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Best Social Media Star – 2014 PopCrush Fan Choice Awards
The 2014 PopCrush Fan Choice Awards are here, and we need your vote for Best Social Media Star! Which celebs rocked it across social media platforms this year? Check out the nominees below.
Katy Perry arguably had the best year in social media, becoming the most-followed person on Twitter with over 49 million followers. However, Justin Bieber wasn't too far behind, with his 48 million Beliebers being sent into a frenzy after he announced his supposed retirement via Twitter.
The Biebs' ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez used her social media presence to connect to her Selenators, reaching out and constantly responding to fans on Instagram. Gomez's bestie Demi Lovato also used her Twitter and Instagram accounts to relate to fans, sharing stories of her own struggles and inspiring followers with her strength.
Miley Cyrus' tongue certainly dominated social media this year, as evidenced in the many selfies the 'Wrecking Ball' singer posted on both Twitter and Instagram. Fellow pop sensation Justin Timberlake used his social media outlets to give fans a sneak peek at new songs, and to score free tickets to some of his shows.
Of course, Rihanna kept us busy (and envious!) scrolling through her Instagram shots of tropical vacations, glamorous surroundings, and scandalous outfits, while Louis and Niall of One Direction shared witty commentary and snaps from their concerts all around the world.
Who do you think should win the title of Best Social Media Star? Cast your vote below. The poll closes on Tuesday, February 11 at 10AM ET.


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- Title: Oz The Great and Powerful
- Director: Sam Raimi
- Date: 2013
- Studio: Disney
- Genre: Fantasy, Children
- Cast: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff, Joey King, Bruce Campbell, Ted Raimi
- Format: Color, Widescreen
- Blu-Ray Format: NTSC
"You want me to lead an army that can't kill?" – Oz
"If this was easy, we wouldn't need a Wizard, would we?" – Glinda
"So you're not the wizard I was expecting. [pause] So you don't have the powers I thought you'd have. But you're here. There must be a reason. Maybe you're capable of more than you know." – Glinda
"Look, I know I'm not the Wizard you were expecting. But I might just be the wizard that you need." – Oz
Oz the Great and Powerful starts in black and white in 4 x 4 ratio (it should be 3X4 but the Blu-Ray has it boxed as an exact square). Oz is a magician and con-man in a small, and shabby travelling circus, and he's not even that good a magician. He's actually running away from his latest conquests boyfriend, when he leaps into a hot air balloon and is whooshed away in a tornado.
He crash-lands in the land of Oz, and when he does, not only does the film change from black and white to color – but the film literally opens up to wide-screen too. The image rolls to the side and up to fill the screen. It's both reminiscent of the famous 1939 film starring Judy Garland (which starts in black and white and becomes Technicolor in Oz), and an almost physical transportation into a new world. And what a colorful world it is. The colors are bright, and beautiful, and it really does look like technicolor. Especially in the opening, and early scenes, the scenes in Oz almost feel like animation – classic Disney animation at that and it's truly beautiful.
Oz crash-lands in a river, and meets Theadora, a woman dressed in red and black. When Oz introduces himself, she tells him of her father's the king's prophecy – that one day, a great Wizard, bearing the name of "our land", will come to save all the people, and become the new king. Oz gives Theadora one of his music boxes, as he has to many other women that he's been interested in, telling her the made-up story that it belonged to his late grandmother. He then dances with Theadora. She's smitten.
Theadora takes Oz to the Emerald City and introduces him to her sister, Evadora, the royal adviser. She also becomes instantly interested in Oz. She gives him a tour of the palace, shows him the royal treasury, then tells him he must save the Land of Oz by killing the Evil Witch. Oz isn't so sure about the whole "killing" thing, but when he learns that destroying the witch's wand will kill her, he agrees.
Oz, along with a highly amusing talking monkey in a bell-hop's uniform head out on their quest. Along the way, they see smoke, and wander into the destroyed China Town. There they meet and rescue the China Girl, and Oz repairs her legs with glue. China Girl joins their quest.
They soon enter the Dark Forest. Oz has a plan to distract the Evil Witch and steal her wand. But when he meets Glinda – he learns she is a Good Witch, and it's Evadora who's wicked – and who killed her father.
