Your unusual dish of everything.
Elizabeth
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Posts by Elizabeth
The Magical World of Maurice Sendak
Dec 18th
Best known for his children’s books, Where The Wild Things Are and In The Night Kitchen, Maurice Sendak has spent the past fifty years bringing to life a world of fantasy and imagination. His unique vision is loved around the globe by both young and old. Beyond his award-winning work as a writer and illustrator of children’s books, Sendak has produced both operas and ballets for television and the stage.
Maurice Sendak
Born in Brooklyn, New York (June 10, 1928), to Polish-Jewish immigrant parents, Sendak was a frail and sickly child. Spending much of his young life indoors, he turned to books at an early age. His view of the outside world was often limited to the family that came to visit him and the little that he could see from his window. It was during this time that he began to draw and to allow his imagination to run free. At age twelve, he went with his family to see Walt Disney’s Fantasia. This animated world, constructed completely of invented characters and fantasy, had a great influence on him.
Throughout high school, Sendak continued to draw, and after graduating, published a handful of illustrations in the textbook Atomics For The Millions. In 1948, he began working for F.A.O. Schwartz as a window dresser and continued there for four years while taking night classes at the New York Art Students League. After finding work illustrating Marcel Ayme’s The Wonderful Farm and Ruth Krauss’s A Hole Is To Dig, Sendak left F.A.O. Schwartz to become a full-time, freelance children’s book illustrator.
Throughout the 1950s, Sendak worked regularly, producing nearly fifty illustrated children’s books. He saw in book illustration the opportunity to expand the imaginary world of the reader. While many illustrators had concentrated on clarifying the images in the text, Sendak believed that an illustration should add to the mystery of the work. His oddly grotesque characters seemed strangely inviting in their imperfections. Unlike much of the Disney cartoons and the illustration that followed it, Sendak’s artistic imagery brought a self-conscious attention to its origin and its maker. More >
Stem Cell Transplant Cures HIV In ‘Berlin Patient’
Dec 17th
On the heels of World AIDS Day comes a stunning medical breakthrough: Doctors believe an HIV-positive man who underwent a stem cell transplant has been cured as a result of the procedure.
Stem cell transplant
Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the “Berlin Patient,” received the transplant in 2007 as part of a lengthy treatment course for leukemia. His doctors recently published a report in the journal Blood affirming that the results of extensive testing “strongly suggest that cure of HIV infection has been achieved.”
Brown’s case paves a path for constructing a permanent cure for HIV through genetically-engineered stem cells.
Last week, Time named another AIDS-related discovery to its list of the Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs of 2010. Recent studies show that healthy individuals who take antiretrovirals, medicine commonly prescribed for treating HIV, can reduce their risk of contracting the disease by up to 73 percent.
While these developments by no means prove a cure for the virus has been found, they can certainly provide hope for the more than 33 million people living with HIV worldwide. Alongside such findings, global efforts to combat the epidemic have accelerated as of late, with new initiatives emerging in the Philippines and South Africa this week.
Jumătate din ambasadorii bulgari, inclusiv cel din România, au fost spioni în timpul regimului comunist
Dec 15th
Jumătate dintre ambasadorii şi consulii bulgari au fost spioni, înainte de 1990, în timpul regimului comunist, a anunţat instituţia care se ocupă cu studierea arhivelor fostei securităţi din Bulgaria, citată de Novinite.com. Printre oficialii acuzaţi de spionaj se numără actualii ambasadori din România, Turcia şi Grecia. Primul-ministru Boiko Borisov a solicitat demiterea a nu mai puţin de 45 de diplomaţi.
Lista diplomaţilor care au furnizat informaţii secrete în timpul regimului comunist conţine 192 de persoane, printre care ambasadorul la Moscova, Geneva, Beijing şi Vatican. “45% dintre ambasadori şi consuli făceau parte din structurile fostei poliţii secrete“, a declarat Evtim Kostadinov, preşedintele instituţiei însarcinată cu studierea arhivelor.
Jumătate din ambasadorii bulgari, inclusiv cel din România, au fost spioni în timpul regimului comunist
Potrivit unor informaţii recente, premierul Boiko Borisov a solicizat demiterea a 45 de diplomaţi acuzaţi de spionaj. “Aceste persoane au lucrat pe vremuri împotriva ţărilor europene occidentale, ca duşmani ideologici, iar acum ne reprezintă guvernul acolo“, a declarat Borisov, în faţa jurnaliştilor.
Reprezentanţii ministerului bulgar de externe nu au comentat până în prezent informaţia.
