Hitting the Books: What exactly did Jodi Foster hear in 'Contact'?

Art may imitate life but it rarely does so with realistic fidelity. As Naomi Pequette, Space Science Programs Specialist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, argues in her essay "The Sounds of Contact" as part of The Science if Sci-Fi Cinema: Essays on the Art and Principles of Ten Films, being "based on a true story" doesn't exactly mean we're getting the whole story. McFarlandFrom The Science of Sci-Fi Cinema: Essays on the Art and Principles of Ten Films © 2021 Edited by Vincent Piturro by permission of McFarland & Company, Inc., Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640.How would you react if you found out we aren’t alone in the universe? Imagine the moment you discover a radio signal from another civilization had traveled billions of miles through interstellar space, had been detected by some of the most powerful radio telescopes in the world, and decoded by scientists. Would it matter if it was first detected by scientists from your home country? Would the content of the signal matter? Would you want the chance to be able to meet the alien civilization that sent the signal? These are all questions that the movie Contact explores.The opening sequence of Contact sets the scientific basis for the rest of the film. As the camera travels away from Earth, the audience hears a cacophony of sounds. These sounds, which are radio and television signals traveling out into space, get older and older as we zoom past planets and asteroids. Eventually there is silence as the audience... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2021-09-04 15:30:43 UTC ]
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10 most challenged books on the American Library Association's 2011 list

The 'ttyl' series by Lauren Myracle and 'The Color of Earth' by Kim Dong Hwa top the 2011 rankings of most challenged books. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Consumer Group: E-book Price Fixing Costs Big Bucks

E-book price fixing will cost consumers more than US$200 million this year, and U.S. antitrust authorities should take action against Apple and a group of... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2012-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book review: 'Suddenly, a Knock On the Door' by Etgar Keret

The author goes from one extreme to another in this wonderfully absurdist short-story collection.Suddenly, a Knock On the Door Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book review: 'No Time Like the Present' by Nadine Gordimer

An interracial couple navigates modern life in South African in 'No Time Like the Present,' by Nadine Gordimer.No Time Like the Present Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book reviews: 'Free Will,' 'Religion for Atheists'

The necessity of self-improvement and social betterment is thoughtfully explored in Sam Harris' and Alain de Botton's books.Free Will Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book review: 'The Selected Letters of Charles Dickens'

The author's exuberant use of words in private is as vivid as in public.The Selected Letters of Charles Dickens Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Reports Chart the Rise of E-books

Two new reports released in the past 10 days document the ebook market’s rapid growth in the U.S. and the U.K., and suggest that a significant global spike is close at hand. Among the major takeaways from the “Bowker Market Research Global eBook Monitor” or GeM, study, ebooks are beginning to... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Publicists Step into Publishing

Publishing companies typically incorporate publishing and marketing departments into their business models. February Partners, however, is doing things a little differently: the Manhattan boutique book publicity and marketing firm founded in the fall of 2010 by two industry veterans has just... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independents 'fight back' with London book market

A London book market founded by independent booksellers is to launch in Hackney, selling new and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Settlement Near on E-Book Pricing

Talks to resolve U.S. and European price-fixing probes into ebooks are heating up, with three international publishers inclined to settle the matter, according to people familiar with the matter. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2012-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book price probe 'approaching resolution'

The European and US investigation into ebook pricing may be approaching resolution, say US press... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book revolution: We're reading more than ever

A study by the Pew Internet Project finds that consumers who use e-readers are buying more books. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Incendio! Pottermore E-Book Sales on Fire.

$1.5 million worth of Harry Potter books sold in Pottermore's first three days online. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2012-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book review: 'Sailor' by Tom Epperson

A mob wife fleeing her past — and a dirty U.S. marshal — gets a little help from a mysterious stranger in Epperson's modern noir tale of revenge and greed.If I were a damsel in distress fleeing a past and people who wanted me dead, like Gina Cicala in the modern noir thriller "Sailor" by Tom... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tate launches e-commerce site for books, gifts

London’s Tate Group has launched a new e-commerce site selling books and other items... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Los Angeles Review of Books' To Launch New, Enhanced Web Site

To coincide with its one-year anniversary on April 18, the Los Angeles Review of Books is re-launching its website in a multimedia platform that will include video, drop-down menus, and new feature articles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book review: 'The Beginner's Goodbye' by Anne Tyler

Anne Tyler's latest novel, 'The Beginner's Goodbye,' is a classic mix of the author's themes, most especially oddball characters and the turbulent nature of families and marriages.When you pick up a novel by Anne Tyler, you can expect certain things. It will be set in Baltimore. It will follow... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Olympics to bring £16m books boost

The book market could receive an Olympic boost of around £16m if bookshops decide to take... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers sign hot books ahead of LBF

Publishers have made a flurry of "major" acquisitions and additions to their schedules... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury US buys Fairchild Books

Bloomsbury's US subsidiary, Bloomsbury Publishing Inc, has completed the purchase of academic... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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