blogawiki

From the Highway Strip wiki page:

A highway strip is a section of a motorway that is specially built to allow landing of (mostly) military aircraft and to serve as a military airbase. These were built to allow military aircraft to operate even if their airbases, the most vulnerable targets in any war, are destroyed. The first highway strips were constructed at the end of World War II in Nazi Germany, where the well developed Autobahn-system allowed aircraft to use the motorways. In the Cold War highway strips were systematically built on both sides of the Iron Curtain, mostly in the two Germanys, but also in Switzerland, Poland and Czechoslovakia.

The strips are usually 2 to 3.5 kilometres (1.2 to 2.2 mi) long straight sections of the motorways, where the central reservation is made of crash barriers that can be removed quickly (in order to allow airplanes to use the whole width of the road), and other features of an airbase (taxiways, airport ramps) can be built. The specialized equipment of a typical airfield are stored somewhere nearby and only carried there when airfield operations start. The highway strips can be converted from motorways to airbases typically within 24 to 48 hours.

From the Hollywood Accounting wiki page:

Hollywood accounting (also known as Hollywood bookkeeping)^[1] refers to the opaque accounting methods used by Hollywood to budget and record profits for film projects. Expenditures can be inflated to reduce or eliminate the profit of the project thereby reducing the amount which the corporation must pay in royalties or other profit-sharing agreements based on the net profit.

Due to Hollywood accounting, it has been estimated that only about 5% of movies officially show a net profit, and the “losers” include such blockbuster films as Rain Man, Forrest Gump, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Batman, which all took in huge amounts in box office and video sales.

Because of this, net points are sometimes referred to as “monkey points,” a term attributed to Eddie Murphy, who is said to have also stated that only a fool would accept net points in his or her contract.^[5][6]

Winston Groom’s price for the screenplay rights to his novel Forrest Gump included a share of the profits; however, due to Hollywood accounting, the film’s commercial success was converted into a net loss, and Groom received nothing.^[7] That being so, he has refused to sell the screenplay rights to the novel’s sequel, stating that he “cannot in good conscience allow money to be wasted on a failure”.

A WB receipt was leaked online, showing that the hugely successful movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix^[16] ended up with a $167 million loss on paper.

From the Banana Equivalent Dose wiki article:

A banana equivalent dose is a concept occasionally used by nuclear proponents^[1][2] to place in scale the dangers of radiation by comparing exposures to the radiation generated by a common banana.

Many foods are naturally radioactive, and bananas are particularly so, due to the radioactive potassium-40 they contain. The banana equivalent dose is the radiation exposure received by eating a single banana. Radiation leaks from nuclear plants are often measured in extraordinarily small units (the picocurie, a millionth of a millionth of a curie, is typical). By comparing the exposure from these events to a banana equivalent dose, a more realistic assessment of the actual risk can sometimes be obtained.

The average radiologic profile of bananas is 3520 picocuries per kg, or roughly 520 picocuries per 150g banana.^[3] The equivalent dose for 365 bananas (one per day for a year) is 3.6 millirems (36 μSv).

Bananas are radioactive enough to regularly cause false alarms on radiation sensors used to detect possible illegal smuggling of nuclear material at US ports.^[4]

Another way to consider the concept is by comparing the risk from radiation-induced cancer to that from cancer from other sources. For instance, a radiation exposure of 10mrems (10,000,000 picorems) increases your risk of death by about one in one million — the same risk as eating 40 tablespoons of peanut butter, or of smoking 1.4 cigarettes.^[5]

From the Santa Susana Field Laboratory wiki article:

The Santa Susana Field Laboratory is a complex of industrial research and development facilities sparsely situated within a 2,668 acre^[1] portion of the Southern California Simi Hills in eastern Ventura County California used mainly for the testing and development of Liquid-propellant rocket engines for the United States space program from 1949 to 2006,^[1] nuclear reactors from 1953 to 1980 and the operation of a U.S. Government-sponsored liquid metals research center from 1966 to 1998.^[2]

Throughout the years, approximately ten low-power nuclear reactors operated at SSFL, in addition to several “critical facilities”: a sodium burn pit in which sodium-coated objects were burned in an open pit; a plutonium fuel fabrication facility; a uranium carbide fuel fabrication facility; and purportedly the largest “Hot Lab” facility in the United States at the time. (A Hot Lab is a facility used for remotely cutting up irradiated nuclear fuel.) Irradiated nuclear fuel from other Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and Department of Energy (DOE) facilities from around the country were shipped to SSFL to be decladded and examined.

