How to Make a Sandwich in Space - Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield

I don't know if you're aware but one our own, Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield has become an awesome ambassador not just for Canada but for NASA. Not only is he a pretty cool guy but he's hooked into social media like no other astronaut before. He's tweeted pictures of the earth, held an AMA on Reddit, even helped compose and perform the first song in space. Here he's going to show you how to make a sandwich in space and explain why they use the ingredients they do. Enjoy!

Heart - Erick Oh

 This is an amazing, crazy short film and I think you should watch it.

Paperman

This beautiful short from Pixar speaks for itself. Enjoy!

C (299,792 km/s)

I found this amazing video several days ago and had to share. This description is from their website which I find pretty impressive:

"To build the future, we looked to the past. No CGI or greenscreen was used in the making of the film; all our sets and props were built by hand and filmed in-camera. Combining new advances in digital camera technology with traditional special effects, we sought to create a unique look through lighting design, camera tricks, miniature photography, split-screen, and stop-animation. We believe that this approach allowed us greater creative possibilities on a low-budget science-fiction film."

It's amazing that they did all of this without a greenscreen. I love how old school they went but how very retro-modern it looks. The colours are great, the story is great, if a bit short and I loved all of the information going on in the background. Pay attention to the computers. If you want the best experience, open this into full screen mode.

Canada Eliminates the Penny!

This weekend marked the last time the Canadian Mint would print and distribute Canadian pennies. They are still legal tender but will not be handed back as change when you purchase items with cash. This is expected to save the Canadian government $11 million a year and should eventually make the penny a collector's items as they will eventually be melted down and the copper reclaimed by the Mint. The process by which businesses process transactions now is a bit confusing. Any purchases made with cash that end in a .01 or a .02 will be rounded down to the nearest dollar. Any purchases that end in a .03 or .04 will be rounded up to .05 and so on. Purchases made with a card will not be rounded in any way.

This means that businesses will most likely be off several cents every day until the penny is completely eliminated from circulation due to rounding. As well, this changes the concept of 99 cent stores. Will people eventually cease to say "penny for your thoughts" or "that's my two cents" as there will now be generations of people who grow up without the penny?

I never thought about how integrated something like the penny was in our lives but this is history happening before our eyes. Just as when the dollar bill was eliminated or the toonie was introduced, it's something people have to wrap their heads around. I for one, love that we're here at this crossroads, small as it may be. It forces people to think, to adapt and to possibly change. Change like this keeps up moving forward and doesn't allow us to stagnate.

If you want a more concise delivery, check out this video by Canadian YouTuber, CGPGrey.

King Richard III's body found!

Photo courtesy University of Leicester

I’ve always been a bit obsessed by history so identifying a skeleton as a murdered King of England who happens to have been rediscovered under a parking lot in Leicester is rather fascinating. It was strange to think that someone I’ve only ever heard stories about, some most likely untrue, has a physical presence in this world again. It brings history to life and forces one to focus on the mortality of life. Here is a man, dead for more than 500 years and lost to history, has been brought back from ‘the grave’. There’s renewed interest in him as a person and in his story. Even the information about how he was found and his identification reads like a fairytale.






Artist unknown, late 15th c

At first the archaeologists who were looking for him weren’t even sure they were digging in the right place. Originally he’d been buried in a church called Greyfriars. Unfortunately after the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536, the Greyfriars’ church was torn down and eventually lost to time. Several centuries later it was determined that the remains of the church and possibly Richard might be located under a parking lot used by the Leicester City Council.

They started to dig and immediately found the remains of the church and then eventually human remains. It was reported that they had found two skeletons, one male, one female. The male skeleton was found to have various injuries and a SPINAL ABNORMALITY! This was exciting because Richard was rumoured to have been a hunchback. While some historians thought this rumour may have just been slander from Tudor successors, the skeleton on the parking had a curved spine, probably from scoliosis, causing one shoulder to be higher than another and possibly leading to stories about Richard being a hunchback.

Photo courtesy University of Leicester

The plan was to do a DNA analysis on the remains and to compare to DNA from a descendant of Richard’s sister. This descendant happens to be CANADIAN and one member of the family literally lives less than 6 hours away from me! Unfortunately we would have to wait six long, agonizing months to find out the results of this test, meaning we would have to wait until after the New Year.


Then, on February 4 they made the big announcement, holding a press conference with all of the involved parties. About an hour in, after explaining that they were able to retrieve viable DNA from the skeleton and describing all the various wounds on the skeleton, including the ones that slice off parts of his skull, they confirmed that the skeleton had been positively identified as RICHARD III! I heard about this over the radio could not stop from punching the air! It was so very cool to have something like this all come together so easily and so well. There are plans to rebury him in Leicester Cathedral at the end of August 2014.


Thanks to a facial reconstruction here is most likely what he looked like:

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

It’s events like this that make history more than just a dusty old story you’re told about in school. All of the people who’ve come before that you’ve never met did actually live. All those dates and years you had to memorize, all those events did actually happen, even if they sometimes appear little more than a memory. People tend to forget how much has happened in the history of man and that’s just the information that’s been preserved and written down. It boggles the mind how much has been lost, forgotten or destroyed.

