Novenator

Disqus: The Official Blog: What’s Cooler Than a Billion Monthly Uniques?

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:31:01 -0400

Disqus: The Official Blog: What’s Cooler Than a Billion Monthly Uniques? :

Last month, Disqus achieved a significant milestone: our network hit a billion monthly unique visitors. No matter how you slice it, it puts Disqus in a select category of ubiquitous web services that millions of people use everyday.

Some other supporting data includes:

7 billion monthly…

Photo

Sun, 12 May 2013 23:01:48 -0400

Mini-Mokum [Miniature Amsterdam] from Pieter Manders on Vimeo.A...

Sat, 11 May 2013 16:17:37 -0400

Mini-Mokum [Miniature Amsterdam] from Pieter Manders on Vimeo.

A short tilt-shift time-lapse video shot in Amsterdam, which is sometimes nicknamed “Mokum”.

Created by Pieter Manders (8088.nl)
Music by Oskar Schuster (oskarschuster.com/)

30 years of Alberta tar sands developmentIf this fails to...

Thu, 09 May 2013 21:29:00 -0400

30 years of Alberta tar sands development

If this fails to animate, you can find the scary GIF at https://plus.google.com/111051039748078110427/posts/FpRR24PgZwp

Texas Textbooks, lol.

Thu, 09 May 2013 02:11:23 -0400

Texas Textbooks, lol.

Energy from Tar Sands or Solar? Our choice.

Thu, 09 May 2013 02:10:54 -0400

Energy from Tar Sands or Solar? Our choice.

Republican states leech off of Democratic states.

Thu, 09 May 2013 02:09:49 -0400

Republican states leech off of Democratic states.

North Country Dreamland from LakeSuperiorPhoto on...

Mon, 06 May 2013 11:44:46 -0400

North Country Dreamland from LakeSuperiorPhoto on Vimeo.

“North Country Dreamland”

A northern Michigan celestial dark sky exposition

photo video/edit: Shawn Malone-facebook.com/LakeSuperiorPhoto
cameras used: Canon 5d, 5dMII and 5dMIII bodies and multiple wide angle lenses

Music: David Helpling/Jon Jenkins track titled, “Lifted” from the album “The Crossing
contact: spottedpecarry.com
used with permission

any commercial/media use of any portion of this video requires permission first from Shawn Malone at mqtphoto@aol.com

This video is my first time lapse compilation of a resultant 10k photo frames equaling 33 scenes of various night sky events from Northern Michigan 2012- It took a year to shoot and a bit of tenacity and persistence to get this into a form of coherent electrified cosmic goodness.
Night sky-capes include multiple northern lights scenes, meteor showers, nebulae, planets, including Venus and Jupiter setting from Spring 2012, constellations, the milky way, comet Pan-Starrs, night-scapes over both Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.
Thought I might mention some of the more interesting wildlife encounters during the photo gathering-

1.sparring moose on Isle Royale under a pitch black sky after wrapping the Isle Royale Tobin Harbor airglow / northern lights opening scene at 3am in the morning, with their thunderous antlers clashing with fear inducing power that could be felt in the knashing soundwaves echoing in the hills, (and I had to hike a two mile ‘deer path’ back to my shelter in the direction of those moose, I survived to tell the tale without getting pancaked)
2. the howl of wolves in the eastern UP piercing the freezing air under a calm full moon sky
3.a particularly persistent beaver on an inland lake in the Hiawatha National Forest, determined to be in just about every frame with a methodically spaced tail slap on an otherwise beautifully FLAT CALM star reflected lake- sooo even though the star reflection sequence is blown by this beaver with a ‘tude, the scene is included anyway as a humorous memory
4. the blue heron fishing for a midnight snack by auroral light at the mouth of Sand River and Lake Superior- if only I would have not moved, this heron would have walked the river bank thru the entire frame..

