(Photo by Mike Hollingshead) The skies darken, churning with heavy, charcoal-colored clouds. The barometer drops and the wind picks up. Pets and farm animals get anxious, and safety-minded people follow suit. They gather flashlights and battery-powered radios, close windows and shutters, and find shelter in basements, ready to wait out the storm like sensible folk. But for a group of thrill-seeking weather buffs, this is where the fun begins. Storm chasers study the radar, tracking pressure zones and storm fronts, waiting for the tell-tale signs of major meteorological events. They load their trucks (some specially designed or reinforced to withstand high winds) with cameras, binoculars, weather-tracking devices, and safety equipment, and hit the road. Some do it to study the formation and effects of major weather events. Others hope to capture beautiful images and footage of powerful natural forces. And some simply do it for the thrill of experiencing extreme weather conditions up close. Suggested Sites... Storm Prediction Center - see what's coming your way. Flickr: Storm Chasers - a large pool of storm images. A Hurricane Hunter's Photo Album - fly over the eye of a hurricane with this gallery of aerial storm images. Cyclone Jim - photos and video from a professional hurricane hunter. Extreme Instability - an amazing collection of storm images from a professional storm chaser.

Directory categories: Storm Chasing, Storm Chasing Tours, Storm Spotting, Thunderstorms, Tornadoes

Archived under: Fanatics, Outdoors, Photography, Science, Storm Chasing, Storms, Travel, Weather

Post a comment (15) | Email this posting

Mel Blanc (From POVonline) If Hollywood ever had an indispensable talent, it was Mel Blanc, the man of a thousand voices. Blanc, whose 99th birthday we celebrate today, was a unique voice actor. He worked for most of the major studios, appeared regularly on radio and television (especially with Jack Benny, providing the "voices" of Benny's automobile and pet polar bear), and received credit for "voice characterizations" on all Warner Bros. cartoons -- even those in which he didn't do any voices at all! His career began by imitating a drunken bull, but the short list of his other characters would include Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Barney Rubble, Woody Woodpecker, Foghorn Leghorn, Tweety and Sylvester, Marvin the Martian, the Tasmanian Devil, and Twiki. About the only voice he didn't do was Elmer Fudd (that was Arthur Q. Bryan). When Mel Blanc died, it took literally dozens of actors to replicate the voices he'd created, all of whom would have otherwise been speechless. Suggested Sites... Wikipedia: Mel Blanc - biography of the voice behind innumerable characters. Mel Blanc's Vocal Cords - exactly what it sounds like: someone stuck a camera down Mel's throat while he did Looney Tunes voices. Don Markstein's Toonapedia - a vast repository of toonological knowledge IMDb: Mel Blanc - filmography of Blanc's nearly 1000 cartoons and TV shows. Looney Tunes.com - online home of Bugs, Daffy, and the rest of gang from Termite Terrace.

Directory categories: Mel Blanc, Voice Actors, Warner Bros. Cartoons, Animation, Radio History

Archived under: Actors, Animation, Biographies, Birthdays, Bugs Bunny, Cartoons, Daffy Duck, Entertainment, Looney Tunes, Voice Actors

Post a comment (0) | Email this posting

"Time to cut the cake... and smash it into your face!" (Photo by Martin Wellard) Many couples opt to tie the knot in June. Maybe it's the weather or the fact that the month is named for Juno, Roman goddess of marriage and fertility. And the old Celtic proverb, "marry in May and rue the day," could offer additional incentive for June brides. There are a number of other traditions designed to ensure a happy ever-after. In Scotland, the groom may be subjected to a blackening, a ritual humiliation in which he is stripped, doused with treacle and feathers, paraded through town, and then tied to a lamp post. Prospective Hopi brides endure three days of insults and mud slinging to be "rescued" by their future mothers-in-law. In Germany, friends of the bride and groom show up the day before the wedding and throw crockery at their doorsteps. After the wedding, the newlyweds may find that their furniture has been moved to the roof and alarm clocks have been hidden in the bedroom. Whether they're designed to ward off bad luck or just all in good fun, wedding traditions join rituals of the past to create new memories in the happy couple's future. Suggested Sites... Wedding Customs and Omens - fun facts and folklore. Wedding Traditions and Folklore - includes wedding traditions from around the world. Wedding Channel - better get cracking if you're planning a June wedding! World Wedding Traditons - customs from different countries. Martha Stewart: Weddings - not sure what to do? Maybe Martha can help.

Directory categories: Weddings, Wedding Traditions and Customs, Wedding Etiquette, Green Weddings

Archived under: Cultures, Society and Culture, Superstition, Weddings, Weird Stuff

Post a comment (40) | Email this posting

(Photo by Aslak Raanes) It's one of the most photographed things on Earth and instantly identifies San Francisco, so as we note its 70th anniversary, here are eight things you might not know about the Golden Gate Bridge.   It isn't gold at all; it's International Orange. It was opened to automobiles when President Franklin Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in the White House. On its 50th anniversary, so many people crowded onto it that the span actually flattened. It is estimated that someone jumps off of the Bridge every 15 days, almost always facing the city. The Bridge's main cables each contain 25,572 separate wires and weigh 11,000 tons. The concrete used in the construction could build two 10-foot-wide sidewalks from Chicago to Omaha. High winds have closed the Bridge five times. Each day, tidal flows send 390 billion gallons of water in motion under the Bridge. Suggested Sites... Golden Gate Bridge - live webcams, traffic reports, and news and history about California's most famous bridge. American Experience - PBS special about the building of the Bridge. Wikipedia: Golden Gate Bridge - info and fun facts. The New Yorker: Jumpers - the fatal grandeur of the Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco Chronicle: Lethal Beauty - examines the darker side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Directory categories: Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, Bridges, Buildings and Structures, Civil Engineering

Archived under: American History, Anniversaries, Architecture, California, History, Travel

Post a comment (0) | Email this posting

Luke, Leia, and Han in Star Wars May 25 marks 30 years since the release of "Star Wars," but the film's most enthusiastic followers don't need anniversaries to inspire the genuflections, winks, and romps that make up life after the Clone Wars. The Force may have originated far, far away, but love for the series -- and a desire to reenact and relive its adventures -- is strong in its Earth-bound fans. From best-selling games like Star Wars Battlefront, to hard-to-find LEGO sets (build your own LEGO Death Star, anyone?), Star Wars fans young and (ahem) middle-aged regularly play Jedi. Civilian stormtroopers march with Lucas in the Rose Parade. "Robot Chicken"'s goofy skit imagining Darth Vader's guilty phone call to the Emperor has even inspired an upcoming and officially-sanctioned special, featuring appearances by Mark Hamill and George Lucas himself. It seems like many of us can't keep our inner Star Wars Kid under wraps. So, if you find yourself feeling Luke-like, gazing at the sky and thinking that "it's all such a long way from here," take heart. With the power of the Internet -- and perhaps a healthy dose of The Force -- you could be helping to imagine a new chapter of the apparently-limitless Star Wars saga. Suggested Sites... StarWars.com - where it all began. TheForce.net - the fans take over. Atom Films: Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge - Mr. Lucas will see you now. Leia's Metal Bikini - all female fans are "strongly encouraged" to wear a metal bikini. LEGO Star Wars Trilogy - painstakingly and lovingly recreated, brick by unofficial brick.

Directory categories: Star Wars, Star Wars Movies, Star Wars Video Games, Star Wars Humor

Archived under: Anniversaries, Entertainment, Movies, Science Fiction, Star Wars

Post a comment (4) | Email this posting