Nelson Mandela and Google create a virtual museum of his life

For a look at the future of digital museums, check out the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory’s new digital archive composed of thousands of scanned documents from the African leader’s life.

With the help of a $1.25 million grant from Google, the center digitized thousands of documents and images that illustrate the life and times of South Africa’s first black president. But instead of scanning them and dumping them online for scholars to peruse, the center, with Google’s support, created a virtual museum experience — highlighting certain pieces from the archives, putting them in the context of Mandela’s life and then enabling a visitor to the site to go deeper if they’d like.

The exhibit is organized by different phases of Mandela’s life, such as “Early Life,” “Prison Years,” “Presidential Years” and “Retirement.” As you move through the different sections, you’ll find the earliest known photograph of Mandela, scans of the desk calendars where he scribbled notes during his 27 years in prison, and handwritten notes he sent his daughters — including one written shortly after the arrest of their mother.

via L.A. Times

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Amtrak switches to iPhone scanners for conductors and apps for customers

Old-school train conductors are finally ready to give up their hole punchers to try something new: the iPhone.

Amtrak has been training conductors since November to use the Apple handset as an electronic ticket scanner on a few routes, including from Boston to Portland, Me., and San Jose, Calif., to Sacramento.

By late summer, 1,700 conductors will be using the devices on Amtrak trains across the country, the company said.

With the new system, passengers will be able to print tickets or load a special bar code on their smartphone screens for conductors to scan, and conductors will be able to keep track of passengers on board, Amtrak said.

“You don’t even need to print the document and bring it with you,” said Matt Hardison, chief of sales distribution at Amtrak, who helped plan the iPhone program. “We’ve made a number of important improvements for both our customers and Amtrak, all in one fell swoop.”

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keep reading – N.Y. Times – Amtrak Enlists iPhones as a Service Tool

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Joseph Waters pairs Beethoven with surf music for new orchestral experience

When you think of surf music, musicians like Dick Dale, The Surfaris, The Ventures and The Beach Boys may come to mind, along with the genre’s signature staccato electric guitar riffs, and classic tunes like “Wipeout” and “Surfin’ Safari.” However, a new composition premiering this Friday at San Diego’s Orchestra Nova may expand your notions about surf music. The work combines elements of classical, rock, pop and electronica to re-create the experience and freedom of riding the waves.

The work is called “Surf” and it’s part of Orchestra Nova’s new concert series, a musical homage to Mother Nature called “Nova Goes Green”. The series pairs two classics, Beethoven’s “Pastoral Symphony” and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “The Lark Ascending,” with two contemporary works.

In addition to “Surf”, audiences can enjoy Steve Heitzeg’s “Aqua”, a tribute to Jacques-Yves Cousteau featuring natural percussion instruments including driftwood, coral, river stones and even plastic six-pack rings.

Listen to samples and an interview with the composer – KPBS: Orchestra Nova With New ‘Surf’-Inspired Work

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Proper breathing for yoga, running, and weight lifting

Yoga:

For sama vritti, or “equal breathing,” match an equal length inhale to an equal length exhale. This fundamental style of breath is said to calm the nervous system, lower blood pressure, and reduce stress. What not to do – hold your breath. Take that as a sign of overexertion. Instead, take a break to refocus, breathe, and then hop back into the pose whenever you’re ready.

 

For running:

While there’s no golden rule, many runners find it most comfortable to take one breath for every two foot strikes, says Alison McConnell, a breathing expert and author of Breathe Strong Perform Better. This means taking two steps (one left, one right) while breathing in, and two steps while breathing out – also known as the 2:2 rhythm.

 

Strength training:

Using the bench press as an example, exhale slowly and continuously while pressing the bar, then inhale at the top of the life or on the return. Just remember that once that barbell is pressed, the weight doesn’t vanish, McConnell explains, so be sure to keep the core engaged to protect the spine, similar to preparing for impact during contact sports.

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Chrome takes the lead as world’s most popular web browser

After months of chipping away at its lead, Google Chrome has finally overtaken Internet Explorer to become most popular web browser worldwide.

Chrome’s share of the market rose to 32.8% in the week ending May 20, while Internet Explorer’s share of the market dropped to 31.9%

Mozilla’s Firefox is the third most popular browser with just more than a 25% of the market.

via Business Insider

 

// Photo – The Next Web

Hollywood Dogs – from Rin Tin Tin to Uggie

Featuring author Susan Orlean, animal trainers Sarah Clifford and Omar von Muller and a screening of “Clash of the Wolves” (1925) starring Rin Tin Tin, with live musical accompaniment by Michael Mortilla.

“Man’s Best Friend” has gotten a wonderful publicity boost from the movies. Canine cinema mythology has enhanced human appreciation of a dog’s loyalty, heroism, humor and intelligence from the earliest days of film with such immediate audience favorites as “Rescued by Rover” (1905) and “The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog” (1905).

More than any other four-legged actor, the dog has achieved a unique stardom with such long-lasting box office stars as Strongheart, Teddy, Lassie, Pete the Pup, Benji and particularly Rin Tin Tin. The original Rinty (there would be several over the years) was rescued in Germany during World War I by a U.S. soldier who would mold him for Hollywood stardom, resulting in his becoming one of the biggest box office draws of the late 1920s. The popularity of Rinty’s films would practically underwrite a struggling studio known as Warner Bros. and afford a young writer named Darryl F. Zanuck some of his earliest success.