The Hot Lab suffered a number of fires involving radioactive materials. For example, in 1957, a fire in the Hot Cell “got out of control and … massive contamination” resulted. (see: NAA-SR-1941, Sodium Graphite Reactor, Quarterly Progress Report, January-March 1957). Another radioactive fire occurred in 1971, involving combustible primary reactor coolant (NaK) contaminated with mixed fission products. (see: Rockwell International, Nuclear Operations at Rockwell’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory — A Factual Perspective, September 6, 1991).

At least four of the ten nuclear reactors suffered accidents. The AE6 reactor experienced a release of fission gases in March 1959, the SRE experienced a power excursion and partial meltdown in July 1959; the SNAP8ER in 1964 experienced damage to 80% of its fuel; and the SNAP8DR in 1969 experienced similar damage to one-third of its fuel. (see “Reactor accident sources” below).

The reactors located on the grounds of SSFL were considered experimental, and therefore had no containment structures. Reactors and highly radioactive components were housed without the large concrete domes that surround modern power reactors.

The sodium burn pit, an open-air pit for cleaning sodium-contaminated components, was also contaminated when radioactively and chemically-contaminated items were burned in it, in contravention of safety requirements. In an article in the Ventura County Star, James Palmer, a former SSFL worker was interviewed. The article notes that “of the 27 men on Palmer’s crew, 22 died of cancers.” On some nights Palmer returned home from work and kissed “his [wife] hello, only to burn her lips with the chemicals he had breathed at work.” The report also noted that “During their breaks, Palmer’s crew would fish in one of three ponds … The men would use a solution that was 90 percent hydrogen peroxide to neutralize the contamination. Sometimes, the water was so polluted it bubbled. The fish died off.”

On December 11, 2002, a top Department of Energy (DOE) official, Mike Lopez, described typical clean-up procedures executed by Field Lab employees in the past. Workers would dispose of barrels filled with highly toxic waste by shooting the barrels with rifles so that they would explode and release their contents into the air. It is unclear when this process ended, but for certain did end prior to the 1990s.

After a grand jury investigation and FBI raid on the facility, three Rocketdyne officials pleaded guilty in June 2004 to illegally storing explosive materials. The jury deadlocked on the more serious charges related to illegal burning of hazardous waste.

At trial, a retired Rocketdyne mechanic testified as to what he witnessed at the time of the explosion:

“I assumed we were burning waste,” Wells testified, comparing the process used on July 21 and 26, 1994, to that once used to legally dispose of leftover chemicals at the company’s old burn pit. As Heiney poured the chemicals for what would have been the third burn of the day, the blast occurred, Wells said. “It was so loud I didn’t hear anything … I felt the blast and I looked down and my shirt was coming apart.”

When he realized what had occurred, Wells said, “I felt to see if I was all there … I knew I was burned but I didn’t know how bad.”

From the Matsusaka beef wiki article:

Matsusaka beef (松阪牛, Matsusaka gyū^?, also “Matsuzaka beef”) is black-haired wagyū (Japanese beef), aka “Kuroge Washu” or “Japanese Black”, originating in the Matsusaka region of Mie, Japan. It is one of the most famous beef within Japan and internationally, containing a high fat-to-meat ratio. Within Japan, Matsusaka is considered one of the generally recognized three most famous beef brands in Japan (known as “Sandai Wagyuu”, “the three big beefs”), along with Kobe beef and Ōmi beef or Yonezawa beef.

