Great Worldwide Star Count
Bright outdoor lighting at night is a growing problem for astronomical observing programs around the world. By searching for the same constellations, participants in the Great World Wide Star Count will be able to compare their observations with what others see, giving them a sense of how star visibility varies from place to place. The observers will also learn more about the economic and geographic factors that control the light pollution in their communities and around the world.
“Without even being aware of it, many of us have lost the ability to see many stars at night,” Ward says. “The Great World Wide Star Count will help raise awareness of the importance and the beauty of the night skies.”
My father’s father was a bit of an eccentric. Among his other achievements (of being the director of an aeroplane factory and a fire station) he painted stars on the ceiling of his sauna. The exact reasons for this remain a bit unclear to me.
Light and sound pollution are an increasingly serious problem, especially in densely populated areas. In this year’s Banff Mountain Film festival I saw a collage-style animated film called Conversing with Aotearoa. In an interview segment, various outdoor enthusiasts were asked “When do you feel that you are out in the wilderness?”. I couldn’t agree more with the person who said “When I can no longer hear the sounds of the civilization.”
On Monday, I’m off to the most remote village in Finland. The village of Lisma is located deep within Lemmenjoki national park in the parish of Inari. It is my departure point for a 10 day solo expedition to the Øvre Anarjóhka area in Norway.
Posted by api at 09:53 - No Comments »
Tom Hanks Interview
The Oscar-winning actor spent months on a remote Fijian island for his new movie Cast Away and far from being an idyllic experience it proved to be something of a nightmare for the 44-year old star.
Not only did he have to lose 55lb in weight for the role and spend weeks up to his neck in water, the shoot almost turned to tragedy when he caught a serious infection.
“Just before we left the island I had a little sore on my knee and something got inside there. We left Fiji on the Friday and by the Sunday my leg was twice its normal size,” explains Hanks, looking more than a little relieved to be in the urban surrounds of London.
“I had to go to the doctors and I thought I was going to get it cleaned and some antibiotics to take. The next thing I know there were five doctors running around in a panic trying to figure out what was inside my leg.
“I underwent surgery that night and was out for three weeks. We had to shut down the movie. I was very close to blood poisoning, which can kill you. If I’d really been a castaway on that island, doctors told me I would have been dead in five weeks.”
I really liked Cast Away, but I don’t think Tom Hanks did a very good job with his method acting a.k.a. losing weight for the role. He had a full year to do it. He had a special “Weight loss trainer” that is credited at the end.
There was a lot of press about the weight loss and Mr. Hanks got completely bored with endless questions about it in interviews. Just to give a little perspective to Tom Hanks’ 55 pound loss, Christian Bale lost a third of his normal body weight (63 pounds) for his role in The Machinist. Tom Hanks had gained extra weight for the first part of the movie and I think that he simply returned back to slightly below his normal weight.
Although method acting doesn’t usually refer to physical alterations in an actor’s apperance, weight loss and gaining for a role is often seen as a measurement of actor’s commitment to the role. Sadly, sometimes things go a bit wrong when people commit themselves too deeply. Requiem For A Dream star Jared Leto was diagnosed with gout after losing weight for a film role.
Body weight is one of those things that you can’t yet fix in the post.
Posted by api at 09:25 - 3 Comments »
