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Project: UAS CHARACTERIZATION OF HIGH WIND DAMAGE TO VEGETATION AND RURAL AREA ASSESSMENTS
With the help of the NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Uncrewed Systems Research Transition Office (USRTO), scientists from the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory in collaboration with the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies are working on developing an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS)-based approach to better characterize high-wind damage to vegetation and in rural areas to improve disaster response and recovery.
Photo Credit: James Murnan/NOAA
Fossil leaf from a deciduous tree, from the Tertiary of Siberia, Russia. (public display, Yakutsk Public Unified Museum of History & Northern Folk Culture, Yakutsk, Siberia, Russia)
This fossil leaf is from the famous Mammoth Mountain site in Siberia. Fossil plants and still-living bacteria and fungi have been recovered from 3.5 million year old permafrost sediments (see Zhang et al., 2013).
Locality: Mammoth Mountain, Aldan River Valley, central Yakutia, eastern Siberia, eastern Russia
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Reference cited:
Zhang et al. (2013) - Isolation and characterization of bacteria from ancient Siberian permafrost sediment. Biology 2013(2): 85-106.
A skull of a Homo floresiensis, this reconstruction of a prehistoric human is an example of naturalism and naturalists’ curiosity to gain insight on early life. As natural philosophy is not intended to be dogmatic, naturalism instead searches for answers to difficult and complex questions through detailed research and observances. Defending the importance of discovery by scientific means, naturalists insist that revelation and inspiration has never reaped significant scientific findings. Trying to unearth an explanation for the emergence of early hominids and their development into Homo sapiens is an example of true naturalistic work. Found in Flores, Indonesia, the Homo floresiensis is believed to have been in existence 18,000 years ago. Despite the debate concerning whether the Homo floresiensis was a new human or a micro cephalic human, scientists deducted that the interestingly short appearance of this species was due to a process of long term isolation. Currently dubbed as “insular dwarfism,” scientists utilized and applied the studies of Darwin and how variation has affected biological adaptation and characterization. The Homo floresiensis, due to separation and other possible factors, up took a divergent evolutionary growth in comparison to other prehistoric humans. With such knowledge, scientists, particularly naturalists, are then able to explain and prove the truth of human life.
solar cell characterization
Customer - Soldaduras Avanzadas - Spain
Quinta Ingenieria develop custom tester equipment in automatic, semiautomatic and manual mode, including electrical testing, computer vision, measurement of torque, angle, size, etc. ...
We have developed test equipment and quality control (hardware and software) for automotive, solar and electronics in general
Quartz crystal-lined vug in chert ("flint") from the Pennsylvanian of Ohio, USA.
Flint is the "official" state gemstone of Ohio. "Flint" is sometimes used as a lithologic term by modern geologists, but it is a synonym for chert. Flint and chert are the same - they are cryptocrystalline, quartzose sedimentary rocks. Rockhounds often assert that flint is high-quality while chert is low-quality. Some geologists assert that "flint" implies a biogenic origin and "chert" implies a chemical origin.
Many cherts do have a chemical origin - chert nodules are moderately common in some limestone units. The nodules form during diagenesis - pre-existing silica components in the carbonate sediments are dissolved, mobilized, and reprecipitated as chert masses. Some cherts do have a biogenic origin - for example, radiolarian cherts (rich in radiolarian microfossils) or spicular cherts (rich in siliceous sponge spicules).
The most famous flint deposit in Ohio is Flint Ridge, in Licking County. At this locality, the Middle Pennsylvanian-aged Vanport Flint is exposed in several places. The geologic literature on the Vanport Flint is relatively sparse, with inaccurate & incomplete descriptions and characterizations. For example, the literature describes the Vanport as a sheet of flint at Flint Ridge - it's actually a meganodule horizon. Other descriptions refer to the chert as the remains of siliceous sponges. In reality, siliceous sponge spicules are quite scarce in Vanport samples.
Two graduate student projects during the 2000s, conducted at two different universities, had very different conclusions & interpretations about the origin of the Vanport Flint. A 2003 study concluded that chert at Flint Ridge is biogenic in origin. A 2006 study concluded that the chert is chemical in origin.
Studies done by geologists at Ohio State University at Newark indicate that the Vanport Flint has a relatively complex history, the details of which are still being worked out.
Modern flint knappers value the Vanport Flint for being multicolored and high-quality (= very few impurities). With artificial heating, the flint is more easily knapped into arrowheads, spear points, and other objects. Prehistoric American Indians quarried the Vanport Flint at many specific sites on Flint Ridge. Old Indian flint pits can be examined along hiking trails in Flint Ridge State Park ("State Memorial"). Many authentic Indian artifacts found in Ohio (arrowheads & spearpoint - "projectile points") are composed of Vanport Flint.
Shown above is a flint specimen from eastern Flint Ridge. The crystals are quartz lining a cavity (vug). Such cavities are moderately common in the Vanport Flint. Common minerals filling or lining these vugs are quartz and chalcedony (= fibrous microcrystalline quartz). Other minerals include barite (scarce) and siderite / ferroan dolomite (rare).
The yellowish-brown coloration of these quartz crystals is from iron oxide.
Stratigraphy: Vanport Flint, Allegheny Group, upper Middle Pennsylvanian
Locality: Nethers Flint Quarries - flint pit in the woods on the southwestern side of Flint Ridge Road, eastern Flint Ridge, far-western Muskingum County, east-central Ohio, USA (GPS: 40° 00.137’ North latitude, 82° 11.544’ West longitude)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ2HUfD0QSw&feature=share&...
Universal, 15 Chapters, 1938. Starring Larry “Buster” Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Frank Shannon, Beatrice Roberts, Richard Alexander, Donald Kerr, C. Montague Shaw, Wheeler Oakman.
Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars picks up almost exactly where Flash Gordon left off, with our courageous trio of interplanetary adventurers–Flash Gordon (Larry “Buster” Crabbe), Dale Arden (Jean Rogers), and Dr. Zarkov (Frank Shannon)–returning to Earth from the planet Mongo. They are greeted to a royal welcome, since their voyage has saved the Earth from being destroyed by the late Emperor Ming of Mongo. Zarkov, however, attempts to curb the Earthlings’ ebullience by cautioning them that the defeat and death of Ming does not mean that their planet is free from other threats of extraterrestrial invasion. As usual, Zarkov is correct; shortly after his warning speech, the Martian Queen Azura (Beatrice Roberts) begins an operation designed to siphon off the “nitron” (aka nitrogen) in the Earth’s atmosphere. Azura’s primary goal is to create nitron-powered weapons with which to wage a war against her mortal foes, the Clay People of Mars. She’s indifferent to the devastating effect that it will have on the Earth, while her chief adviser and military consultant regards the destruction of Earth as the main attraction of the plan. That adviser is none other than Ming (Charles Middleton), still very much alive and longing for revenge on Flash and Zarkov for toppling him from his throne and driving him into exile on Mars.
As the Earth begins to experience catastrophic floods and storms, due to the effects of Azura’s “Nitron Lamp,” Zarkov, Flash, and Dale launch another interplanetary trip to discover the cause of the catastrophes, which Zarkov has determined are due to a beam that emanates from outer space. They discover an unexpected stowaway aboard after takeoff–reporter “Happy” Hapgood (Donald Kerr), who had set out to track down Zarkov and get his opinion of the world-wide disasters. Not long after arriving on Mars, our quartet of Earth adventurers find themselves embroiled in the war between Azura and the Clay People. The latter are one-time rivals of the Queen, who have been transformed into living clay by Azura’s magical powers and banished to underground caverns from whence they carry on a guerilla war against Azura’s forces. The Clay People’s king enlists the aid of Flash and his party, as both of them want to stop Azura’s nitron-collecting plans, and, with additional aid from Prince Barin (Richard Alexander)–who arrives on Mars to try to convince the Martians to expel Ming–Flash and his party pit themselves against Azura’s magic, Ming’s machinations, Ming’s savage allies the Forest People, and many other hazards, in their quest to save the Earth.
Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars is fully as good as the first Flash Gordon serial, although its strengths are in slightly different areas. While Trip to Mars doesn’t measure up to Flash Gordon when it comes to colorful characters and fantastic monsters, its focused plotline surpasses the episodic story of the earlier serial. In Flash Gordon, the protagonists merely responded to the perpetual perils that were hurled at them by Ming, King Vultan, and King Kala, while Ming’s own plans for destroying the Earth were largely abandoned after the first chapter in favor of his attempts to marry Dale and destroy Flash. In Trip to Mars, Flash, Dale, and Zarkov initiate events instead of just coping with them, and Ming’s new grand design drives the plot far more strongly than his earlier one, giving the good guys a clear-cut objective (the destruction of the Nitron Lamp) beyond simple escape from Mongo.
While Trip to Mars has no characters to rival Flash Gordon’s King Vultan and no bizarre beasts like the Orangopoid or the Fire Dragon, it still has excellent other-worldly atmosphere. The sets are not as varied and intricate as in the first serial, but still surpass the backdrops of almost any other chapterplay. Especially striking are Ming’s “powerhouse,” with its laboratory equipment and its disintegration room, Azura’s massive palace with its unique architectural design (particularly the futuristic pocket doors), the Clay People’s eerie caves, and the wonderfully-designed realm of the Forest People, with its twisted trees, climbing vines, hidden tunnels amid tree roots, and treehouse-like observation platforms.
In addition to the big sets, there are dozens of other major and minor props and special effects that make Trips to Mars memorably atmospheric; there’s the the Martians’ flying capes, the Martian televiewer screens (which are cleverly incorporated into the recap sequences at the beginning of each chapter), the Clay People’s vapor-healing chamber, and the bridge of light that connects Azura’s rocket tower to the rest of her palace and is powered by a simple switch like any Earthling lamp (the scene where Flash and Zarkov are first forced to cross the unsafe-looking thing is quite funny), to name but a few. I also appreciate the fact that Azura’s spaceship squadrons–her “stratosleds”–are designed differently than any of the ships in the first Flash Gordon serial; one would expect the aerial fleets of differing planets to differ in appearance. Another neat touch of internal consistency is the use of three completely different forms of salute by the three principal Martian races–Queen Azura’s subjects, the Clay People, and the Forest People.
The serial’s screenplay maintains good continuity with the previous Flash outing, despite being the work of a completely different team of writers–Ray Trampe, Norman S. Hall, Wyndham Gittens, and Herbert Dalmas. The new writing team avoids any of the clunky lines that occasionally crept into Flash Gordon’s dialogue exchanges; they also, despite having to resort to a few flashbacks to the first serial for padding purposes, manage to make their plot fit its fifteen-chapter length quite nicely. The major plot thread of the heroes’ attempts to destroy Ming and Azura’s Nitron Lamp is skillfully interwoven with several subplots–the Clay People’s efforts to regain their natural shape, the attempts by both Flash and Ming to get hold of the Black Sapphire of Kalu (a talisman that can neutralize Azura’s magic), and Ming’s plot to undermine Azura and seize the Martian throne.
Trip to Mars’ script wisely spreads its plot developments over the course of the serial, instead of introducing all its ideas in the first chapter and letting them tread water until the final one: the Clay People aren’t introduced till the second chapter or the Forest People until the sixth, while Prince Barin first arrives in Chapter Seven. The Nitron Lamp is destroyed in Chapter Nine and rebuilt over the course of the following chapters until it must be destroyed again at the climax, and one of the principal villains is killed off in Chapter Thirteen.
The cliffhangers aren’t quite as varied as in the first Flash serial, due to the lack of the various monsters that frequently attacked Flash for chapter-ending purposes in the earlier outing. However, writers still manage to avoid excessive repetition; for instance, while there are three chapter endings involving stratosled crashes, each one is set up differently–the first has Flash crashing a stratosled into another stratosled to stop it from bombing Dale and Happy, the second has a stratosled crashing on top of Flash and Zarkov, and the third has Flash and the pilots of a ’sled grapping for the controls as it soars towards yet another crash. There’s also an excellent cliffhanger in which Flash, Dale, Happy, and Zarkov are surrounded by an ever-narrowing ring of fire in the Forest People’s kingdom, and a memorably unusual one that has a hypnotized Dale stabbing an unsuspecting Flash in the back.
Though Trip to Mars has no swordfights or wrestling matches corresponding to those in Flash Gordon, it still features a nice variety of action scenes–including stratosled dogfights, fights among the vines and treetops of the Forest Kingdom, and chases through Azura’s big palace; the palace sequence in Chapter Five, which has the nimble Flash vaulting through windows to avoid the guards, is a particular standout. Directors Ford Beebe (a Universal serial veteran) and Robert Hill (a talented director who rarely escaped from low-budget independent serials and B-films) do a fine job of orchestrating these action scenes, assisted by stuntmen Eddie Parker (doubling Buster Crabbe), George DeNormand, Tom Steele, Bud Wolfe, and Jerry Frank. All of the aforementioned stuntmen, except Parker, also pop up in minor acting roles.
The performances in Trip to Mars are all first-rate; the returning actors from the first serial are all just as good as they were in Flash Gordon, while the new major players fit in smoothly. Buster Crabbe’s Flash is just as tough, chipper, athletic, and likable as in the first serial–and a good deal more wise and resourceful than before, improvising strategy and coming up with plans in tough situations instead of just trying to batter his way out. Frank Shannon’s Zarkov, as consequence of Flash’s new-found intelligence, has a reduced part, not guiding the good guys’ actions as he did in the first serial; he still functions as the scientific brains of the group, though, and is still as intense, serious, and sincere as before.
Jean Rogers, with her long blonde hair bobbed and dyed brown to better match the comic-strip version of Dale Arden (she’s also dressed in less arresting fashion), isn’t as stunning as in Flash Gordon, but is still a warm, welcome, and lovely presence. Her part here is smaller than in the first serial, though, since Ming is not romantically interested in her this time out (Ming, though no gentleman, evidently prefers blondes). Richard Alexander’s Prince Barin is a lot more self-assured when it comes to delivering dialogue this time around (helped, no doubt, by the absence of any overly high-flown lines), while his convincingly royal bearing and his commanding size are as effective as before.
Charles Middleton’s Ming is even more entertainingly sinister here than he was in Flash Gordon, getting a good deal more screen time and given a more devilish appearance by a notably forked beard. Though still given opportunities to break into tyrannical and bloodthirsty rages (particularly in his insane rant in the final chapter), Middleton spends much of the serial displaying duplicity and sly subtlety instead, since his Ming must pretend to friendship with Azura even while plotting against her. Middleton carries off this slightly more multi-faceted version of Ming masterfully, winning a few laughs with his crafty cynicism while remaining thoroughly sinister and hateful.
Beatrice Roberts does a fine job as Queen Azura, eschewing the sneering, aggressive demeanor of other serial villainesses for a regal, dignified manner (with a wryly humorous undercurrent) that contrasts interestingly with her often cruel behavior. Her Azura comes off as selfish and ruthless, but not an abusive tyrant like Ming. Donald Kerr as reporter Happy Hapgood, the other principal new character, is as controversial among fans as most other serial comedy-relief characters are. Speaking for myself, though, I found him quite likable and entertaining; he provides an amusingly commonplace point-of-view towards the fantastic world of Mars and is never obtrusive, gratingly stupid, or obnoxious. Additionally, his character is allowed to be quite heroic and helpful when the chips are down, a far cry from one-dimensional cowardly “comic” pests like Sonny Ray in Perils of Pauline or Lee Ford in SOS Coast Guard.
Wheeler Oakman is very good as Tarnak, Ming’s wily lab assistant and co-conspirator against Azura. C. Montague Shaw, concealed under heavy makeup for most of the serial, conveys an impressive air of ruined dignity as the King of the Clay People and manages to seem both sinister and sympathetic at different times. Usual hero Kane Richmond brings appropriate depth of characterization to his key role as a Martian pilot, who proves instrumental in helping Flash overthrow Ming in the later chapters. Anthony Warde has a small part as Toran, king of the Forest People, but extracts as much snarling nastiness as possible from the role. Future director Thomas Carr is his second-in-command, Kenne Duncan is the officer in charge of Azura’s airdrome, Lane Chandler and Jack Mulhall both appear as pilots of her Death Squadron, and Warner Richmond has a small role as one of Ming’s palace cohorts.