Breeding

Matsusaka beef is produced from virgin Tajima-ushi cows chiefly born in Hyōgo Prefecture.^[1] The cows are raised in the quiet, serene area surrounding Matsusaka between the Kumozu River to the north and Miyagawa River to the south.^[2] Only female wagyu are raised in Matsusaka, where they are fed plenty of fodder, as well as tofu lees and ground wheat. When they have no appetite, they are fed beer to stimulate their eating, and they also receive regular massages with straw brushes after being sprayed with shōchū and are taken for daily afternoon walks.^[3] Soothing music is played to the cattle to “calm” them and promote better quality beef.^[4]

From the Wojtek (solider bear) wiki article:

Wojtek^[1] (1942–1963; Polish pronunciation: [ˈvɔjtɛk]) usually spelled Voytek in England, was a Syrian brown bear cub adopted by soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. During the Battle of Monte Cassino, Wojtek helped move ammunition. The name “Wojtek” or “Wojciech” is an old Slavic name and derived from two words: “woj” (the stem of “wojownik”, warrior, and “wojna”, war); and “ciech”, enjoyment. Thus the name has two meanings: “he who enjoys war” or “smiling warrior”.^[2]

In 1942, a local boy found a bear cub near Hamadan, Iran. He sold it to the soldiers of the Polish Army stationed nearby for a couple of canned meat tins. As the bear was less than a year old, he initially had problems swallowing and was fed with condensed milk from an emptied vodka bottle. The bear became quite an attraction for soldiers and civilians alike, and soon became an unofficial mascot of all units stationed nearby. Because of this, he was officially drafted into the Polish Army and was listed among the soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. With the company he moved to Iraq and then through Syria, Palestine,Egypt, and to southern Italy.

The bear was fed with fruits, marmalade, honey and syrup, and was often rewarded with beer, which became his favourite drink. He also enjoyed eating cigarettes.^[3] As one of the officially enlisted “soldiers” of the company, he lived with the other men in their tents or in a special wooden crate transported on lorries. According to numerous accounts, during the Battle of Monte Cassino Wojtek helped his patrons by transporting ammunition – never dropping a single crate. In recognition of the bear’s popularity, the HQ approved an effigy of a bear holding an artillery shell as the official emblem of the 22nd Company (by then renamed to 22nd Transport Company).

Following the end of World War II in 1945, the bear was transported to Berwickshire in Scotland, along with parts of the II Corps. Stationed in the village of Hutton, near Duns, Wojtek soon became popular among local civilians and the press. The Polish-Scottish Association made Wojtek one of its honorary members. Following demobilization on November 15, 1947, Wojtek was given to the Edinburgh Zoo. There Wojtek spent the rest of his days, often visited by journalists and former Polish soldiers, some of whom would toss him cigarettes.^[4] Wojtek died in December 1963, at the age of 22. At the time of his death he weighed nearly 500 pounds (250 kilograms) and had a length of over 6 feet (1.8 meters).

The media attention contributed to Wojtek’s popularity. He was a frequent guest of BBC’s Blue Peter program. Among memorial plaques commemorating the bear-soldier are a stone tablet in the Edinburgh Zoo, plaques in the Imperial War Museum and the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, as well as a monument in Sikorski’s Museum in London. There are proposals to erect a memorial in Edinburgh^[5]. It is said that Prince Charles, when visiting the Imperial War Museum with his sons, remarked to the guide that there was no need to tell the story of Wojtek since all three of them knew it well.