Join Susan Orlean, author of The Orchid Thief and Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend, for an evening of photographs, film clips, behind-the-scenes secrets and surprises featuring more dogs than you can throw a stick for. No pawtographs, please!

Event Information

Wednesday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Samuel Goldwyn Theater
8949 Wilshire Boulevard – Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Ticketed seating is unreserved.

Tickets

$5 general admission/$3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID (limit 2 at the discounted price) – Tickets

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via Oscars.org

How a college campus in the middle of Los Angeles is lowering traffic

The rest of Los Angeles may seem as congested as ever, but traffic at UCLA is the lightest it’s ever been since the university began measuring more than 20 years ago.

The 2011 commuting report marks the eighth consecutive year that UCLA’s vehicle count dropped. With an average of 102,000 trips daily, the number of vehicle trips into and out of UCLA in 2011 was more than 3 percent lower than in 2010 and almost 20 percent lower than the campus’s peak in 2003.

“Vehicle counts are lower now than they were in 1990, when the cordon count first began,” according to UCLA Transportation’s newly released State of the Commute annual report.

UCLA Transportation offers incentives to encourage UCLA’s approximately 41,000 students and 26,000 employees to use alternative transportation, including a 50 percent subsidy for transit passes, discounted parking for carpoolers and a partially subsidized vanpool. The department also offers a variety of other benefits through the Bruin Commuter Club, which is open to all alternative-mode commuters, from bikers and walkers to bus-riders and carpoolers.

UCLA is approaching its goal of convincing half of its employees to switch to alternative transit, and only 52.9 percent currently drive to work alone, compared with nearly 72 percent of Los Angeles County drivers. Only 25 percent of students drive alone.

UCLA’s 50 percent goal is part of the campus’s Climate Action Plan.

via UCLA Newsroom

 

 

//Photo – UCLA on Facebook

Q&A with Gary Knell – the new CEO of NPR

An excerpt from the interview:

Q: You’re a self-professed “NPR groupie.” What do you listen to?

A: Morning Edition is kind of on every day. I’m a big fan of Weekend Edition Saturday, as well as a lot of the music programs. I’m a follower of most all of the programs, so I didn’t walk into the job saying, “What’s that show? I never heard of that before.” What’s been fun is meeting all these personalities I’ve listened to over the years.

Q: From Big Bird to a big undertaking. What prompted you to take this job?

A: I felt like I had one more big thing left to do, and I only wanted to go to an organization that would have an even greater impact than the one I was in. NPR is one of those places. It’s a very powerful brand that has high emotional value—mostly positive, some a little negative—and a fan base that is very dedicated. I’ve done a lot of work running a global media company, taking them through this digital transition, which is affecting all media. So I just decided, let’s take a shot at this. I’m not naïve about it. But I’m excited about the challenge.

Rocked by controversy in 2011, including the resignation of its chief executive, NPR launched a search for a new president and CEO. They found public television veteran Gary Knell ’75, who was tapped to lead the venerable public radio operation in October. The former CEO of Sesame Workshop, Knell helped turn Sesame Street into a more global brand, ushering the iconic children’s TV program into the digital age. Similar change is in the air for NPR’s 26 million-plus listeners with Knell at the helm.

Read more of the interview – UCLA Magazine – New Head of NPR

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Learn how to speak a new language in a few months – from Lifehacker

A condensed version of the article, if this interests you read the full article.

Lifehacker reader Gabriel Wyner was tasked with learning four languages in the past few years for his career as an opera singer, and in the process landed on “a pretty damn good method for language learning that you can do in limited amounts of spare time.” Here’s the four-step method that you can use.

 

Stage 1: Learn the correct pronunciation of the language.
Time: 1-2 weeks

Starting with pronunciation first does a few things—because I’m first and foremost learning how to hear that language’s sounds, my listening comprehension gets an immediate boost before I even start traditional language learning.

 

Stage 2: Vocabulary and grammar acquisition, no English allowed.
Time: About 3 months.

This stage takes advantage of a few valuable tricks: First, I’m using Anki, a wonderful, free flashcard program that runs on smartphones and every computer platform. Second, I use a modified version of Middlebury College’s famous language pledge—No English allowed! By skipping the English, I’m practicing thinking in the language directly, and not translating every time I try to think of a word. Third, I’m using frequency lists to guide my vocabulary acquisition. These lists show the most common words in a given language, and learning those words first will be the best use of your time—after 1000 words, you’ll know 70% of the words in any average text, and 2,000 words provides you with 80% text coverage.

 

Stage 3: Listening, writing and reading work.
Time: This stage overlaps quite a bit with stage 2 and 4. Once you’re comfortable reading or writing anything, usually a month or two into stage 2, you can start stage 3

Once I have a decent vocabulary and familiarity with grammar, I start writing essays, watching TV shows and reading books, and talking (at least to myself!) about the stuff I see and do.

 

Stage 4: Speech

At the point where I can more or less talk (haltingly, but without too many grammar or vocab holes) and write about most familiar things, I find some place to immerse in the language and speak all the time (literally).

 

// Photo – Spree2010