Wednesday Wiki: WJAR International Airport

Today's random Wikipedia page is Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport. For some reason, I feel like I have written about another airport at some point during these random Wiki links. This airport is initialed as YWG in airport talk and so I'll use that for the rest of this blog. I'm seriously not typing that entire name or all of the initials out if I don't have to.

YWG is an airport in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is reportedly the 8^th busiest airport in Canada for passengers and 12^th busiest for aircrafts. This airport serves Calm Air, Cargojet, Kivalliq Air, Perimeter Airlines, Purolator, Air Canada Jazz, and Westjet. It is the only airport in the entire Manitoba province so it is open 24-7.

Wednesday Wiki: Dragonrider (comic villain)

An interesting random Wikipedia page showed up today. I pulled up the page for Marvel Comics's Atlantean villain, Dragonrider.

This villain was introduced in 1984's Sub-Mariner 4-issue limited series and appeared in issues #1, 2, and 4. This female (yes, I thought by the name that it would be male for some reason) character was created by J.M. DeMatteis and Bob Budiansky. According to the wiki stub, Dragonrider didn't appear again until New Thunderbolts #1-5 in 2005.

Dragonrider was a soldier in the Atlantean army who became a political dissident after seeing the poor remaining poor while the were rich becoming richer. She and a group of rebels sought out magic artifacts to buff themselves up. Dragonrider found a mystic conch shell that gave her control over sea creatures and mutated a sea eel into a dragon. When the resident superhero, Namor, was out of town, Dragonrider led her dragon in an assault against Atlantis. Namor returned in time to capture Dragonrider and arrested her for her crimes, turning a blind eye to her claims of disparate economics in the process. When she was freed, she sought out Namor and fought him again.

Later, she joined At'La'Tique or "Fury of the Sea", a religious organization, and became a member of the aquatic terrorist group Fathom Five. She worked with At'La'Tique and her Fathom Five cohorts in an effort to kill all surface dwelling life forms. The plans were thwarted by the New Thunderbolts when they attacked New York City. Dragonrider and rest of the Fathom Five were arrested and imprisoned following this attack.

Love is love, no matter the back story. <3 DS

Wednesday Wiki: Avenue Émile Zola

I got a French page for today's random Wikipedia page. Avenue Émile Zola is a "line 10" subway station on the Paris Métro. The station opened in 1913 as part of the original "line 8" between Charles Michels and Opéra. I am assuming those are street names? In 1937, "line 10" was extended from Duroc to La Motte-Picquet-Grenelle and the original "line 8" portion was moved to "line 10" between La Motte-Picquet-Grenelle and Porte d'Auteil. This move included Avenue Émile Zola.

I just checked and those are not street names, but they are the names of stations along the lines. Apparently there are 16 different lines in the Parisian subway system. Avenue Émile Zola was named after the French writer and political dissident Émile Zola (this guy openly disliked Napoleon III even after the guy made himself Emperor of France. Ballsy fella.) The page has a few photos and a map of the subway route too.

Love is love, no matter the back story. <3 DS

Wednesday Wiki: Pixar's Characters

The random Wikipedia page of the day is the list of Pixar's major and recurring animated characters that appear in their films and movie shorts. The list is set up in ABC order with each group set up in its own table. There are no I, X, Y, or Z characters listed and so there are no tables for these letters. Each table includes some really neat information. First, you get the name of the character (many of the characters have a related linked page too). Then you get the name of the original voice actor for the part and a link to the actor's page. The third column lists the character's debut movie with yet again, more links. There are some easily recognizable names just in the first few tables: Eric Bana, Peter O'Toole, Tim Allen, Ed Asner, Jennifer Tilly, Christopher Plummer, and Janeane Garofalo show up within the first 3 tables (A-C).

Pretty neat page here. I love Pixar films. Some of the original 40-ish members of the Pixar group were involved in the making of one of my absolute favorite animated films, The Brave Little Toaster, back in 1987 which is pretty much my version of Toy Story (on in this case "Appliance Story").

Love is love, no matter the back story. <3 DS

Wednesday Wiki: Corbin Fisher

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Wednesday Wiki: Objects In the Mirror...

Today's random Wiki made me laugh. I didn't realize that phrases were a part of Wikipedia, but it shouldn't have surprised me I guess. "Objects in [the] mirror are closer than they appear" is today's page.

This phrase is a safety warning placed on side mirrors in the US, Canada, and Australia. The shape of the mirror gives a good field of vision while driving, but it also makes objects seem to be further away than they really are. Notice of this phrase is posted to remind drivers of the problem. The phrase has been lifted for music albums, novels, cartoons, and songs over the years.

I didn't realize it was the shape of the mirror that caused the distortion of distance/size in my car mirror. I'm not sure what I thought made it like that, but it certainly didn't jump at me that the mirror curvature would cause it. Maybe I should have paid more attention in science classes after all.


Love is love, no matter the back story. <3 DS

Wednesday Wiki: Massacre of Tranent

The random Wiki of the day is the Massacre of Tranent.

In 1797 in Tranent, East Lothian, Scotland, the Massacre took place over a disagreement of locals and the military. The locals objected to being forced to join the military. They drew up a proclamation and gave it to Major Wight, the commanding officer of the recruitment squad. When the proclamation was ignored, they confronted the troops in protest. The soldiers promptly killed several protesters. The fleeing protesters were routed across the countryside by Cinque Port Dragoons, who killed indiscriminately as they went along. 12-20 men, women, and children were killed as a result of the massacre, plus unaccounted wounded. It is said that the soldiers went on to rape and pillage the small town, no doubt adding to that number in the process.