Meanwhile, Evadora is laying plans, and manipulating her sister, Theadora.
Glinda convinces Oz to help her. Evanora's men and flying baboons attack. Glinda creates a ground fog for cover. Oz, China Girl, Finley, and Glinda end up on the edge of cliff, with a wind-swept tree in silhouette and a sunset behind them. Yes, it looks like the famous scene in Gone with the Wind. Glinda dives off the cliff, and they all travel by bubble to her castle in Quadling Country. There, Oz meets the good people of Kansas, I mean, Oz – farmers, tinkers, seamstresses and tailors, and the Munchkins. Oz doesn't really know what to do, especially to turn the people into an army to defeat two wicked witches.
Theadora, turned green and evil by her sister, arrives and threatens Oz – then leaves.
Oz is unsure of himself, and doesn't really know what to do. But after Glinda tells him he might have more potential than he thinks he does, and after telling China Girl a bedtime story about the great wizard Thomas Edison, Oz gets an idea.
Oz puts the Quadling people to work, each to their own special ability. They work to his plan.
The next day, Oz orchestrates his plan. He even has some surprises for his own followers. The plan, which I don't want to spoil, is perfect, makes great sense for an idea that comes from con-man/magician from Kansas, and most importantly – it works. Which isn't really a spoiler, as this film is a pre-quel to The Wizard of Oz.
Overall, Oz the Great and Powerful, was just a beautiful film. It looks gorgeous. You really don't see a lot of movies that look so beautiful anymore. For once, CGI, that screams, "look at me – I'm pretty CGI," works, because it adds to the storybook feel of the film. And the colors are simply gorgeous, beautiful, incredible. At times, especially in the first few scenes in Oz, this film really looks like an animated feature. I'm assuming that was intentional. The animated look brings the Land of Oz to life – and sets it as a new world.
I also, really, really, really loved that this film opens in black and white. The move from black and white to color, and from cropped 4×4 ratio to widescreen is handled very well.
James Franco does a great job playing Oz as a lovable rogue – who, at the start, in Kansas, has no moral scruples, really. But, in Oz, he comes into his own, and learns his own lessons. Oz is a fallible hero, and he learns how to be a leader, with Glinda's help (not to mention Finley and even China Girl), which makes for a good film.
Overall, this is a wonderful, feel-good movie, that is also great for children.
Recommendation: See it, especially good for children.
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Next Film: Either The Hobbit the Desolation of Smaug or The Prestige.

subset: commoncrawl


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There's a verse, Proverbs 22:24, that says in the King James Bible, "Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go."
There's a verse, Proverbs 22:24, that says in the King James Bible, "Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go."
The verse is both a warning and a command, and one Americans should heed — not just to avoid those angry men, but to avoid becoming them.
There's a lot of anger in the air these days, and because of new means of communication, it's easy to share in that anger. This is a time of economic uncertainty mixed with social upheaval, and that makes people uneasy.
But those are external factors, and externalities should not so determine our happiness. It's why the Apostle Paul was far more joyful chained in prison than he was as a respected and rising member of his country's religious hierarchy.
Happiness is determined internally, and among the internal factors contributing to a too-angry America is a culture of unreasonable expectations. We expect that if we work hard, deserved prosperity will follow. We expect to have what we want pretty quickly, even if we must borrow to get it. We expect to enjoy a secure retirement that lasts decades.
We expect to abuse our bodies for years and then be repaired like a car at the shop, but for less money. We expect there to be no environmental consequences when we use our natural resources. We expect our personal values and beliefs to be affirmed by society and, though we may say otherwise, enforced by the government. We expect to live happily ever after, like people have always seemed to do on TV.
These expectations cross ideological and party lines. We are a bit spoiled, and spoiled people get angry when they do not get their way.
Maybe it's time for more reasonable expectations.
We should expect to live in a free and safe society, of course, but we might should accept that what's happening with the economy isn't just a new normal but a return to the regular one.
What has been normal during the past few generations is pretty unusual — in fact, unprecedented. It's been based on factors that existed only briefly, such as American global domination and favorable demographics, or that aren't sustainable, such as too much debt.
