Distortion

Wild About Irene

Zoy Clem — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:00:52 +0000

She was frequently called the best actress who never won an Oscar--Irene Dunne was nominated five times for the Film Academy's Best Actress award but on each occasion it eluded her. It had little effect on her career, however, and little impact on Dunne. Acting had always been secondary, and though she enjoyed the money and fame, she chose to live by her late father's words: "Happiness is never an accident. It is the prize we get when we choose wisely from life's great stores."

The clip below is from Dunne's first appearance in a comedy film. It comes from the 1936 picture, Theodora Goes Wild, which co-starred Melyvn Douglas:

Saturday Dance Fever

Zoy Clem — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:00:31 +0000

This week's guests include Godzilla and King Kong. Let's watch as the two face off on the dance floor:

Prehistoric Documentaries for Kids

Zoy Clem — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:00:07 +0000

Despite the mild violence, this documentary film animation provided a comforting message as well as a sense of adventure, and helped billions of young dinosaurs throughout Pangaea cope with their upcoming extinction in the late Triassic period.

Happy Fourth of July

Zoy Clem — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:02:44 +0000

A different batch of fireworks is used in this celebration presented by PES:

Saturday Cartoons

Zoy Clem — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:00:30 +0000

Felix the Cat returns again this week to parody Shakespeare and woo his Juliet in this 1920's Pat Sullivan classic, Romeeow:

Film Babe Preview

Zoy Clem — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:00:30 +0000

This weekend we'll be taking a look at the chorus girl, opera singer, and actress, Irene Dunne, a stunning multi-talented star who reigned at the box office throughout the 1930's and 40's. For this evening's preview, let's watch Dunne perform the song Lovely To Look At from the 1935 movie, Roberta:

Peculiar Survival Mechanisms

Zoy Clem — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:00:59 +0000

Various members of the animal community are known to possess odd or peculiar survival traits, but this one, utilized by a rare species of amphibian, is one of the strangest:

Wildlife Exercise

Zoy Clem — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:00:53 +0000

Most people don't realize it, but our animal cousins in the wild also need exercise on a regular basis to stay firm and fit. These young foxes, hoping to make an impression with the vixen who lives across the street, were captured on film working out in their back yard:

Close Approach

Zoy Clem — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:00:36 +0000

The tiny moving dot in the image below, named XP14, is an asteriod that passed within a mere 268 thousand miles of Earth today in 2006.

The size of the asteriod is unknown. It is not expected to pose a danger to Earth anytime in the near future.

First and Last Flight

Zoy Clem — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:00:22 +0000

The following segment is titled Miracle Pets, and on the surface, it appears to be quite a heart-warming piece. But what the narrator doesn't mention is the cat depicted in this video later met an untimely end when following in the footsteps (or flightpath) of its adopted mother, and made its first attempt at flight from the roof of an office building up the street:

Not really. As far as I know, the cat is fine.

Another Speed Record

Zoy Clem — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:00:13 +0000

The USS United States sets sail today on her maiden voyage from New York City, headed in the direction of Southhampton, England. During the voyage, the ship would establish two speed records, one for the eastbound leg (3 days, 10 hours, and 40 minutes), and on her return voyage, the record for the westbound passage (3 days, 12 hours, and 12 minutes). The latter crossing still stands as a record today. The ship reached a top speed of 38.3 knots.

The USS United States was retired in 1969, but is still docked at port in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania today.

Sounds From the Past

Zoy Clem — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:43:21 +0000

Have you ever wondered what the roar of a Tyrannosaurus Rex might have sounded like? We did too, so after drawing straws, one of our editors, kwAwk, was sent back in time a few million years, equipped with a camera and recording equipment, to capture the dinosaur's vocalizations. We weren't disappointed:

We haven't heard back yet from kwAwk.