DART helping to protect Earth from off planet threats
29 September 2022
It could be argued we’re not doing as much as we could to avert potential catastrophes on the planet. Climate change and global conflict would be two examples. When it comes countering possible threats from outside though, some progress is being made.
The test of an asteroid defence system, whereby a NASA probe was sent to collide with Dimorphos, a celestial object, to effect a change, albeit minor, in its trajectory, is one instance.
NASA did not send this probe to observe this asteroid or even scoop some samples from its surface to bring back to Earth, as other missions have done. The agency dispatched the spacecraft with the explicit hope of crashing it and changing the asteroid’s trajectory. This is a test run, but a future version of this mission could save Earth from a catastrophic impact by deflecting an asteroid on a collision course. A little bit of practice never hurts.
While Dimorphos does not pose a threat to Earth — at least not at the moment — another asteroid such as the one that brought about the demise of the dinosaurs, might in the future.
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Batman won’t kill the Joker, but doesn’t have to save him either
29 September 2022
A question for fans of the dark knight, AKA of course Batman. Why doesn’t he ever do away his arch-nemesis, the Joker, even though he has abundant opportunities to do so? Here is one possibility:
But the missed point is, it is the law’s duty to execute the Joker, not Batman’s. Though one can say, that apprehending criminals is also the law’s duty. If Batman can do that, why can’t Batman kill? The answer is straightforward: apprehending criminals doesn’t destroy Batman’s conscience, whereas killing does.
For a while I followed the Detective Comic exploits of Batman, but never really gave much thought to the matter of why the dark knight didn’t arrange an accident to bring about the Joker’s demise. This despite the sheer brutality of the clown prince of crime. The Joker seemed like too much of a crowd pleaser to ever be killed off.
While Batman may not seek to willingly kill — at least during the time I read the comics — he could always try the Ra’s al Ghul option. Like the Joker, Ra’s al Ghul is another of Batman’s enemies. In the Christopher Nolan made Batman Begins film from 2005, (beware spoilers follow) we see Batman look on as Ra’s al Ghul dies in a fiery train crash.
Batman is heard saying, “I won’t kill you. But I don’t have to save you.” Now couldn’t he do the same with the Joker?
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My Sweet Guillotine, by Jayne Tuttle
26 September 2022
My Sweet Guillotine (published by Hardie Grant Books, September 2022), is the second book by Australian author Jayne Tuttle.
Like her debut title, Paris or Die, My Sweet Guillotine is a memoir about her time living and working in Paris. Here though, Tuttle focuses adjusting to life following a freak accident in the French capital that almost killed her.
In the wake of a bizarre, shocking accident in Paris, Jayne finds herself back in the city in a strange limbo. Ignoring the past, she tries to move forward. There is theatre. Love. New friendships. A new neighbourhood. But the accident haunts her, forcing her to confront herself and the experience in ways she could never have predicted.
Sally Pryor, writing for The Canberra Times, describes My Sweet Guillotine as a book for those who enjoy reading about the lives and experiences of others:
Above all, My Sweet Guillotine is also a love letter – an older, wiser love letter to Paris, a place that has a majestic, wonderful indifference to her and her needs, and yet seems able to fulfil them so completely.
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Australian literature, books, Jayne Tuttle
Sydney to host the 2025 International Astronautical Congress
26 September 2022
With a number of planets, particularly Jupiter, dominating the eastern night sky of Australia at the moment, what better time to make mention that the 2025 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) will be held in the NSW capital, Sydney.
Founded in 1951, the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) is the world’s leading space advocacy body with around 460 members in 72 countries, including all leading space agencies, companies, research institutions, universities, societies, associations, institutes and museums worldwide. The Federation advances knowledge about space, supporting the development and application of space assets by promoting global cooperation.
The last time Australia hosted an IAC event was in 2017, when the International Astronautical Federation conference took place in Adelaide, South Australia.
On the subject of astronomical matters, check out If the Moon were only one pixel, by American interactive art director and designer Josh Worth. Now we can see why they call it space…
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astronomy, events, science, Sydney
Artvee aggregating publicly available free artworks
26 September 2022
In recent years museums and art galleries have been releasing works of art into the public domain. But with so many collections online now, locating a particular artwork can be a challenge.
Enter then Artvee, which aggregates both classic and modern artworks that have been made freely available, by the likes of Musées de Reims, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and the Smithsonian, among many others.
