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Giant Rock
Giant Rock is a large freestanding boulder in the Mojave Desert near Landers, California, and the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms (location ). The boulder covers {{convert, 5800, sqft, m2 of ground and is seven stories high. Giant Rock is the largest freestanding boulder in North America and is purported to be the largest free standing boulder in the world. Native Americans of the Joshua Tree area consider it to be sacred. In the 1930s, Frank Critzer moved to Giant Rock. Inspired by desert tortoises that dig holes in which to cool themselves, Critzer dug out a home on the north side of the rock using dynamite. He engineered a rainwater collection system and a tunnel for ventilation. The underground home was reportedly never hotter than {{convert, 80, F and never cooler than {{convert, 55, F. Critzer built an airstrip on the nearby ancient lakebed, which averaged a plane per day by 1941. Critzer perished in a self-detonated dynamite explosion in his undergr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giant Rock In Landers, CA July 2008
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 from Robert of Gloucester's chronicle. It is derived from the ''Gigantes'' ( grc-gre, Γίγαντες) of Greek mythology. Fairy tales such as ''Jack the Giant Killer'' have formed the modern perception of giants as dimwitted ogres, sometimes said to eat humans, while other giants tend to eat the livestock. The antagonist in ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' is often described as a giant. In some more recent portrayals, like those of Jonathan Swift and Roald Dahl, some giants are both intelligent and friendly. Literary and cultural analysis Giants appear in the folklore of cultures worldwide as they represent a relatively simple concept. Representing the human body enlarged to the point of being monstrous, giants evoke terror and remind humans of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic management, certification of personnel and aircraft, setting standards for airports, and protection of U.S. assets during the launch or re-entry of commercial space vehicles. Powers over neighboring international waters were delegated to the FAA by authority of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Created in , the FAA replaced the former Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and later became an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation. Major functions The FAA's roles include: *Regulating U.S. commercial space transportation *Regulating air navigation facilities' geometric and flight inspection standards *Encouraging and developing civil aeronautics, including new aviation technology *Issuing, suspending, or revoking ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baen Books
Baen Books () is an American publishing house for science fiction and fantasy. In science fiction, it emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, and military science fiction. The company was established in 1983 by science fiction publisher and editor Jim Baen. After his death in 2006, he was succeeded as publisher by long-time executive editor Toni Weisskopf. History Baen Books was founded in 1983 out of a negotiated agreement between Jim Baen and Simon & Schuster. Simon & Schuster was undergoing massive reorganization and wanted to hire Baen to head and revitalize the science fiction line of its Pocket Books division. Baen, with financial backing from some friends, counteroffered with a proposal to start up a new company named Baen Books and provide Simon & Schuster with a science fiction line to distribute instead. According to ''Locus''s 2004 Book Summary, Baen Books was the ninth most active publisher in the U.S. in terms of most books published in the genres indicated, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tim Powers
Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy fiction, fantasy author. Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels ''Last Call (novel), Last Call'' and ''Declare''. His 1987 novel ''On Stranger Tides'' served as inspiration for the ''Monkey Island (series), Monkey Island'' franchise of video games and was optioned for adaptation into the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, fourth ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film. Most of Powers' novels are "secret history, secret histories". He uses actual, documented historical events featuring famous people, but shows another view of them in which occult or supernatural factors heavily influence the motivations and actions of the characters. Typically, Powers strictly adheres to established historical facts. He reads extensively on a given subject, and the plot develops as he notes inconsistencies, gaps and curious data; regarding his 2001 novel ''Decla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, extraterrestrial life, sentient artificial intelligence, cybernetics, certain forms of immortality (like mind uploading), and the singularity. Science fiction predicted several existing inventions, such as the atomic bomb, robots, and borazon, whose names entirely match their fictional predecessors. In addition, science fiction might serve as an outlet to facilitate future scientific and technological innovations. Science fiction can trace its roots to ancient mythology. It is also related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction and contains many subgenres. Its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. Science fiction, in literature, film, television, and other media, has beco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yawning Man
A yawn is a reflex lasting 4-7 seconds, and is characterized by a long inspiratory phase with gradual mouth gaping, followed by a brief climax (or acme) with muscle stretching, and a rapid expiratory phase with muscle relaxation. For fish and birds, this is described as gradual mouth gaping, staying open for at least 3 seconds and subsequently a rapid closure of the mouth. Almost all vertebrate animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and even fish, experience yawning. The study of yawning is called chasmology. Yawning (oscitation) most often occurs in adults immediately before and after sleep, during tedious activities and as a result of its contagious quality. It is commonly associated with tiredness, stress, sleepiness, boredom, or even hunger. In humans, yawning is often triggered by the perception that others are yawning (for example, seeing a person yawning, or talking to someone on the phone who is yawning). This is a typical example of positive feed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blake Prize
