tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32335523802590725132024-03-12T22:26:01.636-04:00Great Big SpaceSharing remembrances or thoughts of on about or by Richard Pirko too soon in leaving us. Rick Pirko touched many so he lives on: tributes memories stories, was a passionate educator producer technician with Planetarium, aerial photographs, licensed pilot, Young Eagles Astronomy Aviation Merit Badges Boy Scouts, arts, peace, social justice, environment, YSU Theater,Dance Recycling Dr Ray's Amazing Science With wife Victoria raised organic vegetables dressage horses in farm Trumbull County OHstormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-78486363400863776332011-06-07T04:20:00.000-04:002011-06-07T04:21:27.235-04:00Remembering Rick<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgagnbaVtmMCSyaak4UKkObO393nkbEGTlEv4xTZ6uZPjLi1EQhdAEsdfr3ygpthrcC4DzGPGy1re2652kYW3YtjofuA1TYAimhyphenhyphenmJ1UFBjxO4qChtHWU9sYo2bofNM0xYJuNQ3U-RwHOQ/s1600-h/wordle-rickle.bmp" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="260" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313271694838855250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgagnbaVtmMCSyaak4UKkObO393nkbEGTlEv4xTZ6uZPjLi1EQhdAEsdfr3ygpthrcC4DzGPGy1re2652kYW3YtjofuA1TYAimhyphenhyphenmJ1UFBjxO4qChtHWU9sYo2bofNM0xYJuNQ3U-RwHOQ/s400/wordle-rickle.bmp" style="height: 130px; width: 200px;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This was made on <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/652412/Rick_Pirko">Wordle.net</a> It can be seen in their gallery there.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #cc6600;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">(this post to remain permanently on top</span><span style="color: #993300; font-size: 85%;">,</span></span><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: #cc6600; font-size: 85%;"> all newer entries follow below)<br />
</span></span></span><span style="color: white; font-size: 78%;">.</span><br />
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">This is a sharing space for any thoughts of, on, about, or dreamed up by Rick Pirko. We welcome all to add something by clicking on any "SHARE MEMORY OR COMMENT"...(see below)<br />
Richard touched many and so he lives on. Following below are a few of the ways he affected those lives and the world around him: tributes, memories, stories, comments, observations, expressions of grief and gratitude, sympathy and encouragement, sorrow and hope... ...And hopefully as time goes by, support for each other in carrying on those principles and lessons that meant so much to Rick...working to preach these "last" best hopes, both the "how's" and the "why's".<br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: white; font-size: 78%;"></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #cc6600; font-size: 130%;">Best evidence...</span><br />
Anyone is welcome to contribute any words or photos about or by Rick by clicking on any "SHARE MEMORY OR COMMENT" -- a text box will appear, just type in it, or copy and paste, fill out your name or alias, or your Blogger ID, or be anonymous.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">If that proves too technical or troublesome, <span style="color: #cc6600;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">you</span> <span style="font-size: 130%;">may just email it to me, the scribe for this blog, and I will be glad to post it for you</span></span><span style="color: #cc6600;">.</span><br />
Email to: <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="mailto:studio15828-pirko@yahoo.com">studio15828-pirko@yahoo.com</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">Please share favorite stories, comments, thoughts or anything at all, see above...In his honor and on behalf of his family, and his many communities and friends, thank you all for sharing.<br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600; font-size: 180%;">**<span style="color: #ffcc00;">*</span></span>Ideas for <span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="color: #cc6600;">sundials</span></span> -- constructing, experiences teaching about them, personal designs and personal photos of them especially welcome...<span style="font-size: 180%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;">*</span><span style="color: #ffcc00;">*</span><span style="color: #ff9900;">**</span></span> You can browse <span style="color: #cc6600;"><b>100's of sundial designs around the world</b></span> by <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/sundial/clusters/">clicking Here</a><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span>stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com8Youngstown, OH, USA41.0997803 -80.649519441.0351008 -80.766248900000008 41.164459799999996 -80.5327899tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-8648555160379233882011-06-06T04:18:00.003-04:002011-07-09T08:35:29.130-04:00Richard Pirko Memorial Sundial<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbirdstudio/5807211989/" title="photo sharing"><img alt="" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5309/5807211989_cef6e72935_m.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbirdstudio/5807211989/">Richard Pirko Memorial Sundial</a> <br />
Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbirdstudio/">stormbirdstudio</a></span><br />
Measuring the sundial for submission to <a href="http://sundials.org/index.php/home" rel="nofollow">North American Sundial Society Registry</a><br />
<br />
Monitor the <a href="http://sundials.org/index.php?option=com_sundials&view=selectdials&id=OH">Ohio page</a> to see it added when NASS performs its update at: <a href="http://sundials.org/index.php?option=com_sundials&view=selectdials&id=OH">http://sundials.org/index.php?option=com_sundials&view=selectdials&id=OH</a><br />
<br />
See the other photos from that day here:<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbirdstudio/sets/72157624322738938/with/5807212085/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbirdstudio/sets/72157624322738938/with/5807212085/</a><br />
<br />
<i>Via Flickr:</i><br />
<a href="http://sundials.org/index.php/home" rel="nofollow"></a><br />
Richard Pirko Memorial Sundial, Ward-Beecher Planetarium, Youngstown University Physics & Astronomy department, Youngstown, Ohio. Sculptor: Anthony Armeni. Sundial is fully functioning.<br />
<br />
and see more of Tony's work at <a href="http://www.armenisculpture.com/sNews16/" rel="nofollow">www.armenisculpture.com/sNews16/</a>stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-56677392424300298322011-03-20T23:09:00.016-04:002011-04-19T22:06:15.296-04:00The Great Apollo-Soyuz Monument Caper<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Rick <span class="SpellE">Pirko</span> and the Great Apollo-Soyuz Monument Caper</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="GramE"><b><i><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">by</span></i></b></span><b><i><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Brett Harrison</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-AU">They tell a story, in some circles, about how in 1996, in Moscow, Russia, Rick <span class="SpellE">Pirko</span> and two others decorated a Russian space monument with a map of an obscure island, doing something for international relations, and, briefly, becoming space heroes.<br />
This is that story.</span></i></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Beginning<br />
</span></b><span lang="EN-AU">I was from Australia; Rick was from the USA. So, naturally, we first met in Russia.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis22UNLtbH9Cj1fCVmQ2WCjEeIdTMhN9cqu230FU-6X3UDmV22WZ69KltteNBoZXX-VIoQ7H_Of6XRC7OLNX4tHvp8lAghRjG7r7ShLA6apagCm2Rv7yVn0qPuPP_sBf33p76NaA2KF4I/s1600/image003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis22UNLtbH9Cj1fCVmQ2WCjEeIdTMhN9cqu230FU-6X3UDmV22WZ69KltteNBoZXX-VIoQ7H_Of6XRC7OLNX4tHvp8lAghRjG7r7ShLA6apagCm2Rv7yVn0qPuPP_sBf33p76NaA2KF4I/s1600/image003.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rick Pirko in the bus, touring Moscow. Author is at far left. (photo by Brett Harrison)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">It was April, 1996, and we were attendees at the week-long FPSPACE96, the first international space symposium of its kind. I met Rick through his long-time friend and for this trip, roommate, Rob Landis from NASA; the two of them pretty much traveled around as a pair. While Rob was an open book, Rick took me a couple of days to get to know - his quiet, knowing manner juxtaposed with his mischievous sense of humour was an interesting mix. The three of us swapped anecdotes, learnt a bit about each other, and I impressed them by showing them my two passports – one Australian, one British (this is important later in the story).</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">During the long bus rides to various places of interest, we would chat about all things space and non-space, swap jokes, and one day Rick and I played out some old Monty Python sketches. We were both pretty word perfect, which amazed the Russians, (and possibly some of the Americans) who thought we were making it all up on the spot. This quickly turned into a tradition of us loudly telling jokes in the back of the bus on every journey, long or short. The Russian students would vie for seats in the back, and reserve places for us “entertainers”. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7oIR58Gt91m0A3QiL8KtXrsBScfdM_ovJdQvqZoWJO13VDcm5I0F7LqWu3KIsPRNemCIkygJd2B107yUXTtqrRC1kNKIsgu3vRzfuU-EU2aNhJLgL5FXK5HnnbNZjpWDFiBrQHX-nVQM/s1600/image006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7oIR58Gt91m0A3QiL8KtXrsBScfdM_ovJdQvqZoWJO13VDcm5I0F7LqWu3KIsPRNemCIkygJd2B107yUXTtqrRC1kNKIsgu3vRzfuU-EU2aNhJLgL5FXK5HnnbNZjpWDFiBrQHX-nVQM/s1600/image006.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surveillance shot: the Soyuz-Apollo Monument in its original, unaltered state. (photo by Brett Harrison)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU"> </span><b><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Monument & the Wager<br />
