Maria Graham and the Valparaíso Earthquake j.hoare Mon‚ 01/15/2024 - 11:12

A boy’s pig sold at a livestock auction for an impressive price once the auctioneer explained why he needed the money. The young owner‚ named Dustin‚ has cystic fibrosis‚ a rare terminal disease. His sister‚ who also had this illness‚ passed away from it. As the auctioneer explained‚ there is no federal funding for researching this disease. Dustin’s story touched the hearts of many livestock auction bidders; they generously shelled out $36‚000 for the terminally ill boy’s pig! “We want you to know that cystic fibrosis is an orphan disease‚ meaning there is no federal funding‚” said the auctioneer. “So everything that goes into research comes from private donations.” Screengrab from TikTok His speech continued‚ “But we do want you to know that the researchers that are involved in this are making strides every single day. But like other disabilities or disorders‚ they need your attention.” Thanks to the kind buyers at the livestock auction‚ the terminally ill boy’s pig has raised quite the sum! People never cease to amaze us with their generosity. We’re hoping that these funds help cystic fibrosis researchers as they develop treatments and cures. Watch the video below to see the livestock auction where Dustin’s pig raised $36‚000. @auctionrepgod A terminally ill boy’s pig was sold for over $36‚000 at an auction #auctioneer #fyp #viral #auctionswork #layka #bidcalling #fillerwords ♬ original sound – Auction Rap god You can find the source of this story’s featured image here. The post Pig Sells For Astounding $36K At Auction When Bidders Learn Young Owner Is Terminally Ill. appeared first on InspireMore.

As guitarist for Citizen Zero from 2012 through 2018‚ Sammy Boller put himself on a map as part of the next generation of truly great guitarists who would be around for a long time. As a solo artist‚ considering he’s just wrapped a tour with virtuoso shredder Greg Howe‚ and is about to hop on another with Mötley Crüe’s resident maestro‚ John 5‚ it’s safe to say that Boller has held up his end of the bargain. Few do what Boller does best—melodic tapping‚ and epic‚ hyper-fluid runs‚ while conjuring primal tones from various curios and amps. But that doesn’t The post Sammy Boller: 10 Albums That Changed My Life appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

I have been making documentaries‚ radio shows and podcasts since 2003. During those 18 long years I have been so lucky to visit nearly 100 countries‚ to film in fortress-like Maori Pā sites‚ abandoned Norse churches in Greenland‚ paddle-boat wrecks on the Yukon‚ Mayan temples covered in vegetation‚ and the stunning mosques of Timbuktu. I have met thousands of historians‚ archaeologists and experts‚ I have read thousands of books. What follows is a gigantic and ever growing list of tit-bits‚ facts‚ snippets that I have been told. I started it around the start of the year and I intend to add to it‚ one a day‚ perhaps as long as I live. I have enough weird‚ wonderful‚ quirky‚ vital‚ tragic‚ funny stories and facts tucked away in notebooks and phone apps to last a few years yet‚ and thanks to the huge privilege I have of interviewing the world’s best historians‚ I hope to fill many more. Lots of these will be contested‚ some will be wrong. Research will have moved on‚ or more likely‚ I noted them incorrectly. Some were gathered in the pub after filming where mistakes of all kinds are to be expected. Some were relayed to me in shouted conversations on dive boats in the teeth of a gale or the back of a pickup truck‚ careering over indecipherable roads as the light faded in a place where it was best to be home by dark. I am grateful for your thoughts and corrections. It will make the list more robust and remarkable. If you have a correction or suggestion‚ please let us know! 1. Record breaking vaccine The record for a vaccine to be developed and licensed was four years. The record holder was the mumps vaccine which was licensed in 1967. Following the UK government approval of the Pfizer vaccine for Covid19 in early December 2020‚ that record is now just under 11 months. 2. Dictators together In 1913 Stalin‚ Hitler‚ Trotsky‚ Tito all lived in Vienna for a couple of months. 3. Colonial background The first British officer killed in World War One was an Englishman‚ born in India‚ in a Scottish regiment‚ commanding Senegalese troops in Togoland. 4. The biggest shark attack When the USS Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine on 30 July 1945 survivors were left in the water for four days‚ during which time around 600 men died of exposure‚ dehydration‚ and shark attacks. Experts believe it may be the single greatest concentration of shark attacks on humans in history. 