Archive for category USA

Interview: “Warren Ellis Thinks Newt Gingrich’s Space Ideas Are Full of Shit”

Posted by mistergroonk in Interviews, Just Freaking Neat, USA, World on January 31, 2012

Over on Motherboard , Abraham Reisman interviewed Warren Ellis about Newt Gingrich’s aspirations for a USA moon colony. We figured Mr Ellis might have a word or two on Gingrich’s obvious vote grabbing statement. Mr Ellis did not disappoint.

The following excerpts are just a few choice moments from the interview. It was a bit difficult deciding which thoughts were best.


Abraham Reisman: What kind of merit is there to Gingrich’s proposals — which he’s self-described as “grandiose” — for developing a rocket that can reach Mars, establishing a permanent moon base, and so on?

Warren Ellis: Well, let’s start with the “51st State” bit that’s being bandied about. Speaker Gingrich knows as well as the next political mammal that the Outer Space Treaty forbids any one nation from claiming sovereignty over the moon. So, not so much with the 51st State crap.

[…]

Going to Mars is important. Going back to the Moon is, I think, important. But his plans and reasons for going make about as much sense as if he had said we had to go to Mars to find him something new to marry. I’m genuinely interested in seeing the human race escape the planet and go exploring. Speaker Gingrich would like to be elected.

Are there other technological goals on the scale of space travel that you think humanity should be pushing for, right now? If so, do you see models for us achieving them?

I’m not sure where everyone got the idea that the human race can only do one thing at a time. “What about here on Earth?” people say. “Shouldn’t there be other goals here that we should be pushing for?” Sure there are. But at this late date I’m fairly sure we’ve mastered walking and chewing gum as a simultaneous operation.

I’m not suggesting that we can’t do two things at once. But if there were things in addition to space travel that you think could have a similarly massive effect on humanity’s ability to grow as a species…

Curing cancer. Increasing quality human longevity. Induced pluripotential cell treatments. Nailing down that weird neutrino anomaly that seems to allow for faster-than-light communication. The usual shopping list. Also I want an orbital death ray.

You will read the entire interview on Motherboard.

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Focus: Internet Blackout. Stop PIPA. Stop SOPA.

Posted by mistergroonk in Intertube Madness, USA on January 18, 2012

That is how webcomic entrepreneur The Oatmeal is participating in the Internet Blackout.

Have you been under a rock? The Internet, a huge chunk of it, is going dark today in effort to fight SOPA and PIPA. We, in contrast, are stepping out from our recent silence to tell you about the darkness. Our ways are strange and not to be questioned.

Popvox is a site recently brought to our attention that “bridges the gap between the input the public wants to provide and the information Members of Congress want and need to receive.” If we’re reading that right, Popvox is the medium for the Internet to get its voice heard in Congress.

Here are direct links to the SOPA and PIPA entries:

Reddit.com is another site that is planning to participate. Click the respective links to see what Redditors are saying(when the blackout is over) about SOPA and PIPA.

Below we have provided a screenshot list of sites that have already gone dark(as of this writing.):

Deadline.com

As many as 7,000 websites are participating today in protests of some form or another against the U.S. House Of Representatives’ Stop Online Piracy Act and the U.S. Senate’s companion Protect IP Act. Some are going dark. Others are calling attention to the issue in less dramatic ways. Among the more prominent are Wikipedia, Google, Reddit, WordPress, TwitPic, Cheezburger, BoingBoing, several gaming companies including Minecraft, and Mozilla, source of the Firefox web browser. Wikipedia, BoingBoing and Minecraft have gone dark. Others, like Google, are displaying home page illustrations or visual statements about censorship and urging visitors to contact their elected representatives.

The Oatmeal

Google: https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

BoingBoing.net

Wikipedia

Updated for posterity:
Reddit.com

Warrenellis.com

Alexis Ohanian

“Why is it that when Republicans and Democrats need to solve the budget and the deficit, there’s deadlock, but when Hollywood lobbyists pay them $94 million dollars to write legislation, people from both sides of the aisle line up to co-sponsor it?”
–Reddit Founder Alexis Ohanian on CNBC.

Wil Wheaton
Young Master Wheaton of the Internet Hordes wrote a lovely essay on why SOPA and PIPA damage the internet.

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A Kiss Can Be Even Deadlier if You Mean It: The Navy Homecoming Kiss Between a Sailor and Her Girlfriend

Posted by mistergroonk in History, Just Freaking Neat, USA on December 26, 2011

Getting to use a Tim Burton Batman quote was the delicious gravy on top of the idea that the US military has photographic evidence of finally stepping into the 21st century.

