nanosatellites
Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a 3.5 kg "nanosatellite". Hordes of these small, low-power satellites could eventually replace much larger, more expensive satellites.
I believe that the nanosatellite market is on the verge of greatly expanding. The small size and the requirement for lots of them to replace much larger satellites would mean big savings, as they could be built on a production line, amortizing the development costs over many units.
And I don't think that this is the smallest functional satellite possible. For the last several months, I've been working on a satellite design approximately one-tenth the mass of the U of T nanosatellites, along with a small launch vehicle. I believe that the total cost for an individual unit (including the satellite itself, the rocket, and fuel and range costs) can be brought down to less than five thousand dollars per satellite. This is petty cash for many corporations, and would mean that even small companies could have several of their own small satellites launched for the price of a single company car.
Technorati Tags: Space
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Saturday, August 27, 2005
how did that happen?
how did that happen?
From time to time I check my ranking in the blogosphere on the Truth Laid Bear's ecosystem. The other day I had 103 inbound links and this blog was ranked number two thousand four hundred and something; a Maruding Marsupial. Today, the number of links hasn't changed but the ranking has jumped up around 700 spots to about 1716, and the blog is now a Large Mammal. I have no idea how that happened.
Now, if I can only quadruple the number of inbound links the robot guy blog will be a Playful Primate, and my head won't be able to fit through the door.
update: POOF! The Truth Laid Bear giveth, and the Truth Laid Bear taketh away. Overnight my blog dropped from 103 inbound links to 33 inbound links, and it is now an Adorable Little Rodent in the ecosystem, dropping about 3000 places in one day. Lesson learned: no bragging. lol
upperdate: TTLB has an explanation for the wild changes in the link counts.
uppestdate: It looks like TTLB has stabilized, and this blog is now ranked 3223... nearly neck-and-neck with Candace's Waking Up on Planet X at 3206 - not bad for a couple of kids from Alberta.
Technorati Tags: Blog
From time to time I check my ranking in the blogosphere on the Truth Laid Bear's ecosystem. The other day I had 103 inbound links and this blog was ranked number two thousand four hundred and something; a Maruding Marsupial. Today, the number of links hasn't changed but the ranking has jumped up around 700 spots to about 1716, and the blog is now a Large Mammal. I have no idea how that happened.
Now, if I can only quadruple the number of inbound links the robot guy blog will be a Playful Primate, and my head won't be able to fit through the door.
update: POOF! The Truth Laid Bear giveth, and the Truth Laid Bear taketh away. Overnight my blog dropped from 103 inbound links to 33 inbound links, and it is now an Adorable Little Rodent in the ecosystem, dropping about 3000 places in one day. Lesson learned: no bragging. lol
upperdate: TTLB has an explanation for the wild changes in the link counts.
uppestdate: It looks like TTLB has stabilized, and this blog is now ranked 3223... nearly neck-and-neck with Candace's Waking Up on Planet X at 3206 - not bad for a couple of kids from Alberta.
Technorati Tags: Blog
Friday, August 26, 2005
Thursday, August 25, 2005
water on Mars
water on Mars
For more than a year my friend Sir Charles W. Shults III has been saying that there is water on Mars. He's right. The ESA agrees, and says that there is a huge frozen sea on the equator. Furthermore, there is lots of frozen water in glaciers at the bottoms of craters, such as this one at 70 degrees North latitude:
Note the colour of the sky reflecting off the glacier; and it is a reflection, you can see the rim of the crater reflected on the left side of the image. That's right, Mars has blue skies, contrary to the images released by NASA for 30 years.
Now, NASA is finally admitting that there is water under the soil on Mars.
Kinda makes you wonder when they are going to admit that there is a lot that they are not telling us about the planet Mars, and how exactly they will explain why the colour of the sky is so much different than what they have been showing us for 3 decades. Sir Charles has some evidence for that too.
NASA has been faking the colour of the skies on Mars. As Sir Charles says, "can we trust that the other images are in fact reliable?"
Technorati Tags: Space, Mars, NASA
For more than a year my friend Sir Charles W. Shults III has been saying that there is water on Mars. He's right. The ESA agrees, and says that there is a huge frozen sea on the equator. Furthermore, there is lots of frozen water in glaciers at the bottoms of craters, such as this one at 70 degrees North latitude:
Note the colour of the sky reflecting off the glacier; and it is a reflection, you can see the rim of the crater reflected on the left side of the image. That's right, Mars has blue skies, contrary to the images released by NASA for 30 years.
Now, NASA is finally admitting that there is water under the soil on Mars.
Kinda makes you wonder when they are going to admit that there is a lot that they are not telling us about the planet Mars, and how exactly they will explain why the colour of the sky is so much different than what they have been showing us for 3 decades. Sir Charles has some evidence for that too.
NASA has been faking the colour of the skies on Mars. As Sir Charles says, "can we trust that the other images are in fact reliable?"
Technorati Tags: Space, Mars, NASA
Saturday, August 20, 2005
from the department of Way Too Much Time On Their Hands
from the department of Way Too Much Time On Their Hands
The Brickfest 2005 convention in Arlington, Virginia brings together thousands of adult Lego enthusiasts. Some of these creations are nothing short of amazing:
Minas Tirith
Taj Mahal
Imperial Star Destroyer
Homer Simpson
Update: As Huck points out in the comments, the Brick Testament is pretty amazing too; Bible stories told with Lego. It is definitely worth checking out. For example, here is The Last Supper:
Technorati Tags: Lego
The Brickfest 2005 convention in Arlington, Virginia brings together thousands of adult Lego enthusiasts. Some of these creations are nothing short of amazing:
Minas Tirith
Taj Mahal
Imperial Star Destroyer
Homer Simpson
Update: As Huck points out in the comments, the Brick Testament is pretty amazing too; Bible stories told with Lego. It is definitely worth checking out. For example, here is The Last Supper:
Technorati Tags: Lego
dogs
dogs
I have always been a "dog person" (I've always been a "cat person" too, but that's a subject for another day). All through my youth I had dogs around; big ones, small ones, dogs that were useful in working the cattle, dogs that were ... well, not so useful.
