Thursday, October 6, 2011

Robert Sabuda makes paper do strange things. A tornado spins on its axis and tears across the prairie in his pop-up book version of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." A hot-air balloon inflates and hovers above the page, suspended by two strings attached to wood sticks. One hundred four tiny playing cards explode out of his pop-up "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," flying in an all directions—forward, back, sideways. Mr. Sabuda's pop-ups don't just pop—they spin, float, flip, rotate. His books are cross-disciplinary works involving feats of engineering, drawing and storytelling (he often writes the text). He's published 33 pop-up books in the past 15 years, and his methods are defiantly old school. Read more plus see pictures at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204831304576597200764936760.html

Simple Pop-Ups You Can Make http://www.robertsabuda.com/popmakesimple.asp

Taxation during the Great Depression and World War II
The Price of Civilization, a publication of the Tax History Project at Tax Analysts, is a broad-ranging study of U.S. federal taxation between 1932 and 1945. In particular, the project seeks to illuminate the development of mass-based personal income taxation, uncovering the ideas, interests, and imperatives that moved the income tax to the center of federal finance. http://taxhistory.tax.org/www/website.nsf/Web/ThePriceOfCivilization?OpenDocument

The Price of Civilization: Economics and Ethics After the Fall by Jeffrey Sachs, published October 2011, is a controversial book exploring government, business and citizens meeting common goals.

Cole noun [ Middle English col , caul , Anglo-Saxon cawl , cawel , from Latin caulis , the stalk or stem of a plant, esp. a cabbage stalk, cabbage, akin to Greek .... Confer Cauliflower , Kale .] (Botany) A plant of the Brassica or Cabbage genus; esp. that form of B. oleracea called rape and coleseed . http://www.encyclo.co.uk/webster/C/107

The Conch Republic is a micronation declared as a tongue-in-cheek secession of the city of Key West from the United States on April 23, 1982. It has been maintained as a tourism booster for the city since. Since then, the term "Conch Republic" has been expanded to refer to "all of the Florida Keys, or, that geographic apportionment of land that falls within the legally defined boundaries of Monroe County Florida, northward to 'Skeeter's Last Chance Saloon' in Florida City, Dade County Florida, with Key West as the nation's capital and all territories north of Key West being referred to as 'The Northern Territories'." While the protest that sparked the creation of the Conch Republic (and others which have occurred since then) have been described by some as "tongue-in-cheek", they were motivated by frustrations over genuine concerns. The original protest event was motivated by a U.S. Border Patrol roadblock and checkpoint which greatly inconvenienced residents and was detrimental to tourism in the area. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conch_Republic

The Dry Tortugas are a small group of islands, located at the end of the Florida Keys, USA, about 70 miles (113 km) west of Key West, and 37 miles (60 km) west of the Marquesas Keys, the closest islands. Still further west is the Tortugas Bank, which is completely submerged. They are an unincorporated area of Monroe County, Florida and belong to the Lower Keys Census County Division. With their surrounding waters, they constitute the Dry Tortugas National Park. The first European to discover the islands was Spanish explorer Ponce de León. He gave them the name on his first visit in 1513. The name is the second oldest surviving European place-name in the U.S. They were given the name Las Tortugas (The Turtles) due to 170 sea turtles taken on the islands and shoals by de León's men. Soon afterward, the word "Dry" was added to the name, to indicate to mariners the islands' lack of fresh water. See more plus pictures and maps at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_Tortugas

Adapt or perish, now as ever, is Nature's inexorable imperative.
Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) a British writer best known for his science fiction novels Other quotes at: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._G._Wells

Publications from across government, on topics including: Cars | Consumer | Protection | Education | Employment | Federal Programs | Food | Health | Housing | Money You’ll find hundreds of free publications to read online, download in PDF format, or order in print. http://publications.usa.gov/USAPubs.php

Tomas Tranströmer, the Swedish poet whose sometimes bleak but powerful work explores themes of nature, isolation and identity, won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature on October 6. Mr. Tranströmer, 80, has written more than 15 collections of poetry, many of which have been translated into English and 60 other languages. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/07/arts/swedish-poet-wins-nobel-prize-for-literature.html

Israeli scientist Dan Shechtman was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry on October 5 for his discovery of a new form of crystal whose patterns and configuration defied previously held laws of nature and altered chemists' understanding of solid matter. The Tel Aviv-born professor's 1982 discovery of what would become known as quasicrystals provoked controversy in his field, demonstrating that atoms in some crystals were packed in patterns that could not be repeated, which was once thought impossible. "His discovery was extremely controversial," the Nobel committee for chemistry at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences noted in announcing the prize, which includes a $1.4-million award. "In the course of defending his findings, he was asked to leave his research group. However, his battle eventually forced scientists to reconsider their conception of the very nature of matter."
Since Shechtman's discovery, scientists have found naturally occurring quasicrystals in minerals from a Russian river and a certain form of steel. They have also been produced in labs. Scientists are searching for practical applications in goods varying from diesel engines to frying pans. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/middleeast/la-fg-nobel-chemistry-israel-20111006,0,376852.story

Nobel Prize 2011 announcements: http://www.nobelprize.org/

Website of the Day German-American Heritage Foundation www.gahfusa.org Today, on German-American Day, check out this website, which is dedicated to the contributions of German-Americans. The site has information about the group, information about the museum in Washington, D.C., and more.
Number to Know 1983: Year when German-American Day was revived in the U.S. The commemoration – held every Oct. 6 – was discontinued during World War I.
This Day in History Oct. 6, 1945: Billy Sianis and his pet billy goat are ejected from Wrigley Field during Game 4 of the 1945 World Series, beginning the Curse of the Billy Goat.
http://www.therecordherald.com/newsnow/x981213906/Morning-Minutes-Oct-6

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