5. Loss of horse power Napoleon took 187‚600 horses with his army as he rode into Russia in 1812‚ only 1‚600 came back. 6. Race at war In World War One‚ France’s black soldiers suffered a death rate 3x higher than their white comrades‚ because they were so often given suicidal tasks. 7. Police state The Metropolitan Police Act of 1839 criminalised a range of nuisances. Knocking on a door and running away‚ flying kites‚ singing obscene ballads‚ sliding on ice in the street. Technically all of these activities are still offences within the Metropolitan police area of London. You can be given a fine of up to £500. 8. Japanese superstitions Before battle‚ Japanese samurai painted their faces‚ horses and teeth‚ and left a hole in their helmet through which the soul could escape. 9. Commitment to the cause Colonel Sourd‚ Napoleon’s 2nd Lancers‚ fought all day on horseback at Waterloo. He’d had his arm amputated‚ no pain relief‚ the day before. 10. For King and Country The last survivor of the defence of Rorke’s Drift‚ Frank Bourne‚ lived to be 91. He died on 8 May 1945 – VE Day. 11. Army on the streets The last time the British Army deliberately killed anyone in Britain‚ (as distinct from Northern Ireland which is obviously a very different story)‚ was in August 1911. Two civilians were shot in Liverpool during a rail strike‚ and a few days later in Llanelli two civilians were shot and killed again during a strike. 12. Smell test A 17th century King of Arakan chose wives by making women stand in the sun and then doing a blind sniff test on all their sweaty clothes. The ones he didn’t like he sent to lesser nobles. 13. Not so golden age In her later years‚ Queen Elizabeth I’s teeth were black from too much sugar. 14. What is a quarantine The word “quarantine” comes from quarantena‚ meaning “forty days” in 14th century Venetian. The Venetians imposed a 40-day isolation of ships and people arriving in their lagoon during the Black Death. 15. Surrender? Never! Lt Hiroo Onoda served with Japan’s army in the Philippines during World War Two. He was ordered not to surrender‚ so he didn’t‚ until 1974. His wartime boss was sent to get him. He returned home a hero. 16. Ungentlemanly conduct In 1759 the French besieging Madras strongly complained that the British defenders had fired at their HQ. The British immediately apologised. 17. Soviet perspective In 50 days on the Eastern Front of World War Two in July and August 1943 the losses suffered by the Germans and the Soviets were greater than those sustained by the USA and Great Britain combined‚ for the whole of the Second World War. 18. Quick! In England‚ in 1800‚ almost 40% of brides came to the altar pregnant. 19. Surprising the sexists Suffragist life partners‚ Flora Murray and Louisa Garrett Anderson‚ both qualified doctors‚ attempted to join the armed forces medical services on the outbreak of war in 1914 but were not allowed to serve because of their sex. So they set up an independent hospital to treat wounded soldiers‚ with all-female staff‚ surgeons‚ anaesthesiologists and nurses. It rapidly became regarded as the best in the UK. 20. Outcast DH Lawrence was thrown out of his village during World War One because he was allegedly signalling to German U-boats with laundry on his clothes-Iine! 21. Happy Birthday Queen Vic On 1 January 1886 the British government gave Queen Victoria an extravagant birthday gift: Burma. 22. To the last man Pavlov’s House held-out for two months at Stalingrad. The Germans lost more men attacking it than taking Paris. 23. The Churchill myth Of Winston Churchill’s most famous 1940 speeches: ‘Blood‚ toil‚ tears and sweat‚’ ‘Fight them on the beaches’‚ ‘Finest Hour‚’ ‘The Few‚’ only one‚ ‘Finest Hour’ was actually broadcast on the radio at the time. All of them were delivered to the House of Commons‚ but only after his ‘Finest Hour’ speech did Churchill record a version later for the BBC. The other speeches he only recorded in 1949. I visited parliament to learn more about the speeches that turned the tide of the Second World War: 24. Taking your time Homosexuality has been legal in Italy since 1870‚ England 1967‚ Scotland 1980‚ N Ireland 1982‚ Isle of Man 1992 and Tasmania since 1997. It has now been legal in 14 US states since 2003. 25. DIY country In 1820 Gregor MacGregor invented the fictitious country of Poyais in South America. He issued bank notes and sold land for 4 shillings an acre. 26. Changing metropolis The world’s biggest city in 1AD was Alexandria; 500: Nanjing; 1000: Cordoba; 1500: Beijing; 2000: Tokyo. 27. Stop looking for war dead The British government halted the search for war dead on the Western Front in September 1921 when they were still finding 500 bodies a week. 28. A city for cars? LA is so sprawling thanks to trains‚ not cars. A century ago it was served by the largest electric railway ever built: the ‘Red Car’ system. 