Test Stand A-2 Peering Out from the Fog

At Stennis Space Center, three large engine test stands were built the early 1960s to test the first and second stages of the Apollo Saturn V rocket that carried Americans to the moon. Since 1975, the test stands have supported testing of the Space Shuttle main engines. The last planned test was conducted in July of 2009.

In this photo, the A-2 Test Stand peered out from a thick blanket of fog during the early morning hours of Oct. 28, 2009. This photo was taken from the top of the B Test Stand.

The A-1 and A-2 test stands are transitioning to support J-2X engine testing for the Constellation Program, while the B-1/B-2 test stand will support stage testing. For the first time since the 1960s, a new test stand, called A-3, is under construction with a scheduled completion date of 2011. The A-3 test stand will be 300 feet tall and will enable engineers to conduct simulated high-altitude testing up to 100,000 feet.

Photo Credit: NASA/SSC/Allen Forsman, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne

Successful Flight Through Enceladus Plume

The Cassini spacecraft has weathered the Monday, Nov. 2, 2009, flyby of Saturn’s moon Enceladus in good health and has been sending images and data of the encounter back to Earth. Cassini had approached Enceladus more closely before, but this passage took the spacecraft on its deepest plunge yet through the heart of the plume shooting out from the south polar region. Scientists are eagerly sifting through the results.

In this unprocessed image, sunlight brightens a crescent curve along the edge of Saturn's moon Enceladus and highlights its misty plume. The image was captured by Cassini's narrow-angle camera as the spacecraft passed about 190,000 kilometers (120,000 miles) over the moon. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System in 2010.

At its closest point on Nov. 2, Cassini flew about 100 kilometers (60 miles) above the surface of Enceladus.

Since the discovery of the plume in 2005, scientists have been captivated by the enigmatic jets. Previous flybys detected water vapor, sodium and organic molecules, but scientists need to know more about the plume’s composition and density to characterize the source, possibly a liquid ocean under the moon’s icy surface. It would also help them determine whether Enceladus has the conditions necessary for life.

Mission managers did extensive studies to make sure the spacecraft could fly safely through the plumes and not use an excessive amount of propellant.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Airija

Ian O'Doherty: Listen, suckers! It's lax parenting, not TV shows, that's the problem

Spring Bloom in New Zealand Waters

Off the east coast of New Zealand, cold rivers of water that have branched off from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current flow north past the South Island and converge with warmer waters flowing south past the North Island. The surface waters of this meeting place are New Zealand's most biologically productive. This image of the area on October 25, 2009, from the MODIS sensor on NASA’s Aqua satellite shows the basis for that productivity: large blooms of plantlike organisms called phytoplankton.

Phytoplankton use chlorophyll and other pigments to absorb sunlight for photosynthesis, and when they grow in large numbers, they change the way the ocean surface reflects sunlight. Caught up in eddies and currents, the blooms create intricate patterns of blues and greens that spread across thousands of square kilometers of the sea surface.

Especially bright blue areas may indicate the presence of phytoplankton called coccolithophores, which are coated with calcium-carbonate (chalk) scales that are very reflective. The duller greenish-brown areas of the bloom may be diatoms, which have a silica-based covering.

In addition to their importance as the foundation of the ocean food web, phytoplankton play a key role in the climate because, like plants on land, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When they die, they sink to the ocean floor where the carbon they took from the atmosphere is stored for thousands of years.

Photo Credit: NASA/MODIS Rapid Response/Jeff Schmaltz. Caption Credit: Rebecca Lindsey, NASA Earth Observatory.

John Singleton Copley, Watson and the Shark, 1778.

"John Singleton Copley's Watson and the Shark was inspired by an event that took place in Havana, Cuba, in 1749. Fourteen-year-old Brook Watson, an orphan serving as a crew member on a trading ship, was attacked by a shark while swimming alone in the harbor. His shipmates, who had been waiting on board to escort their captain ashore, launched a valiant rescue effort. As the sailors hurried to Watson's aid, the shark repeatedly attacked the struggling boy. During the first assault, the shark stripped the flesh from Watson's right leg below the calf. In the second attack, the shark bit off Watson's foot at the ankle."