Rare pairings caught on camera include ribbons of aurora above a full moon fogbow on the horizon of Lake Superior, the aurora and an isolated singular lightning storm cloud over Lake Superior, and the aurora and Milky Way in several scenes including Copper Harbor, Marquette, Isle Royale, Pictured Rocks, and Eagle Harbor Lighthouse.
There are also a couple sequences of rare magenta/red aurora that I will never tire of.
I feel extremely fortunate to have witnessed and photographed the several strong auroral outbursts shown here from 2012 at a relatively southern 46.5 degrees latitude in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and am so grateful for the advances in high iso dslr technology to allow for time-lapse capture to be able to create these sequences for such high quality video reproduction of the night sky.
When one thinks of locations to go view the aurora, most people think of Alaska or Norway, but in 2012, the auroras were also over the Michigan skies every month except December- (which the aurora was out then too, but that’s when our run of clouds moved in and shut me down for the year, and that cloudy streak still persists well into Spring 2013). makes everything recorded in 2012 extra special indeed..
All scenes are within 200 miles or so of my home in Marquette, Mi. and I feel very blessed to live where I do and to share the beauty that I see ‘in my own backyard’ with you. I hope it inspires others to take time to find the beauty that is everywhere around us and also to raise an awareness about the importance of preserving our night wondrous starlit skies.

A special thanks to David Helpling and Jon Jenkins who granted permission to use their spectacular track, ” Lifted” - from the album “The Crossing” , thanks again David and Jon- so glad to know of this track, I couldn’t have thought of a more fitting and inspiring piece of music as a contributing impetus to the completion of this project- you can find more of David Helpling and Jon Jenkins music at spottedpeccary.com.

Video locations include Isle Royale National Park, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Headlands Intl Dark Sky Park, North Country Trail, Hiawatha National Forest, Marquette Michigan, Copper Harbor and Eagle Harbor MI.

Video ©Shawn Malone lakesuperiorphoto.com all rights reserved

2 Years of Timelapse from 3d pete on Vimeo.I have a full 1080p...

Sun, 05 May 2013 20:36:52 -0400

2 Years of Timelapse from 3d pete on Vimeo.

I have a full 1080p version but unfortunately cannot replace this actual file. Look for it in my list of videos to the right if you would like a high quality version. This is a compilation of timelapse clips shot mostly in San Diego county (CA), also Big Sur (CA) and Arizona.
Some were edited as HDR’s

Lots of my still nature photography from these areas and more can be found at 3dpete.smugmug.com/

The music “Apollon” is by adamned.age
adamned-age.com

DEATH VALLEY DREAMLAPSE 2 from Sunchaser Pictures on...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:16:40 -0400

DEATH VALLEY DREAMLAPSE 2 from Sunchaser Pictures on Vimeo.

(Watch in HD with headphones on and the volume cranked, if you can. Hands and arms inside the cart at all times!)
To get the latest on Sunchaser Timelapses, LIKE our NEW Facebook Page! facebook.com/SunchaserPicturesPage
Check out “STARCHASERS: BEHIND THE DREAMLAPSE”, a 4 minute Behind the Scenes Doc here: vimeo.com/65031084

After the unbelievable response to our first DEATH VALLEY DREAMLAPSE (vimeo.com/57757618) our team returned for Part 2, this time going deeper, to the mysterious and unexplained sliding stones of Racetrack Playa. No UFOs this time (we THINK) but plenty of wonder and amazement, including some insane star trails, a beautiful milky way pass over the lakebed, and an incredible pink desert aurora! We also tried out some new timelapse techniques, like moonpainting the foreground landscapes (0:53 — 1:20), and also some experiments merging regular timelapse footage with star trails — a technique we’ve been calling STARSCRAPING (1:07:1:33). If it has an actual name, let us know! :) Star Trails shot at 25 sec exposures. No special effects used, just the natural rotation of the earth’s axis. Photography Merging: STARSTAX. Used two Canon EOS 5Dmkii, with a 24mm/1.4 lens & 28mm/1.8.