From the Yumika Hayashi wiki page:

Yumika Hayashi (林由美香, Hayashi Yumika^?, June 27, 1970 – June 28, 2005) was a Japanese AV idol and pink film actress. She earned the title of “Japan’s Original Adult Video Queen” during a 16-year career in which she starred in nearly 200 AVs and appeared in over 180 films.^[2][3]

Hayashi made her adult video debut in the bishōjo genre^[14] with the June 1989 h.m.p. Miss Christine release, Shigamitsuku 18-sai: ojōsama wa shitanai (しがみつく18歳　お嬢様はしたない^?).^[15] She made her pink film debut the same year,^[16] and her starring debut with the Xcess studio release, Double Rape to Break in a Perverted Wild Filly (ダブルレイプ　変態調教^?) in October 1990.^[6] She became one of the most popular AV Actresses of the 1990s.^[3] Several of her early videos were for the V&R Planning studio under the direction of Company Matsuo who was also her lover.^[17][18]

Cult director Hisayasu Satō chose Hayashi for a major role in his 1993 film Real Action: Drink Up!,^[19] and continued an association with the actress in several films. In his entry in the Molester’s Train series, Molester’s Train: Dirty Behavior aka Birthday Hayashi had a role in a film whose “austere tone” was in direct contrast to the light, comic tone of the previous films in the series, started by Academy Award-winner Yōjirō Takita in 1982.^[3] In the role of the “gluttonous woman” who eats herself in Satō’s Naked Blood (1996) Hayashi performed what Allmovie calls “one of the most appalling scenes in Japanese horror”.^[20] In 1995, Hayashi played a role in a TBS television series featuring Taro Miyako Nishimura’s fictional detective, Inspector Totsukawa, The Izu Coast Road Murder (伊豆海岸殺人ルート or Izu Kaigan Satsujin Ruuto).^[21][22]

By mid-1996, another V&R Planning director, Katsuyuki Hirano (who was married) had replaced Company Matsuo as Hayashi’s lover^[18] and the two of them traveled to the north of Japan in July 2006 on a bike trip. Hirano produced an AV version of their trip titled Tokyo – Rebun 41-day Adultery Bicycle Touring Trip^[23] and later in 1997 edited a mainstream documentary on the trip entitled Yumika. Hayashi received credit for the shooting of the film, and Hirano was Hayashi’s co-star.^[3]

At the 17th Pink Grand Prix awards, for the year of 2004, Hayashi won the “Best Actress” award for her performance in Lunch Box aka Mature Woman: Rutting Ball-Play (熟女・発情　タマしゃぶり, Jukujō: hatsujō tamashaburi^?).^[4][5] Hayashi’s prolific career earned her a reputation as a “iron woman” of Japanese erotic cinema,^[6] and after her death, the weekly Shūkan Taishū wrote that Hayashi’s 180 filmed appearances deserved mention in the Guinness World Records.^[6] At the Pink Grand Prix for 2005 she was given a special Career Award for Achievement as an Actress.^[32]

Death

It was later determined that no intentional causes were involved in the actress’ death. Instead Hayashi’s death was the result of a night of heavy drinking while celebrating her 35th birthday. After the party, Hayashi had choked to death in her bed after vomiting in her sleep.^[3]

From the Hamedori wiki page:

Hamedori (ハメ撮り^?) is a Japanese term describing filming or photography of sexual activity from a first-person point of view. It also refers to a genre of Japanese pornography in which a male adult video (AV) actor/director serves as the camera operator while also performing.

According to the Japanese magazine SPA!, about one-third of Japanese women say they don’t mind being filmed while having sex as long as it’s with a camera phone, with the women saying that it can increase sexual stimulation. Most of the footage is dumped but some keep them to enjoy as personal sex home movies or to study them to improve their sexual technique.^[1]

The pornographic genre of hamedori is a type of gonzo videography where the viewer witnesses the sex act from the man’s perspective to perhaps experience the act vicariously. Much of Japanese porn takes a documentary-style approach and hamedori type videos were produced from the beginnings of Japanese AV in the early 1980s. The term hamedori came into use about 1988-1989 but was only a small niche area until it was popularized at V&R Planning by director Company Matsuo.^[2]

Matsuo starting working in the genre in 1991 saying that this intimate technique was a natural way for him to shoot in order to show his feelings for the girl and to “get her to open up about herself, to show her true emotions”. Matsuo used amateur actresses in his videos and he usually traveled to their hometowns for the filming. He talks to them extensively on camera so that he and the viewer can come to know them before any sex scenes. A large part of the popularity of these videos is seeing how regular and ordinary the girls are who appear in them. As amateurs in a single segment of a multi-part video, the actresses are typically paid only about 50,000 yen (about $500).^[2]

Because the performer is attempting to engage in sex acts while holding the camera, the resulting footage can exhibit a large amount of “camera shake”. Also, this approach inherently limits the repertoire of video techniques that the camera operator can employ.