In the last few years, several major museums and libraries have instituted an open access policy by designating most or all of the public domain art in their collections with a creative commons license making them available for use for any purpose with no restrictions attached. We sort through and aggregate the best of these images in one location to make them easy to discover and download.
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Andor will take you back to the Star Wars you grew up with
24 September 2022
The trailer makes Andor, the latest Star Wars streaming series by Disney, look fascinating, but as we all know, trailers sometimes over-sell the story they’re promoting.
Set in the five year period prior to Rouge One, Andor however promises to take us back to the Star Wars we grew up with, says Michael Idato, writing for The Sydney Morning Herald.
At the centre of the series is Cassian Andor, and his involvement with the then fledgling rebellion against the Galactic Empire:
The “Andor” series will explore a new perspective from the Star Wars galaxy, focusing on Cassian Andor’s journey to discover the difference he can make. The series brings forward the tale of the burgeoning rebellion against the Empire and how people and planets became involved. It’s an era filled with danger, deception and intrigue where Cassian will embark on the path that is destined to turn him into a rebel hero.
Andor has been screening since Wednesday 21 September 2022. Jack Seale, writing for The Guardian, describes it as the best Star Wars show since The Mandalorian… once it gets going:
In its third instalment, Andor finally becomes the gritty, kinetic spy thriller it has been billed as, after a surfeit of thoughtful world-building. Thankfully, somebody at Disney+ has their head screwed on, because Andor has debuted with a triple bill. Make it through that opening marathon and you have what’s shaping up to be the best Star Wars show since The Mandalorian.
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film, science fiction, Star Wars, trailer, video
Romans once thought Hadrian’s Wall was built by Severus
24 September 2022
Hadrian, who was Roman Emperor from 117 until 138 CE, built Hadrian’s Wall, right? Why else name the famous stone barricade after him? But as this fascinating Twitter thread by John Bull points out, for a long time it was believed someone else was responsible:
So you know Hadrian’s Wall? Well for over 1000 years everyone thought it was built by someone else.
Severus, who was Emperor from 193 to 211 CE, was one person nominated by Roman historians:
Severus was a pretty safe bet for these Roman historians. Everyone knew he’d done a lot of campaigning in Britain. He’d definitely built a bunch of stuff there. Even died there. HE built the big wall, they said.
But no, it was Hadrian. To his credit however, Severus did strengthen the wall several decades after its construction.
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Finland abolished homelessness by giving the homeless homes
23 September 2022
Why we in Australia can’t simply to resolve to deal with homelessness in the same way a country like Finland does, defies belief. People say the cost would be too great, but I think it’d be far less than the cost of having people living rough, or in emergency homeless shelters long term.
In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. The reason: The country applies the “Housing First” concept. Those affected by homelessness receive a small apartment and counselling — without any preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected thus make their way back into a stable life. And: All this is cheaper than accepting homelessness.
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The 2022 National Young Writers Festival
23 September 2022
The 2022 National Young Writers’ Festival (NYWF) runs from Thursday 29 September, through to Sunday 2 October, both in Newcastle, Australia (about one hundred and sixty kilometres north of Sydney), and online.
NYWF is so-called Australia’s largest gathering of young writers, with artists bringing their craft from all around (cities, regional, rural and our beloved regular cohort from Aotearoa). We showcase work in both new and traditional forms including zines, comics, blogging, screenwriting, poetry, spoken word, hip hop, music, journalism, autobiography, comedy and prose.
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Australia, events, literature, writing
Why destroy Instagram when Meta could clone TikTok instead?
22 September 2022
Image courtesy of Antonbe.
Why is Meta so intent on mutating photo-sharing app Instagram (IG) into their answer to riotously popular video-sharing service TikTok, when that obviously is not the answer?
Instagram and TikTok are fundamentally different, but Meta doesn’t seem to know that.
Why doesn’t Meta opt to reinvent the wheel instead? Why not simply build their own version of TikTok? With the design talent and engineering resources Mata have at their disposal, they could do so instantly. And by leveraging their almost three billion Facebook members, and over one billion IG users, it wouldn’t take long for a clone to achieve critical mass.
But Meta appears to be reluctant to foist another app on users. They are apparently already overloaded with the likes of Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and of course, IG. Their only choice then is to butcher IG beyond recognition. Even if the reaction of IG users suggests that’s a bad idea.
How long will it take Meta to see the light here? Build your own standalone video-sharing service app which we can choose, or not choose, to use, and leave IG the way it was.
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