Billy's Dinosaurs and George's Clarity

Good evening children of the orb, and welcome to another fun filled addition of the RPI news network.............you will undoubtedly notice that I am sporting new looks all around the web and above you see the new RPI banner in all it's glory...........I've been quite busy this weekend so I will make this edition fast and to the point........with clarity.......speaking of which I heard a great talk on NPR on Orwell and an essay of his I had never read before.....here it is for your reading and listening pleasure......



You Must Read This
By Lawrence Wright

Orwell on Writing: 'Clarity Is the Remedy'



Read Orwell's Essay



“Over the years, I've gone back to [Orwell's essay] repeatedly, like a student visiting an old professor who always has something new to reveal.”




Lawrence Wright is an author and screenwriter, and a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine. His most recent book is The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11.



Wright Appearances on NPR
July 27, 2004Al Qaeda Using Internet to Spread Terrorist Message
Aug. 15, 2006Building a Terror Network: 'The Road to 9/11'
Sep. 5, 2006Book Explores Latest Jihadi Thinking


All Things Considered, September 22, 2006 · Call them buttonhole books, the ones you urge passionately on friends, colleagues and passersby. All readers have them -- and so do writers. All Things Considered talks with writers about their favorite buttonhole books. And the series continues all summer long on NPR.org.
Most people these days think of George Orwell as a writer for high-school students, since his reputation rests mostly on two late novels -- Animal Farm and 1984 -- that are seldom read outside the classroom. But through most of his career, Orwell was known for his journalism and his rigorous, unsparing essays, which documented a time that seems in some ways so much like our own.
At the end of World War II, one form of totalitarianism -- fascism -- had been defeated; but another -- communism -- was spreading across Europe and Asia. Orwell's own country, England, was suffering through a political crisis, as it struggled to find the will to resist the new threat. It was then, in 1946, that Orwell wrote his great essay, "Politics and the English Language," which I first read as a freshman at Tulane University and immediately adopted as my guide. Over the years, I've gone back to it repeatedly, like a student visiting an old professor who always has something new to reveal.
Orwell's proposition is that modern English, especially written English, is so corrupted by bad habits that it has become impossible to think clearly. The main enemy, he believed, was insincerity, which hides behind the long words and empty phrases that stand between what is said and what is really meant.
A scrupulous writer, Orwell notes, will ask himself: What am I trying to say? What words will express it? What fresh image will make it clearer? Could I put it more shortly? Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly? The alternative is simply "throwing your mind open and letting the ready-made phrases come crowding in. They will construct your sentences for you -- even think your thoughts for you -- concealing your meaning even from yourself. It is at this point that the special connection between politics and the debasement of language becomes clear."
Orwell was a supremely political writer himself, having waged a lifelong campaign against totalitarianism; and indeed, for him, all issues were political issues, "and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia."
Orwell's candor, his steadiness, his stern and scrupulous impartiality are qualities that make this essay still sound contemporary and urgent, at a time when the reputation of so many of his contemporaries has faded. I think the secret of Orwell's timelessness is that he doesn't seek to please or entertain; instead, he captures the reader with a style as intimate and frank as a handshake. It is that quality of common humanity that makes his essay so luminous and his voice so familiar.
Orwell optimistically sets forward six simple rules to improve the state of the English language: guidelines that anyone, not just professional writers, can follow.
But I'm not going to tell you what they are. You'll have to re-read the essay yourself. I'm only going to speak about Rule No. 1, which is never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech that you are used to seeing in print.
For me, that's the hardest rule and no doubt the reason that it's No. 1. Cliches, like cockroaches in the cupboard, quickly infest a careless mind. I constantly struggle with the prefabricated phrases that substitute for simple, clear prose. We are still plagued by toe the line, stand shoulder to shoulder with, no axe to grind -- meaningless images that every reader subconsciously acknowledges represent the opposite of real thought -- but it is dismaying to read that two exhausted metaphors, leave no stone unturned and explore every avenue, had been jeered out of common usage in Orwell's day by journalists who took the trouble to dismiss them.
"Political language," Orwell reminds us, "is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. One cannot change this all in a moment, but one can at least change one's own habits."
Orwell wasn't interested in decorative writing, but his straightforward, declarative style has a snap in it that few other writers have ever approached. In a time when politics and the English language once again seem to be at odds, perhaps his essay can make us remember that clarity is the remedy.
NPR's Ellen Silva produced and edited this series.


