Clipmarks | Mars Clips

What does it mean to be an American? This 10-year-old boy gets it

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:35:41 GMT

clipped by: Lexica
clipper's remarks: More:

After asking his parents whether it was against the law not to stand for the pledge, Will decided to do something. On Monday, Oct. 5, when the other kids in his class stood up to recite the pledge of allegiance, he remained sitting down…Each day, the substitute got a little more cross with him. On Thursday, it finally came to a head… Will was sent to the [principal's] office…

At the end of our interview, I ask young Will a question that might be a civics test nightmare for your average 10-year-old. Will's answer, though, is good enough — simple enough, true enough — to give me a little rush of goose pimples. What does being an American mean?

“Freedom of speech,” Will says, without even stopping to think. “The freedom to disagree. That's what I think pretty much being an American represents.”

Somewhere, Thomas Jefferson smiles.

Clip Source: www.arktimes.com

Will Phillips isn't like other boys his age.

For one thing, he's smart.

When his family goes for a drive, discussions are much more apt to be about Teddy Roosevelt and terraforming Mars than they are about Spongebob Squarepants and what's playing on Radio Disney.

It was during one of those drives that the discussion turned to the pledge of allegiance and what it means.

Will's family has a number of gay friends. In recent years, Laura Phillips said, they've been trying to be a straight ally to the gay community, going to the pride parades and standing up for the rights of their gay and lesbian neighbors. They've been especially dismayed by the effort to take away the rights of homosexuals – the right to marry, and the right to adopt. Given that, Will immediately saw a problem with the pledge of allegiance.

“I've always tried to analyze things because I want to be lawyer,” Will said. “I really don't feel that there's currently liberty and justice for all.”

Tags: america, american, culture, society, equality, pledge-of-allegiance

2009 Leonid Meteor Shower

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:43:57 GMT

clipped by: mcsmithblack
clipper's remarks: More from the article below:

""We're predicting 20 to 30 meteors per hour over the Americas, and as many as 200 to 300 per hour over Asia," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "Our forecast is in good accord with independent theoretical work by other astronomers."

"A remarkable feature of this year's shower is that Leonids will appear to be shooting almost directly out of the planet Mars," notes Cooke.

It's just a coincidence. This year, Mars happens to be passing by the Leonid radiant at the time of the shower. The Red Planet is almost twice as bright as a first magnitude star, so it makes an eye-catching companion for the Leonids"

Clip Source: science.nasa.gov

The 2009 Leonid Meteor Shower

November 10, 2009: This year's Leonid meteor shower peaks on Tuesday, Nov. 17th. If forecasters are correct, the shower should produce a mild but pretty sprinkling of meteors over North America followed by a more intense outburst over Asia. The phase of the Moon will be new, setting the stage for what could be one of the best Leonid showers in years.

Leonids are bits of debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Every 33 years the comet visits the inner solar system and leaves a stream of dusty debris in its wake. Many of these streams have drifted across the November portion of Earth's orbit. Whenever we hit one, meteors come flying out of the constellation Leo.

The first stream crossing on Nov. 17th comes around 0900 UT (4 a.m. EST, 1 a.m. PST). The debris is a diffuse mix of particles from several old streams that should produce a gentle display of two to three dozen meteors per hour over North America. Dark skies are recommended for full effect.

Martian landscapes

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:49:46 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: www.boston.com

Since 2006, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been orbiting Mars, currently circling approximately 300 km (187 mi) above the Martian surface. On board the MRO is HiRISE, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera, which has been photographing the planet for several years now at resolutions as fine as mere inches per pixel. Collected here is a group of images from HiRISE over the past few years, in either false color or grayscale, showing intricate details of landscapes both familiar and alien, from the surface of our neighboring planet, Mars. I invite you to take your time looking through these, imagining the settings - very cold, dry and distant, yet real. (35 photos total)

Mystical Martian Moon Phobos

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 07:08:38 GMT

clipped by: dmoonme1
clipper's remarks: Can you imagine id the man & his wife who discovered this moon could see the wonderful pictures today?
Also can we imagine that in another 122 years what they will tell about these magnificent moons?

Clip Source: apod.nasa.gov

Stickney Crater

Explanation: Stickney Crater, the largest crater on the martian moon Phobos, is named for Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall, mathematician and wife of astronomer Asaph Hall. Asaph Hall discovered both the Red Planet's moons in 1877. Over 9 kilometers across, Stickney is nearly half the diameter of Phobos itself, so large that the impact that blasted out the crater likely came close to shattering the tiny moon. This stunning, enhanced-color image of Stickney and surroundings was recorded by the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as it passed within some six thousand kilometers of Phobos in March of 2008. Even though the surface gravity of asteroid-like Phobos is less than 1/1000th Earth's gravity, streaks suggest loose material has slid down inside the crater walls over time. Light bluish regions near the crater's rim could indicate a relatively freshly exposed surface.

