[Note: yes, I know this is technically a "What Are They?," but I'm trying to be consistent with the title.]

On July 7, 2007 (7/7/07), the New 7 Wonders organization announced the results of their global election to nominate the New Seven Wonders of the World, which will “represent global heritage throughout history.”

The newly elected Seven Wonders of the World are:

•The (insanely touristed) ancient Maya site of Chiche’n Itza’ in Yucatán, Mexico.
•The Christ the Redeemer Statue overlooking Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
•The Great Wall of China – “Keeping China Mongol-free since the 5th Century BC!”
•The ancient Inca citadel of Machu Pichu in Peru.
•The Palace Tombs of the ancient Nabataean city of Petra in Jordan – the apparent resting place of the Holy Grail in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”
•The Roman Colosseum in <duh>Rome</duh>.
•The Taj Mahal in India.

Among the many losing candidates are: pretty much everything else in the world that is not those seven things.

The original/traditional list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World comes from Greek Poet Antipater of Sidon (~140 BC). All are destroyed except for the Great Pyramid at Giza:
•The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (at present day Al Hillah, Iraq).
•The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (at present day Ephesus, Turkey).
•The Statue of Zeus at Olympia (at present day Olympia, Greece)
•The Mausoleum of Maussollos* at Halicarnassus (*where the word mausoleum came from) (at present day Bodrum, Turkey).
•The Colossus of Rhodes (at the present day Greek Island of Rhodes).
•The Pharos (Lighthouse) of Alexandria (at present day Alexandria, Egypt).
•The Great Pyramid of Giza (nearby present day Cairo, Egypt).

Even more exciting: the Seven Wonders of Canada.

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To make sense of who is out there, I generated a nice chart of “the neighbors” in our outer Solar System (Photoshop generated images based upon color and composition data and/or estimations for each body; the data are very limited for some of these); nicknames are in quotes, and the satellites of each are depicted beneath their respective planet-thingy (click on chart to enlarge):

In recent years, our Solar System has become both smaller and bigger. I thought I would chose this subject as the “What Is It? of the Week” because it is a little confusing and I thought I’d sort it out.

Last year, the International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto to the status of Dwarf Planet – the Solar System now only has 8 planets. A Dwarf Planet is defined as: 1). having an orbit around the Sun, 2). having sufficient mass to become a near-spherical shape, 3). not a satellite of another body in the Solar System (other than the Sun), 4). has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit. Basically, a Dwarf Planet is a small planet with crap around it.

Much of the demotion of Pluto’s status can be attributed to the discoveries of Mike Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David Rabinowitz. In recent years, this team has discovered several bodies in the Solar System large enough to be considered “the next planet” or to cause Pluto to be redefined as a member of an extensive community of smaller planet-like thingies orbiting around the Sun. Among the larger Pluto-like planet-thingies, the Brown team has discovered Eris, Quaoar, Orcus, and Sedna. To add insult to injury to Pluto, it now appears that Eris is around 27% larger than Pluto; Pluto is not even the largest of the Dwarf Planets. Poor Pluto has gone through a lot in the last year. Eris, a rocky iceball (or icy rockball), was discovered in 2005 (by Brown, Trujillo, and Rabinowitz) and until its official naming in Sept 2006, it was nicknamed <nerd>”Xena”</nerd> and its moon (now called “Dysnomia”) went by <nerd>”Gabrielle”</nerd>.

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The Pollock, Pollack, Polish, or Retard Slapfight* consists of two or more opponents facing-off in a jousting match/slapfight with their arms held in a specific position: the left arm is bent so the left hand protects/covers the face, while the right arm is outstretched over the left arm and held outright as a slapping weapon. There are no specific rules regarding this fighting form beyond the understanding that both opponents must keep their arms in this position during melee and that combat must be accompanied by loud screaming. There is little or no information on the internet regarding this rare childhood martial art form; Blogadilla may be the first ever.

*A Note to the Politically Correct Reader: If you happen to be Polish or mentally retarded (or Polish and retarded), please do not take offense to this nomenclature. I didn’t name this, nor do I hold some official position as Namer of Late-70’s Early-80’s Childhood Games. It is clear that these terms come from a cruel era when kids freely taunted retards and the Polish. I can personally attest to the erroneous nature of these terms: I dated a Polish woman. She was brilliant and charming and insisted that this fighting form is NOT in the Polish martial arts repertoire (and she was also perfectly capable of screwing-in a lightbulb by her own means). Likewise, my previous experiences working with mentally challenged children revealed little natural ability or interest in this form of combat, despite my numerous efforts to teach them. They much preferred jumping onto my back without warning and spitting chewed-up cookie down the back of my shirt.

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In the early 1950’s, French-Swiss architect Charles-Edouard “Le Corbusier” Jeanneret thought “There isn’t enough raw concrete and monotony in architecture these days.” Derived from the equally painful “International” architectural style of the 1940’s, Jeanneret named his new style “Béton Brut” (”raw concrete”), which came to be known as “Brutalism.” Brutalist architecture combines the glamour of raw poured concrete (the woodgrain pattern of the mold still visible on the concrete surface) with the playfulness of military bunkers and the repetetive geometric shapes of a Russian psychiatric prison. In the United States, many public buildings constructed during the 1950’s-1970’s reflect Jeanneret’s Brutalist influence – post offices, public schools, public libraries, and military installations. Prisons reflecting this style are purely coincidental. There are even Brutalist churches (photo below) – which makes one truly doubt the existence of God.

I wish to personally thank Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (a.k.a. – “Frank Lloyd Wrong“) for making my elementary school, junior high, and highschool careers even more grey and monotonous.
Wikipedia photo gallery.

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[This is the first of a weekly series.]

The eyes of the Japanese Daruma doll are left intentionally blank when made. The owner will then make a wish while painting-in the pupil of one eye (typically the right eye). When the wish has been fulfilled, the owner will paint-in the remaining pupil. The Daruma doll is typically displayed in a high visible location in the home or workplace – as a reminder of a goal or wish unfulfilled. The doll’s low center of gravity makes it naturally self-righting when toppled – supporting its association with persistence and optimism.

The Daruma doll – with grim countenance, moustace and beard, and absence of limbs – is based upon the historical figure BodhiDharma: the 6th century founder of Zen Buddhism (the Japanese name Daruma comes from Dharma). According to legend, BodhiDharma meditated for nine years while staring at a cave wall – he lost the use of his arms and legs to atrophy (thus the absence of arms and legs on the Daruma doll). He is known for his distinctive beard and moustache, and a harsh temper.

In recent culture: this figure was a design inspiration for Japanese Unazukin (”yes-no”) dolls and an evil cyborg Daruma appears in the action miniseries <kick-ass>”Afro Samurai“</kick-ass> (note: instead of using an Apple laptop, he appears to be using an “Eggplant”).

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