All of that being said ......I did spend the entire weekend working on the Harold script......and I did a little work on my character for DarkFang's "of tooth and claw" project.........I made this logo today and he has not seen it yet.....but I will divulge it anyway.......I worked hard this weekend.......
I know it doesn't seem like much but I also did these today as well......



I also made yet another RanxidFilm's logo....vidi it below if you are so inclined.....



  


well....enough of the fun stuff......I was horrified when I read our next tale.....what is going on is there some kind of female epidemic of madness going around??....I never cease to be astounded by people's inhumane treatment of people........how could anyone hurt a child......it is the worst kind of crime I can think of and it makes my insides bubble with anger.........I hate to say it but once again I will.......this person deserves to die...........


Coroner: Children were drowned, put in washer, dryer
Preliminary autopsies performed on three young children whose bodies were found in the washer and dryer in their apartment indicate they were drowned. Authorities had searched for the children after finding their mother cut open and her fetus missing. Police say the woman charged in the mother's death told them how she killed the children and where to find them.
FULL STORY
Police: Emotional time for everyone
Authorities make grim discovery

It is when I hear of things like this that I question our right to exist on this world.........and I question the big guy over how he could let this stuff happen......I have to believe he is not paying attention to us.......that is the only answer that I can swallow.......or he just ain't there......and all this is just matter swirling in a vacuum.......and if thats the case it is up to us to change it all....set it right......so that things like this don't happen anymore.........you can't just throw fate into the path of God..........he will trip over it........

.......and as if my stomach hasn't been turned enough tonite..........there is this.......hey.....don't we have the death penalty in MD.......what the hell..........excuse my candidness.......but I remember when this happened.......and we put other people to death for lesser crimes than this..............children get the back seat don't they.......in MD child abuse is only a misdemeanor crime.....and that my friends.....is a felony in my book.........



Murderers Of Three Children Sentenced To Life
BALTIMORE, Md. -- A judge sentenced two Mexican immigrants to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders of three children who were found nearly decapitated in their family's Baltimore apartment more than two years ago.
Twenty-four-year-old Policarpio Espinoza and 19-year-old Adan Canela were convicted last month of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of 8-year-old Lucero Espinoza and her 10-year-old male cousin, Alexis Espejo Quezada.
They also were convicted of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Lucero's 9-year-old brother, Ricardo Espinoza Jr
Judge David Mitchell said the murders were done in a manner to send a message, but he said authorities still do not know all the details surrounding their deaths.
Some family members spoke in support of the two men, saying they didn't think they did it.
But the mother of one of the children asked the men to explain why they did it.



I have a hard time with all of this.............The poor kids in this world depend on us to keep them safe..........with all the sick cases running around it's an impossible task...........but we should do SOMETHING............child abuse and crime should pull the highest form of punishment.......the worst kind of execution..........instead it is on the back burner.......now go kill yourself a rich person and see what happens to you........but the killers of children walk free every day........I spit on the system that makes this possible........and the rich who foster it's unevenness.......how's that for fucking clarity, George.....

We don't call this RPI for nothing.........

......time for a better subject........here is a nice video on the Drake equation to take our minds off the planet of the apes for a minute

VIDEO: Figure the Odds of E.T.!
How many extra-terrestrial civilizations exist in our Galaxy?

.....so.....if there are 50,000 civilizations out there I wish they would get their butts down here and help us fix this stuff......we here at RPI are making the plea for extraterrestrial intervention ..............can anybody hear me??..........anybody besides ENIAC........I'd like to think he isn't the only one listening...........


