| By Jonathan Amos Science reporter, BBC News |
The US shuttle Discovery is all set for its latest mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
The 13-day flight will deliver science equipment to the platform, including a new freezer to store biological samples and a furnace for baking materials.
The lab equipment was made in Europe, which is represented in Discovery's crew by Swede Christer Fuglesang.
The mission will be the 30th shuttle flight dedicated to station assembly and maintenance.
The current plan is for a further six sorties to be made to the ISS before America's re-useable spaceship fleet is retired at the end of next year or early in 2011.
 Christer Fuglesang is part of the mission's strong European focus |
The lift-off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida is timed for 0136 local time (0536 GMT) on Tuesday.
The latest mission has a strong European focus.
European Space Agency (Esa) astronaut Christer Fuglesang will conduct two of the three spacewalks planned during Discovery's stay at the ISS.
On one of these walks, the Swede will move cabling on the exterior of the station in readiness for the arrival next year of a connecting unit, called Node 3 or "Tranquility", and a huge window referred to as the Cupola.
The two modules will be Europe's final large-scale contributions to the assembly of the ISS.
Discovery's payload bay is taken up with the Italian-built Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), which acts as a giant packing box on shuttle logistics missions.
For this flight, the MPLM contains almost seven tonnes of cargo. This mass includes two more important European donations to the ISS project.
One is a Melfi (Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS), which can store biological samples.
 Increased science means more freezer space is needed on the ISS |
"This is the second such freezer," explained Martin Zell, Esa's head of ISS Utilisation.
"This first one is already up there since three years and working extremely well.
"It's the main freezer element on the station and can operate between plus-4C, at the upper temperature, down to minus-80 degrees; and even in different temperatures in its four cold volumes, or compartments," he told BBC News.
The additional Melfi will facilitate the increased science workload taking place on the station now that its resident crew has been raised from three to six.
All manner of biological samples will be stored in the new facility, including blood taken from the astronauts.
This is routinely drawn for study, to further scientists' understanding of the impacts of long-duration spaceflight on the human body.
Growing issue
The other notable European cargo item is the Materials Science Laboratory.
This contains a safe furnace (up to 1,400C) in which astronauts can first melt and then solidify a range of samples, such as metal alloys.
 The MSL is the first dedicated materials science facility for the ISS |
The weightless conditions on the station mean the fine-scale structures in these cooling samples will grow in a different way from how they would at the surface of the Earth.
Scientists expect these experiments to provide novel information that can be applied to everyday industrial manufacturing processes.
With MSL and the Melfi units, Europe is providing both the coldest and the hottest conditions for science on the station.
As well as preparing the platform for the arrival of Tranquility and the Cupola, the mission's spacewalks will replace experiments that currently live on the outside of Esa's Columbus laboratory.
They will also exchange one of the tanks for storing ammonia, which is used to move excess heat from inside the station to the radiators located outside.
Discovery will also drop off US astronaut Nicole Stott for a three-month stay on the ISS, and pick up colleague Tim Kopra for the ride home. Kopra has been living on the platform for the past five weeks.
-Thanks to http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8212950.stm
TheMotherChucker
1:12 PM
10:41 AM
On this day in History: Uruguay beat Argentina in the 1930 World Cup for Football and became the first team to win the Cup!
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_FIFA_World_Cup
The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the first FIFA World Cup, the world championship for international football teams. It was played in Uruguay from 13 July to 30 July. FIFA chose Uruguay as hosts at the Barcelona conference on 18 May 1929, as the country would be celebrating the centenary of its independence and the Uruguay national football team had successfully retained their football title at the 1928 Summer Olympics.
Thirteen teams participated; nine from the Americas and four from Europe. Few European teams chose to participate due to the duration and cost of travel. The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously, and were won by France and the USA, who beat Mexico 4-1 and Belgium 3-0, respectively. The first goal in World Cup history was scored by Lucien Laurent of France. In the final, hosts and pre-tournament favourites Uruguay defeated Argentina 4-2 in front of a crowd of 93,000 people, and became the first nation to win a World Cup.
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS, DEARIES... (I promise I'll post about other celebrities soon... bear with me)
Mike Dirnt, bassist of Green Day
from: http://www.allgigs.co.uk/view/review/3982/Green_Day_Interview_With_Green_Days_Mike_Dirnt_Interview.html
Interview
Gone are the days when Green Day were mainly known for coordinating their hair die with their band name and their boggy-eyed frontman's far-fetched sprechgesang, as witnessed on their 1994 'Dookie' album.
