Posted by barb on Jun 1, 2005 in
Movies 4/5 stars
I love the books, and was really looking forward to the movie. Naturally, the movie has watered down a couple of the stories, but that has to happen, since there’s only so much that can be fit into two hours. What really struck me, though, was how sad the movie was. I started crying in the first 5 minutes, and didn’t stop until it was over. I thought maybe I was being a big baby, but Sweetie, who was sitting next to me, was crying through much of it, too. I didn’t remember the books being quite that sad. Overall it was quite good, though be prepared with a few Kleenex.
[IMDB link to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants]
Tags: reviews
Posted by barb on Jun 1, 2005 in
Random Thoughts In the AAS Exhibit Hall:
We’re astronomers, we don’t need big, powerful flashlights.
Tags: overheard
Posted by barb on May 31, 2005 in
Science Musings,
Travels Felicia presented her poster at the AAS meeting yesterday, so I took a few pictures for her to remember her trip.
Here she is asking a question about the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
She also stopped at the American Astronomical Society booth to ask about membership.
When Felicia passed by the Glast booth, she saw that JD was having some trouble with a Python script, so she stopped to help him out.
At the end of the day, she had picked up just about every give-away she could find in the Exhibit Hall – she could barely lug her bag back to the car.
We’ll post all of her pictures from her big day after we return home next week.
Tags: build-a-bear, trip report
Posted by barb on May 31, 2005 in
Science Musings The Discovery Institute has rented out a hall at the Smithsonian to screen a new film that supports Intelligent Design. Yup. And yet, I could not rent out the Albert Einstein Planetarium at the Air and Space Museum for my non-religious wedding.
Here’s the e-mail I sent off to the Smithsonian (giving@si.edu, Mr. Randall Kremer, Public Affairs):
I was shocked to read that the Discovery Institute would be allowed to rent
space at the Smithsonian to screen a movie promoting their non-scientific
agenda. The DI claims that science will verify Intelligent Design; however,
they have yet to publish a paper in a refereed journal. Why do you suppose
that is? Perhaps because their brand of “science” is not science at all.
I am an astronomer working with NASA out of Goddard Space Flight Center, and
we already have a difficult battle teaching the public what science is
about. Now that the Smithsonian is associating itself with the DI, our job
will become even more difficult.
While the $16,000 donation will be used for science research, the damage
done by the Discovery Institute’s claims that the Smithsonian is a
“co-sponsor” of the event far outweighs any research that could be
accomplished with that $16,000.
[via Pharyngula]
Tags: rant, science
Posted by barb on May 27, 2005 in
Memes, Etc. My AAS poster is printed, and I just need to pack my bags for tomorrow’s trip, so it’s time for a bit of Friday fun! (Blame Mushi)
You Are Incredibly Logical |
(You got 88% of the questions right)
Move over Spock – you’re the new master of logic
You think rationally, clearly, and quickly.
A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer! |
Tags: dumb fun
Posted by barb on May 24, 2005 in
Books Those last four entries of books are ones that I’ve finished between February and now — I’ve been too busy to read much, and way too busy to write up in my diary. Here’s hoping that I’ll have more time to read after the AAS meeting next week…
Tags: reviews
Posted by barb on May 24, 2005 in
Books by Jon Hein
Repeat after me: Not all fun web sites need to be made into books.
This is a book based on the Jump the Shark web site, where people discuss when various TV shows, celebrities and politicians “jumped the shark”. Of course, the phrase “jump the shark” refers to an episode of Happy Days where Fonzie jumped a shark cage on water skis, also widely viewed as the moment when Happy Days showed that it was past its prime.
The problem with the book, though, is that we get only Hein’s opinion on when people jumped. We lose the interaction of the website, which, frankly, is the fun part.
Tags: reviews
Posted by barb on May 24, 2005 in
Books by Greg Bear
I wasn’t going to pick this book up, since I wasn’t very happy with the last part of Darwin’s Radio; however, I found it on the free book-exchange shelf at work, and figured the price was right.
I’m glad I did pick this up. The book picks up 15 years after the Sheva virus first struck. Kaye, Mitch, and Stella (their “virus daughter”) are still on the run. Most of the “virus children” are in special schools (most of which were formerly prisons), and they are approaching puberty, which is making a lot of ignorant politicians nervous.
The book is pretty good — certainly better than the last quarter of Darwin’s Radio, and almost to par with first three-quarters.
Tags: reviews
Posted by barb on May 24, 2005 in
Books by Peter David
Calhoun and the USS Excalibur visit a planet that has been embroiled in civil war for centuries. Calhoun is worhipped as their savior from war, and, of course, things go wrong.
Standard stuff for ST:NF — fun, fast, and quickly forgotten.
Tags: reviews
Posted by barb on May 24, 2005 in
Books Edited by Gardner Dozois
This is a collection of pieces published in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine during the 80s. A few notable stories:
- “The Peacemaker” by Gardner Dozois: The editor apologized for including one of his own works in this collection, but I was glad he did. It was a powerful story about a post-catastrophe US. We learn about the catastrophe through a young boy, and about what a community will do to stay prosperous.
- “Fire Watch” by Connie Willis: In this story, historians travel back in time to observe history as it happens. We follow a historian as he joins the fire watch at St. Paul’s cathedral during WWII.
- “Her Furry Face” by Leigh Kennedy: This one was just disturbing. The story is about an orangutan researcher working with orangutans who have learned to communicate. The researcher falls for one of the orangutans…’nuff said.
- “Hardfought” by Greg Bear: This is one of those stories that starts long before it needed to and includes far more than it needed to tell the story that was there. I was bored before the real story even began.
The other stories were good. Overall a decent book, but not one I’d go out of my way to find.
Tags: reviews
