Learning from Entertainment

What a party!! It's GLASSPHEMY!! (CSI:NY S07E03)

2010-10-20T03:35:00.000-07:00

TV Show
CSI: New York Season 7 Episode 3 titled "Damned If You Do"

Storyline

A couple is found brutally attacked in their bed, left for dead. Although the woman identifies her attacker, the case takes a turn when another witness comes forward.
Source:http://www.tv.com/csi-ny/damned-if-you-do/episode/1353258/summary.html?tag=ep_guide;summary

What we learn?
There's a unique party scene there, called Glassphemy, we'll discuss about this.

What is it?
Measuring 20 feet high and 30 feet long, people armed with glass bottles collected from local bars stand on one side of the structure, ready to hurl them at the awaiting group, who stand behind bullet-proof glass on the other end.
A colossal container made from bullet-proof glass, Glassphemy withstands some serious blows as people throw bottles from the platform above in an effort to rethink and revive the act of recycling. Created by Macro Sea, the installation serves as both stress reliever and glass recycling centre, because "smashing shit is fun."

Source: http://www.coolhunting.com/design/glassphemy.php

Why? Glassphemy background
Recycling has gotten so damn boring. You separate your so-called “recyclables” in a bin, someone takes them away, and—to your knowledge, anyway—that’s the end of the story. Macro-Sea wanted to build something that challenges the lackluster status of green living. Meet GLASSPHEMY!: The 20-foot high, 30-foot long steel tower that has been specifically designed for participants to hurl glass bottles at friends, enemies, and loved ones who are safely shielded behind bulletproof glass. This visceral and psychological recycling center celebrates the illicit thrill of breaking bottles while working through deep-rooted emotional issues. The shattered debris collected in the chamber is then reused to make lights and other cool stuff, prolonging the life of the bottles that once held your brew.

The idea for a structure that facilitates smashing bottles in a fit of eco-aggression was born at an Infill Philadelphia conference, where the Community Design Collaborative brought together innovative minds to reconsider under-utilized urban spaces. When discussing the problem of a particular lot strewn with broken glass, one woman, Bethany Edwards, suggested a unique solution: Why not just create a place to break glass? Macro-Sea ran with Edward’s idea. Visualization from Vamos Architects helped Macro-Sea develop a structure that would be a safe haven to shatter empty bottles and began constructing the design for GLASSPHEMY! in February 2010.
Source: http://macro-sea.com/blog/?cat=8

A Red Moon? Is it possible? (CSI S11E03)

2010-10-19T19:41:00.000-07:00

TV Show
CSI Season 11 Episode 3 titled "Blood Moon"

Storyline

After finding the decapitated body of a young man the CSI team believes that the killign was part of a ritual. Michael Wilson, the victim had residue on his body from a recent body wax and the wax was traced back to one of the hotels on the Las Vegas strip by the team. Wilson had been staying at that hotel and the CSI team search his room to find that he was in Las Vegas for a wedding that took place that day. Langston, Catherine and Nick head to the hotel chapel to speak to the wedding party and inform them of Wilson's death. However, upon arrival they find a room full of real-life vampires.

It turns out that Wilson and Julie, his fiancée wanted to get married at the annual vampire and werewolf convention, because they were practicing vampires and because they had met at the convention the year before. Vampires and werewolves are mortal enemies. The wolf hair that was found in Wilson's mouth has been traced back to Kurt Francis, a practicing werewolf. Additionally, DNA was found in Wilson's room on a yellow contact lens was tracked back to Francis. The CSI team searches Francis' truck and finds WIlson's blood and some digestive enzymes required for someone suffering from porphryia , "vampire's disease."

It turns out that Wilson was actually a werewolf and had belonged to Francis' werewolf pack. However, when he met Julie and fell in love with her, he changed to a vampire, for her, so they could be together. Francis confronted Wilson when he recognized him dressed as a vampire. He and another vampire, Thomas Stewart, decide to kill Wilson. Thomas was able to convince Julie that Wilson had ultimately betrayed her and she was actually the one to take the first deadly strike at Wilson.
Source: http://www.tv.com/csi/blood-moon/episode/1354032/recap.html?tag=episode_recap;recap

What we learn?
There's a scene about a full-red-blooded-moon called Blood Moon by Langston. Is red Moon really possible to happen?

Answer?
Yes, it is highly possible and happen a lot.

