Saturday, March 18, 2006

Burning Hot Galaxy on Fire! NASA's Spitzer Reveals Stellar Smoke. Where there's smoke, there's fire - even in outer space. A new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows a burning hot galaxy whose fiery stars appear to be blowing out giant billows of smoky dust. read more [Science Blog -] 10:54:18 AM

William Shatner and Doctor Who (Via E.O.G.) Old Shat, New Who. The new Doctor Who series finally premiered in the U.S. last night, and if you subtract the SciFi Channel's usual overload of promo spots and commercials aimed at senior citizens from its 2-hour running length, it was a pleasant enough hour and 10 minutes of actual show. The new doc, David Tennant, recalls Tom Baker at his most manic, and Billie Piper does a more than adequate job as the new sidekick eye-candy. The BBC also manages to update the special effects and alien makeup without losing that essential cheesiness Who fans have come to expect and demand, and thankfully, they haven't updated the theme music too much (except for the addition of some Peter-Gunnish riffing). At this point I'm cautiously optimistic, but I think the inevitable Daleks episode will be the proof in the pudding. [Link] Meanwhile, on this side of the Briny, my main-man Shatner, attempts to bloviate his way into history with a 2-hour Discovery Channel documentary humbly (if somewhat misleadingly) entitled, How William Shatner Changed the World. In the show, he employs his god-like expository talents to tell us how the gadgets and social commentary in Star Trek (cellphones, medical imaging, interracial tongue-wrestling) have beamed down from the deck of the Enterprise to make our lives here on Earth better. Too bad for Shat that Gene Rodenberry never envisioned a galaxy without bad toupees and hair weaves. [Link][via] [Eye of the Goof] 10:30:20 AM

Pups in Japan Need Home Too many puppies. I knew putting "puppy" as a default tag in ecto and 1001 would some day bite me in the ass. Some loser with no sense of responsibility dumped a cardboard box with two endearing puppies in front of our apartment complex. It makes little sense to drop them off here since pets are not even allowed in the apartments. The puppies were thirsty, hungry and scared. One was hiding in the bushes, the other behind the bicycle shed. I'm a softy, I couldn't leave the puppies out there. I got them to trust me a bit, took them inside and gave food and water. They're doing much better now, not scared anymore and becoming playful even. I cannot look after them in our small apartment, we're not even allowed to have any. So I am looking for a home for them. If you live in the vicinity of Tsukuba and you want a cute little puppy (they seem to be 1 or 2 months old), do not hesitate to contact me. Even if you don't want one, but you know someone who does. Technorati Tags: cute, dog, japan, needs a home, puppy [chaotic intransient prose bursts] 10:25:21 AM

More From The Cartoonist in England The Day I fell over Professor Hawking.. Cambridge. The magnetic pole for everything weird. I actually used to live there. From February 1994 in No. 9, Elm Street (and the name of that road alone has a weirdness factor of +10 at least) until the end of '95, then I moved into a house in Richmond Road. My mate Dave is from Cambridge, and Dave used to play bass in David Gilmour's band Joker's Wild back in the 60s. While crossing a road in central Cambridge, I fell over Stephen Hawking and his wheelchair. I was looking in the other direction and didn't notice the wheelchair and his nurse. Stephen Hawking apologised, although it was all my fault. Monty Python are from Cambridge too. Walking across Jesus Green one night, I saw a triangular flying object in the skies, glowing brightly. This turned out to be three RAF jets flying in a triangular formation. How disappointing. The best pub in the Universe was the Cow & Calf on Castle Hill, whose landlord commited suicide. I used to work for Cambridge University Press, designing schoolbooks. A very small pub is located in King Street: the St. Radegund, which is no bigger than my living room. The King Street Run is still very popular. While walking through a Cambridge Park, I happened to be in the way of Stephen Hawking and his nurse. Again. I nodded in recognition, saying "Good afternoon, Professor" and stepped aside. The robotic voice answered "*&%£@o". I once spotted Syd Barrett on Parkers Piece and he was fat and bald. And I didn't kiss the lawn he walked on. Although I should have done. Cambridge is the magnetic pole for everything weird. And nothing beats falling over Stephen Hawking's wheelchair. Links: Cambridge photos; Derek Langley; Roots of Cambridge Rock; Snow in Cambridge. Picture of map stolen from this fabulous website. [The Cartoonist] 10:18:03 AM