You never know what you might see if you just look up (Photo by xamad) This weekend, you might be attending a Fourth of July party, and you'll probably be craning your neck upwards to watch fireworks displays. As you gaze, though, cast your eyes a little further upward for a glimpse of the biggest and brightest parties of them all. You won't find paparazzi or a red carpet at these parties, just dark skies filled with dazzling stars of the celestial kind. A quintessential part of the amateur astronomer scene worldwide, star parties are held in public squares, at campgrounds, on mountaintops, and even on the Grand Canyon's North Rim. Open to the public, these nighttime gatherings and weekend campouts are an excellent way to become acquainted with astronomy and the wonders of the night sky. 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, ensuring that telescopes will be set up on sidewalks, at observatories, or in parks near you. If you can't make it to the party, just step outside into the night, or plan a star party of your own. Suggested Sites... "Sky & Telescope" Event Calendar - find a star party near you. Space.com’s Star Party Survival Guide - tips for happy stargazing. Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events – 2009 - see what's up tonight -- literally. Night Sky Network - NASA's guide to clubs, events, and starry happenings. The Galileoscope: An IYA2009 Cornerstone Project - get started with an inexpensive telescope.

Directory categories: Star Parties, Astronomy Clubs, Astronomy Beginners' Guides, International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009), Astrophotography

Archived under: Astronomy, Celebrations, Events, Exploration, Holidays, Night, Outdoors, Planets, Science, Space, Stars, Summer

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The original poster for Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room. Traveler beware! Anyone who's been to Disneyland or Walt Disney World over the past 45 years has probably suffered through the Enchanted Tiki Room, "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln," or (worst of all) "It’s a Small World." All of these "attractions” feature Disney’s patented and trademarked "Audio-Animatronic" technology. These animatronics work through an ingenious combination of air pressure, water pressure, electronics, and computers that tell these plastic- and fabric-covered robotic puppets to move through a series of pre-programmed movements with all the realism and agility of an arthritic turtle. While some may find these doppelgangers grotesque, it is reported that many more are delighted by them and their antics. So, in that light, we note that, on June 23, 1963, the Tiki Room opened for business in Disneyland's Adventureland. The gimmick is simple: unwitting suckers -- er, "guests" -- desperate for anyplace to sit after hours of waiting in line in ungodly heat, wander dazedly into the Tiki Room after hearing the ballyhoo from José Carioca, the ever-chattering pitch-parrot who looms outside the hut. (Why a Brazilian parrot should be shilling for a Hawaiian-themed room is a mystery, but it ultimately makes as much sense as the Mexican, Irish, French, and German parrots who host the show inside.) Once seated, the guests are subjected to a spectacle consisting of scores of birds and tikis singing various ditties, the most notorious of which is the anthemic "In the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room." After a suitable period, the bombarded guests are gratefully released back into the "real" world. There's something about these attractions that brings out the annoying in the Disney Imagineers and composers. "Pirates of the Caribbean" has its marauding buccaneers sing a catchy chantey -- most of which is unintelligible except for its repeated lines of "Yo ho! Yo ho! A pirate’s life for me!" and "Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!" And the less said about the endlessly-rendered title song of "It’s a Small World," the better (try getting that one out of your head, now that we've mentioned it). We must admit, though, we were actually fond of the Carousel of Progress’s "There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" -- which may be one of the reasons the attraction was closed at the original Magic Kingdom in 1973 (though it survives at Walt Disney World). In recent years, the technology has improved. The original version of the Tiki Room featured a behind-the-scenes array of computers that filled a room, with vast machines that hummed, clicked, and whirred (one assumes that any well-equipped laptop could take the place of all those machines nowadays). "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" has gone through many iterations at Disneyland, and has been supplanted at Walt Disney World with the "Hall of Presidents," which allows Americans to see plastic robots that grotesquely impersonate the U.S.'s past and present chief executives -- and even to hear Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama provide their own voices! Given Disney's genius for combining earworms and Animatronics makes us grateful that they didn't apply it to the Presidents. The prospect of hearing Mr. Lincoln serenading Jefferson Davis with a tune called something like "Keep a Civil Tongue in Your Head" is tempting, but too much to bear. Suggested Sites... The Enchanted Tiki Room - official Disney site, with information, images -- and that song. DaveLandWeb: Enchanted Tiki Room - obsessively complete photo gallery of every aspect of the attraction. Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln - watch the 16th president in plastic zombie form! Dead Men Tell No Tales - fan site for the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride. (Maybe they can decipher the lyrics ...) How Animatronics Works - Step 1: Build a rubber puppet...

