Today is a mishmash of worthless pop trivia, but with a tie in to good-for-you literature!
I would admonish you to try this without the aid of Google because that's sort of like cheating. No, it's really cheating!
No prizes, no special awards other than a chance perhaps to puzzle a bit for fun.
1. From what literary character did Hawkeye Pierce get his name?
ANSWER: Pierce's father was said to have read only one book in his life - Last of the Mohicans. The character in the book, Natty Bumppo, was also known by the nickname of "Hawkeye". Hence, Pierce's moniker.
2. Zooey Deschanel, movie actress, was named after a male character in what Salinger-created family?
ANSWER: The Glass Family
3. Elvis and Shakespeare come together in what Broadway musical?
ANSWER: All Shook UP!
4. Though The Departed scores heavily in the violence category, from what literary genius (more known for his moralistic and puritan-like stories) does the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio quote often throughout the film?
ANSWER: Nathaniel Hawthorne
5. In what Hemingway-adapted story does movie-star cum president, Ronald Reagan, play a bad guy?
ANSWER: The Killers
6. The loveable Daffy Duck has a run in with Hugo, the abominable snowman, in the Warner Brothers' cartoon, The Abominable Snow Rabbit. On what Steinbeck character was Hugo based on? (Hint, "I will name him George and I will hug him and squeeze him and pat him and pet him and rub him and caress him").
ANSWER: Lennie Small
Who Is Cowtown Pattie?
- Cowtown Pattie
- I was Lillie Langtry in another life, and might have a crush on Calamity Jane.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Monday, August 03, 2009
Good Horse Sense, That's What I'd Call It
Though a little lengthy and scientific, I love this example of what happens when two worlds collide: the uber high brow scientific community with us Pluggers (syndicated cartoon authored by Gary Brookins). It might be a little stretch to refer to Mr. Tanaka as an everyday Plugger, but within his peerage, he surely qualifies.
Courtesy of today's The Writer's Almanac:
Today is the 50th birthday of the only man without a post-bachelor degree to win a Nobel Prize in the sciences, Koichi Tanaka, born in Toyama, Japan (1959).
When he received the Nobel Prize in chemistry, he was one of the youngest science laureates ever, and the 2002 Nobel Prize that he received was actually for a discovery that he made when he was only 25 years old. In 1985, he found a new and better way to analyze biological macromolecules such as proteins. His contribution has been integral to drug research and development; to early detection of ovarian, breast, and prostate cancers; to diagnosing and studying the spread of malaria; and to finding out which substances made during mass food production may be harmful.
Though a good student in high school, he slacked off some in college, and after failing German class, he had to repeat an entire year. He majored in electrical engineering because he thought it would be easy to get a job with the degree, but he failed the entrance examination for the electronics company he wanted to work for. His college mentor suggested he consider working for Shimadzu Corporation, a manufacturer of scientific instruments and medical equipment such as X-ray devices. He hoped to work in the medical equipment area and easily passed the employment examination. But rather than putting him in the medical manufacturing section, the company sent him to work in research and development in the analytical instruments division.
His specific task there, he said, was "to search for a matrix that would enable nondestructive ionization of macromolecules by efficiently absorbing the laser energy." In other words, they were looking for a way to analyze macromolecules (such as proteins) with a scientific instrument called a mass spectrometer — but the twist was to do it such a way as to leave the protein intact. The problem with a macromolecule such as protein was that the process of ionizing (giving them an electrical charge) caused the macromolecule to fragment into tiny pieces, destroying its structure. So Tanaka's task was to come up with the right combination of chemicals that would allow the protein's structure to remain intact.
The laboratory where he worked stocked hundreds of substances that were possible solutions for the matrix, and the options were multiplied many times over by the possible combinations. Since he'd majored in electrical engineering and had a limited background in chemistry, there was a big gap in his knowledge level compared to other researchers in this area. He worked his way by trial and error through the seemingly endless list of possible solutions, repeating the process so often that he said he'd "become one with these substances and the instrument."
Then, on a February day in 1985, he mistakenly used a glycerin-Ultra Fine Metal Powder mixed matrix instead of the cobalt one he'd intended. He realized right away what he'd done, but his grandmother's words "what a waste" floated through his mind, and he set aside the mistaken mixture instead of throwing it away. He put it in the vacuum chamber of the mass spectrometer to dry it out and evaporate the unwanted glycerin, hoping that he could salvage the part of the mixture that he had intended to use in the first place. Wanting to hurry the process, he turned on the laser beam and irradiated the mixture.
He kept his instrument, the mass spectrometer, running and he kept glancing at the results because he wanted to make sure that all of the glycerin had disappeared, at which point he'd be able to use the mixture as first intended. As he monitored the results he noticed a signal peak he'd never seen before. It was mixed in with noise peaks on the machine, which always annoyed him, and so it caught his attention. He repeated his experiment, confirmed his findings, and refined his experiments. After the patent application had been completed, the process, called soft laser desorption-mass spectrometry (SLD-MS) was reported to the scientific community in 1987.
Tanaka later said that because he was not a specialist, he might have been at a disadvantage in looking for the correct matrix, but that it turned out that common knowledge was an obstacle. At the time, most chemists thought that it was impossible to ionize big molecules like proteins. But because he wasn't aware of many of the commonly held rules of chemistry, he tried things that everyone else knew would not work.
Tanaka has noted that it was a "monumental blunder" that led to the discovery of Soft Laser Desorption. The improved method of analysis has led to huge advances in chemistry, medical and veterinary science, pharmaceuticals, and food science in the past two decades.
