Pesquisaí
quinta-feira, janeiro 31
Finding the door to a parallel universe
The existence of wormholes linking different regions of space was suggested in 1916 by the Austrian physicist Ludwig Flamm as a possible solution to equations of general relativity, which Einstein had published that year. They have since become accepted as a natural consequence of general relativity, which predicts that matter entering one end of a wormhole would instantly emerge somewhere else, so long as the wormhole is somehow propped open.
Though no direct evidence for wormholes has been observed, this could be because they are disguised as black holes. Now Alexander Shatskiy of the Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow, Russia, is suggesting a possible way to tell the two kinds of object apart. His idea assumes the existence of a bizarre substance called “phantom matter”, which has been proposed to explain how wormholes might stay open. Phantom matter has negative energy and negative mass, so it creates a repulsive effect that prevents the wormhole closing.
According to Shatskiy’s calculations, the way phantom matter deflects light would give the wormhole a signature that astronomers could look out for. The gravity of an object with a positive mass, such as an ordinary black hole, focuses light rays passing close to it as if it were a giant concave lens – an effect known as gravitational lensing. Phantom matter’s negative mass would have the opposite gravitational lensing effect to normal matter, making any light passing through the wormhole from another universe or point in space-time diverge, and emerge from it as a bright ring. Meanwhile, any stars behind it would shine through the middle. Shatskiy suggests that his idea might offer a way for future space-based observatories such as Russia’s planned Millimetron Project to look for wormholes at the centre of large galaxies.
Other researchers point out that the idea relies on several untested assumptions. “It is an interesting attempt to actually think of what a real signature for a wormhole would be, but it is more hypothetical than observational,” says Lawrence Krauss at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. “Without any idea of what phantom matter is and its possible interactions with light, it is not clear one can provide a general argument.” Critics also point out that even if phantom energy does exist, other objects might create a similar light signature. “The basic mechanism would not distinguish wormholes from negative energy ‘stars’,” says Don Marolf at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
What’s more, today’s telescopes would struggle to see the signature in enough detail, says astronomer Daniel Holz at the University of Chicago, though he doesn’t reject Shatskiy’s idea out of hand. “It’s an interesting thing to think about, maybe after a few beers.”
de eurekalert.orgsexta-feira, janeiro 25
François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld
O Duque de Rouchefoucault é um dos mais emblemáticos nobres que tive fortuna de conhecer. Farei um grande apanhado do aguçado juízo do nobre.
quinta-feira, janeiro 24
If it's cool, creative and different, it's Indie
"I spent my formative years going to record shops and spending hours hunting down obscure things," the 35-year-old art director from New York said with a laugh. "It was indie on every level."
But, McCabe said, things have changed.
The term "indie" traditionally refers to independent art -- music, film, literature or anything that fits under the broad banner of culture -- created outside of the mainstream and without corporate financing.
In music, for example, the term refers to music produced and funded by any band or label not affiliated with the four or five major corporate labels like Sony or Epic. The same holds true generally for the music and film industry.
Eugene Hernandez, editor-in-chief of indieWIRE, a site dedicated to independent movies, said the definition of indie was founded on the virtues of self-publishing and self-releasing books, magazines, tapes, records, and just about everything else from buttons to clothing to posters.
"If you're going to be as strict as possible, the only definition was DIY -- do it yourself," he said, referring to the ethos of the punk bands and labels that flourished in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Ryan Schreiber, the editor and founder of Pitchfork Media, a popular online magazine that chronicles the indie music scene, said the definition also embodies a sense of idealism and an anti-corporate attitude.
"[The term] has also, for years, been sort of the de facto label for an entire subculture of idealistic artists and music fans who place a lot of stock in the idea of making music for yourself or your friends, rather than for profit or popularity," he said.
Richard Nash, who runs New York-based Soft Skull Press, an independent publishing firm, said indie outfits are not necessarily beholden to the same profit-based bottom line and shareholder pressure that most corporations are.
They are, consequently, freer to publish and release products that may not have tremendous commercial appeal. "In our situation, we really do recognize that what we do is not always economically rational," he said.
Indie's meaning evolves
Since the scene's inception in the late 1970s with the advent of punk, some say that the term indie has evolved into something that has far less meaning than the original rebellious, creative, do-it-yourself aesthetic.
"For me indie is convenient to use as a term, but it's hard to actually accept that it actually exists on any meaningful level now," said McCabe, who is best known for his work with Interpol -- a popular band from New York City who, coincidentally, just left their indie label to sign with Capitol, one of the largest major labels around.
