Blast pen

A blast pen was a specially constructed E-shaped double bay at British RAF World War 2 fighter stations, being either 150 feet (46 m) or 190 feet (58 m) wide and 80 feet (24 m) front-to-back, accommodating aircraft for safe-keeping against bomb blasts and splinters during enemy air-attacks.

Although the pens were open to the sky the projecting sidewalls preserved the aircraft from lateral damage, with 12-inch (300 mm) thick, 9 feet (2.7 m) high concrete centres, and banked-up earth on either side, forming a roughly triangular section 18 feet (5.5 m) wide at their base. The longer spine section behind the parking areas usually encloses a narrow corridor for aircrew and servicing personnel to use as an air raid shelters.

Examples may still be seen at the present Kenley Aerodrome and at North Weald Airfield close to "The Squadron" bar, some pens have had their second bay removed over the years, thus becoming U-shaped.There are also a large number at the former RAF Catterick by the A1, and some at RAF Wittering. The Imperial War Museum Duxford has one that is accessible to the public. Whilst common on Fighter Command airfields, other RAF Stations such as RAF Benson and RAF Brize Norton did not have any blast pens.

BLAST! (2008 film)

BLAST! is a feature-length documentary by Paul Devlin. The film follows a team of astrophysicists who launch a telescope, upon a high altitude balloon from northern Sweden and again from Antarctica. The film follows the crew of scientists as they travel on a search to answer humankind's most basic question, how did we get here? An approach rarely seen in science programming, BLAST! de-emphasizes talking-head interviews and dispenses with anonymous narration in favor of capturing the action as it happens. Through dynamic storytelling, BLAST! reveals the human side of scientific pursuit, the personal sacrifices of scientists and the philosophical perspectives of discovering the origins of the universe.

History

BLAST! premiered at Hot Docs on Tuesday, April 22, 2008. It is now playing at film festivals around the world. Festival screenings include:

Blast (2004 film)

Blast was a 2004 action comedy film directed by Anthony Hickox. It was written by Steven E. de Souza and starring Eddie Griffin,Vinnie Jones,Breckin Meyer, and Vivica A. Fox.

Plot

A terrorist, Michael Kittredge (Vinnie Jones), posing as an environmentalist protester leads a team of highly skilled mercenaries to take control of an oil rig off the coast of California, intending to detonate an electromagnetic bomb over the United States, striking a sort of "new Pearl Harbor" attack on behalf of enemies to the nation. What Kittredge didn't count on is a tugboat captain, Lamont Dixon (Eddie Griffin), who survives an attack on his ship, and is soon recruited by an FBI agent (Vivica A. Fox) to infiltrate the oil rig and procure information about their plans, and if possible, stop them. In the process, Dixon meets an eager computer expert (Breckin Meyer) aboard the oil rig who helps Dixon even as he gets on his nerves and Lamont suspects he can't really trust him.

Cast

Blast! (musical)

Blast! is a Broadway production created by James Mason for Cook Group Incorporated, the director and organization formerly operating the Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps. It was the 2001 Winner of the Tony Award for "Best Special Theatrical Event" and also won the 2001 Emmy Award for "Best Choreography".

Blast!'s instrumentation is exclusively brass and percussion, a nod to the show's roots in the drum and bugle corps activity. Blast!'s performers use trumpets, flugelhorns, mellophones, baritone horns, tubas, trombones (including one on a unicycle during "Gee, Officer Krupke!"), french horns, and a full complement of percussion instruments including snare drums, tenor drums, bass drums, xylophones. vibraphones and marimbas, timpani, and other standard percussion equipment. In addition, Blast! adds instruments not normally found in drum corps, such as French horns, concert euphoniums, trombones and bass trombones, didgeridoos and synthesizers. Accompanying the wind and percussion is the Visual Ensemble (or VE for short), a group of dancers who manipulate a variety of props, similar to a color guard.

Pen

A pen (Latin: penna, feather) is a writing implement used to apply ink to a surface, such as paper, for writing or drawing. Historically, reed pens, quill pens, and dip pens were used, with a nib dipped in ink. Ruling pens allow precise adjustment of line width, and still find a few specialized uses, but technical pens such as the Rapidograph are more commonly used. Modern types also include ballpoint, rollerball, fountain, and felt or ceramic tip pens.

Types of pens

Modern

The main modern types of pens can be categorized by the kind of writing tip or point:

Pen (Vidhan Sabha constituency)

Pen Vidhan Sabha constituency (Marathi: पेण विधानसभा मतदारसंघ) is one of the 288 Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly) constituencies of Maharashtra state in Western India. This constituency is located in the Raigad district

Members of Legislative Assembly

Election results

General elections 2009

See also

Pen (play)

Pen is a play by David Marshall Grant. It has been produced at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Playwrights Horizons in New York City.

References