</span></b><span lang="EN-AU">On day two, the bus passed by the building that housed <span class="SpellE">TsUP</span>, the Russian “Central Control” for space missions, equivalent to Houston’s Mission Control. With a shout, one of our <span class="GramE">party</span> pointed out the imposing concrete and steel monument to the 1975 US/Soviet Apollo-Soyuz joint space mission. Joint space missions are the norm now, but in 1996, this had still been the only one of its kind. Largely forgotten by Americans, it was still a big deal to the Russians, and it personified the sort of international space co-operation our group tried to promote. The monument was right outside <span class="SpellE">TsUP</span>, on its own traffic island. The centrepiece was a large metal Earth, with various plate metal continents welded to it. A proud native of Tasmania, I pointed out, in mock outrage, that my island state (about the same size as Indiana) had been again left off the map - an annoying occurrence in Australia, and a sensitive matter to many Tasmanians. “I have a good mind”, I declared, “to climb up there and stick Tasmania on it!”</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Now, I had been teasing ex-USAF straight arrow Rob quite a bit, and he saw an opportunity for some revenge: “I’ll give you twenty dollars if you’ll do it!” he said, and without thinking, I said “Done!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDtWAf-RHKk1gqgYUh-IPuIwTmVGUPxZSnCwLsWuw7Qc_yET-XjDNwTDP3AhknwV-raU_nOEznWzoS2c_j8hQt3Wx_wLKRwlnfeCl8cxj6zZpgMPIvcGlWB2Rp7_sl-SWZqD4bo42X6k/s1600/image008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDtWAf-RHKk1gqgYUh-IPuIwTmVGUPxZSnCwLsWuw7Qc_yET-XjDNwTDP3AhknwV-raU_nOEznWzoS2c_j8hQt3Wx_wLKRwlnfeCl8cxj6zZpgMPIvcGlWB2Rp7_sl-SWZqD4bo42X6k/s1600/image008.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L to R: David Portree, Rick Pirko, Rob Landis, and Yuri (author's mascot) showing Rob some love. Rob is taking it all in good humor while Rick makes some typically dry comment. (photo by Brett Harrison)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Plot<br />
</span></b><span class="GramE"><span lang="EN-AU">The</span></span><span lang="EN-AU"> next day I happened on Rob & Rick in the corridor of our accommodations. “<span class="SpellE">Y’know</span>, Rob, I’ve been thinking about our mission regarding the monument....”<br />
Rob was horrified. “Mission? I… I… thought you were joking! “<br />
I pointed out (tongue hidden in my cheek) that Australians took wagers very seriously. A bet with an Australian was a sacred thing. And Australians, of course, were really all like Crocodile Dundee under the skin. You wouldn’t want to offend an Australian by going back on a bet!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Rick, to Rob’s dismay, could see where this was heading, and immediately jumped in to support me. Rob didn’t want to be part of any scheme, but Rick pointed out that I had to go to actually do the deed; Rob had to go to make sure I didn’t cheat, and of course, Rick had to go, to be an impartial witness. I walked away chuckling, Rob walked away looking worried, and Rick walked away smiling with a twinkle in his eye.</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">The next morning, on the way to breakfast, Rick intercepted us both in the corridor. He’d obviously been outside. “Well, I’ve just paced it out. It’s about a 20 minute walk. I think we can do it late Thursday night. And I’d better bring my camera – you know, for evidence.” If I was surprised at Rick’s initiative and commitment, Rob was horrified, but by now he had accepted the mission as inevitable.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The <span class="SpellE">Buildup</span><br />
</span></b><span lang="EN-AU">Thursday night was one reserved for the “foreign guests” – that is, us – to do presentations on aspects of their space work. Rick did a memorable presentation on the astronomical knowledge of the Native Americans. Rob was up next, with pictures from the Hubble Space telescope. He seemed nervous (not helped by the fact that our Russian hosts had failed to provide the promised slide projector, and what he had was essentially a slideshow), and had removed his wallet & passport from his pockets & placed them on the table – right next to me. As soon as Rob left to go to the front of the room, I picked up his passport, turned to Rick, and said “Gee, Rob has left his passport out. I think I’d better take care of it for him.” Rick cracked that slight grin of his, his eyes twinkled, and he said in his quiet drawl, “You dog. <span class="GramE">You dirty dog.”</span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">An air of apprehension hung over our usual post-meeting drinks in the tea-room that evening. Rob was usually a non-drinker, but we managed to find a German beer he liked, and with our encouragement, he downed a couple for courage. It seemed to help. We left the tea-room, put on our outdoor clothing, and were heading for the main door, when Rob suddenly stopped and checked his pockets. <span class="GramE">“My passport!</span> Geez, I don’t have my passport! I can’t go out without it! I must have left it in my room.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">He rushed off, while Rick and I followed, trying to keep straight faces. Rick and I waited outside the room while Rob rushed in and all but tore it apart. The noises from within – opening & closing of bags, clothes being tossed around, and papers being ruffled - became more and more frantic. “Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh SHIT!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">You have to remember that this was Russia in 1996, less than 5 years after the fall of the USSR. Officialdom could still be pretty strict about passports & papers. Without his passport, Rob could be in trouble if stopped by the police. He also couldn’t change money, check into a hotel, or leave the country.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">He finally emerged, looking crestfallen. “I’ve lost it! What am I going to do? “<br />
I was momentarily stuck - I hadn’t thought ahead this far, but quick-thinking Rick came to the rescue. “Maybe you could use Brett’s spare passport.” he suggested helpfully. Rob was puzzled. “I don’t think <b>that</b> would work!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">“Oh, I think it will,” I said, and handed him, folded closed, his own passport. He looked at this obviously US passport uncomprehendingly, opened it up, and when he saw his own name & photo, went speechless for about 5 seconds as his jaw dropped. Then he spluttered and called me a couple of uncomplimentary names while Rick & I split our sides laughing.</span></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeaB2mS1ZbI0dCdfFSlZzlWvx3tjDL-tQZkKux5lqs5kC5ORoRLNAJfRAFpGMdKV5ZRi3GJFaIjvDkwrF5smS8WMMjNQwbuRkWihQ6Md6m2UpW7l70YULzcaePoJFDTHZ7EPy-ukKlQUM/s1600/image011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeaB2mS1ZbI0dCdfFSlZzlWvx3tjDL-tQZkKux5lqs5kC5ORoRLNAJfRAFpGMdKV5ZRi3GJFaIjvDkwrF5smS8WMMjNQwbuRkWihQ6Md6m2UpW7l70YULzcaePoJFDTHZ7EPy-ukKlQUM/s320/image011.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rick and Rob at the start of the mission, trying to blend in with the native Muscovites. (photo by Brett Harrison)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Night Mission</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="GramE"><span lang="EN-AU">That</span></span><span lang="EN-AU"> done, we launched into the night. Only two other attendees knew of the plot; my partner, Sue, who was sworn to silence, and our friend David <span class="SpellE">Portree</span>, a science writer who offered to act as a distraction/decoy while we were gone. Since we three were well known “personalities” by now, our absence, the opinion went, would be soon noticed.</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Rick’s reconnaissance was accurate. Within 20 minutes we were there. There was only one problem. At 10PM, that traffic island in that quiet suburb was the centre of a hive of activity. Cars everywhere!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">We decided to hide in the bushes until the coast was clearer. After a while, we realised that this itself might arouse suspicion if we were seen (Headline: “Foreign Spies/Peeping Toms Arrested in Space District”), so Rick, with his ever-present camera, pretended to take flash photos of us and the monument whenever a car or pedestrian approached. We kept up this pretense for about 20 minutes. At last the traffic died down to nothing.</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">GO!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Tasmania</span><span lang="EN-AU"> in hand, I ran to the monument, jumped, and… failed. The concrete platform was too high up for me. I could get a grip on the top edge, but I couldn’t haul myself up. Rick quickly ran in to give me a leg-up. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">"I'll be your booster stage", he said. I pointed out that this would be an unusual rocket; I was much heavier than him. It was usually the other way round. He laughed: "Well, I'm more like a JATO (Jet Assisted Take Off) unit!"</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Rick-assisted, I got on the platform, looked up, and realised that now I was underneath the globe & couldn’t actually see Australia. Rob & Rick, hiding on the other side of the concrete block, were yelling “Hurry up! Hurry up!” <span class="GramE">in</span> stressed whispers. I reached up, and blindly slapped the adhesive-backed cardboard Tasmania I had made right onto the globe. But there was one last surprise. <span class="GramE">“<span class="SpellE">Bonnnnnnnngggg</span>!”</span> The giant metal sphere (reputedly an oxidizer tank from the failed Soviet N-1 moon rocket) rang like a great bell in the still night air! Horrified, we scampered away before we got arrested for violating a national monument, and ran back to the bushes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Result<br />