Courtesy of today's The Writer's Almanac:
Today is the 50th birthday of the only man without a post-bachelor degree to win a Nobel Prize in the sciences, Koichi Tanaka, born in Toyama, Japan (1959).
When he received the Nobel Prize in chemistry, he was one of the youngest science laureates ever, and the 2002 Nobel Prize that he received was actually for a discovery that he made when he was only 25 years old. In 1985, he found a new and better way to analyze biological macromolecules such as proteins. His contribution has been integral to drug research and development; to early detection of ovarian, breast, and prostate cancers; to diagnosing and studying the spread of malaria; and to finding out which substances made during mass food production may be harmful.
Though a good student in high school, he slacked off some in college, and after failing German class, he had to repeat an entire year. He majored in electrical engineering because he thought it would be easy to get a job with the degree, but he failed the entrance examination for the electronics company he wanted to work for. His college mentor suggested he consider working for Shimadzu Corporation, a manufacturer of scientific instruments and medical equipment such as X-ray devices. He hoped to work in the medical equipment area and easily passed the employment examination. But rather than putting him in the medical manufacturing section, the company sent him to work in research and development in the analytical instruments division.
His specific task there, he said, was "to search for a matrix that would enable nondestructive ionization of macromolecules by efficiently absorbing the laser energy." In other words, they were looking for a way to analyze macromolecules (such as proteins) with a scientific instrument called a mass spectrometer — but the twist was to do it such a way as to leave the protein intact. The problem with a macromolecule such as protein was that the process of ionizing (giving them an electrical charge) caused the macromolecule to fragment into tiny pieces, destroying its structure. So Tanaka's task was to come up with the right combination of chemicals that would allow the protein's structure to remain intact.
The laboratory where he worked stocked hundreds of substances that were possible solutions for the matrix, and the options were multiplied many times over by the possible combinations. Since he'd majored in electrical engineering and had a limited background in chemistry, there was a big gap in his knowledge level compared to other researchers in this area. He worked his way by trial and error through the seemingly endless list of possible solutions, repeating the process so often that he said he'd "become one with these substances and the instrument."
Then, on a February day in 1985, he mistakenly used a glycerin-Ultra Fine Metal Powder mixed matrix instead of the cobalt one he'd intended. He realized right away what he'd done, but his grandmother's words "what a waste" floated through his mind, and he set aside the mistaken mixture instead of throwing it away. He put it in the vacuum chamber of the mass spectrometer to dry it out and evaporate the unwanted glycerin, hoping that he could salvage the part of the mixture that he had intended to use in the first place. Wanting to hurry the process, he turned on the laser beam and irradiated the mixture.
He kept his instrument, the mass spectrometer, running and he kept glancing at the results because he wanted to make sure that all of the glycerin had disappeared, at which point he'd be able to use the mixture as first intended. As he monitored the results he noticed a signal peak he'd never seen before. It was mixed in with noise peaks on the machine, which always annoyed him, and so it caught his attention. He repeated his experiment, confirmed his findings, and refined his experiments. After the patent application had been completed, the process, called soft laser desorption-mass spectrometry (SLD-MS) was reported to the scientific community in 1987.
Tanaka later said that because he was not a specialist, he might have been at a disadvantage in looking for the correct matrix, but that it turned out that common knowledge was an obstacle. At the time, most chemists thought that it was impossible to ionize big molecules like proteins. But because he wasn't aware of many of the commonly held rules of chemistry, he tried things that everyone else knew would not work.
Tanaka has noted that it was a "monumental blunder" that led to the discovery of Soft Laser Desorption. The improved method of analysis has led to huge advances in chemistry, medical and veterinary science, pharmaceuticals, and food science in the past two decades.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
The Bird Menders
Good bloggy friend, Marion Van Eyk McCain, has just published a new novel, "The Bird Menders".
Read about it here, and purchase here (if you are in the US). There is a different link for UK purchasers at Marion's blogpost.
I wish you much success, Marion!
(Haven't read it yet, but will follow with a review soon!)
Read about it here, and purchase here (if you are in the US). There is a different link for UK purchasers at Marion's blogpost.
I wish you much success, Marion!
(Haven't read it yet, but will follow with a review soon!)
Hey, Girls, Gather 'Round...
I have my very own Handy Man, ya'll know him here as "Kman". He fixed my broken heart several years ago, and continues to monitor it carefully and tenderly.
Blue-eyed, tall, handsome with a wicked sense of humor, he is equally at home with a hammer or a paintbrush - unlike the lyrics in this James Taylor tune.
As I compose this, he is out in the garage working on some new kitchen cabinets for our older ranch house. I pick out a picture in a magazine and he does his magic with any special changes my little ol' heart desires (and as our shallow pockets will allow).
The new wall mural at the end of our bedroom hallway is a work in progress as well, though it has been put at the bottom of the list in order to finish the kitchen re-do.
It started with a kaput electric counter top unit. We had first thought to just replace it, but then considered that the adjoining in-cabinet oven was probably well over 20 years old. So, we bought a full-sized gas range instead. Which meant ripping out existing cabinets, and re-connecting the old gas line that was in use originally in the house (1959 or so). That lead to more changes, like tearing out the very ugly and dated tile that served as the backsplash to the countertop range.
Of course, now I am looking at lighting and other backsplash, etc...remodeling can sure snowball...
One thing for sure if we ever sell our house, buyers will either really fall in love with the custom artsy changes, or...they'll run screaming for that shiny new model home in the cookie cutter sub-division.
But, the love that went into the murals on the walls and the custom woodworking can't be valued at any price. And that's what I see first when Kman completes any home project, be it our lovely flowered yard or new kitchen cabinets.
Yep, I won the husband lottery!
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