powers by whom they feel threatened, disoriented, even reaching the point of condemning street children and even the most elderly because — they say — they are sorcerers."

BestInClass Tells You Which Camera the Experts Would Buy [Buying Guide]

You're a fan of photographing food in restaurants and your kids outdoors, and you've got about $300 to spend on a new digital camera. BestInClass can tell you what experienced shooters would recommend buying.

The site, which compiles and sorts the reviews and blog posts of more than 750 professional shooters, hobbyists, and photography web sites, doesn't make you do any sorting, sifting, or weighing of whose opinions matter more. You check off boxes to indicate what you like to photograph, choose a size (fits in jacket, pants, or doesn't matter), and then slide to a price limit.

The results are a nicely streamlined selection of reviews and buyer information, topped off with a specific camera BestInClass sees as your best bet. The sites uses a "fancy algorithm developed over two years" to pick out which make and model fits what you picked as your typical uses, then ranks the rest on the same criteria. You get review outtakes, average customer reviews, technical specs on each model, and not too many ads to interrupt your dig.

BestInClass expects to expand into different consumer purchase arenas, but is focused on digital cameras at launch. We can't say yet whether its algorithms do a better job than an afternoon spent price-matching and feature-comparing, but it's at least a great starting point for narrowing the field. Free to use, no sign-up required.

BestInClass [via MakeUseOf.com]

John Lennon in the Movies

I will listen to, read, or watch basically anything that has to do with The Beatles, and I recommend that you do the same. This film right here, which deals with John Lennon's unhappy teenage years—including his difficult relationship with auntie Julia, and his friendship/rivalry with young Paul McCartney, was written by the guy who wrote the brilliant Control, which dealt with Ian Curtis of Joy Division's unhappy teenage years. It might just finally do what almost no one has managed to do since 1963: make a Beatles movie right.

From RollingStone.com:

Nowhere Boy, a biopic about John Lennon’s childhood, has been picked up by the Weinstein Company, Variety reports. The project is two weeks into filming with Aaron Johnson, who played the young Ed Norton in The Illusionist, in the role of Lennon and English Patient star Kristin Scott Thomas portraying the Beatle’s aunt, who battled Lennon’s mother Julia for custody. The film will examine the effects each woman and their custody fight had on the young musician. Variety says the movie will also laser in on Lennon’s bond with Paul McCartney, and concludes when the Beatles leave Liverpool and head off to Germany.

Taking its title from Rubber Soul’s “Nowhere Man,” Nowhere Boy will be directed by Sam Taylor Wood, who helmed the Buzzcocks-inspired Love You More, with a screenplay penned by Joy Division biopic Control writer Matt Greenhalgh. The screenplay was based on the memoir written by Julia Baird, Lennon’s mother. “The story of John Lennon’s childhood has never been told, and now Beatles fans will be able to gain insight into his fascinating life,” Weinstein Company president of theatrical films Tom Ortenberg said in a press release. The company plans to release the movie in time for consideration for awards season, with a wider release to follow in January 2010.

According to a press release issued by the Weinstein Company that appears in full at Variety, the film’s full synopsis is:

“John Lennon is an ordinary fifteen year old boy on the streets of Liverpool. Funny, smart, naughty, a real edge to him. But life is not simple for John — he grew up in a family of secrets and was raised by his Aunt Mimi from the age of five. When he is suddenly reacquainted with his mother, Julia, they form an unbreakable bond. A bitter war rages between the two sisters for John’s love. Faced with bringing it to an end, he learns the secret heartbreak of his past. But his mother gives him one great gift — music. A wayward boy finds his voice, and walks into the Beatles.”

Police seize more than $1 million from Phish fans

 

© JOEL PAGE/AP

Police seize more than $1 million from Phish fans

March 9, 2009, 4:19 PM EST

HAMPTON, Va. (AP) -- Some Phish fans are leaving Hampton a little lighter than when they arrived for the band's weekend reunion.

Police said Monday they confiscated about $1.2 million in illegal drugs and more than $68,000 in cash from concertgoers. Authorities also arrested 194 Phish fans during the three-night celebration of the band's return to the stage after a nearly five-year absence.

Most of the arrests were for drug possession, use and distribution, police said.

Tourism officials had estimated 75,000 fans would be coming to the coastal Virginia city. Nearly 200 law enforcement officers worked the weekend event, with the Vermont-based band picking up the tab.

Geddy Lee Blender magazine interview

 

The April 2009 issue of Blender magazine features Geddy Lee in their Dear Superstar column where readers submit questions for their favorite rockers. The 4-page spread includes 17 bizarre questions from fans along with Geddy's witty responses. No great insights in this article, but it's definitely a fun read. You can check out a scan of the article by clicking on the thumbnails above. Thanks to RicBass4003 for the scans....