</span></b><span lang="EN-AU">From this safe vantage, we inspected our handiwork. I’d missed! Unsighted, I had placed Tasmania directly beneath Western Australia – about 2000 miles off-target, and on entirely the wrong side of the continent. I wanted to go back & fix it, but Rick & Rob were smarter than, and assured me it looked fine. <span class="GramE">Time to escape.</span> Sneaking out from cover, we resumed our leisurely, nonchalant, completely non-suspicious walk back to the institute, glancing behind us every now and then, and speaking only in Russian so as to not arouse suspicion. I don’t know how convincing we were. Rob was fluent, I knew only a few phrases, but all Rick could manage was “Da, da” with a distinct Ohio twang.</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-uTmC0-fDjXdLFvlhMwQgMHapWphiziTUiLmd7stDq6uSrLz8PoZL7J8Z3w5AqsJvk4FcuMHSPQY4MnX-cLXfEEvuTiZqywtY47eSYQBMKR80zcHoskIm5lWwnbLKdjuYATOa0fOCPKg/s1600/image013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-uTmC0-fDjXdLFvlhMwQgMHapWphiziTUiLmd7stDq6uSrLz8PoZL7J8Z3w5AqsJvk4FcuMHSPQY4MnX-cLXfEEvuTiZqywtY47eSYQBMKR80zcHoskIm5lWwnbLKdjuYATOa0fOCPKg/s320/image013.jpg" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postcarte sent by a Russian friend over a year later. Note Tasmania still in entirely the wrong place</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN-AU">When we returned, we discovered 2 things: (1) there was a great room party going on, and (2) Sue had blabbed. Everyone, especially the organisers, increasingly suspicious, wanted to know where “those three” were, and she had finally cracked. While the conference organiser was horrified, the Russian students were impressed, so we sailed into the room party as heroes, and everyone drank toasts to our adventure and the furthering of international relations through a little cartographic correction.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">The monument was still in its corrected state the next morning, and there was a raucous cheer in the bus as we passed. Tasmania was there the next day, too. <span class="GramE">And the next.</span> In fact, our friends in Moscow communicated to us later that it was there for months and months afterwards, tattered a bit by the weather, but lasting long enough to make it onto a postcard. In fact, it was never really removed. It remained there until the monument was damaged by an automobile collision and taken away to be repaired (and, of course, this being Moscow in the 90’s, never seen again).</span> </div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Legacy</span></b><span lang="EN-AU"> </span><br />
<span lang="EN-AU">The story of that adventure has been retold by me many times since (and then retold by others, I have now heard), and so I, and others who never met him, will always remember Rick fondly as a partner in that harmless crime.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-AU">author's Note: </span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Rob Landis, BTW, our partner in crime, was the one who arranged for that asteroid to be named after Rick. See <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://thanksrick.blogspot.com/2009/06/theres-asteroid-22105-called-rick-now.html">post elsewhere about it on this Great Big Space blog</a></span><span lang="EN-AU"> </span></div>stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-2971578564384089502011-02-11T10:28:00.001-05:002011-02-13T10:32:15.293-05:00Dial in winter cold<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbirdstudio/5441867824/" title="photo sharing"><img alt="" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5174/5441867824_9e660fee3f_m.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbirdstudio/5441867824/">Richard Pirko Memorial Sundial</a> <br />
Originally uploaded by <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.flickr.com/people/stormbirdstudio/">stormbirdstudio</a></span><br />
The sundial weathering it's first winter, 50 new pictures<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbirdstudio/sets/72157624322738938/"> set here on Flickr</a>, snow covers its feet, bundled-up students scurrying past.stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-35359067800934735312010-11-15T04:04:00.001-05:002010-11-16T04:13:36.765-05:00Moon dialThe sundial with the moon the other Saturday early evening before the planetarium show in Ward-Beecher.<br />
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<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbirdstudio/5180797409/" title="Richard Pirko Memorial Sundial by stormbirdstudio, on Flickr"><img alt="Richard Pirko Memorial Sundial" height="500" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/5180797409_41a8a43d98.jpg" width="373" /></a><br />
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View the entire set of sundial photos <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbirdstudio/sets/72157624322738938/with/5180797409/">here in an album on Flickr</a><br />
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<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbirdstudio/sets/72157624322738938/show/">Watch as slide-show here</a> ( 128 photos )stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-26554979292432183452010-11-15T02:01:00.037-05:002010-11-16T02:38:00.177-05:00Evening visit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89Mb-a0X36wvijG1qCJUz4a3SlrjsOPCHsqChPLvQRESOd_iHyN9D7Om1HD-h_bc5mNHfDbSKPFlpNJucPVVru3TOD7KXAAnBKT_KuKWOrbcLjuEE6TtmQTgHOm9y6U3hJ3HqlxeCt7I/s1600/blogrick100_1833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89Mb-a0X36wvijG1qCJUz4a3SlrjsOPCHsqChPLvQRESOd_iHyN9D7Om1HD-h_bc5mNHfDbSKPFlpNJucPVVru3TOD7KXAAnBKT_KuKWOrbcLjuEE6TtmQTgHOm9y6U3hJ3HqlxeCt7I/s320/blogrick100_1833.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">evening visit to the Sundial</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jones Hall in background, with moon</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Pirko Memorial Sundial, <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.wbplanetarium.org/">Ward-Beecher Planetarium</a>, Youngstown State University, Youngstown Ohio</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maag Library in the background</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3Ho9lAgjcRdOXU_td65rDo3qteFO1gEUaPZHyzLN9g2Q3plq5CWFpFusjDxCTfPjeIEhA3yW_pJwOQjyjwPKahidMgw4Cq20zYaOlnSW7z9ygPrrEf4zURdpR8cXDvNsLozcSwzl2qs/s1600/rick100_1835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3Ho9lAgjcRdOXU_td65rDo3qteFO1gEUaPZHyzLN9g2Q3plq5CWFpFusjDxCTfPjeIEhA3yW_pJwOQjyjwPKahidMgw4Cq20zYaOlnSW7z9ygPrrEf4zURdpR8cXDvNsLozcSwzl2qs/s320/rick100_1835.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the plaque at the sundial</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVktuxRrKMsVlRzHt8aAXdsZUIVq86vTvl7Q6R9jtC-pvWM1cbM_RPcnM45Qi-Q0ycC-dJEwp6wdC5B8aM8ua3Y0g1dY0_MWB1wWom-3umEt66rYMq8cC45eCdXQbR4gJ12iR4BiR3vRc/s1600/rick7844-copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVktuxRrKMsVlRzHt8aAXdsZUIVq86vTvl7Q6R9jtC-pvWM1cbM_RPcnM45Qi-Q0ycC-dJEwp6wdC5B8aM8ua3Y0g1dY0_MWB1wWom-3umEt66rYMq8cC45eCdXQbR4gJ12iR4BiR3vRc/s320/rick7844-copy.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-3041987495874949232010-08-28T00:04:00.002-04:002010-08-29T11:39:53.456-04:00Call for YOUR photos to post here! Rick's Great Big Space Blog is putting out a call for <u><b>your</b></u> photos from the August Dedication and <u>any other</u> related photos <u>or stories</u> about the sundial or any sundial <b>or Rick</b> that I may post on the Blog, with credit, caption - much appreciation from me and Victoria, friends & family, in advance!<br />
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<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.wkbn.com/s/0XrHctXYHEC-ncuh06_PEA.cspx">Memorial Sundial Dedicated At YSU</a><br />
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<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.business-journal.com/ysu-sundial-remembers-pirkos-work-p17312-1.htm">Unveiling Sundial Sculpture in Youngstown </a>stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-12355403507418597802010-08-16T07:45:00.003-04:002010-11-16T01:58:41.607-05:00Three Points of Light on an Armillary Sphere: A Requiem<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwpYThwvvUPsX3D_JkF50o3CTaMZcaMDmoeWFyDzvRGWxyoRo_P1LY0brCwVQbY-jsIUzDZBeTW91eO-nHQTQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">video credit: Youngstown State University/</div><div style="text-align: center;">Office of Marketing and Communications</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><b>Three Points of Light on an Armillary Sphere: </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>A Requiem for Richard Pirko. </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Douglas Fowler </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Appleton</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">, Wisconsin and McDonald, Ohio</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">June and August, 2010. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"> Remember the job painting a high-school planetarium dome out in western Indiana, where all the school officials were friendly; never asked me for an ID when I showed up mid-day to meet you guys already working, and the students all so respectful. They still had Future Farmers of America and studied engine repair. We ate breakfast at a cafe inside a bowling alley. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> I travel these same roads, tired of interstates. There’s a free museum in Fairmont, Indiana where I told the proprietor I’d worked in planetariums. He smiled and pointed me toward the <i>Rebel Without a Cause </i>Exhibit and drew a map so I could find James Dean’s small grave on the north end of town. I remember how John Moseley out at Griffith Observatory used to publish our things in the <i>Planetarian</i>. That’s where Sal Mineo’s Plato hid from everyone at the base of a Zeiss projector. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> So I travel these roads avoiding rush-hour Chicago. And farther. We painted domes, built shelves, installed lighting in San Antonio, Fresno, even West Palm Beach where they put us up in the Hilton, and there was Casper, Gibsonia, Mishawaka, Muncie and Kankakee. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> And there was Kokomo. That first trip when I drove showing you the US routes, westbound 24, then south on 31, and we played Charlie Parker on the tape deck in my aging Ranger that had already gone a full light-second. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> You cut sweeping arcs of plywood in the parking lot, your circular saw compassed on a 15 foot radial arm screwed down to the asphalt. We overlapped them into cove-shelves and you always humored me when I’d countersink the drywall screws, working three drills back where no one could see anyway. We told the director how to build four sets of vertical cabinets right up to our cove-shelf at the four cross-quarter points around the dome. We drove back home and you showed me the county roads with corn right up to the asphalt and we drove through Spanish towns in north Ohio that no one knows and we were lost until Fostoria. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> We drove back to Kokomo two years later after a tornado peeled the roof off the whole spread-out school building. But the planetarium dome survived perfectly! Bound by our cove-shelving, sitting on those four overbuilt vertical cabinets. We were proud. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>So here is point #1: Tony Armeni built this sculpture, with its subtle and accurate armillary sphere, so very well. You would have liked that. All things should be as well-built. </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> It will survive any natural storm, and I hope it survives the kind of storm that took your boot-prints away. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> And the best trip of all was Casper, painting another dome with old friends, a simulacrum sky over Wyoming. We’d take breaks and join the public sessions with telescopes wheeled out on the lawn, both of us showing kids the planets in the real sky: Saturn and Venus near conjunction in Leo; Jupiter in Scorpius, all along the ecliptic in a long summer twilight that gave enough light to see us down three days later from 12,000 feet of the Snowy Range. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Point #2: The imitation sky inside a planetarium is <i>not </i>enough. Our students and patrons <i>must </i>have access to the real sky with light from real objects. We orbit a spectral class G2 main-sequence sun. This sundial is the most classic way for anyone to experience our motion in the warm light of our yellow star. </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> And I come to my third point:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Point #3: If this armillary sphere sundial is to be any memorial to you Rick, it must be <i>used</i>. It will always be a piece of laboratory equipment as well as art. And in the best of worlds, is there really any difference? </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> I promise to finish the lab I’m working on. But you know – it will require students to make careful measurements outside of class, on their own. Some measurements will be made hours apart. There will be no showing up to lab for half an hour, take some careless data and then run off. We will do nothing less than have them observe nature outside of the classroom. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> That’s a hopeful thing we shared. Remember how we both got into trouble in that summer program for the gifted. My crime was showing them math. But yours was so much better – you showed them some measure of physical access to our skies on our own small world. You told those kids about the EAA Young Eagles and at least one of them had her pilot’s license before she turned 18. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> So now I think of you every time I drive south on Highway 41, past the F-86 Sabre pointing skyward in Oshkosh. And there was Milwaukee, that second to the last planetarium dome painting job. You and Diana drove up there and I didn’t make it because my brother passed away and then I taught astronomy at UW Fox that summer and in the fall we sawed up the big oak that came down in a storm and you were gone two weeks later. </div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">“I started thinking about you up in Milwaukee</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"> It was raining when we reached Chicago</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"> but the tears didn’t start rolling down my cheeks</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"> until we rolled into Kokomo. Kokomo . . .” </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"> John Mayall, 2002 </div></blockquote>stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-33877145471875892392010-08-16T01:00:00.029-04:002010-08-24T23:08:53.839-04:00Sundial unveiling and dedicationThe unveiling and dedication of the memorial sundial will be Thursday August 26, at 1:30pm. The tributes will be shared in the Ward-Beecher Planetarium, Youngstown University, Youngstown Ohio 44555 and following, weather permitting, we will move outdoors and the sculpture will be unveiled.<br />
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It should be a short ceremony. Tony Armeni (the sculptor) will be there. The Dean is invited, but his schedule is in flux, and may not be able to make it. The President and the Provost are also invited. Those saying a few words will include Victoria (Rick's wife), Angela Pupino, Pat Durrell, Doug Fowler and Warren Young at this point. Ron Cole (YSU media person) will be there, and with Warren's help will be writing up a press release for the event.<br />
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***************** <br />
Victoria has passed several thoughts along to me to share with everyone here:<br />
"Rick would be very humbled at the idea of this memorial but I am exceedingly grateful.<br />
<br />
"Again many thanks to all of his friends who helped his family and me get through this difficult time. I would like all of Rick's friends and those he mentored to feel free to stop by at the ceremony - nothing very formal - and and to view the sundial which is amazing. Dr Young, Pat Durrell, Angela Pupino and I are going to speak for a few minutes. Jeez that is going to be tough. Hope I don't cry too much.<br />
<br />
"Dear friends, the mere words "Thank You" is such a pathetic way to express my gratitude for all your efforts in making this memorial happen. Rick's first, truest, and greatest love was the Planetarium. What a great idea of his closest friends. I can't believe it actually happened. It is amazing that such a wonderful tribute has been created to honor him and all those who loved him back."<br />
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Planetarium is in Ward Beecher Science Hall - Building #14, Lincoln Avenue, Youngstown OH 44555<br />
<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=41.105177,-80.650699&spn=0.012401,0.02223&z=16&msid=109610127096715332857.00048df8c15829fbdfabb%20">street map for planetarium</a><br />
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and there is a Facebook Public Event Page for the 26th where one may comment or RSVP at:<br />
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<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140372632666599">Richard Pirko Memorial Sundial Dedication</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM-RKBRHnOLy4eeghLl3oTbDlOI0di5mT_zrSSSm8uB0DniJzzkBvrUSoEUI4MFWsCDQojizPK-rxWU_huJKenEePkFg3TMvO_9wPTr4mXi7JkXNh7JGxFImQfvDjzYB7hHYqSRRt64i0/s1600/Ricksundial7407-copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM-RKBRHnOLy4eeghLl3oTbDlOI0di5mT_zrSSSm8uB0DniJzzkBvrUSoEUI4MFWsCDQojizPK-rxWU_huJKenEePkFg3TMvO_9wPTr4mXi7JkXNh7JGxFImQfvDjzYB7hHYqSRRt64i0/s320/Ricksundial7407-copy.jpg" width="305" /></a></div><br />
Photos of the sundial in different stages can be seen in this <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbirdstudio/sets/72157624322738938/">FLICKR album</a>stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0Youngstown, OH, USA41.0997803 -80.649519441.0351008 -80.766248900000008 41.164459799999996 -80.5327899tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-80830097959712351112010-07-27T00:29:00.000-04:002010-07-29T00:34:39.002-04:00Sundial glowing alongWarren Young and Pat Durrell have worked together to set the north alignment, and riverstones have been poured around the base. A final tweaking needs to be done for the `equation of time', an adjustment they will make around the end of August/ September 1, but at the moment it is only off a small amount. Once the final corrections are in place, people will be able to use the sundial to find the correct time to within a few minutes!<br />
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It has been suggested that the ceremonial unveiling take place during the first week of university classes but this is not definite. The plaque is complete and will be installed just before the dedication ceremony.<br />
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Anyone can use the sundial, please stop by and read the time - and admire this beautiful piece of sculpture - what wonderful work, Tony Armeni!<br />
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The sunlight writing the Roman numerals in the oxidized patina really makes the figures glow! See the photo below...<br />
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And the shadows cast by the parts of the dial onto the pavement are graceful and fascinating - especially "the arrow of time" intersecting the shadow (always just over your shoulder, behind you like your shadow). And lastly, Rick's garlic bulbs are busily propagating, sowing their tiny hard bulblets about.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cYa5mIF5Eiq42j3ESXwsxv89NpzHoC4g_pqRzaLOfSedr3ccgk2rBqrkKR9SWKH0eT5qogms_hXopkL7ltJ_XCld97XG2zPKWh7CZcqALVEIzaQiMiK63r_9lWwV60P8KWRrwgU_9eo/s1600/sundial7359.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cYa5mIF5Eiq42j3ESXwsxv89NpzHoC4g_pqRzaLOfSedr3ccgk2rBqrkKR9SWKH0eT5qogms_hXopkL7ltJ_XCld97XG2zPKWh7CZcqALVEIzaQiMiK63r_9lWwV60P8KWRrwgU_9eo/s320/sundial7359.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSynyDwZjkWQz0JqvMdchJ-a_StzxBdG5kXbHLt2dVS5r5hZbZh35vS82TgGLhjlN65uyqz9-d7tH_BLc77eakffNeH6HfCTfBl0wUhcNJhdl5tmAi-dU6I325ZGW19zeAi1cXQws4hkE/s1600/sundial7396.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSynyDwZjkWQz0JqvMdchJ-a_StzxBdG5kXbHLt2dVS5r5hZbZh35vS82TgGLhjlN65uyqz9-d7tH_BLc77eakffNeH6HfCTfBl0wUhcNJhdl5tmAi-dU6I325ZGW19zeAi1cXQws4hkE/s320/sundial7396.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJSIxaqvq-uKNYv-Wy7FxBcH5GLRkuMPgbSXc_ZlO35F5SwaB3aWeSvPc5HKBJke0K3-7vEv7ZihzyncOTxigTee8gD12zTHBQXK_GkR4DeA5o91VsIJDCxo-zl4zXkJguVbSfCtBHpE/s1600/sundial7398.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJSIxaqvq-uKNYv-Wy7FxBcH5GLRkuMPgbSXc_ZlO35F5SwaB3aWeSvPc5HKBJke0K3-7vEv7ZihzyncOTxigTee8gD12zTHBQXK_GkR4DeA5o91VsIJDCxo-zl4zXkJguVbSfCtBHpE/s320/sundial7398.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaX5FaC5ac6SKHpgvt_92R_kFbuHp53v1lqj160ZErRcUb1rPrlFSexy8VNjcZ8RVoNwIirDschW-UMFmFJ-nSsQtfeqc32HpHFuMcSMSCg7RSAggnvKZl6UYT5OoZU2mjYPJf7p-3-tM/s1600/sundial7402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaX5FaC5ac6SKHpgvt_92R_kFbuHp53v1lqj160ZErRcUb1rPrlFSexy8VNjcZ8RVoNwIirDschW-UMFmFJ-nSsQtfeqc32HpHFuMcSMSCg7RSAggnvKZl6UYT5OoZU2mjYPJf7p-3-tM/s320/sundial7402.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkNhfSdEeCVW6xPvJULwr0DupdiMPXuGl2rDXhe58eTne1zmAVUuaG4TMotTRbIGwbanvWQWjvlvgJ8cG1JFdLyMvnX-Tjq1WA9s9-jkLJmdMmbLTfBzii7sNMs5qs584bmMi0EOUQDQo/s1600/sundial7408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkNhfSdEeCVW6xPvJULwr0DupdiMPXuGl2rDXhe58eTne1zmAVUuaG4TMotTRbIGwbanvWQWjvlvgJ8cG1JFdLyMvnX-Tjq1WA9s9-jkLJmdMmbLTfBzii7sNMs5qs584bmMi0EOUQDQo/s320/sundial7408.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeqcXiWzGGbSxpjwbBiJc13SSshOK0SmeBjxhhf1c1qkM64bO1gsqMqU58qIaJT5GtS_5nhmfobuZQGnXvB08kPH59Ke5LO3_GmOcyHmDB9kY4a6P0edcIejibDiT-S7oY1eslCO6hpI/s1600/sundial7407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeqcXiWzGGbSxpjwbBiJc13SSshOK0SmeBjxhhf1c1qkM64bO1gsqMqU58qIaJT5GtS_5nhmfobuZQGnXvB08kPH59Ke5LO3_GmOcyHmDB9kY4a6P0edcIejibDiT-S7oY1eslCO6hpI/s320/sundial7407.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Many more views can be seen at <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbirdstudio/sets/72157624322738938/">this set on Flickr - click here</a>.<br />