The experiences of most people throughout history have been far different. Life for most has involved much uncertainty and labor, even until old age, when people have been cared for by their families and nearby tribal members. There have always been irrevocable personal consequences for personal actions. There have been consequences for societies, too.
This is not a call for pessimism. Pessimism looks to the future negatively. Instead, it's time to look at the present realistically. That's how a society and individuals make choices that create a better, happier future.
The externalities, after all, aren't perfect, but they are sufficient. America isn't completely free or prosperous, but it's free and prosperous enough. Not everyone will agree on every issue, but most of us can find our tribe. Most of us can obtain meaningful work, material comfort and personal connections if we try. If we have those things and still are angry and unhappy, we have only ourselves to blame.
It's a new year, which means many of us will be making New Year's resolutions. Resolutions are good except when they involve unreasonable expectations, which they often do.
Better to see this as a time of renewal, of high, internal goals, starting with this: Not to be that angry man the Bible warns us to avoid.
Steve Brawner is a freelance journalist, a former newspaper editor, and a former aide to former Gov. Mike Huckabee and Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Click for info on 100% VIRTUAL PURCHASING with free in-market home delivery. Enhanced sanitation processes in place as well as anti-microbial vehicle treatment available!
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Active Blind Spot Detection, Park Distance Control, Active Driving Assistant, cross-traffic alert rear, For vehicles equipped w/navigation, speed limit info is additionally included
(Style 780)
Tax, Title and Tags not included in vehicle prices shown and must be paid by the purchaser. While great effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, errors do occur so please verify information with a customer service rep. This is easily done by calling us at 228-232-0333 or by visiting us at the dealership.
*Retail sales price does not apply to special finance loan structures.
**With approved credit. Terms may vary. Monthly payments are only estimates derived from the vehicle price with a 36 month term, 4.9% interest and 10% downpayment.
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Welcome to the Galleria BMW website, a fast and convenient way to research and find a vehicle that is right for you. Whether you are looking for a new or pre-owned BMW car, truck, or SUV you will find it here.
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Unified Search Platform
Avalon's Unified Search Platform™ provides a flexible search interface to enhance the power of the Enterprise Search platform you've already invested in, providing the power user search experience your users are looking for.
- For the Site User, USP delivers a state-of-the art search experience that greatly facilitates "finding"
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Avalon's Unified Search Platform strikes a balance between great user experience and ease of implementation while providing a framework that can be tailored to suit your specific business objectives.
Supported Platforms: MarkLogic Server, Autonomy IDOL, Ultraseek, Apache Solr and Google Search Appliance
Let us equip you with a more powerful search solution. Contact us to learn more about how the Unified Search Platform can bring business results to your organization.


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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Newcastle Brown Ale has re-released its Limited Edition brew, Founders' Ale. Available nationwide from February through April 2013, Newcastle Founders' Ale is a classic British pale ale that pays tribute to the brand's founder, Colonel Jim Porter.
"Colonel Porter took three years to perfect the original Newcastle Brown Ale recipe we still use today," said Charles van Es, brand director Newcastle Brown Ale. "That commitment to perfection deserves recognition, and that is why a mere 85 years later we developed a brew in his honor. Newcastle Founders' Ale is pale, dry and English — much like Porter — and we couldn't think of a better way to honor his legacy than with this Limited Edition beer."
Offering a balance of dry hoppy flavors and roasted caramel aromas, Founders' Ale has an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 4.8 percent with 26 International Bittering Units (IBUs).
Newcastle Founders' Ale is available in 6-pack and 12-pack bottles priced comparably to Newcastle Brown Ale. Founders' Ale will also be available on draught at fine pubs in select markets.
About Newcastle Brown Ale
A No Bollocks beer brand, Newcastle Brown Ale was first brewed in 1927 to satisfy thirst of hardworking Englishmen. Colonel Jim Porter crafted the ale with its own distinct golden brown color, lightly hopped taste and character that quickly became a local favorite. Best served cold, Newcastle Brown Ale has since become a world favorite as a dark beer that's easy to drink. Newcastle Brown Ale is imported by the nation's premier beer importer, HEINEKEN USA, headquartered in White Plains, New York.
