Yes We Can.
November 5, 2008
I’m glad America finally decided to get its head out of its ass.
Unfortunately, something tells me we haven’t seen the last of Sarah Palin.
Meteor shower Nov. 5-12/VOTE!
November 3, 2008
This year the Taurid meteor shower is expected to peak/be most viewable between Nov. 5th and Nov. 12th. This particular annual shower is sometimes referred to as “Halloween fireballs,” but this year the best time to view it will be a few days later. The moon will be waxing (more and more of it will be lit leading up to full moon), therefore the light interference from it will make it more difficult to see them going into mid-November. The Taurids are apparently known for being brighter and slower moving than average because the fragments are slightly larger than most other meteor shower fragments. (Though still much smaller than a pea, usually only the size of a grain of sand.) The Leonids will peak around Nov. 17th as always… though this year’s output is expected to be near the average of about 10-15 meteors per hour, which is pretty low. I may actually attempt to watch for the Taurids this year, as I’ve never actively watched for them before. Link: Space.com
NASA’s Phoenix lander (which landed in Mars’ northern polar region back in May) is starting to shut down its instruments as the Martian winter begins and the days (or sols as they’re called when referring to Mars) get shorter and shorter, resulting in less sunlight to power its heaters and computer. I’m not entirely sure if NASA plans to try to revive Phoenix when the Martian “spring” begins, or if it was even designed to do so, but let’s hope.
In the music world, the Jackson 5 will not be reuniting as Jermaine Jackson said last week. Micheal released a statement on Friday Oct. 31st saying that he was in the studio and would not be joining his brothers for a reunion. I seriously doubt a reunion would work without the support of Michael. Link: Billboard.com
Last but not least, if you do nothing else today, please GO VOTE! (You should have done it already, especially in TN where we don’t have to have a valid excuse to vote early!) Countless good men & women have died protecting our right to do so, and this election is by far the most important in many many decades. When compared to most of the world, we are blessed and lucky to even have the right to vote in the first place. Your voice in deciding who leads this country into the next 4 years is both a privilege and a responsibility. To relenquish that voice is a travesty.
HIBTB- new local release
November 2, 2008
First of all, thanks for the compliments, both here and in real life! Keep the feedback coming (both positive and negative), so that I know if what I’m doing here sucks or rules.
In some local music news, How I Became the Bomb is following the footsteps of both Glossary and Radiohead in that they’re shattering the traditions of how a band releases its music to its fans. They will be releasing their new material digitally in a series of 3 song chunks over the remainder of the year. The first of which, “Who Dares Wins,” will be available Nov. 5th for free download at www.howibecamethebomb.com. I had the pleasure of previewing the first track “Salvage Mission” last week when they released a special download code to the attendees of their free show at the rooftop venue/bar Aerial. (I wasn’t actually there but thanks to Lance Conzett for the code.) I must say I’m impressed by the production and look forward to hearing what the masterful John Baldwin at Lake Fever has done with them production-wise. They will also be releasing a video for the above track on Nov. 5th, and I from the still images I’ve seen from the shoot, it will be full of pure awesome. The artwork and web design are top-notch, though I would expect nothing less than that from Michael Eades of Yewknee.com, who assisted in both the release artwork and the website. The futuristic sci-fi/spacey theme is perfectly fitting of the new material and the overall vibe of the band in general, and I think these guys are creating a great marriage between sound and image that fits them perfectly.
In other not-quite-as-recent news, The Features have released their newest full-length “Some Kind of Salvation” on dual vinyl and it’s a masterpiece. I highly suggest you head over to Grimey’s and pick up a copy right now, or order it directly from the band online at www.thefeatures.com. The artwork and quality of the recording make it well worth the 20ish bones it’ll set you back. Not to mention that it comes with a digital download card that gives you access to the full album in DRM-free mp3 format. My interest in them had slightly waned over the past couple of years, but it has been fully renewed with this new album, and their awesome recent live shows. (Though they played a surprisingly short set at their album release show last week.)
One minor tidbit from the science world- Space Shuttle Endeavour has been approved for a Nov. 14th launch of mission STS-126 to the International Space Station. From nasa.gov:
“Endeavour’s main payload is a space-age moving van called Leonardo that is stuffed with new crew quarters and the other equipment needed to enlarge the station’s resident crew to six members. The equipment includes a filtering system designed to filter wastewater to make it potable.”
steve cross loves music and science 