Since the turn of the century, having reached 30, the punk trio have taken a more engaged stance, with their 2004 acclaimed album, American Idiot, which they have now followed up with their latest outing, 21st Century Breakdown, released in the spring.
Bassist Mike Dirnt talks us through the making of this new opus, their new found maturity and their uncompromising credibility as punk stars of a new day.
Your new album, 21st Century Breakdown, took five years to make. Why so long?
Well, we had two years of touring the previous record [American idiot] and then three years of working on this one after we finished touring in December'05. We went into the studio in February'06. We had to take our time to really figure out what we wanted to do; we wanted to find ways of challenging rather than repeating ourselves. Jumping head first is not really our style.
What are the themes and influences on this new album?
The record is called 21st Century Breakdown and basically we have two characters on the record: Christian and Gloria, that kind of speak on each songs, without it being a story but more to identify an issue for each song in the post-Bush era. Because you know, in America, every week we have a different crisis, even though we have a new President and a sense of optimism, we're moving to the worst times seen since the depression era.
OK, so is this mainly an album for Americans or is it intended at everyone else as well?
Well, I think anybody can relate to it although that's where it comes from. Just because it was made in America, doesn't restrict it to there. It's not just about America, it's about people, who have emotions and feelings, and about how you can kill your dreams if you don't question everything, including yourself.
You cited Queen, Bruce Springsteen, The Who, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, and The Clash, as influences for this album. How's that? How did these artists influence you?
I think more than musically, all these artists were very inspirational for the work they have achieved overall. It's not everyday that a band or an artist try to write the best record of their career, or try to reach another step beyond as songwriters and musicians. And for us, that challenge was very scary but also stimulating.
Is Hollywood the best place to achieve this?
Well, we only went there for the final recording of the album. But the first writing years we spent in Oakland. Then, we moved in a tiny studio in Southern California, when the producer (Butch Vig) got involved....
With 21st Century Breakdown you continue in the lines of a rock opera, following American Idiot, and the album is quite lengthy (three acts), why so long?
Yeah, this record is about 70 minutes. You know what, I think this record could almost be looked at as three small records put together. We did try to take songs on and take songs off but there just seemed to have a flow -each section of the record is very important in describing a full idea or emotion, and in making it a very good musical ride. I also think that we come from an era of making albums when they were still vinyl, and that in a day when people can just download one single off the internet if they want to, we need to make records a little more special that.
If you were to pick one song from each act/section, what would they be and why?
For the first section (Heroes and Cons), I would choose Know Your Enemy because it's such a personal question and yet it can also regarded as a global one.
In the 2nd section (Charlatans and Saints), I would pick Restless Heart Syndrome, which is a song about how prescription drugs and over the counter drugs are so advertised and pushed in America that sometimes you're taking pills in order to kill off all nightmares instead of killing your dreams.
And then for Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, that would have to be See The Light, because there's got to be hope in a time of crisis even though we don't have the answers to everything.
Who wrote the songs on this album? Did you all contribute ideas?
Billie Joe wrote most of the lyrics, he read them out to us, and then we started brainstorming on arrangements, sequencing, etc... Together, we found a logical and natural correlation for all the songs.
Why did you recruit Butch Vig to produce the album?
He had always been on our radar in terms of who we would like to work with some day. And then, we got the chance to meet him, and once we did, we all spontaneously agreed that he was the man for the job.
Did you feel you were stagnating with Rob Cavallo on production?
We just wanted something a little different, that's all. We've always been very involved in the production of our records anyway, so we wanted someone who was going to challenge us in a different way...
Which way was that?
Butch wanted to push the sound of things, so on some songs, there's a lot of piano stuff or certain vocal styles that you would never expect to hear from Green Day. Butch really pushed us into letting these songs out. He let us be emotional, vulnerable and dangerous and prompted not to be afraid of anything.
How would you define your music today- has it evolved from being plain punk rock to something else at all?
We're a punk rock band, that's the scene we came from but I think Green Day is also a great rock'n'roll band.... I am more than biased 'cause it's my band but I think we're very ambitious, and I just want to make music for the world, and I want to write great songs and want to make my family proud.
Can a punk band still rock it out past 40?
Yeah, 'cause the punk scene I grew up in was never ageist. There are no rules to punk rock.
What do you make of all these punk bands reforming: The Only Ones, Wire, to name a few, all these bands suddenly reforming in 2008-09?