Hooper Atchley and James Blaine pop up as self-important Earth scientists, propounding ingenious and inaccurate theories as to the causes of the damage brought about by the Nitron Lamp, while Edwin Stanley is the general presiding over a council comprised of these two and additional savants. Louis Merrill (a radio actor who played character roles in several feature films) has a brief but memorable turn as the blunt and slightly uncouth Dr. Metz, who alone among the scientists has the humility to admit that Zarkov is the only one capable of unravelling the riddle of the disasters. Merrill’s characterization is so vivid that one wishes the actor had taken a larger part in this chapterplay or in other serials.
Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars is a nearly ideal sequel, in that it manages to preserve the basic strengths of its predecessor while deviating from it in some areas and improving on it in others. It’s also a nearly ideal serial, independent of its relation to the earlier Flash Gordon; it balances good acting, atmosphere, action, and plotting in such fine style that it would still be a notable achievement if it were the sole entry in the Flash Gordon series.
Flash, Dale, and Dr. Zarkov return from their former space adventures only to find that their enemy, Ming the Merciless of planet Mongo, has a new weapon: a deadly ray that crosses space to wreak havoc on earth. Earth's only hope is for our heroes to take off again and stop the ray at its source on Mars, where they (and a stowaway) familiar to sci-fi serial fans as Happy Hapgood the space traveling reporter). Must battle Ming's ally, Queen Azura, who turns her enemies into lumpish clay people.With the aid of the Clay People and Prince Barin, Flash and his friends are triumphant in destroying the ray and putting an end to the scheme of Ming the Merciless. Can they survive 15 chapters of deadly perils? Find out next week...
The Deadly Ray From Mars was an edited version of the 1938 Universal serial "Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars" that was released to TV in a syndication package in 1966.
Mars Attacks the World was the feature version of the 1938 serial titled Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars. aka "Space Soldiers' Trip to Mars" - USA (TV title)
Mars Attacks the World is the feature compilation version of the serial Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars, while Rocket Ship is the the feature compilation of the serial Flash Gordon.
Jean Rogers as Dale Arden
Charles Middelton as Emperor Ming
Frank Shannon as Dr. Zarkov
Beatrice Roberts as Queen Azura
Richard Alexander as Prince Barin
Montague Shaw as The Clay King
Donald Kerr as Happy Hapgood the space traveling reporter.
The title of this serial was originally going to be "Flash Gordon and the Witch Queen of Mongo." It was changed so that Universal could save money by shooting the outdoor scenes on the back lot and not have to build costly sets, and by reusing the set for Emperor Ming's palace.
In the stock footage from Flash Gordon, shown in this film, as Flash is telling The Clay People about his previous encounter with Emperor Ming, Ming is bald and Dale Arden has blond hair. In this sequel, Ming has "pasted on" hair and Dale is a brunette. It has been reported that Jean Rogers (Dale Arden) had many other film roles pending at that time (1938) which had called for her to portray a brunette.
King Features Syndicate released the 3 Flash Gordon serials as well as "Buck Rogers," Red Barry", "Ace Drummond" and other comic strip cliffhangers to US TV in 1951. Because the television show Flash Gordon, starring Steve Holland as Flash, was in syndication in late 1953, the three Universal Pictures Flash Gordon theatrical serials were retitled for TV broadcast. Flash Gordon became "Space Soldiers", Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars became "Space Soldiers' Trip to Mars", and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe became "Space Soldiers Conquer the Universe". To this day both the 3 original "Flash Gordon" serial titles and the 3 "Space Soldiers" titles are used.
Chapter Titles:
1. New Worlds To Conquer
2. The Living Dead
3. Queen of Magic
4. Ancient Enemies
5. The Boomerang
6. Treemen of Mars
7. Prisoner of Monga
8. Black Sapphire of Kalu
9. Symbol of Death
10. Incense of Forgetfulness
11. Human Bait
12. Ming the Merciless
13. Miracle of Magic
14. Beasts at Bay
15. An Eyes For An Eye
Chemical Engineer (Postdoctoral Appointee), Chemical Sciences & Engineering Division
Areas of study: Catalytic evaluation, kinetics, reaction mechanism, and characterization of anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) nanolith-supported catalysts. More information.
A cliché (from French, stereotype) is a phrase or expression, or the idea expressed by it, that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force or novelty, especially where the same expression was at one time distinctively forceful or novel. By extension, "cliché" applies also to almost any situations, subjects, characterizations, or objects that have similarly become overly familiar or commonplace. As a result, many feel that they should be avoided like the plague.
The CT Scanner Laboratory provides imaging data that can be used for computer simulations, economic evaluations, and site characterizations. The scanner generates a three-dimensional (3-D) image of an object's structure by collecting and combining many 2-D X-ray images. Coal, rock, and other geological samples are imaged to measure how liquids, gases, and solids flow through them, or to measure other rock-fluid phenomena, such as how CO2 is adsorbed or absorbed in coal cores. The measurements provide information on the actual distribution of minerals and fluids inside samples, rather than providing merely average measurements.
Hood County, Texas, USA
9 December 2007
Jim Eidson, Clymer Meadow Preserve Manager for the Nature Conservancy of Texas, visited this area and provides a clear characterization of the plant community represented in photos p216-p224:
"...of conservation interest is the ashe juniper--
sideoats/hairy grama (Juniperus ashei -- Bouteloua
(curtipendula, hirsuta) woodland *(G2/G3). The
herbaceous component expresses as a sparse
vegetation within the ashe juniper woodland interstices,
and disappears as juniper canopy trends toward closure".
It is interesting to note that red-berry juniper is also lightly sprinkled within this same community as well as an abundance of Yucca pallida and what appears to be Yucca rupicola (needs confirmation). Both of these Yuccas are endemic to Texas and have found a secure refuge in this conservation easement.
*G2 = 6-20 populations known globally; imperiled and very vulnerable to extinction throughout its range.
G3 = 21-100 populations known globally; either very rare and local throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range (e.g., a single state or physiographic region), or because of other factors making it vulnerable to extinction throughout its range.
@ Squatter's Opera New Event! at Theatre 80,
80 St Mark's Place, NYC. March 8, 2020
Join us for the first ever public film showing of the current rendition of Michael Shenker's Squatter's Opera. Followed by question & answer session with cast and crew. Then, there's more... See, hear, and maybe even participate in, a live performance of more music from the Squatter's Opera repertoire.
Description: In 2019 a group of about 25 Lower East Side veteran squatters, artists, musicians and activists came together to resurrect the song "Live Free Or Die" from the late Michael Shenker's collection of songs that came to be known as The Squatter's Opera. It was performed at Theater For The New City (see website theaterforthenewcity.net for more amazing live performances) on May 26th 2019, and Simeon Rose created this "short" film of the event.. This piece explains the how's and why's of Squatting via an informative introduction by graphic artist Seth Tobocman, then shows the musical characterization of scenes from real life Squatting. We aim to show why people chose to squat city owned buildings, the self reliance, skill share and community we developed, and how we became homesteaders then finally legal residents despite Big Developers who wanted tax breaks to turn empty buildings into overpriced Luxury apartments.
The official launch of the state of farm animal genetic resources (AnGR) in Africa, the coffee table book of cattle breeds, the AnGR-Characterization, Inventory and Monitoring tool and the new version of the Animal Resources Information System was held in Nairobi on 12 June 2019 (photo credit: ILRI/Paul Karaimu).
Italian postcard. ASER (A. Scarmiglia Edizioni, Roma), No. 267. Photo Vaselli.
Enrico Viarisio (1897-1967) was an Italian stage and screen actor, and cabaretier.
