Joyce

Joyce.




Funny album covers is a particularly target rich subject, so I shan't overdwell on the matter, but I love this one specifically for the perfect distallation of a late 70's/early 80's fashion. The perm. Especially the perm. The big glasses, big earrings, terrible clothes and colors, and just utter lack of taste. It's marvelous. What the hell were people thinking?

Tiny Worlds

Behold Saturn in her absolute magnificence. There are much larger pictures available on the Internet, fans, than here. Seek them out if you need a new desktop.

Look just outside Saturn's brightest inner rings at 9:15 o'clock  - there is a white dot. That white dot is Earth, and that dot contains our entire species, now, then, and seemingly forever.

We regress, while we know such wonders await us.


Blame Republicans.

A Storm on Saturn

In Saturn's North Pole sits a spinning red storm, whose outer edges form an octagon. As seen here by our friend, Cassini. A close up:

It looks like fire but it's not fire, because there's nothing to burn. Some combination of water and ammonia and other gases, each reflecting light differently, giving us color:

Amazing color. Cassini took this photo while stoned, for the record.

In search of color in space

Not my shot - I wish. I've been looking for the Northern Lights for years, but never caught a glimpse. I'm pretty far North, but not far enough. I might have to travel to Iceland one day to remedy this - seeing colors dance across the sky is the kind of religious experience I want to try.


That's the ISS streaking overhead, with 6 people on board living and working in space. And here's what the Northern Lights look like from the ISS:

As you can see, the Northern Lights are a thin band of radiation at the edge of space. This is actual solar matter that has slammed into Earth's magnetosphere and spiraled down towards the Poles, producing the lights as the solar matter strikes the highest portions of the atmosphere.

Magic!

Just another Burj

You're yesterday's news, Burj al Arab.

Such is the fate of most Gulf buildings within a few short years. Spectacular has beens.

Mecca Vegas

Mecca in 1917. A world ago, as that world was directly connected to 2000 years and more of history. Whereas what's happened since is brand new.

Decadence. Luxurious wealth. Super technology. Welcome to Mecca 2013.

I'm sure the construction you see on the right has come far closer to completion since this picture was taken, if you can imagine it - another gaudy tower rising high in the sky.

There's malls in that big building, by the way. Shopping, at Mecca.

Tower Truths

I owe much to this tower, this Empire State Building. If not for it, I would not be in New Gondolin. So here's to you, the Original Tower (OT):

LADEE to space. To the moon, in fact.

Big Sis

Say hi to our big Sister, the Sun. And it is our Sister (or Brother if you like) and not our parent, as the Sun and the planets all formed from the same ginormous cloud of gas. The Sun took up most of that cloud, but every single planet, moon, comet and asteroid came from the same cloud. Even you, roundaboutly.

Like all "things" - stars and planets and you included - the Sun is the result of a series of reactions held in balance. In the case of a star, this balance is composed of the inward pressure of gravity, and the outward pressure of fusion. As such, the heart of a star is quite small compared to its overall size, thanks to this simple process:

Fusion. Just a couple of atoms bouncing off one another with enough energy (because of the inward pressure of gravity) and kabloom! Fusion, the heart of a star, and thus the heart of all life. Fusion releases enormous amounts of energy, and that energy is the star, and all its light, in all frequencies.

These frequencies are the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to microwaves to visible light - what we see - to ultraviolet, x-rays, and finally gamma rays. All seen here. Each frequency reveals different information, and thus astronomers use a variety of detection methods to learn not only about the sun, but everything.

We exist in a living miracle. It's pretty cool.

So Bright

Summer selfie, maxxing and relaxing at the beach.

Brighter still - self expression in all the colors of the rainbow!

Bright as the sun - the future requires shades.

An even newer world

Consider it, Wingnuts. Hillary gets elected in 2016, and wins re-election in 2020. That would represent 16 years in a row of Democratic rule, and if we can't crush the Repukes in that timeframe, than shame on us. Till then, some Hill shots:

Obama shot, actually. Sorry, Hills. Just want all them PUMA's to remember that Barack is our President.

Hillary and Barry, re-making world diplomacy. Notice how calmer the world seems lately, compared to 2000-2008?

A new toga

The pantsuit is the new power suit, or toga, or whatever form of clothing denotes LEADER. And it comes in way more colors than purple. Behold!