Well, I think it's alright if they want to get back together. If people want to go and see them, then that's fine. It's like with us- we can't force anyone to buy our records or like our music, we just got to put it out there and see what happens.
You've been together for 22 years now. Has it always been an easy ride?
We spent 22 years in this band but have all known each other since the age of 5. [laughs]...Well, there have been ups and downs, but I think it's harder to stick together than to call it quits. A lot of bands give up but we've managed to keep it together, both for ourselves and for the band...
So did you ever feel like quitting?
I wouldn't call it quitting but more take off the pressure of what we do, at times. We're fully aware of the opportunities we've been given, to achieve great goals, and do not want to take them granted. And I am very proud of Green Day's longetivity.
Tell us about the musical stage adaptation of American Idiot (produced by the team behind 'Spring Awakening', due to premiere at the Berkley Repertory Theatre in California this September). Is it the beginning of lucrative retirement plan?
Well, I don't think we did anything for money. I think we do it for art. I don't need any money 'cause eventually I'm gonna die and it will all go away anyway, so I don't care about that. And with the musical, I mean, we saw it, and the people who are doing it are absolutely brilliant at their craft, and to see these kids performing you can tell they live for the stage and for their art, and that is very inspirational for us.
21st Century Breakdown is out now. Green Day will tour the UK from October 19th to November 1st.
The Ace
12:21 PM
3:40 PM
Spotted: Recording songs that take us back to the emo-heavy songs of her previous works: Avril Lavigne is writing and recording songs again.
Taken from http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/07/24/avril-lavigne-in-the-studio-exclusive/
Avril Lavigne in the studio: An EW exclusive!
Avril Lavigne didn’t mean to start recording a new album. “It just happened,” she says of the still-untitled November 17th release. “I made a record without even feeling like I made a record.”
Sitting in a studio in Tarzana, Calif., with her feet — clad in a pair of vinyl hightops — propped up on a mixing board, the now 24 year old pop-punk princess barely looks a day older than she did when “Complicated” took the airwaves by storm in 2002. “I’m sitting on the piano writing in the foyer, and he’s in the studio, and it’s like, ‘Hey. I like that.’”
“He” is Lavigne’s husband (and Sum 41 frontman) Deryck Whibley, who has used the couple’s home studio to produce eight of the nine tracks she’s recorded so far. “I think this is taking the spirit of what she’s done on previous records so much further,” he says. “It’s way more meaningful, has more of an impact, more emotional. It makes me feel something more than the other stuff. And I wanted to match that musically with the track.”
Lavigne seems thrilled to have such a crack in-house production partner. “He knows me. We spend a lot of time together,” she laughs, in her habitual cackle. “And the cool thing is, if he’s recording something and I don’t like it, I can be like, ‘No, no, no, I don’t like that. More like this.’ Or I can walk in and be like, ‘Love it. Keep going.’”
It was a song snippet called “Black Star” — intended for her fragrance commercial — that launched the recording process back in November; Lavigne played that intro and two complete tracks for EW called “Everybody Hurts” and “Darlin’.” The first has a trademark Lavigne acoustic beginning, then explodes into a loud chorus of “Everybody hurts some days.”
The second is a love song Lavigne wrote when she was 15: “I always really liked this song,” she says, “and I never recorded it.” There are other songs from her past on the record, too, including one she wrote at 17, and one she wrote at 20. “I always had material, but some people that I worked with didn’t really care, because they wanted to write the stuff,” she says, when asked why the tunes haven’t surfaced before. “Some people were just like, ‘Ah, whatever. You’re a little girl. What do you know?’ I know how this works. It’s my fourth record. It’s not rocket science. I think people doubted me before, and I’m finally just like, ‘I’m doing this.’”
Both new tracks also demonstrate quite clearly that the rapping/Toni Basil affliction that plagued 2007’s The Best Damn Thing has left her system, and she’s back to the emo-heavy strengths of her first two albums. “[Best Damn Thing] was intended to be fun, to be rockin’,” she explains. “All I had in my mind was my live show, running around on stage, getting the crowd involved. This record, I just really, really wanted to sing. We started recording each song, some of them, just with acoustic guitar and the vocal and building it from there. It’s stripped down. I love performing that way, so I really felt like it was time to make a record like that. To just make it all about the vocal and the performance, and the vibe, and the emotion.”
