On this Leap Day, Don't be a Dummy Dad

Banner

Hello world! It's leap day! A day of profound celestial significance. A day of righting mathematical wrongs. A day so magical, so mind blowingly awesome, that it remains hidden during just 'ordinary' years. We couldn't handle a leap day every time around the Sun, so it banks up it's amazingness for a quadrennial visit. Leap day is sort of like the 12 Grimmauld Place* of the Gregorian calendar, and at this very special moment in time, it is revealed to us.

Read the rest of this post »

Tagged Astronomy Children History Science Skepticism

Why study science? Ask someone from the 50s.

Science

Recently I've been pouring through old news footage for a project I'm working on, mostly from the first half of the 20th century. A good deal of that footage was found in the awesome collection of materials at The Internet Archive. The footage I needed was kind of specific, so discovering the site's Prelinger subcategory was a God send.*

In my search I came across the following clip from 1955. It's an educational film designed to promote science and science education, and gee-golly if it isn't quaint. I mean, teenage kids begging their parents to extend a family camping trip? Lines like "women need to know as much about science as some men do, to help them keep house"?

Obviously we're dealing with sentiments from another time, long past.

Read the rest of this post »

Tagged History Pseudoscience Science Skepticism

Animating American Patriotism

Getty2
Gettysburg Address
by Adam Gault

With all the rigamarole going on with the American economy over the last few years, our neighbours to the south could be forgiven if their confidence was a little shaken. It just seems like every day it's more bad news, and even to those of who used to get just a tiny bit sick of over-the-top U.S. patriotism, it's no fun to watch. 

Read the rest of this post »

Tagged America Animation History Motion Graphics Patriotism

A Love Song for Love Songs

7b

Note: This is the audio only version. To see the documentary that was eventually made from the podcast, go here.

Why does music rock so hard?  What about it makes it endlessly interesting, utterly soul nourishing, and so thoroughly distracting from the work I'm supposed to be doing?

 Come on in and enjoy a podcast you can dance to!  In this episode we'll look at the value music has, where it came from, and why we should never stop wigglin' our butts.

<<back to podcasts

<<back to blog

Subscribe in iTunes

 

Tagged Alternative Angels & Airwaves Art Beatles Cat Stevens Creativity DJ Andy Smith Evolution Folk Gomez History Inspiration Islam MC 900ft Jesus Music Rap Religion Rock Science Sleigh Bells Thought Vampire Weekend Vangelis

She Was a Wet One

Soccer_rain

Admit it; I lured you in with the title just a little, didn't I?

Tonight I had the unique experience of sitting through an outdoor sporting event during a torrential downpour.  Toronto FC, Hogtown's MLS soccer team, was the soaking spectacle on the field.  As I watched, for occasional spurts the rain would back off to a heavy sprinkle, but for the large part the drenching was thorough and complete.
 
Now, even in less showery times I'm no soccer enthusiast, but the experience at a TFC match is certainly worth checking out.  As I've mentioned before, the crowd is harmlessly rowdy and the beer flows, and that's alright by this sports fan.
 
But sitting through a monsoon is perhaps a different matter, or at least, I think it might be.  While making my way through the sheets of precipitation in the hours before kick-off I wondered if the friend who had invited me to match would telephone and suggest that we not bother.  I was willing to brave the elements, but part of me assumed that even if the game was to go on, we would find something else to do.  As you can in no doubt guess, the call never came.
 
Not that I was disappointed, in fact, I would have been more so had we elected to skip the match.  As my son's new soccer coach had explained to me the day previous, "Soccer is played, rain or shine."  It got me thinking about how disappointed I was last year, on a perfectly comfortable spring day, when I decided to take my boy to a ballgame.  I wanted to introduce him to the many outdoor, afternoon joys I had experienced at Blue Jays games as a child.  Fresh air, red-hot franks, sunshine; these were all things essential to the experience I wanted to pass on.  And even though the Jays now play at the Rogers Center and can choose to close the roof of the building during inclement weather, I was certain that they would choose not to on this day.
16hkcbr
I was wrong.  Despite the comfortable, if not hot, conditions outdoors, my boy and I watched baseball under a roof.  As other fans confirmed later, the Jays recently had kept the dome closed in everything except perfect weather.  Needless to say, the crack of the bat seemed fainter, the peanuts seemed staler, and no amount of mustard could turn one of the available 'hotdogs' into a 'baseball frank'.
 
As a young follower of sports I always embraced the purism and tradition of the games I enjoyed.  I'm not sure why this was the case, but sports seemed to provide a window into history that even a child could understand.  If I thought that Cecil Fielder's 50 home runs was impressive, there was always a book telling me about Roger Maris and his 61. If I was bedazzled by the puck-stopping bravery required by an NHL goaltender, I needed only to be reminded of the days when goalies wore no masks.
 
I loved the seemingly arbitrary nature of celebrating Hockey success in Detroit by throwing Octopi onto the ice.  Of course, that might seem random to an outsider, but to a fan it is easily and conclusively explained away by 'tradition'.

