Famed physicist Kip Thorne brought real science to this year’s sci-fi movie epic “Interstellar.”
In his new book “The Science of ‘Interstellar'” (W.W. Norton & Company, 2014), Thorne goes into detail about the physics that underlies the awesome phenomena explored in the movie, including black holes, time dilation, a disease that could decimate food crops on Earth and an alien planet with 4,000-foot-tall (1,200 meters) water waves.
If the bars of Los Angeles could talk, they’d have an awful lot of tales to tell — old Hollywood was full of famously hard drinkers. And while LA’s watering holes are keeping their secrets, one author, Mark Bailey, has uncorked a slew of stories from the city’s plastered past.
In his book Of All the Gin Joints: Stumbling through Hollywood History, Bailey details the history of Hollywood’s love affair with liquor. It’s full of tales of beloved actors, directors and screenwriters behaving badly, from the early days of film all the way up to the 1970s — and includes recipes for some stars’ favorite cocktails.
If you have a question about any little thing that crosses your mind, there’s a good change you pull out your phone and consult Google, being dished up a bunch of answers in no time at all. Of course, that convenience has only been around for a brief out our inquisitive history, and before such options existed people had to resort to slower, more limited resources. The New York Public Library was one such source as shown by a bunch of reference cards from the 1940s through 1980s.
The New York Public Library has surfaced a box full of reference questions typed on cards, each of them dated and some containing names. You can see one example below, and a couple more in the gallery farther down.
ASHEVILLE, NC — The U.S. Census bureau reports North Carolina with nearly ten million people is now the 9th most populated state in the nation. From July 2013 to July 2014 the population grew by more than 95,000. In Asheville business owners say they’re seeing it through their numbers.
Redfearn founder and owner of Private Mountain Communities. His nine-year-old company helps families looking for retirement dream homes find a development that best matches their interests. Redfearn has been in real estate for decades. He said his business has over 70,000 active prospects and hasn’t seen business this strong since 2007 prior to the real estate market’s downturn during the recession. As for the census report he isn’t surprised.
“As Asheville continues to enjoy the national accolades from best outdoor adventure town to beer city usa,” said Redfearn, “It’s just become more of a destination tourism market.”
When documentary filmmakers Lucie Faulknor and Dawn Logsdon were evacuated to Baton Rouge, LA, from their home in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, they were struck by the essential role played by the public library in the days following the disaster. Staff worked
long hours to help people locate missing family members, friends, and pets; fill out FEMA forms; communicate with insurance companies; and use the library computers. “They had an assembly line to give everybody a library card,” Faulknor said, “and we realized that librarians were also first responders.”
“I love California – I love California,” said Christoph Guttentag, a San Francisco Bay Area native and dean of undergraduate admissions at Duke University, where he has been since 1992. “But the prices are too high, and the commutes are too long.”
What kind of reader were you as a child? Your favorite book? Most beloved character?
I was a library rat. Libraries are the mainstays of democracy. The first thing dicta
tors do when taking over a country is close all the libraries, because libraries are full of ideas and differences of opinion, all the things we say we want in a free and open society. So keep ‘em, fund ‘em, embrace and cherish ‘em. Growing up, I loved the series of biographies of famous people, but which chronicled only their childhoods. It made me think anything was possible with my life. Beloved characters mostly involved animals with human characteristics. I could never get enough. My psychiatrist says he’s very close to an answer on that one.
By adding an average of 803 new residents each day between July 1, 2013 and July 1, 2014, Florida passed New York to become the nation’s third most populous state, according to U.S. Census Bureau state population estimates released today. Florida’s population grew by 293,000 over this period, reaching 19.9 million. The population of New York increased by 51,000 to 19.7 million.
California remained the nation’s most populous state in 2014, with 38.8 million residents, followed by Texas, at 27.0 million. Although the list of the 10 most populous states overall was unchanged, two other states did change positions, as North Carolina moved past Michigan to take the ninth spot.
Another milestone took place in Georgia (ranked 8th), which saw its population surpass 10 million for the first time.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Philip Rivers looked at the 21-point deficit on the scoreboard at halftime and even he wondered whether the San Diego Chargers had it in them to come back. The season depended on it, so Rivers took charge.
He prevailed through a balky back and a sore chest to keep San Diego’s slim playoff chances alive, rallying his team to tie it in the final minute and setting up Nick Novak’s 40-yard field goal nearly 5 minutes into overtime in a 38-35 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night.