All the colors of the rainbow!

When Hillary is elected in 2016 and America - Ruler of the World - has a woman leader, coupled with the wise and steady leadership of Germany under Chancellor Merkel, then the world will be ready. Ready at last. The Matriarchy is Nigh!

Our Friend the Atom

Let us follow the human understanding of the Atom. Ja, man?

Here's all the conditions upon the Earth. What happens to minerals exposed to such?

Primary colors.

From a certain point of view

The Devil's Ring. Not as pretty as advertised.

You've been swimming in lies since the day you were born, no fault of your own.

Like the Arabian Batman.

A new light upon the world.

Happy Tree Paints

Yes, in this alternate Universe - one of many - Happy Tree paints Bob Ross, soothingly.

In Living Colour

Walking on sunshine, yo.

First black President, or so it's been said.

All your flags are false

 

1937 Berlin, before the War. Hitler won a lot of people over by the booming economy, essentially ending the Great Depression in Germany. He did this of course by focusing most of the industrial sector towards building his war machine. War - it's good for business!

Imagine, if you will, if in the span of a few years, those stupid "Don't Tread on Me" flags started appearing on most streets, businesses, government offices, everywhere. Kinda weird/scary, right?

 At least I hope it would be. But then, if these flags were going up everywhere, maybe most everyone approved. Real America!

Here's a revelation I had as a teen, and it blew my then teenage mind. Your mileage may vary. But hey, say you're American. I am. Now, everytime you see an American flag during the course of your day, replace it with a NAZI flag. Or a Soviet flag. Or a UK flag. Canada. Heck why not Mexico? Replace it with another country and see what you think.

For me, it revealed the hitherto unrecognized fact that there are flags everywhere, and flags are essentially group propaganda. Mythology given form in a waving piece of colored cloth. The colors on this cloth determine what team (country/empire/kingdom) you root for. What is normally background noise because you are so used to them jumps out when it's a different team - like hey! America is way better than the NAZI's dude!

So yeah, look at the German NAZI's going about their average days in Berlin. So many atrocities, so much violence, and yet here they are appearing rather ordinary and normal.

Makes you wonder, I hope.

Ghetto

Each dot represents 25 people, and each color represents a self identified race from the 2010 census. This is Chicago, and you can see how the main ethnicities are ghettoized. Not specific to Chicago, either, as all American cities and probably most world cities are set up the same way. Here's a few more:

Detroit

LA

Greater NYC.

As long as such ghettoization exists, then so too will racism. But much of it is self chosen, yeah?

Complicated subject!

Red Son Set

From the "What if" Superman comic "Superman: Red Son", which, I'll point out for the few non-super nerds in the audience, has a double meaning. "Red" for Soviet, as this story tells the tale of Kal-El crashing in Ukraine instead of Kansas, and the history that unfolds from that small change in impact trajectory.

The second, more subtle meaning is Kal-El is from a Red Sun system - Krypton. In truth, the entirety of Superman's powers come from living on a Yellow Sun world, like Earth. If you sent Superman back to a Krypton like planet, he'd be just a normal dude like you and me (except super swole). Thus, "Red Son", as Kal-El is the last "legitimate" person from Krypton. There's been some criminals and other undesirables, but they don't count.

Yet, sadly, even Soviet Superman couldn't save Communism.

Defeated, by greed, and freedom. It's sadly true.

If you agree that, in THEORY!, Communism is based on "sharing", and Capitalism is based on "greed", then you can see how perhaps we live in the evil Universe, today, where Capitalism reigns supreme, to the max. And this is why:

The freedom of the individual (and his/her cliques) as compared to CENTRAL PLANNING and other high handed Communist attempts to mold human society. The lesson is: A Central Power should not try and mold a society. Rather, give it the freedom and protection it needs to mold itself within the bounds of that society.

South Korea compared to North Korea is our real time lab experiment. South Korea, like it or not, is the fucking future.

That door has closed.

Dots assembled

Here's a map from the 1860's showing the slave population of the south - the darker areas have more slaves. And now:

2008 Presidential election results. Red equals Republican, Blue, Democrat. Just a co-incidence, I'm sure.

Explains a good deal, when you consider the politics of America.This, however?

A map of NFL fans based on Google searches. Witness Steeler Nation! Also, sadly, Cowboys. Smallest real estate - NY Jets.