Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell

They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

They took all the trees
Put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em

Hey farmer farmer
Put away that DDT now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees
Please!

Late last night
I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi
Took away my old man

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Cat vs. Crawfish and The Unknown Rebel

Here's a cute video of a pet cat toying with a very well defended crawfish (and a disinterested dog in the background). I love the acoustic version of the Imperial March (Darth Vader's theme song in Star Wars).


The video reminded me of one of the heroes of the late 20th century, the Unknown Rebel.

Watch the video of the Unknown Rebel defying a fleet of tanks here. What do you do when you're staring down impossible odds? Very few choose to stand and fight.

The True Origins of Hip Hop

Did you know that hip hop began in a Mongolian farming village? A funny (but fake) story about the origins of hip hop.

Untidy Beds May Keep Us Healthy

Don't like making your bed? Use science to justify your sloth!

According to the BBC, a new study suggests that unmade beds are less habitable by house dust mites. These pesty dust mites are thought to cause problems like allergies and asthma. The theory is that unmade beds dry sheets and mattresses better than made beds; made beds tend to be warmer and moister, ideal conditions for dust mite habitation.

"Something as simple as leaving a bed unmade during the day can remove moisture from the sheets and mattress so the mites will dehydrate and eventually die," Dr Stephen Pretlove said.

Read the BBC article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4181629.stm

Origami Master

Eric Joisel is a true origami master, able to create life-like sculptures out of single sheets of paper. He is able to simulate the emotions, postures, and movements of people (out of paper, mind you) far better than multi-million dollar Hollywood action movies like Beowulf.

Goethe Quote

Readers of this blog know though that I love poetry and science. So when I see a quote about the two together, my heart skips a beat.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced Ger-ta) said "Science arose from poetry...when times change the two can meet again on a higher level as friends."

I admire Goethe's work. He's a German romantic who wrote one of my favorite novellas, The Sorrows of Young Werther, and he's one of the most quotable guys around. But I'm not sure what he means here. Science arose from poetry?? When did that happen? How can they meet again? I have some ideas about what he's trying to say -- namely, mind/body dualism -- but, still, I am puzzled. Anyone want to take a stab at interpreting what Goethe means?

Raising Tadpoles

SEM kids --
Here is some info about raising tadpoles. If you have some extra time, please read it! I will look into acquiring the necessary materials this week.

http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/tadpoles/
http://www.fdrproject.org/pages/POtads.htm

A Love Poem...

...written by one of my 8th graders. i think it is beautiful.

i wrote to you about my feelings
but you just put it aside
i told you that i cherished you
but you acted like you didn't care
i see you smile
and that makes me feel pure inside
i see you talking to your friends
i wonder...
"why can't we be like that"
i keep thinking about you
even when you put me down
i try to help you
thinking that something might occur
i say i love you
and you take it...
like someone passing you a ball
catch it and throw it to someone
like nothing...

Confirming a Bias

In a previous post, I warned you of the danger of squirrels. New Scientist, a reputable scientific journal, has published legitimate scientific research to back up my claims!

Relying on data collected from infrared (IR) video taken, scientists have concluded that squirrels use heat-emitting bushy tails to ward off predators! And I quote Jeff Hecht:

It's Californian ground squirrel versus rattlesnake in a potentially lethal showdown. But the squirrel has a secret weapon that until now has remained invisible to the human eye.

The ground squirrel heats up its tail then waves it in the snake's face - a form of harassment that confuses the rattler, which has an infrared sensing organ for detecting small mammals.

What's really amazing is that the ground squirrel will heat its tail when confronted by a rattlesnake, which detects IR light, but will not heat its tail when confronted by a gopher snake, which does not detect IR light.

Don't believe me? See for yourself. View the YouTube videos in the New Scientist article.

Light Writing

Check out the work of these two German artists. I wonder if they are responsible for the light writing in this Red Hot Chili Peppers video.





The Energie Motion website has more pics and a YouTube video.