Thursday various

  • Today is my thirty-second birthday. Among others, I have outlived “Grigori Nelyubov by more than a month. He was an a skilled pilot and Soviet cosmonaut who was expelled for drunkenness. He died of suicide by stepping in front of a train on February 18, 1966…” Good to know. [via]

  • Of course, if you went by today’s Writer’s Almanac, you might assume nobody but Joseph Campbell had been born today. I don’t know why, but I’m always intrigued when Keillor devotes the entire daily program to one single person. Campbell’s influence is arguably still deep enough to warrant it — though I’ve never read anything by him or seen the Bill Moyers PBS specials. Does anyone recommend them?

  • Speaking of growing up/not growing up: every time I watch this trailer for Where the Wild Things Are, all I want to do is watch it again. I have no particular attachment to Maurice Sendak’s original book — I’m not even sure I’ve ever read it — but the movie looks incredible. (Lucius T. Sheppard doesn’t think so, but that’s possibly a good sign. Seriously, his curmudgeonly scorn for all things pop cultural is getting rather tired.) [via]

  • My favorite story of the day? Easily a toss-up between this story of an Australian coach who uses a live crocodile to encourage speedy swimmers — or at least did back in 1998. I couldn’t find anything more recent than this 2001 Telegraph article, which suggests it was no fun for the crocodile either — and this story about the Egyptian government being forced to dispel rumors that a text message can kill anybody who receives it. At least, they say they’re only rumors… [via and via]

  • My least favorite? Easily this story about a massive “space storm” that could any day now wipe out civilization as we know it. I think I’m going to go back to thinking happy birthday thoughts. [via]

3 thoughts on “Thursday various”

  1. Happy birthday!

    I remember finding The Power of Myth quite insightful and interesting, but then I think I was about 18 at the time I read it, so take that with a grain of salt, maybe.

    And look on the bright side! Solar storms are scary, but they’re at least way better than getting creamed by an asteroid! (Btw, for an interesting look at the comparative scariness of Things from Space That Are Trying to Kill You, I recommend Death from the Skies! by Phil Plait, which I just finished reading a few days ago. Fun stuff!)

  2. I highly (HIGHLY!) recommend Joseph Campbell. He was a major influence on me in my college days, and still is. “The Power of Myth” is his most popular and accessible work, but it’s worth exploring the other stuff, too.

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