Next month, December 20, 2006 will mark the tenth anniversary Carl Sagan's passing. In his honor, I am organizing a special memorial "blog-a-thon" among Sagan's fans throughout the blogosphere. If you're a Sagan fan with a blog, you can participate by posting something related to him on or near that date. Read or reread a Sagan book and review it; discuss cool things that you've done that's been influenced by him; pontificate on one of the many topics he treated (SETI, astronomy, critical thinking, the history of science, human intelligence....), or post about something completely surprising. Contact me by email or by leaving a comment, and then when the date approaches, I will create a meta-post that links to all the stuff people are doing, providing a network of the participating bloggers.
A list of Sagan stuff online that may be a source of ideas.
Carl's son Nick Sagan on the blog-a-thon.
Publicity for the blog-a-thon includes Cornell University's Chronicle Online, The Ithaca Journal, digg, bOING bOING, and countless blogs. Welcome, everybody, and thanks to all who have publicized it!
See also another very cool new project, Celebrating Sagan; if you're not a blogger, you can contribute your memories and stuff via email.
Update: the meta-post is here!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
128 comments:
Well, it may be certainly impossible to properly reflect on the life and works of Dr. Carl Sagan in one day, but I have been doing my best to get down as much as I can as it comes up.
Best bet is to just check out the "Carl Sagan" label of my blog ...
Joel,
Excellent idea. I have posted an entry on my blog honoring Dr. Sagan, and will leave it up through the holidays.
Great blog, BTW.
The Demon Haunted World is one of my favorite books of all time. Watch my blog for a review of it around the appointed date.
Count me in for a Dec 20th post about Contact.
http://khazell1.blogspot.com
Great idea!
I don't know about anywhere else, but a remembrance dinner in Dallas is already on order.
i remember carl sagan in my own way. i've got a
carl sagan label on my blog and his contributions affect me on a daily basis.
thank you for organizing the blog-a-thon.
What a great idea this is. I have a quote from Carl (from Pale Blue Dot) up at my blog. I'm trying to to write something of the tribute flavor, but darn--there's just so much that comes to mind.
Thank you for this great idea and count me in. Recently I started a “monthly review” series of posts, and I chose Carl Sagans The Varieties of Scientific Experience (Ann Druyan, editor) as the book-of-the-month. I’ll post something on Sagan on the 20th.
This is an awesome idea. I suspect I'm not the only person who finds it difficult to put into words the profound effect that Sagan's work has had on our lives, but on the 20th I'll certainly give it a shot!
theatarithief.blogspot.com
I feel a marathon "Cosmos" viewing is in order...
Count me on this one, in spanish. Great Master, Sagan.
I can't claim to have any inspiring thoughts about Carl or his work, but I do have an anecdote to relate concerning a talk he gave at RPI in 1996. Please count me in...
http://www.evileyebrow.com
I have a occasionally science/science-fiction focused blog at http://beanmine.typepad.com where I will be writing my thoughts. Thank you for doing this.
-Subspace
How can one comment on the work of a true genius? - an educator of a huge range of disciplines of half a billions citizens of the cosmos with supreme communications skills, seemingly infinite passion, dynamism, charisma, and knowledge. He was to science what Mozart was to music. Yet, despite such unique characteristics and standing he prioritised reaching out, and sharing such knowledge with "the man in the street" (including me!) Not only that - he conveyed it all (much of it complex scientific concepts) in such a way as to make it thoroughly understandable to anyone with an open mind, who was, and still is, willing to learn.
I have tried my hardest to provide tributes to do Carl justice. You can read them here to see whether I've succeeded!:
http://www.neforum2.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,10855.0.html
http://www.teessideonline.net/ftopic2332.php
http://www.thisishartlepool.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=909
and also at AOL Winamp/Shoutcast - hopefully some web stations will pick the story up:
http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=262082
and from my sites at:
http://northeastradio.co.uk/index.html
http://northeastradio.co.uk/North_East_Radio_Revisited_Miscellaneous_Links_Page.html
A very good idea.
I remember Carl Sagan in Spanish in my blog.
Please, count me in for a 20th December post about him.
http://www.zooglea.com
Thanks for organizing this! I'll be posting an entry on my blog tomorrow in his honor.
