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Wednesday, March 15, 2006 Amazing wire figures. Looks like he used ordinary multicolor copper wire to create these gorgeous sci-fi military figures. @ 10:09 PM CST [Link] "Singing frog" also hears ultrasound. A few years ago this rare frog was discovered to sing, somewhat like a bird. Recently it was found that it also can hear ultrasound. The only non-mammal to do so. @ 11:31 AM CST [Link] Tuesday, March 14, 2006 New Yorker cartoon captions replaced with the same phrase. Wow, they're actually funny now. @ 12:32 PM CST [Link] Monday, March 13, 2006 In Chicago, the dead no longer vote. But the blind might drive. @ 05:53 PM CST [Link] Sunday, March 12, 2006 Ninjas may not have existed. The most reliable reconstructions of ninja history suggest that ninja denotes a function, not a special kind of warrior — ninja WERE samurai (a term, which didn't designate a class until the Tokugawa period—AFTER the warfare of the late medieval period had ended—before that it designated only an occupation) performing ninja work. Movie-style ninja, BTW, have a much longer history than the movies (although the term ninja does not appear to have been popularized until the 20th century). Ninja shows, ninja houses (sort of like American haunted houses at carnivals), and ninja novels and stories were popular by the middle of the Tokugawa period. The ninja performers may have created the genre completely out of whole cloth, or they may have built on genuine lore derived from old spymasters. Either way, however, its clear that much of the lore underlying both modern ninja movies and modern ninja schools has both a long history AND little basis in reality outside the theatre. @ 12:05 PM CST [Link] [Archives] Search entries: