2020: A Utah Odyssey Certainly one of the greatest science-fiction films of all time and one of the best films of any genre is Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 magnum opus, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Much of the credit, of course, goes to Arthur C. Clarke, the seminal writer whose short story The Sentinel inspired the film. Clarke co-wrote the […]
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Wild Turkeys O, peace! Contemplation makes a rare turkey-cock of him: how he jets under his advanced plumes! – Shakespeare, Twelfth Night Here in the United States, we are on the precipice of Thanksgiving, which falls on the fourth Thursday of November. Traditionally, the protein of choice at feasts and banquets far and wide is
GLOFs & Jökulhlaups When I was just a wee nerd, one year at the Ohio State Fair I happened upon a merchant selling packs of playing cards called Magic: the Gathering. I had no idea what they were. My mother and sister, who were with me, had no idea what the game was. But they looked
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Frankenstein’s Monster Volcano Mary Shelley might not be the first name encountered when considering women in science and nature, but she led an extraordinary life and has an intriguing connection to one of the largest events in geologic history. Additionally, many literary critics dubbed one of her novels as the first science-fiction piece ever written. Her
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Sylacauga In the last issue, we traveled to the strangely-named Benld, Illinois, to investigate a close encounter with a meteorite. In 1938, some humans had the closest recorded brush with a meteorite impact. Just 50 feet away, a space rock hit a garage, went through the ceiling of a car, its cushion, its floorboard, bounced off
Mapping the Forest Soundscape The internet is a sprawling amalgamation of wasteland and oasis. For every worthless, vile haven there is a beacon of wonder we could not have accessed a generation or two ago. I recently had a conversation about education in which it occurred to me that I believe one of the
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The Autumnal Equinox Pumpkin spice permeates the air. Color creeps into the leaves. A favorite season for many people begins tomorrow – autumn. With all the fun of fall, unfortunately, comes the notion that, indeed, winter is coming. Daylight is slipping away. For those of us who loathe the lack of daytime in the winters, the autumnal
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Giant’s Causeway In the days of ancient yore, a Scottish giant named Benandonner challenged an Irish giant named Fionn mac Cumhaill to a fight. Fionn accepted the summons, but the giants had a problem. A sea lay between the two colossi, so Fionn constructed a causeway across the North Channel. The exact details are sketchy
Sand Cats Today we celebrate Felis margarita. No, not a cat named after a tequila cocktail, but a species named after the French general Jean Auguste Margueritte. May I introduce the adorable Sand Cat, also sometimes dubbed the Sand Dune Cat. Sand Kitty – photo by Payman Sazesh This small, wild cat resides in the sandy and stony
Mauna Kea – Hawaii’s High Point Hawaii is the youngest full-fledged addition to the United States of America and perhaps the least congruent. It is, after all, a string of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The state isn’t the only one with volcanoes, but it is unique in that it was created
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