Artemis II for Yuri's Night

Happy Yuri's Night AKA International Day for Human Space Flight! As I have since 2019, I'm sharing updates on the progress of Artemis. Today, I have a successful mission to report. Watch CBC News summarize The Artemis II mission in 3 minutes.

From blastoff, to the first lunar orbit in 53 years, to splashdown, CBC News breaks down the biggest moments of the historic Artemis II mission in three minutes.

I wrote "I'm looking forward to Artemis II next year" in 2025 in space from ESA, KING 5, Business Casual, and the Marsh Family. It's next year and Artemis II happened just in time for Yuri's Night. Perfect timing!

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice examined the contest for the Artemis program in The Missions Bringing Us Back to the Moon.

Why are we going back to the moon with the Artemis Missions? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice explore the history of our trips to the moon during the Apollo Missions and why the US is finally going back.

Tyson and Nice were as entertaining as they were informative. They explained why we went to the Moon in the first place, why we're returning now, and how both Apollo and Artemis worked. Good work and funny, too!

Speaking of funny, I'm closing with Artemis II - SNL.

A group of astronauts (Colman Domingo, Mikey Day, Marcello Hernández, Sarah Sherman) give updates on their moon mission.

Snork! I couldn't resist either Saturday Night Live or Emmy winner Colman Domingo, so of course I embedded an SNL segment featuring Domingo, especially about space.

That's a wrap for Yuri's Night, when I celebrate the promise of space. Now stay tuned for Apophis Day, when I report on the perils of space.

Neil deGrasse Tyson explains leap years on StarTalk, twice

Happy Leap Year Day! Once again, I'm sharing the science and history of the day with Neil deGrasse Explains Why We Have Leap Days on StarTalk.

What’s going on with Leap Year? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice explain why we sometimes have that extra day in February.

Learn about the rotation and orbit of the Earth and how our orbit isn’t exactly 365 days. What is the difference between the Gregorian and Julian Calendar? We take a trip back to 1582 to find out why The Pope took out 10 days of October. Plus, find out why 2000 was such a special leap year.

Neil and Chuck laughing about a new year observance that changes its hour and sometimes even day every year reminds me that celebrations of Nowruz follow the Vernal Equinox around the clock and occasionally the calendar instead of being fixed on March 21, which is why I celebrate on International Day of Nowruz instead.

By the way, as Neil alluded to, this is not the first time he's explained leap years on StarTalk. I found The Leap Year as Explained by Neil deGrasse Tyson | StarTalk on National Geographic's YouTube channel from 2016.

Neil deGrasse Tyson explains the logic behind the leap year, with a brief history in calendars as well.

It's still the same basic story, so I can tell he's been telling it for a long time, but in fairness, Chuck wasn't there, so this year's video was the first time he dedicated an entire episode with Chuck present.

This concludes February's blogging. Stay tuned for the first post of March, when I plan on celebrating a bunch of holidays, including this blog's 13th birthday. My blog will become a teenager!

Meyers' and Colbert's guests on strikes and labor issues

I closed Colbert, Meyers, and Kimmel turn their attention to Matt Gaetz by telling my readers to "Stay tuned, as I still plan on posting this week's best guests." Since I haven't written about the actors strike since WGA strike ends, actors still on strike, talk shows to return and the UAW strike since Biden to walk picket line and Trump to address auto workers, a UAW strike update, I'm featuring those guests who talked about labor issues this week, beginning with Chris Hayes Explains the Root of Labor Strikes Sweeping the Nation on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Chris Hayes breaks down the labor strikes, talks about recording his podcast, Why Is This Happening?, in front of a live audience and rants about minivans getting a bad rap.

As a union member who has gone on strike, I agree with everything Chris Hayes said.* Strikes are about more than wages and work conditions; they are responses to collective affronts to the dignity of workers. The Great Recession struck a serious blow against American capitalism (and labor) that neither has fully recovered from. The pandemic gave people, especially workers, time to contemplate what they really wanted to do with their lives. I know I changed my mind about work because of the experience; I decided to retire earlier than I had planned before 2020, although I'm still working.

Before I move on, Hayes's remarks about minivans and SUVs remind me that I have a driving update coming soon and I have a Vox video about SUVs that I might share for it. It's part of a series on transportation and design that includes cruise ships, trains, planes, and RVs — trains, planes, and automobiles!

Next, “AI Is All Around Us” - Neil deGrasse Tyson Says We Shouldn’t Worry About Artificial Intelligence on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

America’s most beloved astrophysicist, and host of the “Star Talk” podcast, tells Stephen not to fear the rise of artificial intelligence. Stick around for more with Neil deGrasse Tyson, and check out his latest book, “To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery.”

