28 May 2007

What a Word!

What a word!
tergiversate

27 May 2007

Postcards from the Future

Oh why oh why did I forget all about the ISDC? According to Wired, the Indie film Postcards from the Future will premiere at the Conference.



More pictures from the movie site.

I still want to be an astronaut!

At the same time, take a look at this interactive on the past and future timeline of the universe. Simple enough to navigate (just point and click) yet profound enough to make you think. The 'Big Bang till Now' portion conforms to established scientific orthodoxy well enough (meaning I didn't cringe at any Bad Facts), thankfully. The future projections depend on your respective field of study, I believe.

Yet I can't help remembering Stalin's words, when paraphased, alas, 10^0 is a tragedy, 10^6 is a statistic, 10^100 is incomprehensible.

Go to Mars. Go. Go Now. Before the systematic despoilment of the Earth makes humanity culprit and victim on the 10^0 list.

24 May 2007

Psychoanalysing Anakin Skywalker

Whatever the motivation, here are serious people putting Anakin Skywalker on the psychiatrist's couch.

From the article:
Why do we care about the psychoanalysis of a Star Wars villain? Because the diagnosis helps explain why teenagers -- no strangers to borderline personalities -- find Skywalker so appealing, said study co-author Rachel Rodgers, a psychologist in Toulouse. They may like him, she said, "because he's very similar to them."

Hmm. What does that say about people who dress up as storm troopers? Or Jedi? Or even the Dark Lord (Vader, not the generic term Dark Lord (tm)...) himself? Tribal formation indeed! This need to form groups with similarly-minded people can have amusing consequences: imagine the sight of a fistful of Vader-clones.

Still, say what you will about The Great Lucas's vision, the community (fan-base) expression Star Wars is has been, and will continue to be, a force for good. ;p

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY, STAR WARS!

14 May 2007

Gazing into the crystal ball...

Information convergence, larger wireless bandwidth, flying cars increased urbanisation, polarisation, agricultural revolution (again), mass cloning, world wars, world peace, revolutions, famines, ecological meltdown, glacial meltdown, runaway climates, global extinction, banners.

And, no, this is not an attempt at forecasting the History of the Universe in 200 words or less (now linked into the collective intelligence of Wikipedia). Personally I adore the Latin version. creatio Aranei Quam Lati Quam Terrae. ???

But come what may, it's worth noting that 'engineers and programmers are the often-anonymous architects of society' (please RTFA, it's a good article) and to that may I add dreamers.