Friday, August 14, 2009

Friday Links!

Leading off this week, from Sirius, is a link to a performance by sand artist Kseniya Simonova in Ukraine's Got Talent. Incredibly, it's an eight-minute piece (performed to music) that recreates the conquest of Ukraine by Germany in World War II, and it's both beautiful and moving. I know, that sounds like a premise for a Monty Python skit, but just go watch it and you'll understand.

From the Edwin Garcia Links Machine, a wonderful link to Baby's First Trip Around The Sun. A new father took a photo of his son every day of the first year of his life, then created two-minute video that sequences all the pictures. It's just great. Also from Edwin, it's living root bridges.

From Mark Trinkwalder, a link to a 20/20 segment about a severely autistic teenager who can now communicate via keyboard.

From John D'Angelo, a link to a stunning photo of Saturn's F Ring, and it's stunning because it looks like some kind of small object passing through the ring. Oh, and the article mentions something that totally blew me away: The rings are incredibly thin, only a few meters in thickness despite being hundreds of thousands of kilometers across.

That's hard to grasp.

Here's one more--and it's just as incredible.

From Kwadwo Burgee, a link to 10 Fascinating Cases Of Mind Control. Parasitic behavior modifications, in other words, and they're amazing.

From DQ Fitness Advisor Doug Walsh, a link to a video exploring the work of artist Chris Jordan, whose art presents a visual portrayal of consumerism. I know, that sounds annoying, but it's actually quite cool.

More from Sirius, and this time it's Asteroid Impact Craters on Earth as Seen From Space. Also, and these are very funny in a timeless way, it's Caspar Milquetoast.

JL sent in a slew of excellent links from the Humboldt Squid story I linked to two weeks ago. First is a link to Dancing With Demons, which is written by the diver featured in the original link. Yes, the writing style is a bit overwrought, but it's still very interesting. Then, it's everything you could possibly want to know about the current state of knowledge concerning norquals (baleen whales): part one, part two, and part three (and they're fascinating reads). That leads to three other links (also about whales), and these links include some amazing pictures: Finally, a Real Live Whole Dead Whale, the big'un, and Possibly The Biggest Bone In Any Museum Anywhere.

From Steve Micinski, a link to Artificial Owl: the most fascinating abandoned man-made creations. It's terrific.

From David Gloier, a link to a tantalizing possibility: that a black hole could theoretically spin away from its event horizon.

From Michael M., a link to a poignant and sad article about a mass medical clinic.

From Andrew B., the story of tourists who thought they were going to Sydney, Australia, but wound up in Sydney, Canada. And it's not the first time it's happened.

Ending on a puckish note, a link from Jeff Pinard to the thoroughly amusing On The Effectiveness Of Aluminum Foil Helmets: An Empirical Study.

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