About HEINEKEN USA
HEINEKEN USA Inc., the nation's leading upscale beer importer, is a subsidiary of Heineken International BV, the world's most international brewer. European brands imported into the U.S. include Heineken Lager, the world's most international beer brand, Heineken Light, Amstel Light, Newcastle Brown Ale, and Strongbow cider. HEINEKEN USA also imports the Dos Equis portfolio, Tecate portfolio, Sol, Indio, Carta Blanca and Bohemia brands from Mexico.


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The personal injury lawyers of Gary Holt & Associates, P.A., are committed to obtaining results for our clients. While most of our clients come from the Central Arkansas area, we represent injured persons throughout the state of Arkansas and beyond. We have a statewide reputation for success in complex, high-profile cases, which include not just personal injury cases but car accidents, truck accidents, malpractice, employment discrimination, slip and fall, and civil rights.
"Personal Injury" is a broad term, encompassing a wide variety of accidents. Our breadth of experience enables us to provide superior representation for people injured in a number of situations. We provide free consultation, and we're paid only when we win your claim. It's true: "We'll win your case for you, or you don't owe us a dime!" Please remember that if you or a loved one has suffered a personal injury, your first action should be to immediately see your physician.


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Jeffrey Shames is an Executive in Residence at the MIT Sloan School of Management where he lectures in Finance, Leadership and Global Health Management.
He is the retired Chairman and CEO of MFS Investment Management® and the Board of Trustees of the MFS Funds.
He joined MFS in 1983 as an Industry Analyst and was named a Portfolio Manager in 1985, Chief Equity Officer in 1987, President and a member of the board in 1993 and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 1998. In September 2002 he retired as CEO and retained the Chairman title until his retirement in February 2004.
From 2010-2013 he was a Senior Advisor at Morgan Stanley where he advised the President of Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Wealth Management.
He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1977 and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management in 1983. In between college and graduate school he served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Fiji and with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.
He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the XPRIZE Foundation, Wesleyan University, City Year, US 2020, Summer Search, Tufts Medical Center and is the Board Chair Emeritus of the Berklee College of Music. He also serves as a member of the Advisory Boards of the MIT Sloan School of Management, MIT Masters of Finance Program, MIT Leadership Center, Service Nation and Kensho (a financial technology firm).


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Coach Zauner is considered by many to be one of the top football kicking coaches in the country.
" Gary Zauner knows the kicking game inside and out. He not only has the skills and a successful philosophy, but most importantly he has the ability to teach those skills to others. I would recommend Gary's kicking consulting services to any college or pro team."
Coach LaVell Edwards
firstname.lastname@example.com 612.239.9529
During 13 years as an NFL Special Teams Coach, Coach Zauner produced such results as:
1995 Minnesota Vikings Fuad Reveiz 31 Consecutive Field Goals
1998 Minnesota Vikings Gary Anderson 40 Consecutive FG's & A Perfect Season
1998 Minnesota Vikings Mitch Berger Record 40 Kickoff Touchbacks in a Season
2001 Minnesota Vikings Mitch Berger Lead NFC in Punting (Pro Bowl)
2002-05 Baltimore Ravens Matt Stover FG Percentage 4 Years: 113 of 129 = 87.4%
Coach Zauner's credits also include being a punter and placekicker at the professional level; a speaker at many clinics throughout the country; a clinician at summer kicking camps; and a football kicking coach at all levels of football.
During 11 years as a college football kicking coach, Coach Zauner:
* Coached nine All-Conference kickers and punters from 1979 to 1991.
* Coached the nation's leading punter in 1979, Clay Brown, at BYU, with a 45.3 yard average.
* Coached the nation's leading kickoff return team in 1979, at BYU, with a 26.3 yard average
* Coached nation's leading punt return man, Jim Sandusky, at SDSU, 19.0 yard punt return average & a team average of 17.0 yards per return in 1983.
* Coached Chris O'Brien at San Diego State, who set a Western Athletic Conference record of 25 consecutive field goals in the 1984 and 1985 seasons.
* Coached teams that blocked 38 punts and field goals.
* Coached teams that scored 12 touchdowns on punt and kickoff returns and blocked kicks.
* San Diego State Coverage Teams never allowed a touchdown to be scored against them. The longest kickoff return in those five years was 42 yards.