As it starts to drizzle, the brow is finally lowered. A handful of top officers are first off the ship, and then comes a young woman in dress blues, Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta.

Snell cracks a wide smile.

“That’s her,” she says.

When Gaeta spots her, she smiles, too. They embrace. With all eyes watching, they keep the kiss short, and the crowd cheers.

News video under the cut.
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Good Morning, Retro Future Rocket Road Warriors. Where are We Going Today?

Posted by mistergroonk in USA on December 19, 2011

If anyone could clarify exactly what we’re looking at here, it would be greatly appreciated.

via +Chris Cho

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Focus: Responding to Frank Miller with Comics

Posted by mistergroonk in Comics, USA on November 20, 2011

Comics creator Frank Miller(Batman:Year One, The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City) took to the Internet and let his thoughts fly free on the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Our thoughts on this? Frank Miller hasn’t written a damn thing worth reading since the mid 1990s. His recent rant proves this even more-so. But we must admit the comics response to his hooha has been quite amusing. It reminds of the Catwoman fiasco.

Here’s what we found so far.

Richard Pace’s “The Dick Knight”

Click for full size.

via Burning Monster

Let’s Be Friends Again – Occupied

Click for fullness

via Let’s Be Friend’s Again
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Listen: Girl On Guy’s, Aisha Tyler, Talks to Army Corporal Jeremy Keuhl

Posted by mistergroonk in Interviews, Podcast, USA, War on November 11, 2011

We were unsure how to focus on Veteran’s Day 2011 until we cycled into Aisha Tyler’s November 10th upload of her podcast Girl on Guy. In this episode she talks to Army Corporal Jeremy Kuehl.

Listen via the embed below.

in honor of veteran’s day, i sat down with a young veteran and wounded warrior, army corporal jeremy kuehl, to talk not just about his sacrifice, but his life, his dreams, how he got here, and where he’s going. it’s a great conversation, honest, funny, unvarnished and real. i hope it makes the meaning of the overseas conflict a bit more personal for you, and I hope you enjoy it.

Look Closer
Jeremy Kuehl photoblog
The Wounded Warriors Project
Donate to the USO

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Our Strange Sky: The Lightning Skies of Huntsville or The Gods Must be Showy

Posted by mistergroonk in Photography, Science, USA, Video on September 2, 2011

8/3/11 Lightning in Northeast Huntsville

In the early days of August, Huntsville was witness to a fantastic lightning show. We attempted to take video but our phone is on its last legs after an unfortunate incident regarding a washing machine. It took some small doing but we found others who captured the phenomenon(in photograph and on video) and shared with the world at large.

Below the jump is a pilot’s video(markopenguin) of the skies filled with lightning attacks.

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Good Morning, Josh Owens Time Lapsed New York City. Busy Day Ahead, Eh?

Posted by mistergroonk in Just Freaking Neat, Photography, USA, Video on August 12, 2011

And good morning to you, faithful reader. Have you been missing us? We’ve been missing you. More on this mutual missing in a few days. Right now, enjoy 3 minutes in NYC under time lapse footage.

Be sure to give filmmaker Josh Owens a visit for more outstanding footage.

I recently spent a little over a month hotel hopping in Manhattan (March 12th to April 29th) shooting time lapse. These clips were pulled from over an hours worth of footage.

via Mindrelic, nerdist

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Our Strange Sky: The Plains Milky Way of South Dakota

Posted by mistergroonk in Just Freaking Neat, Photography, Space, USA on July 29, 2011

Notes on experiencing this video to the fullest:

1) Wait until the dark of night.
2) Find the darkest corner of your house/apartment/cave hole.
3) Set the video to fullscreen
4) Enjoy

We love what Randy Halverson sees in Our Strange Sky.

During the month of May, I shot Milky Way timelapse in central South Dakota, when I had the time, and the weather cooperated.

[…]

This was all shot at night. If you see stars and it looks like daylight, it is actually moon light. 20+ second exposures make it look like daylight.

Official Site: http://dakotalapse.com/

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Music Break: Preview 14 Minutes of CAPTAIN AMERICA: FIRST AVENGER Score

Posted by mistergroonk in Movies, Music, USA on July 7, 2011

Alan Silvestri’s score for the CAPTAIN AMERICA movie is being shared on You Tube. Below the cut you can here 14 minutes of stirring patriotism as realized by the man who scored BACK TO THE FUTURE, PREDATORS and FORREST GUMP. We must admit this score has all the markings of summer blockbuster-ness. We’re still crossing all fingers that this movie will fulfill our entertainment needs were others merely bored us to tears.
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