Cydonia - the face on Mars


'Face on Mars' in Cydonia region 21 September 2006ESA's Mars Express has obtained images of the Cydonia region, site of the famous 'Face on Mars.' The High Resolution Stereo Camera photos include some of the most spectacular views of the Red Planet ever.

Cydonia region context mapAfter multiple attempts to image the Cydonia region from April 2004 until July 2006 were frustrated by altitude and atmospheric dust and haze, the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board Mars Express finally obtained, on 22 July, a series of images that show the famous 'face' on Mars in unprecedented detail.
The data were gathered during orbit 3253 over the Cydonia region, with a ground resolution of approximately 13.7 metres per pixel. Cydonia lies at approximately 40.75° North and 350.54° East.
"These images of the Cydonia region on Mars are truly spectacular," said Dr Agustin Chicarro, ESA Mars Express Project Scientist. "They not only provide a completely fresh and detailed view of an area famous to fans of space myths worldwide, but also provide an impressive close-up over an area of great interest for planetary geologists, and show once more the high capability of the Mars Express camera."
Cydonia is located in the Arabia Terra region on Mars and belongs to the transition zone between the southern highlands and the northern plains of Mars. This transition is characterized by wide, debris-filled valleys and isolated remnant mounds of various shapes and sizes. ....................(full story) ........*note*.there are great pictures here....



We did so want to beleive in a great civilization right next door.........but alas.......these pictures do show the region in crisp detail........of course they could be doctored ............

And that should absolutely be enough to keep you busy a little while.....dinosaurs,......kool!!
Good evening to you all.....children of the orb.........RPI will return again at it's regularly scheduled time zone......good nite!

Dee~groovey Diana and friends

Good evening all children of the orb and welcome to another edition of RPI news....
Tonight we bring a special edition we would like to call....Mrs. Peel Monday Maddness..
to give a little background I happened to meet increadable acting sensation John Aston
now I won't tell you how or why cause I think I would like to respect the man's privacy.......no one else does so I must as a ranxid point..........but he is a great guy and a wonderful person.........but I'm sorry....I just wanted to hear Morticia say something in french..... I grew up longing for someone like this....and I do beleive that is where it all began......and there is nothing like the original show....without question......although I must say.......I was a sucker for Angelica Huston as well..........and it would be wrong to not include all the beautiful "Morticia's" here for mention........and I was also a mamushka fan....sorry John....

............That's the Greek coming out in me...........

............so that started this all on friday and I fell headlong into fantasy land once again........of course I did like cat woman.........but there was something about her that was too much like my mom........that didn't work out for me..........so on PBS late on saturday nights my mom would find me watching "The Avengers".........oh my god I was in love with Mrs Peel.......still am really.....so here is another little vidi........vidi well brothers.....




.................ok......ok.....I'll stop..........you get the idea though......hmmmmm?...........oh...one more for me...................





well children of the orb I am sorry to say that there aren't many Mrs. peel's around anymore.........at least not in my part of the world.......

there were a few though.......and since this is like my memory lane night here is one more for good measure........love to all....Diana I still love ya......and to all children of the orb....goodnight......



DEEE~GROOOOVEY!!!

Bloody Sunday

Good evening all children of the orb and welcome to another installment of RPI news...
Tonite we will visit on a few relevent subjects and few that simply ramble into incohearant babble..........such is the nature of this great planet we call earth..........first on our morose hate your planet meter is this little jewel we should all bookmark....or better yet print out onto lead sheets so we have it on hand when the inevitable occurs......