Some of our dogs (like Snoopy, a spaniel who was already old when we got him, who lived for another ten years afterwards, or like Skippy, the fat little Jack Russell terrier) were strays, abandoned by city folk out near our farm. Some of them we bought as puppies. Some of them lived for a long time, some only lasted a few months before being hit by a car. All of them were members of the family.
So, I feel a twinge whenever I read about people blogging about the deaths of their dogs. Losing a dog is very much like losing a member of the family. These memoriams are very touching: go read Claire Wolfe's remembrance of her dog Jasmine or Eric Scheie's post on Puff The Protector to see what I mean.
Technorati Tags: Dogs
I have always been a "dog person" (I've always been a "cat person" too, but that's a subject for another day). All through my youth I had dogs around; big ones, small ones, dogs that were useful in working the cattle, dogs that were ... well, not so useful.
Some of our dogs (like Snoopy, a spaniel who was already old when we got him, who lived for another ten years afterwards, or like Skippy, the fat little Jack Russell terrier) were strays, abandoned by city folk out near our farm. Some of them we bought as puppies. Some of them lived for a long time, some only lasted a few months before being hit by a car. All of them were members of the family.
So, I feel a twinge whenever I read about people blogging about the deaths of their dogs. Losing a dog is very much like losing a member of the family. These memoriams are very touching: go read Claire Wolfe's remembrance of her dog Jasmine or Eric Scheie's post on Puff The Protector to see what I mean.
Technorati Tags: Dogs
Friday, August 19, 2005
no more shuttle launches this year
no more shuttle launches this year
Space Daily reports that the next shuttle mission will be in March 2006, instead of in September or November of this year. Also, NASA will not be launching Atlantis as originally planned, but instead will launch Discovery again. This follows a scathing report on the Return to Flight mission by the Stafford-Covey Task Group and numerous calls to scrap the entire Shuttle fleet immediately.
Technorati Tags: NASA, Space Shuttle
Space Daily reports that the next shuttle mission will be in March 2006, instead of in September or November of this year. Also, NASA will not be launching Atlantis as originally planned, but instead will launch Discovery again. This follows a scathing report on the Return to Flight mission by the Stafford-Covey Task Group and numerous calls to scrap the entire Shuttle fleet immediately.
Technorati Tags: NASA, Space Shuttle
Global Warming
Global Warming
Jay Manifold and Jason Verheyden have already blogged about this. The north polar cap has been shrinking over a period of the last 40 years. However, we can definitively say that this global warming is not caused by pollution, SUVs, industry, or indeed any man-made causes; nor will Kyoto or any other environmentalist measure, no matter how intense, stop this global warming trend. Why can I be so confident about that?
Because the north polar cap in question is on Mars.
Technorati Tags: Space, Global Warming
Jay Manifold and Jason Verheyden have already blogged about this. The north polar cap has been shrinking over a period of the last 40 years. However, we can definitively say that this global warming is not caused by pollution, SUVs, industry, or indeed any man-made causes; nor will Kyoto or any other environmentalist measure, no matter how intense, stop this global warming trend. Why can I be so confident about that?
Because the north polar cap in question is on Mars.
Technorati Tags: Space, Global Warming
Thursday, August 18, 2005
why indeed
why indeed
Jane Galt asks: "if you think that we should equalise the distribution of income, why do you not think that we should equalise the distribution of PhDs?"
Since so many members of academe are on the left of the political spectrum, that's a damn good question. If you agree with socialist philosophy, then you must agree that merit has nothing to do with tenure. If one is a leftist professor, then all of one's students should get the same grades, regardless of merit. After all, if socialism is their ideal for economics, then it should also be their ideal for academia as well.
Technorati Tags: Education, Socialism
Jane Galt asks: "if you think that we should equalise the distribution of income, why do you not think that we should equalise the distribution of PhDs?"
Since so many members of academe are on the left of the political spectrum, that's a damn good question. If you agree with socialist philosophy, then you must agree that merit has nothing to do with tenure. If one is a leftist professor, then all of one's students should get the same grades, regardless of merit. After all, if socialism is their ideal for economics, then it should also be their ideal for academia as well.
Technorati Tags: Education, Socialism
more Kelo
more Kelo
Somehow I missed this for over a month. The city of New London Connecticut, after having succeeded in torpedoing the fifth amendment (the "takings" clause) is now charging the evicted homeowners back rent, backdated to the start of the homeowners' lawsuit in 2000. Suzanne Kelo is being charged 57 thousand dollars, but that's on the low end; one homeowner is being charged more than three hundred thousand dollars. All of this because they tried to fight the city from illegally confiscating their land (and no, a 5-4 Supreme Court decision does not make it any less unconstitutional; the Supreme Court erred, big time, on this decision).
Now, why would anyone in their right mind buy property in New London?
(a tip o' the hat to Claire)
Technorati Tags: Kelo, Law
Somehow I missed this for over a month. The city of New London Connecticut, after having succeeded in torpedoing the fifth amendment (the "takings" clause) is now charging the evicted homeowners back rent, backdated to the start of the homeowners' lawsuit in 2000. Suzanne Kelo is being charged 57 thousand dollars, but that's on the low end; one homeowner is being charged more than three hundred thousand dollars. All of this because they tried to fight the city from illegally confiscating their land (and no, a 5-4 Supreme Court decision does not make it any less unconstitutional; the Supreme Court erred, big time, on this decision).
