BLOGS

SKC awarded its first four-year STEM degree, in environmental science, in 1997. Since then, SKC has added baccalaureate programs in computer engineering, forestry, hydrology, information technology, life science, and secondary science education. The programs aim to provide additional career opportunities, and to promote long-term economic development of reservation communities. Today's STEM graduates will be tomorrow's entrepreneurs who provide economic opportunities for tribal members. Economically-strong tribal communities help preserve the cultures, languages, histories, and natural environment of their constituents.

Physics Today POV: Teaching science and engineering at a tribal college

Many of the same mechanisms observed in human speech production were exploited for musical effect, including patterns of articulation that do not occur in the phonologies of the artist's native languages: ejectives, clicks and implosives. Image credit:  USC SPAN Group Rights information:  http://bit.ly/LDFc85

Inside Science: The Science Behind 'BeatBoxing'

  I paused to praise a man in the twilight of life.  One brave enough to fight for his brethren, sacrifice 27 years of his life in a small dingy cell on an island that seems a lifetime away from everything one loves, and one who rose to exultation in 1994 to become president of the very people he was shackled for defending.  AMANDLA! 
     Mandela, there are few like you past and present, that have ever walked the earth.  A man who could stare down fear and hate, and survive!  There are no words that could truly do you justice.  As you prepare to leave this place, as you prepare to lock in the embrace of the heavens and continue your great work in the Angelic realms, just know that I, that we, are grateful that you walked amongst us.  I would like to thank your children, your wives, and your close friends, for their hardships and sacrifices as well.  I would like to thank them for lending you to us, for supporting you, and helping you to become the hero that you are.
     Mandela, my eyes widened with wonder when you were released from prison on February 11, 1990.  I sat on the chest in my grandmothers room and asked, "Who is this man?  Why is everyone sooo happy?" I was seven years old.  Henceforth, I read all of the articles and watched all of the news reports about the horrors of apartheid and your hero's journey.  20 years later, I had the opportunity to visit South Africa, to understand what Hell apartheid was, to see the ineffable poverty, and  to bear witness to the journey of healing that South Africa still must travel.  Again, to what you have given, there are truly no words.
     Mandela, you are about to join Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Marcus Garvey, Medgar Evers, and so many other freedom fighters, my God, what good company you are in!  I cannot wait to see what amazing work you do from the heavens!  I'm just glad that I was able to see your amazing work in my lifetime.  Thank you Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, you are appreciated. AMANDLA!

R&D Mag: Outsmarting Heisenberg

My son turned me on to this spoof of Cliff Notes and Spark Notes.  It is clever and entertaining! Find it here on YouTube and subscribe!!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-ymYjG0SU0jUWnWh9ZzEQ

Okay, the Supreme Court, with five conservative white men (we’ll argue about that later, I’m sure), displaying the fear conservative whites have over losing their racial majority and traditional white privilege in these United States of America, has rolled back one of the few protections non-whites in traditionally racist states have against complete political irrelevance.

The political ramifications aside, let us imagine today’s America degenerating into a 1850s social, economic, political and cultural landscape.

Let’s imagine women no longer able to vote, and once again the property of men, unable to own property on their own.

Let’s imagine Black men relegated to slave status, also not having the ability to vote and to only be counted as 3/5ths of a man in the census.

Let’s imagine Black women as little better than sex slaves and the subjects of breeding experiments to try to produce that “perfect” slave; big, stupid and compliant.

Let’s imagine Blacks unable to own property or to be allowed to have or control their own money.

Let’s re-imagine those Blacks who will curry favor from the white masters in order to eat in the big house, wear better clothes, and most importantly, lord their status over the rest.

This trend in conservative strategy just begs for a look at just how America would turn out today with early 1800s', Paula Dean type sensibilities...

Novella anyone?

For my sons...

 From the start I face palmed my entire time seeing the trailer for once again while White audiences are given Superman and Thor, Black audiences are graced with yet another Black maid/servant movie. Now don't get me wrong the movie seems to have a solid cast and I would give anything to bet one of the Black cast members will be rewarded with an Oscar for being a maid or butler. While watching the movies trailer on YouTube I couldn't help but to look at the comments to see what others were saying about the film and one comment posted was that stories like these need to be told. While I agree to a certain extent I still beg the question how long will this story be told? Is this the only story Black Americans have to tell? Are moving stories from the Black mind only about being some "dignified" Black servant for White America?

 The character of the Black servant be it historical or fictional has been a character that Hollywood has had no problem marketing. From Gone with the Wind in 1939 to The Help in 2011 to The Butler in 2013 the character of the black servant is slowly being reintroduced in modern society. All these films seem to tell the movie going audiences that no matter how bad Black servants where treated during these time periods Black maids and butlers didn't care and saw some type of dignity in what they are doing. On top of that you throw in a few "Good" White people to let both white and black audiences know that not all Whites were bad doing this time. To many times we get into the habit of believing these stories are true simply because there was a time when these things did happen and that somehow these films are good to the black mind to see what we know to be untrue to suddenly become true because "good" white people are behind it.