"Copley minimized the gore associated with such an attack, but traces of blood are visible in the water and on the shark's mouth. The composition is cropped to suggest the right foot is missing. The naked swimmer is transfixed in shock. A sailor has tossed a rope in the water, but it dangles beyond Watson's grasp. Two others strain over the side of the boat, attempting a rescue, while the elder boatswain grasps his companion's shirt in an effort to keep him on board. The terrified oarsmen row furiously, and the man standing in the prow, boat hook poised, is about to thrust his weapon at the lunging beast. In April 1778, while Copley's painting was on exhibit in London's Royal Academy, a detailed description of these horrific events was published in a London newspaper. The text, believed to have been penned by Brook Watson himself, describes the scene in excruciating detail, ultimately reassuring readers that thanks to the surgeon's skill, "after suffering an amputation of the limb, a little below the knee, the youth received a perfect cure in about three months."

The Watson and the Shark web feature was written, designed, and produced by Donna Mann, senior publications manager, education publications.

The week in wildlife

Veltui nerimavau, štai jis - naujas savaitės reportažas iš žvėrijos.


Photograph: Enrique Castro-mendivil/REUTERS

Mini žvėrys

Photograph: Aaron Favila/AP

Čia daugiau. Tekstai po nuotraukomis visiškai idijotiški, tačiau patys žvėrys - baisiai meilūs. Jei galėčiau - auginčiau visus iki vieno, net ir tą miniatiūrinę gyvatę.
Keista, bet atrodo, kad šią savaitę fotoreportažo iš žvėrijos nebus. :(

Bank of England extends quantitative easing to £200bn

Copyright © Steve Bell 2009

Starlings return for winter

Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

More

100 years of pics

Jonas Bendiksen
2000, Russia
"The picture was taken in the Altai territory of Russia, right in the border regions of Kazakhstan. It shows the second stage of a Soyuz rocket in the crash zone where they come down to earth. You can see them fall during the day, and usually hear the big bang as they hit the ground. These things are made out of pretty good metal too, so a lot of the locals make a living chasing rocket parts, before selling them as scrap. If you look very carefully, you can see that the white things all around them are butterflies or moths." Jonas Bendiksen is a Norwegian photographer based in New York.

Photograph: Jonas Bendiksen/Magnum

Here is more

Hippopotamus in drawings

Pabaigai - Peter Paul Rubens The Hippopotamus Hunt (1617)


Taip, greičiausiai kitas mano postas bus apie begemotus - vieniems klastingus, o man - tiesiog mylimus žvėris.
Kartais, kaip pažiūriu į savo postus apie žvėris, visur tas epitetas - "mylimas žvėris". Gal reikėtų pabandyti parašyti apie nemylimus?:) Nea, aš myliu visus gyvius, net ir tarantulus, greičiausiai dėl jų gauruotumo.:)

Žvėrisai

© Stefano.Ronchi
















Įvairios saldybės ir grožybės. Taip, žadėjau skirti daugiau vietos ne tokiems pūkuotiems padarams, tačiau visi šitie pūkuotukai tokie meilūs!


O šitie du - pabaigai. Kad nuo saldumo nesupykintų.

Opossum

The Virginia opossum, Didelphis Virginia, yra unikalūs žinduoliai su daugybe fizinių ir elgesio skiriamųjų požymių. Oposumai yra vieninteliai sterbliniai , įsikūrę Šiaurės Amerikoje. Dažniausiai migruoja iš rytų į vakarus, o šiaurėje jų populiaciją riboja sunkios oro sąlygos. Šie gyvūnai yra labai drovūs ir nepavojingi, tačiau šnypščia ir rodo dantis, kai gresia pavojus. Oposumas turi 50 dantų, daugiau nei bet kuris kitas žinduolis Šiaurės Amerikoje. Vienas įpatingesnių elgsenos bruožų - "playing possum". Tai yra strateginė gynyba prieš grobuonis (oposumas apsimeta negyvu). Žvėris verčiasi ant nugaros, užsimerkia, pražioja burną ir sustingsta. Kartais gyvūnas iškiša liežuvį ir selėjasi. Kokie mechanizmai už viso to slypi - vis dar nežinoma, tačiau atrodo, kad tai yra laikinas paralyžius, pasireiškiantis dėl šoko, kuris gali trukti nuo kelių minučių iki kelių valandų.

