Free Republic

A volcano has erupted in Iceland about 40km (25 miles) from the capital Reykjavik, the Icelandic meteorological office has said, as a red cloud lit up the night sky and a no-fly zone was established in the area. “Volcanic eruption has begun in Fagradalsfjall,” it said in a tweet on Friday night, referring to a mountain located about 30km south-west of the capital. Police and coastguard officials raced to the scene late on Friday and the public has been advised to stay away from the area.

A fire has destroyed a fleet of snow plows in the small New Hampshire town of Henniker, as another storm approaches that could dump up to a foot more of snow. The fire broke out at the Henniker Highway Department on Friday night after the plows had finished clearing snow from the streets. The state fire marshal’s office said five dump trucks used as snow plows, one road grader and several other vehicles that were stored in the town garage were destroyed. The damage could exceed $1 million. “This puts the town in a bad spot,” Henniker Fire Chief Steve...

Explanation: Why did a picturesque 2010 volcanic eruption in Iceland create so much ash? Although the large ash plume was not unparalleled in its abundance, its location was particularly noticeable because it drifted across such well-populated areas. The Eyjafjallajökull volcano in southern Iceland began erupting on 2010 March 20, with a second eruption starting under the center of a small glacier on 2010 April 14. Neither eruption was unusually powerful. The second eruption, however, melted a large amount of glacial ice which then cooled and fragmented lava into gritty glass particles that were carried up with the rising volcanic plume....

If you remember the first film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, the 1978 animated version by Ralph Bakshi–the legendary outsider director behind Fritz the Cat, Wizards, American Pop and Fire and Ice–you’ll recall the experience was a mixed bag. The movie was a dark, moody, oversaturated vision of Tolkien’s world, with stunning design and many memorable scenes. Bakshi used rotoscoping to trace live footage for animation, and posterization to give it a rough, hand-made look. Both techniques allowed many corners to be cut, but at the time, the film’s PR claimed Rings was the “the first movie painting.”