An old favorite

To me, the greatest science fiction stories are not about the rockets, the machines, or even the adventures, they're about us, and our nature. That's why I love "The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury. It's short, only about 1400 words, but it shows you a serene and terrifying picture of a sterilized future world. I've come to love this story even more since it shows up occasionally on re-runs of NPR's "Symphony Space."

The rest of this site, for German students of English, has a small collection of speeches, poems, songs, and stories, many of which are quite interesting. Though there are not many selections, they are quite broad, and will occupy you for at least a little while. Cheers.

Periodic Table of Science Fiction

I have a Science Fiction kind of mind. I can't claim to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the genre, but I find something about its sensibilities to be comforting and familiar. That's what I like about Michael Swanwick's Periodic Table of Science Fiction. Most of these stories are goofy, all are very short, but it's a fun concept: writing a story for, and at least tangentially connected to, each element of the periodic table. It's not the kind of cutting commentary on human nature that we expect from the best of science fiction, nor do the stories last long enough for prolonged escapism, but they are entertaining, observant, and amusing. Give it a go, you weren't doing anything, were you?

The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity

This is an old one, but so piquant in tone as to be timeless. The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity by Carlo M. Cipolla (which, incedentally, means "onion") is the kind of spoof that the Daily Show and the Onion wish they could produce. Don't believe me? I'll leave you with the first section so that you might witness its perfection:

"The First Basic Law of Human Stupidity asserts without ambiguity that

Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.

At first, the statement sounds trivial, vague and horribly ungenerous. Closer scrutiny will however reveal its realistic veracity. No matter how high are one's estimates of human stupidity, one is repeatedly and recurrently startled by the fact that:

1. people whom one had once judged rational and intelligent turn out to be unashamedly stupid.
2. day after day, with unceasing monotony, one is harassed in one's activities by stupid individuals who appear suddenly and unexpectedly in the most inconvenient places and at the most improbable moments."

Read it.

A gem and a jewel mine

First, the best story I've read in weeks, and I read a lot of stories in the internet. Must say I found it at FARK, which is a good source for oddball stories. Unfortunately, unless you pay them $5 a month, they come only at a trickle. Purchasing a TotalFARK membership would also publicly admit things I'd rather not acknowledge in the privacy of my own head.

I have also enjoyed the Exploring the Universe section of NASA's website. You can read about current missions, the celestial bodies of the solar system, all kinds of distant space objects, the sun, robots, even apply for a job at NASA. There're enough articles here to keep you busy while you wait for the perfect opportunity to open up in the Aerospace industry.

A Wealth of Information to Impress your Friends

Kidding. But the BBC's country profiles are informative, well-written, and guaranteed to take up as much time as you have to read them. The information is compiled by BBC Monitoring, the portion of the BBC that scans world media in over 100 languages. It's really a wealth of information, with an overview section for each country followed by "Facts," "Leaders," and "Media." By the time you're through with this you'll be able to pass the diplomatic service exam.

Happy reading

My Favorite Wikipedia Article

This article has a special place in my heart. I wrote a lot of it, and in typical Wikipedia fashion I have to periodically defend it from idiots. When I began working on it it was little more than a stub. It has since attained Featured Article status, for which I sponsored it.

If you don't know what the heck a Kakapo is, it's probably even better than you would have guessed. Kakapo are the world's largest, and only flightless, parrots. They blunder blissfully through the forests of isolated New Zealand islands, pigging out and calling with loud 'booms' for mates. Sadly, there are only 87 of these special birds left, having been hunted and predated to near extinction. The New Zealand Department of Conservation is working diligently to defend the Kakapo from such diverse threats as rats, stoats, cats, infection, injury, and even avian flu.

Give this article a try, even just for the sheer strangeness of it all.

Reading Material

Since I spend so much time sitting at home, I decided to collect free, internet-available reading material for others like me. It might be useful, it might be interesting. It might be a big bore. Give it a shot.