Enrico Viarisio, born in Turin on 3 December 1897, was discovered by actress and stage company director Paola Pezzaglia, who offered him his first theatrical engagement as in December 1916. He debuted in an adventurous way: as the leading actor had missed the company’s rehearsals, Viarisio had to play the all the important male parts. He then specialized in light entertainment and music-hall. From the 1930s he has also worked in cinema, establishing himself as one of the most famous comical actors of sound cinema even if he will almost always be relegated to secondary roles or antagonists. Viarisio thus played opposite Elsa de Giorgi in L’impiegata di papà (Alessandro Blasetti 1933), opposite Elsa Merlini and Vittorio De Sica in Paprika (Carl Boese 1933) and Non ti conosco più (Nunzio Malasomma 1936), again opposite Vittorio De Sicca in Tempo massimo (Mario Mattoli 1934) and L’uomo che sorride (Mario Mattoli 1936), etc. Viarisio would act in many comedies by Mattoli. By the later 1930s Viarisio had the male leads in comedies such as Musica in piazza (Mattoli 1937) with Milly, Gli ultimi giorni di Pompeo (Mattoli 1937), Il destino in tasca (Gennaro Righelli 1938) with Vanna Vanni, Due milioni per un sorriso (Mario Soldati, Carlo Borghesio 1939) con Elsa de Giorgi, L’eredità in corsa (Oreste Biancoli 1939) with Antonio Gandusio, L'amore si fa cosí (Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia 1939) with Colette Darfeuil, Le sorprese del vagone letto (Gian Paolo Rosmino 1940) with Clara Calamai, and Finalmente soli (Giacomo Gentilomo 1942) – a kind of Italian variation on René Clair’s Un chapeau de paille d’Italie, with a likewise frenetic protagonist. Viarisio less frequently acted in dramatic films such as Cavalleria (Goffredo Alessandrini 1936), starring Amedeo Nazzari and Elisa Cegani.In Alessandro Blasetti’s proto-neorealist film Quatro passi fra le nuvole (1942) Viarisio is a streetwise travelling salesman like the protagonist Gino Cervi. In drama he didn’t have leads, but was more often a comical sidekick.
Viarisio was an elegant and slim character, recognizable by his perpetually pomaded hair and well-groomed mustache. He often played characters of noble decadence or the invading and sometimes annoying bon-vivant, even if basically an honest man. He was often mistaken for his colleague Giuseppe Porelli. Until the end of the war Viarisio acted in some 44 Italian sound films. After the war his production slowed down, though he still played in four films of 1950, including the bitter-sweet comedy Prima comunione by Alessandro Blasetti and starring Aldo Fabrizi. The 1950s were just as fruitful for Viarisio as the 1930s, as he did some 35 films then. In the fifties, while continuing his career onstage in revue shows, supporting characters such as Wanda Osiris, Olga Villi and Isa Barzizza, he also played in dozens of genre films, even if there were auteur movies as well, such as I vitelloni (1953) by Federico Fellini and with Viarisio as Moraldo's father, Stazione Termini (1953) by Vittorio De Sica, Carosello napoletano (Ettore Giannini 1954), and La ragazza del palio (Luigi Zampa 1957). Afterwards Viarisio participated in numerous “musicarelli” films alongside singers who later became famous or already were, such as Mina, Bobby Solo, Gianni Morandi and Rita Pavone. His most famous characterization of that period was that of the commercials shot for Alemagna sweets with Lia Zoppelli and Alberto Lionello, aired for many years in Carosello, which always ended with the slogan «Ullallà, è una cuccagna!» (Ooh, it’s a goody!). Enrico Viarisio's last film part was as a general in Lina Wertmuller's Non stuzzicate la zanzara (1966), with Rita Pavone and a young Giancarlo Giannini. Viarisio died on 1 November 1967 in Rome.
Source: Italian and English Wikipedia, IMDB.
Project: UAS CHARACTERIZATION OF HIGH WIND DAMAGE TO VEGETATION AND RURAL AREA ASSESSMENTS
With the help of the NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Uncrewed Systems Research Transition Office (USRTO), scientists from the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory in collaboration with the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies are working on developing an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS)-based approach to better characterize high-wind damage to vegetation and in rural areas to improve disaster response and recovery.
Photo Credit: James Murnan/NOAA
Project: UAS CHARACTERIZATION OF HIGH WIND DAMAGE TO VEGETATION AND RURAL AREA ASSESSMENTS
With the help of the NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Uncrewed Systems Research Transition Office (USRTO), scientists from the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory in collaboration with the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies are working on developing an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS)-based approach to better characterize high-wind damage to vegetation and in rural areas to improve disaster response and recovery.
Photo Credit: James Murnan/NOAA
Enzymlogic is a contract research organization that represents scientific excellence in enzymology and binding kinetics analysis for small molecule drug discovery programmes.
Enzymlogic accelerates and improves the research productivity and effectiveness of its customer screening, lead optimization, Structure-Activity Relationship (SAR) and Structure-Kinetic Relationship (SKR) campaigns by its expertise and unique methodology for the discovery and development of new drugs.
We offer innovative services such as the characterization of drug-target binding kinetics, the assessment of drug-target kinetic selectivity or the determination of drug-target binding mechanism to encourage the identification of inhibitors with novel modes of binding and enhanced clinical efficiency. We also apply enzymatic mechanistic principles to assay design in order to provide high-quality biochemical assays and increase the pharmacological diversity of selected compounds.
Our services can notably improve decision-making, yielding compounds with higher development potential and reduced risk of failure.
*Binding Kinetics: compounds with similar affinity for a given target can exhibit different clinical efficiency due to variations in their kinetic profiles. Our proprietary method allows the rapid identification of compounds with the desired kinetic parameters as an efficient starting point for lead development and the parallel optimization of binding affinity (SAR) and binding kinetics (SKR).
*Kinetic selectivity: Enzymlogic provides a complete picture of the in vivo behavior of your drugs. Selectivity is highly dynamic in human body and evolves over the course of treatment as a function of the temporal binding between the drug and the main and secondary targets. Over the course of dosing, a drug showing a prolonged interaction with its main target and shorten interactions with secondary targets exhibits temporal target selectivity. Safety and tolerability will considerably improve if the intrinsic toxicity of the drug is minimal. In contrast, a drug that display a sustained interaction with a secondary toxicity-mediating target will result in safety issues.
*Binding mechanism: high-affinity interactions often entail conformational rearrangements originated by structural changes at the drug-target binding site. Enzymlogic provides structural information in the early stages of drug discovery.
*Assay Development: we apply enzymatic mechanistic principles to assay design in order to encourage the identification of inhibitors with novel modes of binding.
American postcard by Fotofolio, NY, NY, no. P148. Photo: Sid Avery, 1964.
Stone-faced Buster Keaton (1895-1966) was one of the three greatest comedians of Silent Hollywood.
