Space Rocks, Clouds

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Cassini captured this group photo of two of the Solar System's best looking moons, with the varied terrain of Dione standing out especially sharply against the thick clouds of Titan.

Time Tube

When the lifts at Notting Hill Gate tube station were replaced with escalators, the passageway leading to them was sealed off, along with the late-fifties advertisements plastered to its walls. This passageway has now been rediscovered, along with its remarkably well-preserved posters - images of which have been posted to a Flickr gallery.

(Saw this on London Tonight - not sure if the video's viewable outside the UK.)

What have I done?!

Adiós old NASA headers, hello brand new Blogger template. I probably wouldn't have gotten around to this if Google didn't seem to be on a quest to prettify everything up. These new templates are pretty cool, although a lot of the background images suffer from the same issues as the ones available for the Google homepage - they're gorgeous images by themselves, but they don't fit so nicely around the content.

Still, this image of Earth is rather nice, although if I can figure out how to upload my own background image I'll probably change it to something from Cassini...

Let me know if you have any issues with functionality/readability/accessibility etc.

Top 25 WW1 aces and their ages

Name	Age
1.Manfred von Richthofen	25 when killed
2.René Fonck	24 at end of war
3.Edward Mannock	30 when killed
4.Billy Bishop	24 at end of war
5.Ernst Udet	22 at end of war
6.Raymond Collishaw	24 at end of war
7.James McCudden	23 when killed
8.Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor	24 at end of war
9.Erich Loewenhardt	21 when killed
10.Donald MacLaren	25 at end of war
11.Georges Guynemer	22 when killed
12.William George Barker	24 at end of war
13.Josef Jacobs	24 at end of war
14.Werner Voss	20 when killed
15.Robert A. Little	23 when killed
16.George McElroy	25 when killed
17.Fritz Rumey	27 when killed
18.Albert Ball	20 when killed
19.Rudolph Berthold	27 at end of war
20.Bruno Loerzer	27 at end of war
21.Paul Bäumer	22 at end of war
22.Tom F. Hazell	26 at end of war
23.Charles Nungesser	26 at end of war
24.Georges Madon	26 at end of war
25.Oswald Boelcke	25 when killed

Order as per Wikipedia. It was going to be the top 20 until I noticed I could get Nungesser and Boelcke on there too.

Edward Mannock was the oldest of this group, at 30. He was an exceptional pilot in a lot of ways, not least with the amount of effort he devoted to ensuring that the younger pilots under his command (who knew him simply as "Mick") were properly schooled in how to survive. His devotion to his comrades manifested as an intense hatred of German pilots, and his actions and beliefs were a stark contrast to the perception of the First Air War as chivalrous.

Albert Ball and Werner Voss are the youngest listed, both aged 20 when they were killed.

Voss was a close friend and rival of Manfred von Richthofen. His final dogfight became legendary, as he single-handedly held off a squadron of planes led by James McCudden, before finally being shot down. "His flying was wonderful," McCudden said of Voss, "his courage magnificent and in my opinion he is the bravest German airman whom it has been my privilege to see fight."

Ball was a loner who was valued highly for his propaganda value. He spent his time on the ground gardening by himself, and the letters he wrote home showed a young man struggling with the repressive nature of his role, and his growing unhappiness at killing so many pilots. He crashed while pursuing the Red Baron's brother, Lothar von Richthofen, although it's unclear who (if anyone) shot him down.

Yes, Yes I Think So

Given my interest in interactive naratives and environments, you could be forgiven for thinking I might rate the original Deus Ex more highly than I do. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot I love about it, but there's also a lot I didn't think worked so well. Still, the basic concept of a globe-trotting cyberpunk game with an emphasis on letting you play the way you want to gets huge props from me for being a bold step in an ambitious direction.

There's no telling if Deus Ex: Human Revolution will be more my style than the original, but this trailer has me pretty juiced - neon cityscapes, cyborg modification, civil unrest... and driving music that lends it a Christopher Nolan-esque feel.

ESA Dazzles

Credit: ESA

Although I wish they were as open as NASA, I'm still glad that the European Space Agency exists and does good work. And every so often we members of the public do get a little reward - perhaps none greater than this beautiful video taken by Mars Express, showing an "astronaut's eye view" of an orbit around Mars.

Go watch it immediately.

Brontesaurus

Via (with transcript)

Friday Caterpillar Blogging

Image Credit: Lukjonis
Some rights reserved

Yes. Yes, please.

Between the Resident Evil and Ace Attorney series I probably owe my soul to Capcom by now. This new game from Ace Attorney creator Shu Takumi (who also directed Dino Crisis 2) looks like it might just clinch the deal...

Wschod, another short film online

It's always pained me that so many great films by interesting film makers disappear into the ether, just because they're not feature length. So this new trend of short films being posted on the Internet after they've done the festival circuit is pleasing me no end - especially when it allows us to see gems like Wschód (East), a low-key, post apocalyptic story filmed inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone.

This is exactly the kind of science fiction I love - the kind that has a vivid, evocative setting, but that doesn't make the setting the focus, instead telling the story of those who live there. This thing's got atmosphere you can cut with a knife - and the simple, implicit storytelling totally hooked me.

Hat tip Twitch, of course.

Post 1000

So this is my 1000th post at Space Cat Rocket Ship, the blog with the slightly erroneous four word title that no-one knows quite how to space out or hyphenate.

The popular portrayal of a blog (at least by the newspapers that have so much to fear from them) is of a soapbox from which to try and inflict your views on the world; a sea of monologues readily available to all, but completely drowning one another out. I'm sure there are some people who have important things to say in particular niches who succeed in using their blog in just that way. I'm sure many more try, wonder why no-one reads their posts, and then give up.

Because I don't see a blog as a monologue. Even the most authoritative and well known blogs are clearly dialogues - their authors, commenters and communities all blurring together.

Space Cat Rocket Ship has kind of barrelled through the intertubes like the aimless rocket referred to in the header above. I first started reading blogs when my friend Disillusioned Kid began one of his own, and I clicked a few of the links in his sidebar. When leaving comments, I decided I wanted to be able to provide a space which would act as a kind of dynamic profile page, letting people know what kind of a person was visiting. I guess that's still the ethos behind this blog even now, as most of my posts here are fuelled by the desire to share something I think is cool and articulate why, or to post something creative that I've worked on.

I know some of you are interested in generating traffic to and/or monetising your blogs, but I'm quite happy knowing that a visitor coming to this blog for any one thing is probably going to leave disappointed after a while. Because, like I said, I see this place as a two way dialogue, and I like the fact that I'm just as, if not more interested in what you guys have to say.

So thank you to all my regular and irregular commenters, whether I first saw you commenting on Pinko Feminist Hellcat, read your Sunday Scribblings, found you through Blogging Against Disablism Day, grabbed your interest with one of my little freeware games, or just happened to be the landing pad for a random link clicking. Let's have another reunion at post 2000...

Thursday Comic

20th Century Boys, vols 2-4 - Naoki Urasawa

When Kenji was a kid, this wasn't what he expected the future to be like - running his family store, now a part of a national chain, while raising the baby his sister was unable to care for herself. No, Kenji had imagined a future of laser guns and an evil conspiracy to destroy the world - a detailed and fantastic future-history that he wrote down in a "Book of Prophecy" along with the rest of his childhood gang. Only, certain events are starting to seem rather familiar, and he's sure he's seen the symbol of this new doomsday cult somewhere before. Could it be that a member of his old gang is now actually trying to enact Kenji's absurd plans of global destruction?

I started reading this series on the back of a number of mentions from people who praised it highly, but did little to explain just what was so great about it, and I now find myself in the same position. Mystery, comedy, family drama, horror, science fiction, crime, action, period drama, epic, personal, all this and more. But more importantly, well characterised, well observed, well written, carefully plotted, and always intriguing you with new mysteries, even as others are solved when they've run their course. It's difficult to know just who to recommend 20th Century Boys to, except to say that this is a work of some skill and artistry, and you should definitely find out if it's for you.

