Inauguration Day Crowds in Washington, D.C.

A friend sent this link to me several weeks ago and I am just now getting around to posting here. I've seen this image on various websites but the Earth Observatory site has the full resolution image.

"Despite the blustery weather, more than a million people gathered in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2009, to witness and celebrate the inauguration of the forty-fourth president of the United States. The commercial satellite GeoEye-1 captured this high-resolution view of the crowds that morning."

Click here for a link to the NASA Earth Observatory site with the full resolution image. Humans as ants... even with millions gathered... how small we really are.

Powers of Ten

My Netflix account is filled with stuff. So much so, that often when movies/documentaries show up, I usually don't remember putting them on my list. It's nice this way because I never really know what to expect when I put the DVD in the player.

Such is the case with a recent DVD arrival: "The Films of Charles & Ray Eames #1". When did I choose this, I thought... and what is it. So, I put in the DVD and began watching the first chapter, "Powers of Ten". I then realized (remembered) why I put this on my Netflix list. It's only 9 minutes long but really is interesting and makes one think about the relative size of space (not outer space but simply *space*) and the human existence in this space, both at the macro and micro level that we tend to take for granted. I vaguely remember watching it in a science class in high school.

I burned a copy of it, of course, but was able to find an original on YouTube to post here. Oddly, there are some parodies and other versions with new soundtracks and narrators, but the 1977 original is just perfect. More so, during my YouTube search, I realized the the outgoing part to "Men in Black" (where the alien are playing a game of marbles with our galaxy) is based on "Powers of Ten" where our galaxy is but one galaxy in a realm of an endless cosmos filled with matter and gas.

So simple in delivery but deeply provoking in metaphysical reflection. Pretty cool, I thought (no pun intended, although it works).

Enjoy.