Saturday, March 17, 2018
Toys From My Childhood
Spirograph is a geometric drawing toy that produces mathematical roulette curves of the variety technically known as hypotrochoids and epitrochoids. It was developed by British engineer Denys Fisher and first sold in 1965.
The name has been a registered trademark of Hasbro Inc. since 1998 following purchase of the company that had acquired the Denys Fisher company. The Spirograph brand was relaunched worldwide with original product configurations in 2013 by Kahootz Toys.
In 1827 English architect and engineer Peter Hubert Desvignes developed his "Speiragraph",[1] a machine to create elaborate spiral drawings, intended to prevent bank note forgeries.[2]
The mathematician Bruno Abakanowicz invented the Spirograph between 1881 and 1900. It was used for calculating an area delimited by curves.[3] Drawing toys based on gears have been around since at least 1908, when The Marvelous Wondergraph was advertised in the Sears catalog.[4][5] An article describing how to make a Wondergraph drawing machine appeared in the Boys Mechanic publication in 1913.[6] The Spirograph itself was developed by the British engineer Denys Fisher, who exhibited at the 1965 Nuremberg International Toy Fair. It was subsequently produced by his company. US distribution rights were acquired by Kenner, Inc., which introduced it to the United States market in 1966 and promoted it as a creative children's toy.
In 2013 the Spirograph brand was re-launched worldwide by Kahootz Toys with products that returned to the use of the original gears and wheels. The modern products use removable putty in place of pins or are held down by hand to keep the stationary pieces in place on the paper. The Spirograph was a 2014 Toy of the Year finalist in two categories, over 45 years after the toy was named Toy of the Year in 1967. [Wikipedia]
Friday, March 16, 2018
First Lines: J.G. Ballard - The Crystal World
Above all, the darkness of the river was what impressed Dr. Sanders as he looked out for the first time across the open mouth of the Matarre estuary.
Apple Tree Yard (2017)
An eminent scientist caught up in a damaging and compromising lie.
4-part TV mini-series has some excellent performances, but presents itself like a crime mystery artificially drawn into length.
Dunkirk (2017)
Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire and France are surrounded by the German Army, and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.
Highly accomplished attempt to convey a significant historic event in the totality of its stages and locations, and despite omitting any lead characters, it manages to hold one's interest throughout.
First Lines: Frank Herbert - Dune
A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct.
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Remainder (2015)
A London man who loses his memory when he's struck by a falling object develops a way to reconstruct his past.
The movie manages to fascinate with the protagonist's increasing obsession, but the twist ending is a let-down.
Lauf Junge lauf (2013)
An eight-year-old boy, flees from the Warsaw ghetto in 1942 and attempts to survive, at first alone in the forest, and then as a Christian orphan on a Polish farm.
Well-made drama with some memorable scenes takes a cursory look at a harrowing child's fate.
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
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