Monday Movie: Evangelion 1.0

Half the world's population have been wiped out in a single cataclysm, and mysterious entities known as "Angels" are now trying to finish off the rest. Conventional weapons are useless against them, but an organisation called NERV has created a number of giant, armoured synthetic humans which can be piloted by a select few teenagers. Teenagers such as Shinji Ikari, who's already withdrawn and troubled before he's forced into violent confrontations with otherworldly monsters that leave him near death.

Conceived as a deconstruction of cartoon shows about kids saving the world in giant robots, Neon Genesis Evangelion acquired praise and cult status in the face of budget constraints and (at least according to legend) its creator turning on his fans. The first in this new series of four films, then, which aims to give Evangelion the visuals it deserves and a definitive version of its fragmented story, seemed like the perfect place for me to jump on the bandwagon.

Having said that, I can definitely see that this is a story perhaps better told in a more episodic format. This ninety minute film is dominated by a series of apocalyptic, edge-of-the-seat battles between Shinji and the angels, each one risking everything and bringing humanity to the brink. They're all extremely well done, but there's not that much space for a breather between them, and the human, deeply psychological story at the film's heart would definitely benefit from more low-key, everyday scenes to ground it.

Still, colour me impressed by what is deservedly a renowned classic of animation - an imaginative blend of biomechanical science fiction, pubescent angst and what looks set to be a Philip Pullman-style perversion of Christian mythology. Roll on Evangelion 2.0.

Look at Me

I'm playing Thief 2 on Windows Vista. IN YOUR FACE, Bill Gates.

(Got a little help from here.)

I've swapped the roles of these two characters back and forth a few times now.

I think I had it right to start with.

Monday Movie: The City of Lost Children

When a cult of one-eyed cyborgs decide to abduct the adopted little brother of circus strongman One and sell him to the evil genius Krank, they don't bet on One forming an unbeatable alliance with orphaned child thief Miette ("Crumb") and mounting a daring rescue. Then again, in their way stand not just the cyclops, but Krank's cloned brothers, Miette's criminal bosses (a pair of conjoined twins known as "The Octopus") and a number of highly-trained and deadly fleas...

Visually, La Cité des Enfants Perdu is breathtaking; conceptually it's bold and fearlessly quixotic; and even the most bizarre of its many characters and settings are easy to love. As an exercise in storytelling, it does fall short, cramming in too much too quickly, and allowing events to tumble forward with little sense of cause and effect. But if you're looking to be drawn into a vivid and fantastic alternate reality, this is quite the rabbit hole to get sucked into.

So much for Welsh wizardry...

Not Over Yet

I'm willing to bet everyone in the UK had election burnout even before the polls opened, and it's not over yet. The Liberal Democrat's share of the vote increased slightly over the last general election, but because their support is spread over the whole country they actually lost a few seats in parliament. And yet, they're also the only party to emerge from the election with any power - not the power to rule, but the power to choose who does.

Given the huge gains made by the Conservatives, I think you could argue a Lib/Con coalition is 'the right thing' from a democratic perspective. Much as I hate David Cameron, I wouldn't hold it against the Lib Dems to take a piece of his government. What I would worry about is the longer term effect of the only truly progressive mainstream party getting in bed with the party of toffs and Daily Mail readers. In the next general election, might people then feel like the Lib Dems had nothing to offer anyone?

On a happier note, although I've stated before why I won't vote for the Greens myself, I think more left wing minority parties in parliament can only be a good thing, and I'm glad to see Caroline Lucas become the Green Party's first ever member of Parliament.

POTILICKS

The polls close for the UK general election in a couple of hours. It should be no surprise who I voted for, but whatever the results, I'd be happy just to keep David Cameron out of Number 10.

I don't trust him with my rights. I don't trust him with healthcare, education or public transport. I know not to trust him with the nation's most vulnerable - who he's already attacked for knee-jerk votes. And I generally think he's a bigoted traditionalist who's succeeded at making other bigoted traditionalists feel like they're progressive and accepting.

Meanwhile, across the Channel, someone in my blogroll has something to say about what's happening in Athens.