The Blake Prize, formerly the Blake Prize for Religious Art, is an Australian art prize awarded for art that explores spirituality. Since the inaugural prize in 1951, the prize was awarded annually from 1951 to 2015, and since 2016 has been awarded biennially. , the non-acquisitive prize, awarded since 2016 by the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (CPAC), is worth . In addition, CPAC awards the Blake Emerging Artist Prize, an acquisitive prize of (formerly the John Coburn Emerging Artist Award), and the Blake Established Artist Residency, which includes a residency and solo exhibition hosted by CPAC. History The prize was established in Sydney in 1949 as an incentive to raise the standard of religious art and to find suitable work to decorate churches. It was founded by Jewish businessman Richard Morley, the Reverend Michael Scott SJ, a headmaster of Campion Hall, Point Piper, and subsequently rector of Aquinas College (a Catholic residential college for university students in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tina Havelock Stevens
Tina Havelock Stevensis an Australian multi disciplinary artist known for her drumming, documentaries and video works. She often combines improvised live music performances with striking locations that explore spirituality of place. Music Havelock Stevens played drums in a number of Australian post-punk rock bands notably Plug Uglies, with whom she recorded the EPs ''Knock Me Your Lobes'' (1989) and ''Johnny Panic'' (1990). and The Titanics with whom she recorded the albums ''Love is the Devil'' (2000) and ''Size Isn't Everything'' (2000). She also played with Chicks on Speed and Crow. She co-founded the largely instrumental ensemble The Mumps who featured on Triple J unearthed and with whom she has recorded the EP ''I Wish I was You'' (2018). Art In 2017 Havelock Stevens won the regional Fisher's Ghost Art Award from Campbelltown City Council and came to national attention the following year when she won the 65th Blake Prize for work exploring spirituality, with her video wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Observer Media
Observer Media is an American online media company. The company was formed through several acquisitions, including acquisition of ''The New York Observer'' in 2007. Observer Media is based in Lower Manhattan, New York City, and was owned by businessman Jared Kushner until 2016, when he transferred his ownership into a family trust, through which his brother-in-law Joseph Meyer took over his former role as publisher and chairman in 2017. It currently publishes the Commercial Observer' and Observer'. As of November 2016, Observer Media announced it would no longer print the ''New York Observer''. The ''Observer'' site is a consolidation of several notable online properties, including ''The Gallerist'', ''BetaBeat'', ''NY Politicker'', and ''PolitickerNJ''. History In 2007, Jared Kushner began acquiring and merging several print and online media publications into the Observer brand, including ''The New York Observer'', ''BetaBeat'', ''Gallerist'', ''NY Politicker'', ''SCENE Magazin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hari Kunzru
Hari Mohan Nath Kunzru (born 1969) is a British novelist and journalist. He is the author of the novels '' The Impressionist'', '' Transmission'', ''My Revolutions'', ''Gods Without Men'', ''White Tears''David Robinson"Interview: Hari Kunzru, author" scotsman.com, 29 July 2011 and ''Red Pill''. His work has been translated into twenty languages. Personal life Kunzru was born in London to an Indian Kashmiri Pandit father and a British mother. He grew up in Essex and educated at Bancroft's School. He studied English at Wadham College, Oxford, then gained an MA in Philosophy and Literature from University of Warwick. In his teens, Kunzru decided that he did not believe in formal religion or God, and is "opposed to how religion is used to police people." Kunzru is married to novelist Katie Kitamura, and the couple have two children. Kunzru is fascinated by UFOs and as a youngster often imagined a close-encounter type experience with them. Career From 1995 to 1997 he worked on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gods Without Men
''Gods Without Men'' is Hari Kunzru's fourth novel, first published in 2011. The title is taken from a quote by Honoré de Balzac. The novel is set in the American southwest, and contains elements of magical realism. Plot Although there are many other settings, both geographically and temporally, the novel's action mostly takes place in the southwestern United States. The plot is centered on a family trip by Jaz and Lisa Matharu with their severely autistic son, Raj. During the trip, Raj disappears and subsequently returns to his parents. The book also has several subplots which interact with the central storyline, including one about a cult founded by "Schmidt", a bomber pilot who served the United States during World War II, one surrounding an English rockstar trying to find himself in the United States, one about an Iraqi girl participating in a military simulation with her uncle, and one surrounding the journals of a Spanish missionary who traversed the same parts of Californi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cabinet Magazine
''Cabinet Magazine'' is a quarterly, Brooklyn, New York-based, non-profit art and culture magazine established in 2000. ''Cabinet Magazine'' also operates an event and exhibition space in Brooklyn. In 2022, ''Cabinet'' transitioned its magazine to be a digital publication, although it still publishes print books. Issue structure ''Cabinet Magazine'' issues are divided into three sections. Section 1: Columns Each issue begins with four of the magazine's recurring columns. Some columns have (or have had) recurring writers. Some columns appear more frequently than others: * "The Clean Room" is David Serlin's column on science and technology. (First appearance: issue 1.) * "Colors", which appears in every issue, presents a writer or artist's response to a specific color assigned by the editors. (First appearance: issue 1.) * "Ingestion", a column originated by Allen S. Weiss, explores food within a framework informed by aesthetics, history, and philosophy. (First appearance: issue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