I saw the panic over ChatGPT and other AI chat programs being able to write term papers first-hand, so I know Neil deGrasse Tyson is not kidding about it. I also know he's right about the power of AI to find patterns in data, including the YouTube algorithm's ability to find videos and creators I would like, the latest being The History Guy tackles 'The Rise and Fall of the American Mall,' a tale of the Retail Apocalypse. Remember, Big Data is watching you (and me, too)!

I conclude with another of Stephen's guests talking about the WGA strike, John Oliver Launches Strike Force Five Merch At Stephen Colbert’s Audience.

Stephen welcomes his Strike Force Five co-host John Oliver for a three-part conversation that kicks off with a rather dangerous stunt in the Ed Sullivan Theater.

John Oliver is right that prison healthcare isn't the best subject for a return to work show. I haven't watched it yet. I will, eventually, but it's a race between Last Week Tonight and Saturday Night Live for my covering the two shows' shared nominations. I suspect it will be SNL's return that does it.

Speaking of which, stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment feature, which will be about the Emmy Awards, whether the winners of the News & Documentary Emmy Awards to the nominees for the Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards. I haven't decided which yet.

*That's a story I haven't told here. Today's not the time, but maybe one of these days.

Neil deGrasse Tyson on the 'Billionaire Space Race'

I can't resist returning to Branson's and Bezos's billionaire blastoffs, especially because YouTube recommended Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains The Billionaire Space Race. Take it away Dr. Tyson!

Bezos? Branson? Elon Musk? On this explainer, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice break down why all these billionaires are going to space. What does “first commercial space flight” even mean?

We get into all the hoopla about the billionaire space race. Is pooling resources to try to send their private businesses into space really worth it? Didn’t we already send people into orbit already? We break down these landmark space flights, why they matter, and what they mean. How far into space did they go? Discover the sensation of weightlessness and how many Gs the human body can really withstand.

I was glad to hear Dr. Tyson made the same point I did yesterday about whether Richard Branson and the rest of his crew actually made it to space. His answer was "not really," the same as mine, even though Branson and his crew earned astronaut wings. He also made another point that occurred to me but I didn't write about yesterday, that Branson and Jeff Bezos riding in their craft is a sign of confidence in their own creations. I agree, and that's a good thing for the future of space tourism.

Dr. Tyson mentioned that he was on CNN, so I'm following up with Neil deGrasse Tyson explains significance of Richard Branson's space flight.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson explains what Richard Branson's space flight could mean for the future of space tourism.

Dr. Tyson made a point I've made before, space exploration is political and the Apollo program was part of the Cold War competition with the Soviet Union. That's why I expected a space race between the U.S. and China over the U.S. returning to the Moon before the Chinese get there. Instead, we're seeing a space race among the ultra-rich and their companies. That bothers me less, because Branson, Bezos, and Elon Musk aren't engaged in the same kind of contest for global power that nation-states engage in. Besides, I'm enough of a believer in capitalism that I think making space profitable is a good thing for space exploration and exploitation and also for forestalling withdrawal from space, one of the classic tragic technological decline scenarios from science fiction.

Dr. Tyson addressed a criticism of Bezos and Amazon in particular on MSNBC, when Ari Melber interviewed him for See Neil deGrasse Tyson Break Down The Bezos-Branson Billionaire space Race.

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is set to be the next billionaire who paid his way into space on his own rocket, drawing intense backlash. Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson talks with MSNBC’s Ari Melber about the current billionaire “space race,” and pushes back on critics who argue inequality and other problems on earth should limit private space travel.

I couldn't have said it better, so I'm glad that Dr. Tyson said it first.

That should do it for the "Billionaire Space Race" for now. Stay tuned for something else tomorrow.

Reactions to the U.S. Government report on UAPs for World UFO Day

Today is the second of two World UFO Days. Why two? National Day Calendar explains.

World UFO Day commemorates two separate dates. The first, on June 24th, recognizes the first widely reported UFO sighting on this same day in 1947 by aviator Kenneth Arnold. On July 2nd, the date commemorates the incident that took place in Roswell, New Mexico, in the same year.

I can see why two different UFO Days; both are important in the early history of the phenomenon and should be recognized. National Day Calendars singled out today's observance by writing "The creators of the July 2nd event launched it to raise awareness of UFO sightings and remove speculation from them." That makes me feel better about postponing my observance from June 24 to today, which I based on reports that the House Intelligence Committee's report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) would come out later that week. It did, as CNET reported in The Pentagon UFO report explained on June 26.

