Social Adaptability

.

Dogs and polar bears are friends – from the TV show "Jailed Polar Bear." In Churchill, Manitoba ("the polar bear capital of the world"), bears who wander too close to town are kept in a safe holding area until Hudson Bay freezes over and they can be released back into the wild.

(Thanks to Jessica for the link)

Image of the Day

.
A photo of the recently discovered DIAMOND PLANET.
Via Reuters:

Astronomers have spotted an exotic planet that seems to be made of diamond racing around a tiny star in our galactic backyard.

The new planet is far denser than any other known so far and consists largely of carbon. Because it is so dense, scientists calculate the carbon must be crystalline, so a large part of this strange world will effectively be diamond.

More here.

Happy Birthday Walt Whitman

.
Walt Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) with a butterfly, photographed by Phillips & Taylor, Philadelphia, 1873 (via the Library of Congress).

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts, the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the learned astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

Watashi wa Josei Robotto Desu

.


Watashi wa scared-to-go-to-sleep desu.

Past Imperfect

.
Our friend Chad just launched an app for the iPhone called Bad Camera. Basically it is what it says: an application that applies digital glitches to your iPhone photos, replicating weird effects on traditional film caused by light leaks, expired film, emulsion drips, scratches, and approximately fifty other beautiful accidents.

I am somewhat embarrassed to admit I'm both iPhone and app deficient, so this is impossibly cool to me, and yet one more reason why I've decided to trade in ye olde Crackberry. Those of you already living in the future can get more info at badcameraapp.com, or go straight to the app store and download Bad Camera for a mere $1.99.

Logging On

.

The Innernette by Tim and Eric

Powers of Ten

.

Charles & Ray Eames Powers of Ten (1977, Distributed by IBM)

In case anyone missed it (say, I don't know, because you were caught up in football, or stuck in traffic behind a rockslide on Snoqualmie Pass on the way back from Idaho), Sunday was 10/10/10 – and with that in mind, New York design network Core77 is inviting videographers to create 2-minute video responses to Powers of Ten, to be judged by a panel of six judges including MoMA Design & Architecture Curator Paola Antonelli, filmmaker Gary Hustwit, and Eames Office director Eames Demetrios. The winner gets $2,000 cash, an Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair, and a bunch of other cool stuff. The competition opens October 18th and all entries are due by January 9th – click here for details.

I have pneumonia.

.
Overheard in the hospital yesterday:

"WHERE'S MY WHEELCHAIR???"

"You're sitting in it."

So yes, I'm not trying to be dramatic but apparently I have pneumonia. I blame long work hours and mysterious bacteria. It's not a big deal, it could be worse. I don't know if I will be posting more or posting less this week as a result. Probably more of the same. Stay tuned.

Old World

.

Photographer Rachel Sussman is traveling the planet photographing the oldest continuously living organisms (2000 years or older). More info at her blog.

Image of the Day

.
Record grooves as seen through an electron microscope.

[ via LineOut ]