She’s thinking about doing a theater tour in support of the new album, so she can bring that emotion directly to the audience. “I just wanna have silence around me, and have these acoustic songs and really deliver,” she says.
There’s more work to be done before the album release, but Lavigne doesn’t seem to be sweating it. “My new word right now is ‘balance,’” she says. “Work hard, play hard. Maybe that should be the album cover: Work Hard, Play Hard…Bitch.” With this, she cracks herself up again. “I swear to God I have not drank anything but green juice today,” she grins. “Why am I acting like this?” Part of it may be that the little sk8er girl is finally growing up, and feels comfortable — and demonstrably happy — making an album that reflects where she is in life right now. “I was always really honest in my lyrics,” she says, “I think more so when I was younger, and now it’s kind of come back to that. Just like, you know what? I’m not trying to write a perfect pop song. I’m just trying to write a song that’s honest right now, even if something sounds weird or a lyric might not make sense to someone.
“I’m turning 25 this year. 25, but not 35! Half of me is really older-acting and the other half is a young spirit. When I’m really old, I think I’ll be crazy, and have a young spirit and be fun. But yeah. I am an adult. But sometimes I still feel like I’m 19.” She guffaws again. “Sometimes I still dress like I’m 19. I don’t think I’ll ever be super mad sophisticated. I think I’ll always be like this.”
Spotted: The beautiful sight of a baby. A special one.
From http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/07/24/panda-born-frozen-sperm.html
First Panda Born From Frozen Sperm
July 24, 2009 -- China announced the first successful birth of a panda cub from artificial insemination using frozen sperm, giving a new option for the notoriously poor breeders, officials said Friday.
Panda females have only three days a year in which they can conceive -- one reason their species is endangered.
Female panda You You (pronounced Yo Yo) gave birth to the new cub Thursday morning at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center in southwestern Sichuan. It is You You's third baby, and the 10th panda cub born at Wolong this year.
Just after dawn, the pinkish, hairless cub emerged, and its mother licked the baby to clean it, according to footage shown by state broadcaster CCTV.
Panda researchers said Friday that they believe it's the first successful live birth worldwide using frozen panda sperm.
"We did try before but it failed," said Huang Yan, a deputy research technician with the China Panda Preservation Research Center.
The technique has been tried in other countries but this was the first known instance of a live birth, he said.
The sperm from male panda Lolo had been frozen for "a number of years," said Huang, though he did not give details.
Artificial insemination is commonly used for breeding pandas, which have a very low sex drive. In 2006, 34 pandas were born through artificial insemination in China and 30 survived -- both record numbers for the endangered species. The technique has also been used at zoos in the United States.
However, using panda sperm that has been frozen earlier -- instead of from an immediate donor -- had not been successful before.
Scientists carried out the artificial insemination in March, and You You was found to be pregnant in June during an ultrasound exam, according to a notice on the Wolong Center's Web site.
xoxo (not quite),
The Ace
12:41 PM
xoxo (not quite),
The Ace
12:38 PM
Its ME, Pei Ling!
okay. i noe ur complaining that people dont visit this blog. but, nevermind. I DO!
heehee.
okay. i was thinking, LETS SING HEY STEPHEN!
Its a really nice sweet song. And it kind of sticks in ur head, u noe wad I mean?
okay. i was thinking, LETS HAVE A CLASS NEWSPAPER!
Wouldnt that be fun??? then we could write about what the teachers are wearing. and class outings and stuff! but then we would have to print 37 copies. hmm. not fun.
OOOH lets have an online newspaper! it would be FREE!
heehee.
ooooo lets do a feature on all the different hairstyles we have in SC.
wheeee.
Pei Ling.
pei ling.
PEI LING.
Pei Ling.
pei ling.
PEI LING.
3:47 PM
12:16 PM
2. No one is bothered about watching us perform
3. It is a LONG LONG time away
4. Let's sing Simple Plan songs or Boys Like Girls or The Click Five or some other pop-rock/ pop punk (you didn't know Simple Plan/ Boys Like Girls/ The Academy Is... etc. bands are pop punk?! ) bands.
