arthur c. clarke (1917 - 2008)

On Wednesday, the world said goodbye to perhaps the most famous science fiction writer of all time, Arthur C. Clarke, who passed away in his adopted country of Sri Lanka at the age of 90. Although he was most well known for scribing the novel that was the basis for the classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey, Clarke had a prolific career both as a writer and as a promoter of human space endeavors.

Clarke was a space fan from an early age. After discovering a science fiction magazine at 13, he was hooked for life. He promptly joined the British Interplanetary Society, whose members believed that space travel would be commonplace in short order. After serving in World War II as a Royal Air Force officer, Clarke dabbled in aeronautics and engineering. But his career as a writer took over in 1945, when he published a story in the same sci-fi magazine he'd fawned over as a kid. The rest, as they say, is history.

On top of his writing, Clarke had a habit of making crazy predictions about how the world would be bettered by technology. Some of these, such as the use of geostationary satellites for telecommunications, actually came true. But the vast majority—like his conjecture that cold fusion (nuclear reactions in room temperature) would become reality by the first few years of the 21st century—were no more than Jetsons fantasies. Clarke was a believer in the paranormal for much of his life, although he claimed to have given up on pseudoscience in his golden years. Old habits apparently die hard, though: Several years ago, my research for an article on alien theories revealed that he believed Mars to be populated with lush trees.

Crazy though it sometimes seemed, Clarke's visionary imagination served for many years as an important inspiration for scientific endeavors both real (like the International Space Station) and fictional (Star Trek creator Gene Rodenberry was a big fan). Later in his life, Clarke racked up quite a few awards and honors, including British knighthood, his own asteroid (4923 Clarke), and even his own dinosaur, Serendipaceratops arthurcclarkei! Needless to say, Clarke is one space cadet who will be sorely missed and not soon forgotten. &infin

it's not easy being green...

Put down that green beer and watch this video, people! Holidays have feelings, too, ya know...



Happy St. Patty's day, everyone—including Mr. Patrick himself! &infin

hamster-be-gone

Bad news for critter owners in Southeast Asia: The Vietnamese government has banned the sale and ownership of hamsters!

Apparently, hamster ownership has become a fad ("hamster clubs" are pretty popular), and the government has imposed the law from the fear that unregulated furries could be harmful to public health. What that exact harm is appears unknown, at least according to one government official.Yet, owners now face a serious dilemma: destroy your pet or face a fine of 30 million dong (about $1,900).

Wow. $1,900 is no chump change! It will certainly make people think twice about buying a hamster...or it may just make them get creative about hiding them. But I really don't see pet owners killing their pets, so the worst-case scenario will probably be pet hamsters being let loose into the wild—which actually could become a problem. I think the Vietnamese government really needs to rethink this situation and come up with a better solution! ∞

storing our seed

It looks like we have a new way to save us from ourselves. No, it isn't some fad diet or a miracle recipe for procuring gasoline from thin air... It's the Global Seed Vault, a new international repository for up to 4.5 million seed samples, which would become critically important were some global catastrophe to wipe out all other seeds in the world.

Opening for "business" last week, the vault is every bit as much a doomsday plan as it sounds. The scientists and technologists running the program—which is based out of a bunker under 500 feet of Arctic rock on the Norwegian island of Svalbard—say the reality is that climate change and the increased use of genetically modified crops is causing a serious concern about the future of our world's plants. Among other things, genetic diversity has gone way down, and that means that farm crops are more susceptible to catastrophic blights and natural disasters.

Seed banks have existed in various forms throughout the world, but they've often been located in politically unstable regions. What's more, the systems that these banks used were far from uniform. The new Global Seed Vault, which is being financed by both private and government funds, will try to gather as many different storable plant seeds as possible in an effort to both preserve the gentic identity of some soon-to-be-extinct species and also to provide us with a backup plan in the event that humankind or nature depletes our ecosystem of our primary producers.

