Sunday 6 July 2014

Saturday Surprise (the trivia that I come across whilst working)

Dragnet: 1952
via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
Dragnet: 1952
Los Angeles, 1952
Just the facts: “Actor/director Jack Webb on the set of the television show Dragnet” Photo by John Vachon for the Look magazine article “For Dragnet’s Jack Webb, Crime Pays Off”
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Deflated giant duck
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
You’ll have seen the pictures of a giant rubber duck floating down the world’s iconic waterways, from the Thames to Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong – it's Florentijn Hofman’s brainchild. What you may not have seen is what the duck looks like after it’s been deflated, and that’s even better -- a kind of puddle of duck, which has a Beatrix Potter-y ring to it until you see it and then it has nothing at all about it that suggests Ms Potter’s works.

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Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Friend and foe agreed: Edmund Burke was a brilliant man but poor company. Talking with him was like being “grazed by a powerful machine”… more

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When Did Meditation Become a Vehicle for Controversy?
via Big Think by Derek Beres
Last week two articles were published stating that meditation is not necessarily a component of living a spiritual life, as well as that we generally don't recognize what real meditation entails. While I agree with the first part, the second struck me as odd, especially given that one article listed a series of ‘meditations’ that had nothing to do with the term, while the other offered a succinct view of what it isn’t without attempting to explore what it can be.
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Stick The Kettle On! 8 Videos That Celebrate Tea & Coffee
via MakeUseOf
Do you drink 20 cups of tea per day? Maybe you can’t even contemplate getting out of bed without a bitter shot of caffeine to kickstart the day. Whatever your level of addiction, tea and coffee are two of life’s most socially acceptable little vices, and something that many of us depend on to get through a work day.
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Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Mary Shelley. How we remember Frankenstein’s monster speaks volumes. Was he a soulless automaton or an affectionate autodidact?… more

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Are red flowers all red for the same reason?
via Boing Boing by Maggie Koerth-Baker
Science Buddies has an interesting, springtime-themed experiment in the chemistry of colour that you can do at home, using plants you’ve gathered from your yard or a park.
It looks like a great activity for curious folks of all ages.
from Scientific American

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Conducting is Like Telepathy with 100 People
Shutterstock_128018300
What the public sees of what a conductor does is a tiny, tiny part of the work. The majority of what a conductor does is in isolation. It’s thought of as the most public job there is, but in fact, it’s a tremendously private job that is primarily involves studying. That’s primarily what a conductor does. He has to understand why every F sharp is in where it is, and how best to play that piece of music.
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Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
To the world, Jacques Barzun was a famous historian. To his grandson, he was a confidant, a guide to grooming, career, and the “enigmas of love”… more

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Should Caffeine Be Regulated as a Controlled Substance?
by Orion Jones via Big Think
As the number and variety of products containing caffeine grow, the Food and Drug Administration has entered the fray with public statements about market regulations designed to keep absurd products, such as caffeinated oatmeal, waffles and syrup, away from children. Michael Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine at the FDA, said: “The proliferation of these products in the marketplace is very disturbing to us … We have to address the fundamental question of the potential consequences of all these caffeinated products in the food supply to children and to some adults who may be at risk from excess caffeine consumption.”
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