from: David Shenk
How To Survive a Nuclear BombPosted Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2006, at 6:22 PM ET
How does one rank hypothetical catastrophes? Which would be worse—another Katrina or another 9/11? It seems fitting to begin with the cataclysm we've all been worrying about for more than half a century: a nuclear attack on a major city. With some 27,000 nuclear warheads scattered around the world, and with, shall we say, less-than-ideal safeguards in Russia, Pakistan, and North Korea, some experts predict it is bound to happen sooner or later. They don't keep shuttling Dick Cheney to his undisclosed location (deep under Pennsylvania's Raven Rock Mountains) just for show. Shortly after 9/11, the White House was on high alert in response to a CIA report than an errant Soviet "suitcase nuke" was being smuggled into the United States. That report was eventually discredited, but given the current availability of fissile material and the shocking dearth of effort being spent to reduce it, such an alarm may eventually prove true. "If we continue along our present course," warns Harvard's Graham Allison, "nuclear terrorism is inevitable."
Here's the worst part: You will survive. Get those images of Jason Robards in The Day After out of your head. This is not that. We're not talking here about multiple-entry 20-megaton warheads wiping whole cities off the map in seconds. A single terrorist nuke, more likely in the 5- to 10-kiloton range (Hiroshima was 12 kilotons), will kill tens or hundreds of thousands of people in any big city but spare the rest. In New York, that will leave about 7.5 million of us to sort through the carnage.
Let's consider what would happen. The first 30 seconds or so will unfold like this:
........................(full story)


..................Does that sound "evil and inhuman" to you?.....well it does to us here at RPI as well......and as you all are well aware we are no great bible thumpers.........but we have to take our hats off to the pope for saying it as he sees it.....although he is backsliding a bit............

Pope ‘sincerely regrets’ he offended Muslims
Vatican stops short of apologizing for remarks Benedict made during trip
VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI “sincerely regrets” offending Muslims with his reference to an obscure medieval text that characterizes some of the teachings of Islam’s founder as “evil and inhuman,” the Vatican said Saturday.
But the statement stopped short of the apology demanded by Islamic leaders around the globe, and anger among Muslims remained intense. Palestinians attacked five churches in the West Bank and Gaza over the pope’s remarks Tuesday in a speech to university professors in his native Germany.
An Iraqi insurgent group threatened the Vatican with a suicide attack over the pope’s remarks on Islam, according to a statement posted Saturday on the Web..........(full story)

.............we here at RPI were more interested with the statements about science and religion but I guess that zoomed over somebodies turban.....so, for all the people who didn't get the picture in it's contextual entireity........................READ THE WHOLE SPEECH
Read the Pope's entire speech [37KB]
Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader
Download the reader here ........we are so techno....are we not......

.......Now to show we here at RPI are aware that terrorists come in all shapes and all places we present to "Hold your hometown hostage dot com"............

City told to pay up or face shootings, police say
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (AP) -- Police warned Las Cruces residents that they've received two letters threatening random shootings if city leaders fail to hand over a "substantial" ransom.
Police had received some information from the public Saturday but there had been no break in the case, Lt. Randy Lara said.
"Someone knows something out there, and hopefully this will generate more information for the case," he said.
The city received the second of two threatening letters Friday, but police remained tightlipped about details of the demand, including how much money was involved. They did say the demand called for a "substantial amount."
At a news conference late Friday, Lara said he didn't want to alarm residents but he urged them to watch for any suspicious activity.
"The letter did reference that Las Cruces residents will be shot at random if the city didn't comply with the extortion," Lara said.........(full story)

........At RPI we totally understand the fear and anger that goes along with this as we are veterens of the DC sniper slayings.......and this smacks of copy cat, red neck non-intelligence......lets hope we don't have to continue this story beyond this......but as always we will be watching as inhumanity unfolds and stupidity reigns in the sands of new mexico.......speaking of mexico..............


Mexican political crisis deepens

Protesters will "swear in" Mr Lopez Obrador on 20 November
A mass rally of supporters of defeated Mexican presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has "elected" him head of a parallel government.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Mexico City's main square, the Zocalo for the show of hands.

Mr Lopez Obrador and his supporters have said his defeat by less than 1% of the vote was fraudulent.

