Great news. As you all know I am a huge fan of Carl Sagan and have been loving that digitally remastered and revamped Cosmos series (remember how I told you “Sagan Dreams a Dreamless Tomorrow” several months ago? I wasn’t kidding.) The new Cosmos episodes have been keeping me up all night watching the Science Channel for weeks lately.
Well, now for something even cooler.
Joel Schlosberg often has great ideas (read his humanistic blog). One of his latest and greatest has been to organize a Carl Sagan Memorial Blog-a-thon.
The Carl Sagan Memorial Blog-a-thon will occur on December 20, 2006. Set your clocks now kiddies and join us then for an entire day of international blogging. It will be a blast. I can’t wait to read Joel’s metablog of the event.
I think this is an excellent concept that Carl would love. What better way to celebrate the past futurist than in truly modern form with a worldwide dialogue of bloggers? I think he would approve.
The idea has caught on and spread everywhere. Read how “Bloggers around the world celebrate Carl Sagan’s life on the tenth anniversary of his death.”
Fans and bloggers are planning a worldwide blog-a-thon to commemorate the life and legacy of Carl Sagan — consummate scientist, communicator and educator — on Dec. 20, the 10th anniversary of his death. Sagan was Cornell’s David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences.
The event, organized by New York City fan Joel Schlosberg, encourages bloggers of all stripes to discuss the Cornell astronomer’s influence in their lives. Schlosberg plans to compile a meta-blog — a blog of blogs — following the event to link Sagan bloggers to one another.
Nick Sagan, one of Sagan’s sons, supports the effort. “The goal here is to make Dec. 20 a blogosphere-wide celebration of the life and works of Carl Sagan,” he wrote. “So if you’re a Carl Sagan fan with a blog, or you know someone who is, I hope you’ll join in and take some time on that day to share your thoughts, memories, opinions and feelings about my dad. And if you could help spread the word, it would mean a lot to me.”
That’s right. Nick Sagan is on board with this, which is a very cool thing. Read his blog posts on it here and here.
But I love what one professor had to say about Carl in the above Cornell article.
“Carl was a candle in the dark,” said Yervant Terzian, the David Duncan Professor in the Physical Sciences and former astronomy department chair, after Sagan’s death. “He was, quite simply, the best science educator in the world this century. He touched hundreds of millions of people and inspired young generations to pursue the sciences.”
Absolute truth.
I will be very honored to participate in this Carl Sagan Memorial. He has more than enriched my own life and world. It is the least I can do to pay my respect to such a great man with such a great mind.
Carl Sagan once said, “For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.”
Yeah, yeah, I feel you. Here’s my little way of saying I love you, Carl. Best of luck way out there touching infinity. Hope to join you some day…just not soon.