…the vastness is bearable only through love.
Its been 10 years since Carl Sagan left us. This man had a profound effect on my life. He opened my young eyes to the glories of science and knowledge through that benchmark series, Cosmos. I am listening to the audio version of Pale Blue Dot as I read this. The truth of his words, his insight, the knowledge (and the passion he uses to convey it), all still resonate as strongly as they did to a lonely 14 year old geek girl, in her room at night, watching the flickering magic of Cosmos unfold universes - of space, time, science, knowledge, and the joy of learning - before me. It influenced my life and thought. I suspect my passion for Linux (and Free Open Source Software) can be traced to his passion for the open sharing of knowledge.
Every advance in space exploration I see, I think of Carl, and how his enthusiasm would have made these advances even more exciting. My joy in such things is thus poignant. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The blogosphere shows how deeply he reached so many of us. There is a tribute to Carl Sagan blog movement that I posted about earlier. Here is what his son, Nick (who has an excellent blog too!) has to say. The blogosphere will be busy with Sagan posts on the 20th. Due to time differences, I get to start earlier than most.
So thank you, Carl. Thank you for the joy. For the gift of learning I now share with my children. For everything Carl, for the gifts to me, my family, and most of all, humanity, my deepest love and gratitude.
…the destroyer of worlds.
Watch this and weep. If you are not moved, if you are not outraged, where have you lost your humanity? Do not turn your back on these children. It is to our everlasting shame that we have learnt so little.
Chernobyl - a Journey of the Legacy
Next time someone asks me, “with all the society’s energy needs, why not nuclear?”, then this is what I will show them. There is a simple quote from it : “What man makes, can break”. This is the result.
at home.
Want to help make a difference? Not sure what to do? Comfy in that chair? Well, there ARE ways you can be the couch potato and still make a difference.
You can search with a search engine like GoodSearch : Search the Internet with GoodSearch and support your favorite charity or school.
The ultimate too easy act for the web surfer to help others. One click on a button, and the advertisers make a donation on your behalf. Thats it. No personal details recorded. Just one click a day. You can manage THAT!:
The Child Health Site : Help a Child in Need Lead a Healthy, Active Life. There are also tabs up the top of this page to other pages that have one click makes a donation to World Hunger, Breast Cancer, Conservation, Literacy, Animal Rescue, and others. (Many others are listed at Charity Click Donation - Give money to charity for free through charity clicks).
…may be convenient for leaders in the short term, but it is suicidal for nations in the long term.
Feministing has an interview with an amazing woman, a woman who sees herself as ordinary, but nonetheless decided to lift her voice in protest at what she saw happening in her world. She wrote a letter that has become an amazing book.
Helen Nichols: Open Letter to George W. Bush