Are they aliens? Spy planes? What *are* those unidentified aerial phenomena we've been seeing lately? We break down the report commissioned by Congress to get to the bottom of UAPs and the people who report them.

CNET not only presented a good summary of the findings, but also an excellent timeline of how and why this reported ended up being produced. For some reason, I'm not surprised it started off with Marco Rubio adding the request to a budget bill. His doing so adds to the ambivalence I feel about the subject.

On the one hand, I feel the same about addressing the official interest in UFOs as I do about "Fauci's emails and...the Wuhan lab-leak hypothesis, two narratives that I want to give as little attention to as possible." On the other, I have described this blog as having a "science fiction slant" on its Facebook page, so writing about the topic is on brand.

I hope this is a case of a stuck clock still being right twice a day, just as Senator Rubio is on Daylight Saving Time. On the other hand, it might end up being like his positions on gun control and Cuba, which I disagree with. Only time will tell, although the kind of supporters the report has makes me wonder and worry.

Follow over the jump for more news reactions to the report.

Neil deGrasse Tyson explains Earth Day

Happy Earth Day! To celebrate, I'm sharing Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains the History of Earth Day from StarTalk.

Where did Earth Day come from? On this explainer, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic climate activist co-host Chuck Nice discuss the origins of Earth Day and when we started paying attention to environmental issues on our own planet.

When was the first Earth Day? We talk about Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring and the origins of climate activism in the United States. How did people's mentalities towards pollution change? We break down the concept of a global environment, the turbulence of the sixties, and Apollo 8. What does the 1968 trip to the moon have to do with Earth Day? Discover how leaving the earth helped us think about our own planet. We explore the founding of the Environmental Protection Agency and other government agencies and policies in the 70’s. What changed in our mindset towards Earth when we travelled to space? Happy Earth Day from your friends at StarTalk, keep looking up and keep looking home!

I'm sure his viewers and listeners expected to hear about the role of Rachel Carson, but leave it to Dr. Tyson to connect the space program, particularly Apollo 8, to the environmental movement and leave it to Chuck Nice to tell the viewers to spread the word. I listened, Chuck, which is why I embedded the video and am sharing the link.

I'm also sharing GretaThunberg: A Year to Change the World PREVIEW from Arizona Public Media.

Travel with the world’s best-known climate activist as she takes her fight to a global stage. With unique access, the series follows Greta over an extraordinary year as she embarks on a mission to ensure world leaders work to limit global warming.

Check your TV listings for when this three-part series airs on your local PBS station. Many of them will show it tonight, Earth Day, beginning at 8 P.M. local time. They will also repeat it next week.

I'm not done with the intersection of the environment and entertainment. Stay tuned for a retrospective featuring a popular post about animals that is an Oscar nominee on the Flashback Friday before the Oscars.

'Why We Hate,' 'Cosmos,' 'Seven Worlds, One Planet' and 'Life Below Zero' — science and nature winners at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards

I know I told my readers yesterday to " Stay tuned for a drinking game, memes, and drinks for this year's Vice Presidential Debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence," but that turns out to be tomorrow, not today. As Rick Perry would say, "oops." Instead, I'm going to continue with my coverage of the winners of the Emmy Awards. Today's installment consists of the science and nature winners at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards other than "Apollo 11," which was the big science winner overall. I begin with "Why We Hate," which I covered in 'Tiger King' vs. 'McMillion$' — big cats and true crime at the Emmy Awards for World Lion Day.

Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special (Original Dramatic Score)

Becoming - Kamasi Washington (Netflix)
Home - Amanda Jones (Episode: "Maine") (Apple TV+)
McMillion$ - Pinar Toprak & Alex Kovacs (Episode: "Episode 1") (HBO)
Tiger King - Mark Mothersbaugh, John Enroth, Albert Fox (Episode: "Not Your Average Joe") (Netflix)
Why We Hate - Laura Karpman (Episode: "Tools & Tactics") (Discovery Channel)

Normally, I'd go with the most famous composer, who is Mark Mothersbaugh for "Tiger King" except that Laura Karpman also has a nomination for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music, so I think she's the favorite.

It turned out I was right. Watch the Television Academy's 2020 Creative Arts Emmys: Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special.

The team from Why We Hate wins the Emmy for Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special (Original Dramatic Score).

Why is this science? Because "Why We Hate" is an application of psychology, which is a science, to solving a problem.* As IMDB describes the show, it's "an exploration into the human condition for hatred and how we can overcome it." Here's to being able to do that.