From 1992 to 1994, he was a professional Special Teams and Kicking Consultant. As a football kicking coach he provided personalized kicking instruction and training for many of the NFL, college and high school punters and kickers. Coach Zauner also consulted many of NFL and colleges on special teams.
As a football kicking coach, Coach Zauner was also a full-time Special Teams Coach for 11 years at four different colleges: Brigham Young University, San Diego State, University of Mexico and Long Beach State under the late George Allen.
In January of 1994, Coach Zauner was named Special Teams Coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings. In his first year with the Vikings, Fuad Reveiz made 28 straight field goals and tied for the NFL lead. Reveiz also finished second in the league in scoring and earned his first trip to the '94 Pro Bowl.
A Natural Style of Kicking and Punting®
A Specialist's Path to PRO Football®
Kicked Around: Football's Lonliest Position!
Can He Kick It? Yes He Can!
Arizona a Hotbed Producing NFL Snappers
Josh Scobee's New Swing; a Sure Thing?
(click here for more articles....)
Emphasizing 'A Natural Style of Kicking and Punting®', Coach Zauner's teaching philosophy facilitates an environment where kicking specialists develop the skills, technique, and confidence to achieve their maximum physical and mental potential. At an amateur and professional levels, Coach Zauner, LLC programs and events provide a kicker, punter or snapper 'A Specialist's Path to PRO Football'®.
Coach Zauner, LLC . 15132 E. Cholla Crest Trail, Fountain Hills, AZ 85268 . 612.239.9529


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NEW YORK (AP) — American International Group Inc. said Tuesday its board of directors will weigh whether to take part in a shareholder lawsuit against the U.S. over the government's $182 billion bailout of the insurer.
If AIG decides to join the complaint, which seeks $25 billion in damages, it would pit the company against the government that rescued it in 2008 from collapsing under the weight huge losses on mortgage-backed securities and other toxic assets
AIG said that its directors will take up the matter on Wednesday and expects they will have a decision by the end of the month.
Starr International Co. Inc., the investment firm of former AIG CEO Maurice Greenberg, filed the lawsuit in November 2011 on behalf of the firm and AIG shareholders.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, asserts that the government didn't provide shareholders fair compensation when it took a nearly 80 percent stake in the insurer as part of its bailout. As a result, the government violated the Constitution, Starr claims.
AIG said that, by law, its board must consider three options: take over the lawsuit and pursue the claims on its own; attempt to prevent the claims from being pursued by Starr; or, allow Starr to continue to pursue the complaint on AIG's behalf.
The insurer noted that, should it elect not to let Starr pursue its claims on the company's behalf, Starr would likely challenge the move. In such a scenario, should Starr prevail in the case, AIG would not receive any damages or portion of a potential settlement.
The Court of Federal Claims denied a request by the U.S. to dismiss the lawsuit, which means the case will go forward regardless of AIG's participation.
The government came to the rescue of AIG in September 2008, at the depths of the financial meltdown. The New York company did business with hundreds of firms around the world, and officials feared its collapse would wreck the financial system.
All told, AIG's bailout was the largest of the Wall Street rescue packages.
Since the financial meltdown, AIG has undergone a significant restructuring which has cut the size of the company nearly in half aimed at focusing on its core insurance operations.
In 2010, the company spun off Asian life insurer AIA Group in Hong Kong's biggest ever initial public offering to raise $20 billion, which was used to pay bailout debt.
In November, AIG reported a third-quarter profit of nearly $2 billion thanks to strength in its insurance operations and investment returns. In the same period a year earlier it lost $4 billion.
The Treasury Department announced last month that it sold all of its remaining shares of AIG, ending up with $22.7 billion more than it funneled to the company during the height of the financial crisis.
Shares of AIG ended regular trading down 28 cents at $35.65. Over the last 12 months, however, the stock is up more than 50 percent.


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Media formats include images, video, audio, print, and multimedia. These formats can be incorporated into public educational experiences, integrated into training programs, and used for promotional purposes
Media Formats
- Promotional Materials
- Scientific Images
- Video
- Audio and Podcasts
- Interactive Media and Games
- Print Media and Posters
- Websites
Media Visualization Themes
- Visualizations at the Nanoscale
- Zooms (illustrations, posters, interactive media, videos)
- Scale Ladder Diagrams
- Immersive Simulations
- Physical Models
- Nano Artists in Residence
Promotional Materials
A variety of promotional and marketing materials are available for educators and scientists to use when promoting educational events and activities around the topic of nanoscale science, engineering, and technology. These materials include logos, color and font specifications, photos, ads, and other promotional pieces.