It's a really interesting idea; I wonder whether a Noah's ark half a mile underground is next! ∞

Update: Here's a nice 60 Minutes news article about the seed bank.

coolpix

The following are some of my favorite images of the past couple of weeks...


A tanker carrying thousands of new cars tips over in the frigid North Pacific, near Alaska. Photo credit: U.S. Coast Guard


An astronaut puts the finishing touches on the long-awaited Columbus laboratory on the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA


Stunning photograph of some hills near the village of Kilaneh in Kurdistan. Photo credit: jamesdale10


Brilliant yellow fighter jet from the RAAF Airshow in Edinburgh, UK.
Photo credit: mixed.media updated


Massive engines of an F/A-18 impress viewers at the RAAF Airshow.
Photo credit: mixed.media updated


In honor of leap day, NatGeo dug up from its archives this 1982 photo of a jumping armadillo. Ha. Photo credit: National Geographic Society ∞

and the oscar goes to...

Every year, I eagerly await the Oscar ceremony and make a special point to see as many nominated films as I can prior to the big night. This year is no exception...so without further ado, I present the first annual Annals of Spacetime Oscar predictions!

ACTOR
Will win: Daniel Day-Lewis
Should win: Daniel Day-Lewis
An excellent field this year, but there's really only one complete standout, and that's Mr. Day-Lewis. Pretty much anything this guy touches becomes gold, and for good reason: He turns his juicy roles into extensions of his personality more than actor I can think of. Bravo.

ACTOR - SUPPORTING
Will win: Javier Bardem
Should win: Casey Affleck
I have issues with Javier Bardem's role appearing in the supporting category, for it could easily have been listed as a lead. That said, he'll walk away with the statue for his searing portrayal as a robotic mass murderer. It's a bit of a shame, though, since Casey Affleck deserves recognition for his nuanced performance as the disturbed killer of Jesse James.

ACTRESS
Will win: Julie Christie
Should win: -NA-
I'm gonna refrain from suggesting a favorite here since I only saw two of the nominated performances (Linney and Page) and I don't think either one is or should be a contender. So far there has been buzz aplenty around Julie Christie for her portrayal of a woman with Alzheimer's, so I'm guessing she'll take the prize.

ACTRESS - SUPPORTING
Will win: Saoirse Ronan
Should win: Tilda Swinton
I have a feeling the Academy may be looking to annoint a new child star... But while Ronan did give a nice performance as a prissy aspiring young writer, I'm pulling for Tilda Swinton. Swinton has had some meaty roles over the last few years, but none (that I've seen) has been as palpable as her nerve-racking portrayal of a corrupt business executive.

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Will win: There Will Be Blood
Should win: The Assassination of Jesse James by the
Coward Robert Ford
Wow, this is a toughie. All five are deserving, all for different reasons. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly has probably the most unique shots, but I'm gonna go with The Assassination of Jesse James, which features breathtaking vistas of the wintery West captured in artistic, untraditional ways. I'm guessing There Will Be Blood will pull in the award, though.

ANIMATED FILM
Will win: Ratatouille
Should win: Ratatouille
I was a big fan of Marjane Sartrapi's Persepolis graphic novels, but I keep hearing the film version is actually pretty flat. (I have yet to see it, though, so I may yet change my mind!) However, I think it's obvious that this year's animation prize will go to Ratatouille, and deservedly so. Wonderful animations and a cute story. And it is the year of the rat, you know.

DIRECTOR
Will win: Paul-Thomas Anderson
Should win: Julian Schnabel
While I think P.T. Anderson is very much deserving for his vision of Upton Sinclair's (truly) muckraking Oil! I have to give props here to Julian Schnabel, for turning the improbable autobiography of a man paralyzed but for one blinking eye into a somewhat fantastical full-feature film. My only suggestion, though, Julian: Skip the U2!

