 SF SITE UPDATE: This week over at SF.DRB site: Two Must-Read Recent Novels of the Fantastic -> Avi Abrams reviews "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" by Michael Chabon and "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell - "Just when you thought science fiction had safely settled into predictability and conventional form - along come two books that turn all those conventions upside-down, by writers who create their own impossible-to-classify sub-genres and do it with such ridiculous aplomb that the world immediately recognizes this as a SF "History in the Making"... and indeed, these books are as immensely entertaining as they are esoteric and complex." Click Here to Read the Rest ->  (image credit: 0encrypted0) ------------ Also, on SF.DRB this week: Frank Herbert's "Dune", Plus Other Often Overlooked Gems -> M. Christian reviews "Dune", "The Santaroga Barrier" and "The Green Brain" by Frank Herbert - "Everyone knows Herbert for his Dune books but what a lot of people, unfortunately, don’t know about this Grand Master of science fiction is that he’s written, in my mind at least, even better novels – and the Santaroga Barrier is one of them." Click Here to Read the Rest ->  ("Heretics of Dune", art by Jim Burns) ------------ Don't miss our "Ultimate Guide to SF&F writers, 1990-2009"! -> More SF reviews forthcoming on a regular basis. Subscribe to DRB SF by rss or email. Send your review of SF book or story listed on the site. |
Universe at Play: Two Must-Read Novels of the Fantastic
Link Latte 118
#118 - Week of August 24, 2009
Mirror Reflections Puzzle, and more - [fantastic 12-part series]
Steampunk Eye-Pod Device - [awesome art]
How to hide from unwanted clients - [fun video, useful?]
Nineteen Moons: Awesome Steampunk Jewelry - [scroll down]
International Space Station comes together - [cool infographic]
English to Japanese ad finitum... with crazy results - [hilarious site]
This is very intimidating already... - [fascinating videos]
Insect Buddha Sculpture - [weird art] - via
Atlas Obscura: The Marfa Lights - [fascinating]
How different people spend their day - [interesting chart]
Stunning Rooftop Gardens - [compilation]
How Men and Women Argue (A Chart) - [funny stuff]
Tetris Hair Cut, Hat, Ties - [geek fashion]
Radical Room-in-a-Box Design Concepts - [architecture]
Coffee Latte Art: Now Featuring Celebrity Portraits! - [art video]
Examples of Bad Design in Star Wars - [sci-fi]
The Souped-Up "Gamer PC" (1995) - [those were the days...]
The rarest album in the history of music? - [weird]
The Ultimate Collection of Amazing Buildings - [architecture]
Various Neat Beer Bottle Openers - [design]
How Differential Gear Works - [geek videos]
You, but smaller. Order your doll here. - [cool site]
Dramatic Reading of a Breakup Letter - [old but still funny video]
Emulating a Thunderstorm (Acapella!) - [wow video]
Baby Elephant Enjoys Bath - [cute video]
Entirely Mad Car Chases in Moscow, more - [do not try this!]
