Sunday, June 26, 2005

I want to be in a high school English class

I miss having English classes where we read novels at a slow pace and answer mindless questions about the things we read on a worksheet for homework. And then, Derek McBride can ask me for the answers because he never reads and then I can refuse to give him any answers unless he promises to stop scribbling dirty words on my papers and in my books, and even then I won't help him cheat on his homework. Then, at the end of the unit on American poetry or on 1984 I can work tirelessly on a project in which I make a collage concerning what we read or write a dramatization from a certain character's point of view and then present it to the class, to which Derek McBride will ask me stupid questions and Mrs. Rettger will tell him to shut up.
I miss high school English...

Saturday, June 25, 2005

Giant Popsicle Melts, Floods New York Park

June 22, 2:26 PM (ET)

NEW YORK (AP) - An attempt to erect the world's largest Popsicle in a city square ended with a scene straight out of a disaster film - but much stickier.

The 25-foot-tall, 17 1/2-ton treat of frozen Snapple juice melted faster than expected Tuesday, flooding Union Square in downtown Manhattan with kiwi-strawberry-flavored fluid that sent pedestrians scurrying for higher ground.

Firefighters closed off several streets and used hoses to wash away the sugary goo.
Snapple had been trying to promote a new line of frozen treats by setting a record for the world's largest Popsicle, but called off the stunt before it was pulled fully upright by a construction crane. Authorities said they were worried the thing would collapse in the 80-degree, first-day-of-summer heat.

"What was unsettling was that the fluid just kept coming," Stuart Claxton of the Guinness Book of World Records told the Daily News. "It was quite a lot of fluid. On a hot day like this, you have to move fast."

Snapple official Lauren Radcliffe said the company was unlikely to make a second attempt to break the record, set by a 21-foot pop in Holland in 1997.

The giant pop was supposed to have been able to withstand the heat for some time, and organizers weren't sure why it didn't. It had been made in Edison, N.J., and hauled to New York by freezer truck in the morning.

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Man dies after lightning strikes metal cross

Jun 23, 11:59 AM (ET)

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - A man died after lightning struck a metal cross he was holding during a funeral in a village near Ljubljana, the Slovenian news agency STA reported Thursday.

It said the 62-year-old man died in hospital Wednesday evening, several hours after the incident in the village of Brezovica. Another person at the funeral was slightly injured.

Monday, June 13, 2005

Katie Holmes digs Scientology

Katie Holmes Converting to Scientology
Jun 13, 3:57 PM (ET)

LONDON (AP) - Katie Holmes says she's embracing Scientology, the religion of her boyfriend, Tom Cruise.

Holmes, in London to promote her new film, "Batman Begins," was asked if she is taking lessons in the Church of Scientology, a religion founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard.

"Yes, I am, and I'm really excited about it," she said Monday.

The 26-year-old actress and Cruise went public with their romantic relationship in April. The former star of television's "Dawson's Creek" grew up with a poster of Cruise on her bedroom wall and has said she grew up wanting to marry him.

"We all keep dreaming, and luckily, dreams come true," Holmes said.

She dismissed critics who have accused the couple of staging a relationship for publicity of their new movies.

"It doesn't hurt me at all. There are a lot of people really, really happy for us. It's really exciting.
We are so happy. I don't really care about the critics," she said.

Asked about wedding plans, Holmes replied: "There's nothing official to report."
Cruise was in Tokyo Monday for the premiere of his new film, "War of the Worlds."

In an interview in the June 17 issue of Entertainment Weekly, the 42-year-old actor was asked if Holmes is curious about Scientology.

"Yeah, absolutely. She digs it," he tells the magazine.

In response to a question about whether he'd asked Holmes not to do "Factory Girl" - about Edie Sedgwick and Andy Warhol - because of the drug use in the movie, Cruise says: "I don't even know what 'Factory Girl' is."

He adds: "Listen, the thing you've got to know about Katie is that she's an incredibly bright and self-determined woman. She makes her own decisions."
Cruise was previously married to Mimi Rogers and Nicole Kidman, and dated Penelope Cruz for several years.

Holmes and actor Chris Klein recently called off their engagement, after dating for five years

Saturday, June 11, 2005

Jack White on Ashlee Simpson; two of my favorite celebrities.

from a Canadian newspaper:

He [Jack White] admitted to getting a little guilty pleasure in seeing the self-destruction of today's disposable pop stars.

"All this reality television stuff is just so disgusting to me. I think one of the greatest things that's happened in the last few years is Ashlee Simpson on Saturday Night Live," White said, referring to her embarrassing moment when it appeared she was about to lip sync and ran offstage when something went wrong.

"I thought that was just a triumph for reality," White said.

Monday, June 06, 2005

The Crocodylians


Hey Lady, I'm going to eat you.

Alligators and crocodiles are some of my favorite animals! Here are some cool pictures and neat information about alligators, crocodiles, and the mysterious gharials...

From Animal Planet:

Q: On Alligators vs. Crocodiles

My name is Michael. I am 8 years old. What is the difference between crocodiles, alligators and crocodilians, beside where they live and the shape of their heads?Thank you in advance for answering my question.