Tags: mars, moons, craters

M&M’S® faz o Natal mais irressistivelmente M&M’S®

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:18:11 GMT

clipped by: tottalmarketing
clipper's remarks: Valdir Nascimento, gerente de marketing para chocolates da Mars Brasil anuncia com entusiasmo a chegada dos M&M’S® Noel para alegrar com sabor de chocolate esse grande e esperado momento, de todos sermos mais fraternos, mais amigáveis e gulosos também

Clip Source: www.tottalmarketing.com

M&M’S® faz o Natal mais irressistivelmente M&M’S®

Valdir Nascimento, gerente de marketing para chocolates da Mars Brasil anuncia com entusiasmo a chegada dos M&M’S® Noel para alegrar com sabor de chocolate esse grande e esperado momento, de todos sermos mais fraternos, mais amigáveis e gulosos também.

Assim, para aproveitar e incentivar todo esse clima de vendas a marca vai lançar uma campanha, que trás de volta o comercial divertido e gostoso Natal dos Chocolates M&M’S® Noel e seus ajudantes.

Além da campanha em TV, canais abertos e fechados ,material de PDV vão contribuir para aguçar os olhos e inundar as bocas ávidas pelos simpáticos M&M’S® Noel que fazem as alegrias muito mais M&M’S® com sabor de chocolate.

al Marketing tem twi

Tags: #clipmarks, m&m’s®, tottal noticia marketing, promotion christmas, sucesso, marca, tottal passion, valor, mars marketing

Spectacular views of the chaotic terrain on Mars

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:37:41 GMT

clipped by: amgumen

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

They cover 225 x 95 km or 21.375 sq km, an area roughly half the size of the Netherlands.

The upper portion of the image swath shows the eastern margin of Kasei Valles and the western margin of the Lunae Planum plateau and the adjoining Sacra Fossae. Kasei Valles is one of the largest outflow channels on Mars, spanning 3000 km, from the Chryse Planitia basin in the north to Echus Chasma to the south.

Sacra Fossae is a fault system that extends for more than 1000 km. It is several hundred metres deep

The images show an old 35 km-diameter impact crater in the north. The crater’s south-western rim is eroded strongly. The erosion is caused mostly by flowing water. The source of the water was located in Echus Chasma, which lies roughly 850 km to the southwest.

The crater floor and the northwestern part of the imaged region are remarkably flat and have been formed by sediments and basaltic lava flows originating from the Tharsis volcanic region.

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Frank Frazetta: Artist And Illustrator

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:35:55 GMT

clipped by: mcsmithblack
clipper's remarks: Frank Frazetta is just a fabulous artist. His composition is impeccable, with wonderful action and figure placement as well as dramatic backgrounds. His ability with anatomy, both human and non, is faultless and his colorizing is perfection. My first exposure to him was cover and interior illustrations for Conan: the Cimmerian, Tarzan and John Carter of Mars series. I just fell in love with his work. His characters, whether men, women or creatures are all well-muscled and terribly energetic. That distinctive and original Frazetta style has been a major influence on so many artists. Following is a exerpt from Wikipedia:

"Frazetta has had a major and lasting influence on many artists within the genre of fantasy and science fiction, such as Simon Bisley.[citation needed] Boris Vallejo is another fantasy artist with a style broadly similar to Frazetta's along with the fact that he also painted several paperback covers of some of the same science fiction/fantasy characters (e.g., Conan t

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

Hero Worship: Frank Frazetta's Art I

[Video]

Tags: art, sword and sorcery, science fiction illustration

Has The White House Gone Nuts?

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:57:23 GMT

clipped by: billpar
clipper's remarks: Video won't clip, but it's worth a look at the source. It's only 3mins.

Clip Source: www.businessinsider.com

Has The White House Gone Nuts?

The White House's Idiotic Communication Strategy (3 min):

Duh, Fox News boycott sent ratings to moon

And now the White House is saying Edmunds.com is "from Mars"?

How is that Presidential?

How is that smart?

What idiot is responsible for this communication strategy?

Tags: politics

The White House Stupidly Goes To War With Car Web Site Edmunds.com

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:51:40 GMT

clipped by: billpar

Clip Source: www.businessinsider.com

The White House Stupidly Goes To War With Car Web Site Edmunds.com

But in addition to Fox News, now The White House is going after highly-respected and influential car site Edmunds.com.

They're actually using The White House blog to dispute the site's analysis of Cash-For-Clunkers (via Detroit News).

The post is snarkily titled: "Busy Covering Car Sales on Mars, Edmunds.com Gets It Wrong (Again) on Cash for Clunkers"

CHART OF THE DAY: Cash-For-Clunkers MASSIVELY Distorted GDP

Fox News Ratings Soar After Snub From Obama

Tags: politics

Mars Rover Named "Curiosity"

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:07:48 GMT

clipped by: mcsmithblack
clipper's remarks: Checking out the neighborhood. Who knows, maybe our grandkids will found a new civilization.
Check out Kim Stanley Robinson's "Mars" series (Red Mars, Blue Mars, Green Mars) for a take on what is reasonably possible. It's a great read. Does both the tech and social side of what such an effort could look like.

Clip Source: science.nasa.gov

A Mars Rover Named "Curiosity"

The small, car-sized rover will ramble about on the rocky surface, gizmos at full tilt, not only brushing dust off rocks but also vaporizing them with a laser beam, gathering samples to analyze on the spot, taking high resolution photographs, and more.

