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.

"Yesterday, I Woke Up Sucking a Lemon..."

Radiohead's "Everything In Its Right Place" was their first song I really listened to. I knew about "Creep" because of Rock Band, and I knew of "High and Dry" because of 50/50, but it wasn't until Vanilla Sky that the band caught my ears. The sound is so eclectic and the album, Kid A, as a whole is bizarre, but attractive. That song is what put them on my radar. Eventually, I confessed to my friend that I wanted to really dig into Radiohead's discography. His response? "That's some deep waters there, man." No doubt. 

I decided to begin with Pablo Honey and The Bends, their first two albums and from there, OK Computer, Kid A, and onwards. Some researched yielded that it was with Kid A that Radiohead became to be more artistic and eclectically esoteric with their music. So far though, I'm enjoying their crunchy Alt. Rock vibe and already have found some go-to songs ("Blow Out", "Anyone Can Play Guitar, "Planet Telex", "Just") from both albums. I can't wait to hear their shift from Alt. Rock to Art Rock in Kid A.

Like most of the other bands I listen to, Radiohead's been around for a cool minute, and I've just begun to really digest their music. And I'm fine with that: this is how I come about learning and discovering things at my pace. In some way, it lets me enjoy their on the premise that I want to, rather than giving them attention because they're "what's in" at the moment. I like it that way: I may be late to the party, but I make the most of it nonetheless.