One for each day of the week.

If Dave hasn't already, he is in the process of completing his venture into Twin Peaks. I expect him to write about his experiences here.

I really only dipped my toe into the Twin Peaks phenomena for a short while (season one) a few years ago while sick in Nashville. I loved it. From recollection, and courtesy of Diane, I do recall, and have proof, that the show exhibits some excellent dialog of the non sequiturial variety.

To quote the first episode:

"I decided to pass on the rent to own option, Diane. Leasing may be the fast track to an appearance of affluence, but equity will keep you warm at night."

For those doubters, please check the SoKT for proof.

Kyle McLanchan won a Grammy for the audio book culled from these asides to his tape recorder (for those diligent web readers you have already read the Diane link, above, and have begun downloading the audio). His superb acting all around is another reason to watch Twin Peaks. And while he is no John Corbett, his reoccurring appearances on Sex and the City are cast in a new light having seen the Peaks.

A Temporary Pause.

There will be a temporary pause in production as Dave and I dive head first into our 'Week of Sagan,' otherwise known as 'Celebrating Sagan.'

You can track our progress at www.celebratingsagan.com.

If you  too are a Sagan fan, we encourage you to participate in the celebration.

Email your memories to celebratingsagan@gmail.com and your thoughts will be posted.

Ann Druyan.

As I recently stated on Sounds and Pictures, my friend David and I are working to prepare a series of short articles about Carl Sagan. While we will surely discuss his life and work, most of our writings will be about how Dr. Sagan impacted our lives and perspectives. Simple stuff really -- evangelism in the name of Sagan.

Since well before his death Carl Sagan was adopted as the public face of science in the United States. Whether Americans know him as a scientific educator on Sesame Street, as a figure being lampooned on Saturday Night Live, or from hosting his monolithic seies, Cosmos, the name Carl Sagan has become synonymous with science, space, extra terrestrial life, and an enduring optimism in the human spirit.

These Sagan-esque characteristics have been masterfully captured by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich in a segment they produced for their public radio show, Radio Lab. This touching summation of Carl Sagan's life is told through an interview with his wife, Ann Druyan.

The following audio clip originally aired on May 12, 2006, as part of a Radio Lab episode on Space. If you enjoy this clip I highly recommend checking out the entire Space episode, or any of Radio Lab's other shows.

For a first hand taste of Carl Sagan, and his mythology, go to Sounds and Pictures , where Dave and I have posted video and cultural nuggets -- just the tip of the iceberg really.

Memories.

Thank Dave for this excellent video memory of our camping trip to Assateague, MD in October 2006. Dave is responsible for pretty much everything except for the field audio -- that belongs to me. Pay extra attention to the time lapse photography. That is my favorite part. Also, be forewarned -- the video contains extreme chili footage.

This is not a joke. The U.S. military recently dipped into its dwindling funds to produce a PowerPoint slide that asses the situation in Iraq by using a scale that ranges from Peace to Chaos. Peace is indicated by green and chaos by red. The grey area in between is represented by yellow.

Prior to the 'Incident in Sammarra' the scale shows the situation in Iraq as being neither peaceful nor chaotic, but simply yellow. Since Sammarra, however, the situation in Iraq has drifted from yellow to orange, and is now dangerously near red, or chaos. As passions continue to escalate there is no telling what will happen when the scale tips beyond the red of chaos.

As Dave's anonymous source commented after reading the paper, this chart looks as if "it were designed for a self-help seminar by an over ambitious bespectacled middle schooler named Ze."

Thank god the Pentagon has started using its brains and resources to prove a point.