When it comes to historical movies about African-Americans the only movies that are successful are Black servants films but movies depicting African-Americans as heroes like in Red Tails or a messiah type character like in Malcolm X seem doomed to fail. Why? Because it is my opinion that Black people have been conditioned only to see themselves in a certain way. White audiences are given the images of themselves as Superman, Iron man, and Thor but Black audiences are given Precious and The Help and I believe that there is a reason for this. How many movies have been made on Abraham Lincoln? How many World War 2 films have been made? How many American western films are made? My point in saying this is these films are Historical films yet they all showing different sides of White American history. When it comes to Black American history or The World history of Black people we are only given one side of the story as if our history begins and ends in a state of servitude. Where are the epic films on the Nubian Pharaohs of Africa? We seem to have hundreds on the "great" accomplishments of the Greeks and Romans!

  Films like The Butler may be true stories and may move hearts, but I believe those are stories that white audiences are comfortable seeing and Black audiences are conditioned to accept. Anything beyond that territory will ultimately begin to wake up the hearts and minds of black people.

Neil Postman, "Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business"

Technology Review: How Technology is Destroying Jobs

Slate:
Wu-Tang’s GZA Teaches Kids Science With Least-Lame Classroom Rap Ever

A research team from Harvard University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has demonstrated the ability to 3D print a battery. This image shows the interlaced stack of electrodes that were printed layer by layer to create the working anode and cathode of a microbattery. (SEM image courtesy of Jennifer A. Lewis.)

Harvard SEAS: Printing tiny batteries, Dan Ferber, Wyss Institute

By Chaz Ebert, wife of the Late Roger Ebert

Roger was writing reviews right until the very end. One day in the hospital I suggested that he take a break from work-related writing and write something creative that made him feel like he did when he was writing science fiction articles for fanzines when he was a boy. He began writing "The Thinking Molecules of Titan", a story about space exploration set in part at his beloved University of Illinois. 

He never got a chance to finish it.  

In the spirit of Roger's belief in crowd participation, we're having a contest to help complete the story.

Write your own ending and email it to us at contests@ebertdigital.com, with the subject header "TITAN ENDING", followed by your FULL NAME. 

We'll gather the submissions and narrow it down to a select group of finalists, solicit your votes on which is the best, and announce the winner on the site. -- Chaz

The story so far:

The Thinking Molecules Of Titan

Physics World: Graphene circuit breaks the gigahertz barrier

Physics arXiv:
Biologically inspired graphene-chlorophyll phototransistors with high gain

I just got a message from someone who thinks that I should change the page name from "Black" to "African Heritage".

She feels that everyone else is identified by their ethnicity, but that page is identified by color and so she doesn't feel comfortable recommending the website to children and young people because she doesn't feel that the label is suitable.

One of the reasons I have "Black" is that not all those who are called "Black" are African or of (recent) African heritage. The indigenous people of Australia are considered Black, as are the native peoples of the Philippines.

Also, honestly, I am U.S. based and Black is how most of my brothers and sisters refer to themselves.

Please be super honest with me. If you need to rip a hole because I'm wrong, wrong, wrong, then please do tell me. I'm a big girl, I can handle it.

Thanks so much, Ruth

http://www.alienstarbooks.com

July, the Priestess Returns!
Many new questions rose at the end of Season Two as the now grown Little Fish set out from the protection of Valley Realm as he learned to control the power of the mystical Fishscale! Who is the mortal threat to the life of the Priestess the Valley Knight was warned of by the Dark God Qatula? Can the 'truth within lies' from Qatula be trusted? What unseen consequences from the Aesir Chief's breaking of the conditions for his return to the Valley set down by the 'Future Little Fish' will come to pass? What role will the new Goddess Okavanga protector of the Delta Boundary play in the coming events foreseen by the Priestess? And, what great power will come forth to challenge the Mighty Priestess and bring the shadow of destruction to the Valley? Much will be revealed and risked by all in Season Three of 'The Priestess!'

When looking at this picture I was initially amazed, since I believed it to be something that it is not.

What it is, is a group of businessmen looking at the hull of a larger early 20th century cruise liner. Possibly the Titanic, but it could be anything from the Lusitania to some unknown ship that was sunk during the Battle of the Atlantic.

However, what it looked to me at first glance, was the undercarriage of a great Airship. These gentlemen, these Aeronauts, were proudly embarking on a circumnavigation of the globe in their floating dreadnought. Armed with wits and guns and inevitable communicable diseases, they would venture into the dense jungles of Amazonia . On their journeys, they would encounter the fabled lost cities described by defrocked Jesuit Francisco DeOriana, fight dangerous Air-Pirates and commit wanton acts of Derring-Do.

Of course, none of this happened, but it is an important lesson for any story teller or historian. Context matters. Context told me I was looking at the ribs of a giant inflatable balloon, not the walkways to a ship deck.

Context matters to story tellers because we can slant stories in a certain way. Make certain people the heroes or the villains, depending on the context, depending on the point of view.

In fiction, it used to be that POCs were typically the enemy, or if not worthy of fear, then contempt.

(See Armageddon 2419AD for a pretty racist view of both Asians and Africans)

POC and depictions of them have changed in the 80 years since 2419 published. Partly that is because of context. Consumers and their tastes have changed. While POC have not achieved parity in terms of "hero" status, actors such as Will Smith and Vin Diesel have proven that there is a commercial market for a POC as the heroic lead.  In order to see greater representation in both interactive and static entertainment, authors have to continue to shift the context.

However, context shifting has to be more than preaching to some POC choir. It has to involve moving the context of what a hero does, what he or she looks like, and what is the nature of heroism. If you are fighting on someone else's ground, you will always be seen in their context.

It would like to say that we at MM are doing that, but the honest truth is that we haven't done it well enough.