For the first time since Jim Harbaugh became their head coach in 2011, the San Francisco 49ers played a meaningless December game in which they had no shot at the playoffs. Eliminated by virtue of their loss to the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday, Harbaugh’s team started off strong at home against the San Diego Chargers on Saturday night, playing as if it had nothing to lose, racking up 355 total rushing yards and reverting to the power ground game that had defined it over the last four seasons. The 49ers had a 28-7 halftime lead, and looked for all the world as if they, and not the San Diego Chargers, still had a postseason chance to fight for.
The trick for Quora, however, is that it has to ensure that the quality of its content remains high, because the network effects built into a site like Facebook — it’s where all your friends are — don’t necessarily exist to keep people on the site. To keep people coming back, Quora relies on the strength of its questions and answers and its overall pool of knowledge and experts. D’Angelo’s bet is that people’s curiosity and desire for knowledge — and desire to share their knowledge — will be just as valuable as the need to connect with friends or stream music.
“It’s a Wonderful Life, American dramatic film, released in 1946, that is widely considered one of the most inspirational and beloved movies in Americ
English: Screenshot of Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed in the American film It’s a Wonderful Life (1946). The film lapsed into the public domain in the United States due to the failure of National Telefilm Associates, the last copyright owner, to renew. See film article for details. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
an cinema. The film, which was produced and directed by Frank Capra, has become synonymous with Christmas, when it is frequently televised.”
“Had I been driving I would not have stopped here. But I was lured from the sidewalk by an open gate and the mysterious buildings beyond. There was a Moorish structure with a minaret, another was Italian with a loggia, a third had a fleur-de-lis on a chimney. It was as if a snow globe village had been dropped onto Sunset Boulevard. At the back of the hushed lot, a stone statue, naked to her hips, stood sentry.”
“Before we posted our family Christmas photo on Facebook, we mailed images of our idealized selves and lives to the people we loved”
“My great-grandmother, who was born in the 1880s, passed away when I was about 11 years old. Looking back, it is fairly obvious now that she was a hoarder on a colossal scale, but since this predated reality television, we tended just to say she was a packrat. As we cleaned out her house in rural Missouri, there was something special waiting: two boxes brimming with postcards. These were not of the “wish you were here” variety depicting washed-out hotel swimming pools and palm-tree-lined boulevards. These were older, more elaborate—variously embossed, gilded, tinseled, and extravagantly colored. They were greetings for birthdays and anniversaries, tokens of affection and romantic overture, and happy returns for every holiday on the calendar. Christmas, especially.”
“When the weather outside is frightful, nothing’s more perfect than curling up with a Christmas flick. Bundle up in your coziest winter garb, grab a hot beverage and ring in the season with one of these holiday movies. Also check out the must-see movies and shows coming to Netflix in December 2014.”
Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time. —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “A Psalm of Life,” 1839 C.E.
.. epigraph quote from “Coming Home” by Jack McDevitt…
“WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Communications Commission are targeting Sprint in an investigation into whether the company illegally billed customers tens of millions of dollars for unauthorized charges related to premium text messages.”
“The consumer bureau sued Sprint in Federal District Court in Manhattan on Wednesday, accusing Sprint of operating a billing system that allowed third parties to “cram” unauthorized charges onto consumers’ mobile phone bills.”
Seal of the United States Federal Communications Commission. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“Steven Spielberg’s 1998 World War II epic, “Saving Private Ryan,” Joel and Ethan Coen’s cult comedy “The Big Lebowski” and the 1976 drama “Please Don’t Bury Me Alive!” — considered by historians to be the first Chicano feature film — are among the 25 titles added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.”
“The selections are to be announced Wednesday by the librarian of Congress, James H. Billington, who recognizes the pictures as “cultural, historical or aesthetic cinematic treasures.” ”
” “The National Film Registry showcases the extraordinary diversity of America’s film heritage and the disparate strands making it so vibrant,” read a statement from Billington. “By preserving these films, we protect a crucial element of American creativity, culture and history.” ”
English: four-color National Film Registry Logo on black background (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“By now with Christmas only 9 days away, many are probably rushing to do their last minute shopping, baking the last batch of cookies, feeling stressed by too many annoying Christmas songs and commercials blasting out of the airwaves, all while dashing through the snow on their one-horse open sleigh.”
“No wonder we often lose the true meaning of Christmas.”