A: Michael, all species of crocodiles, alligators, caimans and gharials are known collectively as "crocodilians" (or more correctly "crocodylians") because they share many basic features. However, scientists have placed crocodiles and alligators in different families (crocodile in Crocodylidae, and alligators in Alligatoridae) based on key differences between all alligators and all crocodiles. Caimans incidentally are also a type of alligator, and gharials are in a family of their own called Gavialidae.

What are these key differences? They are mainly based around features of the skeleton and body, and you've already mentioned one of these — the difference in the shape of their heads. Alligators and caimans have broad U-shaped snouts, whereas crocodiles have narrower V-shaped snouts. There is some variation (for example Mugger crocodiles have a very broad snout like an alligator, and some subspecies of caimans have an almost V-shaped snout). Alligators are recognizable because the upper jaw overlaps the lower jaw, and hence all the teeth of the lower jaw are hidden from view and fit into depressions in the upper jaw. With crocodiles the teeth interlock more evenly, and those in both the upper and lower jaws are clearly visible when the mouth is shut. The large fourth upper tooth in particular is easy to spot in a crocodile, but not an alligator.

Did you know that crocodiles have salt glands on their tongue? They're actually modified salivary glands, and their purpose is to secrete excess salt from the crocodiles' bodies. Alligators and caimans have the basic structures in their tongues as well, but they are nonfunctional. This means crocodiles are — as a rule — more tolerant of saline water than alligators and caimans. At one extreme, saltwater crocodiles can spend many days or weeks in salt water if necessary. Alligators and caimans are almost totally restricted to fresh water. I don't recommend you get close enough to a crocodile's or alligator's tongue to find out whether it has salt glands!
Another difference lies on their scales. Both crocodiles and alligators have sensory organs called ISOs (integumentary sense organs) covering their head and particularly their jaws. Look carefully at them and you'll notice a myriad of black spots, almost as though they need a good shave. These are the ISOs. They enable the crocodile or alligator to orient the head toward pressure changes in the water (e.g. a water splash at the surface). Interestingly, crocodiles have similar organs covering their entire body (one on nearly every scale of the belly, the flanks, the legs and even the tail), whereas they are absent from the body scales in alligators and caimans. If you look at crocodile leather, you can clearly see a small dimple on every scale, but not on alligator leather.

There are many differences between crocodiles and alligators, but these are probably the most important ones that affect not only our ability to tell them apart, but also their ecology and behavior.

More Expert Talk
Did you know that crocs cough up hairballs like cats?Listen to our audio interview with Dr. Adam Britton.

Pile of alligators, as seen from my front porch

peek-a-boo

Jumping crocodile

Some crocodiles can even do tricks, like your dog. I wonder if my alligator would learn how to shake paws.

A gharial.

I've never seen or heard of these puppies before today. It's the gharial, from the rivers of India. Their long, skinny snout allows them to catch fish and frogs while swimming, much like the long, skinny beak of birds like cranes, herons, and kingfishers.

Another gharial

Gromit

This is my pet gator, Gromit. He says thank you for reading about his friends, the crocodylians.

Saturday, June 04, 2005

Damn

From the White Stripes' website:

6/2/05

"Karen Elson and Jack White were married yesterday on the confluence of three rivers - the Rio Negro, the Solimones, and the Amazon - in the Amazon basin city of Manaus, Brazil. They were married by a traditional Shaman priest on a canoe at the exact point where the three rivers meet. The bride and groom were accompanied by a small party of close friends. The best man was Ian Montone. Meg White was the maid of honor. The ceremony was immediatly followed by a blessing by a priest at a Catholic Cathedral called Igreja Matric in the historical city of Manaus. This was the first marriage by both newlyweds."

Thursday, June 02, 2005

"Time Traveling in Akron, Ohio"

Thursday, May 12, 2005

Time travel expert speaks at ‘Young Inventors’ induction

Akron, Ohio — Dr. Ronald L. Mallett believes he’s on the verge of building the world’s first time machine.

A world-renowned Theoretical Physicist, Mallett appeared Saturday, April 30 at the National Gallery for America's Young Inventors 2005 Induction Ceremony. BTTF.com was a sponsor of the event with several DeLorean Time Machine models being signed by Mallett and raffled off to lucky winners.

As the keynote speaker, Dr. Mallett outlined his plans to prove Albert Einstein's theories which suggest time travel is possible. Referred to as one of the greatest minds since Einstein, Dr. Mallett is likely to succeed.

He was recently featured in a documentary on The Learning Channel (U.K.), along with Back to the Future creator and producer, Bob Gale. Mallett comments, "The program was well done, but unfortunately, I never got to meet (Bob) in person because they taped us separately, at different times."

Although an admitted fan of the BTTF films, Dr. Mallett's interest in time travel predates the famous trilogy.

When Mallett was only 10 years old, his father died of a heart attack. The young boy found solace in books, particularly H.G. Well's The Time Machine. "That became a kind of fascination for me," Mallett continues. "I had this idea that if I could go back in time and see my father, I could talk to him and help keep him alive."

Today, as a professor of Physics at the University of Connecticut, Dr. Mallett generates a lot of attention from his work in general relativity and gravitation as it relates to time travel. Fascinating details can be found at: www.phys.uconn.edu/faculty/mallett.html

Oliver Holler, Contributing Writer