Art & Science

Image Credit: NASA/David Roy
US of LANDSTAT: We watched online on Feb. 11 of last year as the Landsat 8 satellite launched from California last year. The map above is one of the first complete views of the US from Landsat 8. It shows up as strips because, according to NASA, "Landsat 8 collects data in 185-kilometer (115-mile) wide strips called swaths or paths. Each orbit follows a predetermined ground track so that the same path is imaged each time an orbit is repeated. It takes 233 paths and 16 days to cover all of the land on Earth. This means that every land surface has the potential to be imaged once every 16 days."

BRITISH INVASION: This afternoon the kids and I had the pleasure of starting a course called "The Music of The Beatles" through the University of Rochester. Per the course description, the six week class "will track the musical development of the band, starting from the earliest days in Liverpool and Hamburg, moving through the excitement of Beatlemania, the rush of psychedelia, and the musical maturity of Abbey Road." Sounds good! Our professor is Dr. John Covach.

I went ahead and ordered the recommended reading book, "Beatlesongs." It's a one-volume account of every Beatles album and single, organized chronologically and in running order, providing song info and Beatles' comments.

The first lecture did a nice job of introducing names of the major players in the band's evolution (the members, producers, record companies, roadies, photographers, you name it). One of the things Professor Covach was quick to point out was the birth years of each of The Beatles, and noting their ages when they 'invaded' America. John was the 'elder' statesman - at 23! The youngest, George, was just 20. W-O-W. How overwhelmed they must have been!

The kids just adore The Beatles music, and absolutely LOVE Paul McCartney and Wings. They ask me to play Wings in non stop rotation in the car, which makes me happy, as I was exactly CJ's age when "Wings at the Speed of Sound" came out, and I couldn't get enough of it. Cool that we're getting to enjoy it together, and that we will all soon have a much better appreciation for and understanding of The Beatles.

SHAKE YOUR BOOTY: "Why does my gluteus feel like it's shaking?" CJ asked shortly after we finished a rigorous "Just Dance" session this afternoon.

I explained to him it's because he danced his butt off, LOL.

It really is a fun way to get a workout, that's for sure. The last song we did was Kris Kross' "Jump"


HOLY MAMMOTH!: Exciting find in the South Lake Union part of Seattle today. Officials from the Burke Museum (on the University of Washington campus) confirm that construction workers have uncovered a mammoth tusk that appears to date back to the Ice Age, between 10,000 and 11,000 years ago.

No news on what will become of the tusk, as it was discovered on private property and is not associated with an archaeological site. That means it's up to the landowner to decide what they would like to do with the tusk,

Check out the story, complete with photos where you can see the tusk, on the Seattle PI's Web site http://www.seattlepi.com/local/komo/article/Construction-crew-finds-ancient-mammoth-tusk-in-5226137.php#photo-5866739

MOON MOVIE: If you haven't seen this Pixar short, "La Luna," you should. It's simply lovely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh9jIdPH48g