A long-lost film directed by Roger Christian, who served as art director for the first Star Wars movie, could soon be made available as a download, according to a comment given to Wired. Titled Black Angel, the 25-minute film tells the story of a medieval knight returning from the Crusades — it was originally shown before screenings of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back in Europe and Australia, but the negative was lost at some point following this 1980 debut. An archivist at Universal Studios rediscovered the film last year and informed Christian, who has been debating how to re-release it ever since.
"I think it would be great to see it in a cinema again on a program with Empire Strikes Back," Christian tells Wired.... Continue reading…
Ramanujan's Deathbed Conjecture Finally Proven: jomama717 writes "Another chapter in the fascinating life of Srinivasa Ramanujan appears to be complete: 'While on his death bed, the brilliant Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan cryptically wrote down functions he said came to him in dreams, with a hunch about how they behaved. Now 100 years later, researchers say they've proved he was right. "We've solved the problems from his last mysterious letters. For people who work in this area of math, the problem has been open for 90 years," Emory University mathematician Ken Ono said. Ramanujan, a self-taught mathematician born in a rural village in South India, spent so much time thinking about math that he flunked out of college in India twice, Ono said.'"
As libraries move into the digital age, they're also expanding into territory long occupied by bookstores. The New York Times profiles libraries that have responded to customer demand for bestsellers, friendlier reading spaces, and other changes that make libraries less "intimidating." The need to cull physical books (especially transiently popular titles like Fifty Shades of Grey) to expand computer and reading space also means the expansion of library book sales. "A library has limited shelf space," says Arlington Heights library director Jason Kuhl, "so you almost have to think of it as a store, and stock it with the things that people want." Continue reading…
The stamps will be available for purchase from 26 March 2013 and available online at royalmail.com/stamps and at Post Offices across the UK. Fans can also pre-order the stamps by registering at royalmail.com/DoctorWho
Our stamps features each of the Eleven Doctors – from William Hartnell, the first ever Doctor, to Matt Smith, the current Time Lord – depicting all the actors who have played the role on the BBC over the last five decades. The stamp designs see the face of each Doctor appearing out of the iconic swirling screen idents, made famous by the opening credits of the TV show.
In addition to the 11 stamps featuring the Doctors, a five stamp miniature sheet will also be available. In the centre of the sheet is a stamp featuring the Doctor’s space and time travelling machine, the world famous Time and Relative Dimension in Space or the TARDIS as it is more commonly known. The remaining four stamps feature some of the Doctor’s most famous foes; a Dalek, a Cyberman, an Ood and a Weeping Angel.
Unfortunately, I’m Canadian, so I won’t be able to order any of these, but come March, if any of you guys in the U.K. are feeling charitable, I’d really love to put my hands on a set.
[Royal Mail | Via Topless Robot]
How People Live In The Suburbs: A Vintage Illustrated Gem: “Swinging is a good time to close your eyes and make-believe.” Much has been written about what makes a great city, with recent theories placing walkability atop the list of favorable assets, deeming suburbs among the least desirable, most unsustainable, most culturally insular places to live. In fact, every week from now until 2050 more than a million people are being added to our cities. But the city-suburb relationship didn’t always skew this way — in the first half of the 20th century, suburban sprawl was hailed as a pinnacle of industrial progress and by the 1950s, more Americans lived in suburbs than anywhere else.
Last week, while researching the lovely vintage gem The Little Golden Book of Words, I came upon another out-of-print treasure: How People Live In The Suburbs (UK; public library) by Muriel Stanek, originally published in 1970 as an educational supplement teaching primary school children about the basics of social studies. Through a mix of vibrant illustrations by Bernadine Bailey and photographs by Philip Gendreau, the slim 48-page book captures the golden age of utopian visions for suburbia, a bittersweet memento from one of history’s greatest failures of urban planning. How People Live In The Suburbs was published as part of a Basic Understanding series of primary school supplements, also including How People Earn and Use Money, How Farms Help Us, and How Our Government Helps Us — all, sadly, out of print but delightful if you’re able to secure a copy.
Donating = LovingIn 2012, bringing you (ad-free) Brain Pickings took more than 5,000 hours. If you found any joy and stimulation here this year, please consider becoming a Member and supporting with a recurring monthly donation of your choosing, between a cup of coffee and a fancy dinner:
You can also become a one-time patron with a single donation in any amount:
Brain Pickings has a free weekly newsletter and people say it’s cool. It comes out on Sundays and offers the week’s best articles. Here’s what to expect. Like? Sign up.
Brain Pickings takes 450+ hours a month to curate and edit across the different platforms, and remains banner-free. If it brings you any joy and inspiration, please consider a modest donation – it lets me know I'm doing something right.