Oposumai yra visaėdžiai. Jų mityba daugiausiai susideda iš maitos, vabzdžių, varliagyvių, sliekų, mažų žinduolių. Taip pat iš daržovių, vaisių ir uogų, tarp kurių obuoliai ir kukurūzai yra mėgstamiausi. Gyvatės barškuolės taip pat yra jų mitybos dalis, nes oposumai turi imunitetą jų mirtiniems nuodams. Jų mitybą lemia gyvenimo būdas ir elgsena. Oposumai yra prisitaikantys, naktiniai vienišiai, klaidžiojantys miškingose ir atvirose teritorijose palei žmonių gyvenvietes. Savo priebėgoms oposumai dažnai naudoja žmogaus sukurtus darinius, arba apleistus urvus. Juos galima dažnai aptikti po priebučiais, ar pašiūrėse. Jie yra puikūs plaukikai, o savo plikos, čiumpamos uodegos padedami puikiai visur karstosi.

Šių žinduolių dauginimasis taip pat yra unikalus. Per metus jie atsiveda 2-3 vadas. Vidutiniškai vienoje vadoje - septyni mažyliai. Tik ką gimę jie būna daržinės pupelės dydžio ir pirmas 60 dienų praleidžia išimtinai mamos sterblėje.

Oposumų mirtingumas yra didelis. Viena iš priežasčių yra tai, kad oposumai dažnai susigundo dvėsena, likusia ant kelio, taip patys tapdami pravažiuojančių mašinų aukomis.

Racing Gamma Rays

NASA/Sonoma State University/Aurore Simonnet |

In this illustration, one photon (purple) carries a million times the energy of another (yellow). Some theorists predict travel delays for higher-energy photons, which interact more strongly with the frothy nature of space-time. Yet new data on two photons from a gamma-ray burst fail to show this effect.

Carbon Atmosphere Discovered on Neutron Star

This Chandra X-ray Observatory image shows the central region of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A, for short) the remains of a massive star that exploded in our galaxy. Evidence for a thin carbon atmosphere on a neutron star at the center of Cas A has been found.

Besides resolving a ten-year-old mystery about the nature of this object, this result provides a vivid demonstration of the extreme nature of neutron stars. An artist's impression of the carbon-cloaked neutron star is also shown.

Discovered in Chandra's "First Light" image obtained in 1999, the point-like X-ray source at the center of Cas A was presumed to be a neutron star, the typical remnant of an exploded star, but it surprisingly did not show any evidence for X-ray or radio pulsations. By applying a model of a neutron star with a carbon atmosphere to this object, it was found that the region emitting X-rays would uniformly cover a typical neutron star. This would explain the lack of X-ray pulsations because this neutron star would be unlikely to display any changes in its intensity as it rotates. The result also provides evidence against the possibility that the collapsed star contains strange quark matter.

The properties of this carbon atmosphere are remarkable. It is only about four inches thick, has a density similar to diamond and a pressure more than ten times that found at the center of the Earth. As with the Earth's atmosphere, the extent of an atmosphere on a neutron star is proportional to the atmospheric temperature and inversely proportional to the surface gravity. The temperature is estimated to be almost two million degrees, much hotter than the Earth's atmosphere. However, the surface gravity on Cas A is 100 billion times stronger than on Earth, resulting in an incredibly thin atmosphere.

Credits: NASA/CXC/Southampton/W. Ho et al.

