Catagraph.us

• APOD: 2008 December 31 – The Sky in Motion – "This 4-minute, time-lapse video is composed from a series of 7,000 images highlighting much of what you could see. Arcing through the sky in a stately reflection of planet Earth's own rotation are Moon, Sun and stars. But the sequence also features satellites and meteors streaking overhead, clouds moving along the horizon changing in a beautiful iridescence, and beaming crepuscular rays."

• One Two Fiver – A Writer’s Warm-up – "One Two Fiver is a tool to help you sit down and write." I love tools like this — starting to think there ought to be something similar for sketching.
• Steampunk Wallpaper – Exactly what it says on the tin.
• Estelle Peck Ishigo – Japanese American National Museum – "The online collection of Estelle Peck Ishigo (1899-1990) covers life in the Pomona detention center in California and in the Heart Mountain, Wyoming camp during World War II. Includes 120 drawings, sketches, and watercolors."

• Robert Capa – Lost Negatives – Art – New York Times – "To the small group of photography experts aware of its existence, it was known simply as “the Mexican suitcase.” And in the pantheon of lost modern cultural treasures, it was surrounded by the same mythical aura as Hemingway’s early manuscripts, which vanished from a train station in 1922." Amazing find. The pictures associated with the story (reputedly from the lost collection) remind me of the few negatives which were saved from Capa’s photography during the D-Day landings. There will never be another photojournalist like him… or Gerda Taro, for that matter.
• L-space – Discworld & Pratchett Wiki – "Large quantities of magical and mundane books create portals into L-space that can be accessed using innate powers of librarianship that are taught by the Librarians of Time and Space to those deemed worthy across the multiverse. Because libraries with enough books to open a portal are often large and sprawling, those venturing into L-space may not necessarily know that they have arrived. The floor and ceiling of L-space follow the floor and ceiling of the library used to access it; the best example of this is that the central dome of Unseen University's library is "always overhead" (Guards! Guards! – all quotes in this article come from this book). In every direction and as far as the eye can see bookshelves stretch off, meaning the nature of any walls are unknown." Wow. I love this kind of thing.

• Number One (Star Trek) – "The prominence of a woman among the crew of a starship was one of the reasons that the original Star Trek pilot was rejected by NBC, who in addition to calling the pilot "too cerebral", felt that the alien Spock and Number One would be rejected by audiences, according to Roddenberry and Stephen Whitfield,[2] although Gene Roddenberry also related the tale of how women of the era had difficulty accepting her as well. Because of NBC's rare order of a second pilot, Roddenberry compromised by eliminating Number One, but aspects of her character — specifically, her cool demeanor and logical nature — were merged with that of Spock (who does appear in "The Cage") during the regular run of the series."
• The Enterprise, Now Silent. | MetaFilter – A MetaFilter thread regarding the passing of Majel Barrett-Roddenberry.
• Majel Barrett – Memory Alpha, the Star Trek Wiki – "Majel Barrett-Roddenberry (23 February 1932 – 18 December 2008; age 76) was a recurring actress in the Star Trek franchise and was the wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry from 1969 until his passing in 1991. This association with Roddenberry and his most famous creation has earned Barrett the title 'The First Lady of Star Trek.'" She brought grace and empathy to every role she played.

• Shipping and Packaging – Comic Book Self-Publishing by L Jamal Walton – "As a self-publisher, even with a distributor, you will be involved in shipping most of your product all around the country and the world. Here are some keys to making your shipping life easier." More tips for shipping prints and original art.
• How I Turned Down $300,000 from Microsoft to go Full-Time on GitHub – Tom Preston-Werner – "If you want a recipe for restless sleep, I can give you one. Add one part “what will my wife think” with 3,000 parts Benjamin Franklin; stir in a “beer anytime you damn well please” and top with a chance at financial independence." Tom Preston-Werner writes about the inception of GitHub. (I only have two projects up at GitHub right now, but plan to add more as time permits. It is a fantastic site and service.)
• Shipping Your Photographs – The Luminous Landscape – Alain Briot – Great tips on packaging large format and matted artwork for shipment.