However, the highest electoral court has backed the result, giving power to conservative candidate Felipe Calderon..............(full story)

Ok.........does parralel government sound like civil war to anyone but us........if me and poor janet set up camp on the white house lawn I'm sure old Bushy would be out to mow the grass with the military the first night........first night........where is this other guy?.......are we really the only ones who smell civil war?....are we always alone here at RPI while the world is flying apart at the seams........does anybody read?........well get your hinys over here and take a course......we will not tolerate illiterates on our watch.......besides......we need readers.....many more readers.....

alright children of the great orb....we promised you incohearance and ...well........goodnight.....

mother hubbards recipe for green tea and slander suits

Evening, evening children,
ranxid here.....and this is the politically incorrect news service coming directly to you from a dark bunker in far east baltimore....
well it was election day around here so I guess my laughing fits are over for a little while....
I am speaking of the ongoing saga between old Don Schaefer and little mother hubbard.....I mean Janet Owens......who by the way is on my friends list on myspace........(you heard it here)
well we dont know the outcome as yet........but we all know one thing Janet.......we can't help the way you look............
and of course......let the political whining begin.......who's got the snot rags....we're going to need them......


Polling-Place Glitches Mar Primary Day
Polls are now closed in most of Maryland, but not in Montgomery County and Baltimore City, where polls are open one extra hour after some precincts opened late.
Maryland Republicans and Democrats chose nominees for hundreds of federal, state and local offices with much of the attention focused on whether voters would put an end to Comptroller William Donald Schaefer's political career..........(full story)


now you all know me.......know how I make a livin'...............Janet baby.....I think your time has come..........but be warned........Baltimore's other name is beirut........ In other news today.......who would beleive the Syrians would actually stand up for us.......what were they thinking?........I bet it was a mistake............or should I be thankful along with every other American that humanity does cross all borders.....and that there are always signs of hope.........

Gunmen attack U.S. Embassy in Damascus
4 killed, including 3 assailants, in gunbattle; guards foil broader attack

DAMASCUS, Syria - Syrian guards foiled an attempt by suspected al-Qaida-linked militants to blow up the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday, exchanging fire outside the compound’s walls with gunmen who shouted “God is great” and tried to storm in with automatic weapons and hand grenades.
The brazen, midmorning assault in a heavily guarded neighborhood of the capital could highlight the Syrian regime’s weakening grip on militants, who have battled Syrian security forces repeatedly in recent years.
The attack, which left at least 10 civilians and a Chinese diplomat wounded, also quickly brought to the surface entrenched differences between the United States and Syria, such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Damascus’ ties with Iran and Hezbollah and the war in neighboring Iraq.............(full story)


let us examine the true debauckeled nature of these inept terror dudes for a moment.....not only did they fail to detonate the crudest type of explosive......I mean a car stuffed with cans and barrels of GASOLINE........how hard is that to ignite....seems to me it would be harder NOT to ignite this.......but then again I am a product of one of these backward infidel schools were we never learn physics.............BUT.....they miss the golden 9/11 date by just a sliver of a day.......now i'm no terror dude but it would seem to me that was a better day for jihading then the day after.......what do we call this......a belated bombing??...........what ....did they wake up late yesterday?...........in all truth though my heart to all the people killed and thier familys.......

..........In health news.....

Green tea cuts fatal illness risk

Green tea is a favourite drink in Japan
Drinking green tea can substantially cut the risk of dying from a range of illnesses, a Japanese study has found.
The research, which looked at over 40,000 people, found the risk of fatal cardiovascular disease was cut by more than a quarter.

But British heart experts said the benefits may be linked to the whole Japanese diet, which is healthier than that eaten in the west.

The work is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

It is questionable whether drinking the same amount of green tea a day in the UK would have a significant impact on levels of heart disease

Ellen Mason, British Heart Foundation

Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world, aside from water.

Three billion kilograms of tea are produced each year worldwide.

Studies carried out in laboratories and on animals have suggested green tea in particular has extensive health benefits.

Women 'greater benefit'

In this study, which began in 1994, researchers from Tohoku University, looked at how humans could benefit.

They examined data on 40,530 healthy adults aged 40 to 79 in north-eastern Japan, where green tea is widely consumed.

