Tidbits

Wanna see something cool? The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) have come up with the world's first high-definition image taking of an Earth-rise* by the lunar explorer "KAGUYA" (SELENE). You can't see Earth-rise from the moon, because if you're standing on it (or hovering nearby), the Earth always seems to be in the same place. If you're a satellite orbiting the moon, though, you get a different view. Anyway -- click to see the Earth rise and set (It's not a quick lunar vehicle, though, so be prepared for that), and get ready to see the Earth as a beautifully shining marble hanging in black space. The Earth-set is even better.

Has anyone ever heard of the Alex Rider Snakehead series, by Anthony Horowitz? The author is bitterly disappointed the film version hasn't jumped the pond to the U.S. -- but I'm still in the dark, having never heard of it at all...

Meanwhile, the UK is seriously into Harry Potter. A school in Nottingham has actually divided its students into four houses... and the children put on hats and use wands during math. Whatever else you may want to say about themed education, this seems to be working - they're in the top 25% of all the schools in their district, when only a little while ago, they were in the bottom 25%...