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Welcome to: THE JAMES BURKE FAN COMPANION NEWSLETTER 10 - OCTOBER 2002:
This newsletter and previous ones are available on-line as web pages at: Please pass this newsletter along to other James Burke enthusiasts you know about, who may be unaware of its existence. DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this newsletter comes from a wide variety of sources and is selected for publication solely by the newsletter's editor/creator Tom Palmer. It is the editor's intent to address the common interests of the individuals who appreciate Mr. Burke's public offerings and to supply them with information that relates to any topic Mr. Burke has covered. Please be advised that James Burke does NOT necessarily endorse or associate himself with the information or organizations mentioned in the James Burke Fan Companion website and periodic e-mail news updates. Likewise, the information contained in this publication does NOT necessarily represent the views and opinions of Mr. Burke.
Welcome! This is the 10th issue of my James Burke Fan Companion news update. Thanks for coming along with me on my journey to learn more about life by thinking about the things Mr. Burke has written and said. This month's issue is very similar to last month's in terms of content. I am continuing to explore links to the inventions and inventors mentioned in the various "Connections" series, this time Connections 2. Join me and take some time away from your everyday world to look at it from a new perspective.
BURKE NEWS
--------- Okay, we have five Burke engagements coming up very soon. Get ready to go hear James give yet another of his fast and fascinating lectures. 10/08/02: Booz Allen & Hamilton Associates 10/30/02: Discovery Centre - Halifax, Nova Scotia - i-i-i conference
11/02/02: West Chester University - West Chester, PA 11/04/02: Linfield College - Portland, OR 11/14/02: Visa International EU
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--------- James has a trusted business associate that he would like to call your attention to and recommend. "I've worked on and off for 11 years (on TV shows and books) with Carolyn Doree and she has a fallow period coming up between jobs for a few months from September and could do with some work. -- She's a brilliant researcher, prolific and accurate, has London Univ. Ph D in English, is really great on general academic research, lives in Oxford (and all the libraries there), and is absolutely first class. I can't recommend her too highly." To contact Ms. Doree about potential work, please send a message to her, via me, at: info@fantasticplaces.com
--------- Mr. Burke does have an informational website in place now that begins to describe the Knowledge Web project. You can visit it at: The K-Web site appears to have been recently updated with more information and a demo. Go have a look if you are new to the project or have not been to the site in a while. As always, Mr. Burke would appreciate help from Graduate Students and Academics in researching some of the 2200 biographies for the online Knowledge Web project. If you know anyone who would like to volunteer their time to this fantastic project, please send an e-mail to the K-Web team leader, Patrick McKercher at:
TV SCHEDULE (UPCOMING)
It keeps going and going and going! I guess good things are meant to last. science.discovery.com/schedule/series.jsp?series=46
Connections 2 - The Science Channel - Now thru at least Nov. 01, 2002
Connections 3 - The Science Channel - Now thru at least Oct. 30, 2002
Note: I do not know if either Connections series will be played in proper sequence or if the eventual final episodes scheduled will be the actual final episode for each series. Therefore, if you are planning to videotape these programs, don't necessarily wait for the beginning episodes to cycle through.
WAYS TO COMMUNICATE Several Burke fans are finally getting around to asking questions of each other on the Yahoo chat site. This is quite promising. Please keep the discussions going and contribute your thoughts, whatever they may be. There is a growing list of fans in the Yahoo group and I see that a few messages are appearing from time to time. Great! alt.fan.james-burke groups.yahoo.com/group/connectionswithjamesburke/
MESSAGES FROM READERS AND VISITORS I find the messages that site visitors send in to be very insightful and moving. Several of the ones to follow stress the multi-generational influence that Burke and Connections has had. I have received a number of other e-mails like these in the past. -- The final e-mail is just a fun one, by a person who met Mr. Burke early on in his career. I think you'll like it.