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<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbirdstudio/sets/72157624322738938/show/with/4720461004/">View as a slide show - click here .</a>stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-31616684968172173242010-06-21T04:04:00.004-04:002010-06-22T19:37:21.491-04:00Sundial nearing completionThe sundial is almost finished (along with its setting). It is a beautiful sculpture and yields an amazing number of shifting shapes as the viewer moves about it. Here are 4 photos taken yesterday, and more can be seen at <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbirdstudio/sets/72157624322738938/">this set on Flickr - click here</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1r89jxlJtfAzuWc4U6E9u5NlXHrr_rp2pPMTm3STqZQtangHQMOjYEhwYk1-hGmhbazlGxt6wm_UPBzUpQXR6BVHl4tnKsBKnWQztpQ8GWcrgrbBWNdgkovZF7BLjq93GKCCya_nX3eU/s1600/2DSCF6988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1r89jxlJtfAzuWc4U6E9u5NlXHrr_rp2pPMTm3STqZQtangHQMOjYEhwYk1-hGmhbazlGxt6wm_UPBzUpQXR6BVHl4tnKsBKnWQztpQ8GWcrgrbBWNdgkovZF7BLjq93GKCCya_nX3eU/s320/2DSCF6988.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ3BzauzVTYfwQueMrk-QEs2oHVakhw6oKg4apnsuizkP0bNEBHhfA0c7Pq16ge0wLeoNiOn4kFdVpLnxv0PxfI2eP-DcS3jaZT8Fwy4dVNXWd1esS_sfVMtvaGg9zgipPkSmnFmija0I/s1600/19DSCF6966.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ3BzauzVTYfwQueMrk-QEs2oHVakhw6oKg4apnsuizkP0bNEBHhfA0c7Pq16ge0wLeoNiOn4kFdVpLnxv0PxfI2eP-DcS3jaZT8Fwy4dVNXWd1esS_sfVMtvaGg9zgipPkSmnFmija0I/s320/19DSCF6966.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghOWshJn98LzivilGFG5uZalLzcm5djetBSs7R91Bo0gx9ZqRxdaKZYTJX3JQgKM15yFXpeyv4-9nk_YUQMYWOedieiTs1XvsWNbXXTjgYUN6zIyV6sI9tZb27tJUm5Vhg0vnwIrTQySM/s1600/30DSCF6977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghOWshJn98LzivilGFG5uZalLzcm5djetBSs7R91Bo0gx9ZqRxdaKZYTJX3JQgKM15yFXpeyv4-9nk_YUQMYWOedieiTs1XvsWNbXXTjgYUN6zIyV6sI9tZb27tJUm5Vhg0vnwIrTQySM/s320/30DSCF6977.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwQ_nXLEZw561zM_OQIxp8KsKe_6okY531bahp3eovDCwi_JcotwJMW9SOSXkz76UaaXYpWfZCgTq7euQ4rclXvmiRecmI7BWyLyf1s5VfbW6C2nxhlFaHsEBr0lanu5DYQZwjP_gOuVQ/s1600/32DSCF6976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwQ_nXLEZw561zM_OQIxp8KsKe_6okY531bahp3eovDCwi_JcotwJMW9SOSXkz76UaaXYpWfZCgTq7euQ4rclXvmiRecmI7BWyLyf1s5VfbW6C2nxhlFaHsEBr0lanu5DYQZwjP_gOuVQ/s320/32DSCF6976.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormbirdstudio/sets/72157624322738938/show/with/4720461004/">View as a slide show - click here .</a>stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0Youngstown, OH, USA41.0997803 -80.649519441.0351008 -80.766248900000008 41.164459799999996 -80.5327899tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-43314333826988801712010-04-24T16:11:00.002-04:002010-04-24T18:37:44.047-04:00Sundial propotype update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirjorXRWyEY0d_zEgYncsFnGeWOUS47XQmJF8npMTo4CQkTXDENkwTe3iOeFagp2kztm8jMnK-N3A5aiPQUT7_lN3RB2_dmtNAB1PfVvJFs8rdvPRy-LzaML5_WxEG7GtFQNysFoyspGg/s1600/durrell-sundialpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirjorXRWyEY0d_zEgYncsFnGeWOUS47XQmJF8npMTo4CQkTXDENkwTe3iOeFagp2kztm8jMnK-N3A5aiPQUT7_lN3RB2_dmtNAB1PfVvJFs8rdvPRy-LzaML5_WxEG7GtFQNysFoyspGg/s640/durrell-sundialpic.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>Here is the latest stage of the memorial sundial. Photo of this initial mock-up taken by Pat Durrell. This is the general shape and size, and the basic placement for now, but details are not final for either. No formal timetable yet for completion of the sculpture - perhaps a couple months? - or of the construction of the surrounding structure/walkway/platform and the insertion of the plaque(s).stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0Youngstown, OH, USA41.0997803 -80.649519441.0351008 -80.766248900000008 41.164459799999996 -80.5327899tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-17743442463255917042009-10-15T05:59:00.000-04:002010-10-31T06:24:43.071-04:00Showing the world<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://lydumsroygbiv.blogspot.com/">Lydia's thoughts</a> a year later:<br />
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<h3 class="post-title entry-title"> <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://lydumsroygbiv.blogspot.com/2009/10/saving-scarecrow.html">Saving the Scarecrow</a> </h3>October 2, 2009<br />
<blockquote>I haven't posted to this blog in nearly a year. Nothing seemed all that worth posting after my post about Rick. It took me a long time to realize why he meant so very much to me. When I started working at the YSU Planetarium, I had just lost my job in the YSU theatre department. One could argue the reasons as to why I lost that job, but today none of that really matters. At the time I thought that theatre was my whole life, and losing a job in theatre, I felt like everything that I had been working for was lost. Working in the planetarium showed me just how much more to performing there was in the spectrum of things. I would never have seen any of that if it weren't for Rick.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>My entire life changed direction in the time that I worked for Rick, and I don't know that I could ever really capture in words just how much I owe him. The night that Kate called me to tell me that Rick had first suffered his heart attack I began thinking about how I would show the world how much this man meant to me. Initially I thought I might get a tattoo of a scarecrow. Somewhere I have a picture of Rick dressed as a scarecrow for Halloween, and to this day it is one of the most enduring images I have of this man. Over time, the idea of a memorial sundial in honor of Rick began to take shape. It was then that I knew a tattoo of a sundial was the right tattoo. (yes, tattoo, I'm a permanent kind of gal) There is a very simple yet very beautiful sundial in the Forbidden City in Beijing that speaks to me. I'm sure it has to do with the fact that so far all of my tattoo's have been Chinese. My goal is to have this sundial represent the time of 10:15, the day Rick passed. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I just learned that the design for the Rick Pirko memorial sundial has been approved. I am hoping to get my hands on a picture of the design, as that would be beyond perfection for the tattoo I want. However, if I can't get that, the sundial I have chosen will work out just as well. </div><div><br />
</div><div>What makes the whole thing even more "right" is that I will be getting this tattoo the weekend that I attend a protest march, and see Kate and Tim. It feels like the weekend is designed by Rick...and I wouldn't have it any other way.</div></blockquote>Here is the sundial that tells the world about the impact of Rick: <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRupZWkiLrAV3WY8hxC7W13XnbcKoVAgWAA5Gitxd-94eJDhrlJuBsOYyJRAGoUEjvp0krKFzfkMNpxuECg5oicU8a3TAnXJtAAVdpzDelfwpP1REXeL1AqASXWG1OQuYTXUT3Q5wYY_k/s1600/lydiastattoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRupZWkiLrAV3WY8hxC7W13XnbcKoVAgWAA5Gitxd-94eJDhrlJuBsOYyJRAGoUEjvp0krKFzfkMNpxuECg5oicU8a3TAnXJtAAVdpzDelfwpP1REXeL1AqASXWG1OQuYTXUT3Q5wYY_k/s320/lydiastattoo.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-34741362474425639882009-10-01T03:07:00.008-04:002010-03-15T10:57:53.455-04:00Memorial sundial updateWe've received an update on the sundial being sculpted in Rick's memory. Warren Young from Physics and Astronomy at YSU: "The department and the artist <a href="http://www.armenisculpture.com/sNews16/">Tony Armeni</a> have agreed on the design and price of the sundial. The University has approved the design and location. Construction of it will begin soon. The target date for installing and dedicating the sundial is next spring, perhaps at the spring equinox. Although we are getting close to the required funds for the project we are still looking for additional contributions."<br />
<br />
Those wishing to help may send a donation to:<br />
<br />
Youngstown State University<br />
Department of Physics and Astronomy<br />
One University Plaza<br />
Youngstown OH 44555<br />
<br />