I covered the next winner in For National Presidential Joke Day, I present the variety talk show nominees at the Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series

Between The Scenes - The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee Presents: Pandemic Video Diaries (TBS)
National Geographic Presents Cosmos: Creating Possible Worlds (National Geographic)
Pose: Identity, Family, Community (FX)
RuPaul's Drag Race: Out of the Closet (VH1)

"Creating Saturday Night Live," Last year's winner, is not returning, but last year's nominees "Pose: Identity, Family, Community" and "RuPaul's Drag Race: Out of the Closet" are. On that basis, I consider them the nominal favorites, although I've been finding Samantha Bee's Pandemic Video Diaries to be hilarious and Trevor Noah won his one Emmy Award for "Between The Scenes - The Daily Show." Between the two variety talk nominees, I'd say Noah has the better shot at the award.

Watch 2020 Creative Arts Emmys: Short Form Non-Fiction/Reality Series for the actual winner.

The team from National Geographic wins the Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Short Form Non-Fiction/Reality Series.

Shame on me, I didn't even consider "Cosmos: Creating Possible Worlds" for the win, but as a scientist, I should have. I guess my focus on the variety nominees had me looking in the wrong direction. Just the same, congratulations to the show I should have been rooting for all along!

ETA: "Cosmos: Possible Worlds" also won a second Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation. Congratulations, again!

Next, a category I covered in 'The Cave' vs. 'American Factory' — Oscar nominees and other documentaries at the Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Narrator

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Black Patriots: Heroes of the Revolution (History)
David Attenborough on Seven Worlds, One Planet (Episode: "Antarctica") (BBC America)
Angela Bassett on The Imagineering Story (Episode: "The Happiest Place on Earth") (Disney+)
Chiwetel Ejiofor on The Elephant Queen (Apple TV+)
Lupita Nyong'o on Serengeti (Episode: "Destiny") (Discovery Channel)

What a list of all-star talent! Lupita Nyong'o is an Oscar winner, Angela Bassett is an Oscar nominee and Golden Globes winner, Chiwetel Ejiofor is an Oscar nominee, and David Attenborough is two-time returning winner. On that basis, I'd say Sir David is the nominal favorite, although he's up against stiff competition. The nominee I'd look out for is Nyong'o because "Serengeti" is the only series with two nominations.

That reminds me that I'm used to seeing a lot of nature documentaries nominated at the Emmys, but that's not the case this year. I suspect that's because "Tiger King" sucked up all the oxygen that would normally go to shows about wild animals.

Despite all its nominations, "Tiger King" walked away empty-handed. That's not the case for Sir David. Watch 2020 Creative Arts Emmys: Narrator to see him win.

David Attenborough wins the Emmy for Outstanding Narrator.

Congratulations to the one Emmy winner I know I've met in person!

The last winner is one that I expected, but only by accident was I reminded that it belonged here as much as it did in reality programs.

Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program

Cheer (Episode: "Hit Zero") (Netflix)
Life Below Zero (Episode: "The New World") (Nat Geo)
Queer Eye (Episode: "We're in Japan!: Japanese Holiday") (Netflix)
RuPaul's Drag Race (VH1)
Survivor (CBS)

On the other hand, "Life Below Zero" has a decent shot at repeating here, as it won this award last year. I think its strongest competition consists of "Cheer" based on the trailer and "Survivor" based on my experience of watching the show.

2020 Creative Arts Emmys: Cinematography for a Reality Program.

The team from National Geographic wins the Emmy for Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program.

Congratulations to the repeat Emmy winners for their outstanding photography of people and the harsh environment they live in!

I conclude this enty with award-winning music from "Why We Hate," Epilogue.



Now stay tuned for the drinking game, drinks, and memes for the vice-presidential debate!

*I have a story about psychology as a science to share, but today's not the day to do it.

Previous posts about the 2020 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards

• Kerry Washington promotes 'The Fight,' a documentary about the ACLU's legal battles with the Trump Administration
• Sandy Hook Promise's 'Back-To-School Essentials' and P&G's 'The Look' among Emmy nominees for Outstanding Commercial
• 'Tiger King' vs. 'McMillion$' - big cats and true crime at the Emmy Awards for World Lion Day
• For National Presidential Joke Day, I present the variety talk show nominees at the Emmy Awards
• 'The Cave' vs. 'American Factory' - Oscar nominees and other documentaries at the Emmy Awards
• 'Short Treks,' '#FreeRayshawn,' and 'Reno 911!' - government in short form at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards
• It's Saturday night, so here are the 15 Emmy nominations for 'Saturday Night Live'
• 'Cheer' leads unstructured reality program nominees in a field that recognizes diversity
• 'Queer Eye' leads structured reality program nominees at the Emmy Awards while 'preaching love, acceptance, pride, and compassion'
• 'El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie' vs. 'Bad Education' and 'American Son' - Outstanding Television Movie nominees about crime and punishment at the Emmy Awards
• Star Trek vs. Star Wars - futuristic politics and government at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards
• 'Watchmen' vs. 'Mrs. America' and 'Unbelievable' — limited series at the 2020 Emmy Awards that examine politics and government
• 'Schitt's Creek' vs. 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' — Outstanding Comedy Series nominees that use politics and government for laughs
• Outstanding Drama Series nominees at the Emmys once again examine politics and government
• Sandy Hook Promise and Discovery Channel's Shark Week win Emmy Awards for commercials
• 'The Cave,' 'Apollo 11,' and 'American Factory' — winning documentaries at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards examined politics and government
• John Oliver examines the Supreme Court after 'Last Week Tonight' wins four Emmy Awards
• 'SNL' lampoons the debate, Trump's COVID diagnosis, and Supreme Court nomination in season premiere after winning six Emmy Awards