Extreme Pool Jump, A Russian Drinking Game - [viral ad videos]
100 Years of Visual Effects (compilation) - [cool video]
Make stunning Flash websites for free! - [promotion]
The World's Tallest Roller Coasters - [compilation]
SEE ALL OTHER LINK LATTE ISSUES HERE
Alone in the Wild: Yukon Survival Saga
 "QUANTUM SHOT" #586Link - by A. Abrams  Film-maker Ed Wardle's Trek Across the Canadian Yukon - Follow the Adventure Online! You'll remember our previous article about survival techniques in the Western wilderness - Man vs. Wild. This time we present another harrowing survival odyssey in the Canadian Yukon (this time in cooperation with the National Geographic Channel, with some exclusive content specially for DRB readers) - Alone in the Wild.   (all images courtesy National Geographic Channel) There are three lesser-known Laws of Thermodynamics, against which we are constantly fighting: 1. You can't win. 2. You can't break even. 3. You can't quit the game. These options seem pretty limiting, especially when you are battling the pitiless wilderness without adequate resources or supplies - when you need to survive on a bare minimum. Film-maker Ed Wardle - not a survival expert, just a natural adventurer - decided to trek across the Canadian Yukon, being followed by National Geographic Channel in near real-time for three months (remember the movie "EDtv"? It's just a naming coincidence, of course, although "reality TV" has come a long way since then).   Day 7 - Close Call. After his canoe capsizes, Ed is reminded just how little stands between life and death in the wild - Week 3 - Washing in a Stream -    Find out more about his mini-camera and other equipment here.   (Various small cameras including tiny ‘bullet’ cameras) Eating to Survive He's been eating bark, leaves, plants and wildflowers (some even tasting a bit like oysters). But other flowers and plants are deadly - for example, one bite of the pretty blue Monk's Hood flower can kill you within six hours. So you do have to know what you are picking up. The novelty of scavenging the forest for food has worn off, but Ed's still not into hunting -- if he can avoid it:   In Man vs. Wild it was the overly adventurous Bear Grylls that was tested to the extremes - including eating many untoward- and unappetizing-looking morsels (snakes, bugs, and worse). Now it's Ed Wardle's turn... here is an exclusive advance video for DRB: (watch his latest video updates here) Among his Twitter updates: "SUNNY DAY, CHOPPED FIREWOOD, FRIED PORCUPINE LIVERS, DRANK BIRCH LEAF TEA." Yum! How does a porcupine taste? Well... "PORCUPINE IS LIKE A FATTY FOREST RAT." Now you know. Follow Ed’s Twitter feed here   Day 6 - Skinning a Porcupine. After shooting a porcupine, Ed must figure out how to divest the skin without stripping the meat: "Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed." -- Mohandas Gandhi.   Ed has been lugging ridiculously heavy backpacks through nigh-on impenetrable forest - in wet clothes, with bloodied hands, on feet covered with blisters. He has been doing it for four weeks already... There is a saying "If you're going through hell, keep going", indicating that at some point conditions are likely to improve. These updates from the Yukon Territory will culminate in the broadcast of Alone in the Wild on the National Geographic Channel in September, 2009. DRB Exclusive: Bear Tracks. Ed's admittedly afraid of bears, and after spotting pawprints along his path decides they might be a little too close for comfort: Watch Ed's latest videos here and follow his Twitter updates Also Read: "Man vs. Wild" ->  Permanent Link... ...+StumbleUpon  ...+Facebook  |
Big Bang and Creation of Time
 Link Scroll down for today's pictures & links. Big Bang and Creation of Time World-renowned physicist Janna Levin explains the often-misunderstood relationship between the Big Bang and the creation of time - with the visual help of Thornberg & Forester animation studio. url Keith Olwell, of Proton.net, and his wife Elizabeth, directed and produced this video with minimal funding and a lot of enthusiasm for presenting cool scientific ideas in a brief, clear and uniquely visual way. "We're believers in the value of a broad-based basic cognition of science," he says. "Science has many amazing stories to tell, but can be alienating because of an overwhelming amount of detail in the initial telling. We started making this Briefly video series to tell these awe-inspiring stories as their core concepts." Today's pictures & links: Romance in Space, Elizabeth Taylor-style  (The Tomorrow People by Judith Merrill, 1960. art by Robert Schulz. image via) I can stare at this picture for hours (click to enlarge)... One day Hollywood will attempt to fit all this romance and adventure into a big-screen space epic. Hopefully they'll ask Zooey Deschanel to star in it. ------------ Atomic Lab on Sale! Gilbert's 1949 Vintage Atomic Energy Laboratory appeared on eBay (link) for about $1,500 - an incredibly low starting price considering the lab has sold for over $5,000 in the past. Update: Auction is now ended, the winner got this Lab for around $5,000 after all. But keeping eye on such bargains is what keeps collectors excited...  