Please refer to FAQ #17 www.nisenet.org/faqs to learn about the different types of images on this website and how the different permissions and attributions apply to the image you are interested in.
Scientific Images
A curated collection of digital scientific images related to nanoscale science, engineering, and technology. These scientific images may be incorporated into other educational experiences such as programs and exhibits.
Images at the nanoscale and microscale are a powerful way to represent a world too small to see with just our eyes.
The NISE Network has obtained permission from the creators of these scientific images to host these images online and make these images available to NISE Network partners to use for non-commercial educational uses. Please refer to the "Credits" section for each image to learn more about how you may use this product as well as how you should attribute each image.
Please refer to FAQ #17 www.nisenet.org/faqs to learn about the different types of images on this website and how the different permissions and attributions apply to the image you are interested in.
Available on this site:
Red Blood Cell Closeup - courtesy Janice Carr, CDC
Videos include standalone educational products, audiovisual clips, and instructional training videos that can be incorporated into public educational experiences such as programs and exhibits as well as into training programs.
Available on this site:
Videos for public audiences:
Videos for professional audience
Training videos are available for many NISE Net educational products:
- NISE Network Vimeo channel site: https://vimeo.com/nisenet
- Building with Biology training videos: https://vimeopro.com/nisenet/buildingwithbiology
- Sustainability training videos: https://vimeopro.com/nisenet/sustainability
- Explore Science: Zoom into Nano training videos: https://vimeopro.com/nisenet/exploresciencezoomintonano
- NanoDays training videos: https://vimeopro.com/nisenet/nanodays-training-videos
- Frankenstein200 training videos: https://vimeopro.com/nisenet/frankenstein200-activity-training-videos
- Explore Science: Earth & Space training videos: https://vimeo.com/album/4249834
Audio and Podcasts
Podcasts are pre-recorded programs that can be downloaded and played on digital media players. Although podcasts primarily include audio content, they may also include images and video. Podcasts range in time from one minute to an hour.
Available on this site:
Websites include a collection of other web pages that also cover nanoscale science, engineering and technology content. These sites include a variety of resources including digital products, images, graphics, videos, online games and activities, and databases.
The NISE Network created this site, as well as whatisnano.org, to help foster public awareness, engagement, and understanding of nanoscale science, engineering, and technology. In addition, we've provided links to other helpful websites that also promote nanoscience awareness.
Available on this site:
Interactive Media and Games
These multimedia resources include online games and interactive media experiences that can be downloaded or played over the Internet.
Available on this site:
- Interactive media and games
- Learn more about interactive media zooms
Print Media and Posters
Digital images, graphics, and printed media include signs, posters, banners, books, and other products that can be downloaded and printed out or presented on electronic displays.
Available on this site:
- Print media and posters
- Learn more about print media zooms
- Learn more about print media scale ladders
- Nano and society posters
- How Small is Nano - Key Concepts NanoDays 2012 posters
Visualizations at the Nano Scale
The nanoscale world is so small that we can't directly see or experience it. At one hundred thousand times smaller than the width of a human hair, nanoscale particles are governed by unfamiliar physical forces. How do we visualize this world and the forces that dominate it? The NISE Network has created some different ways to visualize just how small the nanoscale is.
Whether creating an exhibit on the color of a butterfly wing or participating in a forum on the health risks of nanomedicine, working with topics in nanoscience requires context to give meaning to sizes and scales. One common way to represent the nanoscale visually relies on scale ladders - diagrams that show how objects are related by size. Using existing research on understanding size and scale, the Visualization Laboratory (Viz Lab) carried out a series of experiments to develop effective scale ladders as well as guidelines for their design and use. Diagrams are highly simplified figures, designed to quickly convey ideas or relationships using lines or shapes. Diagrams are particularly useful in exhibit graphics and presentations, when viewers need to quickly grasp a concept. Illustrations, by contrast, provide very realistic renderings of objects and often take more time to interpret.