Galaxy Cluster Smashes Distance Record

This is a composite image of the most distant galaxy cluster yet detected. This image contains X-rays from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, optical data from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and optical and infrared data from the Digitized Sky Survey. This record-breaking object, known as JKCS041, is observed as it was when the Universe was just one quarter of its current age. X-rays from Chandra are displayed here as the diffuse blue region, while the individual galaxies in the cluster are seen in white in the VLT’s optical data, embedded in the X-ray emission.

JKCS041 was originally detected in 2006 with infrared observations from the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT). The distance to the cluster was then determined from optical and infrared observations from UKIRT, the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope in Hawaii and NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. However, scientists were not sure if it was a true galaxy cluster, rather than one that has been caught in the act of forming. The shape and extent of the X-ray emission in the Chandra data, however, provided the definitive evidence that showed that JKCS041 was, indeed, a galaxy cluster. The Chandra data also allowed scientists to rule out other possible explanations for the data, including a group of galaxies, or a filament of galaxies seen along the line of sight.

Galaxy clusters are the largest gravitationally-bound objects in the Universe. Scientists have calculated when they should start assembling in the early Universe, and JKCS041, at a distance of some 10.2 billion light years, is on the early edge of that epoch. Follow-on observations of JKCS041 will provide scientists with an opportunity to find important information about how the Universe evolved at this crucial stage.

Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/INAF/S.Andreon et al. Optical: DSS; ESO/VLT

Over 17,000 Animals Near Extinction: Discovery News

Over 17,000 Animals Near Extinction: Discovery News

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Gaila man visų nykstančių žvėrių, tačiau labiausiai tų, kurie nėra nei minkšti, nei pūkuoti. Niekam jie nerūpi. Tereikia palyginti kampanijas pandoms ir medinei varlei išsaugoti. Dėl tinginių pandosų visi ašaras upeliais lieja, milijonus aukoja, o kas padės medinei varlei? Prisipažinsiu, aš irgi žvėris renkuosi pagal kailio grožį, tačiau manau, kad atėjo laikas baigti šitą segregaciją. Nuo šiol žvėrinčius bus atviras visiems žvėrims!

A Hero of our Time - The New York Review of Books

A Hero of our Time - The New York Review of Books

Bramble Park Zoo Has New Baby Pallas' Cat Kittens

Bramble Park Zoo Has New Baby Pallas' Cat Kittens

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Kaip ir priklauso tikram žvėrinčiui, dalinuosi žvėrimis>:) Manūlai, mano meilės.

Летучий корабль

O čia dainelių žodžiai.

Песня царевны Забавы
Песня печника Ивана
Песня о мечте
Песня Водяного
Частушки Бабок-Ежек
Заключительная 

Maistas

Pasigaminau daug mėsos kukulių iš avienos faršo. Dėjau du kiaušinius, vieną čili pipirą, kajenos pipirų, malto mairūno, miltų - tiksliai negaliu parašyti, aš visada dedu "iš akies". Kotletukai labai skanūs, dabar belieka pasigaminti padorų padažą. Apskritai nesuprantu, kaip aš anksčiau (Lietuvoje) galėjau gyventi be avienos?

Operation Ice Bridge Studies Antarctic Sea Ice

An iceberg is seen out the window of NASA's DC-8 research aircraft as it flies 2,000 feet above the Amundsen Sea in West Antarctica on Wednesday, Oct., 21, 2009. This was taken on the fourth science flight of NASA's Operation Ice Bridge airborne Earth science mission to study Antarctic ice sheets, sea ice, and ice shelves.

At the mid-point of this field campaign, seven flights over Antarctica have been completed in the first 13 days of Operation Ice Bridge. The mission is on track to complete its 17 planned flights by mid-November.

Which flight target is flown on a given day is largely determined by difficult-to-forecast Antarctic weather conditions. Several of the instruments onboard cannot gather data through clouds. Twice so far, however, flights have been scrubbed at the last minute due to snow at the airport in southernmost Chile.

