Griffith Colours
Lovely colours in Griffith Park yesterday. I did a pleasant fast hike up to the top of […] Click to continue reading this post
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Author Archives: Clifford
What Are You Reading?
So, indeed, what are you reading? This wall asks the question at the LA Times Festival of Books, and I enjoy looking at what people have written, humourous remarks and all. (Click it for quite large version with readable scribbles.)
Oh, me? What am I reading right now? Actually, I’m […] Click to continue reading this post
Prizes
Well, indeed there were no chocolate fountains. But the event was good nonetheless. It was a pleasure to be in the LA Times building for real, (instead of gawping in the lovely lobby as I’ve done on previous occasions), and it was an excellent ceremony. […] Click to continue reading this post
The Festivities Begin!
So this weekend the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books takes place. This is a two day celebration of books that takes place on the UCLA campus that is a joy to attend each year. I’ve blogged about it many times in the past and you can look at previous posts from the list below. The website for the festival is here.
As you may recall, the night before the festival – that would be tonight – there is a ceremony to announce the winners of the LA Times Book Prizes, with a great reception at the end with lots of interesting people and (often) great conversation. The list of nominated books can be found here, and it is interesting again this year. Here, for example is the science and technology list: […] Click to continue reading this post
I Know
They’ve released the film “No One Knows About Persian Cats” in the US this week! All I am going to say is…. put it at the top of your list of new releases to see. I think it’s simply excellent. I was lucky to see it in a film festival sometime in the middle of last year and loved it.
Oh… It’s actually about music, and freedom. Not cats. But you know, even without cats in it, it’s still great!
Aloe Earth
It is Earth day today, the 40th anniversary, in fact. Have you had it in mind at all? I was pleased, in following the leadership debate that took place today over in the UK, to hear very interesting and serious content in the answers about what the various party leaders were doing on environmental both personally and in terms of policy. Over the years we’ve rapidly come to a point where it’s no longer a trendy or fringy issue in front line politics, but a mainstream one with impact in all aspects of policy.
On the left (click for larger view) is the rather elegant flower (two of them) of one of my several aloe vera plants. They’re quite unexpected and rather lovely I’d say. Several different types of bird have been attracted to them and it is a pleasure to look over at them (and others) and see what birds are settling on […] Click to continue reading this post
Sun Spotting
[caption id="attachment_6764" align="center" width="499" caption="(From NASA:) A full-disk multiwavelength extreme ultraviolet image of the sun taken by SDO on March 30, 2010. False colors trace different gas temperatures. Reds are relatively cool (about 60,000 Kelvin, or 107,540 F); blues and greens are hotter (greater than 1 million Kelvin, or 1,799,540 F). Credit: NASA"]
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You may recall that recently NASA launched a new craft, the Solar Dynamics Observatory, to explore the science of the sun by making measurements of unprecedented resolution. Well, images have been released from it for the first time and they are truly spectacular! The one above is featured prominently in the extensive […] Click to continue reading this post
And So It Goes…
So it has been a quiet week or few in my immediately local world. This is by choice. Recall that I’m on sabbatical, and working on a project. I’m trying to work on it exclusively, but I keep getting interrupted by several other things, especially since I returned from Walkabout.
But I do what I can, saying no to some things, doing some duties where I am needed, and tending somewhat to my private life and friendships of course. But mostly I’ve been hiding and working on the project. Overall, I can report that I’m very pleased with progress in the last month (since I returned to LA) on several aspects of the work. I’m sorry that I have not – and still will not – tell you anything about the project. I’ve already given my reasons, and nothing has changed. Perhaps later.
Most of my work has been in Away mode, which means at offices other than the one assigned to me at work. I am certainly staying away from the department as much as I can, (no disrespect intended, but people find things for you to do if you’re perceived as being around – I am not around!), and the same goes for the campus, making only fleeting visits to the latter, mostly in stealth mode (my obligatory sabbatical beard, among other things, has helped here). Sometimes I appear for a […] Click to continue reading this post
Categorically Not! – Imagine
The next in the Categorically Not! series the series of events is tomorrow, Sunday 18th April. It is, as usual, held at the Santa Monica Art Studios. It’s a series – started and run by science writer K. C. Cole – of fun and informative conversations deliberately ignoring the traditional boundaries between art, science, humanities, and other subjects. I strongly encourage you to come to them if you’re in the area. Here is the website that describes past ones, and upcoming ones. See also the links at the end of the post for some announcements and descriptions (and even video) of previous events. (At the right is an image of a beautiful sculpture by artist Yossi Govrin, who is on this week’s program.)
The theme this month is Imagine. Here’s the description from K. C. Cole: […] Click to continue reading this post
Perilous Procreation
I’m stealing Andrew’s post idea entirely, and I am not ashamed of this since it is such a brilliant extract, explaining the term “bungee humping”.
It’s a remarkable piece about the mating practices of Tiger slugs (I got the picture on the right from here), from an article in the Independent back in 1999:
Hoping for a Triumph of Substance over Style
…perhaps I am naive. Going to follow (listening online I imagine) the UK’s first ever prime ministerial televised debate. I’m very concerned that it is going to make the UK electorate focus even more on nice suits and good hair and less on knowledge and ideas, following the lead of other countries. But I am hoping. I’m holding out some faith in my countrymen…
Are you going to watch/listen?
Singh Case Over!
Excellent news. The libel case against Simon Singh has been dropped. BBC story here. (See my previous post for details.)
Most important quote is from Simon:
Dr Singh said he was hugely relieved, but expressed his annoyance that libel actions continued to be used to block what he viewed as legitimate scientific inquiry and debate.
“Other scientists, science writers, bloggers, investigative journalists, human rights activists – all get threatened with these libel suits,” he told BBC News. “And at the end of the day, the people who lose out are the general public because we don’t get to find out the real truth because these libel suits just stop good journalism.”
Very true, and there is much work to do on that aspect of the legal system, but for now, beers all around, ok?!
Babies!
This is a wonderful infrared image (please click on it for lovely larger view) of a region of star formation called the Rosette Nebula.
It comes from the Herschel space observatory, which was launched (along with the Planck observer) by the European Space Agency (ESA) almost a year ago, you may recall.
From the ESA website, here’s a bit more about what this is: […] Click to continue reading this post
Mount Wilson Open For Business!
Good News Everyone!
You may recall the terrible fires of last year in the San Gabriel mountains, and the scare about whether the Mount Wilson facility might have been overrun by flames. There were Tolkienesque scenes of flaming mountains, dramatic battles on mountaintops, and so forth. No Balrogs were involved (a far as I know), but it was nail-biting enough for many.
One of the fallouts (fallsout?) of this was that the public access to the Observatory needed to be suspended. This included the ability to reserve access to the famous 60 inch telescope for your own use for an evening, an activity that I have highly recommended (from first hand experience) here on the blog.
Well, I can happily announce (I heard this from my friend Shelley Bonus who works […] Click to continue reading this post
Calla Lily!
I’m very pleased to see this flower (and always delighted to say the name out loud: Try it: Calla Lily.). (Click for larger view.) I discovered a patch of shoots growing in the shade of a tall tree some time ago, struggling against a thriving ground cover plant, and decided to clear some space for them and let them grow up, giving them a supply line off the drip system. That was a year ago. Now, they’re nice and large, and […] Click to continue reading this post
