Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Snippets 2012-09-26

Movie: Sonnenallee (Sun Alley, 1999) w/ Alexander Scheer (Michael 'Micha' Ehrenreich), Alexander Beyer (Mario), Katharina Thalbach (Mutter Ehrenreich), Teresa Weißbach (Miriam Sommer). Comedy on the life of adolescents on the Eastern side of the Wall in Berlin. Amusing. Overall rating 7 out of 10
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Web: Heidelberger historische Bestände – digital. Includes old manuscripts. Allows downloads in PDF format
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Science: More than 500 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci observed a particular relationship between the size of a tree's trunk and the size of its branches. Specifically, the combined cross-sectional areas of a tree's daughter branches are equal to the cross-sectional area of the mother branch. This tree structure may be optimal for enabling trees to resist wind-induced stresses. NPR report. Article.
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Astronomy: Aristarchos of Samos (310 BCE – ca. 230 BCE): Greek astronomer and mathematician. Presented first known heliocentric world model. Later restated by Copernicus (1543) and manifested by Kepler (1617-1621). Finally proven by James Bradley (1725) through discovery of the aberration of light.
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Travel: Roadside America: Travel tips for road trips across the USA. Searchable, e.g. by state. Provides map with location of sights.
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Science: Wilson Bentley (1865-1931): Photographed and research the variety of snowflakes.
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Books: Münchener Digitalisierungszentrum (MDZ, in German): Digitized books, including old manuscripts, e.g. of Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach.
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Maps: Waldseemüller Map of the World from 1507, first naming America, at the Library of Congress is available in high resolution for download.

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Life: Prices for new cars at TrueCar. Very informative.
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Travel: GPS Visualizer: Creates maps and profiles from GPS data (tracks and waypoints, including GPX files), driving routes, street addresses, or simple coordinates. Displays in Google Earth.
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Computer: Apple Apps Store: to find free apps, search for 'free app <search term>'.
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Movie (YouTube): The Light at the Edge of the World (1971). w/ Kirk Douglas, Yul Brynner and Samantha Eggar. Directed by Kevin Billington. After the novel 'The Lighthouse at the End of the World (1905)' by Jules Verne. A remote rocky island is taken over by michievous pirates and their leader (Brynner). Living in a cave and haunted by his past, the escaped assistant lighthouse keeper (Douglas) is trying to survive. Story slow. Some gruesome scenes. Poor visual effects. Overall rating: 5 out of 10.
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Movie (YouTube): The Trip (1967). w/ Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Bruce Dern, Susan Strasberg (wife, dark hair), Salli Sachse (blonde). Directed by Roger Corman. Pre-'Easy Rider' cult movie that describes the first LSD trip of a young man in a personal crisis (Fonda). Story simple. Visual firework trying to imitate the LSD experience. Music could be more catchy. Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
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