Jesus Freak Documentary

A fascinating time capsule from 1971. Thirty minutes long, but watch at least the first five or so.

Bernie Krause

The musician Bernie Krause has had an arguably weird and fascinating career. He's gone from being a minor pop star to being a scientist in the field of bio-acoustics, or the noises of the natural world. Along the way he came up with the concept of "biophony," short for the biological symphony that each ecosystem makes.

The first clip below shows him at work, while the second is a trailer for his concepts.

Vision in the Forest

More proof that one line-item in the Forest Service budget was devoted to extra-potent hallucinogens.

Survival Playing Cards

Surely any game of "Go Fish" would be livened up by using these playing cards and contemplating your imminent death by snakebite or hypothermia.

King’s Pathway Hike in Spain

Don't watch this if you're afraid of heights. If I were hiking this, I would have never made it past the sections where the pathway has fallen away entirely. I wonder how many people fall to their death from this path every year? (Thanks, Darren!)

Shrimp on a Treadmill

Scientific researchers placed a shrimp on a shrimp-size treadmill in order to measure its speed and endurance. This information, they say, "will give us a better idea of how marine animals can perform in their native habitat when faced with increasing pathogens and immunological challenges." Luckily for us, they videotaped the experiment.



The video has become hugely popular on the internet, spawning numerous remixes. For instance, witness Shrimp Jamming to Muzak:



There are so many of these remixes you could probably spend an entire day watching them.

Unsolved Mystery: Lumps from the sea

Mystery lumps are washing ashore in New Zealand. What they are: large, barrel-shaped lumps of grease ("like rancid fat or lard") covered in barnacles. Where they come from: nobody knows. The theory that they could be ambergris from whales was quickly disproven. Some entrepreneurs are carving them up and selling the stuff as moisturizing sunblock. Link: stuff.co.nz.

Slime Molds and Techno Music

After watching this, I've developed a sudden fear of being eaten alive by fungi.

Upside-Down Rainbows

Until yesterday, I didn't know this phenomenon was possible: upside-down rainbows. The Telegraph has a photo of one caught on camera by Dr. Jacqueline Mitton near Cambridge last week.

SF Gate has a picture of another one, from a year ago, and offers this explanation:

Life Imitates Cheesy Science Fiction Film

As we learn in this article from today's New York Times, conditions in hurricane-wracked Galveston, Texas, have begun to approach the scenario depicted in the latest remake of I AM LEGEND.

As crews hacked away at downed trees and replaced blown-out transformers and cut lines, state and local officials contended with a plethora of other problems, among them a tiger on the loose.

James D. Yarbrough, the Galveston County judge, said a pet tiger, well known to locals, had escaped during the storm and was wandering the ruins of houses on Bolivar Peninsula. “I understand he’s hungry, so we are staying away from him,” Mr. Yarbrough said.

You'll see Will Smith's similar encounter at approximately the one-minute mark in the trailer below.

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