Why? What's the cause?
Here's simple explanation:
When the moon is low on the horizon the sunlight reflecting from it must pass through a lot more of our atmosphere before it reaches your eyes than it does when it is further up in the sky, or right overhead. Pollution, dust, and even humidity makes the air act like a filter blocking out some of the light. What reaches us are the longer wavelengths that are in the red and orange parts of the spectrum. It is the same effect that makes a sunrise, or sunset glow with a red, or orange hue.

During a total lunar eclipse the moon will appear red also as the sun's light is filtered through the Earth's envelope of air.

Source: http://cs.astronomy.com/asycs/forums/t/33721.aspx
More sources:

Rant:
The red moon shown on this episode looks like in middle of the night, not dusk. The position seems not in the horizon. I don't know if it's still possible to see red-moon in the midle of the night, maybe if the sky is so dusty it will happen.

Alzheimer's disease (Criminal Minds S06E03)

2010-10-18T02:24:00.000-07:00

TV Show
Criminal Minds Season 6 Episode 3 titled "Remembrance of Things Past"

Storyline

A family is leaving to go to a football game when the phone rings. The mother is about to answer the phone, but her husband just wants the caller to leave a message on the machine. The caller is their daughter, Jenny. She tells them she's in a lot of trouble, and by the time they listen to the message, she'll probably be dead.

Marcel Proust wrote, "Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were."

While on vacation, Rossi is at his computer suffering from writer's block when the phone rings. He answers and Hotch describes the new case to him. When Rossi hears the killer's MO (the victims are tortured, sodomized, and then electrocuted), he quickly realizes they match an cold case that he worked on in 1993.

Rossi tells the team about an unsub called The Butcher, who was killing young blonde women in Bristol in the early 1990s. Rossi was able to pinpoint the unsub's location, but then the murders stopped and Rossi couldn't get any closer to The Butcher. The killer's MO also included the victim calling their loved ones and then ending the calls with "I enjoyed it." This didn't happen with Jenny's murder, so Rossi initially believes this might be a copycat crime.

Meanwhile, the focus switches to the unsubs. Colby awkwardly greets a blonde woman (Anna) while he's unloading a van. Later, he and his father (Lee) manage to kidnap a woman named Heather. Lee tells Heather they're going to tell her exactly what she needs to say over the phone.

Later, Lee complains that his son never helps out with anything, but Colby points out that he did help with "the woman in the hallway" when he was 10 years old. Lee wants to kidnap Anna after they're done with Heather, but Colby decides on some one else. He uses the victim, Shelly, to teach his son a lesson on how things should be done.

Rossi and Reid listen to the messages from The Butcher's other victims. Once they reach the final victim's call, they notice the message is identical to the one Jenny left, even leaving out the "I enjoyed it" line. Both victims were also found in the same place. Reid suggests there must be some connection between the two murders, but Hotch is sticking to the copycat theory. Rossi, however, still believes this is the work of The Butcher. So Hotch gives Rossi authority to investigate any leads on The Butcher, while the rest of the team focuses on the possibility of copycats.

Rossi figures out this must be the work of a father/son team, and then news comes that Heather's phone call to her father included the "I enjoyed it" line. Rossi begins to focus on the two victims who didn't leave "I enjoyed it" on their calls. The first victim didn't, and the eighth victim, Karen Bachner, didn't either. Garcia discovers that Karen Bachner had a son named Colby. Rossi remembers interviewing Karen's husband, Lee, who had told the authorities that he didn't receive a phone call, and he didn't have an answering machine so there was no message. However, there was no message because her loved ones, Lee and Colby, were already in the room.

Lee tells Colby he wants to go hunting again, and doesn't remember that he had killed Shelly. Colby wants to placate his father, so he tells him that they're going after Anna. Meanwhile, the team tracks the duo down, but they're apprehensive about arresting Lee because it appears he has Alzheimer's Disease. Lee is literally unable to remember when he killed his last victim.

Meanwhile in another location, Colby has abducted Anna and is tying her up.

Rossi shares the details of The Butcher's murders with Lee, and reminds him that he had killed his wife Karen when she found out about the previous murders. Lee gives a vital clue about a brand of electroshock therapy equipment called Lexwell. Garcia tracks down the places that still use this brand, and locates an abandoned mental hospital nearby. The team finds Colby and Anna there just in time, and Colby is reminded about the time he helped murder his mother. Colby had always believed his mother had abandoned the family. Colby suddenly remembers that his mother told him goodbye to his face, right before she was killed. As Rossi leaves Lee finally recognizes him, and tells him, "you're the reason I stopped."