Buster Keaton was born Joseph Frank Keaton in 1895 into a vaudeville family. His father was Joseph Hallie ‘Joe’ Keaton, who owned a travelling show with Harry Houdini called the Mohawk Indian Medicine Company. Keaton was born in Piqua, Kansas, the small town where his mother, Myra Keaton (née Myra Edith Cutler), happened to go into labour. By the time he was 3, Keaton began performing with his parents in The Three Keatons. He was being thrown around the stage and into the orchestra pit, or even into the audience. His little suits even had a handle concealed at the waist, so Joe could sling him like luggage. "It was the roughest knockabout act that was ever in the history of the theatre," Keaton told the historian Kevin Brownlow. It led to accusations of child abuse, and occasionally, arrest. However, Buster Keaton was always able to show the authorities that he had no bruises or broken bones. Noticing that his laughing drew fewer laughs from the audience, Keaton adopted his famous deadpan expression whenever he was working. For the rest of his career, Keaton was "the great stone face," with an expression that ranged from impassive to slightly quizzical. By the time he was 21, his father's alcoholism threatened the reputation of the family act, so Keaton and his mother, Myra, left for New York, where Buster Keaton's career swiftly moved from vaudeville to film. In February 1917, Keaton met Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle at the Talmadge Studios in New York City, where Arbuckle was under contract to Joseph M. Schenck. He was hired as a co-star and gagman, making his first appearance in the short The Butcher Boy (Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, 1917). He appeared in a total of 14 Arbuckle shorts, running into 1920. They were popular and, Keaton and Arbuckle became close friends. Keaton was one of few people to defend Arbuckle's character during accusations that he was responsible for the death of actress Virginia Rappe in 1921. In The Saphead (Herbert Blaché, Winchell Smith, 1920), Keaton had his first starring role in a full-length feature. It was a success and Schenck gave him his own production unit, Buster Keaton Comedies. He made a series of two-reel comedies, including One Week (Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton, 1920), The Boat (Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton, 1921), Cops (Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton, 1922), and The Paleface (Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton, 1922). Keaton then moved to full-length features. His first feature, Three Ages (Edward F. Cline, Buster Keaton, 1923), was produced similarly to his short films and was the dawning of a new era in comedic cinema, where it became apparent to Keaton that he had to put more focus on the storylines and characterization. His most enduring features include Our Hospitality (John G. Blystone, Buster Keaton, 1923), The Navigator (Donald Crisp, Buster Keaton, 1924), Sherlock Jr. (Buster Keaton, 1924), College (James W. Horne, Buster Keaton, 1927), and The General (Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton, 1927). The General, set during the American Civil War, combined physical comedy with Keaton's love of trains, including an epic locomotive chase. Employing picturesque locations, the film's storyline re-enacted an actual wartime incident. Though it would come to be regarded as Keaton's greatest achievement, the film received mixed reviews at the time. It was too dramatic for some filmgoers expecting a lightweight comedy. It was an expensive misfire, and Keaton was never entrusted with total control over his films again. His distributor, United Artists, insisted on a production manager who monitored expenses and interfered with certain story elements.
Buster Keaton endured this treatment for two more feature films, including Steamboat Bill Jr. (Charles Reisner, Buster Keaton, 1928), and then exchanged his independent setup for employment at Hollywood's biggest studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Keaton's loss of independence as a filmmaker coincided with the coming of sound films (although he was interested in making the transition) and mounting personal problems, In 1921, Keaton had married Natalie Talmadge, sister-in-law of his boss, Joseph Schenck, and sister of actresses Norma Talmadge and Constance Talmadge. She co-starred with Keaton in Our Hospitality. The couple had two sons, James (1922-2007) and Robert (1924–2009), but after the birth of Robert, the relationship began to suffer. Influenced by her family, Talmadge decided not to have any more children and this led to the couple staying in separate bedrooms. Her financial extravagance (she would spend up to a third of his salary on clothes) was another factor in the breakdown of the marriage. Keaton signed with MGM in 1928, a business decision that he would later call the worst of his life. He realized too late that MGM’s studio system would severely limit his creative input. For instance, the studio refused his request to make his early project, Spite Marriage (Edward Sedgwick, Buster Keaton, 1929), as a sound film and after the studio converted, he was obliged to adhere to dialogue-laden scripts. However, MGM did allow Keaton some creative participation in his last originally developed/written silent film The Cameraman (Edward Sedgwick, Buster Keaton, 1928). which was his first project under contract with them. Keaton was forced to use a stunt double during some of the more dangerous scenes, something he had never done in his heyday, as MGM wanted badly to protect its investment. Some of his most financially successful films for the studio were during this period. MGM tried teaming the laconic Keaton with the rambunctious Jimmy Durante in a series of films, The Passionate Plumber (Edward Sedgwick, 1932), Speak Easily (Edward Sedgwick, 1932), and What! No Beer? (Edward Sedgwick, 1933). In the first Keaton pictures with sound, he and his fellow actors would shoot each scene three times: one in English, one in Spanish, and one in either French or German. The actors would phonetically memorize the foreign-language scripts a few lines at a time and shoot immediately after. In 1932, Nathalie Talmadge divorced Keaton, taking his entire fortune and refusing to allow any contact between Keaton and his sons, whose last name she had changed to Talmadge. Keaton was reunited with them about a decade later when his older son turned 18. With the failure of his marriage and the loss of his independence as a filmmaker, Keaton lapsed into a period of alcoholism.
Buster Keaton was so demoralized during the production of What! No Beer? (Edward Sedgwick, 1933) that MGM fired him after the filming was complete, despite the film being a resounding hit. In 1933, he married his nurse, Mae Scriven, during an alcoholic binge about which he afterwards claimed to remember nothing. Scriven herself would later claim that she didn't know Keaton's real first name until after the marriage. When they divorced in 1936, it was again at great financial cost to Keaton. In 1934, Keaton accepted an offer to make an independent film in Paris, Le Roi des Champs-Élysées/The King of the Champs Elysees (Max Nosseck, 1934) with Paulette Dubost. In England, he made another film, The Invader/An Old Spanish Custom (Adrian Brunel, 1936). Upon Keaton's return to Hollywood, he made a screen comeback in a series of 16 two-reel comedies for Educational Pictures. Most of these are simple visual comedies, with many of the gags supplied by Keaton himself, often recycling ideas from his family vaudeville act and his earlier films. The high point in the Educational series is Grand Slam Opera (Buster Keaton, Charles Lamont, 1936), featuring Buster in his own screenplay as a contestant in a radio amateur hour show hoping to win the first prize... by dancing and juggling. When the series lapsed in 1937, Keaton returned to MGM as a gag writer, including the Marx Brothers films At the Circus (Edward Buzzell, 1939) and Go West (Edward Buzzell, 1940), and providing material for Red Skelton. He also helped and advised Lucille Ball in her comedic work in films and television. In 1939, Columbia Pictures hired Keaton to star in ten two-reel comedies, running for two years. The director was usually Jules White, whose emphasis on slapstick and farce made most of these films resemble White's Three Stooges comedies. Keaton's personal favourite was the series' debut entry, Pest from the West (Del Lord, 1939), a shorter, tighter remake of The Invader (1936). Keaton's Columbia shorts rank as the worst comedies he made.
Buster Keaton's personal life stabilized with his 1940 marriage with Eleanor Norris, a 21-year-old dancer. She stopped his heavy drinking and helped to salvage his career. He abandoned Columbia for the less strenuous field of feature films. Throughout the 1940s, Keaton played character roles in features. He made his last starring feature El Moderno Barba Azul/Boom In The Moon (Jaime Salvador, 1946) in Mexico. Critics rediscovered Keaton in 1949. He had cameos in such films as In the Good Old Summertime (Robert Z. Leonard, 1949), Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950), and Around the World in 80 Days (Michael Anderson, 1956), and did innumerable TV appearances. Keaton also appeared in a comedy routine about two inept stage musicians in Charlie Chaplin's Limelight (1952). In 1954, Keaton and his wife met film programmer Raymond Rohauer, with whom the couple would develop a business partnership to re-release Keaton's films. Around the same time, after buying the comedian's house, the actor James Mason found numerous cans of Keaton's films. Keaton had prints of the features Three Ages, Sherlock, Jr., Steamboat Bill, Jr., College (missing one reel) and the shorts The Boat and My Wife's Relations, which Keaton and Rohauer transferred to safety stock from deteriorating nitrate film stock. Unknown to them at the time, MGM also had saved some of Keaton's work: all his 1920-1926 features and his first eight two-reel shorts. In 1962 came a retrospective at the Cinematheque Francaise in Paris, and in 1965 a tribute at the Venice Film Festival. "I can't feel sorry for myself," he said in Venice. "It all goes to show that if you stay on the merry-go-round long enough you'll get another chance at the brass ring. Luckily, I stayed on." In 1960, Keaton returned to MGM for the final time, playing a lion tamer in an adaptation of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Michael Curtiz, 1960). Later Keaton played a cameo in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (Stanley Kramer, 1963) and starred in four films for American International Pictures: Pajama Party (Don Weis, 1964), Beach Blanket Bingo (William Asher, 1965), How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (William Asher, 1964) and Sergeant Deadhead (Norman Taurog, 1964). As he had done in the past, Keaton also provided gags for the four AIP films. In 1965, Keaton starred in the short film The Railrodder (Gerald Potterton, Buster Keaton, 1965) for the National Film Board of Canada. Wearing his traditional pork pie hat, he travelled from one end of Canada to the other on a railway motorcar, performing a few stunts similar to those in films he did 50 years earlier. The film was Keaton's last silent screen performance. He also played the central role in Samuel Beckett's Film (Alan Schneider, 1965) and travelled to Italy to play a role in Due Marines e un Generale/War Italian Style (Luigi Scattini, 1965), with Italian comedy duo Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia. Keaton's final film was A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Richard Lester, 1966) which was filmed in Spain in September-November 1965. He amazed the cast and crew by doing many of his own stunts. Shortly after completing the film, Keaton died of lung cancer in 1966 at his home in Woodland Hills, California. He was 70. In 1987, the documentary, Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow, directed by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill, won two Emmy Awards.
