Thursday, January 17, 2008

Back again

Long time, no see, huh? My last months of '07 were spent online at a mate's Facebook (no link, sorry - 'invitation only' to avoid trolls & weirdos) discussing moteatea (laments) & haka. It was great to spend time with really keen, enthusiastic people who are so passionate about Maori oratory. It was humbling to be among such learned company; folk who are knowledgeable about kapa haka (performing arts), tribal histories, genealogy, linguistics, poetry and literary analysis. I learned HEAPS and was glad to share some of my own experiences and insights. Kinda makes that student debt and years of study at Tairawhiti Polytech and Waikato Uni seem worthwhile after all :-)

Welcome to the Other Side


On Monday, 13 January, 2008, the NASA probe MESSENGER snapped this photo of Mercury, the first time in history anyone's seen this hidden side of the planet. Because of its rotational peculiarities and proximity to the sun, this face of Mercury has never before been photographed.
"More unprecedented images of the tiny planet are expected as the MESSENGER craft completes three flybys of Mercury before settling into orbit in March 2011."
MESSENGER is the first spacecraft to visit Mercury (messenger of the gods in Greek myth) since the Mariner 10 probe in the 1970s. Awesome! Go NASA!
[source]