The Fredösphere

I can't vouch for all of it, but the first few paragraphs of an article from the Columbia Journalism Review pack a lot of fascinating information, while telling an improbable tale of starlet Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil inventing a new form of radio communication.  Also mentioned:  glandular endocrinology, fascists, a lonely hearts advice column, torpedoes, remote-control pianos, and body part augmentation.

My friend Rick sent me a link to a new form of aircraft call vertical airships.  Great!  Where do I go to see one in flight?

Vertical Airship Research and Developent Organization (VARADO) was formed in 1987 and is a private research and development organization dedicated the construction of a vertical takeoff and landing airship.

Good, but how big is your fleet?  Can I see one?

2005 is the year of the powerful vertical airship. Our new ships are engineered for power, capable of handling 500,000 lbs of thrust on 2.5M cubic foot airframe. With this much reserve power this vertical airship is capable of fast cruise to far away destinations where it can keep station under the worst atmospheric conditions for long periods. It's all here: Performance better than airplanes without harmful emissions!

I'm excited.  Can I ride in one?  Just tell me where to buy a ticket.

Unique Features
Vertical Airship
Cycloidal Propulsion System
No/low emissions
Low vibration
Low noise vehicle
Vertical takeoff and landing
Unsurpassed station keeping

I'm glad, but, um, do these airships actually, you know, exist?

Passenger Configuration Features
No cabin pressure
50, fully reclining, extra wide seats
Extra-wide corridors for fast & easy loading & unloading
Full luggage storage at each seat eliminates baggage check and overhead compartments
Panoramic windows offer spectacular views
Separate dining/lounge seating for 20
High-speed internet and digital cable to all seats

Oooookay, let's move on.  Isaac Watras' blog follows a unique format:  he's writing a review of each piece of music in the Norton Recorded Anthology of Western Music.  For some reason, Hedy Lamarr shows up less frequently there than at the Fredösphere, but Isaac has a nice post on Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words that mentions Forbidden Planet.  Go there for extra goodies I didn't mention in my post on the topic, namely:

There is a scene where the not-so-good Doctor explains how smart the Krell were in their heyday. To impress his guests he plays a short tape of electronic music and says something to the effect that the Krell were so smart the music they enjoyed sounds incomprehensible to us.

Yet another example of the Wrong Note School viewed as the end of music history.  How ... endearing.  Finally, this morsel spotted at Instapundit:  a promotional video from some of the finest Flash animators in North Korea.  The description is here; a working link to the video is here.  Dig that groovy pop-choral soundtrack.