As of the landing of the Oct. 27 flight, completed targets included: three flights over glaciers, two over sea ice, one over the Getz ice shelf, and one to study the topography of the ice sheet on the mission's closest approach to the South Pole.

Photo Credit: NASA/Jane Peterson

David Cameron to shed 'cast iron' pledge on Lisbon treaty

Copyright © Steve Bell 2009

Ir vėl apie kiaulių gripą :)

Interesting

The Vorkosigan Companion

About Champions League

Everybody else is at nr.1 in their group (ManUn, Chelsea, Arsenal). It's only Liverpool dragging behind in 3d place! Life is definitely unfair. ;(

Sad :(

Anthropologist Levi-Strauss dies

RIP, you'll forever be my hero most beloved thinker.

Pratybos

Min mor föddes år 1947 i Litauen. Hon var första barnet i familien. Två år senare föddes hennes bror. Hon flytade hemifrån vid sju års ålder, eftrsom hon började speciella musikskolan i en annan stad. Hon bodde där med sina barnlösa släktingar. Föräldrarna saknade henne förfärligt men det fanns inget annat sätt. De anhöriga älskade henne så mycket. Hon skulle komma hem nästan varje helg.
Hon slutade skolan vid 18 års ålder och inskrev direkt till Musikhögskolan. Hon studerade viola där i fem år.
Efteråt arbetade hon i flera orkestrar. Sedan träffade hon min pappa och giftade sig år 1977. Året innan jag föddes.
Min mamma började jobba från 18 års ålder och gör det nu. När hon var ung kunde hon inte tänka sig att bli lärare. Men nu gör hon det.

Vakarienė

Sudorojom nuo minėtojo savaitgalio likusį paršelio vyniotinį su troškintais kopūstais. Paršelis - vyro gamybos, kopūstai - mano.:) Su garstyčiomis buvo pats tas. Rytoj gaminsiu avienos kotletukus su čiliais ir dar kuom nors, dar viena improvizacija Rytų tema.
Dar rytoj važiuosiu į Upsalą, tačiau šį kartą jokių nuomotų mašinų - tik traukiniai.

Mano tėvų jaunystės filmas

Middle-Aged Wolves Retire From the Hunt : Discovery News

Middle-Aged Wolves Retire From the Hunt : Discovery News

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Taip, net ir vilkai eina į pensiją.

Maistas

Šį savaitgalį vyras ruošė tradicinį norvegišką patiekalą, very typical(c) Norwegian dish - Fårikål. Anliškai būtų "Mutton in cabbage", o į lietuvių kalbą Googlas apskritai atsisako versti. Labai skanu ir sotu. Reikia didelio puodo su dangčiu, maišo avies šonkauliukų, keleto kopūstų, pipirų, druskos ir vandens. Proporcijos priklauso nuo puodo dydžio ir valgytojų skaičiaus. Paruošimas labai paprastas, tik troškinimosi procesas ilgai trunka, apie tris valandas. Taip, jau matau, kad iš manęs food journalist nebus.:) Įdedu linką į youtub'o video, kuriame amerikonė puikiai nupasakoja visą procesą.
Let's cook - Faarikaal - Norwegian lamb with cabbage

P.S. Būtent po šito maistelio man sapnavosi trupantys dantys.:D

Spirit Embedded in Soft Soil on Mars as Engineers Devise Methods to 'Free Spirit'

This view from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the terrain surrounding the location called "Troy," where Spirit became embedded in soft soil during the spring of 2009. The hundreds of images combined into this view were taken beginning on the 1,906th Martian day (or sol) of Spirit's mission on Mars (May 14, 2009) and ending on Sol 1943 (June 20, 2009).

Near the center of the image, in the distance, lies Husband Hill, where Spirit recorded views from the summit in 2005. For scale, the parallel tracks are about 1 meter (39 inches) apart. The track on the right is more evident because Spirit was driving backwards, dragging its right-front wheel, which no longer rotates.

The bright soil in the center foreground is soft material in which Spirit became embedded after the wheels on that side cut through a darker top layer. The composition of different layers in the soil at the site became the subject of intense investigation by tools on Spirit's robotic arm.

