Glossary
* Penultimate - next to last. Usually a complement that someone or
something is nearest to perfection
* Quixotic - taken from the hero Don Quixote. An impractical
romantic.
* Etymology - the science of tracing the origin of words and the
changing meaning applied by different cultures in specific time periods.
* Aphelion - the point in the path of a celestial body that is
farthest from the sun
* Perihelion - the point in the path of a celestial body that is
nearest to the sun
* Quicksilver - unpredictable, mercurial (volatile)
* Netizen - a citizen of the Internet
* Zyme - diseased germ
You would be surprised what a group of owls are called? A parliament!
This just goes to prove that there are so many things about the English
language that we know very little about. Here are some mind boggling
collective nouns for animals.
Giraffes - tower
Rhinoceroses - crash
Squirrels - scurry
Crows - murder
Eagles - convocation
Larks - exaltation
Owls - parliament
Parrots - company
Peacocks - ostentation
Plovers - congregation
Ravens - unkindness
Starlings - murmuration
Gases emitted from burning matter ignite simultaneously |
Flashover - a flashover occurs when gases emitted from burning
matter in a confined space, reach their flash point, what is referred to
as auto-ignition temperature and ignite simultaneously.
In a confined space, such as a closed room ceiling and walls can heat
up respectively, emitting any flammable gases from material in the room,
such as furniture, fabric, giving rise to a superheated smoke cloud.
Because this develops in a confined space a flashover maybe stalled due
to lack of oxygen, but can explode and develop into a full blown fire
with a new source of oxygen, for example someone opening the door.
Dugong – the gentle giant of the sea |
Dugong - they were recently in the news, two having been
killed by dynamite fishing off Mannar. This gentle giant has a
spindle-shaped body, wider in the middle and tapering toward the ends.
It has no dorsal fin or hind limbs, instead possessing paddle-like
forelimbs used for manoeuvring.
They are large marine mammals, one of four living species of Sirenia.
Its range spans 37 countries throughout the Indo-Pacific. The Dugong is
the only strictly-marine herbivorous mammal, as all species of manatee -
another Sirenia species - utilize fresh water to some degree.
Dugongs have been hunted for meat for over thousands of years. The
IUCN lists the Dugong as vulnerable to extinction, while the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) bans the trade of
products derived from the animals. Specially in seas around Sri Lanka
they are under threat from dynamite fishing.
Global dimming makes earth’s atmosphere more reflective |
Global dimming - although many people are oblivious of this
phenomena, it is happening as we speak! As its name suggests it refers
to the reduced availability of sun and is considered to be caused by an
increase in sulfate aerosol particles, due to human activities.
Aerosol particles that accumulate in the atmosphere reflect sunlight
before reaching the earth. Moreover these particles act as nuclei for
cloud droplets, forming extra cloud cover, in turn making the earth's
atmosphere more reflective.
These clouds intercept both heat from the sun and heat radiated from
the earth. During the day this creates a cooling effect, but during the
night this heat reflecting mechanism impedes earth'sheat loss, making it
warmer. The cooling effects associated with global dimming may have
reduced the effect of greenhouse gases on global warming.
Ballast water poses a threat to marine coastal environments
around the world |
Ballast water - Ballast water is carried in tanks of ships to
provide stability and adjust trim, stress and torsion for optimal
steering and propulsion. However these ballast tanks are filled with
water from ports and coastal environments, rich in plankton and other
marine life.
The major problem created by ballast water is the introductions of
undesired alien species, while ballast water is released from one marine
environment to another. The ballast water circulation around the world
is estimated to reach 10 to 15 billion metric tonnes annually, and about
3,000 species are circulated with this water.
Many developed countries have ballast water management techniques.
Typical sea surface temperature during La Niña conditions |
El Ni¤o and La Ni¤a - aka or ENSO are irregular climate
patterns that take place in the Pacific Ocean, in average within five
year intervals. It involves a variation in the surface temperature of
the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. An increase in temperature is known
as El Ni¤o and decrease, known as La Ni¤a.
