Saturday, September 28, 2013

LEGO Hels Deep

Daniel Z built this epic recreation of Helm's Deep from Lord of the Rings. I love the intricate detailing of this set but would never have the patience to build it myself. 

Here is a description of the work:

I built this model as a promotional display for a store in Oslo. If you live nearby or visit Oslo you should check it out! The store is called outland and is located next to the main street of Oslo. This is also probably the last MOC you'll see from me the coming months. I will have little time to build and no access to my bricks.

If you recreated a scene from a movie in LEGO, which movie would you choose?  I think I would do something from Star Wars.

 

REH's Hand drawn world Map

Two-Fisted Blogger: Robert E. Howard's Map

REH's own map show were each country was represented on a map of Europe, Asia and northern Africa.

What is amazing is to compare this to the map of Doggerland from 16000 years ago and see how close he came with his fantasy to sceintific reality
..
So fantasy today could turn out to be fact in the future.

The Real Gotham.

Public Domain Clip Art Photos and Images

The real Gotham.

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Thursday, September 26, 2013

Jerpoint Abbey

Jerpoint Abbey

Time has taken its toll on the many ruins of Ireland, Jerpoint Abbey is unique for the surviving stone carvings and cloister arcade which have managed to ride out the years with surprising clarity.
Established in 1180, Jerpoint Abbey was built for the Cistercian sect of Catholic monks, by the King of Osraige on the site of an earlier Benedictine monastery. The remaining ruins date from different time periods, but all of them are impressive in their ability to last; the tower dates from the 15th century, the church from the 12th, and the transept chapels vary in age. After the Dissolution of Monasteries when the last abbot, Oliver Grace, surrendered the abbey during the reign of King Henry VIII, Jerpoint was given to the 9th Earl of Ormond and became primarily a place of interment. 
Among the notable carvings in the ruins are the saintly religious reliefs known as "the weepers," and a sarcophagus that is surrounded by medieval Christian reliefs. Many of the pillars and incidental spaces in the ruined abbey are covered in similar figure carvings. The expansive cloister arcade also remains and visitors can relax among the tranquil ruins. Despite being deteriorating over the centuries, the Jerpoint Abbey ruins offer as contemplative an experience to modern visitors as it did to the original clergy.       


Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Golden Goose Awards for Science.

http://www.goldengooseaward.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Golden-Goose-Awards-Ceremony-Honors-Seven-Researchers-9-19-13.pdf


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Barry Toiv
September 19, 2013 Association of American Universities
202-408-7500, barry.toiv@aau.edu
SECOND ANNUAL GOLDEN GOOSE AWARDS CEREMONY HONORS ODD,
OBSCURE RESEARCH THAT LED TO KIDNEY EXCHANGE, DIABETES
MEDICINE, BIOTECH INDUSTRY
Seven researchers, including two Nobel Prize winners, will be honored today at the second
annual Golden Goose Award ceremony, celebrating researchers whose seemingly odd or obscure
federally funded research turned out to have a significant impact on society.
The awardees will be honored at a ceremony on Capitol Hill, where they will receive their
awards from a bipartisan group of Members of Congress. The scientists are:
- David Gale (deceased), Lloyd Shapley, and Alvin Roth, whose work, decades apart, grew
from theoretical mathematical algorithms about marriage stability and moneyless markets to
school choice programs for urban school systems, the program that matches new medical
school graduates with their first hospital residencies, and the national kidney exchange that
matches compatible patients and donors from around the country. Shapley and Roth were
awarded Nobel Prizes in 2012. (Gale, having died, was not eligible for a Nobel.)
- John Eng, a medical researcher and practicing physician whose study of the poisonous
venom produced by the Gila monster led to a drug that protects millions of diabetics from
such complications as blindness, kidney failure, and nerve damage.
- Thomas Brock and Hudson Freeze, whose discovery of a heat-resistant microorganism at
Yellowstone National Park helped make possible the biotechnology industry and the
genomics revolution.
The purpose of the Golden Goose Award is to demonstrate the human and economic benefits of
federally funded research by highlighting examples of seemingly obscure or unusual studies that
have led to major breakthroughs and have had a significant impact on society. Such
breakthroughs may include development of life-saving medicines and treatments; gamechanging social and behavioral insights; and major technological advances related to national
security, energy, the environment, communications, and public health.
The Golden Goose Award was originally the idea of Representative Jim Cooper (D-TN). It was
created and jointly launched by a coalition of organizations, listed below, which believe that
federally funded basic scientific research is the cornerstone of American innovation and essential

Armor misconception throughout history


Interesting article  concerning armour thru the ages.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/aams/hd_aams.htm