Interesting species: Coconut crab

The coconut crab, Birgus latro, is the largest land-living arthropod
in the world. It is also called the robber crab or palm thief, because
some coconut crabs are rumored to steal shiny items such as pots
and silverware from houses and tents. The species inhabits the
coastal forest regions of many Indo-Pacific islands.

The coconut crab climbs trees to eat coconuts or fruit, to escape
the heat or to escape predators. However, as they are omnivorous
creatures, they will consume certain other organic materials such
as tortoise hatchlings and dead animals. Coconut crab populations
in several areas have declined or become extinct due to both habitat
loss and human predation. It is a world-wide protected species.
However, the IUCN Red List requires more data to decide if the
coconut crab is indeed an endangered species.

Morgan Aero SuperSports - BMW engine

Millau Viaduct

The Millau Viaduct is part of the new E11 expressway
connecting Paris to Barcelona and features the highest
bridge piers ever constructed. The tallest is 240 meters
(787 feet) high and the overall height is an impressive
336 meters (1102 feet), making this the highest bridge
in the world. It's taller than the Eiffel Tower.

The Millau Viaduct is not straight. This is because a straight
road could induce a floating sensation as you drive across it.
So a slight curve remedies that feeling. The curve is 20km
in range. Moreover, the road has a light incline of 3% to
improve the visibility and reassure the driver. An amazing
engineering accomplishment!

Hair we go

Figured I would post this picture of me
(and my hair) since I'm probably gonna
cut most of it off soon. The shot was
taken by Derek Blanks a while back.

Destiny

Buy the print.

New gaming system: Zeebo

Capcom, EA Mobile, Namco Networks, PopCap Games and THQ have already confirmed support for Zeebo.
The console will reportedly come preloaded with the mobile games Quake, Evil Prey and Action Hero 3D.
The console, which uses a Qualcomm chipset similar to that in mobile phones, is fully operated by network through 3G or Edge. The player will be able to buy and download games, which are transferred through downloads using a virtual currency, Z-Credits. Zeebo has already been released in Brazil. The price of games will be from $7 to $13. The system itself will cost around $264.

Onion juice --> Electricity (Oxnard, CA)

Gills Onions, a California wholesale producer of sliced, diced, slivered and puréed onions, introduced a system this past Friday to turn its 300,000 pounds of daily agricultural waste into valuable energy. Gills' Advanced Energy Recovery System (AERS) takes all that waste and turns it into two kinds of energy: electricity and calories. The juice goes into the anaerobic digester, where microbes turn the juice into methane gas. The gas then goes to fuel cells, which is converted into electricity. Leftover onion waste, mostly pulp, is used as cattle feed. Gills expects to save $700,000 worth of electricity a year, and $400,000 a year in waste disposal costs. Source 1, Source 2

Black Art History: Suzanne de Passe

Suzanne de Passe (born in 1947) is an American entertainment executive, the CEO of the television production company de Passe Entertainment, and the first and only African-American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for screen writing.

Suzanne was born in Harlem, New York to West Indian immigrants. Her mother was a school teacher and her father was an exectutive for Seagrams, Inc. Suzanne trasnferred from Syracuse University and eventually dropped out of Manhattan Community College. She became a talent coordinator for a New York club called Cheetah Disco and then a booking agent for the Howard Stein talent agency.

In 1964, de Passe was introduced to Motown Records (founder) Berry Gordy. Suzanne started out as Gordy's personal assistant. She eventually became the vice president in charge of creative operations for the West Coast division in Los Angeles. While in California, de Passe discovered a five-brother singing act, called The Jackson 5. The group would later become an international success, and would launch the career of Michael Jackson. Suzanne de Passe was also responsible for signing other music icons to Motown; including Lionel Ritchie, Teena Marie, and Rick James. In 1973, Suzanne de Passe became the first African-American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for writing. She was nominated for co-writing the screenplay for the Berry Gordy-produced film, Lady Sings the Blues, starring Diana Ross as Billie Holiday. De Passe co-wrote the screenplay with Terence McCloy and Motown recording artist Chris Clark.

By 1981, de Passe was the president of Motown Productions, where she continued to write and produce films under the Motown label. She won a 1983 Emmy for Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. She earned another Emmy in 1985 for Motown Returns to the Apollo. In 1989, Suzanne bought Motown Productions and formed her own production company called de Passe Entertainment. Among her productions in this period were the sitcoms Sister, Sister (1994) and Smart Guy (1997). The successful, Showtime at the Apollo series (2002), was also formed under this production label.

De Passe was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1990. In 2004, Ebony Magazine bestowed de Passe with the Madame C.J. Walker Award. She was also the recipient of the 2006 Producer of The Year Award from the Caucus for Television Producers, Writers & Directors.

The Emperor's phone call

Latest movie: Brüno

I think I may be scarred for life. Lol.

City of Ink

Stop by the City of Ink in the Castleberry Hill Art District in Atlanta. I have 6 pieces of artwork hanging on their wall. Check out the video.

CK

A photo I took of Colleen Koltick from a while back.