The Art Neuro Weblog

It puts a real dampener on things
In Annie Hall, a young Alvy Singer (the Woody Allen character as a kid) gets taken to a doctor for depression. When asked why he is so depressed, Alvy replies: "Well, the Universe is everything and if it's expanding every day. Someday it will break apart and that would be the end of everything!"
Mother: "What is that your business? (turns to doctor) He stopped doing his homework. "
Alvy: "What's the point?"
Mother: "What has the Universe got to do with it? You're here in Brooklyn! Brooklyn is not expanding!"
Doctor: "It won't be expanding for billions of years yet, Alvy. And we've gotta try to enjoy ourselves while we're here.
Alvy can now rest assured it's not going to break apart, but that instead it is going to be sucked up its own fundament.
Today, Space.com tells us they are getting a bead on the Black Hole that sits somewhere in the middle of our Galaxy, just sucking everything up. That's right, our portion of the Universe will not end with a bang but with a gurgle.
I think I'd better go to Alvy's Doctor now.

Who talks to Earthlings in the Middle of the Night?
In biblical times it used to be God. These days, people are expending a lot of effort trying to listen out for ET's phone conversations. While the SETI thing is interesting, and may represent a quicker road to space, "Hey guys, can you sell us the blueprints for your UFO?" it does seem like one heck of a long shot. For my money I would rather have this effort put into mapping rogue asteroids as they represent a clear and present danger.
The article itself is written in a really goofy jocular style that reads "GEEK ALERT!" with red-and-blue spinning lights and a siren to pierce your skull. No wonder people don't want to engage with the issue of space. It means having to deal with geeks, and nerds.
Time to go look for a real job now.

- Art Neuro