PICTURE
Will win: There Will Be Blood
Should win: There Will Be Blood
This category is by no means a walkover; there are four excellent films in the running this year, plus a token "fan favorite." That nomination would of course be Juno, which was a cute flick but nothing more. Atonement was a devastating love story, and its execution was more than competent, but I just wasn't as compelled by the film as I thought I should be; for instance, some of the war scenes really dragged, which was my one major criticism of the book, too. Michael Clayton is probably the most gripping mind-bender of the bunch, but despite its all-star cast, hot-button political message, and fresh score, I have a feeling it won't win the Academy over. I think there will be some split over the two Westerns, but in the end, the powerful acting and intriguing story behind There Will Be Blood will and should prevail. ∞

green up your valentine's day

Valentine's Day—or, as one of my friends calls it, Singles Awareness Day—is fast approaching. As with any consumer holiday, an amazing amount of garbage will be generated this week and next, as drug stores chop prices to move their inventories (hello, Easter!). This afternoon I bought myself a tiny Russell Stover heart box and was amazed at how little candy there was for all that packaging! Fortunately, most of these boxes are recyclable, but as with water bottles and other beverage containers, the big battle is getting people to do it. I therefore urge you to discard only the plastic portion of your Valentine's candy—the rest can and should be sorted out with your paper and cardboard recycling!

By the way, there are a few other things you can do to make your Valentine's Day a little greener, starting with the flowers. If you're going to buy roses for your loved one, try to get organic! Ask your florist if they stock organic flowers—and if they don't, tell them you'd be more likely to buy from them if they did! If you're ordering online, you can definitely get organic flowers (as well as other natural and fair-trade gifts) from 1-800-flowers.com and FTD. Oh, and the website Save Our Environment has a few other suggestions for things like jewelry- and chocolate-buying in their eco-friendly Valentine's guide. Enjoy! ∞

hi, fashion

Okay, so most of the time I'm not the biggest fashion fiend as far as what I wear every day. But fashion week always brings out the fashionista in me! So with the tents up and the flash bulbs going off, I thought I'd rave about my favorites—and rant about the duds—of this fall preview season.

First we'll start with the disappointments: Perennial favorites Donna Karan, Vera Wang, and Calvin Klein left much to be desired for me. Karan's fall collection was certainly beautiful, but pretty much everything was in the 20s droopy flapper style - i.e. "everything falls." A few pieces worked, but mostly I felt like her dresses in particular were verging on the mumu look, which I'm not so into. Others made me feel like she was flipping through her grandmother's closet for inspration - which sometimes works, but not this time. Wang had really beautiful cuts, but I think some of her floral patterns were a little too much for me. That said, she did have a few excellent outfits, such as her yellow-and-black satin dress covered by a long, sheer brown jacket (right). I usually love Klein for his minimalist and classy-yet-original look, but this collection was one of the most boring I've seen. Among other things, the colors were all extremely muted—which in itself isn't bad, but when your designs are very basic (simple overcoats, strapped dresses with familiar lines) it just makes everything that much flatter. And frankly I don't think it helped that his models had their hair back with very little makeup. Hopefully these guys will pick it up for next season!

On the positive side, my two favorites this time around were Narciso Rodriguez (center) and Proenza Schouler (left). To be honest, even Rodriguez's collection was hit or miss for me, but his hits were amazing. The cuts were classy up and down the line, and while some of his colors bordered on the tawdry (bright peach, ultraviolet, shocking neon orange), his blacks and whites were generally sublime. Proenza Schoulder, which I hadn't known about before this year, was probably my favorite of the bunch. The collection from designers Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough focused on sheer silks, which they used in colors ranging from navy to shimmery gold to chartreuse. A few of the pieces were a little too over-the-top, reminding me of the worst of women's 70s fashion, but I'll give the Proenza team a pass for their occasional missteps. For one thing, they redeemed themselves with their wool coats, which elegantly mirrored the draping of the silks underneath.

Anyway, that's all for fall fashion week '08. You can check out slideshows of the collections at style.com! &infin