• Scenius, or Communal Genius – Kevin Kelly – The Technium – "Individuals immersed in a productive scenius will blossom and produce their best work. When buoyed by scenius, you act like genius. Your like-minded peers, and the entire environment inspire you."
• De Aetatibus Mundi Imagines – BibliOdyssey – Francesca de Hollanda's _De Aetatibus Mundi Imagines_ is a spectacular work composed of 150+ sketches — of which 15 are colored — depicting the history of the world according to the bible. This work was completed over the course of 30 years.
• Silent Night, Deadly Night – YouTube – Best. Christmas. Ever. "Have you been good all yearrhh?"

• Pixel Blocks – Pixel Blocks resemble a cross between Litebrite pegs and legos. I'd kind of like to play around with a set.
• Обложки журнала “Агитатор” 1971-1984 – A striking collection of vintage CCCP propaganda posters created at the height of the Cold War.
• Doki and Nabi – Can a rabbit and a cat ever find happiness? Hilarious animated series with a _rocking_ soundtrack… but keep your handkerchief handy. :’(

• The Donnell Library Center: A Eulogy In Pictures – “A few months ago the [Donnell] Library closed its doors. Since [1955] the library on 53rd street has been a New York landmark. It stood across from MOMA and had one of the best film libraries in the city. Unfortunately, the City Of New York thought it would better serve the public as another midtown luxury hotel. Due to the bylaws establishing the library that space HAS to have a library, but due to loop holes, they are tearing it down, building the hotel and then shoving the library into the basement.”
• Atoms, Motion and the Void – “Atoms, Motion & the Void” has been named “Best Podcast in New Hampshire for 2007″ by New Hampshire Magazine. I haven’t listened to any of the shows yet, but anything with these descriptions — “In which Sherwin’s insomnia leads to a late night voyage up into the sky…” — _has_ to be good. Sherwin Sleeves is creation and alter-ego of Sean Hurley, a regular contributor to New Hampshire Public Radio.
• Source Of Geysers On Saturn’s Moon Enceladus May Be Underground Water – “There are only three places in the solar system we know or suspect to have liquid water near the surface,” [University of Colorado Assistant Professor Joshua] Colwell said. “Earth, Jupiter’s moon Europa and now Saturn’s Enceladus. Water is a basic ingredient for life, and there are certainly implications there. If we find that the tidal heating that we believe causes these geysers is a common planetary systems phenomenon, then it gets really interesting.”
• A Review of Criticality Accidents – A comprehensive report from the Los Alamos National Laboratory documenting sixty separate accidents involving fissile material which resulted in prompt power excursions. Required reading if you’re handling such materials, I would imagine. The report is formatted as a PDF.

Update: More insight into the Donnell library closing — and 11 libraries closing in Philadelphia — at MetaFilter.

If you’re not familiar with Kazu Kibuishi’s excellent artwork, I urge you to check out Bolt City, Amulet, Flight, and Copper right away. Like, right now. His work is inspiring, thoughtful, humorous — and certainly part of the reason I started posting my own work online.

(For those who are already familiar with Mr. Kibuishi’s work, he just recently posted a new Copper comic. Hooray!)

• Hartness Secret Tunnel and Equatorial Turret Telescope Observatory … – “The Hartness House was built by former Governor of Vermont, engineer, chief executive officer, inventor and wealthy industrialist James Hartness. This country inn is unique in that it features its own museum, astronomy observatory and antique telescope with a unique equatorial drive system. More unusual is the secret tunnel system built by Hartness to access the observatory, museum and his secret workshop.” More successful people should build secret things with their money — then, we could develop a profession around their discovery.
• Zeppelin! – Frankfurt am Main – “This series of photographs shows memories of the ILA, International Airship Exposition, held in Frankfurt from July until October 1909, as well a pictures of the most famous Zeppelin of all, the LZ-129, Hindenburg.” A wonderful collection of photographs which conveys well the elegance and beauty of the airship. In my artwork, airships are almost always representative of lost dreams and unattainable wishes. Their absence from our skies represents both technological regression and a denial of the spirit which took us to the air in the first place.