Richard A. Lovett With a gargantuan crack slowly splitting it apart, Antarctica's fastest-melting glacier is about to lose a chunk of ice larger than all of New York City, scientists say.(Also see "Manhattan-Size Ice Island Cracks in Half.")The crevasse stretches 19 miles (30 kilometers) long and up to 260 feet (80 meters) wide, as shown in a picture taken by NASA's Terra satellite in October and featured this week as a NASA Image of the Day.Snaking across the floating tongue of the Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica, the crack is expected to create an iceberg 350 square miles (907 square kilometers)—versus 303 square miles (785 square kilometers) for Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx combined, according to NASA.As for when the iceberg ... Continue reading →

Just when you thought J.J. Abrams might not have a sci-fi pilot in contention for next fall, along comes Revolution. NBC has picked up a new drama pilot from the Star Trek director and Warner Bros. TV. The logline: “A high octane action drama from J. J. Abrams following a group of characters struggling to survive and reunite with loved ones in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist.” Huh! Supernatural writer Eric Kripke will pen the script and Abrams and Bryan Burk (Lost) will executive producer. The pilot joins Abrams’ relationship drama pilot Shelter in the works at CW. UPDATED: TV pilots mega list: Cops, magic, and cults for fall Continue reading →

("Supergiant" Crustacean; Credit for all images: Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen, UK) "Supergiant" amphipods measuring over 13 inches long have just been found in waters north of New Zealand, according to a University of Aberdeen press release. These enormous shrimp-resembling shellfish are some of the most enigmatic creatures in seas worldwide. These latest finds near New Zealand were discovered nearly 23,000 feet below the water's surface in one of the deepest places in the ocean. BIG PIC: A Penny For Your Bivalves The shrimp-like creatures dwarf other similar big ocean species. Typically, deep sea amphipods measure about 1 inch in length. Some found in Antarctica waters are about 4 inches long, which is still impressive. But 13 inches is almost too big to believe. (Alan Jamieson ... Continue reading →

Really Katniss could spit just about any Minaj lyric, but this one especially. Not lucky, just blessed. Continue reading →

One more would be the Holy Stairs at Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano. The 28 marble stairs are said to be the steps walked up by Christ on his way to trial before Pontius Pilate. St. Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, was a pioneering collector of relics, and the staircase is supposedly among her finds, brought to Rome in c.326 AD. posted by Marty on 7-31-2008 at 8:41 am I have coveted those bookshelf stairs since I first saw them some time ago on a design website I go to. It’s just such a good idea it makes my head explode. posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 7-31-2008 at 8:45 am Another would be the Holy Stairs at Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano. The stairs are ... Continue reading →

Edited by Harry Smith Cloth bound 12.25 x 12.25" box set Six CDs 96 page illustrated booklet 26 page "Handbook" by Harry Smith The mother of all American songbooks. Originally assembled in 1953 from his vast collection of 78s, collector, artist, and filmmaker Harry Smith published these obscure tracks of "talismanic aura" through the Folkways record label which soon became potent inspiration for the likes of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and countless others. Broken into three categories by Smith (Ballads, Social Music, and Songs) this is without a doubt the genesis of American blues, folk, and country music. Among the many artists featured in the collection are Blind Lemon Jefferson, Mississippi John Hurt, Dick Justice, and the more obscure Clarence Ashley, Bascom Lamar Lunsford, and ... Continue reading →