Tony sent along a few a pictures of the maquette (small scale model, rough draft), the sculpture will be about 9' tall and the armillary sundial will have a 32" diameter. Read more about <a href="http://thanksrick.blogspot.com/p/about-sundials.html">armillary sundials here</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0gHFVopAw_Ldia2NITFqbRAU1qLEbmB8Af79LHt7IHd93s33Vkf0E6YnMdO_2LUrOhJ9ZVk_PtcOcSY8mPkNQTq_rUDDrTzdDJILVtjxK0Xh6x6mkPKvFQiWsJfgSJfZMkEc4sHgdaaI/s1600-h/sundial-101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0gHFVopAw_Ldia2NITFqbRAU1qLEbmB8Af79LHt7IHd93s33Vkf0E6YnMdO_2LUrOhJ9ZVk_PtcOcSY8mPkNQTq_rUDDrTzdDJILVtjxK0Xh6x6mkPKvFQiWsJfgSJfZMkEc4sHgdaaI/s640/sundial-101.jpg" width="406" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN8N4Q9e3-fUWkkDOlR8uJ2zXsJtBrjljMiyYCVq2Ew2xVzik-jNG7l1nNzXiFU5z111j_5fwOF4sJkzR2Y0OwyZ4wkAaYNZz0HoIA89gcjw2WKQ_R6xXeKOMa8RZ58f3ltdWdz8kckXI/s1600-h/sundial-303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN8N4Q9e3-fUWkkDOlR8uJ2zXsJtBrjljMiyYCVq2Ew2xVzik-jNG7l1nNzXiFU5z111j_5fwOF4sJkzR2Y0OwyZ4wkAaYNZz0HoIA89gcjw2WKQ_R6xXeKOMa8RZ58f3ltdWdz8kckXI/s400/sundial-303.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6e5I6FqPaYP11m1MTCKFn6E_BMWibGR13QZfOoOI8P-t62CrQ3YyVYTGQ_75QuOBnTA-KzxxCFi9R3Ui6V8zovgxrNegoQB6wLTq_zehQJSnlJ4jT-Qjr1Hnc4Tuc4e0XNkLfYrv0VqA/s1600-h/sundial-202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6e5I6FqPaYP11m1MTCKFn6E_BMWibGR13QZfOoOI8P-t62CrQ3YyVYTGQ_75QuOBnTA-KzxxCFi9R3Ui6V8zovgxrNegoQB6wLTq_zehQJSnlJ4jT-Qjr1Hnc4Tuc4e0XNkLfYrv0VqA/s400/sundial-202.jpg" width="281" /></a></div>stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-44040220570897219862009-10-01T02:14:00.001-04:002009-10-01T05:39:04.368-04:00Love-giving<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiArFhLPjWuKRO_Z0gx-Td18IiEzEbev7GTnUkQApj3Dopo-NRAfC2Ax_xVYa41sOvE5nWdA2eOl9KuOfDwJ7fnYGsscRauyXkNYfLEEtwGHx358ZazL_HWsdtzH2-_C4R98oUW5jbhjog/s1600-h/annyrickkity.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 327px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiArFhLPjWuKRO_Z0gx-Td18IiEzEbev7GTnUkQApj3Dopo-NRAfC2Ax_xVYa41sOvE5nWdA2eOl9KuOfDwJ7fnYGsscRauyXkNYfLEEtwGHx358ZazL_HWsdtzH2-_C4R98oUW5jbhjog/s400/annyrickkity.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387560236837736930" /></a><br />Came across this the other day in a photo album of Annie Wilson's, captioned "Rick loving on the airfield kitty", sometime before July 14, 2007stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-87493483499431585702009-06-14T05:48:00.006-04:002011-04-19T21:17:31.864-04:00There's an asteroid 22105 called "Rick" now<a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWIrlp8ofqbSwG5f-m-54bV1KS5Sg3e1gg347VO-i8Qw-rF0Bpi29-G_HDnk5x_vhvB967OKIWxgKetNdWOYl4ZJQSF40QsdXeHzIm4fGn9mL8NOl3V9mwg-xyRgPcBLBwGvMz0t36uA/s1600-h/pirkoastrdt9033.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387578810672175186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWIrlp8ofqbSwG5f-m-54bV1KS5Sg3e1gg347VO-i8Qw-rF0Bpi29-G_HDnk5x_vhvB967OKIWxgKetNdWOYl4ZJQSF40QsdXeHzIm4fGn9mL8NOl3V9mwg-xyRgPcBLBwGvMz0t36uA/s400/pirkoastrdt9033.gif" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 212px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
THE <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://www.glpaweb.org/">GREAT LAKES PLANETARIUM ASSOCIATION</a> (GLPA) announced in their Summer Solstice newsletter (Volume XLIV, Number 2, 2009) that the asteroid formerly known as 2000 LS36 has now been renamed “Pirko” in honor of Rick. If you go to its JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA) web page at <a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=22105">http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=22105</a>, you can read its designation, as follows:<br />
<br />
22105 Pirko<br />
<br />
"Discovered 2000 June 11 by the Lowell Observatory Near-Earth Object Search at the Anderson Mesa Station. <br />
"Richard G. Pirko (1952-2008) was a producer and space science educator for the Ward Beecher Planetarium at Youngstown State University. An accomplished photographer, pilot and horse trainer, his passion for astronomy exposed many college students to new educational experiences.” <br />
<br />
Its absolute magnitude is 14.4 and its orbital period is 3.6 years.<br />
<br />
Classification: Main-belt Asteroid [e.g. Asteroids with orbital elements constrained by (2.0 AU < a < 3.2 AU; q > 1.666 AU)] SPK-ID: 2022105<br />
absolute magnitude H 14.4 mag n/a PDS3 (MPO 8964)<br />
Alternate Designations: 2000 LS36 = 1975 VR1 = 1993 UC4 = 1993 VE5 = 2000 WB125<br />
Reference: 20090409/MPCPages.arc Last Updated: 2009-04-10<br />
<br />
It is the scribe's understanding that Rob Landis lobbied the people at Lowell Observatory about the re-naming.<br />
<br />
At the GLPA meeeting in October, also, President Cheri spoke of the group's deepest heartfelt sorrow for the loss of a great friend, colleague and planetarian, and that he would indeed be missed by their “family.”<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a bitly="BITLY_PROCESSED" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5akLkrfq_ErDEjY7EF6yoQjuR9zYhOvwvUeDCUwu780ZyxIX7DbT6x5AJbD21z60XutCKykJDKvbC4IaEi0fIEhNqbIlav65N-2rie-MnTFZ4VfgX6yTzOUKp8kB10qpIsrDqRd8IBWA/s1600/pirko-asteroidpage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5akLkrfq_ErDEjY7EF6yoQjuR9zYhOvwvUeDCUwu780ZyxIX7DbT6x5AJbD21z60XutCKykJDKvbC4IaEi0fIEhNqbIlav65N-2rie-MnTFZ4VfgX6yTzOUKp8kB10qpIsrDqRd8IBWA/s400/pirko-asteroidpage.jpg" width="302" /></a></div>stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-52042712786551401672009-06-13T02:57:00.001-04:002009-06-13T18:04:08.830-04:00Pictures At An ExhibitionWe wanted to do this last October and couldn't and hope to down the road (stay tuned!) here was the idea:<br />Upon seeing the great extent of pictures Rick had captured, -- intense and varied, of life on the farm, of the skies he loved to be in, and of people performing -- Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition reminded us of a suitable celebration of Rick as part of the memorial service at his planetarium. We would line the hallways of the physics and astronomy department where he worked with as many pictures as physically possible and space music would play while his friends strolled the halls.<br /><br />That was the same inspiration for the composition Pictures at an Exhibition – A Remembrance of Viktor Hartmann, composed by Modeste Mussorgsky in 1874, and orchestrated by Maurice Ravel in 1922. "One of the most powerful of all creative urges is to memorialize. The results can range from the trivial statues of mounted generals that clutter our parks to the awe of the Pyramids. Yet, perhaps the most powerful creations are those which try to overcome a grievous personal loss by immortalizing the evanescent.<br />"Modeste Mussorgsky produced his Pictures at an Exhibition to perpetuate the memory of a friend. In the process, he created a monument far more massive and lasting than his subject."1<br />The piece was inspired by the untimely death of a close companion of Mussorgsky. Victor Hartmann, an architect and occasional painter, died from an aneurysm in 1873. The sudden loss of the artist, aged only 39, shook Mussorgsky along with others in Russia's art world.<br />Influential critic Vladimir Stasov helped organize an exhibition of over 400 Hartmann works in the Academy of Fine Arts in St Petersburg a year later. Mussorgsky lent works from his personal collection to the exhibit and viewed the show in person. His visit to that show became the most famous gallery stroll of all time and fired by the experience, he composed Pictures at an Exhibition in six weeks. This masterful piano suite illustrates ten of Hartmann's images, with a recurring ``Promenade`` theme to illustrate the viewer's progress from painting to painting.<br /><br />There wasn't time or resources enough to create this display shortly after Rick's death but hopefully it can be accomplished in the coming year. A coffee-table oriented book of Rick's work is also in the planning stages. Anyone who wishes to donate to the project or be kept up to date on any exhibit via e-mail, drop us an email or use the Donate button.<br /><br />sources:<br />1. address: <a href="http://www.classicalnotes.net/classics/">http://www.classicalnotes.net/classics/</a><br /> title: Classical Notes - Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, Classical Classics, Peter Gutmann.mht<br /> 2002 by Peter Gutmann<br />2. address: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictures_at_an_Exhibition">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictures_at_an_Exhibition</a><br /> title: Pictures at an Exhibition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<br /> 2008<br />3. address: <a href="http://lasr.cs.ucla.edu/geoff/prognotes/mussorgsky/pictures.html">http://lasr.cs.ucla.edu/geoff/prognotes/mussorgsky/pictures.html</a><br /> title: Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition<br /> 1999 by Geoff Kuenningstormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-71583292862691717932009-06-12T01:05:00.000-04:002009-06-13T18:26:53.021-04:00What use is a planetarium if...We found this (group) Letter To The Editor in Rick's things :<br /><br />An Appropriate Mix<br /><br />What is an appropriate mix for IPS conferences? We must first define the end to which we are working: the accurate informative depiction of the universe in which we live. The accuracy challenge was well stated by Jeanne Bishop (IPS 1988 Richmond, March 1989 <span style="font-style: italic;">Planetarian</span>) and widely supported by all who wrote in response.<br /><br />However, we seem to quickly divide into separate camps of planetariums vs. astronomy, and entertainment vs. education. Encouraged by the mass media, many of us view learning and recreation as exclusive activities. They do not have to be, as shown by the large numbers of amateur astronomers, bird-watchers and wildlife photographers for whom a knowledge of the natural world forms the core of their recreation. Education should never be placed in a separate column from entertainment.<br /><br />The marvelous technical innovations and hardware of the planetarium fields are necessary tools, but the best equipped planetarium cannot compete with the multi-million dollar effects of Hollywood. We cannot and must not try to make a show run on its effects or a big-name narrator. To do so would make us only a third-rate imitation of the mass media.<br /><br />The other side of this ugly coin is the lack of modern science and the total avoidance of controversial subjects. Attitudes like "No one will understand or care" serve only to isolate our community and foster Scientific Elitism. Topics from the mainstream of modern astronomy that are given good coverage in the popular science press are often either badly distorted or altogether ignored in planetarium programming. For example, in the last five years recent advances in cosmology have been featured in <span style="font-style: italic;">Astronomy Magazine</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Sky and Telescop</span>e, the <span style="font-style: italic;">National Geographic</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Scientific America</span>n as well as <span style="font-style: italic;">Newsweek</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Time</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wall Street Journal</span> and others.<br /><br />With this in mind we make a plea for the continued inclusion of pure astronomy in conference schedules. We in the planetarium community have a vehicle to combat scientific illiteracy. A working knowledge of basic, up-to-date astronomy is essential for anyone making presentations to audiences who trust us as authorities.<br /><br />1989?<br />John Beaver<br />Mike DiMuzio<br />Douglas A. Fowler<br />Susan Peterson<br />Richard Pirkostormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-83520433062605491812009-06-02T21:29:00.027-04:002011-04-19T21:56:19.580-04:00Forever in the skies he loved<i><b>Asteroid named in honor of late YSU alumnus, planetarium producer</b></i>, originally published at Tue, June 2, 2009, <i>Vindicator,</i> Youngstown, Ohio<br />