Zooms show the same object at different size scales. They can take many forms, from the classic Eames' film "Powers of Ten" to an exhibit label with a series of still images. Zooms are frequently used to engage the public with objects that are beyond our perception, transporting viewers from everyday objects to the less familiar small objects (such as cells or atoms). In this journey from the large scale to small scale, zooms give viewers a sense of relative size and convey that things are made of smaller parts.
Given the effectiveness of zooms in transporting the visitor from their world to the unfamiliar landscape of the nanoscale, the NISE Network has created several interactive media zooms and videos that allow viewers to explore objects across multiple scales.
Illustrations are artworks designed to present or enrich content. They play an especially important role in science, where they can be used to show objects or phenomena that are beyond our perception. The NISE Network has created a series of zoom poster illustrations that show familiar objects across ten orders of magnitude in a single illustration: the human bloodstream, a butterfly wing, and a computer chip. To help visitors see the connections between objects from vast size scales, these illustrations make use of perspective commonly used in landscape paintings: large objects are on the horizon, and small objects are in the foreground. This innovation earned the 2008 Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge from NSF and Science Magazine. These illustrations are available as stand-alone images, banners, annotated posters, or combined in a single poster that highlights "Everything is Made of Atoms."
Available on this site:
- Interactive Multimedia: The Scale of the Universe Zoom
- Interactive Media: Zoom Into a Human Hand
- InteractiveMultimedia: Zoom into a Nasturtium Leaf
- Video: Zoom into a Blue Morpho Butterfly video with and without narration
- Video: Zoom into a Lotus Leaf video with and without narration
- Video: Zoom into a Microchip video with and without narration
- Poster illustration: Zoom Into a Computer Chip
- Poster illustration Zoom Into a Butterfly Wing
- Poster illustration Zoom Into the Human Bloodstream
- Poster illustration Combined Zooms Poster: Everything Is Made of Atoms
- Poster illustration Zoom into a Pencil Line of Graphene with an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM)
Scale Ladders
The NISE Network has created scale ladder diagrams, posters, and interactive media that can quickly convey the size of the nanoscale by showing how objects are related by size.
Available on this site:
- Poster illustration Scale Ladder image files (in various formats with and without rulers)
- Guidelines for the Use of Scale Ladders (useful when incorporating scale ladders into projects)
- Interactive Media: Image Scaler Software
- Book and Poster: How Small is Nano? book and poster
- Book and Poster: Is That Robot Real? book and poster
- Video: How Small is Nano? video
- Program and Actvity: Shrinking Robots program
- Poster: How Small is Nano Key Concepts NanoDays 2012 posters
- Interactive Media: The Scale of the Universe interactive media
Physical Models
Physical models are three-dimensional, tangible representations of real-world or theoretical objects. They have a long history of use in both formal and informal education settings, from chemistry models used in the classroom to dioramas in natural history museums. Physical models are a particularly rich avenue for exploring the structure and geometry of the nanoscale in informal settings. They can be a hands-on, open-ended, and cost-effective way to demonstrate molecular structures.
Available on this site:
- Build a Giant Carbon Nanotube in Nano mini-exhibition
- Balloon Nanotubes (giant hanging model)
- Balloon Nanotubes Tabletop
- Forms of Carbon program
Immersive Simulations
A computer simulation is a computer model that shows the behavior or properties of an object or system over time. Computer simulations provide access to systems, objects, or phenomena that cannot normally be manipulated, such as hurricanes, traffic patterns, or the behavior of atoms. With advances in computing power, simulations are increasingly used in science, particularly in modeling nanoscale phenomena. Simulations provide a way to visualize not just the object being studied, but it's behavior.
In collaboration with scientists and artists, the NISE Network partnered with Scott Snibbe of Snibbe Interactive and Zack Booth-Simpson of Mine-Control to create immersive simulation exhibit experiences at the nanoscale.