5. We don't need a stupid tagboard, 'coz once someone gives me the class email list, I'll add all of you to the blog
6. Say something people other than Kit Lea or are you all dead?
Drima Chuck
10:22 PM
3:38 PM
Together - Avril Lavigne
Lyrics:
Something just isn't right
I can feel it inside
The truth isn't far behind me
You can't deny
When I turn the lights out
When I close my eyes
Reality overcomes me
I'm living a lie
Chorus
When I'm alone
I feel so much better
And when I'm around you
I don't feel
Together
It doesn't feel right at all
Together
Together we've built a wall
Together
Holding hands we'll fall
Hands we'll fall
This has gone on too long
I realize that I need
Something good to rely on
Something for me
Chorus
My heart is broken
I'm here
My thoughts are choking
On you, my dear [x3]
Chorus
When I'm around you
When I'm around you
I don't feel together, no
I don't feel together, no
When I'm around you
When I'm around you
I don't feel together, no
I don't feel together
Or, this...
The Best Years of Our Lives - Evan Taubenfeld
Lyrics:
Oh oh oo Oh Oh oo... (3x)
We had the best years of our lives,
But you and I would never be the same,
September took me by surprise,
And I was left to watch the seasons change.
Oh oh oo Oh Oh oo... (3x)
It's been so quiet since you're gone,
And everyday feels more like a year,
Sometimes I wish I could move on,
The memories would all just disappear.
So many things I should've,
Said when I had the chance,
So many times we took it all for granted.
[CHORUS]
I'd never thought this could ever end,
I'd never thought I'd lose my bestfriend,
Everything is different now,
Can we stop the world from turning?
I'd never thought I'd have to let you go,
I'd Never thought I'd ever feel this low,
I Wish I could go back,
And we'd stop the world from turning.
Oh oh oo Oh Oh oo... (2x)
Looking back on better days,
When we were young, we thought we knew so much.
And now it seems so far away,
I'm wondering If I was good enough.
So many things I should've,
Said when I had the chance,
So many times we took it all for granted.
[CHORUS]
I'd never thought we would ever end,
I'd never thought I'd lose my bestfriend,
Everything is different now,
Can we stop the world from turning?
I'd never thought I'd have to let you go,
I'd Never thought I'd ever feel this low,
I Wish I could go back,
And we'd stop the world from turning.
Gone are all the days,
When we swore we'd never break,
And now I'm left here alone.
Oh oh oo Oh Oh oo... (3x)
Oh oh ooo..
Oh oh oo Oh Oh oo...
I'd never thought this would ever end,
Oh oh oo Oh Oh oo...
I'd never thought I'd lose my bestfriend,
Oh oh oo Oh Oh oo...
Everything is different now,
Oh oh oo Oh Oh oo...
Can we stop the world from turning?
[CHORUS]
I'd never thought this could ever end,
I'd never thought I'd lose my bestfriend,
Everything is different now,
Can we stop the world from turning?
I'd never thought I'd have to let you go,
I'd Never thought I'd ever feel this low,
I Wish I could go back,
And we'd stop the world from turning.
Oh oh oo Oh Oh oo... (2x)
Oh oh oo ooo.
Chuck
4:54 PM
Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne
The Best Damn Thing - Avril Lavigne
Basket Case - Avril Lavigne (Avril Lavigne covering Green Day's Basket Case)
Note: I like Avril's version 'coz she is way more in tune that Green Day. But Green Day rock. Basket Case was released in 1994. I wasn't even born!
These are the three songs featured in the cheer!
CHEER
(The Best Damn Thing)
Let me hear you say hey hey hey (hey hey hey) Now let me hear you say hey hey ho (hey hey ho)
1...2...3!
(Basket Case)
Do you have the time To listen to us cheer About nothing and everything All at once We are 1SY We're sure you've heard all about us We are sure that we're the best Everyone knows that it's true It all keeps adding up No, we're not cracking up We're the symphony of sincerity Grasping to control So you better hold on!
(The Best Damn Thing)
'Coz we're the best *clap* class that you're eyes have ever seen!
(Girlfriend)
Hey hey, you you We're One Sincerity No way, no way None of you can beat us Hey hey, you you 'Coz we're the greatest Hey hey, you you It's not worth trying No way, no way 'Coz we're so much better Hey hey, you you We're the Symphony of Sincerity AND THAT'S WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING 'BOUT!
Drima Chuck The Punk Rocker!
4:19 PM
Drima Chuck
8:28 PM
The Sincerere <3
-
We're nerdy.
We're wild.
We're funny.
We're boring.
We're sweet.
We're mean.
We're worlds apart.
We're a FAMILY.
We're friendly.
We're competitive.
We're unique.
We're just like you.
We're onesincerityohnine, the best class in the world
Be here with you <3
Those Days
Tell us a story into that goodnight
-
<