"Curiosity will be prospecting for organic molecules, the chemical building blocks of life," says Joy Crisp of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "We want to find out whether Mars' environment was, or still is, capable of harboring life."

"The rock record is of particular interest," says Crisp. "It has a record from billions of years ago and can answer questions like 'Where and for how long might Mars have been habitable?' 'Was it cold or warm there in the past?' 'Was the water there acidic or salty?'"

In addition, Curiosity will carry instruments for observing Martian weather and measuring cosmic radiation bombarding the planet's surface.

Curiosity, the new Mars Rover

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:09:33 GMT

clipped by: HobbeLink
clipper's remarks: The small, car-sized rover will ramble about on the rocky surface, gizmos at full tilt, not only brushing dust off rocks but also vaporizing them with a laser beam, gathering samples to analyze on the spot, taking high resolution photographs, and more.

Clip Source: science.nasa.gov

Tags: space

Russia Proposes Nuclear Spaceship for Manned Mars Mission

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:26:42 GMT

clipped by: chestnut501
clipper's remarks: "fueled by atomic bombs"........wait, what?

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

Anatoly Perminov, Russia's space chief, in a replay of the early 1960's NASA Orion Project, proposes building a nuclear-powered ship with a megawatt-class nuclear reactor at a government meeting Wednesday but didn't explain its purpose. President Dmitry Medvedev backed the project and urged the government to find the money.

The 1960s Project Orion project was a nuclear-pulse rocket the size of the Empire State building

fueled by atomic bombs with the power to destroy half of Planet Earth.

The project lives today in limbo at NASA possibly to be activated should an asteroid arrive with our name on it.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

Fast forward to Moscow, 2009: Perminov said the nuclear spaceship should be used for human flights to Mars and other planets. He said the project is challenging technologically, but could capitalize on the Soviet and Russian experience in the field, with a preliminary design ready by 2012.

Tags: news, russia, science, space, nuclear, atomic, nasa, orion

Channels associated with impact craters discovered on Mars

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:03:00 GMT

clipped by: amgumen
clipper's remarks: If a significant amount of water was released or mobilized by the formation of the Hale Crater impact, larger impacts that formed during the early days of the Solar System may have been able to bring even more water to the surface of Mars. If this is true, a long-term, stable, warm and wet climate may not be required to explain the presence of such channels in the ancient Martian landscapes.

Clip Source: hirise.lpl.arizona.edu

Channels associated with impact craters were once thought to be quite rare. Scientists proposed a variety of unusual circumstances to explain them, such as impacts by comets or precipitation caused by the impact event. As more of Mars is photographed with high-resolution imagery, more craters surrounded by channel systems are being discovered.

The channels in this HiRISE image are from Hale Crater, an exceptionally well-preserved 125 x 150 kilometer (approximately 78 x 93 mile) impact crater located on the northern rim of the Argyre Basin. Hale Crater is roughly 170 kilometers (100 miles) to the southeast.

The channels in this subimage are up to about 250 meters (820 feet) across, though most are much smaller. The channels appear to emanate directly from Hale’s ejecta, and were likely formed by the impact event. The heat of the impact could have melted large amounts of subsurface ice, and generated surface runoff capable of carving the channels.

Clip Source: hirise.lpl.arizona.edu

NASA to Start Irradiating Monkeys

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:02:19 GMT

clipped by: David Hughes
clipper's remarks: Can't agree on this one, no sir!

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

NASA to Start Irradiating Monkeys

Oct. 29, 2009 -- NASA is stepping up its space radiation studies with a round of experiments that for the first time in decades will use monkeys as subjects.

The point of the experiments is to understand how the harsh radioactive environment of space affects human bodies and behavior and what countermeasures can be developed to make long-duration spaceflight safe for travelers beyond Earth's protective magnetic shield.

For the new study, 18 to 28 squirrel monkeys will be exposed to a low dose of the type of radiation that astronauts traveling to Mars can expect to encounter.

Scientists are particularly interested in studying how the radiation impacts the monkeys' central nervous systems and behaviors over time.

Why boys need Barbies – and girls need footballs

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:38:59 GMT

clipped by: Tri-City Psychology

Clip Source: www.theglobeandmail.com

Are sex differences hardwired into children's brains? Not according to neurobiologist Lise Eliot, who tells Anne McIlroy that small differences between girls and boys are magnified by parents – not to mention same-sex schools

Lise Eliot set out to write a book that would chart how the brains of boys and girls develop differently. But when the Chicago-based neurobiologist reviewed the scientific literature, she found surprisingly little evidence of sex differences in the developing brain.

In her new book, Pink Brain Blue Brain , Dr. Eliot argues that brains are shaped by how kids spend their time – playing with dolls versus balls – and that small, innate differences become amplified over time by parents, teachers and immersion in boy or girl culture. The following interview has been edited and condensed.

So girls aren't from Venus and boys aren't from Mars?

I want to be clear I am talking about their brains. There are obviously pretty striking differences in behaviour.