By Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan –Jewish writers did not invent science fiction, but they played an important part in its evolution as both editors and foot soldiers. David Brin, one of America’s top sci-fi novelists and the author of “The Postman,”once told me that the Hollywood film “Soylent Green’’ was based on Harry Harrison’s […]
Cli-fi as an academic discipline Read More »
The World We ShareBy Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — Whenever a new literary genre comes of age, when its time arrives, it signals a small shift in public awareness. Before sci-fi arrived on the scene in the 1920s, via short stories in science fiction magazines that set the stage for future SF writers like Isaac Asimov, Harlen
As David Brin might say, Cli- Fi tide rising Read More »
The World We ShareTEL AVIV (Press Release)— Hurricanes require moisture, the rotation of the earth, and warm ocean temperatures to grow from a mere atmospheric disturbance into a tropical storm. But where do these storm cells originate, and exactly what makes an atmospheric disturbance amp up full throttle? A new study published in Geophysical Research Letters by Tel
Atlantic hurricanes typically originate in West Africa Read More »
Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We ShareBy Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — One of my mentors in the world of sci-fi literature is the famous SF novelist David Brin, who I first met a few years ago here at San Diego Jewish World (and who is the son of Herb Brin, the late publisher of the Jewish Heritage newspapers of
U.S. colleges are developing ‘cli-fi’ curricula Read More »
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TEL AVIV (Press Release)— The principle of adaptation — the gradual modification of a species’ structures and features — is one of the pillars of evolution. While there exists ample evidence to support the slow, ongoing process that alters the genetic makeup of a species, scientists could only suspect that there were also organisms capable
Squid can ‘edit’ their gene sequences Read More »
Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We ShareTEL AVIV (Press Release) — The Doomsday Clock, which measures the likelihood of global catastrophe, last month ticked a minute closer to “midnight” — the apocalypse. The symbolic clock was set to 11:57 by a board of atomic scientists featuring 17 Nobel Laureates, who warned that the planet, beset by climate change and nuclear proliferation, faced
Frequency of lightning strikes key to climate change Read More »
International, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share
By Jenn Lindsay VATICAN CITY — We were on our way to meet Pope Francis. We—the participants in the 50th anniversary meeting of the Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies—departed together from the Urbaniana campus and rode an escalator cut inside the Janiculum Hill that dumped us out in front of the colonnades of Saint
The Pope and ‘the Jewess’ Read More »
International, Jewish Religion, The World We ShareBy Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — Although the Hebrew holy books, from the Five Books of Moses to the Torah, are not “science fiction” tracts, they do contain some out-of-this-world stories that always entertained me as a kid growing up in the 1950s and 1960s. Some of them are absolutely mind-blowing. And as people
Novelist whets ‘Water Knife’ to forecast drought wars Read More »
The World We ShareSAN DIEGO (Press Release)– District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis announced on Monday, Jan. 5, that her office’s Consumer Protection Unit, working with 41 other California District Attorneys and two City Attorneys has obtained a $9.87 million settlement and permanent injunction against Pleasanton-based Safeway Inc. The settlement resolves allegations that more than 500 Safeway stores and distribution centers,
Safeway to pay $9.87 million for its unsafe ways Read More »
San Diego County, The World We ShareBy Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan –When Jeffrey Newman first arrived as the rabbi at Finchley Reform Synagogue in Britain in 1973, he, by his own self-description, was an idealist. And while he knew that he might not be able to change the world, he decided he would at least like to make a difference
Rabbi fears climate disaster by end of century Read More »
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By Mimi Pollack SAN DIEGO — What is a holistic mitzvah? A mitzvah that serves humans, animals and the environment. That is the vision of Ecolife and Bill Toone. For Toone, it is finding a holistic approach of service and conservation, and as the executive director of Ecolife, he has this non-profit foundation behind
Ecolife principal advocates holistic mitzvot Read More »
Mimi Pollack, The World We ShareEditor’s note: Dan Bloom often uses humor to try to make a point about serious issues such as climate change and global warming. Here he mines a few treasured Yiddish words and phrases to write an oped about the problems humankind faces. By Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — Look, we have only one “drerd”
A Yiddish guide to climate change Read More »
The World We ShareBy Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — It’s winter in some parts of the world, and summer in other regions, and even in America the temperatures vary widely from Alaska to Florida. It might be pouring raining in one state and snowing heavily in another state. But one thing strikes me as we enter a
Will ‘cli-fi’ heat up Hollywood in 2015? Read More »
The World We ShareBy Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — Aaron Sorkin, the Hollywood ace scriptwriter for movies and television — “The West Wing,” “The Social Network” and the current HBO hit series “The Newsroom” — grew up in a Jewish family in Scarsdale, New York and graduated from Syracuse University n 1983, Then, like many young actors and writers, he took
‘The Newsroom’ warns of climate disaster Read More »
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