The Universe Story

Today, I'd like to review a book suggested by a friend: The Universe Story by Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry.

I'll be honest -- at first I was intimidated by the lengthy subtitles: "From the Primordial Flaring Forth to the Ecozoic Era" and "A Celebration of the Unfolding of the Cosmos." And I'm thinking: say what? But never fear, the book explains itself.

But be aware, these two authors pull no punches with their long and fancy words. I knew I was in trouble when in the first few pages, there were words I didn't even know existed -- but still I was able to piece together what they meant by their roots (etymology). In some cases, I was impressed at how they were able to find a word that fit better than any possible alternatives. In other cases, I thought: there's an easier word for that. Overall, it took me a while to get used to the style, but then I was able to press forward.

In thirteen chapters, this book follows the history of the universe -- starting with the Big Bang (poetically called the Flaring Forth), the creation of the first particles, then dust clouds, then stars, galaxies, and finally our solar system. Then it explores the beginning of life on our planet -- how the first cell was likely to form -- then the first multi-cellular organism -- then oxygen breathing organisms -- then reproductive entities -- plants -- animals -- and finally humans. The story continues, focusing on the human history on Earth, and continuing on to today.

The last chapter alerts us to the fact that we are at a crossroads -- how we are now leaving the Cenozoic Era, and entering into two possible futures. The Ecozoic Era is where humans learn to work with the Earth and continue on in a thriving symbiosis. Or we could end up in the Techozoic Era, where we forsake our connection with the Earth and end up using up all its resources. Our future is entirely up to us.

Thomas Berry provides all the historian aspects of the book, as well as the idea of the Ecozoic and Techozoic Eras. He's also a religious historian -- which I found interesting -- this book on science was not willing to forsake religion, but rather embrace some of our more humanitarian aspects. He seems to believe that everything in the universe exists in a sort of community -- where everything is connected to everything else.

Brian Swimme provides more of the cosmology in the book -- how hydrogen came together to create everything else. Like Carl Sagan -- he's quick to remind us that we're all made out of starstuff.

While I appreciated the book as a whole, and found some parts to be intriguing, some parts -- in particular the human history section (about three chapters) were highly monotonous. Often, those sections jumped around in time -- back and forth -- following some kind of stream of consciousness, often relying on our already having known these historical facts instead of explaining them to us.

Also, there were several points throughout the book where the writer would go on for about five pages saying the same thing over and over with only immaterial variance. I usually ended up scanning those pages. With a little more editing, this could have been an excellent book.

But on the other hand, this book has provided me with new ways to look at the universe, and I almost feel like I can look at Everything and have a tiny bit more of an understanding of it All.

It also ends with a striking warning: which path do we want to tread? Will we continue the cell-phone, virtual world, ignoring the planet, etc., creating a false environment in a non-sustainable fashion (the Techozoic Era)? Or can we allow ourselves to become more "human," live more in reality, become more connected to the Earth, and continue to thrive?

It certainly has me thinking.

Dune: The Best Adaptation Yet?

Now we have another adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune, but is it good? Is it worth it?

I went in with high hopes after having seen other movies by the director, Villeneuve: Arrival, and Blade Runner 2049. And I was not disappointed. He delivered everywhere I had expected: excellent cinematography, intriguing execution, good acting.

The music was great, and not too overwhelming -- that is, it was Hans Zimmer without Christopher Nolan. The action was also perfect.

As far as being true to the original novel, I can't think of any other adaptation that gets even close. Think of the David Lynch version, remove the scenes that weren't in the book, and add in more scenes that were passed over, and you get this movie. Some parts still get left out, just because there's so much in the books. For example, Piter de Vries makes an appearance and does a few things, but I don't remember anyone ever saying his name. 

The only complaint I have is that there was one boring part near the end. Perhaps it can't be helped, as there's a big boring section in the middle of the novel -- corresponding with this boring section. But then again, the two other Villeneuve movies I mentioned above seem to have boring sections as well. Perhaps pacing isn't his forte, but all scenes seem to be necessary.

For those who know nothing about the plot: The Atreides family is chosen to be the new stewards of the planet Arrakis (also known as Dune), and to be in charge of the spice production for the galaxy. The spice, melange, exists only on Dune, and without it, safe intergalactic travel is impossible. So, as you can imagine, this spice is very important.

The previous stewards, the Harkonnens, known for their brutality, concoct a plan to regain their stewardship and maintain their control of the spice.

Paul, the son of the Duke of Atreides, must remain strong on this new planet as he faces new challenges, which include prophecies from the Fremen (the indigenous inhabitants of Dune) and the Bene Gesserit (women throughout the galaxy with extra powers, who are trying to create a prophesied Messiah through genetic coupling). Yeah -- Paul lives in a very strange world full of interesting people.

The result is a very complex story.

I highly recommend catching this movie in IMAX -- its intended format. And I can't tell you how grateful I am that they're not pushing the 3D glasses version in the US. As I understand, it was not filmed in 3D, and I have yet to see a fully successful Fake 3D adaptation of anything -- there are always distracting artifacts. If I have to wear glasses over my glasses, the quality of the 3D has to make it worth the discomfort. So, thank you -- US -- for not ruining my IMAX experience.

Finally, this morning I've read a few reviews by "experts" and some of them made me cringe. They were basically whining about how this movie wasn't Lynch's version. So, let me set things straight. This movie is not Lynch's movie. I also loved that 1984 movie, but let's be honest -- Lynch's movie is for those who already know what's going on. Its minutes-long prologue is just terrible and beyond confusing. The extra scenes that were added to explain things just make it worse. My wife, who has not read the books, felt very confused after watching the Lynch movie, but after last night, she felt that this new movie cleared up a lot of questions. In other words, this new movie is likely to reach more generic audiences.