“For those still in throes of meeting fast approaching deadlines, I thought I would offer a Christmas tip sheet
“Ladies and gentlemen, the Bard is back. With the recent discovery of a previously unknown First Folio in a French library, Shakespeare has once again been thrust into the limelight (as if he ever left).”
“Shakespeare’s current status is often described as “bardolatry,” an excessive veneration of the man marked by elaborate myths about who he was and what he really accomplished. One of the more popular myths involves Shakespeare’s “wildly extensive” vocabulary and ferocious knack for coining new words. (In reality, Shakespeare’s vocabulary was less than half of the average person’s today and he only coined 229 new words, coming in 4th among English wordsmiths.) Over the years, Shakespearean scholars have laboriously worked to debunk those myths. (For a great example of this type of work, check out Oxford scholars Laurie Maguire and Emma Smith’s recent book, “30 Myths About Shakespeare.”) However, despite the best efforts of experts, some misperceptions about the Bard still refuse to die.”
“Thousands of people poured into Halifax’s new library during Saturday’s grand opening.”
“More than 10,000 people visited the Halifax Central Library during it’s official grand opening Saturday.”
“The reaction from everyone CBC spoke to was overwhelmingly positive.”
“It’s fantastic. What a wonderful thing for Halifax to do. It’s unique, it’s innovative, it’s right off the charts — and I can’t believe the city actually took it on and completed it and it’s wonderful,” said one of the visitors.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
[originally published 12/24 in 2004, from my old blog]
Here’s my favorite Christmas movies, with links to see more about them at the Internet Movie Database..
I know I said top ten, but I’m adding a movie to the mix this year, let’s call it an extra listing #11.. see below.. if you haven’t seen the “Office Christmas Party,” settle in for some hilarious, over-the-top spoofing of holiday parties and office culture…
enjoy the holidays…
1) A Christmas Carol – The early version from 1951 with Alastair Sim is still my favorite, and favorite version of this Dickens’ tale…
2) National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – The Griswald Family Christmas is a holiday fun treat, with enough silly gags, laughs, and even risque fun.. there’s nothing like an old-fashioned family Christmas…
3) Christmas in Connecticut – Old black and white that never fails to make me laugh, and tug at the heartstrings.. yes, sentimental but a favorite…
4) Love Actually – New onto my list this year, I can’t quite get that Christmas is All Around song out of my head, nor the criss-star-crossed lovers in this homage to British love in all its variety.. a new holiday favorite.. and I want the soundtrack CD…
5) Serendipity – Another romantic comedy, which happens to take place in part at Christmas.. it’s magical, lyrical, funny, and lifts you up where you belong…
6) A Christmas Carol – To my mind, this version with Patrick Stewart steals the thunder of classic-redone well, and puts to shame some other versions other there.. for a modern retelling with power, try this one.. made for tv, but looks very good…
7) Home Alone – The original still sings a tale of lonely boy, loser criminals, and a lost family, at Christmastime.. good, and pass on the sequels…
8) A Christmas Story – Hilarious romp in the 1940s with a boy, a BB gun, Santa, elves, dogs eating turkey, and more…
9) It’s a Wonderful Life – No list would be complete for Christmas without this favorite look at life without *you* and the magic we all make in each life we touch.. always good to view on Christmas Eve…
10) White Christmas – Irving Berlin’s music, Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby and some wonderful ladies led by Rosemary Clooney make a holiday winner.. complete with shows, trains, snow, and post-WWII moments to reflect on…
11) Office Christmas Party – “When his uptight CEO sister threatens to shut down his branch, the branch manager throws an epic Christmas party in order to land a big client and save the day, but the party gets way out of hand…” -IMDB ..it’s wild and wacky, but somehow, it all works.. maybe don’t show to the whole family, has some rough language, etc. But, I laugh every time I watch…
Merry Christmas Eve to all, and to all, a good night…
“Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) was an American writer who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954. He was born in Oak Park, Illinois, and began his writing career as a newspaperman in Kansas City at the age of 17. His experiences in Europe informed his early novels. Hemingway served with a volunteer ambulance unit in the Alps in World War I, lived in Paris for much of the 1920s, and reported on the Greek Revolution and the civil war in Spain. His sense of these events resulted in The Sun Also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms (1929), and, some think his greatest novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940). Hemingway divided his time in much of the 1930s and 1940s between Key West, Florida and Cuba. He was an avid outdoorsman whose interest in such sports as hunting, fishing, and bull fighting were reflected in his novels and short stories. In Key West and Cuba, Hemingway discovered a passion for big-game fishing that would inspire him for the remainder of his life and that prompted his outstanding short novel, The Old Man and the Sea (1951). This photograph, taken in Key West in the 1940s, shows Hemingway with a sailfish he had caught. Many of his novels, short stories, and his nonfiction work are classics of American literature, distinctive for their understatement, spare prose, and authentic characterization.”
