The Man on the Moon by George J. Annas

Some of my favourite quotes from this essay:

"Immortality without purpose is also hollow."

“The Crusades, the voyage of Columbus, and the slaughters of the Spanish conquistadors who followed, are powerful examples of human exploration and human encounters with the unknown.  They teach us that the realm of human dominance can be radically enlarged by human imagination and courage. Equally importantly,  they teach us that without a belief in human dignity and equality, the cost of such dominance is genocidal human rights violations. They also caution us to be suspicious of stated motives and cover stories; although filled with missionary zeal, most of these adventurers and explorers sought primarily fame and fortune.“

“We could use our technology to explore outer space with such robots, but our current fascination is focused on inner space. Instead of expanding our minds and our perspectives as a species by pondering the mysteries of outer space with its possibilities of other life forms, we are turning inward and contemplating ourselves at a microscopic level. The bew biology perhaps better described as the new genetics or the “genetics age”, suggests a biology-based immortality alternative to a digital brain in a body of metal and plastic: changing and “enhancing” our human capabilities by altering our genes at a molecular level. Or, as James Watson, the discoverer of the structure of DNA, famously put it, ‘We used to think our future was in our stars, now we know our future is in our genes.’”

“… in the face of the Holocaust and nuclear weapons, genetic engineering appears almost benign. But this is deceptive because genetic engineering has the capacity to change the meaning of what it is to be human. There are limits to how far we can go in changing our nature without changing our humanity and our basic human values. Because it is the meaning of humanness (our distinctness from other animals) that has given birth to our concepts of both human dignity and human rights, altering our nature threatens to undermine our concepts of both human dignity and human rights.” 

> Regarding the last 2 paragraphs, I read a book titled CRISPR People by Henry Greely which I found super informative on issues related to gene editing. Worth a read!

The Department of Truth Vol 1&2 by Tynion, Simmonds and Bidikar

A comic about conspiracy theories, all of them together, with a touch of X Files. Liked the stories. The artwork is OK and fits the stories but at points it felt like reading without glasses when you need them. Like reading through fog. I guess reading an electronic version didn't help. Vol1&2 were the only ones available at my Library but Vol 3 has already been released. I'm curious to see how the story follows.

Mindscan by Robert J. Sawyer

This novel explores ideas on consciousness and personhood. What would happen if humanity creates the technology to upload a copy of a person's brain on a computer or an artificial body? What would be the personal, social and legal consequences? 

An excellent read in terms of the ideas it explores, not so much for its literary qualities. The story is interesting and engaging, the characters are ok and I loved the ending. There were some interesting dialogues with characters discussing what it meant to be uploaded and similar ideas. I loved a couple of discussions during a trial with expert scientists and philosophers discussing what consciousness is. What I didn't like was a few awkward dialogues which seemed like info dumping. Won't say more cos spoilers.

Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter by Darwyn Cooke

An adaptation of Hunter a novel by Richard Spark. 

Wow! I loved this #graphicnovel. I was pleasantly surprised by #DarwinCooke ‘s narrative and artistic style. The first few, silent, pages are outstanding. Parker takes place in a stylish, 1960’s New York. The noir feel is amazing. Parker is the classic tough, bad guy in search of revenge. As bad and tough as they can get. Except when the femme fatale is with him of course. The art is on a different level. The two-tone colour palette fits perfectly with the story. The details, the shadows, the character designs, everything screams noir. 

I will definitely read the other three Parker stories. Totally recommend!

Wonders of the Solar System by Prof. Bryan Cox and Andrew Cohen

Beautiful book, fun, easy to read, with lots of amazing illustrations. From the sun to the terrestrial planets, from the gas planets to some of the most intriguing moons in the solar system. This book explains how the solar system might have been created and planets and moons became to be what they are now. There are amazing real life images of Saturn, Io, Europe and other places in the neighbourhood. 

This book was written in 2010 so some of the information might be out of date. This should not matter much as Wonders isn't necessarily about the latest of space research and exploration but about understanding the fundamentals of the Solar system and the profound implications this knowledge might have in the design of our future. 

* fundamental and profound are words Prof Cox likes to use a lot and for a good reason 🙂

Jonas Fink. Una Vida Interrumpida (A Jew in Communist Prague in the english translation) by Vittorio Giardino

Beautiful, amazing #graphicnovel . The life of a Jewish boy in post war Prague from childhood to his adulthood. Jonas’s life changes abruptly when his father is arrested for espionage and activities against the communist government. An obvious lie masking antisemitism. Unable to go to school (because he isn’t allowed by the government) he has to work to help his mother who is forced to work night turns in a factory. This unfair treatment and other discriminatory events affect Jonas’s personality and view of life. But there is always a spark of love for life every now and then as Jonas’s meets important people in his life. 

This graphic novel shows Giardino’s masterful ability to narrate stories, layered with human experiences and with well researched historical background. In fact, Giardino’s approach to including historical events is subtle but effective. Not only we follow the life of 3 dimensional characters but we learn about important events happening behind the iron curtain. 

The characters are flesh and bone. Jonas himself is great. His mother, Edith, who struggles to keep them alive, Slavek, a plumber, and Mr Pinkle, a bookstore owner. Both men employ Jonas at different stages in his life and represent in many ways the paternal figure Jonas didn’t have. Also a special mention to the Odradek group, Jonas’s friends from his adolescence, as they try to rebel against the communist restrictions of their times, reading “forbidden” books and singing “forbidden” songs. Literature and books play also an important role in the story, Jonas is an avid reader, he works in a book store and at points he writes poetry. There are quite a few literary references through out the book. Here a some of them: 

Mother - Maxim Gorky 

The Walk - Robert Walser 

Contemplation - Franz Kafka 

Darkness at noon - Arthur Koestler 

Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak 

Flowers of Evil - Charles Baudelaire 

Herzog - Saul Bellow 

De noche bajo el puente de piedra- Perutz By night under the stone bridge - Leo Perutz

A final comment on Giardino’s artwork. It isn’t spectacular, with perspectives or double-page spreads. It's simply beautiful. First the graphic narrative is easy to follow. The depiction of characters, their moods and particularly showing the pass of time. Giardino is brilliant at making his characters age. Jonas’s goes from 12 to 50 and we can see he is still Jonas. Edith’s change is superb, not only the effects of time are shown but the effects of having her husband in prison, being unable to communicate with him, being followed and spied and forced to work in jobs she wasn’t good at, having to support her son economically and emotionally. Simply, amazing art.

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

I didn't think I would like this novel that much, but I did. Except for the battle scenes (which I found boring) and the sex/sexuality related content (which I found not belonging) I really enjoyed the story. I felt for the protagonist being forced to fight a war he never wanted to fight, for a planet he didn't belong to anymore. 

War was the main theme but I enjoyed how Haldeman explored the ways relativistic speeds would affect humans. How weeks or months would pass for them but centuries would pass outside. Societies could change so much but war was still there every time the troops returned from a mission. 

This novel is about the nonsense of war. About the wasted lives fighting for something they don't understand. About war as a political weapon to control the masses and the economy. Sounds familiar? This novel was written in 1974 but is still relevant in the 21st century. When will humanity learn?