Sources: Roger Ebert, Nicolette Olivier (IMDb), New York Times, Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Project: UAS CHARACTERIZATION OF HIGH WIND DAMAGE TO VEGETATION AND RURAL AREA ASSESSMENTS
With the help of the NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Uncrewed Systems Research Transition Office (USRTO), scientists from the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory in collaboration with the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies are working on developing an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS)-based approach to better characterize high-wind damage to vegetation and in rural areas to improve disaster response and recovery.
Photo Credit: James Murnan/NOAA
Project: UAS CHARACTERIZATION OF HIGH WIND DAMAGE TO VEGETATION AND RURAL AREA ASSESSMENTS
With the help of the NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Uncrewed Systems Research Transition Office (USRTO), scientists from the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory in collaboration with the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies are working on developing an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS)-based approach to better characterize high-wind damage to vegetation and in rural areas to improve disaster response and recovery.
Photo Credit: James Murnan/NOAA
The CT Scanner Laboratory provides imaging data that can be used for computer simulations, economic evaluations, and site characterizations. The scanner generates a three-dimensional (3-D) image of an object's structure by collecting and combining many 2-D X-ray images. Coal, rock, and other geological samples are imaged to measure how liquids, gases, and solids flow through them, or to measure other rock-fluid phenomena, such as how CO2 is adsorbed or absorbed in coal cores. The measurements provide information on the actual distribution of minerals and fluids inside samples, rather than providing merely average measurements.
The CT Scanner Laboratory provides imaging data that can be used for computer simulations, economic evaluations, and site characterizations. The scanner generates a three-dimensional (3-D) image of an object's structure by collecting and combining many 2-D X-ray images. Coal, rock, and other geological samples are imaged to measure how liquids, gases, and solids flow through them, or to measure other rock-fluid phenomena, such as how CO2 is adsorbed or absorbed in coal cores. The measurements provide information on the actual distribution of minerals and fluids inside samples, rather than providing merely average measurements.
Hood County, Texas, USA
9 December 2007
Jim Eidson, Clymer Meadow Preserve Manager for the Nature Conservancy of Texas, visited this area and provides a clear characterization of the plant community represented in photos p216-p224:
"...of conservation interest is the ashe juniper--
sideoats/hairy grama (Juniperus ashei -- Bouteloua
(curtipendula, hirsuta) woodland *(G2/G3). The
herbaceous component expresses as a sparse
vegetation within the ashe juniper woodland interstices,
and disappears as juniper canopy trends toward closure".
It is interesting to note that red-berry juniper is also lightly sprinkled within this same community as well as an abundance of Yucca pallida and what appears to be Yucca rupicola (needs confirmation). Both of these Yuccas are endemic to Texas and have found a secure refuge in this conservation easement.
*G2 = 6-20 populations known globally; imperiled and very vulnerable to extinction throughout its range.
G3 = 21-100 populations known globally; either very rare and local throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range (e.g., a single state or physiographic region), or because of other factors making it vulnerable to extinction throughout its range.
The original untextured version can be found in the same set. I was unhappy with the over-saturated water and green in the original background but my attempts to correct that left my lovely niece Daisy dull and lifeless, which, I asure you, would be a false characterization.
Solution (short of better colour-correction skills to begin with): texturing an overly vivid background diminished it's impact, added subtle interest, and most important, ensured focal attention where intended. At least that's what I think I accomplished. Comments, criticisms, and tips for improvement are most welcome.
The texture used (and altered) is courtesy of ground*floor www.flickr.com/photos/chromaticaberrations/ who registered his texture sets with creative commons.
Friend and photographer Brian Gudas briangudasphotography.com/personal/ introduced me to this technique and graciously helped me nail down the procedures for myself. Check out a sample of his texturing work here: www.flickr.com/photos/briangudasphotography/3049407002/. View the large version. Engaging or what!?
Spray characterization card. Aerial Pesticide Application Training (APAT). Ovid, Michigan.
Photo by: Unknown
Date: March 22, 2017
Credit: USDA Forest Service, Region 6, State and Private Forestry, Forest Health Protection.
Source: Forest Health Protection digital file collection. Regional Office; Portland, Oregon.
Image provided by USDA Forest Service, Region 6, State and Private Forestry, Forest Health Protection: www.fs.usda.gov/main/r6/forest-grasslandhealth
Etched Zinc oxide
Courtesy of yanzhu dai
Image Details
Instrument used: Quanta Family
Magnification: 5,000X
Voltage: 10kV
Working Distance: 15
Detector: SE
Tianlin Wang, Graduate Student Research Assistant in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Climate and Space, presents his research on the characterization of efective isotropic radiated power of the GPS constellation for the CYGNSS Mission for the Richard and Eleanor Towner Prize in Outstanding Ph.D. Research at the 2018 Engineering Graduate Symposium in the Duderstadt Gallery on North Campus in Ann Arbor, MI. on Friday October 26, 2018.
With over 400 participants, alumni, and visiting students from around the world, the 13th annual Engineering Graduate Symposium brings research, networking and recruitment to North Campus.
Photo by Robert Coelius/Michigan Engineering, Communications and Marketing
ZnO were prepared by hydrothermal method at 150℃
Courtesy of yanzhu dai
Image Details
Instrument used: Quanta Family
Magnification: 25,000x
Voltage: 20kV
Spot: 2.5
Working Distance: 10.0
Detector: SE
Dr. Jan-Marten Seitz, Institut für Werkstoffkunde. Leibniz Universität Hannover, Garbsen, Germany
Dr. Seitz has worked as a PhD Student and Scientist at Leibniz Universität in Hannover, Germany, with a focus on
lightweight materials research and biomedical engineering applications. His April seminar presentation was titled:
Development and Characterization of Magnesium-Neodymium Alloys for Biomedical Applications
VersaTile™ probe cards can be used in a variety of plates for adjustable wafer level reliability and modeling and characterization testing.
Recovery Act workers will conduct characterization work and remove legacy materials at the Beta 3 facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
youtu.be/1qNeGSJaQ9Q It’s Alive !!!
Universal Studios made themselves famous for "horror" films in the 1930s. Following the success of their Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, Universal put out a variation on Mary Shelley's story that would become hugely influential for decades. Universal's Frankenstein. Much has already been written about this film, so this review will not attempt to cover everything. James Whale's Frankenstein was a hybrid -- partly a horror movie, but also partly a sci-fi movie. The goal of FrankenFEST is to explore the science fiction aspects of the many Frankenstein films. Some have more "science". Some are more "horror". Some are just silly.