I am not a cosmologist, an astronomer, or even a scientist, but I am a human being. Though I am (so far) bound to this Earth, I am ever thankful to be a tiny part of the majesty that he helped reveal to us all.
Thanks to you as well, Joel. My thoughts may be found .
I am not a cosmologist, an astronomer, or even a scientist, but I am a human being. Though I am (so far) bound to this Earth, I am ever thankful to be a tiny part of the majesty that he helped reveal to us all.
Thanks to you as well, Joel. My thoughts may be found .
[http://chadsblog.wordpress.com/2006/12/19/look-again-at-that-dot/]
Let the Saganlution begin!
Great idea! just finished my addition
I'm still collecting my thoughts - and the thoughts of others - but have posted an introductory item and will have more on the Big Day. As a bonus, I'll be giving away a copy of Sagan's recently published lectures, "The Varieties of Scientific Experience."
(Now with the right URL!)
Does Cornell have a Carl Sagan Scholarship? If not, should we all turn this blog-a-thon into a fund raising to establish one NOW? -A Cornell Ph.D. '95
Here is my contribution: The Dragon In My Garage
I am not a cosmologist, an astronomer, or even a scientist, but I am a human being. Though I am (so far) bound to this Earth, I am ever thankful to be a tiny part of the majesty that he helped reveal to us all.
Thanks to you as well, Joel. My thoughts may be found here.
[I'd appreciate it if you could delete my comments above, as I'm unable to clean them up. I've created a blogger account so that I might edit my posts in the future]
Wonderful idea for a tribute Joel!
I have a blog that I post all sorts of misc. stuff on, although I've been on a science kick lately and I will put up a Sagan-related post tonight or tomorrow.
It will be up at http://larae.net
"Cosmos" aired at just the right time for me. I recall "having" to be home to see the series. I already had an interest in science, but the "Cosmos" series helped me decide where my interests were and led me to a career in a science field. I have a copy of "Cosmos" that I have let my kids (8 and 10) watch and even though they don't understand some of it, they do enjoy the program. It still seems timely today.
Great idea for a tribute.
Mine will be up tomorrow morning at Coyote Mercury
I've got an alternate history blog, and Dr. Sagan will have an entry all his own tomorrow - in an alternate reality where the world paid attention to the idea that science is the most human endeavor of all...
Carl Sagan... helped my inner child remain alive and inquisitive... and remaining in awe of the cosmos. His legacy lives on.. in all of us that can count the influence of his being.
Constance Griffin
Fountain Hills Az.
Great idea - I don't know if I can do it justice, but here is my contribution, which tries to explain the impact Carl Sagan had on me:
Candle in the Dark
Thank you for this idea. There is now a post up at The Planetary Society Weblog, written by Society cofounder Lou Friedman. (Carl Sagan and Bruce Murray were the other two cofounders.)
Thanks for organizing this. My contribution is live at Morrow Planet.
my contribution is here:
lessons i've learned
I was interviewed by a Chinese reporter who is writing about Sagan for his newspaper. My entry for the blogathon is my answer to his questions.
My entry can be found here.
Thank you for this idea.
My post
Recordando a Carl Sagan...Remembering Carl Sagan
My post is here.
Thank you for doing this!
Here you go.
I'm crying like a baby after writing this post about my hero...
http://samharrelson.com/2006/12/20/in-memory-of-carl-sagan/
Hi Joel--
I have a post about his time at the University of Chicago and Ryerson Observatory here
A post from .
My post is up
T"hat it will never come again is what makes life so sweet"
--EMILY DICKINSON Poem Number 1741.
Unrepeatable Sagan !!
My small attempt at a contribution can be found here.
My small attempt at a contribution can be found here.
My small attempt at a contribution can be found here.
Job done!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=i2Z2aNp9P0s
A little video i made, a bit old but still there for the viewing.
though I've never been a fan of Carl Sagan (he always seemed to me a mediatic A.C.Clarke), I still have to admit his contribution in the making of more sceptics, something humanity badly needs.
My contribution has been posted.
www.hahaha.com.au/weblog/index.php?thought=1307
Another Spanish post to add to the tribute:
http://www.culodemalasiento.com/?p=156
A few personal words ans a recreation of that funny horoscope comparison he once did for the cosmos series.
