February 2010
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Month February 2010

Richard Feynman explains magnets, sort of

I really can’t do a good job, any job, of explaining magnetic force in terms of something else you’re more familiar with, because I don’t understand it in terms of anything else you’re more familiar with.

This is why science is so maddening for some and so great for others.

Richard Feynman on Magnets (Via Kottke)

Through a Kaleidoscope Darkly

My good friend Josie Muri made this one-take, far-out music video for her friend’s band. I would love to see it projected across a large wall.
Check out Josie’s YouTube page for a similar video for a different group.

Facts About Projection

Of course I wish there were more short films about projectionists. With letterpress operators getting all kinds of internet attention I think it’s high time that proud film projectionists make more films like this. It’s very accurate to my experiences as a projectionist at the Myrna and at Paramount, but doesn’t make any reference to one of the uncommon but memorable duties projectionists have: telling the audience that the film is unplayable because of technical difficulties. As in, it’s technically difficult to deal with two thousand plus feet of film once it’s fallen off the platter or wound itself into an intractable solid mass around the initial rollers.

There is a lot more danger involved in projection work than this guy lets on. Film is tough, but it’s not hard to ruin, and once it’s ruined it takes a long time to replace.

Via Kitsune Noir

I got an email from long time reader John Stanbury telling me I should check out a little video called Facts About Projection by a fellow named Temujin Doran. Temujin is a Projectionist in Islington in London, where he works at The Screen on the Green. It’s a really sweet video that gives you a beautiful glimpse into a dying art form. Movies have and still are shown on 35mm film around the country, but the stockpiles of these movies certainly aren’t growing.

From Fish to Infinity

Steven Strogatz is a name I recognize from NPR. I’ve heard him on Radio Lab as a go to mathematician who can explain complex ideas (stochasticity) very simply. He’s writing a new series of articles for the NYT on math.

I’ll be writing about the elements of mathematics, from pre-school to grad school, for anyone out there who’d like to have a second chance at the subject — but this time from an adult perspective. It’s not intended to be remedial. The goal is to give you a better feeling for what math is all about and why it’s so enthralling to those who get it.

So, let’s begin with pre-school.

I’ll be tuning in.
Article: From Fish to Infinity

Wuthering VHS

My friend Jordyn has written an exhaustive guide to every film and TV adaptation of the 1847 novel Wuthering Heights. She compares and critiques every one of the leads against the book and against themselves. The reviews average about 1,000 words.

Wuther copy

Her guide is exhaustive but ultimately incomplete because she is ignoring the best adaptation of the novel to date. The Kate Bush music video. Canonize it!