Synopsis
Henry Frankenstein and his hunchback assistant Fritz dig up a recently buried body and take down a hanged man. Henry still needs an undamaged brain, so Fritz sneaks into a medical college to steal one. He drops the first brain-in-a-jar, so takes the second, labeled "abnormal brain." Henry has his creature assembled on a table and awaits the storm's peak for the jolt to infuse life. Just then, his fiancee, Elizabeth, friend Victor and former teacher, Professor Waldman, come knocking at the door of Henry's spooky tower. Reluctantly, he lets them in. Baited by Victor's accusation that Henry is crazy, Henry shows them his experiment. The storm peaks and the creature moves. "It's Alive!" Waldman stays to help. Victor and Elizabeth express worry to Henry's dad, Baron Frankenstein. Meanwhile, Henry shows off his creature to Waldman. It needs time to mature. However, Fritz taunts it with fire, sending the creature into a rage. It murders Fritz. It beats up Henry before Waldman injects it with anesthetic. Victor, Elizabeth and the Baron arrive and take the sick and battered Henry back to the village. Waldman stays to get rid of the monster. Before he can, the anesthetic wears off. The monster kills Waldman and escapes. In the village, all is festive, music and dancing for the wedding. Elizabeth is troubled with premonitions of doom. The monster comes across a little girl who wants a playmate. She tosses flowers in the lake to watch them float. When she's out of flowers, the monster tosses her in to float. She doesn't. The monster is upset and flees. He goes into the village and sneaks into Elizabeth's bedroom. Before he can do anything, her screams bring everyone running. He escapes unseen. Maria's father brings her dead body into town. The Burgomeister organizes three search parties to find the killer. Henry leads the mountain group. The monster finds Henry alone, knocks him out and carries him away. The mob see this and purse them to a windmill. The monster throws Henry from the upper railing, but he catches on a windmill blade, so doesn't die. The mob burn down the windmill. Henry recovers with Elizabeth's doting. The baron makes a toast to a future "son of Frankenstein." The End
The "science" in Whale's Frankenstein is mostly medical or biological. Waldman describes Henry's work as being in "chemical galvanism" and "electro-biology." Henry himself describes the key being "rays" beyond violet in the spectrum. This "Life Ray" is apparently available in electricity. Much of Henry's lab is filled with large things that spark or arc. Electricity is, in this pre-atomic world, the magical stuff that can do wonders. Compare Henry's lab and creation with Rotwang's in Metropolis ('27). The motif of the mad scientist's lab being stocked with sparky things dates back to this era.
Compared to the Novel
The main characters are retained, although the names of Henry and Victor are swapped, for some reason. Universal's screenplay was more of an adaptation of a stage play written by Peggy Webling in 1927. Her successful play had to do something similar to Edison's screenplay, in paring the story down to some basic elements. Whale's film focused more on the hubris of unfettered "science" than on the philosophical elements of creator-creature obligations. The hubris of the "mad" scientist, as a plot trope, would endure many decades into future films.
Iconic Monster -- The famous monster was a combination of make-up specialist Jack Pierce (who created the flat-top head and bolts on the neck) and the characterization given by actor Boris Karloff. Their "monster" was too captivating to the public imagination, too iconic to ever really die -- as we shall see -- that he would reappear in many later films. Little children would dress up as the monster for halloween. Parodies and spin-offs would key off the Pierce-Karloff monster.
Much of the look of the film stems from the artistic style of German Expressionism. This style is a whole topic unto itself. The stark light and dark, the use of up-lighting, the asymmetry and odd angles all enhance the feeling of instability. Nothing is soft. Nothing is "quite right." Contrast Henry's tower with the village sets. They're all normal enough, and almost Disney quaint. The normal world vs. HIS world: dark, unstable and "off". The artistic style of German Expressionism would not remain popular beyond WWII, but its visuals in association with the mad scientist's lab would endure far beyond.
Far back into the 1800s, probably not long after Shelley penned her story, people would often confuse the monster and the man. The monster, in both the novel and the 1931 movie, had no name. He was, like the novel, called only, "my creation", "the monster" or "the fiend." It was Henry who carried the family name of Frankenstein. Yet, to the public imagination, such a strong character as the monster simply could not go nameless. He was often referred to as "Frankenstein" as if that were his name. That's not the case, but it has been a common enough mistake that it has stuck. The monster is more famous than the man.The more famous character gets the name. After all, children do not dress up as Henry (or Victor) Frankenstein.
Aside from the many Expressionist visuals, there is one scene which, though brief, is an interesting inclusion of a famous painting. When the monster accosts Elizabeth in her room, just as he sneaks out, and the others burst in, note Elizabeth's position on the bed. This very brief moment is also captured on the poster art.This seems an unmistakeable visual reference to Henry Fuseli's famous 1791 painting: "Nightmare" .Maybe this something that only art history majors might enjoy, but it was an interesting bit for Whale to include.
A curious note, is how much Frankenstein as a story had become intertwined with the classic vampire story: Dracula. For one, Universal released them both in 1931. Beyond proximity, Universal had originally cast Bela Lugosi as the monster, but he declined the part. Lugosi would, however, end up playing the monster in a few later iterations. As well, Webling's play, which served as source material, also followed a successful Dracula production by the same star. The two characters sprang from very different literary roots and told very different cautionary tales, yet, they would become paired in the popular imagination, as if they were somehow brothers.
Universal's 1931 Frankenstein is a movie classic that is not to be missed. It is a well-told and well-paced story, but more importunely, it is foundational to almost all the Frankenstein films to come.
The CT Scanner Laboratory provides imaging data that can be used for computer simulations, economic evaluations, and site characterizations. The scanner generates a three-dimensional (3-D) image of an object's structure by collecting and combining many 2-D X-ray images. Coal, rock, and other geological samples are imaged to measure how liquids, gases, and solids flow through them, or to measure other rock-fluid phenomena, such as how CO2 is adsorbed or absorbed in coal cores. The measurements provide information on the actual distribution of minerals and fluids inside samples, rather than providing merely average measurements.
Make Way for Ducklings is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey. First published in 1941, the book tells the story of a pair of mallard ducks who decide to raise their family on an island in the lagoon in Boston Public Garden, a park in the center of Boston, Massachusetts.
Make Way for Ducklings won the 1942 Caldecott Medal for McCloskey's illustrations, executed in charcoal then lithographed on zinc plates. As of 2003, the book had sold over two million copies. The book's popularity led to the construction of a statue by Nancy Schön in the Public Garden of the mother duck and her eight ducklings, which is a popular destination for children and adults alike. In 1991, Barbara Bush gave a duplicate of this sculpture to Raisa Gorbachev as part of the START Treaty, and the work is displayed in Moscow's Novodevichy Park.
The book is the official children's book of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Praise for the book is still high over 70 years since its first publication, mainly for the enhancing illustrations and effective pacing. It was criticised for having a loose plot, however, as well as poor characterization. The book is extremely popular worldwide.
(Source: wikipedia.org)
14th INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
ON CELLULOSE CHEMISTRY AND TECHNOLOGY
Iaşi – ROMANIA, September 8-10, 2010
In memoriam Academician Cristofor I. Simionescu
Submitted caption:
"“Frost is the greatest artist in our clime. He paints in nature and describes in rime.”
Ice accretion and its fierce adherence on functional surfaces pose serious economic problems for many essential industries ranging from energy to transportation, incurring losses in billions of dollars worldwide. Motivated to address the gaps in current winterization techniques, we have developed a ‘cool’ coating to arrest nature’s artist in its mischievous crime. By sustaining a lubricating surface hydration layer that is both slippery and non-freezing in nature, this formulation can significantly delay frost formation on any industrial surface.
The current image depicts the anti-icing performance of our anti-freezing gel chilled to −20°C in a 40% relative humidity environment captured after nine hours of non-stop experimentation. As can be seen, there is no frost formation on the heart-shaped gel coating (dyed pink-blue), while the uncoated metal background is enveloped in a dense forest of white frost. The gel coating was prepared by carefully tailoring the material chemistry of three main compounds: a phase change material, a cryoprotectant, and a block-copolymer.
The extensive rheological characterization for obtaining the optimal coating material chemistry was conducted at the Soft Matter Characterization Facility, Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at The University of Chicago. The coating design and anti-icing experiments were conducted in the Laboratory for Engineering Surface Dynamics of Professor Sushant Anand at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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This image was submitted to the University of Chicago's 2022 Science as Art competition. From neurons to nanoparticles, the entries display the gorgeous landscape of scientific research going on every day at the University of Chicago. More than 100 images were submitted to the contest, from undergraduates, graduate students, staff, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty members. Read more.
