Perpetuum Jazzile - Africa (live, HQ)

Not only beautiful singing but terrific sound effects!!

United Breaks Guitars

A friend sent me a link to this video and I cracked up. I, too, have been a victim of United's outrageous so-called customer service. When I was fell in Naples, Italy in 2007 and tore both left and right rotator cuffs in my shoulders, I had to book a flight home to have the damage surgically repaired. I requested medical assistance when I booked the flight. The leg of the flight from Naples to Munich was AirItalia and I was treated with the utmost kindness. Then in Munich I transferred to a United plane for the flight across the Atlantic. When I asked for assistance with my carryon bag - and I was trussed up in a sling applied by the emergency room doctors in Naples - a snotty United stewardess told me I'd just have to try to find some other passenger to help me because she had a bad back and stalked off.

The Eagle Has Landed --Again!

When Apollo 11 launched its lunar module to make the first landing on the moon back in 1969, I had just had a newlywed tiff with my husband and had stalked outside to cool off. We were visiting his grandparents and his grandmother called to me and urged me to come back inside to see Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. Being young and hot-headed I stubbornly refused. I have regretted it ever since.

Now, today, 40 years after that historic touchdown, I got to relive the moment thanks to a wonderful website called "We Choose the Moon" that virtually recreated the experience. A new friend I met on the web just a couple of weeks ago happened to send me the link and I checked it out earlier but was several days away from the actual landing. Today, I'd been in town all day running errands and had just sat down and picked up the paper and saw a short blurb on the front page about how 40 years ago today at 1:17 p.m. PDT, the lunar module had landed on the moon. I asked my husband (yes, the same one!) what time it was and it was 1:15 p.m. so I raced back into my office, navigated to the website and downloaded the graphics just in time to see the lunar module kick up the dust of the moon's surface and descend to Tranquility Base. How thrilling!! At last - I feel I really witnessed it live!

The website designers had live streaming audio of the simulated broadcast from mission control and it made it feel so real! I loved how the virtual landing was timed to coincide with the actual event at the same real time pace. Looking forward to the virtual event just as I had the real event truly heightened my anticipation. What a wonderful way to relive history!

This website is chuck full of videos, photos, and audio clips from the actual experience as well as offering widgets to track the mission on your computer, etc. As I have only marginal DSL service at 1.5 mbps, I had problems with the volume of data transfer that has to occur between the website and my workstation and kept losing my connection. But at least I saw the actual landing and listened to about 15 minutes of post-landing transmissions before I started experiencing data overload. I would love to have the opportunity to relive other historical events in this way. Can you imagine how exciting it would be to witness one of Julius Caesar's triumphs or the crowning of Thutmosis III recreated at a date corresponding to the same date in history and paced in real time?

An elevator that takes you from hell to heaven

I subscribe to "Candelight Stories" and today I received an email including a post about a short film created by artist Marco Brambilla for installation in the elevators of the Standard Hotel in New York City. If you choose to go up in the elevator the film takes you from the depths of hell to the artist's vision of heaven. Likewise, if you descend, you travel from the euphoria of heaven to the artist's interpretation of hell. Quite an interesting application of multimedia. This film is in HD, however, so if your bandwidth is marginal like mine (1.5 Mbps DSL) the film will start and stop as it buffers the data download.

Civilization by Marco Brambilla from CRUSH on Vimeo.

Star Trek's Circular Reference Still Computes!

As one of the original trekkers from the 1960s, I couldn't help but look forward to the new incarnation and I was quite pleased with the newest addition to the Star Trek film franchise when I went to see it on opening day. It did not take much adjustment on my part at all to accept Zachary Quinto as a young Spock and I thought Karl Urban really nailed "Bones" McCoy. Chris Pine was suitably brash and swaggering as James T. Kirk but he did not capture my heart like Quinto and Urban.

Much like his character Scotty, Simon Pegg sort of settled into the role when the Enterprise was in dire straights and he needed to be the "miracle worker"! I hope they dispense with the fossilized Ewok though. When I saw him I thought to myself, "Did George Lucas poke his nose into this production?" Star Trek may be a space opera but it has built its fandom on morality plays and stories with adult themes (mostly). We don't need to spoil the franchise with "cute" (and I really didn't find it all that cute anyway). The last thing Star Trek needs is a "Jar Jar Binks" distraction.

Somehow, the bar scene with all the aliens sitting around felt more Star Wars than Star Trek as well.

Eric Bana did an excellent job as a villain but I think it would have added more complexity to the plot if the Romulans of the past had learned of Nero's plans to destroy Vulcan and tried to intervene as well since they were kindred species. I also must admit I prefer my Romulans with hair and more warrior than pirate.