According to critics, indie is now nothing more than a branding tool: a highly commercial and money-driven movement, more concerned with marketing a particular image instead of culture with a truly independent nature and passion for its art.
In May, Dave Cool, a Montreal-based filmmaker, released "What is Indie?" -- a documentary that takes a look at indie musicians and attempts to determine what being indie actually means.
With major labels and corporations now handling distribution for some indie record labels and major film studios buying or inking deals with what were once independent film studios, the definition has become "irrelevant at this point," Cool said.
As far as films -- their content and development -- are concerned, indieWIRE's Hernandez has had to relax his definition as the waters of independent film become muddier.
"You just know it when you see it," he said. "An indie movie either sort of feels right or it doesn't. For me, an indie film is one that is made outside of the traditional Hollywood system, typically driven by a filmmaker who is in control of the project."
Corporations catch on
The adoption of indie music by corporations started in the mid-90s, when Nirvana, a fiercely independent rock band from the state of Washington, exploded onto the mainstream. Their success and wildly loyal fan base -- both of which continued to exist after lead singer Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994 -- convinced mainstream radio and labels that their kind of music could be popular.
"There's always been this idea that if independent music was given wider exposure that a lot of artists would appeal to a broader audience," Schreiber said.
"The popularity of bands like Nirvana and Sonic Youth in the early '90s proved that to an extent, and we're now beginning to see that again with bands like Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs."
The same happened in the movie industry with the success of films like Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction."
Consequently, the lines have been blurred between the two camps.
For example, smaller music labels, eager for financial success on a wider scale, have adopted business practices of major labels once considered anathema in the scene, like hiring PR firms and street teams to market their records and licensing songs to advertising companies.
Conversely, major labels and film studios now use the indie tag to market authenticity, often slapping an indie label on a piece of art, even if the label isn't necessarily accurate, to attract a hipper, younger demographic eager for original and offbeat entertainment.
"Films by those big companies tend to get a lot more of the attention and sort of get perceived by the mass public as being indie when maybe they aren't really and those films may take attention from the really indie films made for just a few hundred thousand dollars," Hernandez said.
Yet there are many examples that prove simply inking a deal with a corporate entity doesn't mean compromising an idiosyncratic artistic vision.
Bands like Sonic Youth and Built to Spill, who have signed with major labels, and directors like Wes Anderson and Sofia Coppola, who have made films in the major studio system, have largely retained their authenticity and identity.
Meanwhile, many independent hip-hop labels that have distribution deals with larger corporations have developed and promoted acts that never cross over into mainstream pop culture.
Internet fuels indie growth
Another factor that has erased the line between what it means to be indie and what it means to be corporate is emerging technology like the Internet and file-sharing systems that have allowed for more accessibility and better distribution for smaller labels and imprints.
"The Internet is definitely the most significant influence on indie culture at the moment," Schreiber said.
Online outlets such as iTunes and MySpace have made it easier for fans to find original music, or for bands to set up their own sites and distribute their own music. And video uploading sites like YouTube allow aspiring filmmakers to showcase their work to potentially millions of people, without viewers ever having to step inside a movie theater.
story.superchunk.gi.jpg
Mac McCaughan of the band Superchunk co-founded Merge Records in 1989.
"The limits of physical retail don't exist in the digital world," said Glenn Peoples, a popular music blogger and veteran of the entertainment industry.
The Internet has erased the need for a brick and mortar shop, allowing for even the smallest of music labels, clothing boutiques or magazines to become available to the masses.
But technology has also made a prime staple of independent culture -- its exclusivity and autonomous nature -- nearly obsolete, diluting the intimacy that the scene often defines itself by.
"Because independent music sprung up as an antidote to the mainstream, there's probably always going to be an overarching sense of superiority there -- people who believe independent music is inherently better than pop music," Schreiber said. "But elitism exists in every subculture, so I don't know if it's an intrinsically indie attribute."
Susan Shin, who was a DJ at her Wellesley College's independent rock station for four years, was more fervent about the consequences of the increased attention.
"From the perspective of a die-hard hipster from the days of old, publicity for [indie artists] means that more people know about them," she said. "And if everyone likes them, they become a bigger name. I feel it's an affront to me that someone with vapid tastes could be exposed to the stuff that I like.
"But again, that's because I'm a snob."
A culture that's here to stay
Most observers, however, think that, despite big business dipping its toes into indie waters, true independent culture can survive, though the definition might remain ever-changing.
Plenty of indie labels like Dischord Records in Washington, Merge Records in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Drag City in Chicago, Illinois, are thriving. Independent films often make splashes at prominent film festivals and once in a while even snag an Academy Award. Independent publishing firms, though scarce in number, are slowly gaining more clout.