El Ni¤o, accompanies high air surface pressure in the western
Pacific, while the cold phase, La Ni¤a, accompanies low air surface
pressure in the western Pacific. These anomalous conditions cause
extreme weather such as floods and droughts, observed in Sri Lanka and
other South Asian countries in the past few weeks.
In fact the recent spell of La Ni¤a increased the amount of rain
received by 100 percent in Sri Lanka, triggering anomalous weather
patters. With temperatures plummeting to 18. 80 Celsius in the City of
Colombo for the first time in 60 years. La Ni¤a is Spanish for 'little
girl' El Ni¤o means 'the boy' and refers to the Christ child, because
periodic warming in the Pacific near South America usually occurs during
Christmas.
There is always a price to pay for one's own sins:
Grandmaster of caper thrillers
Chamikara Weerasinghe
[Red Reviews]
Director: Jules Dassin
Writer: Jules Dassin, Ren‚ Wheeler, Auguste Le Breton
Stars: Jean Servais, Carl M”hner, Robert Manuel, Jules Dassin,
Marie Sabouret, Janine Darcey
Genre: Thriller
Length: 118 minutes
Original: 1955
Screening: 16 August 2002
Country: France
If you like a noir movie that move like a game of chess, slow and
witty at the beginning, tensed and exciting at the centre, fast and
serious at the end , French Caper classic Rififi is the movie to watch.
The film was originally released in 1955 as Du rififi chez les homes.
Often referred to as the grand master of all heist movies, the French
caper thriller Rififi has influenced the likes of Mission Impossible,
Reservoir Dogs and Ocean's Eleven.
French police banned the movie on account of its central robbery
sequence in 1955 stating that it could serve as a primer for would- be
jewel thieves to carry out complicated robberies.
The movie was carefully and intelligently crafted by American expert
director Jules Dassin. Blacklisted by post-war anti-Communist witch hunt
in Hollywood at the time, Dassin fled to Paris to embark on this
masterpiece which later became an international hit despite it being
shot on a modest budget of US $ 200,000.
Rififi earned him the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival
in 1955. The movie stands out for its seminal robbery sequence played
out in the middle that runs for about 30 minutes without dialogue or
sound track. You will only hear the sounds of breathing, tapping, some
plaster falling into an umbrella that was set to catch it and the patter
of footsteps and random coughing by the men in action.
This was done to perfection by directorial choice to intensify
suspense in the movie as Tony and his prot‚g‚, young father Jo the Swede
(Carl Moehner) and Cesar (played by Dassin himself as Perlo Vita) break
through a concrete ceiling, enter a highly surveiled jewellery store and
immobilize the alarm with foam from a fire extinguisher. Although this
is the pinnacle of the movie, it takes a new turn with Cesar giving a
several millions worth diamond ring to a nightclub chanteuse despite
their agreement to lay low for a while.
This sets human element into the movie with a chain of renewed
violence. Cesar's stupidity leads to a situation of culprits being found
out by the night club boss Pierre (Marcel Lupovici) who sends his men
after the jewels. He kidnaps Jo's son and demands that stolen jewellery
be handed over to him in return for the boy.
But Tony knows better about the rules of the underworld and the
chances of the boy being returned by Pierre. The boy is a witness. The
last section of the movie is centred on the kidnapping of Jo's son. How
ex-con Jo panics as a father while Tony tries to save the boy from
criminals using his talents, unfolds on the screen. Meanwhile, the
writing is on the wall for Cesar for betraying the crime. Tony says to
Cesar (Dassin) in a scene, "I like you, Macaroni.
But you know the rules." Cesar nods in affirmation. But there is
always a price to pay for one's own sins in crime. Rules apply. The plot
of the movie revolves around a burglary at a jewellery shop but the
director has craftily used his mastery in film making to bring each
character into full play rather than killing each character on the basis
of their figurative criminal appearance through scenes of die hard
killing.
Rififi mirrors what makes a great movie with its cascading twists.
Rififi is also noted for its dark humour.
It was nominated by the National Board of Review for Best Foreign
Film. It was re-released theatrically in 2000 and is still highly
acclaimed by modern film critics as one of the greatest works in French
film industry. |