Photos of the Day #2: Meeting Heroines from the Marvel and DC Comic Universes...

Yesterday, I went to a comic book and sci-fi convention at The Reef in downtown Los Angeles to meet actresses Ming-Na Wen and Katrina Law. Ming-Na, in case you're wondering, appeared in the 1993 film The Joy Luck Club and voiced Mulan in the 1998 Disney flick, Mulan. She now kicks major ass as Agent Melinda May on ABC's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Katrina, on the opposing side, plays Nyssa al Ghul in DC Comic's Arrow on the CW Network (she was also in other shows like Spartacus and CSI: Miami). It's very interesting that two actresses from TV shows produced by rival comic book studios made an appearance at the same time yesterday (from 11am to 1pm). Either that, or I'm just easily amused.



Having now met Ming-Na with Chloe Bennet before her, the only other actresses from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. whose photo ops I need to go to is Elizabeth Henstridge and Adrianne Palicki. With Palicki, however, I hope that she's sitting down when I meet her 'cause she's freakin' tall up-close! I saw her in person recently... Can't say where though; I just did. In terms of DC Comics, I met Danielle Panabaker from The Flash and Summer Glau from Arrow (this is the second time I met her) at Stan Lee's Comikaze expo last year. The one actress I wanna meet next from another DC Comics TV show is Supergirl's Melissa Benoist! That is all.

Photo of the Day: A Sunny Afternoon in Los Angeles...

Just thought I'd share the photo above that I took of downtown Los Angeles while heading home from work last Saturday. If you look closely, you can see the new Wilshire Grand Center (left of center frame above and below...with the construction cranes above it) as the skyscraper slowly reaches its full 1,099-foot height amidst the L.A. skyline. In a little over a year, the Wilshire Grand Center will open to the public and officially become the tallest structure in the City of Angels as well as west of the Mississippi River. Pretty cool. Below is a cropped version of the pic.

Aaand It's Over...

Five days after she told me that she was having a baby and I gave her a not-so-enthusiastic response about it, I found out last night that Nancy unfriended me on Facebook. While I was stunned at this discovery, I wasn't completely surprised by it. In fact, I saw it coming from a mile away. Nancy most likely realized (as I did) that we could never go hiking together again...unless she wanted to enjoy six degrees of awkwardness between us. No, Nancy actually did me a favor by putting an end to our friendship. There's nothing to gain by continuing to hang out with a woman who got married last year, and will have an infant by the time Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters this December. I really shouldn't be associating my excitement for that movie with this shitty-ass turn of events...

Now the question is: How soon will I delete my Facebook album containing photos that I took at Nancy's wedding? These photos are also on my MySpace page (yes, I still visit that Ford Pinto-equivalent of a social media site) and personal website. How soon will I also delete my Facebook album containing photos that I took at all of our hiking trips? There are 380 pics in all... It's gonna be easy to erase these images on Facebook but it'll be a bitch deleting 'em on Flickr as well (I have to go through each pic one-by-one). That's what happens when you grow close to someone who you should've left alone at the very beginning—when you know that the chances of entering an intimate relationship with her is zilch. Did I also mention that it's gonna be super-awkward if I ever run into her at work again (which, I'm sad to say, is inevitable)? Carry on.

OSIRIS-REx Update: Send Your Drawings and Other Cool Stuff to Bennu!

NASA / Goddard / Chris Meaney

NASA Invites Public to Send Artwork to an Asteroid (Press Release)

NASA is calling all space enthusiasts to send their artistic endeavors on a journey aboard NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft. This will be the first U.S. mission to collect a sample of an asteroid and return it to Earth for study.

OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to launch in September and travel to the asteroid Bennu. The #WeTheExplorers campaign invites the public to take part in this mission by expressing, through art, how the mission’s spirit of exploration is reflected in their own lives. Submitted works of art will be saved on a chip on the spacecraft. The spacecraft already carries a chip with more than 442,000 names submitted through the 2014 “Messages to Bennu” campaign.

“The development of the spacecraft and instruments has been a hugely creative process, where ultimately the canvas is the machined metal and composites preparing for launch in September,” said Jason Dworkin, OSIRIS-REx project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “It is fitting that this endeavor can inspire the public to express their creativity to be carried by OSIRIS-REx into space.”