Neil DeGrasse Tyson on Colbert updates Space Force for the eighth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News on National Space Day

Happy National Space Day!  As I promised in yesterday's retrospective, I am skipping over a couple of topics to post a retrospective about Space Force.  I'll explain how these entries got their page views over the jump after I update the topic with a couple of clips from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert featuring Neil DeGrasse Tyson.  First, Dr. Tyson explains why Trump's Space Force is not a crazy idea.

America's favorite astrophysicist returns to The Late Show with a surprising argument for why Trump's call for a Space Force may be a good thing.

Next, Tyson returns with The Military/Space Alliance Runs Deep.

The author of 'Accessory to War' describes his realization that, despite the tendency for members of the space sciences to lean anti-war, there has long been a connection between their field and the art of modern warfare.

Tyson gives pretty much the same history and justification that Amy Shira Teitel of Vintage Space gave in Pence on Space Force plus space law from Vintage Space, a Veep Day bonus.  Since both are space experts, I'll accept their stories.  As for Trump and Space Force, I'll consider it an example of a stuck clock being right twice a day.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson celebrates Pi Day and Einstein's birthday

Happy Pi Day!  In this year's celebration, I am taking a break from the last three Pi Days, which all shared a pie theme.  This year, the theme is math and science with Neil deGrasse Tyson.

First, the math, with Pi Day With Neil deGrasse Tyson on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

America's preeminent astrophysicist and science communicator raps the digits of Pi in honor of math's high holy day.

Now, the science with Celebrating Einstein with Neil deGrasse Tyson on StarTalk.

Join Neil deGrasse Tyson, comic co-host Chuck Nice, and astrophysicist Janna Levin as they celebrate the life and achievements of Albert Einstein and his impact on the scientific world around us including the detection of gravitational waves at LIGO. Albert Einstein's birthday is on March 14, also known as Pi day.

Here's to this episode contributing to this show earning another Emmy nomination.

That's it for Pi Day.  Beware The Ides of March!

'Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown' earns seven posthumous Emmy nominations

I promised" that I would "write about "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" and its competitors in the other six categories in which it is nominated.  I wrote about five of them and compared "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" to "United Shades of America", noting that "the line between an informational nonfiction show and a reality show must be very fine."  On that note, it's time to examine the final category in which the late Bordain's shows earned a nomination, Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction Or Reality Series, an award whose very title "reflects the fine line between informational nonfiction and reality programming" I pointed out.

The nomination is really for the web series "Anthony Bourdain: Explore Parts Unknown," not the main Sunday night show.  The same is true of most of the other nominees, which are supplements to the main shows they are about.  "The Americans: The Final Season" and "The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story: America’s Obsessions" are short-form documentaries about both the history being examined by the drama and mini-series and the making of the shows themselves, while "Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen" serves as a side competition to the main show, much like "Comeback Kitchen" does for "Next Food Network Star."  Only "Jay Leno's Garage" on NBC with replays on CNBC is a show in its own right.  It is also the only repeat nominee, having been earned nominations for this award every year it has been presented.  On that basis, I'd say it's the favorite, especially since last year's winner, “Viceland at the Women’s March,” did not return.  I expect its main competition will be "Anthony Bourdain: Explore Parts Unknown" for reasons I will repeat below.

Speaking of which, here is what I wrote about the nominees for Outstanding Informational Series or Special, including "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown."

"StarTalk With Neil deGrasse Tyson" earned a fourth nomination for Outstanding Informational Series or Special, a repeat from last year.  This joins its nomination for Reality Television at the 2018 EMA Awards, where I mentioned its Emmy nomination.