Mark Twain wrote, "When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not. But my faculties are decaying now, and soon I shall be so that I cannot remember any but the things that never happened. It is sad to go to pieces like this, but we all have to do it."

While he is in jail, Lee Mullens attempts to take his own life by slashing his wrists, but he isn't successful.

Source

What we learn?
We'll learn about the disease that the main killer suffered: Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease?
Alzheimer's disease (AD)—also called Alzheimer disease, senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT), primary degenerative dementia of the Alzheimer's type (PDDAT), or Alzheimer's—is the most common form of dementia. This incurable, degenerative, and terminal disease was first described by German psychiatrist and neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and was named after him. Most often, it is diagnosed in people over 65 years of age, although the less-prevalent early-onset Alzheimer's can occur much earlier. In 2006, there were 26.6 million sufferers worldwide. Alzheimer's is predicted to affect 1 in 85 people globally by 2050.

Ten warning signs of Alzheimer's:

Memory loss that disrupts daily life. eg. Sometimes forgetting names or appointments, but remembering them later.
Challenges in planning or solving problems. eg. Making occasional errors when balancing a checkbook.
Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure.
Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
New problems with words in speaking or writing
Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
Decreased or poor judgement
Withdrawal from work or social activities
Changes in mood and personality, eg. Developing very specific ways of doing things and becoming irritable when a routine is disrupted.

Read more at http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_10_signs_of_alzheimers.asp?type=more_information. You'll find comparison table with typical aged-related changes

Combination of two brain diagrams in one for comparison. In the left normal brain, in the right brain of a person with Alzheimer's disease

Preventions
At present, there is no definitive evidence to support that any particular measure is effective in preventing AD. Global studies of measures to prevent or delay the onset of AD have often produced inconsistent results. However, epidemiological studies have proposed relationships between certain modifiable factors, such as diet, cardiovascular risk, pharmaceutical products, or intellectual activities among others, and a population's likelihood of developing AD. Only further research, including clinical trials, will reveal whether these factors can help to prevent AD.

More resources:

Visit The Alzheimer's Association website to know more about Alzheimer's disease, including where to find Alzheimer's support group
How to prevent or slow Alzheimer's disease : http://helpguide.org/elder/alzheimers_prevention_slowing_down_treatment.htm
Various way to prevent Alzheimer's disease on About.com: http://alzheimers.about.com/od/alzheimersprevention/Alzheimers_prevention.htm

Sources (text and image):

Bomb suit (NCIS S08E03)

2010-10-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

TV show
NCIS Season 8 Episode 3 titled "Short Fuse"

Storyline

Marine Sgt. Heather Dempsey (a member of the bomb squad) shoots and kills an intruder in her home. Tony is apparently being prepped to be the new face on the NCIS recruitment brochure, but then the team is called in to investigate the shooting. It seems like a simple home invasion robbery at first, and Heather claims she was alone in the house at the time. Tony discovers evidence that suggests a man was there at the same time. Heather's 911 call also includes a man talking in the background. Abby gets the intruder's gun to try to trace it, but the serial numbers have been filed off. Ducky notices that someone removed the intruder's fingerprints, making it next to impossible to figure out his identity.

During the investigation, a bomb threat is called in from the naval shipyard and Heather is called in to help. Ducky figures out that the man had a liver transplant, so Abby uses that information to try and ID the intruder. Meanwhile McGee is tracing all cell phone activity in the vicinity of Heather's house, and there's a single number he can't trace the owner of, because it belongs to the FBI. The team contacts Fornell.

The number is owned by Gary Tolin, the Executive Assistant Director of Criminal Investigations. Fornell calls Gary into NCIS at the same time as Heather's interrogation, but Gary isn't very cooperative. Heather admits that she and Gary met at a function and they headed to her house afterwards, but Tony suspects that they're not telling the entire story. Meanwhile Abby IDs the intruder as Glover Reese, a contract hitman. But who was he sent to kill, Gary or Heather?

Fornell and Gibbs figure out that Gary has been working on a lot of high profile cases, including one where he negotiated a plea bargain for a drug dealer named Gene Abbott. Abbott was involved in a shootout where Heather's brother was caught in the crossfire and ended up paralyzed from the chest down. As part of the plea agreement, Abbott gave up the identities of his associates in exchange for avoiding jail time. Heather used Gary to find out where Abbott was living now.

The team head to Abbott's farm, where they find him strapped in a chair with a motion-sensitive bomb in his lap. He'd already been there for a couple of days, and Abbott confesses that he was the one who'd sent the hit man after Heather. Heather admits that the bomb was a fake, and that she just wanted Abbott to experience what her brother has to go through every day, not being able to move and not being able to do anything for himself.