Around 80% of people in the region drink green tea, with more than half consuming three or more cups each day.

The people in the study were followed for up to 11 years (1995-2005), when 4,209 people died from all causes. .................(the rest.....of the story....)

Like we didn't know that asians knew all along how to live longer....and better........and the ladies age so fine..........oops........I apologise.........
on that note I leave on this day after days........but not without a sweet parting note........


well thats all for tonite, children of the orb..........please join us again here at RPI news when we take a close look and ask the age old question.................where's the nearest golden arches.....and why is there always a 7/11 directly oppisite??......is there a conspiracy?
until then here is a new site for all the sonic-hungry fans I hope I have somewhere....



This is your heavily biased reporter ........ranxid.....signing off.....

brats, fats, and lunar splats.......

Good evening children
ranxid's back from a slight hiatus and would like all of you to know that for the first time in a long while the birthday went off smashingly well.....thanks to the little ones marching down his steps with the cutest lopsided little cake, singing merrily to the old grinch in classic who fashion.......well....(sniff)......they made the old heart grow a few beats I can effectivly report to you......on that note we will dispense with the world destruction news this go round and find a few fun little tid-bits to keep us from seeing the true nature of the planet's doom......first off it's that cerebral superstar Paris again...........now I just have to say the dog head thing is a little mean.......and we all would hate to have our hard worked on creations tampered with in such a heinious manner...(choke)...........art is one thing that should be considered hallowed and untouchable....(snort)......and this is very.....(chough)......very...(mwwnwn).......wrong!!(BWAHAHAHA......)

Paris Hilton targeted in CD prank

Paris Hilton's album entered the UK chart at number 29 last weekHundreds of Paris Hilton albums have been tampered with in the latest stunt by "guerrilla artist" Banksy.
Banksy has replaced Hilton's CD with his own remixes and given them titles such as Why am I Famous?, What Have I Done? and What Am I For?
He has also changed pictures of her on the CD sleeve to show the US socialite topless and with a dog's head.
A spokeswoman for Banksy said he had doctored 500 copies of her debut album Paris in 48 record shops across the UK.
She told the BBC News website: "He switched the CDs in store, so he took the old ones out and put his version in."
It might be that there will be some people who agree with his views on the Paris Hilton album
HMV spokesmanBut he left the original barcode so people could buy the CD without realising it had been interfered with.
Banksy is notorious for his secretive and subversive stunts such as sneaking doctored versions of classic paintings into major art galleries.
His spokeswoman said he had tampered with the CDs in branches of HMV and Virgin as well as independent record stores.
He visited cities including Bristol, Brighton, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow and London, she added.
A spokesman for HMV said the chain had recovered seven CDs from two Brighton shops but was unaware that other locations were affected.
Artistic leeway
No customers had complained or returned a doctored version, he said.
"It's not the type of behaviour you'd want to see happening very often," he said.
"I guess you can give an individual such as Banksy a little bit of leeway for his own particular brand of artistic engagement.
"Often people might have a view on something but feel they can't always express it, but it's down to the likes of Banksy to say often what people think about things.
"And it might be that there will be some people who agree with his views on the Paris Hilton album."
A spokesman for Virgin Megastores said staff were searching for affected CDs but it was proving hard to find them all.
"I have to take my hat off - it's a very good stunt," he added



..........Yes ....a very good stunt indeed....artistic engagment.....hmmmmmm
in other news it's a whoopsie on the lunar surface.....