In recent weeks, Engineers have been using test rovers on Earth to prepare for extracting the sand-trapped Spirit rover. While amnesia-like symptoms in recent days might delay the start of planned drives by Spirit geared towards extricating it, the Mars Exploration Rover team remains hopeful. "If they are intermittent and infrequent, they are a nuisance that would set us back a day or two when they occur. If the condition becomes persistent or frequent, we will need to go to an alternate strategy that avoids depending on flash memory, " said Project Manager John Callas of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In these amnesia events, Spirit fails to record data from the day's activities onto the type of computer memory -- non-volatile "flash" memory -- that can retain the data when the rover powers down for its energy-conserving periods of "sleep."

Spirit has worked on Mars for more than 69 months in what was originally planned as a three-month mission.

Agitplakatai arba Старые мотиваторы на новый лад

I do agree with every one of them!
















Thank you, Дикая Яблоня!!!

Koalos

Faktai

Koalos tokie patys žinduoliai, kai ir mes.
Koalų mažyliai angliškai dar vadinami joeys.
Koalos yra sterbliniai gyvūnai, taigi, savo mažylius nešioja sterblėse.
Visi sterblinių babys'ai angliškai vadinami joeys.
Koalos yra trijų rūšių, vadinamos pagal valstijas, kuriose gyvena.
Labiausiai paplitusi - Queensland'o koala.
Jei kas nežino, koalos gyvena Australijoje, eukaliptų medžiuose.

Gyvenimo būdas

Patinas sveria apie dešimt kg.
Patelė sneria apie šešis su puse kg.
Koalos gyvena pasiskirsčiusios teritorijomis, kaip varnos ar liūtai.
Koalos moka plaukti.
Koalos miega tarp eukalipto šakų.


Maistas

Koalos maitinasi eukaliptų lapais.
Įsitikinti, kad lapai nėra įpač nuodingi koaloms padeda uoslė.
Tam, kad būtų sveikos - drūtos, koalos per dieną turi suvalgyti bent pusę kilogramo lapų.
Koala reiškia "does not drink", todėl, kad vandens jos beveik visai negeria.
Visą reikiamą vandenį gauna iš eukaliptų lapų.
Koalų babys'ai valgo mamytės sugromuluotą lapų mišinį.

Pavojai


Koaloms pavojų kelia: šunys dingo, pelėdos, driežai ir žmonės.
Kartais koalos papuola po ratais.
Jos taip pat žūsta, nes žmonės kerta eukaliptų medžius.
Negalėdamos šokinėti nuo medžio ant medžio jos priverstos vaikščioti žeme, kur jas laisvai gali pagauti šunys dingo ir kiti grobuonys.

Fall Break

Sad, but true.

The Zombie

And he is right!

Padejavimas

Šią savaitę greičiausiai nebūsiu tokia produktyvi. Vis dėl to važinėjimas į Upsalą ir ankstyvas kėlimasis kiekvieną dieną daro savo. Štai ir dabar aš praktiškai smiginėju. Tačiau reikia pagroti ir padaryti namų darbus. Ir ėrienos kukuliai patys nepasigamins. Miegoti dieną man apskritai nepatinka. Jaučiuosi dar blogiau, nei prieš tai. Vienintelė viltis - savaitgalis, tačiau pagal visus kiaulystės dėsnius, kaip tik tada nusprendžia pasireikšti vidinis laikrodis. Taip, galvojau, kad priprasiu, tačiau atrodo darosi vis blogiau.

