SpinnyNuNu

A Nevada sheriff says the man who ran into the flames at the Burning Man festival's signature burning ceremony has died.

Then-President Barack Obama praised his successor and offered advice in his ceremonial letter he left before ending his term.

What he did was immoral, but prosecutors said it wasn't illegal.

Authorities say a fire burning near Yosemite National Park has entered a 2,700-year-old grove of giant sequoias.

Looks interesting.   Note in the small print: written by the Coen brothers.  Scheduled for release in October.  Here's the first official trailer:

Review of the movie.

President Trump earlier this year made the stunning accusation about his predecessor.

Friday was the last call for new proposals at the California State Capitol.

A Stockton police officer could face charges in connection with a deadly crash that happened last year.

Democratic leaders are asking him to step down over what they’re describing as a call for a lynching

The Packers quarterback believes the controversial former 49ers QB should be on a team, and the reason he is not is because of "protests."

A small dog who was found beaten in the head at a Roseville park is ready to find his forever home and is up for adoption, the Placer SPCA announced.

The father had a friend record the video Tuesday in his Houston, Texas, home for his 13-year-old son, an avid piano player

I didn't know what this meant:

"Today is the last day actively mentioned in the HP books"

Found the answer later in the discussion thread:

"2017, September 1 is the date "nineteen years later" from the epilogue of Deathly Hallows."

Those are concrete barriers ("Jersey barriers"), weighing two tons each, linked together with metal rods.

Image cropped for size from the original posted at Reddit Pics.  Some discussion of the physics at the link.

I didn't know they existed, until I read a story at NPR...

Park rangers in the Northern California Redwood Forest are protecting a decades-old secret. Actually, eight of them: Albino redwood trees...

Kuty points to a white bush. It's about six feet tall and it's sprouted from the base of a normal redwood tree.

Mr. KUTY It's not particularly tall. It's not particularly big. And so it could look dead.

STANDEN: Until you get up close. Albino redwood trees lack chlorophyll. Their needles are limp and waxy. They're the exact color of a glow-in-the-dark star you might find in a kid's bedroom. And while no one really knows for sure, albino redwood trees may be extremely rare.

Mr. KUTY How rare? Some people say there's 25 in the world.

STANDEN: And yet, eight of them live here. This park has the largest known concentration of albino redwoods anywhere, and that makes it the epicenter for a scientific mystery...

Without chlorophyll, they can't photosynthesize, meaning they can't convert sunlight into energy. The only reason that albino redwoods survive at all is that they are connected at the root to a parent tree from which they will suck energy for their entire lives...

Via Kottke (whence the photo).

Reposted from 2010 to add this photo from The Soul is Bone:


And this Wikipedia link.

"Other conifers lack the ability to graft their roots, so 'albino' mutants of other species do not survive to become sizable trees."

So I had to look up natural grafting:

"Tree branches and more often roots of the same species will sometimes naturally graft; this is called inosculation. The bark of the tree may be stripped away when the roots make physical contact with each other, exposing the vascular cambium and allowing the roots to graft together. A group of trees can share water and mineral nutrients via root grafts, which may be advantageous to weaker trees, and may also form a larger rootmass as an adaptation to promote fire resistance and regeneration as exemplified by the California black oak (Quercus kelloggii). Additionally, grafting may protect the group from wind damages as a result of the increased mechanical stability provided by the grafting. Albino redwoods use root grafting as a form of plant parasitism of normal redwoods."

Cool word - inosculate - obviously refers to "kissing."

And finally this webpage for Chimera Redwoods (more cool pix).

Normal Hartnell | Coronation Gown for Queen Elizabeth II | c. 1953
Trusted royal couturier Sir Norman Hartnell worked closely with Elizabeth to create a gown in the finest white duchess satin, richly embroidered with national and Commonwealth floral emblems in gold and silver thread. Encrusted with seed pearls, sequins and crystals, the designer added a secret detail for extra luck. Unknown to the Queen, Hartnell included an extra four-leaf shamrock on the left side of the skirt, which was positioned perfectly so that Her Majesty’s hand would rest on it during the ceremony.

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A Christian was bound to say Hurricane Harvey was God's punishment for something... I just figured that'd be tough to do in Texas.But Dave Daubenmire found a way.

The fourth-grade tradition of building a California mission out of Popsicle sticks and sugar cubes is being pushed aside by the state as history lessons change to reflect all cultures and more accurately depict the past.

A popular fantasy writer's last wish might have disappointed some fans.

Norman Hartnell | Wedding Gown | c.1933
Worn by Margaret Whigham, later the Duchess of Argyll, for her marriage to Mr Charles Sweeny in the Brompton Oratory, 21 February 1933. The dress took a team of 30 seamstresses six weeks to make, and the bride thought it shockingly expensive at £52.
#whattheywore #historicalfashion #fashion #fashiondesign #fashionhistory #historyoffashion #vintagefashion #art #vintage #historicfashion #defunctfashion #historicalfashion #costume #costumedesign #couture #costumehistory #englishfashion #1930sFashion #histoireducostume #courtgown #victoriaandalbertmuseum #normanhartnell #weddingdress #wedding #weddinggown

The Confederate flag is a symbol of slavery and oppression. The rainbow flag represents diversity and inclusion.Leave it to Bryan Fischer to act as if both are equally problematic.

Today in bad graphic design...

How she says this while keeping a straight face, I have no idea.

A massive bat colony is swarming below the Yolo County overpass.

Via the Latestagecapitalism subreddit.  (yes, I know there's an "of" missing in the text)

Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona have seized a nearly 100-pound bundle of marijuana after spotting it flying over the border fence.

Patty Jenkins doesn't think all female film heroes have to be gritty like Sarah Connor.

What a sad, disgusting, confusing story.

Mary Kerr used her walked to beat back her attacker

Sam Tarly would be so proud.