Image may only be reprinted with credit to the authors and the University of Chicago.
Project: UAS CHARACTERIZATION OF HIGH WIND DAMAGE TO VEGETATION AND RURAL AREA ASSESSMENTS
With the help of the NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Uncrewed Systems Research Transition Office (USRTO), scientists from the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory in collaboration with the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies are working on developing an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS)-based approach to better characterize high-wind damage to vegetation and in rural areas to improve disaster response and recovery.
Photo Credit: James Murnan/NOAA
Dielectric Thermal Analysis accessory is a material characterization technique similar to dynamic mechanical analysis except that on oscillation electrical field (AC field) is used in place of a mechanical force (stress) and the oscillation strain is a stored charge (Q) in the sample. Q is measured as its derivative dQ/dt = AC current. DETA measures the degree to which the sample is storing a charge (capacitance) or passing the charge (conductance) through its bulk, which reflects the orientation or mobility of random dipoles. This technique is especially powerful for characterizing polar materials such as PVC, PVDF, PMMA, PVA, and for monitoring curing kinetics of materials such as epoxy and urethane systems. The wide range of frequencies available in DETA (up to 30 MHz) also extends the measurement range far beyond traditional dynamic mechanical analysis.
Texas A&M University may or may not have model releases for people photographed on campus, in classrooms, research laboratories, or other areas related to Texas A&M. Use of the images for non-university purposes is subject to approval. Please contact the Office of Communications and Public Relations, Division of Research for further information: vpr-communications@tamu.edu or (979) 845-8069.
youtu.be/1qNeGSJaQ9Q It’s Alive !!!
Universal Studios made themselves famous for "horror" films in the 1930s. Following the success of their Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, Universal put out a variation on Mary Shelley's story that would become hugely influential for decades. Universal's Frankenstein. Much has already been written about this film, so this review will not attempt to cover everything. James Whale's Frankenstein was a hybrid -- partly a horror movie, but also partly a sci-fi movie. The goal of FrankenFEST is to explore the science fiction aspects of the many Frankenstein films. Some have more "science". Some are more "horror". Some are just silly.
Synopsis
Henry Frankenstein and his hunchback assistant Fritz dig up a recently buried body and take down a hanged man. Henry still needs an undamaged brain, so Fritz sneaks into a medical college to steal one. He drops the first brain-in-a-jar, so takes the second, labeled "abnormal brain." Henry has his creature assembled on a table and awaits the storm's peak for the jolt to infuse life. Just then, his fiancee, Elizabeth, friend Victor and former teacher, Professor Waldman, come knocking at the door of Henry's spooky tower. Reluctantly, he lets them in. Baited by Victor's accusation that Henry is crazy, Henry shows them his experiment. The storm peaks and the creature moves. "It's Alive!" Waldman stays to help. Victor and Elizabeth express worry to Henry's dad, Baron Frankenstein. Meanwhile, Henry shows off his creature to Waldman. It needs time to mature. However, Fritz taunts it with fire, sending the creature into a rage. It murders Fritz. It beats up Henry before Waldman injects it with anesthetic. Victor, Elizabeth and the Baron arrive and take the sick and battered Henry back to the village. Waldman stays to get rid of the monster. Before he can, the anesthetic wears off. The monster kills Waldman and escapes. In the village, all is festive, music and dancing for the wedding. Elizabeth is troubled with premonitions of doom. The monster comes across a little girl who wants a playmate. She tosses flowers in the lake to watch them float. When she's out of flowers, the monster tosses her in to float. She doesn't. The monster is upset and flees. He goes into the village and sneaks into Elizabeth's bedroom. Before he can do anything, her screams bring everyone running. He escapes unseen. Maria's father brings her dead body into town. The Burgomeister organizes three search parties to find the killer. Henry leads the mountain group. The monster finds Henry alone, knocks him out and carries him away. The mob see this and purse them to a windmill. The monster throws Henry from the upper railing, but he catches on a windmill blade, so doesn't die. The mob burn down the windmill. Henry recovers with Elizabeth's doting. The baron makes a toast to a future "son of Frankenstein." The End
The "science" in Whale's Frankenstein is mostly medical or biological. Waldman describes Henry's work as being in "chemical galvanism" and "electro-biology." Henry himself describes the key being "rays" beyond violet in the spectrum. This "Life Ray" is apparently available in electricity. Much of Henry's lab is filled with large things that spark or arc. Electricity is, in this pre-atomic world, the magical stuff that can do wonders. Compare Henry's lab and creation with Rotwang's in Metropolis ('27). The motif of the mad scientist's lab being stocked with sparky things dates back to this era.
Compared to the Novel
The main characters are retained, although the names of Henry and Victor are swapped, for some reason. Universal's screenplay was more of an adaptation of a stage play written by Peggy Webling in 1927. Her successful play had to do something similar to Edison's screenplay, in paring the story down to some basic elements. Whale's film focused more on the hubris of unfettered "science" than on the philosophical elements of creator-creature obligations. The hubris of the "mad" scientist, as a plot trope, would endure many decades into future films.
Iconic Monster -- The famous monster was a combination of make-up specialist Jack Pierce (who created the flat-top head and bolts on the neck) and the characterization given by actor Boris Karloff. Their "monster" was too captivating to the public imagination, too iconic to ever really die -- as we shall see -- that he would reappear in many later films. Little children would dress up as the monster for halloween. Parodies and spin-offs would key off the Pierce-Karloff monster.
Much of the look of the film stems from the artistic style of German Expressionism. This style is a whole topic unto itself. The stark light and dark, the use of up-lighting, the asymmetry and odd angles all enhance the feeling of instability. Nothing is soft. Nothing is "quite right." Contrast Henry's tower with the village sets. They're all normal enough, and almost Disney quaint. The normal world vs. HIS world: dark, unstable and "off". The artistic style of German Expressionism would not remain popular beyond WWII, but its visuals in association with the mad scientist's lab would endure far beyond.
Far back into the 1800s, probably not long after Shelley penned her story, people would often confuse the monster and the man. The monster, in both the novel and the 1931 movie, had no name. He was, like the novel, called only, "my creation", "the monster" or "the fiend." It was Henry who carried the family name of Frankenstein. Yet, to the public imagination, such a strong character as the monster simply could not go nameless. He was often referred to as "Frankenstein" as if that were his name. That's not the case, but it has been a common enough mistake that it has stuck. The monster is more famous than the man.The more famous character gets the name. After all, children do not dress up as Henry (or Victor) Frankenstein.
Aside from the many Expressionist visuals, there is one scene which, though brief, is an interesting inclusion of a famous painting. When the monster accosts Elizabeth in her room, just as he sneaks out, and the others burst in, note Elizabeth's position on the bed. This very brief moment is also captured on the poster art.This seems an unmistakeable visual reference to Henry Fuseli's famous 1791 painting: "Nightmare" .Maybe this something that only art history majors might enjoy, but it was an interesting bit for Whale to include.
A curious note, is how much Frankenstein as a story had become intertwined with the classic vampire story: Dracula. For one, Universal released them both in 1931. Beyond proximity, Universal had originally cast Bela Lugosi as the monster, but he declined the part. Lugosi would, however, end up playing the monster in a few later iterations. As well, Webling's play, which served as source material, also followed a successful Dracula production by the same star. The two characters sprang from very different literary roots and told very different cautionary tales, yet, they would become paired in the popular imagination, as if they were somehow brothers.
Universal's 1931 Frankenstein is a movie classic that is not to be missed. It is a well-told and well-paced story, but more importunely, it is foundational to almost all the Frankenstein films to come.
Project: UAS CHARACTERIZATION OF HIGH WIND DAMAGE TO VEGETATION AND RURAL AREA ASSESSMENTS
With the help of the NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Uncrewed Systems Research Transition Office (USRTO), scientists from the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory in collaboration with the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies are working on developing an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS)-based approach to better characterize high-wind damage to vegetation and in rural areas to improve disaster response and recovery.
Photo Credit: James Murnan/NOAA