Giant South Dakota hailstone breaks US record
Rare zedonk born at US wildlife reserve
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Freaks of Nature
Two videos from the BBC. The first, video of the world's largest hailstone. The second, video of a baby zedonk—I never heard of these before.
Picture ot the Day - 7/31/2010
Part of the Tony Tasset's art installation "Eye and Cardinal" in Pritzker Park. The said cardinal was on banners throughout Chicago. I am not sure I understand it, but the eye makes an interesting picture.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Picture ot the Day - 7/30/2010
The entrance to the former Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building which closed in 2006. The building has since undergone a renovation, and is reopening as the Sullivan Center.
A Louis Sullivan building, the steel structure allowed for larger display windows than had been previously possible. The decorative panels on the lower levels are credited to George Grant Elmslie.
A Louis Sullivan building, the steel structure allowed for larger display windows than had been previously possible. The decorative panels on the lower levels are credited to George Grant Elmslie.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Picture ot the Day - 7/29/2010
A picture of the Aqua Building emerging from the fog off Lake Michigan.
I did a previous post on this building. The photograph in that post is from last year, and you can see at that time that the Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower, to the right of the Aqua Building, was still under construction. This year at least all of the exterior work on that building seems to be done.
I did a previous post on this building. The photograph in that post is from last year, and you can see at that time that the Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower, to the right of the Aqua Building, was still under construction. This year at least all of the exterior work on that building seems to be done.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Roosevelt Papers
A video from the National Archives announcing their acquisition of the papers of FDR's secretary, Grace Tully.
Picture ot the Day - 7/28/2010
This flooded, forlorn soccer field on the Midway Plaisance is the historic location of the original Ferris Wheel built by George Ferris for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. One of the few attractions at the Chicago fair to make a profit.
War & Peace & the Hubble Telescope
This post is somewhat of a mashup.
I finished reading War & Peace on my flight to Chicago. I read it in about two months, which I think is pretty good. If it were not for my Kindle, I could never have read such a big book.
So to commemorate that here is one of my favorite passages from the book. This has nothing at all to do with the plot of the book, or Tolstoy's philosophies on how one should interpret history. It is just a passage that I like.
I finished reading War & Peace on my flight to Chicago. I read it in about two months, which I think is pretty good. If it were not for my Kindle, I could never have read such a big book.
So to commemorate that here is one of my favorite passages from the book. This has nothing at all to do with the plot of the book, or Tolstoy's philosophies on how one should interpret history. It is just a passage that I like.
The stars, as if knowing that no one could see them now, frolicked in the black sky. Now flaring up, now going out, now quivering, they busily whispered among themselves about something joyful. but mysterious.Tolstoy wrote this almost 150 years ago. Since then we have gained the ability to see the stars in ways the Tolstoy could hardly have imagined. The Hubble Telescope marked 20 years in orbit last April, and we now have images of the stars that would have amazed him. So I am concluding this post with a video of the some of the best images from the Hubble.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Lost and Found
Rick Norsigian paid $45 dollars at a yard sale for bunch of glass negative, which have now been identified as lost works by Ansel Adams. While Adam's grandson disputes their authenticity, if they are real they will be worth millions of dollars.
NPR has a blog post with 17 of the pictures.
NPR has a blog post with 17 of the pictures.
Picture ot the Day - 7/27/2010
While I was in Chicago Transformers 3 was being filmed. When I was there Friday before last the Michigan Avenue bridge over the Chicago River was closed for filming. Then last weekend there was filming on the Wabash Avenue Bridge and Wacker Drive. My hotel was 1/2 block north of there, so I kept having to go around the closed down streets to get back to the hotel. Saturday night I did see the Wabash Bridge opening and someone rolling down it. Sunday evening there were explosions and fire shooting up from the set.
At one point I saw this truck going down the street, and I could not figure out why someone would have lifted this rubble onto a flatbed truck. Then the truck moved, and the whole thing wobbled around and I realized it was not really brick and steel, but some kind of prop. So here is my little bit of preview for the Transformers 3 movie.
At one point I saw this truck going down the street, and I could not figure out why someone would have lifted this rubble onto a flatbed truck. Then the truck moved, and the whole thing wobbled around and I realized it was not really brick and steel, but some kind of prop. So here is my little bit of preview for the Transformers 3 movie.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Chicago Architecture
I went on one of the Chicago Architecture Foundation's bus tours on Sunday. Here are a couple sets of photographs that I took on the tour. I have a couple more random Chicago pictures that I will post over the next week or two.
The first set are all building on or near the 200 block of South LaSalle Street, which was once the financial center of the midwest.
The second set contains pictures of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House and the University of Chicago. The Robie House pictures are all of the exterior because photography is not allowed inside.
Finally, photographs from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and the LEGO City that was there last weekend.
The first set are all building on or near the 200 block of South LaSalle Street, which was once the financial center of the midwest.
Chicago Financial District - 07/2010
The second set contains pictures of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House and the University of Chicago. The Robie House pictures are all of the exterior because photography is not allowed inside.
Robie House & University of Chicago - 07/2010
Finally, photographs from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and the LEGO City that was there last weekend.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Extreme Photogaphy
NPR has a blog post with some haunting photographs from Antarctica. Some going back to the early 1910's.