Hi there. I've posted an entry from the point of view of an artist and teacher today who, as a child, was first exposed to Sagan's work. The link is at http://jessicabeagan.blogspot.com/2006/12/cosmos.html.
This is a great project. Thanks for hosting it!
My own contribution:
http://airminded.org/2006/12/20/still-at-the-edge-of-forever-for-carl/
Thank you!
I joined! http://fasttimes.clubmom.com/fast_times/2006/12/celebrating_sag.html
Here is my post for the blog-a-thon. 10 years later, he is still missed, maybe more than ever.
The Public Me: Remembering the "People's Astronomer"
My small and sincere tribute to Carl Sagan:my stars guide in these darknesses
HI Joel,
I am a cosmologist from Rome, Italy. My contribution was to post a translation in italian of Carl's Pale Blue Dot reflections:
Quel puntino blu chiaro
Ciao!
Great idea Joel. I've done as requested on my blob: http://sften.blogspot.com/2006/12/carl-sagan-blog-thon.html
I'm looking forward to the compiled work.
Neil McDonnell
Carl Sagan introduced a generation to the universe.
Hello! It is a sad day, but with great memories from a great man.
I have just posted some memories from watching COSMOS in Brazilian television in 1982-1983
http://rtietz.blogspot.com/2006/12/ave-carl-sagan.html
I stumbled on this via Bad Astronomy and thought I'd participate:
http://rocketdungeon.blogspot.com/2006/12/one-in-billion.html
Great idea - thanks for setting it up! My contribution.
This is my contribution (in Dutch).
http://www.volkskrantblog.nl/bericht/94565
Some memories from the Cosmos series, which was broadcasted in Holland beginning of the '80s, and of course his books. It really influenced my choise of carreer.
And, oh coincidence, I was living in the US at the time of his last television appearance (beginning of December 2006), which was quite a shock because he was really looking very frail and ill at that time. But the twinkle in his eyes and his smile were still there.
I stumbled on this via Bad Astronomy and thought I'd participate:
http://rocketdungeon.blogspot.com/2006/12/one-in-billion.html
My contribution (which was a pleasure to sit down and write) can be found on my blog, "Second Order Approximation" today.
My favorite Sagan quote is: "I don't want to believe. I want to know." You can find my blog on Carl Sagan here.
I posted mine, on baloney detection in an enterprise IT context, here: http://www.pythian.com/blogs/341/the-fine-art-of-baloney-detection-in-honour-of-dr-carl-sagan.
Paul
Fantastic idea, Joel. Thanks for leading the charge to honor a man to whom we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude that cannot be repaid.
You can find my humble offering here: For Carl Sagan.
Carl changed my life. I found Cosmos at a very young age, about 8, at the moment in my life when my family and friends tried to turn me toward religion. He showed me something more mysterious, more wonderful, and more profound than I had ever considered, and it was a place that existed in the real world, rather than a wishful fantasy. I will forever be in his debt for helping to set my mind free.
-ChrissyOne
Hello from Helsinki, Finland! I just wanted to drop by to say that Carl Sagan was an inspiration to me ever since childhood, since they showed his TV series Cosmos on Finnish TV when I was a kid. Later, in 1996, I purchased Carl's book The Demon-Haunted World and it made me a skeptic. I've read this book many times and I still find it excellent, and what is quite disturbing, TIMELY. In a world like this, we would surely need gentle and rational people like Carl Sagan. His legacy remains - and that spells REASON.
I don't have a blog of my own, even though I spend an awful lot of time posting comments on other people's sites. This keeps me civil, I think, and makes it easier to walk away from the Web when I need a break. This is the first occasion when I actually wondered if I should start a blog of my own — just create a blogspot page, post a few quick essays and then leave it behind for the historical record.
I haven't done that, but I did write up my thoughts. After checking out Rebecca's contribution to the blog-a-thon at Memoirs of a Skepchick, you can read my remarks in the comment thread.
I am very impressed with the writings people have contributed so far. Many thanks to you all.
I put up my thoughts on http://www.freyburg.com/archives/2006/12/carl_sagan_blog.html. Nothing that hasn't been said already...great influence, piqued my interest in science and history. Contact..awesome movie.