And even if indie doesn't literally mean independent, do-it-yourself art any longer, that doesn't mean it will ever fall off the radar. "These days indie is more of a philosophy," Cool said. "If you can maintain control and integrity over your art, whether on your own or with a corporation -- that's what's important."
The indie spirit has been commodified and re-envisioned as a marketable lifestyle just like punk, alternative and grunge before it, Pitchfork's Schreiber said. "But those are all permutations of the same very resilient subculture," he said.
"If the last 30 years are any indication, after every last cent has been wrung from it, it'll just burrow back underground and continue on its own terms," he said. "You can't kill the ideal."
CNN's Curt Merrill contributed to this report.
Lições Corporativas
Um homem está entrando no chuveiro enquanto sua mulher acaba de sair dele e está se enxugando. A campainha da porta toca. Depois de alguns segundos de discussão para ver quem vai atender a porta, a mulher desiste, se enrola na toalha e desce as escadas. Quando ela abre a porta, vê o vizinho Pedro em pé na soleira.
Antes que ela possa dizer qualquer coisa, Pedro diz:
- “Eu lhe dou “$ 800 Reais” se você deixar cair esta toalha!”
Depois de pensar por alguns segundos, a mulher deixa a toalha cair e fica nua. Pedro então entrega a ela os 800 Reais prometidos e vai embora.
Confusa, mas excitada com sua sorte, a mulher se enrola de novo na toalha e volta para o quarto.
Quando ela entra no quarto, o marido grita do chuveiro:
- “Quem era?”
- “Era o Pedro, o vizinho da casa ao lado.”, diz ela.
O marido pergunta:
- ” Ótimo! Ele lhe deu os 800 Reais que estava me devendo ? ”
Moral da história:
“Se você compartilha as informações à tempo, você pode prevenir “exposições” desnecessárias!!!”
Lição No.2
Dois funcionários e o gerente de uma empresa saem para almoçar e na rua encontram uma antiga lâmpada à óleo. Eles esfregam a lâmpada e de dentro dela sai um gênio.
O gênio diz:
- “Eu só posso conceder três desejos, então, concederei um a cada um de vocês”.
- “Eu primeiro, eu primeiro !”, grita um dos funcionários. “Eu quero estar nas Bahamas dirigindo um barco, sem ter nenhuma preocupação na vida!” Puf ! e ele se foi.
O outro funcionário se apressa a fazer o seu pedido:
- “Eu quero estar no Havaí, com o amor da minha vida e um provimento interminável de pinas coladas!” Puf ! e ele se foi.
- “Agora você” diz o gênio para o Gerente.
- “Eu quero aqueles dois de volta ao escritório logo depois do almoço!”
Moral da História:
“Deixe sempre o seu chefe falar primeiro!!!”
Lição Nº 3
Um corvo está sentado numa grande árvore o dia inteiro sem fazer nada. Um pequeno coelho vê o corvo e pergunta:
- “Eu posso sentar como você e não fazer nada o dia inteiro?”
O corvo responde:
- “Claro, porque não?”
O coelho então, senta-se no chão embaixo da árvore e relaxa. De repente uma raposa aparece e come o coelho.
Moral da História:
“Para ficar sentado sem fazer nada, você deve estar sentado bem no alto!!!”
Lição Nº 4
Na África todas as manhãs, a mais lenta das gazelas acorda sabendo que deve conseguir correr mais depressa do que o mais rápido dos leões se quiser se manter viva. E todas as manhãs o mais lento dos leões acorda sabendo que deve correr mais depressa do que a mais rápida das gazelas, se ele não quiser morrer de fome.
Moral da História:
“Não faz diferença se você é a gazela ou o leão, quando o sol nascer comece a correr!!!”
Lição Nº 5
Um fazendeiro resolve colher algumas frutas em sua propriedade. Pega um balde vazio e segue rumo às árvores frutíferas. No caminho ao passar por uma lagoa, ouve vozes femininas que provavelmente invadiram suas terras. Ao se aproximar lentamente, observa várias garotas nuas se banhando na lagoa. Quando elas percebem a presença do fazendeiro, nadam até a parte mais profunda da lagoa e gritam:
- “Nós não vamos sair daqui enquanto o Senhor não parar de nos espiar e for embora!”
O fazendeiro responde:
- “Eu não vim aqui para espiar vocês, eu só vim alimentar os jacarés!”
Moral da História:
“A criatividade e a rapidez de raciocínio são o que fazem a diferença quando queremos atingir nossos objetivos!!”
quarta-feira, janeiro 23
Célula-Tronco
-Charles Du Bois