Interstellar and the Cosmos

"The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stirs us: there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a great height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries."
- Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Lately, I've been developing this fascination of science-fiction, astronomy and the stars, and sciences that are outside of my science, Sociology. Cosmos (the book), Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey (hosted by Neil DeGrasse Tyson), and even the recent Interstellar film have challenged me, to learn and grow and think critically of what I know and what I want to know. 

While I do understand the basics of astronomy and some basic ideas of the complexity that is astrophysics, it's all so beyond me, incomprehensible, and I'm struggling to grasp these ideas. I'm not discouraged at all, but rather remorseful that I didn't develop an interest sooner. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like astronomy, astrophysics, robotics, engineering, with some form of biology (perhaps microbiology?) and chemistry (o-chem?) seem to be associated with one another, as though if you know one, you're bound to know the others. It feels like I missed out on an awesome, intellectual party of sorts. 

I think anything futuristic has my attention at the moment - steampunk in art, industrial/post-industrialism in music, and science-fiction, robotics, and industrialism in literature. It all seems so imaginative, extravagant, and conjure such unique worlds and circumstances that you can't help but want to explore and discover. 

In the end, I want to know as much as I can, so that I can impart my knowledge onto my children, when that time comes. I want to have a relationship with my kids the way Cooper has with his kids in Interstellar: he's not just a parent, but also a teacher, challenging his kids to think critically, learn new skills, and learn as much as humanly possible. It's an inspiration to be that kind of a father figure when the time comes.

"Could You Say That Again?"

Since I posted the last post, I've got to admit that I'm a sucker for accents, especially those that are German, English, Russian and French. In the few years that I've worked at my little gas station, I've had the incredible pleasure of meeting men and women from England, Scotland, France, Norway, Germany, Italy, Australia and a few places here or there that I can't remember. And I'm entranced by their accents, especially from the women. It always catches me off-guard whenever I encounter someone from outside the US, since it's an experience that I don't have on a daily basis. It wasn't until recently that I noticed that whenever a foreign woman (especially if she's English or French) talks to me, I just space out. I get lost in the fragile words that gently fall from her lips, and after she's done addressing me, I embarrassingly have to say, "Could you say that again?" because I wasn't paying attention to them in the first place.

I always tell my co-workers that these women could just down-right be insulting, calling me the Scum of the Earth and such, and my reaction would only be, "Could you say that again?" since all I heard were the words that came from her mouth and not the message formed from those words. In other words, I'd care more about how she said those words rather than what she said with those words. I've always found a woman's German or Russian accent to be sexy, alluring; on the other side of the coin, I find English and French accents to be romantic, inviting. I always joke with friends and family that I would someday move to a European country with the hope of marrying someone from there. Right now, it's a 3-way tie between Europe's England and France, along with Eurasia's Russia.

All joking aside, I would still like to visit a country or two across the pond. I don't really travel much, since I don't really have the money to do so. I'm somewhat envious of others who have indeed traveled. Although, if I do choose to travel, what can I do for fun? What kind of food to eat? Would I meet new people and find new friends? So many questions. The only way to know for sure is to just go for it and visit those lands so strange from my own, with different cultures, social constructs, and perspectives of life, food, music, and so much more.

IT CAME FROM SPACE!!!...(Not Really...)

I think I may have done a similar post in the past, I'll have to be sure of that, but I'm still desiring to be part of that campy Sci-Fi lore. You know, rockets and robots, world domination, and ALIENS!!! I've been reading Ender's Game this past week or so, but not as active as I'd like. It's a good read, and I'd like read more of these types of books. Good science fiction, as I have learned, not only tells a great story, but the characters wrestle with contemporary topics, such as race, status, culture/tradition, ethics, and many more. It's what made Star Trek (with Shatner's Capt. Kirk, not Stewart's Capt. Picard) so successful, as well as Ender's Game, 1984, Brave New World, and many others. Perhaps this is the sociological part of my brain doing all the talking, but I'd like to know your thoughts on science fiction: does it address current issues? Or am I just overthinking the whole thing? Also, what are some of your favorite Sci-Fi series?

EDIT: I actually had briefly mentioned my growing interest in Sci-Fi over here >>> "An Eye Is Upon You"