From the Colombian necktie wiki article:

A Colombian necktie is a method of execution where the victim’s throat is slashed (with a knife or other sharp object) and their tongue is pulled out through the open wound. It was a frequent method of killing during the Colombian history period called La Violencia that started in 1948 after the leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan was murdered.

The Colombian necktie is sometimes erroneously credited as having been invented by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, but this infamous method of killing was already present since 1950, during La Violencia in Colombia’s civil war, it was performed on enemies as psychological warfare meant to scare and intimidate those who later encountered the body.^[1][2]

From the Shin Sang-ok wiki article:

Shin Sang-ok (October 18, 1926 – April 11, 2006) was a prolific South Korean film producer and director, with more than 100 producer and 70 director credits. He is most famous for his being kidnapped by the current North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il, for the purpose of producing critically-acclaimed films.

In 1978, actress Choi Eun-hee, recently divorced from Shin, was kidnapped from Hong Kong to North Korea. When Shin traveled to Hong Kong to investigate, he was kidnapped as well. The kidnappings were on orders of future leader Kim Jong-il, who wanted to establish a film industry for his country to sway international opinion regarding the views of the Workers’ Party of Korea.^[4] The North Korean authorities have denied the kidnapping accusations, claiming that Shin came to the country willingly. Shin and Choi made secret audio tapes of conversations with Kim Jong-il, supporting their story.

Shin was put in comfortable accommodations, but, after an escape attempt, was placed in prison. He was brought to Pyongyang in 1983, to learn why he had been brought to North Korea. ^[4] His ex-wife was also brought to the same dinner party, where she first learned that Shin was also in North Korea. They re-married shortly afterwards, as suggested by Kim Jong-il.

From 1983 Shin directed seven films with Kim Jong-il acting as an executive producer. The best known of these films is Pulgasari, a giant-monster film similar to the Japanese Godzilla. In 1986, eight years after his kidnapping, Shin and his wife escaped while in Vienna for a business meeting^[4], before eventually fleeing to the United States, seeking political asylum.^[1]

Shin worked in the US in the 1990s under the pseudonym Simon Sheen, directing 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up and working as an executive producer for 3 Ninjas Kick Back and 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain, the latter starring Hulk Hogan.

At first, Shin was reluctant to return to South Korea, because he feared that the government’s security police would not believe the kidnapping story. He returned to South Korea permanently in 1994, and continued to work on new movies. His last movie as director is Kyeoul-iyagi (The Story of Winter) (2002, unreleased).

He had a liver transplant in 2004, and died of complications of hepatitis two years later. At the time of his death, he was planning Genghis Khan, a musical

From the Pulgasari wiki article:

Pulgasari is a North Korean feature film produced in 1985, a giant-monster film similar to the Japanese Godzilla series. It was produced by South Korean director Shin Sang-ok, who had been kidnapped in 1978 by North Korean intelligence on the orders of Kim Jong-il, son of the then-ruling Kim Il-sung.

Teruyoshi Nakano and the staff from Japan’s Toho studios, the creators of Godzilla, participated in creating the film’s special effects. Kenpachiro Satsuma – the stunt performer who played Godzilla from 1984 to 1995 – portrayed Pulgasari, and when the Godzilla remake was released in Japan in 1998, he was quoted as saying he preferred Pulgasari to the American Godzilla.^[1]

The film is about a doll made of rice by a prisoner, which on coming into contact with blood, grows to become a giant metal-eating monster. Jonathan Ross stated that the film is intended to be a propaganda metaphor for the effects of unchecked capitalism and the power of the collective. ^[2]