Preţul benzinei a luat foc la sfârşit de an
Dec 15th
Carburanţii s-au scumpit de trei ori în doar zece zile, iar de Anul Nou ni se pregătesc noi majorări, astfel că benzina cea mai ieftină va depăşi 5 lei/litru.
Preţul benzinei a luat foc la sfârşit de an
Preţul carburanţilor a crescut chiar şi de trei ori în mai puţin de două săptămâni. În prezent, cel mai ieftin sortiment de benzină a ajuns la un pas de pragul istoric de 5 lei/litru. Practic, până la finele anului, dacă se menţine trendul actual de scumpire, cea mai ieftină benzină comercializată în staţiile Petrom, cel mai mare operator de pe piaţă, ar putea depăşi acest nivel.
Mai mult, accizele la produsele petroliere vor creşte din nou la începutul anului viitor, potrivit unui proiect de modificare al Codului Fiscal, ceea ce va aduce noi scumpiri.
Cum se explică majorările
“Dolarul s-a întărit faţă de leu, astfel încât, chiar dacă valoarea petrolului ar fi rămas la fel, preţul carburanţilor tot ar fi crescut“, ne-a declarat Claudiu Cazacu, analist la casa de brokeraj X-Trade Brokers. Potrivit acestuia, tendinţa de scumpire a carburanţilor va continua pe termen scurt, deoarece petrolul se află pe un trend ascendent.
În staţiile Petrom, cel mai mic preţ al benzinei este de 4,82 lei/litru, pentru sortimentul Premium fără Plumb 95. Asta după ce compania a aplicat două scumpiri consecutive de câte 7 bani/litru, pe 3 şi pe 7 decembrie. More >
Maps from 1942 of the never-was Nazi invasion of North America
Dec 15th
These diagrams from the March 2, 1942 issue of Life detailed the Nazi invasion of America shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Check out such alternate reality battles like the bombing of Detroit and invasion of Norfolk, Virginia.
These maps were created as a follow-up to an article about an American defeat in WWII by pioneering science fiction author Philip Wylie, who wrote the proto-superhero novel Gladiator. These maps were made in the early days of US involvement in World War II, so there was a sense that this invasion was a real possibility. You can read more about these maps at Ptak Science Books. More >
Băsescu: Ar fi o greşeală imensă ca romii să-şi schimbe denumirea în ţigani
Dec 14th
Preşedintele Traian Băsescu susţine că nu va promulga niciodată legea care schimbă denumirea ţiganilor din rom în ţigan, într-un interviu pentru publicaţia Financial Times. Şeful statului spune că nu e de acord ca romii să-şi schimbe denumirea în ţigani, aşa cum a propus un parlamentar PDL şi cum a susţinut şi Guvernul.
Traian Băsescu
Traian Băsescu crede că trebuie păstrată în continuare denumirea de rom. “Cred că e o greşeală imensă. Nu voi promulga niciodată o astfel de lege. Politicienii ar trebui să se concentreze mai bine pe crearea unor oportunităţi de educaţie şi pe găsirea unor modalităţi de a arăta lumii bogăţia culturii rome“, a declarat şeful statului pentru sursa citată.
Deputatul PDL Silviu Prigoană a fost cel care a depus un act normativ la Parlament, pentru schimbarea denumirii în ţigani, iar propunerea a primit sprijinul Guvernului Boc. Traian Băsescu a precizat şi că expulzarea romilor din Franţa în România este o eroare a guvernului francez.
“Considerăm că Rămânia a intrat în UE nu doar cu doctorii săi, care sunt foarte apreciaţi (…). Am intrat împreună cu o minoritate de romi. Şi ne-am bucura daca preşedintele Sarkozy ar trimite un doctor sau un specialist IT înapoi în ţară, de fiecare dată când repatriază un rom. Dar, dacă asta nu se întâmplă, am dori să cooperăm cu Franţa pentru găsirea unor soluţii“, a precizat preşedintele Traian Băsescu.
În 2011, România va înregistra o creştre economică de 1,5 procente More >
Dezvăluirile WikiLeaks conduc la primul proces, intentat de familia jurnalistului spaniol ucis la Bagdad
Dec 14th
Familia cameramanului spaniol ucis de forţele americane în Bagdad a lansat ceea ce pare a fi prima acţiune legală care foloseşte, ca probe, documentele publicate de WikiLeaks. Jose Couso a murit, în 2003, împreună cu un cameraman al Reuters atunci când un obuz tras de un tanc american a lovit camera lor de hotel, un loc trecut de Pentagon pe lista celor sigure pentru jurnalişti.
Jose Couso
Familia jurnalistului ucis a cerut o anchetă în acest caz, bănuind că guvernul spaniol s-a pus de acord cu cel american pentru a evita acuzaţiile la adresa trupelor americane, scrie Christian Science Monitor, citat de Newser.com.