It you want a fun drug-trip filled adaptation of over-the-top confusing epic scenes, then catch Lynch's version. (A lot of those scenes are indeed fun to watch.) If you instead want to watch a movie that sticks much closer to the original material, does a better job of explaining what's going on, provides more of a realistic adaptation, and has Jason Momoa who's really awesome, then this Villeneuve adaptation is the one to catch.

So -- I say -- ignore those negative reviews and give this one a try. Fun for the whole family!

Foundation: Asimov's Epic on Apple TV+

Isaac Asimov's Foundation series were among the first books I read as a teenager. As each new book came out, I would read and learn what happened next -- how that universe merged together with the Empire and Robots series. And TV/movie producers have stayed away from this epic for decades, until now. Apple TV+ presents the very first attempt.

The issue -- the whole series is just -- smart. The main concept is that super-genius Hari Seldon has created psychohistory -- a system of mathematics mixed with human behavior to predict the future based on patterns from the past. Hari predicts that the Galactic Empire will fall within a century, and that the galaxy would remain in darkness for 30,000 years. However, if the Empire embraces Hari's plan, it would bring the number down to 1,000 years.

Eventually, the Empire agrees begrudgingly. They exile Hari Seldon to Terminus, a resource-poor planet on the edge of the universe, and tell him to have at it. The catch -- Hari had predicted the Empire would do exactly this, and it turns out that Terminus really is the best place to build a Foundation -- a way to maintain knowledge, so that when the 1,000 years of darkness are over, the new Galactic Empire can rise up again without having to start from scratch.

What comes next is like a series of short stories from certain periods along the 1,000 years. So -- yeah -- kind of hard to capture this in a TV show -- lots of politics -- lots of smart witty discussions -- lots of smart twists -- and a very large and rich world. So, how do you capture all of this on TV?

By the way, some trivia about myself -- it was ultimately these books that inspired me to become an actuary in real life. Using patterns from the past to predict the future? Count me in! Of course, the math comes nowhere near psychohistory, but we're trying. I predict that most actuaries would love this show.

When I watched the first episode of this series, I was a little concerned. On the most part, that episode accurately captures the first vignette in the book. Hari Seldon picks up Gaal Dornick, a rising mathematical genius, and tells her: "My math predicts that we will be arrested tomorrow." We also get to see Hari's adoptive son, Raych. Ultimately, Gaal joins the expedition that later becomes the Foundation.

The first thing that concerned me was that the producers decided to make the Emperor clones of Cleon I (from the Foundation prequels). The original book trilogy doesn't really dive into who the emperors are and what their personalities are -- they're more like pieces on a chessboard -- you know they exist, but they aren't really part of the main story. Yet, the first TV episode seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time on the emperors, of which there are three. Brother Day is the "current" middle-aged emperor. Brother Dawn is the "in-training" adolescent emperor. And Brother Dusk is the "former" end-of-life emperor.

In other words: this stuff wasn't in the book, so why bring it in? And the answer -- it actually works! Using this tactic has several advantages. For one -- they can go 50 years into the future and still use the same actors, providing a sense of continuity throughout the show. Kind of convenient? But wait -- it also brings in the new idea that one man has decided to inflict the entire galaxy to HIMSELF for 400 years. Can you imagine the ego? And yet, each emperor is slightly different. I'm now 4 episodes in -- and I have to be honest -- I'm seriously enjoying this new addition. Watching these emperors react to different situations has actually been thought-provoking, and I believe it adds another level of richness to the story. We already know that the Empire is going to ultimately fail, so we're all waiting to see who will be the last, and how they go down. Or will they somehow continue the cloning over the next entire 1,000 years?

I was also concerned with a couple of snafus, such as an underground city counting levels from the bottom up instead of from the top down as in most sci-fi stories; the convenient artificial gravity; talking about making a trip thousands of light years away in a non-jump ship in less than a decade. But you know what? It doesn't really matter in the end. I'm already used to those distractions and can turn that part off. If I can enjoy Star Trek, I'm not going to let this ruin my Foundation watching. I'm at least excited that they used black holes to drive the jump ships! That was just cool.

Another concern was adding a convenient action scene in the first episode -- I suppose something exciting to get people to continue watching. To me it seemed to be too much of a coincidence (no way for Hari to predict it), but the writers used it effectively in the expanding plot. So -- I'll let them have it. Ultimately, it's the price that must be paid to help make the transition to the TV screen possible. It requires a lot of expansion of the original story -- but you know what -- keep going.

Overall, the original plot is preserved incredibly well (Episode 5 proves to be exciting). I may know what happens next, but I don't know how any of the subplots will develop.

My wife, who doesn't normally watch sci-fi (except for the fact that she's married to me), is happily captured by this presentation. She says that it catches her attention much more than the sporadic Star Trek: Discovery we recently watched. She appreciates that it's being written by just one writer -- which means much more consistent writing. We're both going crazy waiting for Episode 5 this week, when we might actually get past page 100.

At the rate the series is progressing -- yes -- it will take years to get through the whole story. And I'm likely to enjoy it all. The next Game of Thrones in space!

So -- check it out. It's available on Apple TV+, but nowhere else. I think it's worth the $5 a month. Plus -- I may try out some of these other shows. We'll see ...