WE ARE A WAY FOR THE COSMOS TO KNOW ITSELF
CALENDAR OF ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS NASA'S ASTRONOMY PICTURE OF THE DAY
OK, before you watch this video, I want to warn you that it is a video of two adult men speaking over the phone about what seems to be their GENUINE BELIEF in the idea that somewhere on the moon, there is a HUMANOID ROBOT buried up to its neck in I guess stardust? They also seem to believe that George Lucas could not possibly have come up with the design for a mincing British manservant archetype I mean protocol droid WITHOUT HAVING SEEN THIS GRAY BLOB THAT LOOKS VAGUELY SKULL-LIKE AT THIS ANGLE AND RESOLUTION AND WITH THIS LIGHTING. IT’S TOO COMPELLING. Before Star Wars and This Picture came out, did you know that there was never a single example in the history of civilization of a humanoid robot? Did you also know that there is an entire subculture of single adult men who spend YEARS scrutinizing pictures of the moon in an ultimately/ironically maddening effort to confirm that their weird little single adult male internet club is NOT composed entirely of crazies?
SAGAN President Philip James Hart’s Voyager tattoo.
Armageddon is about how an asteroid the size of Texas is going to hit the Earth, because before 9/11 that is the kind of thing that made us scared. Now, of course, it is much more likely that the Earth will end long before the almost statistically impossible chance of a massive asteroid colliding with the ocean when someone detonates a 12 Monkeys Dirty Bomb full of Joker-gas in Manhattan or whatever. But back then it was like: the only thing that could ruin us now is space. So some meteors start falling and it is total Space-11! YIKES:
-Videogum’s Gabriel Delahaye
We got a promotional package for this at the radio station today, and it came with 3D glasses! If you have a pair (the old red/cyan kind; not the new Real D 3D))) ones), there are some good moments in there.
I DO FEEL, HOWEVER, THAT I MUST BRING ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT A GOOD 60% OF THIS TRAILER CONSISTS OF FOOTAGE FROM ANOTHER FILM,THE NOW PUBLIC DOMAIN FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS. I WOULDN’T NORMALLY MIND, BUT FSOV AND ITS CREATORS ARE NOT CREDITED ANYWHERE IN THE TRAILER OR ITS PERIPHERALS.
Explore this fascinating NPR page covering Starfish Prime, the US military’s Cold War-era speculation on detonating nuclear weapons in space (featuring one of my favorite science reporters: Robert Krulwich). This’ll also serve as today’s TODAY IN SPACE HISTORY. If I’m missing anything else awesome and space-related that happened today, lemme know.
OK, so this sunday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, they’re doing STAR WARS in Concert! Which rules! It’s a full orchestra playing selections from John Williams’ classic score, with narration by ANTHONY DANIELS AKA C3P0! Y’all should all go, and while you’re in the neighborhood, why not check out the Science Museum of Minnesota?
zomg
This Saturday, July 10th, is Nikola Tesla Day, and although he wasn’t an astronomer or a rocket designer, he embodied so, so purely the core of science. He was a practical mind with an unbelievable vision, and his work was always dedicated to the improvement of all mankind. We would all do well to strive this Saturday, and every day, to put forward our collective best in attempting to build the harmonious world of Tesla’s dreams.
Oh, and he invented the radio. And AC electrical power.
PS-Book House in Dinkytown is having a Nikola Tesla Day celebration featuring a live Tesla coil demonstration and more awesome stuff! Check it out!
Who’s ready for some Science Funktion?!
