Re: District 9 I'm glad to hear that more people think it's similar to older scifi. That was one thing I felt a few hours after seeing the movie. And I think that's the main reason I like it.
It delights me when a few films here and there opt for the old "Twilight Zone/Outer Limits" not-quite-happy-or-unhappy ending.
This might sound blasphemous, given my usual taste in films, but a critic pointed out that "Titanic" may have owed a lot of its popularity to this concept: It was the first film in years that had the male lead die, which may have been so new to young audiences, they went back to see it over and over again.
My own "el cheapo" route for some of that stuff (namely Civil Defense era gizmos and so on) is from American Scientific Surplus. Of course, they've got loads of other junk, and I do tend to lose whole days when I go there...
That's bizarre -- I just went looking for that TNG episode of Reading Rainbow last week! There should be a term for that, when you look up something strange on the Internet and then someone links to the same weird thing. It's related to what I call the "Murray Head Conjunction," which is when something makes you think of the musical Chess and then you hear "One Night in Bangkok" on the radio within 24 hours. It's happened to me more often than I can account for, and yet the term hasn't caught on...I can't imagine why not.
"Stand back! I am tall and take large steps!" is my favorite Michael Dorn quote ever, which is saying something, considering all the gems the writers gave Worf.
Now I'm trying to remember this book I saw of "words that should exist for stuff, but don't." They had definitions with no names like, "that feeling you get as you're closing your car door, which will lock, and you see your keys in the ignition, but you can't stop yourself and have to just sit and watch as you lock your keys in the vehicle."
Not Sniglets, right? Those did have actual terms to go with the definitions, but I do distinctly remember the one about the "my keys are in there" feeling. In fact, I used to have most of the Sniglets collections; I wonder where they are.
I really liked District 9, but there were a number of plot elements that just didn't make much sense to me. Like, why does exposure to the fuel cause such accelerated and specific mutation? And, if it took them 20 years to collect a minute amount of liquid fuel, the last batch only yielding a few drops, then how is it still a sufficient amount to power the craft if it sprayed so much onto the protagonist? Also, why is everyone in the film such a morally compromised dick?
I was figuring that the "fuel" wasn't actually fuel but something else entirely the alien wanted back, but they never bothered to explain it, so... "the force?" :)
As for everyone being morally compromised, the sad thing is that I bought that almost totally. In this day and age where our identities are more tied to our jobs than ever, I can see people going a lot further with what they perceive to be "the company line" than before. Plus, I heard an interview with a family who were all prison guards (like the soldiers near District 9), and they all said you had to really keep an eye on your own psyche, as you started becoming more monstrous the longer you stayed in that environment.
And now there's rumors of a sequel. I wonder if they'll have the alien ship return, or if it will be further developments between us and the Prawns?
Ah the wonders of the Atomic Age
anonymous
August 27 2009, 19:06:00 UTC
That's the third Revigator I've seen we have two at the museum where I'm curator.
Other interesting objects made with radioactive materials include what is called "Vaseline Glass" which is made with uranium ore as a dye. The glass is an interesting shade of yellow green like Vaseline and under a black light glows brilliantly. The process of using Uranium as dye has been used consistently since the middle of the Roman Empire. In modern times Uranium was used in Fiestaware plates and bowls to produce a vivid orange color. The Uranium line was discontinued after Cold War demands made Uranium scarce for domestic use.
Finally the most interesting Use of a radioactive mineral I have found is Uranium Ore Jewelery. Using the unprocessed ore jewelers would lacquer and then affix the raw ore to all manner of things(Rings, Tie Tacks, Cuff Links, and so much more) Surprisingly it is quite beautiful if somewhat strange. The cuff links would be an excellent Super Villain accessory.
Re: Ah the wonders of the Atomic Ageps238principalAugust 27 2009, 22:54:12 UTC
My chem teacher said that he'd worn the thing all his life, but that the radiation it emitted wasn't a significant health risk; is that the case with the other non-ingested products, or are there people walking around with jewelry-shaped "tans" on their wrists and necks?
Re: Ah the wonders of the Atomic Age
anonymous
August 28 2009, 17:05:39 UTC
A bit more information here about the 'wonders' of Revigators. It's also a very interesting site for anyone curious about the lesser-known applications of various elements :).
Comments 31
I'm glad to hear that more people think it's similar to older scifi. That was one thing I felt a few hours after seeing the movie. And I think that's the main reason I like it.
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This might sound blasphemous, given my usual taste in films, but a critic pointed out that "Titanic" may have owed a lot of its popularity to this concept: It was the first film in years that had the male lead die, which may have been so new to young audiences, they went back to see it over and over again.
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http://www.anythingradioactive.com
is a good source for fun radioactivity stuff. There's probably a US equivalent.
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"Stand back! I am tall and take large steps!" is my favorite Michael Dorn quote ever, which is saying something, considering all the gems the writers gave Worf.
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Now I'm trying to remember this book I saw of "words that should exist for stuff, but don't." They had definitions with no names like, "that feeling you get as you're closing your car door, which will lock, and you see your keys in the ignition, but you can't stop yourself and have to just sit and watch as you lock your keys in the vehicle."
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"Synchronerdity" is quite a good one, though.
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http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112312561
how many more beloved children's shows will you doom?
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As for everyone being morally compromised, the sad thing is that I bought that almost totally. In this day and age where our identities are more tied to our jobs than ever, I can see people going a lot further with what they perceive to be "the company line" than before. Plus, I heard an interview with a family who were all prison guards (like the soldiers near District 9), and they all said you had to really keep an eye on your own psyche, as you started becoming more monstrous the longer you stayed in that environment.
And now there's rumors of a sequel. I wonder if they'll have the alien ship return, or if it will be further developments between us and the Prawns?
Reply
Reply
Other interesting objects made with radioactive materials include what is called "Vaseline Glass" which is made with uranium ore as a dye. The glass is an interesting shade of yellow green like Vaseline and under a black light glows brilliantly. The process of using Uranium as dye has been used consistently since the middle of the Roman Empire. In modern times Uranium was used in Fiestaware plates and bowls to produce a vivid orange color. The Uranium line was discontinued after Cold War demands made Uranium scarce for domestic use.
Finally the most interesting Use of a radioactive mineral I have found is Uranium Ore Jewelery. Using the unprocessed ore jewelers would lacquer and then affix the raw ore to all manner of things(Rings, Tie Tacks, Cuff Links, and so much more) Surprisingly it is quite beautiful if somewhat strange. The cuff links would be an excellent Super Villain accessory.
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http://theodoregray.com/periodictable/Samples/092.7/index.s12.html
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