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Thursday, July 19, 2007

Absolute Sagan

posted by on July 19 at 11:07 AM

Could there be more than this?
seattlecrw_6702.med.jpg You were once here, Carl Sagan. Where are you now, the captain of the Spaceship of the Imagination? The scientist who told us that when two stars are close to each other they exchange star stuff. The man who told me that if I wanted to make an apple pie from scratch, I must first invent the universe. And now you are beyond this universe, beyond all this that darkles, this “our funnanimal world”—our animal world, our fundamental world, our phenomenal world, our fun world.

RSS icon Comments

1

He did about 11 years ago. (Oh, you meant metaphorically/spiritually). My bad.

Posted by elswinger | July 19, 2007 11:10 AM
2

He's been replaced by Jesus riding a triceratops.

He did that. Read your bible.

Posted by JC | July 19, 2007 11:17 AM
3

He's not dead. We was hangin' yestaday, yo! Oh, yeah...um...he told me he didn't really like you. Sorry.

Posted by Mr. Poe | July 19, 2007 11:30 AM
4

Cosmos was the greatest TV program of it's time, and Sagan was the perfect narrator. For those of you who enjoyed that series, I suggest you check out the Discovery ChannelHD's new series, Mystery Planet. Amazing CGG and good science, too.

Posted by crazycatguy | July 19, 2007 11:31 AM
5

his house in ithaca, new york was built into a cliff and is gorgeous.

Posted by josh | July 19, 2007 11:39 AM
6

I spent a minute or two trying to figure this post out. A photo from two years ago, nothing about Carl Sagan in today's news... OHHHH, Mudede wrote it, it's not supposed to make any sense. I need to learn to check the byline earlier.

Posted by no one in particular | July 19, 2007 11:56 AM
7

Don't listen to them Mudede. Sir David Attenborough is excellent too:
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/A/htmlA/attenborough/attenborough.htm

Posted by Special K | July 19, 2007 12:15 PM
8

As Dr. McCoy said to Captain Kirk upon the death of Spock in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan":

"He's not really dead. As long as we remember him."

Posted by D Huygens | July 19, 2007 12:35 PM
9

I really loved Contact (the book not the piece of shit Jodie Foster movie.) I think Sagan truly knew what was up. Unfortunately he started working for the government and became part of the problem rather than part of the solution. Brilliant man though.

Posted by JessB | July 19, 2007 1:22 PM
10

Charles M:

I would like to see a post from you regarding the absoluteness of our concept of "north." Perhaps you can determine for me its relationship with a certain Joseph Jarman song?

Posted by frederick r | July 19, 2007 1:26 PM
11

@JessB:

He always worked for the government in some capacity. Hell, he was a major part of NASA before he was well known by any of us.

He was always part of the solution. Rallying for more money for science and math education, writing science books for the layman, touring the country talking about science. The man is one of the greatest influences on science in the 20th century. Even when he was dying, he never called for a priest or talked about an after-life. RIP Sagan. You are truly missed.

Whats with The Slog talking about all my dead heros. *sniff*

Posted by Original Monique | July 19, 2007 3:13 PM
12

funnanimal ... I don't think that word means what you think it does.

At least, not according to the furrie websites.

Posted by Will in Seattle | July 19, 2007 3:36 PM
13

Seattle = Bespin. Sweet. Big ups for Sagan.

Posted by Mike | July 19, 2007 11:25 PM
14

I thought Marxists didn't believe in the afterlife?

Posted by MHD | July 20, 2007 7:10 AM
15

Working within existing power structures is the only way to be part of the solution. There's no room to create an independant organization with the size and power of the current government.

Sagan was one of the most resonable and respected voices agains nuclear proliferation. He popularized the concept of 'nuclear winter'.

'The Demon Haunted World' changed my life. All of his non-fiction should be required reading for everybody.

And he never used the phrase 'billions and billions'. That would be too imprecise.

Posted by DonJuanNebulon | July 22, 2007 1:18 PM

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