Wednesday, 15 February 2012

BAD POETRY WEDNESDAY \o/


Reaching for you
On the other side of glass
I strike my own reflection.
Yearning for Flesh with Flesh
Blood with Blood
Spirit with Soul
Thought to Thought
Heart to Heart
Cliches, meaning lost
Like sand in an hourglass.
Turn me over.


Like Shiva, I would think you a river
if I wasn't sure you'd drown in it. 
Swept away on my Narmanda
Thoughts are the undertow.
Thoughts
Fix
Nothing
Thinking is all I can do.

 I would be your wheel-horse
I would carry you, though
My steps are slow
My hide scarred by
The lash I've laid on it.
You could be my driver,
if you'd take the whip.



Tuesday, 14 February 2012

Sidecar Sidebar

The sidecar: 

" A one-wheeled car for a single passenger, attached to the side of a motorcycle."

         Rarely seen in real life, but frequently found in television and movies, the sidecar seems to sacrifice style for companionship. Lets take a trip on the way back machine and pay homage to some of the more memorable sidecars of the past several decades:

1. Darkwing Duck's Ratcatcher:


Anyone who was a kid in the nineties will remember Darkwing duck's Ratcatcher, a motorcycle which actually managed to make sidecars look cool. Well, as cool as anything driven by a duck can look. Ideally suited for hauling children into dangerous situations! SIDECAR FOR KIDS!

2. Wallace and Gromit 


Maybe not so iconic as the Ratcatcher, Wallace's motorcycle with sidecar for Gromit has its own charm. Somehow sidecars seem less ridiculous in the British context than in the American. Why is that? Then again, it is Wallace and Gromit . . . SIDECAR FOR BRITS

3. Edgar's Putt-putter


Another iconic sidecar: the sidecar used to kidnap the cats of Disney's 1970 film, The Aristocats. This is a clear instance of a sidecar being used for EVIL. Throw in two dogs, a haystack, a bowler hat, and an umbrella, and all hell breaks loose. SIDECAR OF DOOM!

4. Sirius Black's Motorcycle:


This motorcycle, originally owned by Sirius Black is first seen in the possession of everyone's favorite gigantic beard, Hagrid. The Harry Potter Wiki can describe it better than I do: 
"Sirius Black's motorbike is a 1959 Triumph Bonneville T120, ordinary-looking Muggle motorbike with a sidecar, though this is deceiving: it is much larger than its average counterpart, emits a very loud roar, and can fly. It is large enough to accommodate Hagrid, ahalf-giant, and still can carry an ordinary-size person in its sidecar, and can fly fast enough in to compete in speed with a broomstick. It has a kickstart[1]."
MAGICAL SIDECAR



5. The original Batcycle


. . .Oooooh the original Batcycle, featured in the 1966 live action television series. Unlike its successor Batcycles, this one (barely) leaves room for Batty's trusted sidekick, Robin. I know seeing Robin riding with his knees to his chin makes me take him more seriously. Anyone else? The dynamic duo indeed. BEST SIDECAR EVER? 

Friday, 20 January 2012

Pied Piper

The International Children's Digital Library is a fascinating project, whose intent is to make accessible to children from all over the world samples of children's literature. Thousands of children's books have been digitized and posted to their website in this way.

What is even more interesting about this website, is the fact that extensive studies and workshops were conducted in its design, in which researchers worked closely with young children to determine an interface that best suited a child's particular interests and searching needs.

For example, many children reported that they liked picking books based on the color of the cover, or whether the content could be named "happy" or "sad", and so these are filtering options available to browsers of the website.

As an example of what goes on at the International Children's Digital Library, I give you a classic tale: The Pied Piper, as written by Robert Browning. Obviously a digital copy of a very old version of the book.

http://www.childrenslibrary.org/icdl/BookPage?bookid=bropied_00150050&pnum1=52&twoPage=false&route=simple_0_0_Rat_English_0&size=0&fullscreen=false&lang=English&ilang=English

Thursday, 19 January 2012

more fun with GIMP - Spicule

Today's adventure in GIMP took place when I selected a variety of pictures of "spicule" in various forms, and smushed them all together, giving me. . .

Cool, huh?

Wednesday, 18 January 2012

The truth about O'brien

 Miles Obrien, former  Chief of Operations
Vespasian, Roman Emperor 69-79 AD



Uncanny, right? They are both noted as extremely practical individuals, with good heads for management--Vespasian having pulled the Roman Empire into prosperty, and O'brien having kept DS9 ticking.



                     

Thursday, 12 January 2012