A submission may take the form of a sketch, photograph, graphic, poem, song, short video or other creative or artistic expression that reflects what it means to be an explorer. Submissions will be accepted via Twitter and Instagram until March 20. For details on how to include your submission on the mission to Bennu, go to:

http://www.asteroidmission.org/WeTheExplorers

“Space exploration is an inherently creative activity,” said Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for OSIRIS-REx at the University of Arizona, Tucson. “We are inviting the world to join us on this great adventure by placing their art work on the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, where it will stay in space for millennia.”

The spacecraft will voyage to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu to collect a sample of at least 60 grams (2.1 ounces) and return it to Earth for study. Scientists expect Bennu may hold clues to the origin of the solar system and the source of the water and organic molecules that may have made their way to Earth.

Goddard provides overall mission management, systems engineering and safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. The University of Arizona, Tucson leads the science team and observation planning and processing. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver is building the spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA's New Frontiers Program. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages New Frontiers for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Source: NASA.Gov

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Pardon My Language, But...

...FUUUUUUUCK! So earlier today, I went hiking with Nancy in the city of Fullerton in Orange County. Things were going great until she got a phone call right after we left Craig Regional Park (one of our hiking spots) to walk over to a nearby bank where Nancy deposited a check. After that call, Nancy hung up her phone, turned to look at me, and nonchalantly said, "Oh by the way, I'm having a baby." (That call was obviously from the doctor with whom she paid a visit yesterday. Found this out right after she dropped the bombshell.) What was my response to that, you ask? Well— Over the past 2-3 years or so, I must've totally did a bang-up job hiding my true feelings about Nancy, or getting myself friend-zoned, considering the fact that she was surprised at my reaction to her news. She thought it was just mere shock, but it was more than that. It was shock, anger and devastation (even though I lied to her and said that "this was great news" a few seconds later). I should've known this day was coming since she first told me she was engaged in late 2012, got married last summer, and now will become a mother—to another man's child.

I know, I know... I'm a complete dumbass for continuing to talk to Nancy despite the fact she told me right off the bat when we first met that she was off-limits. For the last year or so, I was trying to distance myself from Nancy by coming up with excuses to not hike with her whenever she texted me, and for sounding non-enthusiastic whenever she texted me about other things. But it was us working together in Pasadena last week that brought back my strong feelings for her...and why I was gonna say 'yes' to Nancy whenever she texted me to hang out from that point on. (We also got together last Monday; getting Filipino grub at some bakeshop in Artesia, near Long Beach.)

The big question is: What do I do now? Do I cut things off with Nancy (again, I know: I should've cut her off when we first met)? Unfriend her on Facebook? Remove the photos of us hiking from Facebook and my personal website (if you look real hard, you'll find 'em)? Delete her phone number from my phone? All of these would be the prudent thing to do if not for the fact I might see her at work again. If ever I needed a good reason to go lookin' for another job, this would be it.

So yea... Today was a horrendous day. You know that God or karma is playing a huge joke on me when the one girl I've met who made me think about settling down and get married is already settled down and now married to someone else. Yea, fuck you karma. If only you guys saw just how loudly I yelled "Fuuuuuck" (twice) inside my car as I drove away from Nancy and the park [we returned to our vehicles (on my own volition) right away, after Nancy shared what was supposed to be joyous news] to head home five hours ago. But I didn't head home right away... I drove to random locations and walked around their parking lots for several minutes pondering about the girl I truly cared about who officially and fully got away from me.

This is much, much more devastating than when Denise—a Vietnamese girl I knew back in college—told me that she had a boyfriend in an e-mail back in January of 2001.

FUUUUUUUCK!

Come Back, OTHER SPACE!