Tony is excited to see the new NCIS brochure but is disappointed when Gibbs turns out to be the cover instead.

What we learn?
We'll learn about that fancy suit worn by Dempsey. It's "bomb suit".

What is it?
A bombsuit or Blast Suit is a heavy suit of personal armor designed to withstand the force released from a bomb. It is also sometimes referred to as a Demon suit due to the number of people who are killed in the suit.

In contrast to ballistic armors, which primarily focus on protecting the torso and head, a bomb suit must protect all parts of the body equally, since a bomb's force always impacts the entire body.

Being a suit designed to withstand explosive force, it is very heavy, bulky and difficult to maneuver in. These drawbacks make it unsuitable for combat situations. However, they are often used by explosives experts while attempting bomb disposal.

Materials?

Bomb suits are made of Kevlar or some other aramid-based product. Aramid (the generic name for Kevlar) consists of synthetic fibers woven from polymers -- large molecules made from strands of smaller molecules called monomers. Aramid's outstanding strength-to-weight ratio makes it an ideal fabric for bulletproof and blast-resistant clothing.

Additional foam or other padding may be incorporated throughout the bomb suit. This offers protection to the wearer not only from flying debris, but also from the force of impact that occurs when the wearer of the suit is thrown to the ground.

The garment has internal pockets consisting of webbing and Velcro inside which ballistic plates can be inserted. These plates are made of steel, aramid or coated ceramic. They're designed to protect the wearer from fragmentation.

WTF?! It's bare handed!
Many suits are designed without protection for the wearer's hands. This is calculated rather than careless: The technician will likely need his or her hands free to defuse a bomb.

Watch it in real life!

Sources (text and images):

Hand amputation law (NCIS: LA S02E04)

2010-10-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

TV Show
NCIS: Los Angeles Season 2 Episode 4 titled "Special Delivery"

Storyline

The body of Corporal Thomas Porter is found in a parking lot, and the body is also missing a hand. When the team discovers that Porter had top secret clearance, they suspect that some sensitive government information may have been compromised. Eric discovers that Porter was being investigated with regards to the actions of his commanding officer while in Iraq. His CO was accused to stealing rare artifacts from Iraq and selling them off on the black market.

Sam and Callen go to investigate a jeweller named Jacob Rosen, but when they arrive at his store, he's already dead. And his hand has also been chopped off. Calls from Rosen's phone lead the team to an Iraqi-born jeweller named Aziz Ashiri, who was supposed to meet with Porter the day he was killed.

Kensi and Deeks go to talk to Ashiri, posing as a couple who want to buy some Iraqi jewelry. They find a bloody knife stashed among Ashiri's belongings but suspect that he's being set up by someone else. This causes the team to reexamine the security camera footage of the parking lot. The last car to enter the lot before Porter's death had been reported stolen.

Porter's friend, Corporal Petersen had stolen the car, and Petersen had also worked as the middle man between Porter and Rosen. However, Petersen realized that it was Porter who'd get all the money. So he murdered Porter and Rosen, then planted evidence with Ashiri so that he'd be accused of the crimes. Petersen would then take all the jewels for himself. Sam and Callen go after Petersen, and he flees, dying in the resulting shootout.

What we learn?
We'll discuss "hand amputation law for thief in Islam". Agent Sam Hanna was correct, he said that the hand amputation procedure was incorrect because the knife is wrapped in paper not in sacred ceremonial cloth.
I might not be a fuqoha (Islamic-law expert) but searching on Google, I found there's another flaw on the "hand amputation"-trap by the real culprit.

Here's some of the law that had been broken by the real culprit:

Hand amputation law must be done in Islamic country
The Islamic country mentioned must be in prosper (where no hunger happen on the country)
Must be done by khalifa (leader of the Islamic country) or person that has been allowed to do so by the khalifa
Some of fuqoha (Abu Ja'far) had a reason that the amputation is not done from wrist or elbow. Instead, only his/her finger is enough.

There's a lot more of requirements for this law to be held correctly. It's not as easy as it seems.

Why there's such a cruel law?
From various source, I can summarise it that the law exist for good reasons: it's as shock therapy, education and prevention.

Source (all in Indonesian except the last one):

Further reading:

Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law: Theory and Practice from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-First Century by Rudolph Peters
Encyclopedia of Islamic Law: A Compendium of the Major Schools by Laleh Bakhtiar