The pink aurora first makes an appearance during the star trails shot at 1:36 and later in more detail at 2:22. Since we didn’t even know auroras were POSSIBLE this far south, we did some research and learned there was a CME (Coronal Mass Eruption) solar event that night (March 17th) which likely triggered what we see. Read more at UNIVERSE TODAY (bit.ly/11ygzCy). If anyone has any additional theories/insight, we’d love to hear more! To learn more about the mysterious sliding rocks, read here: bit.ly/YgjOf2

Download our DREAMLAPSE 2 PRESS KIT (22MB) of Behind the Scenes Photos, Stills and Full Captions: bit.ly/17s4u5d

Shot and Edited by: Gavin Heffernan twitter.com/GavinHeffernan
Producers: Michael Darrow, Rachel Payne, Ben Dally, John Brookins
Associate Producers: Michael Leland, Briana Nadeau, Adam Jeremy Williams
Music: “Stay Down (Ambient)” by MOBY (License Courtesy MobyGratis.Com)
Behind the Scenes Doc: Shot, Edited, and Produced by John Brookins.

For more on this this and other upcoming projects, visit SunchaserPictures.com or twitter.com/GavinHeffernan
The Sunchaser team is CURRENTLY SEEKING SPONSORSHIP for future adventures. Email info@sunchaserpictures.com
To see more of our other Sunchaser Pictures Timelapses, visit our album here: bit.ly/LFy9KJ

The Unseen Sea from Simon Christen on Vimeo.Update: Thanks so...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:47:39 -0400

The Unseen Sea from Simon Christen on Vimeo.

Update: Thanks so much for all your comments! I am reading them all and enjoy them a lot! I am sorry I can’t reply to all of you. I am traveling at the moment and only have internet access once in a while. I hope to get to all the questions eventually. Thanks again!

A collection of time lapses I took around the San Francisco Bay Area roughly shot over the period of one year.

Please watch in HD :-)

Find more of my work on my website simonchristen.com

Follow me on my Facebook page: facebook.com/pages/Simon-Christen-Photography/183499695028114

or on my flickr account: flickr.com/seemoo

Music by Nick Cave - Mary’s Song from the Soundtrack of “Assassination of Jesse James”

Experience Human Flight from InfinityList on...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:38:19 -0400

Experience Human Flight from InfinityList on Vimeo.

ExperienceSeries.com
InfinityList.com.

Ossie Khan
Fred Fugen
Vince Reffett
Naomi Adam
Georgia Eve Roberts
Vicki Allen
Rhonda Bostock
Stewart “Strop” Kemp
James Everett
Rebecca Scott
Stuart Flegler
Leigh “Macca” Mccormack

facebook.com/InfinityList
twitter.com/InfinityList

Chapter 1: Experience Human Flight
Chapter 2: Experience Zero Gravity (vimeo.com/29017795)
Chapter 3: Experience Freedom (vimeo.com/36778012)

In February 2011, the five times world champions Fred Fugen and Vince Reffett from Soul Flyers were invited to Melbourne to provide advanced 3D coaching to some of Australia’s leading Skydive athlete talent.

The goal of the Training camp and the production were:
1. To increase participation in our sport.
2. Provide greater pathways for our elite athletes.

Hopefully this video will give all that view it a different perspective of what skydiving can offer. Hopefully it will provoke some necessity to learn to fly in our wonderful three-dimensional environment- The Sky!

Shot on a GoPro

Music: Alex Khaskin - “She Is”
itunes.apple.com/au/album/she-is-from-experience-human/id433729395

esteldin: Summer Isles (3) by Shuggie!! on Flickr.

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:41:26 -0400

esteldin:

Summer Isles (3) by Shuggie!! on Flickr.

Disqus: The Official Blog: New Profiles For Everyone

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:38:41 -0400

Disqus: The Official Blog: New Profiles For Everyone:

disqus:

Starting today, we’re rolling out some major improvements to the Disqus commenter profile that makes it even easier to get to know and follow the people participating in your favorite online communities.