We JUST got the rights back to @OtherSpace from Yahoo. So, going to set it up somewhere. Dying to visit the Cruiser! https://t.co/vF3EOBe9l2

— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) February 13, 2016

Last Saturday, Ghostbusters director Paul Feig posted the tweet above announcing that he just regained the rights to his sci-fi web comedy Other Space...which premiered on Yahoo! last April before being canceled by the Web conglomerate late last year. All I can say is, I'm stoked that we'll be getting more episodes focusing on the exploits of Stewart Lipinski (played by Deadpool's Karan Soni), Tina Shukshin (portrayed by the ever-awesome Milana Vayntrub) and the rest of their gang aboard the UMP Cruiser. Will Other Space make its triumphant return via Netflix? Hulu? The Syfy channel? Hopefully we'll find out soon!

Photo of the Day: The 2016 NBA Slam Dunk Contest...

Photo courtesy of NBA on TNT - Facebook.com

Despite the fact that it was the Minnesota Timberwolves' Zach LaVine who took home the trophy (for the second year in a row) as tonight's NBA slam dunk champion, the Orlando Magic's Aaron Gordon proved that he was totally worthy of the award when he did a lot of jaw-dropping dunks as well—including the one above (and in the video below) showing him effortlessly leaping over Stuff the Magic Dragon, Orlando's team mascot.

In related news, tomorrow will be Kobe Bryant's final appearance in the NBA All-Star Game before he retires in less than three months. It would be terrific if he took home the All-Star MVP trophy on Sunday evening... Even non-Lakers fans should agree about this.

Is There Anything About the Universe That Albert Einstein DIDN'T Know?

R. Hurt / Caltech - JPL

NSF’s LIGO Has Detected Gravitational Waves (Press Release)

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced the detection of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), a pair of ground-based observatories in Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana.

Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves in his general theory of relativity a century ago, and scientists have been attempting to detect them for 50 years. Einstein pictured these waves as ripples in the fabric of space-time produced by massive, accelerating bodies, such as black holes orbiting each other. Scientists are interested in observing and characterizing these waves to learn more about the sources producing them and about gravity itself.

The LIGO detections represent a much-awaited first step toward opening a whole new branch of astrophysics. Nearly everything we know about the universe comes from detecting and analyzing light in all its forms across the electromagnetic spectrum – radio, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays. The study of gravitational waves opens a new window on the universe, one that scientists expect will provide key information that will complement what we can learn through electromagnetic radiation.

Just as in other areas of astronomy, astronomers need both ground-based and space-based observatories to take full advantage of this new window. LIGO is sensitive to gravitational waves within the range of 10 to 1,000 cycles per second (10 to 1,000 Hz). A space-based system would be able to detect waves at much lower frequencies, from 0.0001 to 0.1 Hz, and detect different types of sources. NASA is working closely with the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop a concept for a space-based gravitational wave observatory.

ESA is currently leading the LISA Pathfinder mission, launched last December and now in its commissioning phase, to demonstrate technologies that could be used for a future space-based gravitational wave observatory. NASA contributed its ST-7 Disturbance Reduction System to the payload as part of that demonstration.

NASA missions are searching the sky for fleeting X-ray and gamma-ray signals from LIGO events. Detecting the light emitted by a gravitational wave source would enable a much deeper understanding of the event than through either technique alone.

Source: NASA.Gov

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Quotes of the Day...

“There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.”

-― Sarah Dessen, The Truth About Forever


“Sometimes I can’t see myself when I’m with you. I can only just see you.”

-― Jodi Lynn Anderson, Tiger Lily


“And in her smile I see something more beautiful than the stars.”

-― Beth Revis, Across the Universe


“I love you the way a drowning man loves air. And it would destroy me to have you just a little.”

-― Rae Carson, The Crown of Embers


“I knew the second I met you that there was something about you I needed. Turns out it wasn’t something about you at all. It was just you.”

-― Jamie McGuire, Beautiful Disaster


“I wanted to tell you that wherever I am, whatever happens, I’ll always think of you, and the time we spent together, as my happiest time. I’d do it all over again, if I had the choice. No regrets.”

-― Cynthia Hand, Boundless

Chillin' in Pasadena...

So earlier today, I worked with Nancy in downtown Pasadena. The last time I worked with her was two years ago this month...in Hollywood. Anyways, as we walked around old town Pasadena and Paseo Colorado (yes, the two are different) after our gig ended, I just remembered how crazy I am about her. Aw, heck— How in love I am with her. I mean, really in love with her. Unfortunately, we can't hook up...for reasons explained in the blog entry that I linked to in the opening sentence of this post. That is all.