Directory categories: Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disneyland Rides and Attractions, Animatronics, Robotics

Archived under: 1960s, Abraham Lincoln, American History, Amusement Parks, Anniversaries, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Birds, Dead Celebrities, Disney, Disneyland, Entertainment, George Bush, Impersonators, Invention, Presidents, Puppets, Robotics, Science, Technology, Tourist Attractions, Ventriloquism

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Halley's Comet, minus the advertising space that's sure to come next time If there's one thing mankind has discovered, it's that nature cannot be tamed. As last weekend's earthquake in Los Angeles and the recent "inland hurricane" in Southern Illinois proved, when Mother Nature wants to do something, it's best to stay out of her way. With that in mind, today we examine a few of the ways in which people have coped with nature's whims. The first took place on May 19, 1780. While the former British colonists of New England were still fighting their Revolution, strange things were happening. For a couple of days prior, the skies from Maine to New Jersey had been strangely colored -- yellow, copper, and red -- but in mid-morning of the 19th, those skies began to darken unnaturally to the point that, by noon (in most places), it was as dark as midnight. While animals behaved normally, many humans panicked and flocked to religious services, believing the end of the world had come. Those of a more scientific bent tried to determine what had happened, but were baffled. By the next day, the darkness had dissipated as mysteriously as it had come. Modern scientists have examined "Dark Day" and are now pretty sure (though not positive) that a combination of wet weather, Canadian forest fires, and just-right winds created a "perfect storm," and a cloud cover so thick that sunlight was unable to provide illumination to the region. While 18th-century Americans were driven into confusion and terror by a natural phenomenon, by the 20th century, Yankee ingenuity had figured out how to capitalize on Mother Nature. Halley's Comet paid the Earth a visit in 1910. Even though it had been doing so with no harmful effects since at least 240 BCE, the media got hold of the fact that the Earth would pass through the comet's tail on May 19th, and a minor worldwide panic ensued. Predictions of the damage that would be caused were apocalyptic. It got even worse when scientists determined that the comet's tail contained cyanogen gas -- similar to cyanide -- leading many to believe they'd be poisoned. Panicked (again), Americans packed churches, stopped up their doors and window with towels, and went insane from worry -- and (of course) there was a land-office business in comet "cures," ranging from pills to inhalers to gas masks. Of course, not everyone panicked, but even for those folks who kept their heads, retailers and restraurateurs managed to capitalize on comet fever, with souvenirs, postcards, pins, soaps, and even special dinners. While we can't imagine that when the "Big One" finally hits, folks will be flocking to buy souvenirs, we're pretty sure that, given the vast number of scams that popped up after Hurricane Katrina, American knowhow will figure out a way to make a buck. Suggested Sites... The Dark Day Over Olde New England - just what happened? Wikipedia: New England's Dark Day - description and links to sites explaining what occurred. Halley's Comet Postcards - capitalism is a worldwide phen A Brief History of Halley's Comet - from prehistory to the future. Comet Hysteria and the Millennium - it wasn't limited to 1910.

Directory categories: Weather, Weather Phenomena, Halley's Comet, Astronomy, Fraud

Archived under: 18th Century, 1910s, American History, Anniversaries, Astronomy, Coincidence, Comets, Environment, Events, Halley's Comet, History, Nature, Revolutionary War, Scams, Science, Society and Culture, Storms, Superstition, United States, Weather, Weird Stuff

