2005.06.28
On the pressing issue of "what's wrong with cartoons today?" --
Cartoon Brew:
Review: Camp Lazlo.
"Not even the talkiest Billy Wilder films have as much dialogue as some of these modern animated TV series. It's not as if the characters are saying anything witty or having thoughtful exchanges of dialogue; they just yak, yak, yak, explaining every bit of action and every feeling they're experiencing. On more than one occasion, I noticed a scene where the joke was purely visual, yet they had a character injecting a comment on top of the action. Not only was this unnecessary, but also incredibly distracting. For all the talking, it is ironic how little the show actually says."
2005.06.22
NYT:
Jack S. Kilby, an Inventor of the Microchip, Is Dead at 81.
"The integrated circuit that Mr. Kilby designed shortly after arriving at Texas Instruments in 1958 served as the basis for modern microelectronics...." ...
"[Gordon E. Moore, co-founder of the Intel Corporation] remembered Mr. Kilby as a tall -- he was 6-foot-6 -- and gentle man with whom he would occasionally socialize while attending technical meetings."
My personal brush with greatness.
AP:
'Frankly My Dear...' Named Top Movie Quote.
2005.06.14
Nature:
Rocky planet found outside Solar System.
"The hunt for worlds outside our Solar System has found its smallest planet yet: it weighs in at just seven-and-a-half times the size of the Earth."
Slate:
The patriotic, but unpopular, career of J. Robert Oppenheimer.
"Oppenheimer's career is a cautionary tale and more. It is an exemplary instance of how, in political extremis, dissent can be treated as treason and driven to ground."
2005.06.13
NY Newsday:
NBC gets shaking on "10.5" sequel.
"The sequel will pick up following the events of the first miniseries, in which a series of massive earthquakes laid ruin to much of the West Coast. When seismic activity resumes, the president again calls on maverick seismologist Samantha Hill to assess the threat."
This article was on the front page of the newspaper yesterday. It's about research being conducted using the Texas A&M R/V Gyre. The 3D animation of the Gyre is pretty cool --
Houston Chronicle:
Depths of discovery.
"On a seven-day cruise in late May, the fifth in his three-year project, [Steve] DiMarco kept tabs on the experiments that go on 24 hours a day on the ship's decks and labs, combating the growing circles under his eyes with regular doses of Starburst, Tootsie Rolls and Blow Pops."