No wait— One last thing: I really, really hope that something horrible happens to the two other Asian dudes who (also) flirted with her at work today. Really horrible things...like a pair of fatalities or something. 'Kay, I'm done.

Super Bowl 50...

Doug Mills / The New York Times

Congrats to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos for winning the Big Game, 24-10, at Levi's Stadium today! Word has it that this may be Manning's last rodeo before riding off into the sunset after having an illustrious NFL career that now includes two Super Bowl titles. If Manning is thinking about retiring, all I can say is...do it! Like his predecessor John Elway, who won two straight NFL championships in 1998 and '99 before calling it quits as the Broncos' main quarterback, Manning should take advantage of the fact that this can be a fairy tale ending (sorry for the cliché) for him after playing a season that was fraught with injuries to the 39-year-old player. That, and the fact that it would be quite unfortunate if he made it to another Super Bowl, only to be blown out like what happened against the Seattle Seahawks in 2014 (the Broncos got routed by Pete Carroll's team in Super Bowl XLVIII, 43-8).

Another reason why Manning should hang up his cleats: He should avoid Kobe Bryant's present situation. (Supposedly, Manning and Bryant are good pals.) Kobe is about two months away from ending an NBA career that resulted in 5 championships and numerous All-Star Game appearances with the L.A. Lakers. Unfortunately, the Black Mamba is doing so while playing on what is without a doubt one of the worst squads in Laker team history. Kobe will be hanging up his jersey without playing another NBA postseason game ever again. He's ending his career like how Michael Jordan did when he left the Washington Wizards and retired for good in 2004 (the Wizards failed to make the playoffs in the two seasons that MJ was on this team), not how Jordan retired from the Chicago Bulls after making that game-winning shot (we'll overlook that push-off against Bryon Russell) against the Utah Jazz in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. The gist of this post: Manning needs to end his career as a winner...not as a phenomenal athlete who played for one too many years and was forced to leave because age and injuries dictated it (cough-Brett Favre-cough). That is all.

New Horizons Update: More Watery Surprises on Pluto...

NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI

Floating Hills on Pluto's Sputnik Planum (Press Release - February 4)

The nitrogen ice glaciers on Pluto appear to carry an intriguing cargo: numerous, isolated hills that may be fragments of water ice from Pluto’s surrounding uplands. These hills individually measure one to several miles or kilometers across, according to images and data from NASA’s New Horizons mission.

The hills, which are in the vast ice plain informally named Sputnik Planum within Pluto’s ‘heart,’ are likely miniature versions of the larger, jumbled mountains on Sputnik Planum’s western border. They are yet another example of Pluto’s fascinating and abundant geological activity.

Source: NASA.Gov

A MAJOR Milestone for Hubble's Successor...

NASA / Chris Gunn

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Primary Mirror Fully Assembled (Press Release)

The 18th and final primary mirror segment is installed on what will be the biggest and most powerful space telescope ever launched. The final mirror installation Wednesday at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland marks an important milestone in the assembly of the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope.

“Scientists and engineers have been working tirelessly to install these incredible, nearly perfect mirrors that will focus light from previously hidden realms of planetary atmospheres, star forming regions and the very beginnings of the Universe,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “With the mirrors finally complete, we are one step closer to the audacious observations that will unravel the mysteries of the Universe.”

Using a robotic arm reminiscent of a claw machine, the team meticulously installed all of Webb's primary mirror segments onto the telescope structure. Each of the hexagonal-shaped mirror segments measures just over 4.2 feet (1.3 meters) across -- about the size of a coffee table -- and weighs approximately 88 pounds (40 kilograms). Once in space and fully deployed, the 18 primary mirror segments will work together as one large 21.3-foot diameter (6.5-meter) mirror.

"Completing the assembly of the primary mirror is a very significant milestone and the culmination of over a decade of design, manufacturing, testing and now assembly of the primary mirror system," said Lee Feinberg, optical telescope element manager at Goddard. "There is a huge team across the country who contributed to this achievement."