He taught me that science can be more interesting than science fiction.
Many layers of news
Hi There! I hope that some of you might listen to my radio tribute to Carl on my show "The Blue Dot Report" broadcast on NPR out of Chico, CA. The show airs Thursday Dec. 21 at 6:44 pm (four minutes long) and repeats at 6:35 am Friday. Listen online at www.kcho.org
Peace and love to Annie and the kids.
Dave Schlom
Found through this in Technorati. Great idea! I've made a small post now, to remember a great man.
Saw this on the Bad Astronomy site - What a great idea. My entry is here.
I think this is a great idea. My blog is in Danish, so my post is also in Danish. I realize that it means that most people can't read it... but I think it will add an extra dimension to the blogathon to have posts written in as many languages as possible.
Carl was a personal friend; Nick and my husband's son Dan grew up together in Ithaca. 20 years later, Carl's quote "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known" is our tag line for a festival we founded here four years ago, a synergy of science and the arts. Carl's passion for his work and eagerness to share that passion with non-scientists is the force behind the Light in Winter Festival as well. We are proud to be a reflection of his humanity and generosity of spirit.
This is a wonderful idea. Dr. Sagan quite literally changed my life, and I am honored and humbled to be able to participate.
http://swankchambers.blogspot.com
My personal reflection can be found here.
I've posted a brief remembrance of Carl on my blog as well...
http://jalanerwine.blogspot.com
Sadly i am not familiar with your dads work, but i am sure he was an outstanding writer, as you are.
I've posted a brief remembrance of Carl on my blog as well...
http://jalanerwine.blogspot.com
Dr. Sagan was one of the greatest scientists ever in my opinion. He was greatly influential to me, as well as many other of course. If you'd like to read more from me, check out my blog on myspace under the username: "more rum, savvy?".
I have only learned about Dr.Sagan, Through watching the series COSMOS.on the Discovery sience channel.Throuh Dr,Sagan i have sparked such an intrest in sience. he makes everything illogical...logical. and to that ill say thank you Carl Sagan.. Bobby Gareau
I have a post to contribute to the Sagan blog-a-thon at my blog B and B: http://pmbryant.typepad.com/b_and_b/2006/12/carl_sagan_10_y.html
My contribution:
http://scienceblogs.com/clock/2006/12/sagan_blogathon_let_there_be_l.php
My contribution...
http://joelschlosberg.blogspot.com/2006/11/announcing-carl-sagan-memorial-blog.html
Stuart Atkinson, UK
Sorry everyone, pasted in the wrong link... idiot...!
http://journals.aol.com/stuartatk/Cumbrian-Sky/entries/2006/12/20/remembering-sagan.../2254
Stuart Atkinson, UK
Wow! Great idea Joel.
I'm writing up a post right now about Carl Sagan for my blog.
Thanks for being a great Cosmic citizen!
Laura Woodmansee
Author of Sex in Space
http://laurawoodmansee.blogspot.com/
It brought me great pleasure to write this. Thanks for giving us something positive to focus on!
http://www.merriehaskell.com/journal/archives/2006_12.html#000824
My contribution is here:
Remembering Carl Sagan
This was fun, and well worth the effort. Thanx Joel. Here's my blog entry:
http://witchesandscientists.blogspot.com/2006/12/carl-sagan-blog-thon.html
This is a wonderful idea. I have my own musical perspective here.
Joel, here is my contribution. Thank you for organizing this.
http://anothermonkey.blogspot.com/2006/12/carl-sagan.html
Hi. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to remember how much I appreciated Sagan. My blog entry is here: http://nooksack.blogs.com/steph/2006/12/somewhere_somet.html
This is a great idea. My blog entry is here:
http://bread-and-circuses.net/?p=42
DJ
Hi. My post in spanish about Carl Sagan. 'Cosmos' was a great influence for a generation of adolescent people.
Carl Sagan, un pastor de la ciencia
Hugs!
Mine's gonna be cheesy as hell, but his work leave a huge impact on my personal life.
Humanity is damn lucky to had him.
Thanks, Joel.
We were fortunate to have him, and his passing definitely deserves commemoration. Thanks for the fine suggestion - I followed through here.