Love is love, no matter the back story. <3 DS

Wednesday Wiki: Habitat

Habitat is today's Wikipedia article. Habitat was a 1997 sci-fi film written and directed by Rene Daalder. The environmental film mixed sci-fi genetic engineering and themes of angst and redemption.

The story follows Hank Symes, on the run from the government, and his obsession with saving the world. An accident in the desert turns Hank into an "ethereal life form" and he begins changing the house into an entity which threatens all who enter. Hank's son Andreas is a teenager struggling with teenager things. His dad tries to change things for his son and show him that miracles "still happen."

The movie artwork looks neat. I can't really wrap my mind around an accident turning a guy into a plant creature, but I can see how it could work. The film earned a Global Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography so it should at least be pretty right?

Wednesday Wiki: Oskar Messter

Today's Random Wiki is about Oskar Messter, a German inventor and film tycoon of early cinema. Messter built and sold his first movie projector in 1886. He, along with Max Gliewe and Robert W. Paul are often credited with building the Geneva drive, a device used to create the intermittent motion of film. Gliewe and Messter joined together later to sell film projectors. Messter built the first film studio in Germany and by 1897, offered 84 films. His first sound film premiered in 1903 at the Apollo Theater in Berlin.

From 1909 to 1917, Messter saw 350 films through production before selling his company in 1918. Prior to his death in 1943, he donated his collection of historical equipment to the German Museum in 1932. IMDb lists 360 films under Messter's producer credits from 1896 and 1924.

Wednesday Wiki: Briefs

Today's random Wiki cracked me up. Today's page is Briefs! Find it here (along with a couple pictures of men in their underoos!).

Briefs are a type of underwear that is short and tight. It is popular with athletes and those that like more *snicker* support than boxers provide. Okay, I swear, I'm going to stop being so immature. Maybe.

Wednesday Wiki: News Gothic

This Wednesday Wiki happened across News Gothic, a type of font. Check it out here.

This specific type of font was developed by Morris Fuller Benton and released in 1908. I am unfamiliar with most of the terms in this article describing how it is like other sans serif fonts. Two-story lettering, blunt terminus, weights, and tails. It took several readings and comparing News Gothic fonts to other fonts before I began to understand, while not able to define, those terms.

News Gothic was named appropriately though, as it was the font used most in newspapers and magazines in the 20^th century. It has many variants, stemming from digital usage.

What I liked reading was all the people/companies that employ News Gothic in their logos. Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster, the opening text of the Star Wars movies, and Polaroid used the font. Neat huh?

Wednesday Wiki: Detroit Grand Prix

Today's random Wikipedia page had little more information that last week's page. Today, I found the Detroit Grand Prix page.

The Detroit Grand Prix ran Formula One (fastest single seated races in the world) races from 1982 to 1988 in Detroit, Michigan. The course was on Detroit city roads, rather than a track, that covered just shy of 2.5 miles and contained 17 turns that included a tunnel and railroad tracks.

In 1989, the race was moved to Phoenix, Arizona after a plan to create a new course fell through. Check the article for a list of the winners of the yearly race from '82-'88.

Wednesday Wiki: A Crime in the Neighborhood

Today's random Wikipedia page disappointed me slightly. It is titled A Crime in the Neighborhood. You can view it here. All it says is that A Crime in the Neighborhood is a novel by Suzanne Berne and that it won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 1999. Since the Orange Prize had a link, I checked it out and it is a literary award for female authors published in the U.K. Slim picking today.

Wednesday Wiki: Phantosmia

This episode of Wednesday Wiki is dedicated to Phantosmia. Find it here.

Phantosmia is a condition where a patient experiences "olfactory hallucinations" where they smell things that are not there. The smells patients experience are typically nasty smells like rotting flesh (creepy much?).

This condition has several reported causes including seizures, Alzheimer's Disease, brain trauma, schizophrenia, and sinus infection. So if you like your sniffer to convey reality instead of zombie flesh, avoid strobe lights, aging, hitting your head, listening to the voices in your head, and nasal congestion. Yikes.

The episodes of Phantosmia start out infrequently, but can evolve into a daily occurrence. Thankfully, they seem to only last for a couple minutes then go away. Unfortunately, the only treatment seems to be surgery called transnasal excision. That sounds almost as bad as smelling zombie rot. Freaky, freaky, freaky!

Wednesday Wiki: Reno 911! Episode List

My first Wednesday Wiki random page was List of Reno 911! episodes. Find it here.

I am a huge fan of the show so this made my day! Reno 911 aired from 2003 to 2009. Its 6 seasons have a total of 88 episodes, plus a movie that came out in 2007. All six seasons are now available on DVD.

The wiki article gives a small blurb describing each episode. My favorite episodes are "Accidental Marriage (Part 1)" from season 2, "Crime Scene Idiots" from season 3, and "Dangle's Murder Mystery (Parts 1 and 2)" from season 6.

The entire show is hilarious, fun adult satire. It isn't for everyone. Well, actually, it isn't for most people I wager. Off color humor is not everyone's cup of tea but I loved it. The improv skills of Thomas Lennon, Kerry Kenney-Silver, and Cedric Yarbrough is amazing. The rest of the cast is equally great. If you are over the age of 18, like irreverent British inspired satire, and have a sense of humor, check out Reno 911!