Airija

Ian O'Doherty: Well, we've all done it

Kids' top 10 classical music

1 John Williams Harry Potter

2 Howard Blake Walking in the Air (The Snowman)

3 Sergei Prokofiev Peter's Theme (Peter and the Wolf)

4 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker)

5 Sergei Prokofiev The Duck Scene (Peter and the Wolf)

6 Paul Dukas The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Fantasia)

7 Edward Elgar Pomp and Circumstance Op. 39, No. 4 (Fantasia)

8 Johann Pachelbel Canon

9 Sergei Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet

10 Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov Flight of the Bumblebee

poll by Classic FM

West puts pressure on Hamid Karzai to share power in Afghanistan

Copyright © Steve Bell 2009

Dabar juokinga

Kaip mes šiandien namo iš Upsalos važiavom, tai dieve mano. Tiksliau, iš garažo. Tobyš Parking'o. Judith yra mano saulelė, labai mielas ir linksmas žmogutis, bet kartais tas išsiblaškymas kaip reikiant prigadina nervų. Praeitą savaitę kažkokiais nežinomais būdais vietoj normalaus mokamo Parking'o sugebėjo prisiparkuoti privačiame garaže. Gerai, kad čia Švedija ir visi daug maž geranoriški. Taip pat gerai, kad abi atrodom, kaip dvi nekaltos avelės, o greičiau jau durnelės. Prasinešėm per pirmo aukšto parduotuves ir atsirado geras žmogus, nepagailėjęs kodo. Apsauginis tikriausiai iki šiol pasakoja apie dvi užsienietes - beprotes, besiblaškančias po visą teritoriją. Pradedu galvoti, kad gal kai Stephanas kartu nevažiuoja, man reik pradėt Judith globot? Aš tai jau tikrai būčiau pastebėjus, kad ne ten prisiparkavom.
Šiandien buvo ne taip desperate bet vis tiek linksma. Mašiną išsinuomavo lengvai, pastatė kur reikia. Du kartus klausiau, ar tikrai tinkamoj vietoj paliko, atsakymas - taip. Po repeticijos (vėlai vakare) linksmai trise nušuoliavom į požeminį, suradom mašiną iš pirmo karto, privažiavom prie šlagbaumo... Štai čia ir prasidėjo. Taloną mašina prarijo, tačiau kreditinės - ne. Kodėl? Todėl, kad taloną reikėjo apmokėti iš anksto! Kam nepasitaiko? Apsukom mašiną atgal, privažiavom prie automato, tačiau talonas tai ne su mumis! Atgal prie šlagbaumo. Spaudinėjam visus mygtukus iš eilės, tačiau velnio aparatas nepasiduoda. Galų gale nusprendėm, kad nieko nebus ir paskambinom į pagalbos telefoną, kurio, aišku, niekas tokiu paros metu nesiruošia kelti. Galiausiai mūsų trečias pastebėjo ant žemės gulintį taloną, pakėlė, patikrino datą, valio! mūsų! Vėl apsukama mašina, automatas, kortelė ir staiga kažkodėl neužsivedanti mašina. Jau pradėjom juokaut, kad gal užsisakyt picą į garažą ar paklausinėt, gal kas iš bendradarbių namie turi benzopjūklą, tačiau vis dėl to viskas baigėsi gerai. Mes prasiveržėm! Tai, kad mes mažumėlę pasiklydome Stokholmo priemiestyje, o vienintelis po ranka pasitaikęs praeivis buvo girtas airis, nurodes važiuoti tiesiai tieisiai tiesiai, tada į dešinę, tada į kairę ir t.t ir pan.
Bent jau aš namo grįžau sveika ir gyva. Trečiadienį nebus jokių mašinų, o vėliau - kaip nors.

Death and Death of Rats

Death is known to be fond of cats.


The Death of Rats, also known as the Grim Squeaker.

Poem of the Week

The Korean Memorial at Hiroshima by Andrew Motion

There was hardly time
between the Peace Museum
and the bullet train to Tokyo,
but our hosts instructed the taxi
to find the memorial to the Koreans.
Ten thousand Koreans, killed that morning.
You, being Korean, had to see it.

*

We had been crying in the Museum:
the charred school uniforms;
the lunch-box with its meal of charcoal,
the shadow of a seated woman
printed on the steps of a bank.
Everyone else was crying, too.
We shuffled round in a queue,
crying and saying nothing.