Now, why would anyone in their right mind buy property in New London?
(a tip o' the hat to Claire)
Technorati Tags: Kelo, Law
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
new stuff
new stuff
I've been fiddling with the template of my blog again, and have added two more cartoons to the bottom of the page; daily cartoons from CartoonStock.com and Quirit.com. I've also rearranged my blogrolls a little bit, putting all the space blogs together in their own section. Finally, I brought back a link in the sidebar to the Calgary Flames homepage: just click on the Flaming C.
Technorati Tags: Blog
I've been fiddling with the template of my blog again, and have added two more cartoons to the bottom of the page; daily cartoons from CartoonStock.com and Quirit.com. I've also rearranged my blogrolls a little bit, putting all the space blogs together in their own section. Finally, I brought back a link in the sidebar to the Calgary Flames homepage: just click on the Flaming C.
Technorati Tags: Blog
funny joke
funny joke
A little boy walks into his parents' room to see his mom on top of his dad bouncing up and down. The mom sees her son and quickly dismounts, worried about what her son has seen. She dresses quickly and goes to find him.
The son sees his mom and asks, "What were you and dad doing?"
The mother replies "Well you know your dad has a big tummy and sometimes I have to get on top of it to help flatten it."
"You're wasting your time." says the boy.
"Why is that?" asked him mom, puzzled.
"Well when you go shopping, the lady next door comes over and gets on her knees and blows it right back up."
Technorati Tags: Humor
A little boy walks into his parents' room to see his mom on top of his dad bouncing up and down. The mom sees her son and quickly dismounts, worried about what her son has seen. She dresses quickly and goes to find him.
The son sees his mom and asks, "What were you and dad doing?"
The mother replies "Well you know your dad has a big tummy and sometimes I have to get on top of it to help flatten it."
"You're wasting your time." says the boy.
"Why is that?" asked him mom, puzzled.
"Well when you go shopping, the lady next door comes over and gets on her knees and blows it right back up."
Technorati Tags: Humor
Sunday, August 14, 2005
return of the bride of the son of something completely different
return of the bride of the son of something completely different
Once again I take a break from my regular topics of space and politics to combine two of my other favorites: movies and anally-retentive list-making. Back in late May, I made up a list of the most bankable actors, based on the casts of the 100 top-grossing films of all time. And of course, that list was not adjusted for inflation. As such, it represented a list of mostly recent actors and actresses. Also, the box-office juggernaught that is Revenge of the Sith had not yet percolated its way onto the top-100 charts, having only been released two weeks before I did the last list.
The other day I ran across the list of the top 100-grossing movies adjusted for inflation to 2005 dollars. So, since it has been a slow week, I thought I'd update my bankable-actors list.
Once again, I did not include thespians whose contributions to top-100 films consisted of a single role even if spread over several movies: Anthony Daniels (C3P0) doesn't make my list, nor does Vivien Leigh (whose only top-100 movie was Gone With the Wind). Nor did I include roles in which an actor played himself (such as Larry King, who played himself in Ghostbusters and Ugly Stepsister in Shrek 2).
There were a few surprises on the new list; some of the people who had done very well on the unadjusted-for-inflation list (such as Liv Tyler and Frank Oz) dropped right off of this list. I also found a few actors and actresses who should have appeared on my first list but were missed.
I went through complete-cast lists for each movie, rather than just the main actors, so I included even bit parts and cameos. I have probably missed a couple of actors, though, since some of these movies had casts numbering in the hundreds (Ben-Hur) or even thousands (Around the World in Eighty Days), and it was just too much to try to cross-reference them all. As near as I can figure, there were only a dozen actresses that appeared in two or more roles in the top-100-grossing movies, and 55 actors.
For the lists below, each actor/actress name is followed by a number in brackets; this number represents the total gross in millions of dollars US, adjusted for inflation, of the top-100-grossing films in which they appeared.
Ladies first:
12) Monica Bellucci (681) played Mary Magdalen in the Passion of the Christ and Persephone in the Matrix Reloaded.
11) Terri Garr (720) played Sandy Lester in Tootsie and Ronnie Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
10) Annie Potts (759) played Bo Peep in Toy Story 2 and Janine Melnitz in Ghostbusters.
9) Whoopi Goldberg (824) played Shenzi in the Lion King and Oda Mae Brown in Ghost.
8) Talia Shire (857) played Adrian in Rocky and Connie in the Godfather.
7) Kiera Knightley (867) played Elizabeth Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl and Sabé (queen's decoy) in Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace.
6) Karen Allen (947) played Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Katy in National Lampoon's Animal House.
5) Anne Bancroft (952) played Mrs. Robinson in the Graduate and (uncredited) an extra in the church congregation in Blazing Saddles.
4) Sofia Coppola (1048) is the queen of the bit-part players. She was Saché in Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace and (uncredited) Michael Francis Rizzi in the Godfather.
3) Sally Field (1204) played Mrs. Gump in Forrest Gump, Miranda Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire, and Carrie/'Frog' in Smokey and the Bandit.
2) Butterfly McQueen (1620) played Prissy in Gone With the Wind and Vashti in Duel in the Sun.
..... drumroll...
And the top-grossing actress of all time is:
1) Julie Andrews (1866), who played Queen in Shrek 2, Maria von Trapp in the Sound of Music, and the title role in Mary Poppins.