“Deşi suntem atenţi la a prezenta sincerele noastre regrete faţă de moartea tragică a lui Couso, în culise am făcut tot posibilul ca aceste acuzaţii să dispară, ajutaţi de sistemul judiciar spaniol”, a scris ambasadorul american în Spania într-o notă din 2007, făcută publică de WikiLeaks.
O lună mai târziu, acesta i-a spus secretarului american de stat, Condoleezza Rice, că guvernul spaniol “a fost de ajutor în încercarea de a muşamaliza cazul”. Informaţia a provocat furie în Spania. Analiştii prevăd că acţiunea legală a familiei Couso este prima dintre cele care vor urma după dezvăluirile WikiLeaks.
Congenital Insensitivity To Pain – People Who Can’t Feel Pain – CIPA
Dec 14th
CIPA or congenital insensitivity to pain is one of the rarest diseases in the world. A very rare condition and it is also known as congenital analgia. People diagnosed with this condition have their pain sensors turned off and they can’t feel any pain. The condition is extremely dangerous as these people are prone to danger not knowing the level of pain inflicted.
Congenital Insensitivity To Pain – People Who Can’t Feel Pain
What caused the disorder? It is an unknown condition when the brain that recognizes the pain does not connect to the nerves that sense the pain. This unknown condition only happens to the pain sensors. People with CIPA have their other sensory areas completely checked and normal. Incredibly a rare disease, 35 people in the United States is diagnosed with CIPA. Sadly, people with CIPA has low survival rate and many doesn’t live that long to the age of 25 making the case a difficult case to study.
Pains are relatively a unique sense. It keeps us out of trouble, our body defense against harmful actions and not being able to feel pain is totally dangerous. Children especially will need to know how to sense this pain. We need to know what we should or shouldn’t do when we feel pain and we also know how not to cause pain to ourselves. Pain can help you to avoid danger and what causing this danger.
Anhidrosis, a condition of the body’s inability to sweat is found in people with CIPA. This condition can worsen the issue. With Anhidrosis, people with CIPA are not able to feel extreme temperature. Together with this and the body’s inability to sweat only means that their body is unable to regulate its temperature. More >
How cats master the physical universe when they lap up milk!
Dec 14th
When cats drink, they never splash or make a mess. It turns out there’s a solid scientific reason for that. As a group of MIT engineers discovered, feline lapping requires a finely-tuned mastery of fluid dynamics.
cats
It turns out that cats’ sense of balance and grace extends even to their drinking habits. Until this study, people thought that cats lapped by curling their tongue backwards, so it hits the water like the tail end of a lower-case “g”, and then curled it forward so it scooped up water like a spoon. But when MIT researchers studied slow-motion video of their own cats, as well as videos of big cats on YouTube, they found out that cats are too good to use spoons.
Instead of scooping the water, a cat’s tongue speeds along the surface of it, pulling a layer of water upwards. The motion of the tongue creates an unbroken column of water that gushes up towards the mouth of the cat and lets the cat take a sip of water. When the motion of the tongue stops, the water stops coming, and the cat doesn’t get splashed.
It sounds like a simple trick, until you try it. The researchers constructed a model cat tongue that lapped up water. In order for it to do so effectively, it didn’t just have to mimic cat behavior – it had to grapple with the Froude number. More >
18 Health Tricks to Teach Your Body – Part I
Dec 11th
Cure a Tickling Throat
Doctor Checking the Blood Pressure of a Patient
When you were 9, playing your armpit was a cool trick. Now, as an adult, you can still appreciate a good body-based feat, especially if it serves as a health remedy. Take that tickle in your throat: It’s not worth gagging over. Here’s a better way to scratch your itch: Scratch your ear. “When the nerves in the ear are stimulated, it creates a reflex in the throat that can cause a muscle spasm,” says Scott Schaffer, M.D., president of an ear, nose, and throat specialty center in Gibbsboro, New Jersey. “This spasm relieves the tickle.”
Experience Supersonic Hearing
If you’re stuck chatting up a mumbler at a cocktail party, lean in with your right ear. It’s better than your left at following the rapid rhythms of speech, according to researchers at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. If, on the other hand, you’re trying to identify that song playing softly in the elevator, turn your left ear toward the sound. The left ear is better at picking up music tones.
Overcome Your Most Primal Urge
Need to pee? No bathroom nearby? Fantasize about Jessica Simpson. Thinking about sex preoccupies your brain, so you won’t feel as much discomfort, says Larry Lipshultz, M.D., chief of male reproductive medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine. For best results, try Simpson’s “These Boots Are Made for Walking” video. More >