29. God’s gun The 1718 Puckle Gun was designed to fire round bullets at Christians and square bullets at Heathens to teach the “benefits of Christian civilization”. 30. Out with their eyes! Henry I gave permission for two of his granddaughters to be blinded and have the tips of their noses cut off after their father blinded the son of another baron. Their mother‚ Juliane‚ was so enraged she rebelled against Henry and attempted to kill him with a crossbow. She missed‚ leapt off her castle tower into the moat and made her escape. King Henry I‚ by unknown artist (Image Credit: National Portrait Gallery / Public Domain). 31. Christmas is cancelled A Christmas themed one from the brilliant Joanna McCunn on that old chestnut‚ did Cromwell ban Christmas… In 1644 the Puritan parliament declared every last Wednesday of the month would be a legally mandated fast day. Christmas Day fell on the last Wednesday of the month so no feasting was to be allowed that year. Time should be spent in even more solemn humiliation‚ repenting of your sins for making Christmas a time of carnal and sensual delights in the past. In 1647 they went the whole hog‚ banning all celebrations of Christmas and Easter for good! (Charles II reversed this when he came to the throne in 1660). A 1656 Samuel Cooper portrait of Cromwell (Image Credit: National Portrait Gallery / Public Domain). 32. Knights and headwear Never‚ ever refer to what I now know thanks to one million social media corrections is OBVIOUSLY a crocheted knights helmet as a ‘knitted knight’s hat.’

An expansion of the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program means that for the first time‚ humanity is starting to collect a substantial sample of the radio universe for this purpose‚ thanks to advances in detection equipment. Despite occasional flutters of excitement‚ none of our scanning of the skies has turned up evidence of alien civilizations. However‚ radio astronomers stress that this doesn’t prove there’s no truth out there to find. A commonly used analogy is someone who takes a single bucketful of water from the ocean‚ finds no fish in it‚ and therefore concludes fish do not exist.Our historic sampling is equivalently small. If aliens were even one percent of the way across the galaxy and sending out as many radio and TV signals as we are‚ it’s very unlikely we would have detected them – even if they’d been doing it long enough for the signals to reach Earth.A new‚ much larger‚ bucket may now change that. Known as Commensal Open-Source Multimode Interferometer Cluster (COSMIC)‚ the new detector is linked to the Karl G Jansky Very Large Array (VLA)‚ which featured as the alien-hunting site in the film Contact. “COSMIC introduces modern Ethernet-based digital architecture on the VLA‚ allowing for a test bed for future technologies as we move into the next generation era‚” said project scientist Dr Chenoa Tremblay in a statement. Extraterrestrial radio signals can be sought either through scanning wide areas of the sky‚ or by pinpointing what are considered promising candidates. However‚ with the technology we have had up until now‚ neither has been very satisfying. Broad surveys have only been able to detect very powerful signals – the sort we might get if aliens were blasting deliberate messages straight at us at the right frequency‚ but not the leakage from their general chatter. Picking specific targets means knowing where to look‚ and that requires knowledge we don’t have. Even the planet considered “the best place to look for life outside the Solar System”  might not even be a rocky planet like our own. Recent research indicates it’s more likely either a gaseous sub-Neptune hostile to life‚ or a water world with large barriers to technology. The other planets we know of are less promising still. Two previous efforts‚ Project Phoenix and Breakthrough Listen‚ targeted 1‚000-2‚000 stars – but even then could only cover limited parts of the spectrum (initially 1-4 GHz‚ although recently this has broadened somewhat). Now‚ however‚ the SETI Institute is expanding a thousand-fold.COSMIC is designed to allow us to greatly expand our range so we don’t have to be so picky. “Currently‚ the focus is on creating one of the largest surveys for technological signals‚ with over 500‚000 sources observed in the first six months‚” Tremblay said. She added the same technology will allow us to do many things unrelated to the search for life‚ like looking for dark matter candidates or the causes of fast radio bursts.COSMIC doesn’t require larger dishes or more sensitive antennae. Instead‚ it enables the processing of