For the men I was considering providing the details for only those actors whose adjusted grosses totalled over a billion dollars. Then I realized that there were a few whose names were not exactly recognizable; and since I'd made up the list anyhow, I thought, to heck with it, I'll list them all. Here goes:
55) Tom Skerritt (648) played Cmdr. Mike 'Viper' Metcalf in Top Gun and Capt. Augustus Bedford 'Duke' Forrest in M*A*S*H.
54) Pat Flaherty (660) played (uncredited) Salvage Foreman in the Best Years of Our Lives and Sgt. Harry Parsons in Sergeant York.
53) Robin Williams (673) was Daniel Hillard/Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire in Mrs. Doubtfire and Genie in Aladdin.
52) Geoffrey Rush (685) played Nigel in Finding Nemo and Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl.
51) Jimmy Stewart (706) played Buttons in The Greatest Show on Earth and L.B. Jefferies in Rear Window.
50) Carl Weathers (708) played MP in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Apollo in Rocky.
49) Gene Hackman (718) played Lex Luthor in Superman and Rev. Frank Scott in the Poseidon Adventure.
48) Christopher Lloyd (721) played Dr. Emmett Brown in Back to the Future and Taber in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
47) Donald Sutherland (727) played Captain Benjamin Franklin 'Hawkeye' Pierce in M*A*S*H and Prof. Dave Jennings in National Lampoon's Animal House.
46) Jack Nicholson (747) played Randle Patrick McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Joker/Jack Napier in Batman.
45) Roddy McDowall (781) played Acres in the Poseidon Adventure and Caeser Augustus (Octavian) in Cleopatra.
44) Bing Crosby (786) was Father Chuck O'Malley in The Bells of Saint Mary's and an uncredited spectator in The Greatest Show On Earth.
43) Roberts Blossom (789) played a farmer in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Marley in Home Alone.
42) Will Smith (793) The Fresh Prince played Agent J in Men in Black and Captain Steven 'Steve' Hiller in Independence Day.
41) Dan Aykroyd (795) was Dr. Raymond Stantz in Ghostbusters and Weber in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
40) Tommy Lee Jones (796) played Agent K in Men in Black and Hank Simpson in Love Story.
39) John Cleese (812) played King in Shrek 2 and Nearly Headless Nick in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
38) Bill Murray (817) was Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters and Jeff Slater in Tootsie.
36) (tie) Richard Burton (849) played Marc Antony in Cleopatra and Marcellus Gallio in the Robe.
36) (tie) Robert Duvall (849) played Tom Hagen in the Godfather and Major Frank Burns in M*A*S*H.
35) Wayne Knight (858) played Al in Toy Story 2 and Dennis Nedry in Jurassic Park.
34) Haley Joel Osment (861), easily the youngest actor on the list, played Cole Sear in the Sixth Sense and Forrest Gump Jr. in Forrest Gump. He should have been on my original list.
33) Marlon Brando (872) played Don Vito Corleone in the Godfather and Jor-El in Superman.
32) Norman Fell (892) Yep, Mr. Roper was a movie star. He appeared in over 60 films, including playing Mr. McCleery in the Graduate and a detective at Grogan's crash site in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
31) Dustin Hoffman (912) played Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels in Tootsie and was seduced by Anne Bancroft as Benjamin Braddock in the Graduate.
30) Charles Durning (935) was Lt. William Snyder in the Sting and Les Nichols in Tootsie.
29) Robert Redford (1022) played Johnny Hooker aka Kelly in the Sting and the Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
28) Tom Hanks (1101) I was really surprised he didn't end up closer to the top of this list; when adjusted for inflation, his only top-100 appearances were as Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump, Sheriff Woody in Toy Story 2, and Captain Miller in Saving Private Ryan.
27) Omar Sharif (1149) The world-renowned Bridge expert did a star turn as Dr. Yuri Zhivago in Dr. Zhivago and played Sherif Ali ibn el Kharish in Lawrence of Arabia.
26) Vincent Price (1162) the spooky veteran of more than 100 movies had his biggest hits playing Prof. Henry Jarrod in House of Wax and Baka in the Ten Commandments.
25) Bill Paxton (1171) played Brock Lovett in Titanic and William Harding in Twister.
24) Eddie Murphy (1187) played Donkey in Shrek and Shrek 2 and Detective Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop.
23) Willem Dafoe (1190) played Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in Spider-man and Spider-man 2 and Gill in Finding Nemo. Willem Dafoe should have been on my original list, but I missed seeing that he was in Finding Nemo.
22) Sean Connery (1219) the best James Bond of all in Goldfinger and Thunderball, and Indiana Jones' dad Professor Henry Jones in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
21) John Carradine (1252) played Col. Proctor Stamp in Around the World in Eighty Days and Aaron in the Ten Commandments. For a guy whose career spanned 251 movies and 65 years, it's funny that both of those movies were released back-to-back in 1956.
20) Sam Harris (1298) This guy was King of the Extras. Nearly 250 movies to his credit, almost all of them uncredited bit parts. He was an extra in Around the World in Eighty Days, a Citizen in Mary Poppins, and Guest at Ball in My Fair Lady.
19) Jeff Goldblum (1315) played Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and David Levinson in Independence Day.
18) Robert Shaw (1390) was Quint in Jaws and Doyle Lonnegan in the Sting.
17) Paul Newman (1415) played Henry Gondorff aka Shaw in the Sting, Doug Roberts in the Towering Inferno, and Butch Cassidy in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
16) Orlando Bloom (1437) played Legolas in the Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers, and the Return of the King, and Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl.
15) Warwick Davis (1503) played Wicket in Return of the Jedi, Wald/Pod Race Spectator/Mos Espa citizen in the Phantom Menace, and Professor Flitwick/Goblin Bank Teller in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Warwick Davis is another actor that should have been on my original list.