New Commenter Profiles

In order to improve the overall reading experience, the new…

Masks (Tete Branly)stunning work by the master himself: +Micaël...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:43:58 -0400

Masks (Tete Branly)

stunning work by the master himself: +Micaël Reynaud

Explore the new Scale of the Universe from Joe Hanson on...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 22:26:28 -0400

Explore the new Scale of the Universe from Joe Hanson on Vimeo.

Cary and Michael Huang present an updated edition of the “Scale of the Universe” interactive web portal. In it, you can zoom from quarks to cells to planets to the scale of the entire known cosmos, complete with accurate powers of ten. You can learn more about the objects you encounter by clicking on any of them.

These alley cats are snapping

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 11:32:22 -0400

These alley cats are snapping

Right now in Venezuela right wing extremists are burning the free medical care facilities provided by the Cuban government for the people of Venezuela. These are your great champions of democracy, who violently attack doctors when they can't win the election.

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:39:12 -0400

determinatenegation:

america-wakiewakie:

I’d like verification, so any links?

Sources are first hand accounts from my comrades in Venezuela on Twitter, here are a few people to follow for live updates (all in Spanish of course):

https://twitter.com/ErikaOSanoja
https://twitter.com/dcabellor
https://twitter.com/okrimopina
https://twitter.com/AmeliachPSUV
https://twitter.com/StellaLugo
https://twitter.com/Karenmendezl

Plenty more as well.

√ⅰㄅⅰ◊иㄅ from Ben Widdup on Vimeo.

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:52:26 -0400

√ⅰㄅⅰ◊иㄅ from Ben Widdup on Vimeo.

skepticalavenger: confrontingbabble-on: Christian...

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 18:20:00 -0400

skepticalavenger:

confrontingbabble-on:

Christian fundamentalist homeschoolers are abandoning religious text books, and instead teaching evolution…

“Warton, a scientist, says she was horrified when she opened a homeschool science textbook and found a picture of Adam and Eve putting a saddle on a dinosaur. “I nearly choked,” says the mother of three. “When researching homeschooling curricula, I found that the majority of Christian homeschool textbooks are written from this ridiculous perspective. Once I saw this, I vowed never to use them.” Instead, Warton has pulled together a curriculum inspired partly by homeschool pioneer Susan Wise Bauer and partly by the Waldorf holistic educational movement.

But whatever their reason for homeschooling, evangelical families who embrace modern science are becoming more vocal about it — and are facing the inevitable criticism that comes with that choice. “We get a lot of flak from others for not using Christian textbooks,” Warton says.

Theologically conservative Christians were not always so polarized. “By the late 19th century,” says David R. Montgomery author of The Rocks Don’t Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah’s Flood, “evangelical theologians generally accepted the compelling geological evidence for the reality of an old earth.” However, Darwin’s idea of natural selection scared away many fundamentalists, who saw “survival of the fittest” as an atheistic concept. Over time, those who insisted on a literal interpretation of the Bible’s account of creation came to reject both geology and evolutionary biology.

This staunch rejection of modern science tends to characterize today’s leading homeschool textbooks. For example, Science 4 Christian Schools, a homeschool textbook published by Bob Jones University Press, doesn’t mince words when it comes to evolution and Christian faith. “People who accept the Bible believe that God made everything,” the book states. “They call God’s description of how things began the Creation Model. Those who disregard the Bible believe instead that everything got here by itself. They call this description of how things began the Evolution Model.”

The assertion that anyone who believes in evolution “disregards” the Bible offends many evangelicals who want their children to be well-versed in modern science. Jen Baird Seurkamp, an evangelical who homeschools her children, avoids textbooks that discredit evolution. “Our science curriculum is one currently used in public schools,” she says. “We want our children to be educated, not sheltered from things we are afraid of them learning.”

Read in full http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/03/old-earth-young-minds-evangelical-homeschoolers-embrace-evolution/273844/

This is heartening news.