--------- Your James Burke web site is great. I remember sitting captivated in front of the TV as a child on Saturday evenings watching Connections and then again when The Day the Universe Changed was aired. I am now attempting to assemble both a book and video library of James Burke's works so that my two boys (currently aged 8 and 2) will be able to enjoy his works as well. I have bid on ebay for a Connections VHS set, but was wondering if you knew of any attempt to put this series or any of the other James Burke's programs on DVD. If not, do you know of any reasons why such a reproducing of this series is not possible? Although probably prohibitively expensive to buy for myself, I would encourage my local library to invest in what are truly a "must have" for anyone who enjoys history and science. Warmest Regards, JS
--------- Thank you (and James Burke, for that matter!) - S
--------- ... The dry wit, the colorful presentation - why can't my history professors take a lesson from Mr. Burke? Yours, AJ
--------- Thank You, CM
--------- It was only later that I recognized James Burke in the Connections series on TV. I still use the segment on pitch (first from pine trees, then from coal) in a course I teach at Building Products University at IUPUI in Indianapolis, IN. TO
WEBMASTER NEWS Only one small item to mention. Last week I attended the famous Kansas City Plaza Art Fair. I came across a young computer artist named Kenneth Huff with some amazing 3-D work. One of his pieces was very reminisent of the Connections Principle, where everything is connected to everything else in a big web. I think a trip to his website would be a big turn-on for many on you. Go have a look-see at: www.itgoesboing.com Look for image 961108.02 - Try: www.itgoesboing.com/ImagePaths/1996.html?i=3
LINKS OF INTEREST TO BURKE FANS Once again, before diving into this month's links, I wanted to call your attention to the interesting search engine I was told about called Kartoo. This month's search engine finds are a continuation of last month's, which concentrated on some of the inventions and inventors found in the Connections 1 video series. Now we will move on to inventions, discoveries and other topics relating to Connections 2. About: A History of Famous Inventors Fertilizer Use...A Historical Perspective (PDF file) USDA: History of American Agriculture About: Inventor of Carborundum Bunsen Burner - name discussion Brief History of Light and Spectra Pictorial History of Telescopes Surgical Treatment of Pulmonary and Cardiac Disease. Nitroglycerin For Chronic Heart Pain What is the History of the Discovery of Aspirin? Joseph Lister & Antiseptic Surgery Lister Biographical Information Dr. Joseph Lister: Medical Revolutionary History of the Automobile: Carburetor About: History of the Automobile Utility Patent for the Helicopter About: The Helicopter and Igor Sikorsky Evolution of Helicopter Flight A History of Helicopter Flight About: History of the Barometer Brief History of the Barometer A History of Evolutionary Thought Biology and Evolutionary Theory History of the Idea of Evolution History of Evolutionary Thought - Links
(An aside - Personally, I found this page very interesting) All About Fingerprints and Other Impressions History and Science of Fingerprint Identification Weather Forecasting Through the Ages Train Air Brake Description and History NASA Sci-Files: Invention Timeline History of Hydroelectric Power - PDF file Hydroelectricity in the United States Hydropower and Hydroelectricity: An Historical Timeline Benjamin Franklin and His Electric Motor Joseph Henry's Contributions to the Electric Motor A Short History of Sperry Marine NASA Spacelink: Shuttle Reference Space Shuttle News Reference Manual Space Shuttle Design and Development The Impact of the Roman Empire on Space Shuttle Design
A TRIP TO THE BOOKSTORE Here are the results of yet another exciting trip to the local Barnes & Noble. Eureka!: Scientific Breakthroughs that Changed the World - Leslie Alan Horvitz On the Shoulders of Giants - Stephen Hawking The Deviant's Advantage: How Fringe Ideas Create Mass Markets - Ryan Mathews Hydrogen Economy: The Creation of the Worldwide Energy Web - Jeremy Rifkin The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature - Steven Pinker The Discovery of Time - Stuart McCready Terrors and Marvels: How Science Changed the Outcome of WWII - Tom Shachtman The Measure of All Things: The Hidden Error That Transformed the World - Ken Alder The Opium Wars: The Politics and Economics of Addiction - W. Travis Hanes Dr. Eckener's Dream Machine: The Great Zeppelin - Douglas Botting Barbed Wire: A Political History - Olivier Razac Dominion: The Suffering of Animals and the Call to Mercy - Matthew Scully Closer to Truth: Challenging Current Belief - Robert Lawrence Kuhn When God Winks: How the Power of Coincidence Guides Your Life - Squire D. Rushnell Intelligent Design Creationism and Its Critics - Robert T. Pennock
EBAY LISTINGS (CURRENTLY UP FOR SALE) As found on eBay Oct. 01, 2002 www.ebay.com --------- DVDs Connections 1 - 1 copy
--------- Connections: A Mind Game - 4 copies
DVD, VIDEO, BOOK, AUDIOBOOK LIST (ORDER ON-LINE) --------- DVDS
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--------- The Axemaker's Gift: Technology's Capture and Control of Our Minds and Culture Circles: Fifty Round-Trips Through History, Technology, Science, Culture Twin Tracks: The Unexpected Origins of the Modern World
--------- The Axemaker's Gift: A Double -Edged History of Human Culture
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