Tuesday, August 30, 2005File:Katrina damage.jpg

Thirty people died in the Gulf of Mexico resort of Biloxi when Hurricane Katrina demolished a water-side apartment block, Harrison County emergency operations center spokesman Jim Pollard told AP. However, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency has yet to confirm the news.

At least another twenty have died across the rest of Harrison County; this number is expected to rise. The Governor of the state of Mississippi has asked people to stay away from the area for several days. The towns of Biloxi and Gulfport took the brunt of the hurricane’s 140mph+ winds after it veered away from New Orleans as it made landfall.

Three more people have been killed by falling trees and at least two died in traffic accidents resulting from the hurricane. Hundreds of people have been rescued by boat and helicopter from the roofs of houses cut off by flood water.

The hurricane has caused a storm-surge — the force of the winds has piled the waters of the Gulf of Mexico against the coastline, causing widespread flooding reaching at least a mile inland in places.

A levee on the Lake Pontchartrain canal has broken in two places, causing massive flooding. Some parts of New Orleans are now under 20 feet of water. Flooding seems to have reduced to increasing at a rate of one inch an hour and Army Corps of Engineers are on the scene of the breaks. At aproximately 10:00 PM Central city officials confirmed that a major floodpump has failed, which could result in an additional nine feet of floodwaters.

The western part of New Orleans has been flooded after a two-block long stretch of the 17th Street Levee gave way on Monday afternoon. Much of the city lies below sea level and depends on flood defences to keep it safe. One hospital — that has 1,000 patients inside — has been surrounded by the water. The vice-president of the center has described seeing whitecaps on the waves of the water in a street outside.

A water main pipe has failed, meaning that tap water has been contaminated with flood water, and is no longer safe to drink.

The mayor of the city has described seeing “bodies floating in the water.”

Some 10,000 people remain in the Superdome stadium, despite the electricity supply failing leaving the indoor stadium in darkness. The coverings of the concrete roof of the structure have been stripped away by the wind.

Electricity supplies to 1.3 million people across the south eastern parts of the US have been damaged, and it could be months before power is restored to all affected.

Two oil rigs have broken free of their moorings in the Gulf of Mexico, and a third drifted into a bridge in Mobile Bay, Alabama.

Katrina has now been downgraded to tropical storm status as it moves northwards across the US, and wind speeds have dropped to 60mph. The current death toll does not include the 11 killed in Florida when Katrina struck there last week.

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Yesterday, La La Land, directed by Damien Chazelle, received a record-equalling fourteen Academy Awards nomination, tied with 1950s movie All About Eve and 1990’s Titanic. Mel Gibson’s HackSaw Ridge based on true story bagged six nominations.

The movie, featuring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, received nominations in all major categories. Gosling and Stone received nominations for Best Actor and Actress respectively. The other nominations include Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film-editing, Original Score, Production Design, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Original Screenplay. Two songs from the movie, Audition (The Fools Who Dream) and City of Stars, received nominations for best original song. Lionsgate studio received 26 nominations — more than any other studio.

Andrew Garfield, who previously starred in The Amazing Spider-Man along with Emma Stone, competes with Gosling for his role in Hacksaw Ridge. Based on the true story of US combat medic Desmond Doss, the movie has received six nominations including Best Picture, Actor in Leading Role, Best Director, Film Editing, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing — La La Land also receiving nominations in these categories. Lion and Manchester by the Sea also received six nominations.

Author J.K. Rowling’s screenwriting début Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them starring Eddie Redmayne received two nominations for costume design and production design. Redmayne won the award for best actor two years ago for playing Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything and was nominated last year for The Danish Girl.

This year, six black actors received nominations setting a new record. The hashtag #OscarsSoWhite was mentioned lot of times on Twitter as no non-white received nominations for the past two years. April Reign, creator of the hashtag, said “Everyone is saying the Oscars are more diverse this year. No they’re not. They’re blacker, but where are the Latinx movies, the LGBTQIA movies? The Asian American/Pacific Islander community has had a worse year. We can’t forget just because we have black nominees this year.” Bradford Young, cinematographer of Arrival, is the first African-American to be nominated and Joi McMillon – editor of Moonlight – is the first non-white woman to receive nomination. Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Viola Davis, Dev Patel, and Octavia Spencer are the non-white people who are nominated for their supporting roles.

Disney’s Zootopia and Moana received nominations for Best Animated Feature film. Pixar’s Finding Dory did not receive this nomination. Last year, Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur also missed the nomination but Pixar’s Inside Out, directed by Pete Docter, won the award.

Manchester by the Sea‘s nomination made the e-commerce website Amazon.com the first movie streaming company to earn a nomination for the Best Picture category. Arrival bagged eight nominations. Florence Foster Jenkins starring Meryl Streep nominated for Best Actress earned her 20th career Oscars nomination.

The award ceremony is to be held on February 26 to be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Viktor Schreckengost, the father of industrial design and creator of the Jazz Bowl, an iconic piece of Jazz Age art designed for Eleanor Roosevelt during his association with Cowan Pottery died yesterday. He was 101.

Schreckengost was born on June 26, 1906 in Sebring, Ohio, United States.

Schreckengost’s peers included the far more famous designers Raymond Loewy and Norman Bel Geddes.

In 2000, the Cleveland Museum of Art curated the first ever retrospective of Schreckengost’s work. Stunning in scope, the exhibition included sculpture, pottery, dinnerware, drawings, and paintings.

See the discussion page for instructions on adding schools to this list.Tuesday, September 13, 2005

NAICU has created a list of colleges and universities accepting and/or offering assistance to displace faculty members. [1]Wednesday, September 7, 2005

This list is taken from Colleges offering admission to displaced New Orleans students, and is intended to make searching easier for faculty, graduate, and professional students.

In addition to the list below, the Association of American Law Schools has compiled a list of law schools offering assistance to displaced students. [2] As conditions vary by college, interested parties should contact the Office of Admissions at the school in question for specific requirements and up-to-date details.

The Association of American Medical Colleges is coordinating alternatives for medical students and residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina. [3]

ResCross.net is acting as a central interactive hub for establishing research support in times of emergency. With so many scientists affected by Hurricane Katrina, ResCross is currently focused on providing information to identify sources of emergency support as quickly as possible. [4]

With so many scientists affected by Hurricane Katrina, ResCross is currently focused on providing information to identify sources of emergency support as quickly as possible.

Physics undergraduates, grad students, faculty and high school teachers can be matched up with housing and jobs at universities, schools and industry. [5] From the American Association of Physics Teachers, the Society of Physics Students, the American Institute of Physics and the American Physical Society.

If you are seeking or providing assistance, please use this site to find information on research support, available lab space/supplies, resources, guidelines and most importantly to communicate with fellow researchers.

The following is a partial list, sorted by location.

Alabama |Alaska |Arizona |Arkansas |California |Colorado |Connecticut |Delaware |District of Columbia |Florida |Georgia |Hawaii |Idaho |Illinois |Indiana |Iowa |Kansas |Kentucky |Louisiana |Maine |Maryland |Massachusetts |Michigan |Minnesota |Mississippi |Missouri |Montana |Nebraska |Nevada |New Hampshire |New Jersey |New Mexico |New York |North Carolina |North Dakota |Ohio |Oklahoma |Oregon |Pennsylvania |Rhode Island |South Carolina |South Dakota |Tennessee |Texas |Utah |Vermont |Virginia |Washington |West Virginia |Wisconsin |Wyoming |Canada