Friday, June 29, 2007

Friday Links!

Friday links, and it's a flood, so to speak.

First off, and this is something you really need to see. Justin Schultz sent in a link to a performance of Gnarls Barkley's Crazy--on a theramin. It's fantastic, and you can watch it here.
First off, Russ Pitts wrote an excellent article for The Escapist titled "Will Bobba for Furni." It's about sex and domination in virtual words, and it's both thoughtful and disturbing. Read it here.

The Library of Congress has a new imaging system they call IRENE, and it's being used to digitize and preserve 78 rpm shellac and acetate records. Here's an excerpt:
IRENE will generate high-resolution digital maps of the grooved surface of recordings, allowing preservationists to remove debris and extraneous sounds that contribute to the deterioration of recordings.

It's a remarkable technology, and you can read about it here.

Many of you sent in a link to the discovery of the remains of pharaoh Queen Hatshepsut, a 15th century B.C. ruler who dressed like a man and wore a false beard. It's an excellent story, and you can read it here

Frank Regan sent in a link to a spectacular picture of the Northern Lights--from space. It's incredible, and you can see it here.

Cliff Eyler sent in a link to the discovery of the earliest known gunshot victim in America--an Inca warrior shot in 1536. It's a fascinating story, and you can read it here.

Jesse Leimkuehler sent me a link to an interesting series on the decline of the recording companies. My believe on that is this: don't convince your customers that you hate them, but of course it's more complicated than that. Read the first part of the series here.

Jessie sent in a second link to a story about scients investigating the Tunguska meteor of 1908. If you've never heard of the Tunguska meteor, here's an excerpt:
In late June of 1908, a fireball exploded above the remote Russian forests of Tunguska, Siberia, flattening more than 800 square miles of trees.

800 square miles.

It's been an infamous event for almost a century, and it's never absolutely been proven what happened, but the leading theory has always been a meteor. Take a look at some new research here.

Hey, the United Kingdom issued a directive concerning the teaching of intelligent design in schools: in short, it's not science and it shouldn't be taught. How entirely refreshing, and you can read about it here.

Glen Haag sent me a link to a virtual 3D model of ancient Rome. Creation of the model was a 10-year project, and the results are spectacular. See Rome here.

Sirius sent in a link to a story about the discovery of penguins that once roamed--the Peru desert. And they were the size of humans. The story is here and you can see an artistist's rendition here.

Ernie Halal sent me a link to a story about a lake in Chile that's gone on holiday. It's vanished, in other words. It's a strange story, and you can read it here.

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