14) J. Pat O'Malley (1611) Never heard of him? Well, the folks at Disney sure did. He was the voice of Colonel/Jasper in One Hundred and One Dalmations, Horseman (uncredited) in Mary Poppins, and Colonel Hathi/Buzzie in The Jungle Book.
13) Billy Dee Williams (1633) played Harvey Dent in Batman and Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He is yet another actor who should have been on my original list but was overlooked.
12) Michael Ensign (1641) played Benjamin Guggenheim in Titanic, Hotel Manager in Ghostbusters, and Newscaster in Superman.
11) John Ratzenberger (1662) Cliff Claven has done very well for himself in movies, particularly in recent years as voice talent. He was Fish School in Finding Nemo, Hamm in Toy Story 2, Major Bren Derlin in the Empire Strikes Back, and 1st Controller in Superman.
10) Samuel L. Jackson (1815) played Mace Windu in the Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith, and Ray Arnold in Jurassic Park.
9) Christopher Lee (1833) an actor who has made over 200 movies spanning nearly six decades, he has really only come into his own over the last four years, playing Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus in Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith, and Saruman in the Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers, and the Return of the King.
8) Charlton Heston (1850) played Judah Ben-Hur in Ben-Hur, Moses in the Ten Commandments, and Brad Braden in the Greatest Show on Earth.
7) Thurl Ravenscroft (1962) might not be particularly famous by name, but oh what a voice. Besides being Tony the Tiger in the Frosted Flakes commercials and singing "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch" in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, he lent his voice to Al the Alligator/Dog in Lady and the Tramp, Singer in Sleeping Beauty, Captain in One Hundred and One Dalmations, and (uncredited) as Pig in Mary Poppins.
6) John Rhys-Davies (1993) played Sallah in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Gimli in the Fellowship of the Ring, Gimli and Treebeard in the Two Towers, and Gimli in the Return of the King.
5) Richard Dreyfuss (2153) played Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Matt Hooper in Jaws, Curt Henderson in American Graffiti, and (uncredited) apartment house resident in the Graduate.
4) Peter Diamond (2934) who? He was a stuntman, appearing in over 70 movies. He also had bit parts in several movies, playing (uncredited) Stormtrooper/Tusken Raider/Death Star Trooper/Garouf Lafoe in Star Wars, (uncredited) Snowtrooper gunner in the Empire Strikes Back, (uncredited) German Soldier in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and (uncredited) Gamorrean Guard in Return of the Jedi.
3) James Earl Jones (3241) Most famous for the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars, the Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Revenge of the Sith, he was also the voice of Mufasa in the Lion King.
2) Alec Guiness (3767) played Obi-wan Kenobi in Star Wars, the Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, General Yevgraf Zhivago in Dr. Zhivago, Prince Feisal in Lawrence of Arabia, and Colonel Nicholson in the Bridge on the River Kwai.
...drumroll... and the number one most bankable actor of all time is, once again,
1) Harrison Ford (4013) who played Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Han Solo in Star Wars, the Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, and Bob Falfa in American Graffiti. The guy is just box-office gold.
Okay, so now that I have a list adjusted for inflation, I don't think I'll have to do this again for ... oh... ever. Hope you enjoyed the show.
Technorati Tags: Movies
Once again I take a break from my regular topics of space and politics to combine two of my other favorites: movies and anally-retentive list-making. Back in late May, I made up a list of the most bankable actors, based on the casts of the 100 top-grossing films of all time. And of course, that list was not adjusted for inflation. As such, it represented a list of mostly recent actors and actresses. Also, the box-office juggernaught that is Revenge of the Sith had not yet percolated its way onto the top-100 charts, having only been released two weeks before I did the last list.
The other day I ran across the list of the top 100-grossing movies adjusted for inflation to 2005 dollars. So, since it has been a slow week, I thought I'd update my bankable-actors list.
Once again, I did not include thespians whose contributions to top-100 films consisted of a single role even if spread over several movies: Anthony Daniels (C3P0) doesn't make my list, nor does Vivien Leigh (whose only top-100 movie was Gone With the Wind). Nor did I include roles in which an actor played himself (such as Larry King, who played himself in Ghostbusters and Ugly Stepsister in Shrek 2).
There were a few surprises on the new list; some of the people who had done very well on the unadjusted-for-inflation list (such as Liv Tyler and Frank Oz) dropped right off of this list. I also found a few actors and actresses who should have appeared on my first list but were missed.
I went through complete-cast lists for each movie, rather than just the main actors, so I included even bit parts and cameos. I have probably missed a couple of actors, though, since some of these movies had casts numbering in the hundreds (Ben-Hur) or even thousands (Around the World in Eighty Days), and it was just too much to try to cross-reference them all. As near as I can figure, there were only a dozen actresses that appeared in two or more roles in the top-100-grossing movies, and 55 actors.
For the lists below, each actor/actress name is followed by a number in brackets; this number represents the total gross in millions of dollars US, adjusted for inflation, of the top-100-grossing films in which they appeared.
Ladies first:
12) Monica Bellucci (681) played Mary Magdalen in the Passion of the Christ and Persephone in the Matrix Reloaded.
11) Terri Garr (720) played Sandy Lester in Tootsie and Ronnie Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
10) Annie Potts (759) played Bo Peep in Toy Story 2 and Janine Melnitz in Ghostbusters.
9) Whoopi Goldberg (824) played Shenzi in the Lion King and Oda Mae Brown in Ghost.
8) Talia Shire (857) played Adrian in Rocky and Connie in the Godfather.
