madame scientist's not-so-mad musings

Take a pebble. Photographer Jim Kramer captures high speed images of fluid drops using only a little food coloring, soap and a timed flash. “The water always behaves differently. That’s what keeps things interesting,” Kramer said. “Like snowflakes, no two are ever the same.”

More beauties here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ircincyjim

“Just take a pebble and cast it to the sea,

Then watch the ripples that unfold into me,

My face fills so gently into your eyes,

Disturbing the waters of our lives.”

The live version of this song has a humorous impromptu performance in the end:

Emerson Lake and Palmer Take a Pebble-2-6-71-Brussels (Part 1 of 2)

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Great Gig in the Sky. On this day, in 1973, Clare Torry recorded the astonishingly compelling (and wordless) vocals for the fifth track of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon . Band members tried the piece with various sound effects, including NASA recordings of astronauts, but at the last minute, asked a female vocalist to ‘wail’!

Listen to the compete track here: THE GREAT GIG IN THE SKY CLARE TORRY

Talent and humor, ¡Bravo! Slovakian musician Lukáš Kmit was playing a lovely piece on his viola when he was interrupted by a Nokia ringtone (0:40 into the video). What a charming, humorous response!

P.S. The Nokia ringtone originated from a classic 1902 piece by Spanish guitarist Francisco Tárrega called “Gran Vals.” It is lovely: Gran Vals – Francisco Tárrega

Source: http://mashable.com/2012/01/22/nokia-ringtone-interrupts/

Aubergine, brinjal, eggplant, guinea squash, melanzana..

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet.”

Alas, despite being cloaked in a glossy purple, regal exterior, the eggplant belies Shakespeare’s adage by collapsing into a colorless, stringy amorphous mess when cooked. Little wonder that many blanch at the sight of limp, congealed offerings and never learn to appreciate the lusciously mild, creamy flesh that begs to be flavored with exotic spices.

A member of the nightshade family ( Solanaceae ), the seeds of an eggplant have a bitter taste, being loaded with nicotinic alkaloids as does its close relative tobacco. Folk wisdom dictates that “male” eggplants have fewer seeds than “female” eggplants. According to one source, “To sex an eggplant, look at the indentation at bottom. If it’s deep and shaped like a dash, it’s a female. If it’s shallow and round, it’s a male.” That description gives new meaning to the phrase “food porn”.

Is it true that the female of the species is more bitter than the male? To get to the botanical bottom of all this, and for step-by-step instructions to make Baingan bharta, a roasted eggplant spread, visit madamescientist.

https://madamescientist.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/aubergine-brinjal-eggplant-guinea-squash-melanzana/