“Continuing its efforts to become more of a mobile ecosystem player, Microsoft today has released a suite of MSN-branded mobile applications that run on iOS, Android and Amazon devices. The free apps, previously created under the awkward Bing label, were originally built for Windows 8 and Windows Phone devices. The lineup includes MSN apps for News, Weather, Sports, Food & Drink, Healthy & Fitness, and Money. The apps are available as of this morning on iTunes, Google Play and the Amazon Appstore.”
“NEW YORK (CBS) – David Letterman will host his final broadcast of the “Late Show” on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT) on CBS, it was announced today by CBS and Worldwide Pants Incorporated, Letterman’s production company.”
English: David Letterman hosting President Barack Obama at Late Show with David Letterman. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“NEW YORK—As digital technology began to expand at the turn of the century, it seemed public libraries would go the way of the bookstore. After all, who needs paper books when you can download classics like Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” right to your smartphone or tablet?”
“It is true the demand for paper books has diminished (just ask any publishing executive). Digital is the undisputed way of the future, but that doesn’t mean the library is dead. In fact, it’s quite the contrary.”
“Attendance to New York City libraries continues to grow, even as library hours shrink.”
Posted: December 5th, 2014 | Arts & Entertainment, Featured | No Comments
“The 30-year-strong Film Forum still a hit at Central Library”
by Cynthia Robertson
“These days, the high cost of movies often prevents people from going out to see them, with people choosing instead to watch DVDs in their homes. Thus, enjoying a movie has become almost an individualistic ritual, completely removed from community.”
“Not so with the Film Forum of San Diego, introduced by Ralph and Carol DeLauro, who began showing movies at the old Central Library 30 years ago.”
A Night at the Movies (film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“John Hughes knew a thing or two about families. His 1983 film National Lampoon’s Vacation, based on an awful real-life trip he took with his family to Disneyland in the ’50s, establishes the character Clark “Sparky” Griswold, a goodhearted, well-intentioned man who tries so hard to please his family that it results in a couple of deaths. On the surface, 1989’s third Vacation installment, Christmas Vacation, which was based on Hughes’s “Christmas ’59” short story, is about an hapless idiot who fails in every way possible to give his family a merry holiday. The 25,000 imported Italian twinkle lights he staples on his house don’t work at first. He is berated endlessly by his father-in-law, and his horrible boss, played by Brian Doyle-Murray, causes Clark to have a small (okay, major) breakdown. The physical humor is unrealistic—especially that hyperbolic sledding scene—but if you distill Christmas Vacation to its core, it’s actually about an honorable man who adores his family and wants to make them happy.”
“Where traffic was once dominant, tourists now sit on waterfront benches made of Alaska yellow cedar and watch luxury liners and tour boats glide into place.”
“Newly planted jacaranda and palm trees help set the mood.”
“As civic upgrades go, the recent makeover of this stretch of San Diego’s waterfront is far from grand.”
“But it marks an important step in the city’s quest to devote more land along the water for public use. To create this promenade, the city reduced Harbor Drive by several lanes and gave that space over for recreation. It’s part of a national movement to open up more marine spaces in cities for people to walk and play by moving roads and freeways away.”
UCSD’s Geisel Library. It has been featured in several science-fiction movies because of its exotic appearance, and is the basis of the school’s current logo. It is considered to be one of the finest, if not the finest, examples of Brutalist architecture. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
From the time Navy signed an agreement a year ago to play in this year’s Poinsettia on Dec. 23, the bowl’s officials had their sights set on San Diego State as a possible opponent because the teams’ 2010 meeting, won by the Aztecs, drew a record crowd to Qualcomm Stadium of more than 48,000 for the bowl.
The College Football Playoff selection committee revealed its first four-team bracket on Sunday, seeding Alabama No. 1, Oregon No. 2, Florida State No. 3 and Ohio State No. 4. The two most deserving teams left out were Baylor and Texas Christian.
