Day at Night was an interview series on the public television station of the City University of New York that aired from 1973-4. CUNY TV is in the process of digitizing and uploading the 130 episodes that were produced, with 46 done so far. The episodes are just under half an hour in length. Among the people interviewed by host James Day are author
Ray Bradbury, actress
Myrna Loy, medical researcher
Jonas Salk, singer
Cab Calloway, writer
Christopher Isherwood, nuclear scientist
Edward Teller, comedian
Victor Borge, tennis player
Billie Jean King, linguist and activist
Noam Chomsky, composer
Aaron Copland, actor
Vincent Price and boxer
Muhammad Ali.
posted by Kattullus
on Jan 16, 2012 -
6 comments
Solaris, Stanislaw Lem's 1961 masterpiece, has
finally been translated directly into English. The
current print version, in circulation for over 4 decades, was the result of
a double-translation. Firstly from Polish to French, in 1966, by Jean-Michel Jasiensko. This version was then taken up by Joanna Kilmartin and Steve Cox who hacked together an English version in 1970. Lem,
himself a fluent English speaker, was always
scathing of the double translation. Something he believed added to the universal misunderstanding of his greatest work. After the relsease of
two film versions of the story, and decades of speculation, a new direct English translation
has been released. Translated by American Professor
Bill Johnston '
The Definitive Solaris' is only available as an audiobook for the time being. Copyright issues, hampered by
several, widely available, editions of the poor English translation may mean it is some time yet before a definitive print edition makes it
onto our bookshelves.
posted by 0bvious
on Jun 19, 2011 -
64 comments
Hellenica is an encyclopedia of Greek culture, from classical Hellas, through the Byzantine Empire until the modern day, though its focus is on antiquity and especially the
science and technology of Ancient Greece. Featuring technical diagrams and explications, there's no better site if you seek information on
gigantic galleys,
now obscure great Greek mathematicians,
the last still working Ancient lighthouse and
gears and how they were used by Archimedes and other ancients. This is not to denigrate other sections of the site, such as the page on the
Olympics (including a
Google Map of the site of the games), biographies of
ancient,
Byzantine and
modern Greeks, the
warring and
healing of the Byzantines or the overview of Greek literature, taking in
antiquity,
the medieval era and
modern times. That said, Hellenica is at its finest when treating science and technology.
posted by Kattullus
on Jul 18, 2008 -
8 comments
Qoolsqool is "a free and open educational resource for educators, students, and self-learners around the world."
posted by anjamu
on Sep 29, 2006 -
9 comments
3quarksdaily. Just another blog, sure, but a good one. 3quarksdaily is a filter blog much like our very own, but with only 15 users (and an editor). As they say on their about page
"On this website, my guest authors and editors and I hope to present interesting items from around the web on a daily basis, in the areas of science, design, literature, current affairs, art, and anything else we deem inherently fascinating." The do an admirable job.
posted by panoptican
on Dec 6, 2005 -
26 comments
The Public Library of Science has been getting some good press lately.
An Editorial at the Sacramento Bee,
The New Scientist,
Washington Post and
The Boston Globe, have all written up The PLoS, the organization founded by a Nobel Prize-winning biologist and two colleagues, is plotting the overthrow of the system by which scientific results are made known to the world -- a $9 billion publishing juggernaut with subscription charges that range into thousands of dollars per year.
They are committed to making the world's scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource. Check it out at
publiclibraryofscience.org.
posted by Blake
on Aug 19, 2003 -
5 comments
Required Reading from the President's Council on Bioethics.
Each of the readings that follow - which include poetry, short stories and more - is accompanied by a brief introduction and questions about the bioethical implications of the work. The new booklist includes James Watson, Tolstoy, Shakespeare and Ovid. Via the WSJ.
posted by turbodog
on Apr 18, 2003 -
2 comments