2444444968_5116259681_o

 
So my three friends and I all sat together in the absolutely pouring rain, garbage bag-slickers over our head.  We imbibed the immortal brew, talked smack at each other, and watched the match.  Good times were had by us and seemingly all the fans, as the famed TFC supporter section still stood and hollered throughout the evening.  During the whole, soaking affair, I somehow felt a little more connected to the traditions of a sport I choose never to watch.  
 
Notwithstanding, the game didn't fail to meet my expectations of a soccer outcome, nor quell my major criticism of the sport; the final result was nil-nil. (that's 0-0 for the layman)
467249668mkacxf_fs
In the big picture however, I suppose that's alright.  As I mentioned, I don't really like the game, and don't consider myself a soccer fan in the slightest.  It's more the experience of a soccer match, the atmosphere that is jointly created by the passion of the fans and their recognition of the game's traditions, that puts my butt in the seat.  On this night, I was quite literally soaked in that atmosphere.
 
As I left the stadium and searched for a cab the drenching continued, and when I found one the cabbie was perplexed.  "I don't get how you TFC fans think, sitting out in the rain like that.  You just must be a different breed of sports fan."  I contemplated drawing the distinction for him that I've just done for you, dear reader.  But looking down at my soaked clothes I surmised that perhaps I had earned the compliment, this one time.
 
"Thanks", I said.
 
 

 

Tagged Beer History Rain Soaked Soccer Sports Tradition

History's Most Beautiful Human

3

The other day I was listening to 'Tell 'Em Steve Dave', a favourite comedic podcast of mine.  During the episode, Bryan Johnson, the show's host and king of 'what-if' scenarios, asked his various cohorts to choose a dead person who was so beautiful in their time that you'd consider sleeping with their ghost now.

I know. I told you, he's Mr. 'What-If'.
 
First, the lone woman on the show chose Heath Ledger.  Then it was time for the many men to chime in.  What happened next surprised me.  To a man, each one chose Audrey Hepburn.  My interest was piqued, because I really didn't know who she was beyond a name I recognized.  But I really got interested when the woman, the one who had previously chosen Ledger spoke up again in protest: "I didn't know I could pick a woman!  I pick Audrey too."  There wasn't an ounce of her that was joking.
 
The opinions of 5 or 6 podcasters need not sway anyone, but the immediacy and unanimity with which they answered got my curiosity going.  Who was this Hepburn, and was she that easy on the eyes?  I did some searching, and yes, she certainly was.
 
Then, on a further search on my good pal Wiki, I came up with this: "Hepburn was voted "most beautiful woman of all time" in a poll of beauty experts by Evian."  Not that bottled water aficionados necessarily are the final word on lady-looks, but coupled with the 'Steve-Dave' experience I was now sure I had missed out on yet another pillar of pop-culture; one of those many things that everyone knows but me.  The world's most beautiful woman had passed me by!  Whether she was before my time or not, I was ashamed of myself for not knowing and appreciating humanity's foremost example of 'purdyness'.
 
But then I thought a bit more and realized: "Wait a second!  Hepburn can't be history's loveliest human, because Christy Turlington sits on that throne."  At least, that's what i always used to think, but it had been so long since I Iooked.  I did some more poking around online, mainly on google image search, and was relieved to realize that all was right with the world.
 
First of all, let's just concede that earth's best looking ape must chosen from the females of the species.  I think most women would agree.  They're called the 'fairer sex' for a reason.  But Hepburn vs. Turlington?  Hmmm, not so cut and dry.
 
Well, to anyone but me, anyway.  In high school I was a huge Turlington fan, but in the years since have moved on.  Not that she wasn't still the girl I'd mention if anyone asked me who my #1 supermodel pick would be, but I was years removed from any such thoughts.  Nevertheless, after the Hepburn thing I needed a 'Christy-fix', and luckily Turlington's various pictures can be found all over the internet.
 
I had forgotten how her image had slayed me every time, how even the rare nude shots I had seen of her aroused little overt sexual reaction, merely the realization that I was seeing perfection in greater detail.  That's how truly stunning she was.  She looked like an Egyptian sculpture of a goddess, like the ideal and perfect woman.
 
So have a look above, and make your choice.  Turlington's still breathing, you don't need to pick someone from the other side.  Just history's finest.  Or post your own ideas. But I'm still going with the most beautiful person I've ever known to exist on this planet so far... Christy Nicole Turlington.

 

 

Tagged Actress Audrey Audrey Hepburn Beauty Christy Christy Turlington Hepburn History Model Turlington Women

Oceans on the Internet

Media_httpwwwcbccaone_zzbuc
via oneocean.cbc.ca

http://oneocean.cbc.ca/

'One Ocean', David Suzuki's documentary series that I worked on recently for CBC, has a great web resource attached to it.

One Ocean Online is a dynamic and multifaceted website where you can watch the documentaries themselves, as well as additional content. There's lots of interactive things to see and do as well.

If you have kids who are interested in the oceans and the environment, or if you're interested yourself, have a look.

Picture_5
Tagged Activism Biology CBC Conservation David Suzuki Documentary Environment Evolution History Nature Ocean One Ocean Suzuki Water Zoology
​