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Star Trek Pon Farr Perfume (From Entertainment Earth) Star Trek Pon Farr Perfume: With "Star Trek: The Movie" sweeping the nation's theaters and topping search spikes this week, I suppose we were all just waiting for "Star Trek: The Perfume" to come out. And so it has! Now all you sci-fi loving ladies can wow all the special Spocks and Kirks in your life with "light, clean notes of citrus, blackcurrant, lotus blossom, and water lily." Because nothing spells romance more than smelling like a desperate Vulcan. Opportunity.gov: Meanwhile, as we humans struggle with our economic crisis, our own Federation is coming to the rescue with Opportunity.gov: a site that provides new educational opportunities to unemployed workers. Homes for our Troops: In all my years of watching "Star Trek," I can remember only one member of Starfleet ever sustaining a major injury that left him permanently disabled. Even when Spock exposed himself to terrible radiation in order to save the Enterprise's crew at the end of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn," he still bounced back from his "death" with nary a scratch in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock." Unfortunately, real life hasn't been as kind to many of our troops returning from Iraq, Afghanistan, or any of our many overseas conflicts. HomesForOurTroops.org raises money and organizes volunteers to help build specially adapted homes for our severely-injured veterans. This is truly a good cause. GradeGov.com: If you're tired of the government making decisions that you don't agree with, let your voice be heard on GradeGov.com. You can give your elected representatives a letter grade, write them a letter, and read other letters and grades from concerned citizens like yourself. Currently, Louie Gohmert (R. - TX) has garnered a grade of "A-" from his loving constituents, while Bennie G. Thompson (D. - LA) is evidently not feeling so loved with his grade of "F." Cars for a Grand: Even if we lose our jobs and the government fails us, there's one thing we can be sure will always be around in abundance: used cars. Capitalizing on this fact, CarsForAGrand.com offers exactly what their web address implies: used cars for $1000 or less. You can search by zip code for used, crashed, parts, or restoration project cars, or you can post your own used car listing. Suggested Sites... Issuu - a free magazine-publishing platform that allows users to publish online magazines that are easy and fun to read and interact with. Tweetmeme - tracks the most popular and most re-tweeted posts on Twitter. Antipodes Map - kind of useless, but kind of fun. Shows you the exact global opposite of any place on Earth. Map Your Name - shows on a map the popularity of personal names and family names in the USA, Europe, or Australia. Extreme Ice Survey - features photos and time-lapse videos of glaciers and ice caps melting. As featured on Nova.

Directory categories: Star Trek Collectibles, U.S. Politics: Surveys and Polls, Automotive Classifieds, Support the Troops, Twitter

Archived under: Advertising, Autos, Careers, Collectibles, Democratic Party, Disability, Education, Fanatics, Fragrances, Government, Housing, Issues and Causes, Jobs, Magazines, Media, Military, Names, Nature, Republican Party, Science, Science Fiction, Social Networking, Star Trek, Twitter, Web 2.0, Yahoo! Directory

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U.S. Army influenza ward, 1918 (Coutesy of National Museum of Health and Medicine) No one really knows where it came from, but before it was done, it had taken the lives of up to 100 million people. We're speaking not of some movie monster, but of the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. Ninety-one years ago, a soldier at Fort Riley, Kansas, complained of flu symptoms. Within hours, 100 more soldiers were ill. By the end of the week, the number had jumped to 500. Thanks to new means of easy travel in the early 20th century, the virus spread quickly to Europe. Wartime censorship kept the worst news of the disease from the public until it hit Spain -- but when it did, the gusher of news burst, giving the flu its misleading name. The 1918 flu was unlike any other, in that it spread directly from birds to humans, and struck hardest in the population that would seem to have had the greatest immunity: young, healthy adults. At its peak, the virus killed hundreds a day. Physicians were helpless to stop it: antiviral drugs were decades away, and the only real "cure" was to quarantine the victims -- not an easy task when 500 million people worldwide were infected -- and hope for the best. Could it happen again? No one knows. Recent outbreaks of bird and swine flu have raised fears that another pandemic could be just around the corner, but so far, the world has escaped a return engagement. But just in case you felt safe, scientists have been able to recreate the flu virus -- and it's as potent as ever. If you feel a little achy tonight, it's probably nothing -- but you never know.... Suggested Sites... Flu Epidemic of 1918 - illustrated guide to the greatest pandemic in human history. Popular Mechanics: Spanish Flu Epidemic: 1918 - information on the outbreak and how to prepare for other emergencies. Nova: 1918 Flu - watch a segment on the recreation of the world's deadliest virus. American Experience: Influenza 1918 - timelines, photos, maps, and documents. Wikipedia: Spanish Flu - overview of the disease's onset, effects, and aftermath.

Directory categories: 1918 Influenza Epidemic, Influenza, Avian Influenza, Infectious Diseases, Flu Vaccination

Archived under: 1910s, Death, Disasters, Disease, Epidemics, Flu, Health, History, Medicine, Science

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