Somewhat of a spoiler ahead...

With the old past supposedly wiped away now, future movies should be less constrained by what has gone before. With Vulcan now gone, I don't know what Spock is supposed to do when his Pon Far rolls around but I'm sure the filmmakers will think of something! Of course the Romulans are still prowling the galaxy so maybe a Romulan princess can ease the pain. Also, like most space/time alterations, this plotline raises the issue of a paradox. Now that the Federation is aware of the time the Romulan sun will go supernova, they can plan to deliver their solution sooner or evacuate the planet sooner which means the reason for Nero to come back in time to destroy Vulcan, etc. will no longer exist so he won't. So then the Federation won't know about the supernova, Romulus will again be destroyed, Nero will come back and destroy Vulcan...in the technology profession we call this a circular reference!

Jessica Davis makes firefighting look fun!

My great niece, Jessica Davis, is studying to be a municipal firefighter in Fairbanks, Alaska. She just finished a Rapid Intervention Technician course through the University there which teaches students how to rescue downed firefighters in a burning building. She said she had so much fun and learned more than she had ever learned in a class.

"We did emergency evacuations which meant we jumped out onto a ladder headfirst and turned ourselves around and slid down the ladder, we hung from a window, repelled from a window, rescued teammates through the floor (Nance Drill) and then one of the hardest, The Denver Drill, which is supposed to simulate a firefighter stuck in a very tight space and trying to get them out of a window with limited manpower."

Go Jesse! We are so proud of you!

Jessica is the daughter of my sister's daughter Traci Davis and Scott Davis of Ketchikan, Alaska. We all trooped up to Alaska a couple of years ago to see Jessica graduate from high school. It was the most fun I have ever had at a graduation ceremony. The Native American students wore their traditional ceremonial robes and many students demonstrated their unique personalities by their apparel and unusual ways they accepted their diplomas. One boy did flips down the full length of the runway to the Superintendent to get his sheepskin. Jessica accepts hers dressed in her Dad's firefighting regalia! We had a wonderful time fishing on a charter boat (we didn't catch much - a small halibut and some rockfish - but I got some great shots of feeding the bald eagles), panning for gold, visiting the Saxman Native Village where I danced with the Native American dancers of the Tlingit tribe, exploring the Discovery Center, shopping in all the tourist shops with people from all the big cruise ships, and barbequeing in the rain! My sister and I and Traci's twin sister Trina also enjoyed The Lettermen in concert. They sang songs from my high school days (like "Cherish" - it sounded as good as the original by The Association!) as well as many recent hits like "My Heart Will Go On" from the blockbuster film "Titanic".

For a complete blow by blow of my trip (and to watch a video of my Native American dancing!) read my post in my Incredible Journeys blog.

Yes We Can! salute Caesar on the Ides

When I was in Rome on the Ides of March this year and went to pay my respects to Caesar's statue that stands along the Via Foro Imperiali, my friend and I saw a huge wreath at the foot of the bronze sculpture of him. This must have been the one referred to in this article. It's too bad we had not been there just a little sooner! As it was, we got to witness a group of American college students dressed in make-shift togas and adorned with wreaths made from plants probably pilfered from a nearby hotel or park. They sang bawdy songs that I'm sure Caesar's tenth legion would have been proud of then gave their somewhat altered rendition of the death scene from Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar" complete with shouts of "Yes We Can!"

"Recently, residents and tourists around the Coliseum watched in awe as a legion of Roman soldiers marched in unison down Rome’s Imperial Avenue.
“Caesar!” called out the commander in Latin as the legion came to a stop. “I, Centurion Lucius Valerius Seianus, have brought your favorite legion here to return the scepter of command to your hands!”
A horn blared as the Centurion placed a large laurel crown on the pedestal of the statue of Julius Caesar, the great Roman general who was stabbed to death in the Forum 2,053 years that day — March 15, or the "Ides of March." - More: Global Post.com

My friend, Patricia Hunter, author of "Our Master, Caesar", always brings roses to lay on Caesar's funeral pyre and on his statue whenever she visits Rome. Here, she places this year's offering.

While we were at the statue of Caesar a Roman family approached the statue and the father of the family took out some sheets of paper, held his hand up in salute and began reading a memorial to Caesar while his son respectfully placed his hand on his father's shoulder and raised a salute as well. It was very touching even though I couldn't understand what he was saying. After fifteen minutes or so, though, I told Pat that the man must have decided to recite the entire Commentarii de Bello Gallico so we moved on!
[Photo credits: Top left: Image courtesy of Fulvio Paolocci]; Other photos by Mary Harrsch]