While the primary mirror installation may be finished on the tennis court-sized infrared observatory, there still is much work to be done.

"Now that the mirror is complete, we look forward to installing the other optics and conducting tests on all the components to make sure the telescope can withstand a rocket launch," said Bill Ochs, James Webb Space Telescope project manager. "This is a great way to start 2016!"

The mirrors were built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. Ball is the principal subcontractor to Northrop Grumman for the optical technology and optical system design. The installation of the mirrors onto the telescope structure is performed by Harris Corporation, a subcontractor to Northrop Grumman. Harris Corporation leads integration and testing for the telescope.

“The Harris team will be installing the aft optics assembly and the secondary mirror in order to finish the actual telescope,” said Gary Matthews, director of Universe Exploration at Harris Corporation. “The heart of the telescope, the Integrated Science Instrument Module, will then be integrated into the telescope. After acoustic, vibration, and other tests at Goddard, we will ship the system down to Johnson Space Center in Houston for an intensive cryogenic optical test to ensure everything is working properly.”

The James Webb Space Telescope is the scientific successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. It will be the most powerful space telescope ever built. Webb will study many phases in the history of our universe, including the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets similar to Earth, as well as the evolution of our own solar system. It’s targeted to launch from French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 rocket in 2018. Webb is an international project led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Chris Gunn

Onward to Jupiter: Progress Made by Humanity's Most Distant Solar-Powered Space Probe...

NASA / JPL - Caltech

NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Burns for Jupiter (Press Release)

NASA's solar-powered Juno spacecraft successfully executed a maneuver to adjust its flight path today, Feb. 3. The maneuver refined the spacecraft’s trajectory, helping set the stage for Juno's arrival at the solar system’s largest planetary inhabitant five months and a day from now.

"This is the first of two trajectory adjustments that fine tune Juno’s orbit around the sun, perfecting our rendezvous with Jupiter on July 4th at 8:18 p.m. PDT [11:18 p.m. EDT]," said Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.

The maneuver began at 10:38 a.m. PST (1:38 p.m. EST). The Juno spacecraft's thrusters fired for 35 minutes, consumed about 1.2 pounds (.56 kilograms) of fuel, and changed the spacecraft's speed by 1 foot (0.31 meters), per second. At the time of the maneuver, Juno was about 51 million miles (82 million kilometers) from Jupiter and approximately 425 million miles (684 million kilometers) from Earth. The next trajectory correction maneuver is scheduled for May 31.

Juno was launched on Aug. 5, 2011. The spacecraft will orbit the Jovian world 33 times, skimming to within 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers) above the planet's cloud tops every 14 days. During the flybys, Juno will probe beneath the obscuring cloud cover of Jupiter and study its aurorae to learn more about the planet's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.

Juno's name comes from Greek and Roman mythology. The god Jupiter drew a veil of clouds around himself to hide his mischief, and his wife -- the goddess Juno -- was able to peer through the clouds and reveal Jupiter's true nature.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott Bolton, of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno is part of NASA's New Frontiers Program, which is managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL for NASA.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / JPL - Caltech

Photos of the Day: It's Kobe vs. Pau!

Last Thursday, a couple of friends and I went down to STAPLES Center in Los Angeles to attend a Lakers game against the Chicago Bulls. The Lakers lost, 114-91, but it was cool to see Kobe Bryant play in person one last time before he retires this April [as opposed to May or June (in the middle of the playoffs, or the NBA Finals themselves), unfortunately]. And it was only fitting that we'd see the Black Mamba square off against Pau Gasol..who was the reason why Kobe won two more NBA titles (in 2009 and 2010, respectively) after Gasol got traded to L.A. from the Memphis Grizzlies in early 2008.



Despite the Lakers' loss, I gotta thank my friend Sarina for hooking us up with seats inside The Centurion Suite for the game! It was either that or sitting up in the nosebleed section—and we wouldn't have even sat together. Kinda wish that the hamburger on The Centurion Suite's menu was a bit cheaper, though. I dished out 18 dollars...and the burger didn't even come with fries! Oh well.