DARMSTADT, Germany (AP) -- Europe's first spacecraft to the moon ended its three-year mission Sunday by crashing into the lunar surface in a volcanic plane called the Lake of Excellence, to a round of applause in the mission control room in Germany.
Hitting at 2 kilometers per second, the impact of the SMART-1 spacecraft was expected to leave a 3-meter-by-10-meter crater and send dust kilometers above the surface.
Observatories watched the event from Earth and scientists hoped the cloud of dust and debris would provide clues to the geological composition of the site.
"That's it -- we are in the Lake of Excellence," said spacecraft operations chief Octavio Camino as applause broke out in mission control in Darmstadt, Germany. "We have landed."
Minutes later, officials showed off a picture captured by an observatory in Hawaii displaying a bright flash from the impact.
The spacecraft is at the end of a three-year mission that scanned the lunar surface from orbit and tested a new, efficient, ion-propulsion system that officials hope to use on future interplanetary missions.
Launched into Earth's orbit by an Ariane-5 booster rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, in September 2003, SMART-1 used its ion engine to slowly raise its orbit over 14 months until the moon's gravity grabbed it.
The engine, which uses electricity from the craft's solar panels to produce a stream of charged particles called ions, generates only small amounts of thrust but only needed 80 kilograms of xenon fuel.
The craft's X-ray and infrared spectrometers have gathered information about the moon's geology that scientists hope will advance their knowledge about how the moon's surface evolved and test theories about how the moon came into being.
In a scare on Saturday, mission officials said they had to raise the low point of the spacecraft's orbit by 600 meters by using its positioning thrusters to avoid the 1.5 kilometer-high rim of a lunar crater.
Had the orbit not been raised the craft would have crashed one orbit too soon, making the impact difficult or impossible to observe.
SMART-1, a cube measuring roughly a meter on each side, took the long way to the moon -- more than 100 million kilometers instead of the direct route of 350,000 to 400,000 kilometers.
But the European Space Agency did it for a relatively cheap €110 million ($140 million).
The spacecraft has also been taking high-resolution pictures of the surface with a miniaturized camera.



yeah.......we meant to do that.......to study.....the cloud of dust.....yeah....thats it.......
in more planet shaking headlines there is a new global pandemic sweeping the population.......thats right......you guessed it........obeasity.....

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — An obesity pandemic threatens to overwhelm health systems around the globe with illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease, experts at an international conference warned Sunday.
"This insidious, creeping pandemic of obesity is now engulfing the entire world," Paul Zimmet, chairman of the meeting of more than 2,500 experts and health officials, said in a speech opening the weeklong International Congress on Obesity. "It's as big a threat as global warming and bird flu."
The World Health Organization says more than 1 billion adults are overweight and 300 million of them are obese, putting them at much higher risk of diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure, stroke and some forms of cancer.
Zimmet, a diabetes expert at Australia's Monash University, said there are now more overweight people in the world than the undernourished, who number about 600 million.
People in wealthy countries lead in overeating and not doing enough physical activity, but those in the poorer nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America are quickly learning bad habits, experts said.
Thailand's Public Health Ministry, for instance, announced Sunday that nearly one in three Thais over age 35 is at risk of obesity-related diseases.
"We are not dealing with a scientific or medical problem. We're dealing with an enormous economic problem that, it is already accepted, is going to overwhelm every medical system in the world," said Dr. Philip James, the British chairman of the International Obesity Task Force.
The task force is a section of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, a professional organization of scientists and health workers in some 50 countries that deal with the issue.
James said the cost of treating obesity-related health problems was immeasurable on a global scale, but the group estimated it at billions of dollars a year in countries such as Australia, Britain and the United States.
Among the most worrying problems are skyrocketing rates of obesity among children, which make them much more prone to chronic diseases as they grow older and could shave years off their lives, experts said.
The children in this generation may be the first in history to die before their parents because of health problems related to weight, Kate Steinbeck, an expert in children's health at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, said in a statement.
Experts at the conference said governments should impose bans on junk food advertising aimed directly at children, although they acknowledged such restrictions were unlikely to come about soon because the food industry would lobby hard against them.
"There is going to be a political bun fight over this for some time, but of course we shouldn't advertise junk food to children that makes them fat," said Dr. Boyd Swinburn, a member of the International Obesity Task Force.
Dr. Claude Bouchard, president of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, an umbrella group for medical organizations dealing with weight-related and children's health issues, said the group supported advertising bans as official policy.
But the policy position is unlikely to have any immediate effect on influencing governments to introduce such bans, said Bouchard, head of the Pennington Research Center at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge.

insidious, creeping pandemic of obeasity......oh my..........
speaking of ............here is one of the victims of this global tragedy caught earlier and interviewed by msn on what life has taught him.......



