Arthur C. Clarke

R.I.P. Arthur C. Clarke

Posted 2008-03-19 (水) 午前7:14 by terra

One of my favourite authors of all time, Arthur C. Clarke, passed away yesterday at the age of 90.

Besides being an extraordinary writer of science fiction novels, he also conceptualised the invention of modern geosynchronous communication satellites. Some of his books that had the greatest impact on me were “The Fountains of Paradise” and “Childhood’s End”. They were mind-blowing sources of inspiration to me during my undergraduate days. The world feels somewhat a lonelier place without him. He will be sorely missed.

Subjects: Books 書物

Mood: Sombre

Tags: Arthur C. Clarke, death

Space Elevator

Posted 2004-07-02 (金) 午後7:21 by terra

Arthur C. Clarke’s one of my top 5 favourite sci-fi authors, and my favourite book from him would have to be . Set in both imaginary past and the not-too-distant future, it is the tale of two visionaries, a king and an engineer, who envision and put to science fiction reality, the towers of babylon.

And we are now a further step away from this being a mere dream if Bradley Edwards, Director of Research for the Institute for Scientific Research, is to come closer to realising his vision.

An article two years ago that I read from SPACE.com, “The Space Elevator Comes Closer to Reality”; and its follow-up just a few days ago, “Space Elevator: Momentum Building”.

Subjects: Books 書物, Technology 技術

Mood: Philosophical Musings

Tags: Arthur C. Clarke, physics, science fiction, space elevator

Clearing the stockpile

Posted 2004-04-06 (火) 午後6:00 by terra

I have amazing stockpiles of books lying around my house that desire to be cleared. In other words: They need to be read. It’s this idiotic collector’s syndrome of mine. Whenever I buy a book, I lose the compulsion to read it since I know it’ll always be there for me when the want arises. Then I hear about a book that interests me, but that I do not want to purchase (unless I’m so hooked by it that I just have to have it: e.g. The Fountains of Paradise), I try all means to borrow a copy from the library. Then of course, the limited loan period presses me to complete and return the copy before a fine is imposed.

The books at home languish in waiting.

Subjects: Books 書物

Mood: Raves and Rants

Tags: Arthur C. Clarke

The End of Eternity

Posted 2002-12-04 (水) 午後1:17 by terra

I finally read a book that has been lying in my collection for months because of blasted school and my annoying penchant for laziness: Asimov’s “The End of Eternity”.

My God, the story’s payoff has completely overwhelmed me. It’s in the league of the alien story in “The Gods Themselves” and more. I love it as much as the brilliant quote in his “Robots and Empire” where he philosphises through the eyes of Elijah Baley about humankind as a complex tapestry.

“Eternity” begins as a science fiction story that appears to neatly tighten the loose ends of time-travel paradoxes that has often been questioned and criticised whenever the notion of time travel is discussed. But it evolves into something more: the consequences of controlling time and evolution to suit our ethical standards that are subjective to the era in which we are brought up in; the aesthetics and risk of seeking the unknown.

The book links also, very nicely with the Robots and Foundation stories. I would say it is sort of a prequel to the Robots series. However, this link is more a speculative one to the Robots and Foundation mythos than a direct connection.

Subjects: Books 書物

Mood: Raves and Rants

Tags: Arthur C. Clarke, ethics, Foundation, god, Issac Asimov, Olaf Stapledon, robot, science fiction

15 mins before lecture

Posted 2002-01-08 (火) 午前9:54 by terra

It’s 15 mins before my first lecture. I’m at the school’s computer lab at the moment. Earlier, I had breakfast at with my mom and dad. Because my lecture on starts at 10AM, my dad dropped me off at the Arts faculty where I popped into the library to check out some novels. I borrowed Arthur Clarke’s The City and the Stars as well as Asimov’s I, Robot. The books are kind of yellowed and spotty, and a little dusty too. They smell…I don’t want to smell them. The Clarke book was printed in 1975 and the Asimov book in 1983. Strange, I’ve Raymond Feist’s 2nd Edition Magician at home, which I believe was in 1983, but it doesn’t look half as bad as the Asimov book. Oh well.

It appears that blogger’s publishing facility is down. So I guess this blog won’t get to appear until I get home. It’s now 5 mins before the lecture. I’m not feeling too good. A sense of dread maybe?