signals that have been effectively wasted. COSMIC collects and processes data that might contain technosignatures at the same time as researchers are using the radio telescope for other things.Because the data is handled in real-time‚ instead of weeks or years later as has happened previously‚ there are opportunities to go back and look at anything promising before it disappears.Natural radio emissions can almost always be seen over a wide range of frequencies‚ while those that humans produce are usually quite narrow to avoid interference and wasting energy. SETI has usually operated by seeking signals restricted to narrow wavelengths on the assumption aliens would follow similar rules‚ and COSMIC is no exception.“COSMIC executes a search targeting narrowband (Hz-scale) emissions and produces small 'postage stamp' raw voltage files for each antenna around signals of interest‚” Tremblay and co-authors of a new paper write; “Employing a cluster of CPU/GPU compute nodes‚ COSMIC processes data in real time to look for signs of technosignatures within our Galaxy from the directions of our nearest stars.”Consequently‚ they add‚ “We predict that over 10 million stars could be observed within a few years‚ which is orders of magnitude greater than the scope of the entire current history of radio technosignature searches.”A description of COSMIC and its potential is published open access in the Astronomical Journal. 

Wildlife documentaries like the BBC’s recent series‚ Planet Earth III‚ are renowned for offering breathtaking images of animals in their natural habitats. You’d be forgiven for thinking these shows offer an unmediated portrayal of these animals – an objective window into their lives as they hunt‚ rest‚ and rear their young. But this isn’t quite the case.While the images we see are filmed on location‚ many of the sounds are recorded and added to the programs later. The sounds of animals walking‚ chewing food‚ and panting‚ for example‚ are almost always recorded by human “Foley artists” in a sound studio far away from the filming location‚ often weeks or months later. Foley artists are specialists who produce bespoke sounds for film and television soundtracks. Foley artists at work.This curious fact is an inevitable consequence of modern wildlife filmmaking. A lot of wildlife documentary footage is shot using telephoto lenses that can zoom in on their subjects from a great distance. But sound recordists typically can’t get close enough to capture clear sound without disturbing the animals.Wildlife documentaries also tend to require large crews. If sound were recorded on location‚ it would be muddied by background noises such as crew chatter or car engines. In other cases‚ the animals make sounds of a frequency or volume that most microphones simply can’t capture clearly.In my research‚ I’ve talked to Foley artists who specialize in animal sound and observed them at work in their studios.How Foley artists workThis Foley process generally involves deciding which of the animal’s actions or movements need sounds to be created for them‚ and then deciding on the specific qualities those sounds should have.These decisions often involve the broader sound production team and sometimes the show’s director. The Foley artist then uses their creativity and resourcefulness to create the sounds.So‚ what sorts of techniques do they use? It might seem cliched‚ but the professionals I’ve spoken to really do sometimes knock coconut shells against stone slabs to make the sound of horse footsteps. For an elephant‚ they might use rocks against a straw-covered tub of compacted earth. More Foley artists at work.A simple pitter-patter of the artist’s fingers in a water tank can create the sound of fish jumping across the surface of a lake‚ while a bundle of old VHS tape swished around a large water tank gives the sound of a shoal of fish moving through the ocean.A pair of old leather gloves ruffled together quickly might be used to simulate the flutter of a bird’s wings as it takes off. And most artists will create the close-up sounds of animals chewing‚ panting‚ or yawning with their own mouths. These sounds are created as the artist watches the footage on a monitor‚ making sure they perfectly match the actions they’re paired with.There are some exceptions. Animal cries and roars – which are far too complex to be simulated artificially – tend to be taken from library recordings. And recent developments in microphone technology mean that sound recordists can begin to capture more sounds on location. But for the time being‚ Foley sound remains a staple of wildlife documentary production.Why Foley artist choices matterWatching Foley artists at work on wildlife projects gives me a thrill like the one we get when we