The Passing of Boris Yeltsin at 76
I felt it appropriate to note the passing of this historical figure simply because of his contributions to post-Communist Russia.
To most people, a "post-Communist" Russia may seem like a quaint, naive, concept, but at one time, specifically after the Wall came down, it looked like we'd finally won the Cold War and outspent the Soviet Republic into submission. Boris Yeltsin, a hard-drinking rabble-rouser, rose up through his party's ranks to become the first freely-elected President of Russia (formerly the USSR) in 1991 succeeding Mikhail Gorbachev.
Quite the colorful personality and not always one-hundred percent supported by the people, he nonetheless helped usher in a more amicable era of relationships with the West.
Although plagued by many health problems in the last ten years or so, the offical cause of death is listed as heart failure. Yeltsin was succeeded by hard-liner Vladimir Putin after Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned from office at the end of 1999.
New Planet May Support Life
Some of the most exciting news to come from the science quarter lately: a new planet was discovered whose basic physical parameters may support life.
The good news: the average mean temperatures range from 30 degrees to 102 degrees Fahrenheit; pretty much earth-like. The bad news: well, everything else.
"Gliese 581 c", it's official scientific name, orbits a red dwarf star (Gliese 581), a body smaller, less bright, and slightly cooler than our own sun. However...Gliese 581 c is also MUCH closer to its star, ergo the warmer temperatures. So far, so good.
Problem is -- in case you're already packing your bags for a vacation in outer space -- the planet is 20.5 light years from earth. Although that's cosmologically right in the neighborhood, with our present technology (e.g., without "warp drive"), it would take a million years to get there.
You might be wondering, then, what all the to-do is about. Well, the bigger deal is, at those temperatures, liquid water might exist. And where there's liquid water, there is a high probability of some type of life.
Living on this planet would be a strange existence indeed: it is twice as big as earth and several times more massive, so we'd weigh considerably more than we do now (yikes). It does not rotate, so is in "tidal lock", i.e., one side always faces the sun, the other side is in perpetual darkness. And it orbits its star very quickly. Despite its weight, an entire year on Gliese 581 c is only 13 earth days!
But, hey...with all the planets they're discovering right in the neighborhood, when we do eventually get warp drive, we'll have some exotic new destinations to try out.
"Yes, I'm traveling to Gliese and I'd like to order one luxury suite with holo-deck, please."
Kryptonite on Earth??
This one had my head spinning and PCR alumnus Drew Reiber had to explain to me what this was about. As a lifelong fan of Superman, I'm well aware of what Kryptonite is, I just couldn't figure out how they'd "know" they found any in real life.
| Hooters on Gandy, Sunday, April 22, 2007. I had no particularly good place to put these shots, but I wanted to share them since a few rarer faces were in the crowd. Pics by Nolan Canova and Simon Lynx. Click on images to enlarge, a new browser window will open. |
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| L-to-R, Paul Guzzo, Shelby McIntyre, Cathy Wynkoop. | L-to-R, Joel Wynkoop, Simon Lynx, Chris Woods. | L-to-R, Shelby McIntyre, Cathy Wynkoop, Joel Wynkoop. |
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| L-to-R, Chris Woods, Nolan Canova, Paul Guzzo. | L-to-R, Shelby McIntyre, Cathy & Joel Wynkoop. | L-to-R, Simon Lynx, Paul Guzzo, Chris Woods. |
This new mineral was discovered in a mine in Serbia, and after examination, it was discovered it had the exact chemical composition of Kryptonite as described in the movie Superman Returns, specifically, the label of the museum case shelf Lex Luthor steals the crystal from: sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide. Yep, that's all there is to it. Amazing anyone was paying that close attention, especially as Superman Returns didn't do all that well at the box-office!
The real-life crystal is a white, powdery substance that does not glow in the dark (altho it reputedly flouresces under special lighting), is not radioactive and will not....repeat, will not....rob Superman, or anyone else of super-powers!
It is expected to be put on display for tourists, who, I'm sure, despite the disclaimers, will line up to see "real-life Kryptonite".
Mike's Claim to fame, #1021
Mike Smith's review of the JAWS documentary, "The Shark is Still Working", is not even cold yet and is already featured on their film's main website!
The Hillenbrand Brothers (Gamebox 1.0) have honored us with printed quotes from this website on the DVD boxes for their successful National Lampoon film, Dorm Daze. I am grateful and hope Gamebox 1.0 is similarly successful!
Who Are Our Gracious Hosts Each Month At the Tampa Film Review?
"The Shark Is Still Working"
Get Back to Where You Once Belonged....In The Hall (Well, Not The Hall)....Get Well Soon....Revenge of the Chicken....Passing On....Whatever Happened To...? Chapter 17: Kevin Dunny