uggianaqtuq

[phantom power]

We should introduce Uggianaqtuq to his southern relative Koyaanisqatsi

April 11,2006 | WASHINGTON -- It's becoming harder to find the right snow to build an igloo, and melting permafrost is turning land into mud. With climate change the nature of the Arctic is changing, too, in ways that worry the people who live there.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History opens a pair of exhibits on Saturday: "Arctic: A Friend Acting Strangely," and "Atmosphere: Change is in the Air," discussing what is happening to the climate and how it affects people living in the planet's northernmost areas.

(...)

Indeed, the Arctic exhibit title comes from an Inuit word natives have used to describe the changing climate -- uggianaqtuq -- suggesting unexpected behavior or "a friend acting strangely."

The ocean is eating their land as sea ice melts and storms erode shorelines and wash away fishing communities, changing climate means new plants in some areas and changes in migratory routes of animals people depend on for food, weather is stormier and food sources for polar bears and caribou change.

http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8GU15KGF.html

[Dead_Parrot]

1. Poking around with an online dictionary...

"Katirijut quajuq" appears to be the Inuktitut for "clusterfuck". I felt this might be relevant.

[phantom power]

4. Kunstler would approve. BTW, what's wrong with your picture?

[Dead_Parrot]

5. He'd probably want it latin...

Pretentious git that he is. :)

The picture (a stealth bomber painted with the stars & stripes, for anyone who doesn't recognise it) highlights the moral hypocrisy (in my view) of a country that spends billions fighting people who sneak up and bomb you - terrorist/freedom fighters/insurgents, depending on your lexicon - whilst also spending billions on a plane to sneak up and bomb you. Sticking your flag on it is just arrogance

Unfortunately, I seem to be the only person troubled by this, so I might revert. Or use "Katirijut quajuq" instead, for a change: I did my Yeats quote a while back... :)

[phantom power]

8. Aha, it just looked like black and white stripes to me!

Sneaking up and bombing people is only terrorism if you're doing it to us. If we do it, it's "smart warfare" or something.

[hatrack]

2. There's a reason I switched my avatar from Darwin to V

Don't know if you've seen the movie, but there's a scene involving thousands and thousands of dominoes falling in rows. It's a scene that, shall we say, resonated with me.

[phantom power]

3. I see most movies on HBO these days. (2-year-old kid)

But I'm looking forward to seeing it, one way or the other.

I once designed a perpetual motion machine involving dominoes, but required setting up an infinite number of dominoes. I never built it. I already have a hard enough time completing finite tasks. But I did feel good that it was a countably infinite design. Not aleph-1 or anything.

[Dead_Parrot]

6. I can sell you an infinite number of dominoes

And what's more, I'll set the up for you! Interest free credit available.

(Dominoes are 0.00001c each, and a 2% deposit is required.)

[hatrack]

7. Would a home-equity loan help finance domino startup costs?

Or perhaps a payment-optional mortgage?

:evilgrin:

[phantom power]

9. I'm glad you guys have got my back. Soon I'll be rich... RICH!!!