<br />
By <a href="http://www.vindy.com/staff/harold-gwin/">Harold Gwin</a><br />
<br />
YOUNGSTOWN — Richard Pirko’s name will live on forever in the skies he loved.<br />
<blockquote>An asteroid has been named in honor of the late Youngstown State University alumnus and former show producer and technician of YSU’s Ward Beecher Planetarium.<br />
It’s somewhat of a rare honor, said Warren Young, recent interim chairman of the YSU Physics and Astronomy Department.<br />
Asteroids are traditionally named after family members of the astronomers who find them, he explained, adding that he doesn’t know anyone else who’s had an asteroid named for him.<br />
Asteroids are planet-like bodies measuring between a fraction of a mile and 500 miles in diameter.<br />
The asteroid named for Pirko is in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and was discovered at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., in June 2000, as part of an ongoing survey, Young said. Formerly known as Asteroid 2000 LS36, the International Astronomical Union has officially named it Asteroid Pirko.<br />
Young said Pirko had a friend, Rob Landis, who works at NASA who contacted astronomers at Lowell and asked that an asteroid be named for Pirko, and the observatory agreed. This particular asteroid is believed to be between one and two miles across.<br />
“This is a fitting tribute to a very dedicated educator,” Young said. “He was an amazing person with a unique combination of talents. We feel his loss every day.”<br />
Pirko’s passion for astronomy exposed thousands of people to the wonders of the universe, Young said. <br />
Pirko worked at the planetarium for more than 30 years writing, producing and presenting planetarium shows to public school classes, college classes and the general public. <br />
He died of an apparent heart attack Oct. 15 at the University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center in Chardon. He was 55.<br />
“He was a very important person to the university and our department,” Young said.<br />
The Astronomy and Physics Department is still planning to erect a sundial on campus as a tribute to Pirko.<br />
Pirko liked sundials and did classes on them, incorporating them in the planetarium weekend programs.<br />
The department announced in October that it was raising funds for the Rick Pirko Memorial Sundial, which it hopes to erect just outside the planetarium doors.<br />
Young said the funds are now in place and the department is awaiting approval of its plans from the campus beautification committee to proceed.<br />
Pirko was a licensed pilot and as a local organizer of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Young Eagles program, provided hundreds of children with their first flight, according to a university spokesman.<br />
He was also a counselor for the Astronomy and Aviation Merit Badges for the Boy Scouts of America, the spokesman said.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>Contact <a href="http://www.vindy.com/staff/harold-gwin/">Harold Gwin</a> or gwin@vindy.com</blockquote><br />
More on the asteroid elsewhere on this blog:<a href="http://thanksrick.blogspot.com/2009/06/theres-asteroid-22105-called-rick-now.html"> There's an asteroid 22105 called "Rick" now</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwdianac-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&search-alias=stripbooks&field-keywords=skywatching" target="_blank">Read up more on skywatching in books</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httpwwwdianac-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-7022105335453372462009-04-26T00:51:00.002-04:002009-04-26T01:04:07.617-04:00Most importantly -- friendship...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOn7bGBbF4L4SoByDyCQjvtWXwf_0hlfko_jAp6dciKpzy8iQyZtadnBTImZDMr7Fk2a6GGD3Cz2CPUFYagFct4L21C0R3UIfrZCk-Se4nnRz0ohSe_9BM_TsLjmVJD4IU1zcYg304FjY/s1600-h/rickmvas.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 326px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOn7bGBbF4L4SoByDyCQjvtWXwf_0hlfko_jAp6dciKpzy8iQyZtadnBTImZDMr7Fk2a6GGD3Cz2CPUFYagFct4L21C0R3UIfrZCk-Se4nnRz0ohSe_9BM_TsLjmVJD4IU1zcYg304FjY/s400/rickmvas.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328860718086349042" border="0" /></a><br />Phil Plante wrote this in the November 2008 <span style="font-style: italic;">The Meterorite</span>, newsletter of the MVAS (<a href="http://mvobservatory.com/">Mahoning Valley Astronomical Society</a>):<br /><br />"During the 1980’s there continued to be an influx of YSU students and planetarium staff into the MVAS. This had all started a decade earlier with Ron Parise, Warren Young and Ed Bishop becoming MVAS members. Keeping with this trend, in March of 1985, Rick had come aboard as a member of the MVAS. By the time summer came around Rick was involved in the first of his many observatory projects. He helped rebuild the roof around the 16” dome when it was removed on July 27th. This was done in order raise the circular tracks by 6 inches to solve a leaky roof problem. For most members this would have been enough volunteer work. But Rick offered more. Along with his workload as a planetarium technician and producer, he took on double duty as the MVAS Treasurer and as the Observatory Director until 1988. Rick also ran the annual Christmas raffle in 1986 and 1987. During the winter of ’86-’87 he also supervised the re-tooling of the 8” focuser and drive; the machine work being done at a YSU machine shop.<br />During the 1990’s Rick served as master of ceremonies and even as keynote speaker for many of the MVAS-OTAA meetings. He blossomed in the field of photography, especially capturing conjunctions, planetary alignments, solstice photography and eclipses. He had traveled to the snowy landscape of Canada and to the sunny beaches of Baja, Mexico for total solar eclipses. In 1994, he flew into Toledo, OH to be on the centerline for the May 10 annular eclipse. He captured a timed multiple exposure sequence of this eclipse on one frame. He was proud of it and rightly so. It is often displayed in the planetarium. After this eclipse flight, Rick seemed to become increasingly interested in space flight and aviation in general. In April of 1996, he traveled to Russia for a tour of the old Soviet space facilities at Star City. Not long afterwards he received a pilot’s license for gliding. He soon joined the Cleveland Soaring Society. Eventually he’d qualify as a pilot of powered flight.<br /><br />"In 2001, the MVAS decided to replace the steel 8” building with a wood construction. The first attempt by the membership was a disaster. Upon seeing this, Rick hired a contractor to erect a proper frame onto which members could complete the building as it is today. Rick asked for no compensation, paying for the frame-work out of pocket. In most ways we are indebted to Rick for the building we enjoy today.<br /><br />"In 2000 and 2001, Rick arranged a flying/ observing outing with the MVAS and the CSS. For a greatly reduced fee, MVAS members could go up in a glider. Later at night the Soaring Society held picnic dinners and MVAS members would set up telescopes to look through.<br /><br />"For those of us that had the privilege of knowing Rick, we will always remember his quiet smile. His willingness to teach astronomy to anyone so interested. His familiar and comforting planetarium presentations. His dedication to the Planetarium and to the MVAS. And most importantly, Rick’s friendship."<br /><br />note on photo: Rick addressing the 1999 MVAS-OTAA meeting, reviewing the history<br />behind the 60th anniversary of MVAS. -- Photo by Bob Andressstormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-88894982593764054002009-04-02T18:39:00.002-04:002009-04-03T18:48:23.415-04:00Renaissance man<a href="http://www.conoverworkshops.com/">Ernie Conover</a> writes:<br />He is greatly missed. A great mind and true Renaissance man. Too young to die, but only the good die young.stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-11906693641166466822008-12-07T18:51:00.002-05:002009-01-14T19:29:43.972-05:00Knowledge as a way of life<a name="c5664710424395693293"></a><a href="http://home.comcast.net/~SWIGGY/PUNhtml/pun_index.html" rel="nofollow">John N Swegan</a> said...<br />I first met Rick when I hung around his younger brother back in high school. Little did I know how he would affect so many other lives in their quest for knowledge. Knowledge: knowing his family, that is more than just a word, but a way of life. I've seen it in his parents and siblings. The quest for knowledge comes not only from seeking it, but in sharing it and seeing how the knowledge you share is seen through the eyes of others.<br /><br />When my daughter called me about his death, I was shocked. The last time I had seen him was several years back, at his father's funeral. He was like that rock that was always there, one on which his family bound themselves. Now the rock is gone, but he has made sure that future generations will remember him, his work, and his passions. Nobody ever left his presence without being richer for the experience.stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-45390618542711561672008-10-26T03:55:00.001-04:002008-11-26T18:06:31.877-05:00The magical insanity of the natural born lineman...Robert P. Palermo sends some stories; here is one on October 26:<br /><br />"1:23 pm, Sunday:<br />"It's Sunday, the day after the memorial service for Rick that I just attended. I received the news about Rick from my sister Patricia, who still lives in the Girard, Ohio Area and the feeling of the loss of a old great friend had overwhelmed me. For the following week I could do nothing but recount the many years of insanity that Rick and I had shared together and from those times I wanted to share the experiences of those days with Ricks other friends.