Gorgeous time-lapse sequences of Earth from space

One of those serendipitous finds:



I don't know how NASA got the rights to Howard Blake's "Walking in the Air," but that's the ethereal background soundscape to this series.

Sequences include:
  :01 – Stars over southern United States
  :08 – US west coast to Canada
  :21 – Central Europe to the Middle East
  :36 – Aurora Australis over the Indian Ocean
  :54 – Storms over Africa
1:08 – Central United States
1:20 – Midwest United States
1:33 – United Kingdom to Baltic Sea
1:46 – Moonset
1:55 – Northern United States to Eastern Canada
2:12 – Aurora Australis over the Indian Ocean
2:32 – Comet Lovejoy
2:53 – Aurora Borealis over Hudson Bay
3:06 – United Kingdom to Central Europe

Original (plus a whole lot more) at the NASA Video Gallery.

Absolutely one of the coolest videos I have ever seen . . .

A water drop falling and then bouncing as it becomes absorbed in a larger body of water.

Check out

--With thanks to Chareen on the Sonlight Curriculum Forums

Reminds me of the old Scope commercials . . . only better

So you own your own company and people try to get you to give them for free what they ought to be paying for. How do you reply?

For some reason, the problem gets me thinking of commercials I saw probably 30 years ago or more (I have hardly watched any TV in the meantime): "How do you tell someone they have bad breath? . . . Scope. Once in the morning does it." --Or something like that.

Well, Scofield Editorial, an Indianapolis-based video and post-production company, seemed to hit the mark perfectly in behalf of the poor small businessperson who is asked for breathtaking "favors" that no self-respecting businessperson ought ever to have to consider. . . . They do it in a clever, humorous 2:20 video:



Enjoy!

Pit crew failure

It takes 12 seconds to find out what the pit crew failed to do, here!

I'd hate to be the pit crew guy who created this problem!

MathTacular! --Sometimes it's a lot of fun to own a company

Our son, the video production guy, sent us some proposed trailers for a couple of math videos he just completed and that are just now coming available at our homeschool site.

Sarita asked him to create a quick-and-dirty trailer . . . which he did . . . and then asked us for our feedback: "How is this for a Trailer? Good to post?"

Here's what he sent. [If you're short on time, you may want to skip this video, though it's only a very short 50 seconds.]



What do you think?

I wrote back:

Ummmm . . . really cute, but I'm afraid it doesn't really say anything. For those "in the know," of course, it may generate some saliva. But for anyone else, it only raises questions and certainly does not create in me any--any--interest to buy. You've given me no reason to buy.

Perhaps you need a voice-over? And/or some words on the screens interspersed between the moving pictures?

One last concern: in the last scene, just before Justin runs out the door, Amber is standing there holding some kind of sign. I couldn't read it. I don't think anyone else will be able to read it either.

Bummer!

Sorry.

And I was. I hate telling my kids that I don't think they've done a great job.

But then, this morning, I got a second email:

Better?

And this was attached:



Same video, as far as I can tell upon a cursory glance, but, oh, wow! What a difference a voice-over makes!

"That is GREAT!" I wrote back.

Perfect! Wonderful! I love it! Thank you!

(Mom says she already said much the same thing. But. Just in case.)

Truly. I laughed out loud . . . and was intrigued by the real content you provided.

And then tonight.

I got home and saw he had sent a third email:

This one good enough to post?

And he attached this video:



Oh, wow!

I laughed out loud!

I replied:

Love it, Luke!

Really great!

Dad

As I said in my title: Sometimes it's a lot of fun to own a company . . . to see and experience and encourage excellent creativity early on . . . to see your own kids (both Luke and Justin) blossom in their individual areas of capability.

--Just thought you might enjoy the smile along with me.

Oh. And just in case you'd like to pick up a copy of either or both videos, MathTacular2 is available at www.sonlight.com/RM33.html, and MathTacular3 at www.sonlight.com/RM37.html.

"HELP!!!" -- Stuck on an escalator . . .

My brother brought this humorously sad one-minute-and-one-second long video to my attention.

An allegory for people who rely too much on government services?

An illustration of how, indeed, we may be Making life too easy through over-specialization?

Turns out it's the first half of a two-minute ad for the "Becel Hearth Health Makeover"--"Win a personal trainer, dietitian, life coach and more"--from Becel Heart Health.

Weird!