I'd have rooted for "StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson," as it was nominated for an Emmy last year and again this year.  It lost to "Vice," which it is competing against for Outstanding Informational Series or Special this year, just as it was last year.  I'll be writing about both later, especially "Vice," which also has nine News and Documentary Emmy nominations.

I doubt either "StarTalk" or "Vice" will win.  Instead, I think it will be either “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath,” which won this category last year, or Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, which won the category the four years before that.  Because of Bourdain's recent suicide, I suspect his show has the inside track.  As for "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman," I will tell the show and Netflix the same thing I said about "Bill Nye Saves the World," just be happy to be nominated.

I believe that the same sympathy vote will make "Anthony Bourdain: Explore Parts Unknown" the major rival to "Jay Leno's Garage" for Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction Or Reality Series.

Follow over the jump for what I've already written about the rest of the nominations for "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown."

Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and NASA all nominees at the 70th Emmy Awards

For this week's Sunday entertainment feature, I'm returning to the Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards to recognize three regular subjects of my blogging here, Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and NASA, all of whom have nominated shows at this year's Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

I begin with Bill Nye Saves The World.  The Netflix series has earned a nomination for Outstanding Production Design for a Variety, Reality, or Reality-Competition Series.  This is almost identical to the nomination it earned last year for Outstanding Production Design for a Variety, Nonfiction, Reality, or Reality Competition Programming.  Congratulations on the near-repeat!  On the other hand, Nye's series is competing against "Dancing With The Stars," "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver" (the episode on the now-dead Sinclair-Tribune merger and long-dead Warren G. Harding I already wrote about), "Saturday Night Live," and "The Voice."  "Saturday Night Live" won this Emmy Award last year and I think it's favored again this year.  As I wrote last year, "Bill Nye and Netflix should just be happy to get the nomination."

"Bill Nye Saves The World" missed out on being renominated for Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming this year, a category it lost to "13th" last year.  I'm not surprised, as this year's nominees compose a tough field, which I plan on writing about later.  In the meantime, here is the Official Trailer for Season Two.

He's a science guy. An entertainer. A spiffy dresser. And he's back to drop some knowledge on life-changing topics.

Once again, I'll have to watch this show; I know my students are.

"StarTalk With Neil deGrasse Tyson" earned a fourth nomination for Outstanding Informational Series or Special, a repeat from last year.  This joins its nomination for Reality Television at the 2018 EMA Awards, where I mentioned its Emmy nomination.

I'd have rooted for "StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson," as it was nominated for an Emmy last year and again this year.  It lost to "Vice," which it is competing against for Outstanding Informational Series or Special this year, just as it was last year.  I'll be writing about both later, especially "Vice," which also has nine News and Documentary Emmy nominations.

I doubt either "StarTalk" or "Vice" will win.  Instead, I think it will be either “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath,” which won this category last year, or Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, which won the category the four years before that.  Because of Bourdain's recent suicide, I suspect his show has the inside track.  As for "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman," I will tell the show and Netflix the same thing I said about "Bill Nye Saves the World," just be happy to be nominated.

I'll write about "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" and its competitors in the other six categories in which it is nominated later, but before I do, I'm being a good environmentalist and recycling what I wrote in June.

I'm sure I'll be writing about Emmy nominations for both Bourdain and "Parts Unknown" next month, just as I will for R.I.P. Stephen Hawking 1942-2018.  Those will be bittersweet experiences.

"Stephen Hawking's Favorite Places" was not renominated at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards this year, but he was a guest in an episode of StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson.

As tribute to the life and works of world-renowned Stephen Hawking, host Neil deGrasse Tyson’s recent StarTalk interview with the groundbreaking theoretical physicist. Also featuring astrophysicist Janna Levin, comedian Matt Kirshen, physicist Michio Kaku, and Bill Nye the Science Guy.

That sort of makes up for the lack of a nomination for Hawking.

Follow over the jump for NASA/JPL's nomination as well as two nominees that I consider to be honorary entries about space.

'How Far I'll Go' from 'Moana,' 'The Princess Diarist' and 'The Voyager Golden Record' win at the Grammy Awards

Tonight is the Grammy Awards and I'll report tomorrow on the fate of the speculative fiction and science nominees.  Stay tuned.

That's what I promised my readers to end Speculative fiction sweeps movie categories at the Art Directors Guild Awards and that's what I'm delivering today.

I begin with Gold Derby on the winners of music for visual media.

“La La Land” wins Best Visual Media Compilation and Best Visual Media Score. Both awards go Justin Hurwitz, who also won two Oscars for his musical compositions. But Hurwitz, Pasek, and Paul were upset in the race for Best Visual Media Song: Lin-Manuel Miranda won for “How Far I’ll Go” from “Moana”; it’s the third Grammy of his career, and he just needs an Oscar to EGOT.