7) Kiera Knightley (867) played Elizabeth Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl and Sabé (queen's decoy) in Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace.
6) Karen Allen (947) played Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Katy in National Lampoon's Animal House.
5) Anne Bancroft (952) played Mrs. Robinson in the Graduate and (uncredited) an extra in the church congregation in Blazing Saddles.
4) Sofia Coppola (1048) is the queen of the bit-part players. She was Saché in Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace and (uncredited) Michael Francis Rizzi in the Godfather.
3) Sally Field (1204) played Mrs. Gump in Forrest Gump, Miranda Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire, and Carrie/'Frog' in Smokey and the Bandit.
2) Butterfly McQueen (1620) played Prissy in Gone With the Wind and Vashti in Duel in the Sun.
..... drumroll...
And the top-grossing actress of all time is:
1) Julie Andrews (1866), who played Queen in Shrek 2, Maria von Trapp in the Sound of Music, and the title role in Mary Poppins.
For the men I was considering providing the details for only those actors whose adjusted grosses totalled over a billion dollars. Then I realized that there were a few whose names were not exactly recognizable; and since I'd made up the list anyhow, I thought, to heck with it, I'll list them all. Here goes:
55) Tom Skerritt (648) played Cmdr. Mike 'Viper' Metcalf in Top Gun and Capt. Augustus Bedford 'Duke' Forrest in M*A*S*H.
54) Pat Flaherty (660) played (uncredited) Salvage Foreman in the Best Years of Our Lives and Sgt. Harry Parsons in Sergeant York.
53) Robin Williams (673) was Daniel Hillard/Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire in Mrs. Doubtfire and Genie in Aladdin.
52) Geoffrey Rush (685) played Nigel in Finding Nemo and Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl.
51) Jimmy Stewart (706) played Buttons in The Greatest Show on Earth and L.B. Jefferies in Rear Window.
50) Carl Weathers (708) played MP in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Apollo in Rocky.
49) Gene Hackman (718) played Lex Luthor in Superman and Rev. Frank Scott in the Poseidon Adventure.
48) Christopher Lloyd (721) played Dr. Emmett Brown in Back to the Future and Taber in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
47) Donald Sutherland (727) played Captain Benjamin Franklin 'Hawkeye' Pierce in M*A*S*H and Prof. Dave Jennings in National Lampoon's Animal House.
46) Jack Nicholson (747) played Randle Patrick McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Joker/Jack Napier in Batman.
45) Roddy McDowall (781) played Acres in the Poseidon Adventure and Caeser Augustus (Octavian) in Cleopatra.
44) Bing Crosby (786) was Father Chuck O'Malley in The Bells of Saint Mary's and an uncredited spectator in The Greatest Show On Earth.
43) Roberts Blossom (789) played a farmer in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Marley in Home Alone.
42) Will Smith (793) The Fresh Prince played Agent J in Men in Black and Captain Steven 'Steve' Hiller in Independence Day.
41) Dan Aykroyd (795) was Dr. Raymond Stantz in Ghostbusters and Weber in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
40) Tommy Lee Jones (796) played Agent K in Men in Black and Hank Simpson in Love Story.
39) John Cleese (812) played King in Shrek 2 and Nearly Headless Nick in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
38) Bill Murray (817) was Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters and Jeff Slater in Tootsie.
36) (tie) Richard Burton (849) played Marc Antony in Cleopatra and Marcellus Gallio in the Robe.
36) (tie) Robert Duvall (849) played Tom Hagen in the Godfather and Major Frank Burns in M*A*S*H.
35) Wayne Knight (858) played Al in Toy Story 2 and Dennis Nedry in Jurassic Park.
34) Haley Joel Osment (861), easily the youngest actor on the list, played Cole Sear in the Sixth Sense and Forrest Gump Jr. in Forrest Gump. He should have been on my original list.
33) Marlon Brando (872) played Don Vito Corleone in the Godfather and Jor-El in Superman.
32) Norman Fell (892) Yep, Mr. Roper was a movie star. He appeared in over 60 films, including playing Mr. McCleery in the Graduate and a detective at Grogan's crash site in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
31) Dustin Hoffman (912) played Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels in Tootsie and was seduced by Anne Bancroft as Benjamin Braddock in the Graduate.
30) Charles Durning (935) was Lt. William Snyder in the Sting and Les Nichols in Tootsie.
29) Robert Redford (1022) played Johnny Hooker aka Kelly in the Sting and the Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
28) Tom Hanks (1101) I was really surprised he didn't end up closer to the top of this list; when adjusted for inflation, his only top-100 appearances were as Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump, Sheriff Woody in Toy Story 2, and Captain Miller in Saving Private Ryan.
27) Omar Sharif (1149) The world-renowned Bridge expert did a star turn as Dr. Yuri Zhivago in Dr. Zhivago and played Sherif Ali ibn el Kharish in Lawrence of Arabia.
26) Vincent Price (1162) the spooky veteran of more than 100 movies had his biggest hits playing Prof. Henry Jarrod in House of Wax and Baka in the Ten Commandments.
25) Bill Paxton (1171) played Brock Lovett in Titanic and William Harding in Twister.
24) Eddie Murphy (1187) played Donkey in Shrek and Shrek 2 and Detective Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop.
23) Willem Dafoe (1190) played Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in Spider-man and Spider-man 2 and Gill in Finding Nemo. Willem Dafoe should have been on my original list, but I missed seeing that he was in Finding Nemo.
22) Sean Connery (1219) the best James Bond of all in Goldfinger and Thunderball, and Indiana Jones' dad Professor Henry Jones in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
21) John Carradine (1252) played Col. Proctor Stamp in Around the World in Eighty Days and Aaron in the Ten Commandments. For a guy whose career spanned 251 movies and 65 years, it's funny that both of those movies were released back-to-back in 1956.
