Brian Trent dot com

Two nonfiction pieces of mine have been accepted and it made me happy this week. The first is a thought-piece on paleobiology and evolution: “Was There Ever a Dinosaur Civilization?” I was driving to work one morning and thinking about the 160 million years of dinosaur evolution, and wondered if it was possible — even in the slightest degree — that some species of saurian might have achieved a Stone Age-style society.

Naturally I don’t believe that. Like I said, it’s a thought-piece with footnoted references from Sagan and Gould and some 30 research sources. The speculative thesis is that if certain modern birds have learned to fashion hooks out of leaves and use it to catch termites (an activity that qualifies as tool-use) then was it ever possible for a dinosaur species with an equivalent brain, opposable thumbs, and lengthy dexterous arms (features which the Troodon possessed) to have learned to use spears.

I will post the article here once it appears.

The other article is a technology piece about the way video games have been changing society for the better. Entitled “Four Ways Video Games are Saving the World”, the piece is probably best summarized by its tag-line subtitle: Fighting Cancer, Making You Smarter, Helping Grandpa Exercise, and That’s Just for Starters. A growing body of research is showing that gaming can actually improve intelligence, though I would hasten to add that it should be part of a well-balanced diet of books, films, and freethought.

I’ll post it here once it’s available.

Watching this Week: A Clockwork Orange, Taken, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Reading this Week: Letters from a Stoic by Seneca, and Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling.

Quote of the Day: “Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.” Aristotle

Today the Space Shuttle Atlantis climbed the steep gravity-well of Earth to repair our space-based monocle, the Hubble Telescope.  Lately my thoughts have been turning to space.  Bright color splashes of star clusters, and radioactive halos of nebula birthing new solar systems, and the enigmatic quasars.

A few weeks ago and just for fun, I began creating a fictional time-line of the future during my free-time at work.  I keep a little folder on my desktop called NOTES.  It’s more like a tiny window to escape into, stretch my brain, and tap the trees of imagination.  Musings and theories and ideas pour out.  My little time-line has grown to the year 2500 now, where I figure lunar colonies mining for Helium-3 will long be established, the asteroids colonized into territorial borders between corporate “nations,” and physical ailments like disease, aging, and death removed from human concern.

At least I hope that’s what happens, and not Idiocracy.

The Hubble turns its wide eye on a galaxy...

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I spend much time here talking about books and films that I thought I’d switch gears and mention an upcoming video game.  A new trailer for the game Beyond Good and Evil 2 has been leaked, purposefully or not.  For those who know and love the whimsical beauty of the original, there’s no question why the new trailer has inspired such excitement.  Some people are even wondering if it’s just a clever fake.

It isn’t.  Just take a gander here at the footage on YouTube.

That frantic animated figure matches Jade’s appearance from the first trailer, sleeveless T, cargo pants, and all.  Also, listen closely at the 13 second mark.  That’s Jade’s voice there, followed immediately by her signature movement of rounding a would-be enemy as she avoids the local fauna.  Unquestionably authentic, and something definitely to look forward to in late 2009!

For those who don’t know, the first game is one of my favorites because it represents one of the first games to truly make the transition to real art.  The quality of the presentation and emotional depth of the characters is noteworthy to historians of the genre.  It’s one of those hidden gems, forgotten in the wake of more popular shooters and hyped releases.  Kudos to Ubisoft for backing the sequel.  Now I just hope it’s good.  When it comes to Hollywood, I generally resent sequels.  Literary sequels have a slightly better track record, and game sequels do the best of all.  Fingers crossed.