Roger Ebert Does Architecture
Though normally Roger Ebert is a movie reviewer, in his latest blog post he takes on architecture, dealing primarily with Louis Sullivan and Mies van der Rohe. The post includes some luminous pictures of the University of Chicago, and a couple videos about Louis Sullivan.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
To Kill a Mockingbird turns 50
To Kill a Mockingbird was published 50 years ago today, on July 11, 1960. To commemorate this event here is a short video about Harper Lee and the novel.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
The Lives of Others
I have finished rewatching the German film The Lives of Others. Rewatching it confirms for me what a good film it is. The film is set in East Germany in 1984, and revolves around a Stasi agent who is wiretapping a writer, and how the agent is slowly changed by the experience. It sound very depressing, but the film is so well made that it is a pleasure to watch.
I see that the writer/director of the film, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, is now working on a film with a script by Julian Fellows. I am anxious to see that.
[Note added 8/13/11: The film referred to in the paragraph above turns out to have been The Tourist, with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. The film was released last December, but I have not seen it yet.]
Here is a clip from the film.
I see that the writer/director of the film, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, is now working on a film with a script by Julian Fellows. I am anxious to see that.
[Note added 8/13/11: The film referred to in the paragraph above turns out to have been The Tourist, with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. The film was released last December, but I have not seen it yet.]
Here is a clip from the film.
Planet Earth Live
Last night a saw a performance of Planet Earth Live with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Planet Earth is a BBC produced nature series. A couple years ago there was a version of this released in US movies theaters narrated by James Earl Jones. In the live version of this almost all of the narration has been dropped and the film has been cut into thematic segments, and shown while the orchestra plays the score. The orchestra was conducted by the composer of the score, George Fenton.
It took over 2000 days filming in the field to collect film for the series, some of which involved days and days of waiting to get just the right shots. The cinematography is amazing. Seeing it with just music is even more moving than seeing it with narration. Here is a video that contains some of the Cave footage that was included in the version I saw last night. Seeing the sequence of the men parachuting into the cave without narration was a bit disconcerting. It was cut so that all of s sudden you say people falling through the air. At first it was not clear what was happening, until you see parachutes opening as they descend into the cave.
It took over 2000 days filming in the field to collect film for the series, some of which involved days and days of waiting to get just the right shots. The cinematography is amazing. Seeing it with just music is even more moving than seeing it with narration. Here is a video that contains some of the Cave footage that was included in the version I saw last night. Seeing the sequence of the men parachuting into the cave without narration was a bit disconcerting. It was cut so that all of s sudden you say people falling through the air. At first it was not clear what was happening, until you see parachutes opening as they descend into the cave.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Norman Rockwell and the Movies
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has a new exhibit titled Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. The Washington Post has a video of Lucas and Spielberg discussing Rockwell and his influence on their movies. Spielberg also refutes the charge that Rockwell's art was grossly sentimental.
Spielberg, Lucas speak about their passion for Norman Rockwell
Monday, July 5, 2010
Thomas Viaduct turns 175
July 4th marked the 175 anniversary of the completion of the Thomas Viaduct, built to carry the B&O Railroad across the Patapsco River between Baltimore and Washington. Designed by Benjamin Latrobe, Jr., it was the the first multi-span masonry railroad bridge in the United States to be built on a curve. At the time of it's construction it was referred to as Latrobe's Folly, because many people thought it would collapse under the weight of crossing trains. Freight and commuter trains still cross the viaduct every day, and it has not collapsed yet. So I guess Latrobe has the last laugh.
Here is a video of a diorama from the B&O Railroad Museum in Ellicott City, MD. It displays the first thirteen miles of the B&O line out of Baltimore and includes the Thomas Viaduct.
Here is a current video of a CSX Train crossing the Viaduct.
Here is a video of a diorama from the B&O Railroad Museum in Ellicott City, MD. It displays the first thirteen miles of the B&O line out of Baltimore and includes the Thomas Viaduct.
Here is a current video of a CSX Train crossing the Viaduct.
Picture ot the Day - 7/5/2010
If you look close you can see a woodpecker camouflaged against this English Walnut Tree. I heard him pecking for a while before I was able to see him, and this was the only picture I could get where he shows up at all.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
Eadweard Muybridge
The Corcoran Gallery of Art has a photograph exhibit, Helios: Eadweard Muybridge in a Time of Change, that runs through the middle of July. Muybridge is best know today for his pioneering work with stop action photography, which had a major influence on the development of motion pictures.
I found the exhibit interesting, but unfortunately the stereoscopic lenses did not work for me, so I don't think I got the full affect of the exhibit. Here is the promo video for the exhibit.
Below is one of Muybridge's most iconic series of photographs. Prior to this there had been some debate as to the movement of a running horse's leg, and exactly how many feet left the ground at one time. Muybridge's pictures were able to settle this dispute.
At least as interesting as the exhibit is a contest that NPR ran for video and photographic works inspired by Muybridge. They have posted the winners on the blog post linked to below.
I found the exhibit interesting, but unfortunately the stereoscopic lenses did not work for me, so I don't think I got the full affect of the exhibit. Here is the promo video for the exhibit.
Below is one of Muybridge's most iconic series of photographs. Prior to this there had been some debate as to the movement of a running horse's leg, and exactly how many feet left the ground at one time. Muybridge's pictures were able to settle this dispute.
At least as interesting as the exhibit is a contest that NPR ran for video and photographic works inspired by Muybridge. They have posted the winners on the blog post linked to below.
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