I thought Hurwitz and "La La Land" would sweep, so I'm glad to be wrong about “How Far I’ll Go” from “Moana.”  I shouldn't be surprised, as I observed a result like this was possible last December.

I would say "La La Land" is the favorite, but the Emmy [Grammy] electorate is not the Oscar electorate and can vote differently.  For example, John Williams lost at the Oscars but won the Grammy for "The Force Awakens."

I didn't think the Grammy voters would go against the Oscar voters, but, once again, they did.  Congratulations to Lin-Manuel Miranda and Auli'i Cravalho for their victory, the biggest one of the night for speculative fiction.


Gold Derby also reported the other win for speculative fiction.

Carrie Fisher wins a posthumous Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for “The Princess Diarist.”

Her IMDB awards page hasn't been updated yet, but when it is, this will be the most prestigious award she's ever won.  It may not be the last award she'll win, however.  I I fully expect Fisher to be nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Film at the Saturn Awards, where I think she'll be favored to win.

Speaking of Star Wars, John Williams received a Trustees Award and won Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for "Escapades For Alto Saxophone And Orchestra From Catch Me If You Can."

One of Fisher's fellow nominees for Best Spoken Word Album, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, was one of the presenters, as USA Today noted.

"It's a tie!" Tyson announces for best recording package. He's not joking. A Grammy tie between El Orisha De La Rosa and Pure Comedy (Deuxe Edition).

Only Grammy-nominated astrophysicist presenter Neil deGrasse Tyson could point out that not only are the Grammys turning 60, but so is NASA. He gives the Grammy for best instrumental composition to Arturo O'Farrill for Three Revolutions.

Speaking of NASA, the next winner is one of theirs.


Yes, "The Voyager Golden Record: 40th Anniversary Edition" won Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package.  Score one for science!

Finally, USA Today reported "HBO's The Defiant Ones, about the friendship between music legends Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, wins best music film."  That's the one I expected to win, even though I was rooting for "Long Strange Trip."  By the way, I expect to blog about it again, as it will be eligible for this year's Emmy Awards.

I close with “How Far I’ll Go” from “Moana,” which I included in Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 44 at Booman Tribune.

"Moana" was one of two feature films nominated by the Environmental Media Association as having an environmental theme worth recognizing, so I'm considering the Grammy nominated song How Far I'll Go to be from an environmental movie.  Who am I to argue with the EMA?  If nothing else, the CGI scenery is pretty.

Music video by Auli'i Cravalho performing How Far I'll Go. (C) 2016 Walt Disney Records

That's it for fantasy.  Stay tuned for at least three days of reality.

The Fake Mayan Doomsday five years later for Winter Solstice 2017

Happy Winter Solstice, to my readers!  Instead of presenting the usual scientific explanation for today's astronomical event and pagan holiday, I'm looking back at an event that was predicted to happen five years ago, but never came to pass, the Fake Mayan Doomsday of 2012.  I heaped plenty of scorn on the prediction, both before and after, just like I have and will do on any other forecast of supernatural doom.

I wasn't alone in mocking the prediction that wouldn't come true.  The day before, Neil DeGrasse Tyson debunked the Mayan Apocalypse on StarTalk.

Worried about the world ending on December 21, 2012? You won't be after you listen to Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, host of StarTalk Radio and director of the Hayden Planetarium as he debunks the apocalypse as "a hoax, perpetrated by the scientifically illiterate on the scientifically under-informed." There's no hurry to watch this Cosmic Query with comic co-host Chuck Nice, though, because it will still be here on December 22... and 23rd... and 24th... In fact, since we're going to be around for quite some time, don't miss out on any StarTalk news.

The prediction that "we're going to be around for quite some time" came true as both the video and Tyson are still here five years later.  Science!

Enough of fake doomsdays.  Stay tuned as I'll be back tomorrow with a real possible doomsday and what is being done to prevent it.

Science, science fiction, and fantasy among the 2017 Grammy nominees

I told my readers to "Stay tuned for a more standard Sunday entertainment feature focusing on the Grammy nominees relevant to science, science fiction, and fantasy" at the end of St. Clair wins 2017 WDIV Battle of the Bands plus my other favorites.  Here are the relevant nominated works from the Los Angeles Times with some assistance from File 770 for the science entries and re-ordered to suit my priorities.