Oops - I missed this by a day -- just discovered it today, but I still want to participate in the blog-a-thon. Carl Sagan tremendously influenced the way I look at the world, and humanity is poorer for his passing.
Here's a link to my tribute. Thank you, Joel, for organizing this.
When I am asked to reflect on my time spent and education "earned" at Cornell in the late '70s my first remembrance is almost always of time spent absorbing the always interesting teachings of Dr. Sagan. It made no difference which topic was at hand for the day - the method presentation, the offerings of analogs and example always captured both attention and imagination.
Mixed in the lesson in fact was always the advice to make intelligent observation with a healthy dose of skepticism. That advice has stayed with me throughout the succeeding (and successful) decades of my professional life. The lesson learned was not to always seek truth with a VERY open mind. That the avenue yet to be explored may in fact hold the truth even if contrary to then accepted "belief".
flawed ,human , teacher , Husband , Icon ! Miss Him....
My contribution Thanks!
Here's the link to my tribute. http://randall.livejournal.com/
Carl Sagan has been the greatest inspiration in my life. His books are the pride of my book-shelf.
I thought I'd add my own two cents worth. Learned so much from the man. Check out my blog entry.
Here's my entry. Thank you for doing this.
http://bodhisattvamama.com/?p=105
-mama
Carl Sagan never said he was an atheist which is an unscientific dogmatic belief that logically cannot be gotten to through rational enquiry.
I haven't 'blogged' a tribute, but I did create a video. Please take a look. Click on my name above, to view it.
I posted a brief note and some pictures on my new blog.
Glad I stumbled across this! I just wrote Carl Sagan and the Stuff of the Cosmos in my blog.
I remember when I was in 8th grade (1981) our science teacher had us watch the COSMOS series on PBS each week. We had to do a weekly report after viewing them. I have the dvd collection now and I still enjoy watching them. I also read The Pale Blue Dot and The Deamon Haunted World often. Also I read his book Contact back in 1998 when I was on a military deployment. Carl was a visionary and was a good teacher.
His vision lives on to this day.
Greatest teacher for many of us. He will be remembered with love through time and space
Brilliant Man!
http://www.ne-forum.co.uk
carl sagan sucks
Dear Nick Sagan,
I have been a longtime admirer of the late, great, American astronomer, space scientist, polymath, internationalist, universal man and 'man of the Universe' Professor Carl Sagan!.
In fact, he has now become as much of a hero to me as our own great veteran astromomer Sir Patrick Moore in Britain, even though they are such different personalities!.
You may like to know that I have set up a tribute page to him on my website: www.astrospaceweb.com
(just click on 'MESSAGE' on the navigation bar).
All astro and space enthusiasts are welcome to visit my site and contribute their comments on Carl Sagan in it's discussion forum!. Best Wishes, Bruce Woods
These comments have been invaluable to me as is this whole site. I thank you for your comment.
vlog? http://youtube.com/watch?v=2pfwY2TNehw
Is there an online memorial or online obituary published!?Since i can not see it in
http://www.tolive4ever.com
still cant see online memorial or obituary in
http://www.tolive4ever.com
Carl Sagan memorial blog-a-thon... Finally found really useful information on the topic, thank you.
I am a Lecturer in the University of London. Sagan's Cosmos was on the origin of my passion for science, history and education. I think many scientists around the world own their careers to his great work an so we must declare it.
Thanks, Carl for being such an inspirational scientist.
Carl Sagan has always fueled my hunger for knowledge of the cosmos. Even today when I watch Cosmos religiously on the science channel I am amazed at our very existence
If tears could build a stairway
And memories were a lane
We would walk right
up to Heaven
And bring you back again.....
No farewell words were spoken
No time to say goodbye
You were gone
before we knew it
And only God knows why......
Our hearts still ache in sadness
And secret tears still flow
What it meant to lose you
No on will ever know.....
Memorial Items and Jewelry
This is great... I just had a tree planted in his Memory on http://www.treesinstead.com
In one of his book reviews it is said that "encourages efforts to make science and critical thinking widely accessible and describes the intellectual factors that determine the nature of a true democracy." It is so true! When you read his books the critical thinking mind of this man. He was truly a legend and I am feeling truly satisfied to pay tribute online memorial forum.
Post a Comment