Jitterz Art

In 1822, French physicist Augustin Fresnel ( 1788-1827) published his ideas on glass prismatic lenses and produced a design that concentrated a beam of light in a particular direction. The beam was five times more powerful than the system of silvered reflectors previously used in lighthouses, and if the light was 30m above sea level, it could be seen upt to 32km away. Fresnel lenses, which resembled giant glass beehives, were soon installed in all French lighthouses, and engineer Alan Stevenson (1807-1865) installed them in some Scottish lighthouses after meeting with Fresnel, but the US Lighthouse Board did not adopt the design until the 1850s.

The Fresnel Lens, drawn by Adolphe Ganot 1872 (x)

Lighthouses originally used wood or coal fires to produce light, in the 18th century, John Smeaton (1724-1792) the builder of the third Eddystone Lighthouse used 24 candles in a chandelier as light. Oil lamps became common for a time, mostly from the late 18th- late 19th century.  Bell Rock ( Arbroath, Scottland) for example, used spermaceti oil before switching to paraffin in 1877.

A first-order Fresnel lens, Point Reyes Lighthouse, California, 1860s (x) - Fresnel lens in the Point Bonita Lighthouse, San Francisco Bay (x)

To 2025:

Hell, they even cover the devastating heaviness of MASS SHOOTINGS without censoring or watering anything down.

They've been doing this for YEARS, and it's ALWAYS handled with dignity, respect, seriousness, understanding, and love.

Or how about when someone is put into the foster care system because their home isn't safe anymore and their needs aren't being met?

Maybe some discussions about group therapy/getting help and support?

Hey look! Here's a segment about gender expression vs taught expectation, including unlearning harmful biases and what to do when you hurt someone on accident because you didn't know it was wrong!

Look! The topic of race and diversity! The importance of unity and equity!

They even also have a more allegorical take on discrimination and being looked down on for who you are, featuring Big Bird. The conflict is about how he's not being let into a club because the one bird running the club personally decided he didn't want someone like Big Bird there.

Big Bird goes out of his way to keep changing parts of himself in order to "prove" he can fit into this club if he just changed enough. The truth comes out though, and there's nothing he can do to gain the approval of that bird. He will never be good enough in his eyes, and Big Bird starts to hate himself. His real friends see this finally put their feet down, emphasizing that you should never change yourself just to fit into one singular narrow idea someone else has.

There's A LOT of different situations this can be an allegory for. Racism, sexism, homophobia, basically ANY form of exclusion is put on full blast in this 15 minute clip. Sesame Street can be both blunt and allegorical when approaching difficult topics, and it NEVER misses or looses the point.

It does an exceptional job in both styles of representation WITHOUT watering anything down. The more sanitized everything gets, the more radical Sesame Street is suddenly considered, hence why so many "particular groups" want it gone. Hmmm! I can only imagine why that could be, in this current political climate! (I'm being sarcastic)

When Sesame Street is suddenly labeled as "questionable" or "politically/agenda motivated" content...it says A LOT about where we currently are and who gets to decide what's "best" for kids or not. Don't fall for the censorship and topic-dodging excuses that are covered by the "But think of the children!!!" movement. Never fall for it, because you know which side you're on if you do.

Sesame Street proves kids can be taught and trusted with learning about these topics when it's handled with the right amount of understanding and care. It shows what all this "controversy" is all really about. What it's always been about, actually.

Bad News about HMS Surprise

“I am writing to share that the Museum has recently made a difficult long-term decision regarding the vessel’s future.

After extensive professional evaluation and careful consideration by the Board and staff leadership, the Museum has determined that keeping HMS Surprise in our fleet is not financially viable. The cost required to bring the ship up to the standard our visitors, crew, and community deserve is no longer feasible nor responsible.

Earlier this year, the Museum brought in a professional marine surveyor to carefully inspect our historic fleet and the resources required to properly steward them. The cost to sufficiently restore HMS Surprise is estimated to exceed $25,000,000. The Museum simply does not have the resources for this, and it would significantly limit our ability to care for the rest of the collection and advance our educational mission.

Therefore, the decision has been made to permanently close HMS Surprise to the public on August 1, 2027. We will be announcing this to our museum community and the public in the coming month.

Please know that this decision was not made lightly. For more than 20 years, the Museum has devoted considerable resources to maintain HMS Surprise as a vital part of the Museum’s historic vessel collection. She has played an extraordinary role in bringing maritime history to life, inspiring countless visitors, students, and supporters over the years. Before she is closed to the public, the Museum will be appropriately honoring and celebrating her over the next year.

I do want to be clear that this decision is final, and the Museum will not be launching a fundraising campaign to reverse it. The Museum staff is exploring options for her next chapter, including but not limited to potential entertainment industry opportunities, among other solutions. We will share updates when available.

We deeply appreciate the recent support you have shown HMS Surprise. However, I understand that this information may change how you wish to direct your donation. The funds can be redirected to another vessel, our education programs, or to the Museum’s general operating fund. I also understand that you may choose to have your donation refunded and am happy to assist with that as well. My office number is below if you need to reach me via phone.

Thank you again for your support and interest in our work.

Sincerely,

Kate

Kate O’Neill

Director of Development & Membership

Maritime Museum of San Diego”

How hard is it to dive in front of an arrow to save your loved one?

Feat: most of the cast of min-maxed (minus Jacques who apparently wants to look after his body, and Megan who wanted to let the boys have their moment) and several of their partners!

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could watch a D&D game with these nerds…

Last year it became known that a surprising find was made during the archaeological survey for the construction of the Fehmarn Belt tunnel, which is to connect the German island of Fehmarn with the Danish island of Lolland. According to the archaeologists of the Roskilde Museum, it could probably be the Danish warship Delmenhorst.

Multibeam sonar located the ship’s distinctive outline on the sea floor (x)

The Delmenhorst had 28- guns and was under the command of captain H. Knudsen. She was part of the Battle of Fehmarn in 1644, which was a battle during the final phase of the Thirty Years’ War.

Print of the Battle of the Sea in October 1644 (x)

In 1643, Sweden had attacked Denmark in an attempt to break the Danish might in the Baltic region. Several battles were fought, including the Battle of Fehmarn on 13 October 1644, where the combined Denmark- Norway fleet lost to the combined Swedish-Dutch fleet and thus lost its power in the Baltic. In the process, several ships were carpentered and three were sunk. Two of these ships were already found in 2012 and now presumably also the last one, the Delmenhorst.

The remains with ballast stones (x)

The wreck itself lies at a depth of 3.5 m, only 150 m from the south coast of Lolland. It is 7x31m long, which speaks for a warship in terms of size. However, what is more conclusive for the Delmenhorst is that several bronze canon parts have been found showing massive fire damage and she was sunk by the Swedish Fireship Lilla Delfin during the battle.

The shipwreck shows traces of a very violent fire. Among other things, archaeologists have found pieces of bronze cannons. The photo shows a so-called ‘grape’, the back end of a bronze cannon. The many holes in the bronze surface are clear signs of high heat. And a piece of the oak frame (x)

The archaeologists took over 30,000 photos and took some of the finds back to Roskilde, but the rest of the wreck will remain on site and be covered by sand.

A construction drawing of the warship (galleon) Fides, which is thought to be roughly the same type and size as the Delmenhorst. (x)