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POPSOldies Remember: One Man's Sacrifice of Fame. I know I'd never have had the 'balls'. If he had known how badly America would treat him subsequently, I doubt if he would done it so blatantly either. What sacrifice! Yes, with time America forgave. Just like it forgave THE elite sportsman of the 20th century, ALI. He too had to suffer first for his colour. Must they first become the heroes of the World before being heroes in America? "Back home he were subject to abuse and he and his families received death threats. Smith continued in athletics, going on to play American football with the Cincinnati Bengals, before becoming an assistant professor of Physical Education at Oberlin College. In 1995 he went on to help coach the US team at the World Indoor Championships at Barcelona. In 1999 he was awarded a Sportsman of the Millennium award. He is now a public speaker. ... Wikipedia
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POPSExtremely Useful and Interesting Data Sets and Visualizations ( thanks, reflex) The site is set up to allow the entire internet to upload data, visualize it, and talk about their discoveries with other people There are hundreds of these at the source page. You can customize existing sets and create your own. I clipped the ones with the highest ratings, but you can also search for specific topics. Very cool.
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POPS9 Ways To Start a Fire Without Matches I clipped the names of the nine methods. You'll need to visit the source page for the details explaining how to implement each method. ------ http://artofmanliness.com/2008/04/29/9-ways-to-start-a-fire-without-matches/
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POPSDevils Dance - Daha Ata Sanniya "These ritual masks represent a sophisticated folk art form both beautiful and mysterious, representing different demons that are believed to have caused diseases. Carved of wood and pigmented with natural hues and resins, they’re infused with a spirit and animation. The patina of a ritual mask, darkened by years of use, and repairs upon repairs tell the tale their importance in ancient village communities." "There has been considerable variation in identities of the sanni demons, their associated diseases, and masks. Most agree to 18 demons in total, but searches have revealed more than 30 possible names. However, the 18 most commonly described forms in authoritative texts are fairly consistent." "The mask known as Dahaata Sanniya or ‘eighteen disease’ is studded with 18 diseased faces atop a pair of their gods and 2 spirits — the spreader of pain through disease and other, the savior, are placed vertically apart. "
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POPSRight before our eyes A study of change blindness - Even when people are on the lookout for changes—and insist that they will detect errors—they still fail to find them,Simons’s research suggests. A very interesting site about Visual cognition.
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POPSColor in Nature: Wood About petrified wood (from the page): "Petrified wood is a type of fossil: it consists of fossil wood where all the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (most often a silicate, such as quartz), while retaining the original structure of the wood. The petrifaction process occurs underground, when wood becomes buried under sediment and is initially preserved due to a lack of oxygen. Mineral-rich water flowing through the sediment deposits minerals in the plant’s cells and as the plant’s lignin and cellulose decay away, a stone mould forms in its place."
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POPSSolitary Joys <<<But, after all has been said about the solitude of nature, that is the best solitude that comes clothed in the human form -- your friend, your other self, who leaves you alone, yet cheers you; who peoples your house or your field and wood with tender remembrances; who stands between your yearning heart and the great outward void that you try in vain to warm and fill; who in his own person and spirit clothes for you, and endows with tangible form, all the attractions and subtle relations and meanings that draw you to the woods and fields. What the brooks and the trees and the birds said so faintly and vaguely, he speaks with warmth and directness. Indeed, your friend complements and completes your solitude, and you experience its charm without its desolation. I cannot, therefore, agree with Marvell that Two paradises are in one, To live in paradise alone. I should want at least my friend to share it with me.>>>
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POPSDisasters Go to site. Its really quite interesting to discover just what happened during the year of your birth, or any arbitrary year . Grab a tiny bit of history
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POPSComplain When we build our industries, you called us polluters. When we sell you goods, you blamed us for global warming, When we buy oil, you called that exploitation and genocide. When we were lost in chaos and rampage, you wanted rule s of laws for us. When we uphold law and order against violence, you called that violation of human rights. When we were silent, you said you want us to have free speech. When we were silent no more, you say we were brainwashed. Why do you hate us so much? We asked. “No”. You answered, “we don’t hate you”. We don’t hate you either Bud, do you understand us?? “of course we do”, you said, “We have CNN, BBC, and CBC”. But why, we still feel, your western people are not happy with us. What do you really want from us?? MyAnswer: LOL..Stop bitching.........Get over it..
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POPSExecution of the Day An interesting look at historical figures who were executed and how they died, featuring one or more deaths each calendar day. Referenced by day and by execution method. With tags denoting different execution methods it is easy to find people who have in common death by beheading, garrote, firing squad, crucifixion, hanging or other means. Macabre, but fascinating. And educational.
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POPSForgotten Chinese Seismograph Members of the court thought the device had failed when the alarm sounded one day and they felt nothing. Doubt turned to astonishment a few days later. A messenger arrived from a town 400 miles away to report that it'd been savaged by an earthquake. Chinese writings talked about Chang Heng's seismograph and ones like it until the Mongols overran China. After that, it vanished as though it had never been...And why is such brilliance so badly remembered? It's probably because people like Chang Heng were tied so tightly to their patrons. They didn't belong to the same loose, open communities of freely moving scholars that have diffused knowledge so effectively in the West.
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