20) Sam Harris (1298) This guy was King of the Extras. Nearly 250 movies to his credit, almost all of them uncredited bit parts. He was an extra in Around the World in Eighty Days, a Citizen in Mary Poppins, and Guest at Ball in My Fair Lady.
19) Jeff Goldblum (1315) played Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and David Levinson in Independence Day.
18) Robert Shaw (1390) was Quint in Jaws and Doyle Lonnegan in the Sting.
17) Paul Newman (1415) played Henry Gondorff aka Shaw in the Sting, Doug Roberts in the Towering Inferno, and Butch Cassidy in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
16) Orlando Bloom (1437) played Legolas in the Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers, and the Return of the King, and Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl.
15) Warwick Davis (1503) played Wicket in Return of the Jedi, Wald/Pod Race Spectator/Mos Espa citizen in the Phantom Menace, and Professor Flitwick/Goblin Bank Teller in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Warwick Davis is another actor that should have been on my original list.
14) J. Pat O'Malley (1611) Never heard of him? Well, the folks at Disney sure did. He was the voice of Colonel/Jasper in One Hundred and One Dalmations, Horseman (uncredited) in Mary Poppins, and Colonel Hathi/Buzzie in The Jungle Book.
13) Billy Dee Williams (1633) played Harvey Dent in Batman and Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He is yet another actor who should have been on my original list but was overlooked.
12) Michael Ensign (1641) played Benjamin Guggenheim in Titanic, Hotel Manager in Ghostbusters, and Newscaster in Superman.
11) John Ratzenberger (1662) Cliff Claven has done very well for himself in movies, particularly in recent years as voice talent. He was Fish School in Finding Nemo, Hamm in Toy Story 2, Major Bren Derlin in the Empire Strikes Back, and 1st Controller in Superman.
10) Samuel L. Jackson (1815) played Mace Windu in the Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith, and Ray Arnold in Jurassic Park.
9) Christopher Lee (1833) an actor who has made over 200 movies spanning nearly six decades, he has really only come into his own over the last four years, playing Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus in Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith, and Saruman in the Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers, and the Return of the King.
8) Charlton Heston (1850) played Judah Ben-Hur in Ben-Hur, Moses in the Ten Commandments, and Brad Braden in the Greatest Show on Earth.
7) Thurl Ravenscroft (1962) might not be particularly famous by name, but oh what a voice. Besides being Tony the Tiger in the Frosted Flakes commercials and singing "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch" in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, he lent his voice to Al the Alligator/Dog in Lady and the Tramp, Singer in Sleeping Beauty, Captain in One Hundred and One Dalmations, and (uncredited) as Pig in Mary Poppins.
6) John Rhys-Davies (1993) played Sallah in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Gimli in the Fellowship of the Ring, Gimli and Treebeard in the Two Towers, and Gimli in the Return of the King.
5) Richard Dreyfuss (2153) played Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Matt Hooper in Jaws, Curt Henderson in American Graffiti, and (uncredited) apartment house resident in the Graduate.
4) Peter Diamond (2934) who? He was a stuntman, appearing in over 70 movies. He also had bit parts in several movies, playing (uncredited) Stormtrooper/Tusken Raider/Death Star Trooper/Garouf Lafoe in Star Wars, (uncredited) Snowtrooper gunner in the Empire Strikes Back, (uncredited) German Soldier in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and (uncredited) Gamorrean Guard in Return of the Jedi.
3) James Earl Jones (3241) Most famous for the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars, the Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Revenge of the Sith, he was also the voice of Mufasa in the Lion King.
2) Alec Guiness (3767) played Obi-wan Kenobi in Star Wars, the Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, General Yevgraf Zhivago in Dr. Zhivago, Prince Feisal in Lawrence of Arabia, and Colonel Nicholson in the Bridge on the River Kwai.
...drumroll... and the number one most bankable actor of all time is, once again,
1) Harrison Ford (4013) who played Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Han Solo in Star Wars, the Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, and Bob Falfa in American Graffiti. The guy is just box-office gold.
Okay, so now that I have a list adjusted for inflation, I don't think I'll have to do this again for ... oh... ever. Hope you enjoyed the show.
Technorati Tags: Movies
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Alberta Separatism
Alberta Separatism
Austin Bay has noticed the results of a Western Standard poll on western separatism. The poll shows that 42 percent (that's two in five, not one in five, Austin) of Albertans want out of Canada.
This isn't something that happened overnight. The list of grievances is a long one, and stretches at least as far back as the hated National Energy Program: jailing farmers for selling their grain on the open market, Kyoto, the national gun registry, Adscam, the appointment of Liberal party hacks to the senate as Alberta's representatives, and numerous other indignities all contribute to Alberta Separatist sentiments.
What it all boils down to though is disrespect. For decades, Albertans have financed the ever-expanding nanny state in Canada, and done so while being sneered at by Central Canada. Until Ontario in particular changes their attitude about Alberta, separatism will continue to grow.
Technorati Tags: politics, Canada, Alberta
Austin Bay has noticed the results of a Western Standard poll on western separatism. The poll shows that 42 percent (that's two in five, not one in five, Austin) of Albertans want out of Canada.
This isn't something that happened overnight. The list of grievances is a long one, and stretches at least as far back as the hated National Energy Program: jailing farmers for selling their grain on the open market, Kyoto, the national gun registry, Adscam, the appointment of Liberal party hacks to the senate as Alberta's representatives, and numerous other indignities all contribute to Alberta Separatist sentiments.