What I've Learned: Homer Simpson
Nuclear-power-plant safety inspector, 39, SpringfieldInterviewed by John Frink and Don Payne

When someone tells you your butt is on fire, you should take them at their word.
There is no such thing as a bad doughnut.
Kids are like monkeys, only louder.
If you want results, press the red button. The rest are useless.
There are many different religions in this world, but if you look at them carefully, you'll see that they all have one thing in common: They were invented by a giant, superintelligent slug named Dennis.
You should just name your third kid Baby. Trust me -- it'll save you a lot of hassle.
You can have many different jobs and still be lazy.
I enjoy the great taste of Duff. Yes, Duff is the only beer for me. Smooth, creamy Duff . . . zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
You can get free stuff if you mention a product in a magazine interview. Like Chips Ahoy! cookies.
You may think it's easier to de-ice your windshield with a flamethrower, but there are repercussions. Serious repercussions.
There are some things that just aren't meant to be eaten.
The intelligent man wins his battles with pointed words. I'm sorry -- I meant sticks. Pointed sticks.
There are way too many numbers. The world would be a better place if we lost half of them -- starting with 8. I've always hated 8.
If I had a dollar for every time I heard "My God! He's covered in some sort of goo," I'd be a rich man.
Be generous in the bedroom -- share your sandwich.
I've climbed the highest mountains . . . fallen down the deepest valleys . . . I've been to Japan and Africa . . . and I've even gone into space. But I'd trade it all for a piece of candy right now.
Every creature on God's earth has a right to exist. Except for that damn ruby-throated South American warbler.
I don't need a surgeon telling me how to operate on myself.
Sometimes I think there's no reason to get out of bed . . . then I feel wet, and I realize there is.
Let me just say, Winnie the Pooh getting his head caught in a honey pot? It's not funny. It can really happen.
Even though it is awesome and powerful, I don't take no guff from the ocean.
I never ate an animal I didn't like.
A fool and his money are soon parted. I would pay anyone a lot of money to explain that to me.
Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll get a hook caught on his eyelid or something.
I made a deal with myself ten years ago . . . and got ripped off.
Never leave your car keys in a reactor core.
Always trust your first instinct -- unless it tells you to use your life savings to develop a Destructo Ray.
When you borrow something from your neighbor, always do it under the cover of darkness.
If a spaceship landed and aliens took me back to their planet and made me their leader, and I got to spend the rest of my life eating doughnuts and watching alien dancing girls and ruling with a swift and merciless hand? That would be sweet.
I may not be the richest man on earth. Or the smartest. Or the handsomest.
Never throw a butcher knife in anger.
The office is no place for off-color remarks or offensive jokes. That's why I never go there.
My favorite color is chocolate.
Always feel with your heart, although it's better with your hands.
The hardest thing I've had to face as a father was burying my own child. He climbed back out, but it still hurts.
If doctors are so right, why am I still alive?
I'm not afraid to say the word racism, or the words doormat and bee stinger.
Always have plenty of clean white shirts and blue pants.
When that guy turned water into wine, he obviously wasn't thinking of us Duff drinkers.
I love natural disasters because we're allowed to get out of work.
When I'm dead, I'm going to sleep. Oh, man, am I going to sleep.
What kind of fool would leave a pie on a windowsill, anyway?
More on Men's Lifestyle:
What I've learned: Ozzy Osbourne
What I've learned: Pamela Anderson
What I've learned: Tom Petty



Homer was unavailable to politiclly inncorrect for fruther comment...........our calls went strangely ......unreturned........

ok kiddies that is about it for our labor day installment......we part now with a shameless plug for the new video on the block.........watersign.........by that flashing warning light of flashing warning lights......ranxid.........enjoy......