Monthly Archives: November 2011

Science & Technology — No Comments
03
Nov 11

What The Frack?

Here’s an interesting and informative 3-D interactive graphic about fracking. It takes the reader on a step-by-step of the process:

Breaking Fuel From the Rock
Geologists long knew there was natural gas in the Marcellus shale formation, but thought it impossible to unlock. But producers in the last decade learned to mine this huge resource by drilling horizontally to reach a large surface area, then fracturing the rock with high-pressure water, sand, and lubricant chemicals.

View Interactive »

Via: National Geographic

Critters / Science & Technology — No Comments
02
Nov 11

Up Close And Personal

What an amazing display of Orca whales hunting for salmon VERY near the shore on Vashon Island in Washington State. Apparently there were some 80 whales from the J, K, and L pods.

I’ve seen several Orcas while on a ferry or from the shore the San Juan Islands, but never this close. Amazing!

Art / People — No Comments
02
Nov 11

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin: Born On This Day

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin: Self-Portrait

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin
(2 November 1699 – 6 December 1779)

An 18th-century French painter, he is considered a master of still life, and is also noted for his genre paintings which depict kitchen maids, children, and domestic activities. Carefully balanced composition, soft diffusion of light, and granular impasto characterize his work.

Chardin’s influence on the art of the modern era was wide-ranging, and has been well-documented. Édouard Manet’s half-length Boy Blowing Bubbles and the still lifes of Paul Cézanne are equally indebted to their predecessor. He was one of Henri Matisse’s most admired painters; as an art student Matisse made copies of four Chardin paintings in the Louvre. Chaim Soutine’s still lifes looked to Chardin for inspiration, as did the paintings of Georges Braque, and later, Giorgio Morandi. In 1999 Lucian Freud painted and etched several copies after The Young Schoolmistress (National Gallery, London)

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Music / People — No Comments
01
Nov 11

Lyle Lovett: Born On This Day

Lyle Lovett – b. Nov. 1, 1957
is an American singer, songwriter and farmer. He also acts a bit – and used to be married to Julia Roberts.

Lyle Lovett’s career bloomed late but by the time he signed a major recording contract he was nearly 30 years old and had years of experience playing cover songs and folk festivals.

Lovett’s quirky tunes, each of them a beguiling story in miniature, have helped define a new breed of singer-songwriter who exists outside traditional boundaries like folk and country.

Listen to “All My Love Is Gone”
Lyle Lovett_06_All My Love Is Gone

Business and Politics / People — No Comments
01
Nov 11

Is this racist? Donald Trump Thinks So…

Donald Trump accused Jon Stewart of vicious racism against Herman Cain in a Tuesday web video.

Stewart mocked Cain on Monday for his somewhat shambolic response to a story that he faced sexual harassment charges during the 1990s. Stewart mostly seemed to be making double entendres, but Trump saw his take, and his brief impersonation of Cain, as bigoted.

“How come Jon Stewart gets away with a very very racist rant against Herman Cain?” he wondered. “…It’s not what he said but the way he said it. The tone of his voice, the inflection. Unbelievable! Anybody else, deep deep trouble.”

Trump called for Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to denounce Stewart, and asked “sleepy-eyed Chuck Todd” to criticize the “horrible, horrible thing” the comedian had done. He said Stewart had been “insulting” to African Americans and should apologize.

Humor / Music / People — No Comments
01
Nov 11

I’m Still Hot (featuring Betty White)

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