see how a magic trick is done. But the significance of this technique goes further than that‚ because both the sounds that are attributed to animals and the nature of those sounds have the ability to affect how we perceive a given species.On the one hand‚ a slithery‚ slimy sound may be matched to the image of a snake – even if a human would be unlikely to hear much if they were really stood next to the camera. Emphasizing such an unnerving sound is unlikely to win the snake any new fans‚ whereas a soft yawn accompanying a close-up of a tiger cub may increase the sense of that animal’s cuteness or vulnerability.Sounds guide our emotional interpretation of the things we see‚ and there have been complaints about previous series of Planet Earth‚ when this audio guidance seemed too heavy-handed.This matters because the popularity of certain animal species‚ driven by these documentaries‚ may affect support for conservation efforts. Steven Spielberg’s fictional film Jaws (1975) made it clear that the way certain animals are portrayed in popular media can have very tangible real-world consequences. Spielberg himself has expressed regret about the boom in shark hunting that the film may have encouraged by presenting the shark as both villain and potential trophy.The use of Foley sound in wildlife documentaries is far more subtle‚ of course‚ but it still has the potential to affect how we perceive certain species. And it is all the more powerful because it often flies below the radar of our conscious attention.So‚ while the masterful work done by Foley artists on wildlife programs and films should be celebrated for its ingenuity and magical effects‚ perhaps it should also be taken as an invitation to think critically about exactly what we see‚ and hear.Damien Pollard‚ Lecturer in Film‚ Northumbria University‚ Northumbria University‚ NewcastleThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

A mysterious series of disturbances has left the villagers of Kampung Kepis on edge for the past two weeks‚ reports nst.com.my. The unsettling incidents include unexplained knocking on doors and sightings of a shadowy figure resembling a person. The situation took an eerie turn on Wednesday night‚ as Haslinda Hassim‚ a 54-year-old resident‚ claimed to have witnessed the enigmatic entity outside her home around 9.40 pm. According to Haslinda‚ her 17-year-old child had earlier urged her to secure all doors and windows‚ citing disturbances in a nearby house. “My child came home with a friend and asked me to open the kitchen door. “Suddenly‚ we heard a sound like something had dropped or fallen outside the house‚” said Haslinda when met at her house. From her elevated vantage point‚ she observed what seemed like an object falling‚ leading her to witness a peculiar shadowy entity that appeared to be crawling. “At first‚ I brushed it off‚ thinking it was just my eyes playing tricks on me – an illusion of sorts. “But when I saw it again‚ it made direct eye contact‚ stood up‚ and swiftly dashed towards the main road‚ fading away into the darkness‚” she recounted. Since that unsettling night‚ Haslinda’s home has become a focal point for these mysterious disturbances‚ occurring four more times. The latest episode unfolded in the stillness of the wee hours‚ around 2.30 am. During this eerie visitation‚ scratching noises echoed on the walls‚ accompanied by sounds as if something or someone was attempting to pry open one of the windows. Residents‚ including Mariam Johit‚ 67‚ also reported similar experiences‚ with her daughter witnessing the shadowy entity after hearing the house’s fence being shaken. “This is the fifth time our home has been disturbed. Last night‚ at home with my two children and grandchild‚ at around 9pm‚ we heard the house’s front gate shake. “My daughter‚ Noreennor Mohd Noor‚ 38‚ looked through the curtains and saw the shadowy entity lurking outside the house. “She screamed ‘there’s someone mak’ before she rushed to open the front door and went out‚ but then the shadowy entity moved to the side of the house‚” she said. Mariam added that her daughter recounted hearing rapid footsteps before the mysterious entity vanished into thin air. “Family members‚ relatives and other villagers had surrounded our house but did not find nor spot anything‚” she said. Kampung Kepis Hilir Development and Safety Committee chairman Mohammad Sah Sulaiman hoped for an immediate end to the unsettling events. “This disturbance has been going on for more than a week now‚ and it has caused fear and chaos among the local folk‚ so much so some of them are afraid to go to the toilet in their own homes to relieve themselves‚” he said. The post Malaysian villagers live in fear of a shadowy entity appeared first on Anomalien.com.