"Yeah, you know, the ones on Earth that have feathers and go 'quack'?"

Someone tell Londo Mollari! Somehow I feel these songs' macabre origins would not surprise him.

-"Ouch, John! That hurt!"

Yes, given the wide availability of cigarettes in people's homes, the cigarette entry should be revised or deleted entirely, I think. No one in their right mind will go and eat some cigarettes now, but should a toddler or pet do it inadvertently, like you said no one should think that it is edible, i.e. not dangerous…

Absolutely, and it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If studios claim that a complex lesbian heroine, for example, doesn't appeal to audiences, they will not greenlight it, thereby depriving audiences of the chance to see it for themselves—and reinforcing the studios' original preconception.

I read AC Clarke's The City and the Stars recently, so while watching this I cannot help but be reminded of those desert gusts and heat, a daily rite of ebb and flow over the course of a billion years, while the crystalline walls of Diaspar brace hellbent against those cycles of air, earth, and sky and the natural…

Yes, I think you make an important point. Towards the goal of cities that blend more harmoniously with their native environments, affording a more sustainable and better quality of life for its residents, we cannot measure green space by acreage alone. Perhaps even more important is the composition of that space;…

That actually sounds kind of cool to me. I can imagine that the first colonies (founded in the era of sublight travel) had grown accustomed to a healthy distance from the homeworld, and now with FTL the homeworld is right on their doorstep. With the universe getting smaller, there's more risk of jostling for elbow…

The pessimist in me can only think of Karallen's speech in Childhood's End (spoilers)

Thank you for the link, and many thanks to all who responded. So much to read! I appreciate all the recommendations for more adventures in SF.

Thank you for the link!

Thanks! I borrowed this from the library based on recommendations on io9—the description sounds like it's chock full of SF ideas. I was quickly daunted by its length as I am a slow reader, but maybe now I'll muster up the courage to give it another shot.

Cool, thanks! I'm afraid I haven't started the Foundation series yet. Speaking of intelligent dogs, I am reading City right now.

This is a little off-topic, but I guess here is as good a place as any, if I may.

Bonus: Source of spaceship fuel and adorable in a sailor suit, which he will repeatedly claim is his regulation uniform.

And I'm not even familiar with Harry Potter and Hedwig the snowy owl. I've always loved birds, their beauty and majesty, and I love the idea of a feathered companion. Not a pet necessarily, just a friend I can turn to if I'm lost in the woods at night.

Thanks for stopping by today. What benchmarks of mathematical literacy would you hope the lay public to achieve? Is there specific knowledge that should comprise part of our larger discourse, much like the general principles of evolution, climate change, and the relationship between space and time?

I would love to see the NWS do a pithy, real-life hippy-dippy weatherman.

Thanks for the recommendation, I have heard about ME and it sounds cool. I thought Rendezvous with Rama was great, as was Childhood's End, also by AC Clarke. Both first contact type books. And 2001 of course—still worth a read in my opinion even with knowledge of the movie. I also liked Gateway by Pohl about a "star…

Whoa, your first SF was Childhood's End? There are probably many in the same boat, but that would seriously bum me out. Talk about a bold initiation into SF. Bravo on your stamina.