armpitfartparty

[armpitfartparty]

Whiskey, Twins, and Maggie. Triumvirate of awesome.

[armpitfartparty]

(via https://open.spotify.com/track/4EDj8GXOlI45vG4SOfswK3)

[armpitfartparty]

Olympic Taekwondo competitor and actress, Zhang Lanxin, shows off her stuff in Bruce Lee’s famous “Game of Death” jumpsuit.

[armpitfartparty]

#NowPlaying Headache by Grouper

[armpitfartparty]

Beautiful tribute to Blade Runner by artist Krzysztof Domaradzki.

[armpitfartparty]

A New Hope: Behind the Scenes

[armpitfartparty]

[armpitfartparty]

Douglas Trumbull behind the scenes of Blade Runner (1982)

[armpitfartparty]

[armpitfartparty]

‘Stranger Things’ by Matt Ferguson

[armpitfartparty]

WATCH: Noel Fielding Got Drunk & Worked In A Vintage Shop

[armpitfartparty]

Feathers

Found only on birds, feathers are some of the most complex integumentary (skin) structures found in vertebrates.

There are two primary types of feathers: flight and down. Some birds, such as peacocks and birds-of-paradise, also have display feathers.

————–

Flight feathers come in two categories of their own: remiges (wing feathers), and rectrices (tail feathers). These strong feathers are what allow most birds to fly. They have strong midline ridges, called the shaft (or rachus). The rachus is mostly covered in the fluffy-but-structured extensions, what most people think of as the “feather”, called the vane. At the bottom of the rachus, below the vane, is the bare quill (or calamus). Each extension on the vane is covered in many hooks and hooklets (also called barbs and barbicels), which is what birds are putting back into place when they preen - gotta keep everything in order to fly well!

Down feathers don’t have the hooks or the rachus of the flight feathers. There are many types of down feathers, but all of them serve the same basic purpose, which is temperature regulation. They trap air close to the bird’s body, which insulates it from the cold. When a bird puffs up in the middle of winter, it’s creating a bigger insulating layer to trap body heat, so that it doesn’t cool off as quickly.

————-

To replace their feathers on a regular basis (to remove damaged or correct for lost feathers), birds undergo a process called moulting. Depending upon the species, this can happen all at once, be staggered over the course of a year, or happen gradually over several years. Many species undergo moulting during breeding season, to show off their flashy plumage.

Moulting is regulated by the pineal gland and circadian rhythms in most birds, though in pet birds, a somewhat-constant slow moult (punctuated by one or two “big moults” a year) is found, as a result of artificial lighting.

Nouveau Larousse Illustre. Claude Auge, 1898.

[armpitfartparty]

Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015).

[armpitfartparty]

Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (1672-1733): Physica Sacra

Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (1672-1733) was a physician by training, with a strong interest in natural history and paleontology. Born in Switzerland, the son of a physician, he studied at University in Germany & later returned to Zurich to take a professorship in Mathematics. Like many scientists of the day, he considered the Old Testament a factual account of the history of the earth. In his extensive travels he amassed one of the largest fossil collections of the 18th century. He hypothesized that all plants had perished in the flood described in the bible, & discovered what he believed to be the fossil of a human flood victim. In his masterpiece, Physica Sacra, he details his theory at length, using references to the 1611 King James Bible. The book was a sensation & was published simultaneously in Latin, German & French, each issue with exactly the same plates. His theories were not disproved until the work of Cuvier.

The superbly powerful illustrations were by well known artists of the day including Corvinus, Sperling & Linz. They represent the pinnacle of copper plate engraving, as well as depicting many subjects for the first time.

[armpitfartparty]

Due to the limited budget the American cast members and crew (including director George Lucas), all decided to fly coach class to England, rather than first class. When Carrie Fisher’s mother, Singin’ in the Rain star Debbie Reynolds, heard about this she called Lucas, complaining about how insulting it was for her daughter to be flying coach. Fisher was in the room with Lucas when he took the call, and after a few minutes asked if she could talk to her mother. When Lucas handed her the phone she simply said, “Mother, I want to fly coach, will you fuck off?!” and hung up (x).

[armpitfartparty]

Star Wars by Nick Runge

[armpitfartparty]