I would hightly suggest checking out The History Blog if you want a more detailed description of the discovery. This site is how I first found out about the dig and the hunt for Richard's body. It has daily updates and always has something interesting to read.

Sea foam covers Oswald, Australia

This is absolutely nuts but Australia's been having a weird couple of months. What do you think?

Pride and Prejudice is 200 Years Old!

200 hundred years ago today "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen was published. This is not her first published book but it is her best known and most popular. It's been directly adapted for film 10 times with countless pop culture references as well as several loose adaptations, theatre productions books focusing on everything from Darcy's point of view to sequels of the original.

I first read this book on a long car ride and couldn't put it down. It was my first Austen book and helped to open up this whole world of Regency England and classic literature. Instead of rambling on about how great the book is I've put together a list of Pride and Prejudice related material that you should check out. Besides, I actually like "Persuasion" better.






One half of Vlogbrothers has produced this lovely vlog version of the story called the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. They've made some minor changes and updates for this century but I've been enthralled since episode one. This is fresh and doesn't feel weighed down by the plethora of material that has come before it.


"Lost in Austen" is a slight twist on the original story where Lizzie Bennet travels to the real world, trapping an Austen fanatic in the fictional world of the book. Her presence manages to mess up the story, causing Jane to marry Mr. Collins! All must be set right before she can come home.


And if you're looking for a movie version I suggest the 1940s version. There are some detractors I admit as the costumes are the wrong period and more suited to the 1830s style than the Regency Period and our main characters are older than their counterparts are meant to be and some don't appreciate movies in black and white. But it is by far a better version in my mind than the 2005 version with Keira Knightley and Matthew McFadyen. I never warmed to that version despite the beautiful sets. The leads never seemed to fully embody the characters. The 1940 version has Laurence Olivier as Darcy and Greer Garson as Lizzie, both perfect choices in my mind. Olivier brings that snooty privileged air while Greer has this strong self-satisfied attitude.

And there's the ever-awesome Kate Beaton, a Canadian web comic artist who can be found here. She does regular comics about Canadian history, historical figures and literature with a comic twist. Here's Austen being bothered by a fan.

The Coolest Desk You Will Never Own!

This site I occasionally frequent called Messy Nessy Chic and I found this awesome video!

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, is holding an exhibit called "Extravagant Inventions: The Princely Furniture of the Roentgens" and it showcases a lot of pieces created by the Roentgens who were apparently geniuses who made gorgeous pieces with all sort of hidden compartments.

This is an 18th century desk with all sorts of secret compartments. If you know me you know I love these sorts of things so I thought I would share these amazing pieces! I love how intricate and delicate they are, despite being these massive, hulking pieces of furniture.

Poonikins the Magic Warrior Princess

And now for your daily allotted dose of derpyness!

I found this before the new year and have been busting to share. It is the weirdest and funniest thing I've come across in a while. I had a good laugh and I hope you do too. The best bit is definitely the part with the motorcycle.

Christmas Entertainment

It's that time of year when everyone goes a little mad. Whether it's fighting over the last discount turkey at the grocery store or deciding to hang outdoor lights in -20 weather, we are all victims of the 'Christmas Crazies'.

In order to stave off this unwanted neurosis I've come up with a foolproof plan. A list of movies that will distract you from your everyday life and lull you into a false sense of security.

Check this list that I made a few years ago for another giant list of suggestions.

I've decided to do another list to give some variety to the holidays and to give some movies their due.

"The Nightmare Before Christmas"

This is essentially a Halloween movie obsessed with Christmas. A great stop-motion film from Tim Burton.



"Mixed Nuts"

I love Madeleine Kahn so while I've never seen this movie I would give a chance because of her.



"The Bishop's Wife"

This is a heartbreaking movie with Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven.



"Die Hard"

This film isn't all warm and fuzzy like some of the other selections but it does take place at Christmas and darn it I will shoe-horn this movie in anywhere I darn-well like.



"Holiday Affair"

This stars the swoon-worthy Robert Mitchum working in a children's toy department of all places.



"We're No Angels"

This Christmas comedy stars Humphrey Bogart of all people playing a criminal on the lam.



"Holiday Inn"

This film famously led to the creation of the film "White Christmas". Starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, a great pairing. Now this film has a variety of holidays in it but it does have several Christmas scenes.



"Babes in Toyland"

Last but not least is a Laurel and Hardy movie. I'm going to have to check this out myself as I've never seen any of their films.

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2012

I'll admit that I've become somewhat of an Anglophile in the past few years. I can't help it!

For the past few years I've eagerly awaited the John Lewis Christmas commercial. For those of you who don't know, John Lewis is a department store which is owned by a trust on behalf of the employees.

They always have very cute and sometimes sappy Christmas commercials but they always make me smile. This year's commercial has just come out so I thought I'd share. Enjoy!