<br /><br />"Jim Johnston and I are two of Rick's oldest friends and while over the years our paths had taken us away from each other there were many special and magical times that we shared. I had met Rick thru another mutual friend John Biviano who had asked me to provide a ride for Rick to some high school function. Since in those days I did not drive, my sister was good enough to provide chauffeur services on my behalf. After meeting Rick and spending some time with him I knew that we were going to be friends. Rick had a way of living life with a certain kind of zest and devil may care attitude that was very attractive.<br /><br />"Rick got me to join up with the Radio Crew in high school which consisted of Jim, John and Rick. The original geek squad as Jim has pointed out in his blog. ( If we knew there was going to be some money in this we would have stuck together. I guess it was case that we were ahead of our time.) The radio crew was responsible for setting up all the PA equipment for the schools for special events, and especially setting up and running the phones between the pressbox and the field for the coaches during the Niles football games. Those duties extended to away games where we brought along our own equipment and set up the vital communications between the pressbox coaches and the field coaches. High school football was rather vicious in those days and phones provided by the other schools during away games many times were tapped by those schools trying to listen in . We took our jobs very seriously and ran our own lines down to the field from the pressbox. Many times this required some ambitious climbing and dangling from precarious positions to get the lines strung and that job fell to Rick who was a natural born lineman.<br /><br />"It was interesting that I was brought into this group as I knew nothing about electronics or wiring or anything even remotely connected to this field. I had grown up working in my fathers garage learning about cars and things mechanical. However the guys were willing to teach , and I was willing to learn. Jim was the brilliant one and had the unique ability to design almost anything electronic and explain the theory about how things would work. I barely understood some of the words he was using let alone understanding what in the world he said.<br /><br />"It was Rick who would take Jim's explanations and break it down so that I could understand (something around Sesame Street level) After awhile I could honestly say I understood about 10% of what was being said. My forte' as it were was things mechanical having been blessed with the natural understanding of these things from my father who was a natural born mechanical engineer. Over time my talents and Rick's ended up complimenting each other and the result was some pretty incredible stories over the next 10 years. It is my most fervent desire to post as many of these stories as I can here so that others can share in the experiences that we once lived. Stay Tuned, there's a lot more to come. "<br />Sincerely, Robert P. Palermo<br /><br />Also read <a href="http://thanksrick.blogspot.com/2008/10/magical-insanity-of-natural-born.html?showComment=1225493280000#c92858032969552520">Practical Joke Part 1</a><br />Also read <a href="http://thanksrick.blogspot.com/2008/10/magical-insanity-of-natural-born.html?showComment=1225494120000#c4085750588803491160">Rick and DPB Incident</a><br />Also read <a href="http://thanksrick.blogspot.com/2008/10/magical-insanity-of-natural-born.html?showComment=1225494720000#c5329798199804344577">Rick's First Laser Light Show</a><br />Also read <a href="http://thanksrick.blogspot.com/2008/10/magical-insanity-of-natural-born.html?showComment=1226265180000#c7444163918480191062">Rick Going Fast, Going Far</a><br />Also read <a href="http://thanksrick.blogspot.com/2008/10/magical-insanity-of-natural-born.html?showComment=1227740700000#c4349431305915716602">The Eclipse</a>stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-55329743003044073112008-10-25T04:00:00.000-04:002008-11-15T20:44:22.653-05:00Soldier on the front line<a href="http://www.randi.org/joom/about-james-randi-full-bio.html">James Randi </a>recorded and sent his spoken personal message to honor Rick on October 25 at the memorial service in the Ward Beecher Planetarium. Many thanks to Mr. Randi (and to Rick's wife, Victoria) for graciously allowing us to also share it here.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dybzDs_-VHGggm-ET9gtn9omfEDmZCv94huMB4m7V_AHdA8IA8abz99HLImNOisl7LPTOjlkBAUpQfjF0FkWQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>If the video does not load or play, <a href="http://www.dianaludwig.com/show/james_randi.wmv"><span style="font-size:130%;">try clicking here</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.dianaludwig.com/show/james_randi.wmv"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266784092833756594" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQsxLiXsFNynqVx4iYxsAJQP1odqmr0EBOLky30gBFmdhRO9MVZqU1qcpwZRI0kkPL35bPX-hIa62RScnh7StisMNyUueR-bQLKKZ08udyWnPsPGfb9bZYsaSIiyHUcHbzBgxoSVQqoA0/s400/james_randi-wmv.jpg" border="0" /></a>stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233552380259072513.post-28873644865501529372008-10-25T03:54:00.000-04:002008-11-15T20:48:27.032-05:00Holy Books<a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/15247830591055255846" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">elecpenciljim</a> wrote this on his own blog <a href="http://elecpenciljim.blogspot.com/">Elecpencil</a> on Saturday, October 25, 2008<br /><br /><a href="http://elecpenciljim.blogspot.com/2008/10/of-holy-books-to-rick.html">Of Holy Books to Rick</a><br /><br />"I got up this morning with every intention of going to a memorial at YSU's Planetarium for Rick Pirko. The arthritis in my back, knee and bursitus in my hip had other plans for me. By afternoon I was able to try and speed limp out to the mailbox. I was rewarded with my monthly invite to join AARP and a free copy of, <em>Arthritis Today</em>. Nothing like kicking a guy when he's down and adding insult to injury.<br /><br />"Since I didn't make it to YSU I'd like to say this about Rick:<br />I got to know Rick Pirko as a fellow member of the Valley Co-alition of Peace and Justice. I enjoyed talking to Rick while we held signs at Friday afternoon protests against the Iraq war. I remember reading a Letter to the Editor of <em>The Jambar</em> Rick had written. I discussed it with him while protesting, telling him how much I liked what he had written.<br /><br />"Read Rick's <a href="http://media.www.thejambar.com/media/storage/paper324/news/2005/02/10/Oped/Letter.To.The.Editor.Bush.Has.Turned.His.Back.On.America-858191.shtml">Letter to The Editor of YSU’s <em>The Jambar </em>2/10/05 here</a><br /><a href="http://thanksrick.blogspot.com/2008/10/holy-books.html?showComment=1226273520000#c671317419926285012">2/14/06 Letter here<br /></a>Digging up that letter I note how Rick was sure right about where the Bush economy was headed. I laughed aloud when I read, 'I hoard my Canadian Quarters.'<br /><br />"I’m Rick’s age and only wish that I had been able to accomplish half as much at Rick did in his lifetime.<br /><br />"Being a religious skeptic like Rick and hearing the story of him removing bibles from hotel rooms I'm posting this poem (posted here as an article to save space) I wrote some time ago. I hope he would have liked it:<br /><br /><em>Of Holy Books</em><br /><br />"Christians are portraying Moslems who follow their holy book, the Koran as intolerant murderers, criminals and terrorists. Some Christians are saying, atrocities such as the attack on 9/11 can easily be attributed to the prophet Mohammed and the god, Allah. They point out Koran verses that preach hate like the following: 'Don’t associate with those of other faiths.' 'Don’t receive them into you home or even exchange greetings with them.' Others who don’t share your beliefs have an 'evil heart.'<br /><br />"It gets even more intolerant when you read; 'God destroys those who don’t believe in him.' When the god in this supposed 'Holy Book' isn’t killing someone, which he seems to do on many pages, he is ordering his followers to kill any friends or family that worships a god different than him. He says to kill them in their very own church. He orders, 'Kill all inhabitants of any city where people worship different than you.' There are holy verses that call for the elimination of entire ethnic groups including women, children, animals and even trees. He tells his followers to, hide along the road wait for women and then kidnap, rape and marry them. This god tells his followers you are 'of God' and everyone else is wicked.<br /><br />"You best believe there’s a lot to fear from this faith when you read, 'Everyone will have to worship the prophet---whether they want to or not.' They place themselves above all laws by the verse, 'A follower cannot be accused of any wrongdoing.' I’ve only scratched the surface of the hate and evil deeds in this so called, 'Holy Book.'<br /><br />"Knowing that their faith could crumble if it were to under go any free and critical thinking, this prophet tells his followers to avoid philosophy. That just proves that ignorance is bliss.<br /><br />"Surely this hate-filled book should never be in a library. It should also never be allowed in a school. Banning it is just not enough. All copies of it need to be immediately burned. If I were a politician who espoused 'family values', I’d strike the first match. Clerics of every religion should be calling for a funeral pyre of this unholy book. It’s little wonder that its followers’ fight constant wars and justify them.<br /><br />"I did extensive research that buried my desk in a pyramid of paper to write this poem. Gathering so much info can get confusing. That’s my excuse because I have just realized, oops, my bad, the aforementioned verses are really from the Bible’s Old and New Testaments, instead of the Koran. All holy books tend to have some type of the hate filled quotes from above in them. Such statements taint any good that can be found in these books. We need to know what’s in our own back yard before we ask our neighbors to clean their back yard. Building fences between our neighbors is surely no way to build a better neighborhood.<br /><br />"Peace to you Rick."stormbird studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16800360832150348636noreply@blogger.com1