People who have much more connection to last year's tragedy than I do will undoubtedly be talking about it all day. I urge you to go read their posts, articles, and stories. (You can start with the Washington Post story Deceptively Stong about Derek O'Dell, who was shot and survived to tell his story. Or the New York Times story A Living Memorial After Virginia Tech, about the parents of victim Austin Cloyd, who are building houses in her memory.)

But I do have one thing I'd like to share. Last year, after the shootings, gnomi was reminded of a scene from the TV show The West Wing in which the president speaks after a similar tragedy occurs in their world. I share those words (by Aaron Sorkin) again today:

... securing peace in a time of global conflict, sustaining hope in this winter of anxiety and fear. More than any time in recent history America's destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek nor did we provoke an assault on our freedoms and our way of life. We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive.

Forty four people were killed a couple of hours ago at Kenneson State University. Three swimmers from the men's team were killed and two others are in critical condition when after having heard the explosion from their practice facility they ran into the fire to help get people out. Ran into the fire. The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels tonight. They're our students and our teachers and our parents and our friends. The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels tonight.

But every time we've measured our capacity to meet a challenge we look up and we're reminded that that capacity may well be limitless. This is a time for American heroes. We will do what is hard. We will achieve what is great. This is a time for American heroes and we reach for the stars.

(The West Wing: "20 Hours in America")

Tags: history, world-news

I'll have more to say about Arthur C. Clarke and his passing in the morning. But I have to admit that amidst the sadness I feel, I'm amused by one thing. All the news reports note that Clarke died early Wednesday morning, and here I sit on Tuesday evening and I already know. It's almost like time travel.

Many people know Clarke's Third Law; let me share with you his second, because it's what I've tried to do all my life.

"The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible."

The last of the Big Three is gone. The future belongs to us now. Let us make the most of it.

Tags: personal, science-fiction, world-news

You know what interests me about today's news? It's that should Eliot Spitzer resign, the next governor of New York would simultaneously be both the first African-American and first blind governor the state has had.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Paterson

(Also see http://patersonfornewyork.com/ and http://www.ny.gov/governor/index-ltgov.html)

Tags: history, nyc, politics, world-news

I've been meaning to post about the Nebulas, and I'd love to post about the wonderful experience I had at reunion, but something else is now occupying my mind.

At reunion, I found out that one of my best friends from high school, whom I shall simply refer to as J., is about to be deployed to Iraq. J. and I go back to about age 12 or 13, and we've always had a lot of good conversations about many different topics, especially politics. Our political views have diverged somewhat since high school, but we're able to "agree to disagree" when we talk, and explain why we stand where we stand.

Anyway, he wasn't at reunion, but one of our mutual friends told me about the imminent deployment. Now, I knew that after 9/11, J. had chosen to join the naval reserve, something for which I respected him very highly. After all, I know for a fact it's not something I could ever do, even though I believe deeply in the importance of the military and a strong defense. (And yes, this is coming from the left-leaning liberal Democrat who grew up in New York City and now lives in Massachusetts.) J. made the decision to defend the freedoms we enjoy in this country, and if it weren't for people like him, we might lose those freedoms.

I just got off the phone with J. a few minutes ago, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned for his safety. At the same time, though, I'm honored to be his friend.

At the end of our phone call, I thanked J. for what he's doing, and he told me a story of how three years ago, a UPS delivery man who saw him in uniform approached him and said something like, "I just want to thank you for your service." He says it meant a lot -- indeed, it meant so much, that he remembers it three years later.

Nomi and I have made a point of attending the town's Memorial Day and Veterans Day observances when we can, and I've always noticed how there's usually only a handful of people there. In particular, I've seen more people I recognize from the conservative or Republican side of town than the liberal or Democratic side. I recently met a lieutenant in the navy, and I made a point of thanking him for his service, and one of my friends thanked him as well. I asked the lieutenant, who has become a friend, if he gets thanked a lot. He told me he does get thanked, but not as much in the northeast as in other parts of the country. (I hope I remembered his response correctly; I'd hate to be wrong on that.) From my perspective, both what he said and what J. said makes it even more important for those of us on the liberal side to thank the soldiers who are working for us every day.

If you see someone in uniform, thank them. Let them know you appreciate their service. It makes a difference.

And as for my friend J., I'll be thinking of him every sabbath morning in synagogue, when we all stand for the rabbi's recitation of the Prayer for American Soldiers. I usually don't wear my religion or my politics on my sleeve, but in this case I'll make an exception. May God grant J. and all our soldiers safety, and may we soon see an end to the war.

Tags: jewish, personal, politics, world-news

It's being reported by the Associated Press that the World Meteorological Organization has officially retired five hurricane names from last year's season. Hurricane names are retired when a particular hurricance is so devastating that it would be inappropriate to reuse the name for another hurricane.

Katrina, of course, is on the list, given its status as the most devastating hurricane in recent memory and the one that almost destroyed New Orleans.

Dennis, Rita, Stan and Wilma are the other four hurricane names never to be used again.

The new names taking over those slots: Don, Katia, Rina, Sean and Whitney. They will enter the rotation in 2011.

Tags: hurricanes, world-news

Offered without comment, but I thought people might be interested in a link to this article.