Then we stood in the rain
squaring up to the Memorial.
A spike of rusty flowers
and a tide-scum of dead cherry blossom.
Five or six miniature ceremonial costumes
made of folded paper and left to moulder.
Pink. Pink and custard yellow.
You could hardly leave soon enough.

*

The taxi was on its last legs,
sputtering among black cherries
then stalling by the skeleton
of the one dome to survive the blast.

No need to worry about the train, though.
The trains in Japan run on time.
In two hours and fifteen minutes
we would see Mount Fuji,
cloud-cover permitting,
and the snow-cap like a table-cloth
stretched over a tumbler of water
in the moment of surprise
before a magician taps his wand
and the tumbler disappears.

Gloucester Cathedral

Glorious cloisters … Gloucester Cathedral. Photograph: David Mansell

Interesting article, finds here.

2009 World Fantasy Award Winners & Nominees

2009 World Fantasy Awards Ballot

The World Fantasy Convention 2009 was held in San Jose, California.
Judges were Jenny Blackford, Peter Heck, Ellen Klages, Chris Roberson, Delia Sherman

Life Achievement

winner Ellen Asher
winner Jane Yolen

Novel
winner The Shadow Year, Jeffrey Ford (Morrow)
winner Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan (Allen & Unwin; Knopf)
The House of the Stag, Kage Baker (Tor)
The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury)
Pandemonium, Daryl Gregory (Del Rey)

Novella
winner "If Angels Fight", Richard Bowes (F&SF 2/08)
"Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel", Peter S. Beagle (Strange Roads)
"The Overseer", Albert Cowdrey (F&SF 3/08)
"Odd and the Frost Giants", Neil Gaiman (Bloomsbury; HarperCollins)
"Good Boy", Nisi Shawl (Filter House)

Short Story
winner "26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss", Kij Johnson (Asimov's 7/08)
"Caverns of Mystery", Kage Baker (Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy)
"Pride and Prometheus", John Kessel (F&SF 1/08)
"Our Man in the Sudan", Sarah Pinborough (The Second Humdrumming Book of Horror Stories)
"A Buyer's Guide to Maps of Antarctica", Catherynne M. Valente (Clarkesworld 5/08)

Anthology
winner Paper Cities: An Anthology of Urban Fantasy, Ekaterina Sedia, ed. (Senses Five Press)
The Living Dead, John Joseph Adams, ed. (Night Shade Books)
The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Del Rey)
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008: Twenty-First Annual Collection, Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link, & Gavin J. Grant, eds. (St. Martin's)
Steampunk, Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, eds. (Tachyon Publications)

Collection
winner The Drowned Life, Jeffrey Ford (HarperPerennial)
Strange Roads, Peter S. Beagle (DreamHaven Books)
Pretty Monsters, Kelly Link (Viking)
Filter House, Nisi Shawl (Aqueduct Press)
Tales from Outer Suburbia, Shaun Tan (Allen & Unwin; Scholastic '09)

Artist
winner Shaun Tan
Kinuko Y. Craft
Janet Chui
Stephan Martinière
John Picacio

Special Award—Professional
winner Kelly Link & Gavin J. Grant (for Small Beer Press and Big Mouth House)
Farah Mendlesohn (for Rhetorics of Fantasy)
Stephen H. Segal & Ann VanderMeer (for Weird Tales)
Jerad Walters (for A Lovecraft Retrospective: Artists Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft)
Jacob Weisman (for Tachyon Publications)

Special Award—Non-professional
winner Michael J. Walsh (for Howard Waldrop collections from Old Earth Books)
Edith L. Crowe (for her work with The Mythopoeic Society)
John Klima (for Electric Velocipede)
Elise Matthesen (for setting out to inspire and for serving as inspiration for works of poetry, fantasy, and SF over the last decade through her jewelry-making and her "artist's challenges.")
Sean Wallace, Neil Clarke, & Nick Mamatas (for Clarkesworld)

Shaun Tan

Australian illustrator and writer, this Years best Artist, 2009 World Fantasy Awards

http://www.shauntan.net/