A smart ass, mathematical twists, and the headband girls

Creative Loafing (@cl_atlanta) fiction contest awards party filled the Highland Inn ballroom with the creative crowd and those who appreciate them.  Once sufficient quantities of food and wine had been consumed, CNN's Elizabeth Landau (@lizlandau) read from her Mathematics for Life (http://bit.ly/yvpfSb) starting at number five, curiously the fifth digit of Pi, which Liz considers her favorite number and uses to frame the story.  Starting off unevenly, the story finds its feet and flows on to become a poignant eulogy to a beautiful mind, intertwining the abstract and the vividly personal in a complex braid.

Benjamin Solomon's the Swallow (http://bit.ly/wcuHkP) throws the reader right into the aftermath of a gruesome crash and traces the ripples of causation through time.

Johnny Drago led his audience on a romp through a corner of the surreal landscape of his imagination in What have I done that you beat me these three times?  Witty, occasionally snarky, with a delightful talent for twist of phrase tending to understated hyperbole and leaving one with a subtle sense of shifted reality, he rightfully won the applause, admiration, and the first prize.  His ass truly was the star of the evening, and if you weren't there, you simply must read the story to understand.  http://bit.ly/xdmNiF

The official proceedings having been proceeded according to precedent, the rest of the evening was filled with delights such as Free Poems On Demand (@freetweetsatl, @monumentalfolly) composing poetry, sometimes even rhyme, on any topic requested, written out in meticulous longhand on custom stationery, no less.

Laura brightened her corner of the space with her enthusiasm for the thoughtfully curated collection of small-press books (@vouchedatl) on display and for sale.  Carapace (formerly MOTH) was rumored to be in attendance.

With an energy level bordering on the frenetic, Write Club (@writeclubatl) took (over) the stage.  With "literature as bloodsport" as the tagline, it was no surprise that there was no consensus as to just what the First Rule of Write Club was alleged to be.  Two no-devices-barred bouts on the themes of Addition vs. Subtraction and Divide vs. Multiply, with audience reaction precision-measured in real-time by the pseudorandomly appointed Blue Ribbon Panel of three not-so-innocent bystanders.  The tale of the girl divided wrenched many a heart.  A decidedly non-mathematical take on multiplication immensely amused all, with the slight exception of our fair Gallic visitors.

The Headband Girls made a valiant attempt to stay on the right side of the fine line between amplification and feedback unleashing an experimental-sounding panoply of notes, voices and echoes; reaffirmed their commitment to a Manifesto, and both committed as well as instigated more than a little bit of dancing.

"Party at Banana's house."

A dream of islands, defined

In our linguistic annals there is a gaping void among the meticulously gathered lists of collective nouns.  A crowd of people.  A herd of buffalo.  A pack of wolves.  A ___________ of islands?  Archipelago doesn't quite serve.

Henceforth, a collection of islands shall be called a dream.

Ex: You may find many a school of fish, wedge of swans, pod of porpoises, and perhaps even a pride of lions on a visit to that iridescent dream of islands, the Seychelles.

Credit for the inspiration must go to Philip Teece, the accomplished small-craft sailor and observer of nature.

Honey, I shrunk the grad students!

Michael Crichton's _Micro_ disappoints. Cliched characters barely sketched out ... Evil villain CEO and his sidekick-in-high-heels CFO straight out of a Marvel comic-book ... Less attention to basic physics or thermodynamics (or plausible rationality) than one would expect from a Pixar cartoon. Loose threads conveniently tied up by wantonly killing off characters before we get to know them. Not that they'd exhibit any nuance or personality, anyway. Cardboard silhouettes of the token Organization Man, the Fitness Nut, the Foreigner (or two), et cetera. Did I mention preposterous disregard for any plausible extrapolation from known science and technology? This is no Andromeda Strain.

When the device has a mind of its own

muteiny: n. -- spontaneous disengagement of the Mute function without your consent or knowledge. Especially interesting side effects during well-attended conference calls.

Defined: oscurofeliscopia

Yet Another Word heretofore missing from English:

oscurofeliscopia (noun) - the tendency to mistakenly see every shadow in a dark space as a black kitten.

Lexicographers, opthalmologists, and psychiatrists, take note.

1/2 share available: Sukhoi SU-27 Flanker

I am looking for a qualified partner to share half-ownership of this unique aircraft. One of the only two privately-owned airworthy Sukhoi SU-27 Flanker jets in the world, capable of a maximum speed of 1,147 knots (Mach 1.8) and with a service ceiling of 57,400 feet.

Economical to operate with two Saturn AL-31F turbojets (with afterburners), providing 27,557 lbs of thrust per engine. Fully IFR-equipped with U.S. avionics, instruments and cockpit markings.

Aircraft is to be based at the Lawrenceville airport (KLZU) and hangared. Serious inquiries only.

Shining, with brightness invisible to the naked eye

Maria had every disadvantage one needs to succeed. Born in the semi-autonomous, at the time Russian-dominated Poland in the late 1800s, far removed from what aristocratic power structures existed at the time, she found her place in the underground Uniwersytet Latajacy, the 'Flying University'. The institution was dedicated to Polish autonomy and resisted all attempts at control by the imperial power.

Invited to Sorbonne, unable to pay the tuition, she managed to emigrate and obtained a French citizenship. Before long, she had earned degrees in mathematics, physics and chemistry, and was doing original work on magnetism and the properties of uranium compounds.

Before the age of 32, she had discovered two previously unknown elements, Polonium and Radium, coined the term 'radioactivity', and by 36 was awarded the Nobel prize in physics, the first woman to receive it. She went on to become the first woman professor at the Sorbonne.

Mother of two daughters, she managed to balance work and parenting by hiring governesses to assist in care and education of her children.

Since the damaging effects of ionizing radiation had not yet been established, she had conducted the bulk of her work without any safety measures. For this, she paid the ultimate price, dying of illnesses caused by radiation exposure.

Her work has far outlived her, influencing cancer therapies, research into structure of matter, and fundamental physics.

She is remembered by the SI unit Ci, the Curie, a measure of radioactivity.