Conservative Jews to Consider Ending a Ban on Same-Sex Unions and Gay Rabbis (may require registration with http://www.nytimes.com):

In a closed-door meeting this week in an undisclosed site near Baltimore, a committee of Jewish legal experts who set policy for Conservative Judaism will consider whether to lift their movement's ban on gay rabbis and same-sex unions....

Tags: jewish, world-news

THINKING OF SENDING A TELEGRAM STOP

AFTER 145 YEARS, WESTERN UNION HAS CEASED SENDING TELEGRAMS STOP

THE FIRST TELEGRAM WAS SENT ON MAY 24 1844 STOP WESTERN UNION BEGAN SENDING TELEGRAMS IN 1861 STOP THEY ANNOUNCED THAT AS OF JANUARY 27 2006 THEY NO LONGER SEND TELEGRAMS STOP

MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND HERE AND HERE STOP

Tags: history, science, world-news

This Saturday will be the 20th anniversary of the Challenger tragedy, the day when the space shuttle exploded and NASA lost seven astronauts: Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Judith A. Resnik, Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. Their sacrifice is memorialized at Arlington National Cemetary.

For the people of my generation, the Challenger tragedy was our equivalent of the Kennedy assassination. Because a schoolteacher, McAuliffe, was on board, many schools had chosen to show the launch live to their students over television. The launch took place around 11:30 AM EST, and seventy-three seconds into the flight, the shuttle exploded. People were confused at first, but it soon became clear that NASA was experiencing what they euphemistically refer to as an LOCV: loss of crew and vehicle.

I didn't see the explosion live, but I still remember that day vividly. My own story is as follows. I was in 11th grade at the time at Hunter College High School. One of our school's Chemistry teachers, Francine Salzman, had applied for the Teacher-in-Space program but not been accepted. So we were all keenly aware of the meaning of the launch.

The school's lunch period took place from 11:10 AM to 12noon, if I remember correctly, and after eating lunch I went to hang out in the school library with friends. I was sitting in the front area of the library when my friend Christina Sormani walked in and asked if I had heard the news about the shuttle. I said no, and she told me that it had blown up during the launch. I protested that she was kidding, and she assured me that she wasn't.

I realized she was serious and I started to cry. I cried so much that Tina thought I personally knew one of the astronauts. I didn't, of course; at the time, like all of us, the only one I could actually name was McAuliffe. But I was crying for them nevertheless, and for the dashed hopes and dreams of an entire human race that yearns to go to the stars. I knew that this would cause a major setback in our space program; and I could only hope that it wouldn't crush it entirely.

That afternoon, when we got home, there was an ironic coda. My father had been applying to the Journalist-in-Space program, and on that very day we received the postcard from NASA indicating that all his applications materials were in. And years later, in 2003, McAuliffe and my father were my own inspirations as I applied unsuccessfully to be an Educator Astronaut.

This weekend, I see from searching the web that people have not forgotten. The Challenger Center for Space Science Education has spent years educating children about space; I myself once took a class to the McAuliffe Challenger Center in Framingham. Astronaut Mike Mullane shares his story in USA Today. Filmmakers Renee Sotile and Mary Jo Godges have made the film Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars. The Washington Post has apparently reprinted an article on the final report of the commission that investigated the tragedy.

I know it's two days early, but anniversaries pass so quickly -- the day comes, and then it's gone. So if people would like to share their own personal remembrances of the tragedy, it would serve as a fitting early memorial.

Tags: history, movies, personal, science, space, teaching, world-news

Today is gnomi's birthday!

Today is also the birthday of:
-- Naveen Andrews (who turns 37 today)
-- Joshua Malina (who turns 40 today)
-- James Earl Jones (who turns 75 today)
-- Betty White (who turns 84 today)
-- Some claim today as the birthday of Joshua A. Norton, first and only emperor of the United States
-- Al Capone (who would be 107)
-- Benjamin Franklin (who would be 300 today)

Among the events that occurred on this day:
-- 1950: The Great Brinks Robbery - 11 thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car in Boston, MA.
-- 1966: A B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 jet tanker over Spain, dropping three 70-kiloton hydrogen bombs near the town of Palomares and another one into the sea.
-- 1977: Gary Gilmore put to death.
-- 1985: British Telecom announces the retirement of Britain's famous red telephone boxes.
-- 1991: Operation Desert Storm begins early in the morning. Iraq fires 8 Scud missiles into Israel in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation.
-- 2006: California executes Clarence Ray Allen, the oldest man on the state's Death Row.
-- 2006: NASA launches New Horizon mission to Pluto.  Today is also the anniversary of the 1997 death of Clyde Tombaugh, the astronomer who discovered Pluto.

Natural disasters seem to occur on this date:

-- 1994: A magnitude 6.7 earthquake occurs in Northridge, California
-- 1995: A magnitude 7.3 earthquake near Kobe, Japan
-- 2002: Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
 
(source for much of this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_17)

Tags: history, movies, personal, politics, space, television, world-news

Tropical Storm Zeta has formed in the Atlantic.

Anyone want to take bets on Eta, Theta, Iota, and Kappa?

Tags: hurricanes, science, world-news