Available on this site:
Nano Artists in Residence
How do we picture a world we can't see? How do we envision a place where gravity is barely relevant and everything is in constant motion? The nanoscale is so tiny it cannot be seen directly, and its dominant forces are different than those we are used to in everyday life. To address this challenge, the NISE Network Visualization Laboratory at the Exploratorium invited artists and scientists to explore ways of representing the nanoscale through a series of commissions, installations, and residencies in 2006. Drawing from a spectrum of artistic media and approaches, the results of these experiences are documented on this archival report. The report includes perspectives by Tom Rockwell and Pamela Winfrey from the Exploratorium and profiles of the following artists:
- Eric Heller, professor. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Stephanie Maxwell, professor, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York
- Santiago Ortiz, Madrid's European Institute of Design, Spain
- Ruth Jarman and Joseph Gerhardt, Semiconductor, United Kingdom
- Scott Snibbe, Snibbe Interactive
- Victoria Vesna, media artist and professor, UCLA School of the Arts, Los Angeles, California
Available on this site:
- Art Nano: Artists Visualizing the Nanoscale archival report (2007)


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(Ed. note: Shout out to ClipperBlog reader Paul Rubinfeld who suggested the #tbt idea many moons ago. #tbt may not have been his creation, but smashing it into ClipperBlog certainly was. And we like any reason to gaze back on old articles.)
It's Thursday, so time for another throwback, this time to the ancient era of 2007. "Runaway Love" and "What Goes Around… Comes Around" entered the Billboard Top-10. Kevin Arnovitz spied a wonderful comment by John R about the expectations a coach brings to a team. Seems salient as the Clippers transition from one head coach to another this offseason.
The Embodiment of Expectations
Clipperblog rarely posts reader comments, but thought that John R's commentary on how we, as fans, tend to let coaches personify expectations was stellar. I consider myself an agnostic on the matter of Dunleavy. Generally, I believe that Dunleavy's good enough to win if conditions are favorable, but unexceptional enough to lose if guys just aren't executing. The Clippers are a pretty good defensive team for a starting lineup that features a disaster, a big man still learning how to defend off the post, a fairly good – but not All-NBA – defensive off-guard, an undersized power forward, and a stopper who still is a little foul-prone. They clearly have cultivated a proficiency for guarding the screen & roll. Their rotations could use some help, but are probably no worse than your average NBA team. Offensively, there is a little less motion than I'd like there to be. I realize that the Clippers are a post team, but that doesn't mean you can't figure out how a very mobile Elton can work shots off that left block. So far as Kaman's development, that's a matter of execution, not coaching. All a coach can do is create opportunities for guys to score, and the shots are there for Chris. On the other hand, Dunleavy hasn't been able to mold the team an offensive identity – and I think that emanates somewhat from a lack of creativity.
Anyway, John R's comment:
Scrap that. I figured it out. Dunleavy is a symbol of expectations. Pre-expecations you enjoyed the Clippers because you expected them to fail. It was ok to fail as long as you got an alley-oop or two in, even if it was botched and a bad idea in the first place. Losing was acceptable because it was the only choice. Standard operating procedure.
Dunleavy has brought, hope, talent, and until this season, results. This has created positive expectations, which are currently not being realized. They won't win 50 and they are poised just so on the playoff bubble.
Its clear firing Dunleavy won't actually increase success in the medium to long term at this point. Maybe they have a short Memphis-like burst, but then it will return to headcoach-less form. They can bring in someone who will roll the balls on the floor and call timeout when the other team scores 8 unanswered, but this won't improve the team. And what message does that send to the next prospective coach as well as to the players who only want to be in LA as long as Dunleavy is in LA? You gain back Maggette, but potentially lose EVERYONE else. Eliminating Dunleavy only eliminates the expectations. Its not that it will solve the problem of losing. It just makes losing not a problem.
There's something unfair about issuing a punitive judgment on a coach based on a lousy half a season. And witch hunts, in any walk of life, make me really, really nervous. The truth is that there probably aren't more than a handful of people who could improve the Clippers in the short and middle-term, and most of them will be pacing the sidelines in May. I'd add that much of coaching occurs behind closed doors, which makes me a little reluctant to make wholesale evaluations. Sure, the product on the floor reflects a certain team climate and chemistry — much of it the coach's responsibility to create — but we never really get a sense of more than 40% of the coursework. And anybody who's ever run a department in any organization understands that. Again, I'm not defending Dunleavy, per se, but I do defend a certain brand of restraint and relativism when passing judgment on coaches.