Check out Vintage Robot Toys article on DRB. ------------ The World's Biggest Crop Circle Jeroen Zierikzee writes to us: "This weekend, the largest crop artwork ever worldwide has been made in the Netherlands. 60 People created this in one night - for reference (on the same scale), the soccer stadium in the corner is the Feijenoord Stadium in Rotterdam (55000 seats)." Click the image to enlarge:    (images credit: Joop van Houdt) This magnificent work was designed by Remko Delfgauw, see more images here ------------ Fish Inspectors in Kamchatka "Outnumbered and underpaid, fish inspectors in surplus tanks bog down in pursuit of poachers. Researchers say illegal harvests equal or exceed the recorded catch, imperiling stocks on many rivers."  (photo by Randy Olson, National Geographic) Don't forget to check out DRB coverage of Kamchatka in Magnificent Russian Far East article. ------------ Mixed fresh links for today: "Noah" Mammoth Pyramid Designed for New Orleans - [arcology] UK Nuclear Weapons Development - [video series] The Interiors of Bomb Shelters - [apocalyptic] Top Digital Artworks Compilation - [spectacular] Some oddly named places... indeed - [and stories behind them] Off-the-Wall Offbeat Architecture - [architecture] Cyberpunks in 2009: "Ageing Chrome" - [cool article] Enter the Astronaut! - [fun video] How drugs affect driving... hilarious - [fun video, gross parts] German Navy Boats Crashing - [wow video] ------------ Victoria Crater on Mars Update your idea of jewelry...  (image by NASA, more info) ------------ Cool Sidecar Motorcycles from Russia The legendary Ural motorcycles - almost unchanged since the heady days of WWII and the Cold War - have been given a modern makeover (and price tag), and are finally available for true style connoisseurs in US. Check out this page for more info.   Click to enlarge. (images credit: URAL) The rugged and military-looking Siberian Ural motorcycle, a new model called the Ural-T, can be yours for a paltry $9,999 (look for it at some US dealers this summer). Speaking about awesome-looking bikes, here is a modern Confederate P120 Fighter, recently unveiled at The Quail Gathering motorsport event. Art in motion! (more info)  (image credit: bikeexif) ------------ Charlie Chaplin in Color  (images courtesy of George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film) Just because he's silent doesn't mean he's colorless... delight in several rare autochromes of the venerable Mr Chaplin in the period 1917-1918. Click photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4 to see more. (So, was his moustache black or merely dark brown?) ------------ Steampunk Elephant Mask - and More! Tom Banwell, a leatherworker from Penn Valley, California, came up with this "Pachydermos" gas mask design. Check his store for more inspiration.  (image credit: Tom Banwell, via) Also be sure to inhale the horror of the three-part Gas Mask series on DRB, pumped full of creepiest masks imaginable... Speaking about new steampunk gear, here is a cool vintage-looking cellphone from J. Redmer. See more contraptions from this master here.  (image credit: Redmer) Also, as an addition to our latest Steampunk Art article, we have to mention the work of Bethalynne Bajema - absolutely gorgeous in sepia tones... in a twisted baroque style.  (art by Bethalynne Bajema) ------------ Fatal Attraction He falls in love with her, and then he kidnaps her. Julie Adams and the Gill Man - in the Creature from the Black Lagoon, 1954  (image via) ------------ Did You Hear of a Dutch Festival Called GOGBOT? How about ATOMPUNK? It's a four-day festival in Enschede, Netherlands, with a focus on invention, robotics, space, time travel and the atom era - more info:    The festival has the edgy ATOMPUNK-theme (introduced by Bruce Sterling), and provides a stage for 200 artists and performances in art, media, music and technology. GOGBOT takes place September 10-13th, 2009.  ------------ Continuing the theme of really bizarre t-shirts, this one appears to redefine the lunacy... T-shirt (and a Map) For Back-Scratch Bliss Ever tried to tell your friend where to scratch your back? "LEFT!", "HIGHER!", "OH, SO CLOSE!"... No more guessing! Now you can give precise co-ordinates by pointing to the exact square on a chart - so that your friend could zero in to the itchy spot with newfound confidence.  (image via) Battleship, anyone? Ah, but we have even weirder clothing item for you... no rational reason for its existence is provided, or indeed conceivable.  ------------ The Dark Side of the Force  Available here. ------------ Stop messing with your contacts:  (original unknown) READ THE PREVIOUS ISSUE -> Permanent Link... ...+StumbleUpon ...+Facebook |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