What it all boils down to though is disrespect. For decades, Albertans have financed the ever-expanding nanny state in Canada, and done so while being sneered at by Central Canada. Until Ontario in particular changes their attitude about Alberta, separatism will continue to grow.
Technorati Tags: politics, Canada, Alberta
Saturday, August 06, 2005
trapped underwater
trapped underwater
I hope this isn't a replay of the Kursk. Here's hoping for good luck for all involved.
Update: A British robot has cut the cables that were trapping the sub, and the sub is headed for the surface.
Update 2: Here are some specifications and images of the Super Scorpio robot used to free the sub.
Update 3: SAFE! This is a win all around, congratulations to the British and the Russians.
Technorati Tags: Russia, submarine
I hope this isn't a replay of the Kursk. Here's hoping for good luck for all involved.
Update: A British robot has cut the cables that were trapping the sub, and the sub is headed for the surface.
Update 2: Here are some specifications and images of the Super Scorpio robot used to free the sub.
Update 3: SAFE! This is a win all around, congratulations to the British and the Russians.
Technorati Tags: Russia, submarine
Thursday, August 04, 2005
New Governor-General
New Governor-General
Prime Minister Paul Martin has appointed Michaëlle Jean as Canada's 27th Governor-General. Across the country, the response has been: "who?"
"I wasn't expecting this at all," Jean said. "I wasn't expecting destiny to come knocking at my door."
She's not the only one. I have been a political junkie for at least 20 years, and I have never heard the name before.
Right off the top of my head I can think of a dozen Canadians that have made national or international contributions to Canada, all of whom would be better-qualified than an obscure journalist whose "national" audience amounts to about 500. They are:
Guy Lafleur
Preston Manning
Wayne Gretzky
Roberta Bondar
Marc Garneau
Leslie Neilson
William Shatner
Rick Hansen
Kate McMillan
Ron McLean
Ellen Gabriel
That Guy Who Plays Bubbles on Trailer Park Boys
Technorati Tags: politics, Canada
Prime Minister Paul Martin has appointed Michaëlle Jean as Canada's 27th Governor-General. Across the country, the response has been: "who?"
"I wasn't expecting this at all," Jean said. "I wasn't expecting destiny to come knocking at my door."
She's not the only one. I have been a political junkie for at least 20 years, and I have never heard the name before.
Right off the top of my head I can think of a dozen Canadians that have made national or international contributions to Canada, all of whom would be better-qualified than an obscure journalist whose "national" audience amounts to about 500. They are:
Guy Lafleur
Preston Manning
Wayne Gretzky
Roberta Bondar
Marc Garneau
Leslie Neilson
William Shatner
Rick Hansen
Kate McMillan
Ron McLean
Ellen Gabriel
That Guy Who Plays Bubbles on Trailer Park Boys
Technorati Tags: politics, Canada
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Monday, August 01, 2005
junk it
junk it
Jeffrey F. Bell, in an op-ed in Space Daily, says what I have been saying for years; that it is time to retire the fundamentally-flawed Space Shuttle fleet:
"Today, the dwindling army of Shuttle cheerleaders are talking about yet more studies, yet more safety upgrades, yet more money and time dumped into this gaping black hole. We should ignore them.
There simply is no modification or upgrade that can make the Shuttle system acceptably safe from debris strikes. The original design decision to place a fragile heatshield alongside a foam-covered cryogenic tank and fly them at supersonic speeds was wrong. The whole history of aerospace craft tells us that this kind of basic design error can never be fixed by retrospective band-aid modifications.
And why bother? The only thing we can get in return for the $25-30B now budgeted for Shuttle operations between now and 2010 is more heartache and more delays in the new space initiative. Every day that Shuttle cancellation is put off, another $15,000,000 is wasted and the return of humans to the moon is delayed by another day."
He also points out that Mike Griffin has stated that there will be only another 16-20 Shuttle missions, rather than the 28 needed to finish the InternationalBudget Buster Pork Barrel Space Station.
With this reduced workload, the Station will never have the functionality that is its raison d'etre. It will never be a useful laboratory in space, with the crew spending all their time simply maintaining the station. Even with this reduced workload, there is a high probability of the loss of another orbiter (based on the age of the fleet and the badly flawed design).
Technorati Tags: Space, NASA, Space Shuttle, International Space Station
Jeffrey F. Bell, in an op-ed in Space Daily, says what I have been saying for years; that it is time to retire the fundamentally-flawed Space Shuttle fleet:
"Today, the dwindling army of Shuttle cheerleaders are talking about yet more studies, yet more safety upgrades, yet more money and time dumped into this gaping black hole. We should ignore them.
There simply is no modification or upgrade that can make the Shuttle system acceptably safe from debris strikes. The original design decision to place a fragile heatshield alongside a foam-covered cryogenic tank and fly them at supersonic speeds was wrong. The whole history of aerospace craft tells us that this kind of basic design error can never be fixed by retrospective band-aid modifications.
And why bother? The only thing we can get in return for the $25-30B now budgeted for Shuttle operations between now and 2010 is more heartache and more delays in the new space initiative. Every day that Shuttle cancellation is put off, another $15,000,000 is wasted and the return of humans to the moon is delayed by another day."
He also points out that Mike Griffin has stated that there will be only another 16-20 Shuttle missions, rather than the 28 needed to finish the International
With this reduced workload, the Station will never have the functionality that is its raison d'etre. It will never be a useful laboratory in space, with the crew spending all their time simply maintaining the station. Even with this reduced workload, there is a high probability of the loss of another orbiter (based on the age of the fleet and the badly flawed design).
Technorati Tags: Space, NASA, Space Shuttle, International Space Station
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