Score soundtrack for visual media

"Arrival" - Jóhann Jóhannsson, composer
"Dunkirk" - Hans Zimmer, composer
"Game of Thrones: Season 7" - Ramin Djawadi, composer
"Hidden Figures" - Benjamin Wallfisch, Pharrell Williams & Hans Zimmer, composers
"La La Land" - Justin Hurwitz, composer

This field is a sweep for genre entertainment from top to bottom.  Every nominee is a past or likely future Saturn Award candidate.  "Arrival" was nominated for Best Science Fiction Film and won Best Film Screenplay.  "Dunkirk" is likely to be nominated for Best Action Film early next year.  "Game of Thrones" is a perennial nominee for Best Fantasy TV Show.  "Hidden Figures" won Best Action/Adventure Film.  Finally, "La La Land" won both Best Independent Film and Best Film Music.  It also won Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score) at the Academy Awards.  I would say "La La Land" is the favorite, but the Emmy electorate is not the Oscar electorate and can vote differently.  For example, John Williams lost at the Oscars but won the Grammy for "The Force Awakens."  I'm not convinced that will happen next year.

The next category is also a genre sweep from start to finish.

Compilation soundtrack for visual media

"Baby Driver" (Various Artists)
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2" (Various Artists)
"Hidden Figures: The Album" (Various Artists)
"La La Land" (Various Artists)
"Moana: The Songs" (Various Artists)

In addition to "Hidden Figures" and "La La Land," which I mentioned above, all these films are past or present Saturn Award nominees.  "Baby Driver" is likely to join "Dunkirk" as in the Action category.  "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" is a lock to be nominated for Best Comic-to-Motion Picture Release and the movie I expect most likely to win, even if it isn't my favorite in the category.  "Moana" was nominated for Best Animated Film Release.

As for which will win, it depends on what the voters want.  If they want all original songs, they pick either "La La Land" or "Moana" with the advantage to "La La Land."  If they want a combination of old and original, they can vote for "Hidden Figures," the songs in which I really enjoyed and would vote for if I were eligible.  If they want all recycled, they can choose between "Baby Driver" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2."  Both of the latter had really interesting mixes of classics, but I preferred "Guardians of the Galaxy."

Genre films aren't as well represented in the next category, but are stronger than one might think at first glance.

Song written for visual media

"City of Stars" — Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, songwriters (Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone)
"How Far I'll Go" — Lin-Manuel Miranda, songwriter (Auli'i Cravalho)
"I Don't Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)" — Jack Antonoff, Sam Dew & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Zayn & Taylor Swift)
"Never Give Up" — Sia Furler & Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Sia)
"Stand Up for Something" — Common & Diane Warren, songwriters (Andra Day featuring Common)

"City of Stars" won for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song) at the Academy Awards and makes for the third nominee from "La La Land."  Congratulations to Hurwitz for getting nominations in all three visual media categories.  It beat "How Far I'll Go" from "Moana" in that category at the Oscars, so I would say "City of Stars" is favored.  The last song from last year was "Never Give Up" by Sia from "Lion."  That film makes this a surprisingly strong showing for genre, as it was nominated for Best Independent Film at the Saturn Awards, even though it is a biography and thus not really fiction.


As for the nominees from this year's films, I expected "Fifty Shades Darker" to be recognized.

Just like the first installment in the trilogy, it looks like the songs will be the best part of the movie.  Here's to seeing them nominated for Grammys and Oscars along with the movie itself nominated for a Razzie!

One prediction down, two to go.

The song that I think is most likely to give "City of Stars" a run for its money is "Stand Up for Something" by Common & Diane Warren from "Marshall."  Common won both an Oscar and a Grammy for "Glory" from "Selma" and he just won an Emmy for “The Letter to the Free” from "13th."  Even if he doesn't win the Grammy, this is a good sign he'll be nominated for an Oscar in January.  Now he just needs to write a stage musical so he can be eligible for a Tony to earn the EGOT.

That's it for music from movies and television.  Follow over the jump for two categories that include recordings about science plus a category for movies and television about music.

More nature and science at the Primetime Emmy Awards

I thought I was done with Nature and science at the Primetime Emmy Awards by posting Vox on 'Planet Earth II'.  It turns out I was wrong.  There are five more nominations of shows on these topics, three of them for Outstanding Narrator.  One of these shows is also nominated at the News and Documentary Emmys, "Wild New Zealand."

Welcome to a place of fabled landscapes, a land which time forgot. Welcome to the lost world of New Zealand.

The quote at the beginning supports my prediction that so long as anyone survives who remembers the Peter Jackson "Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" movies, New Zealand will be associated with Middle-Earth.  The show's original BBC title, "Earth's Mythical Islands: New Zealand," fits right in with this idea.

As I indicated above, this series, or, rather, Sam Neill, the actor who played the paleontologist Alan Grant in the "Jurassic Park" movies, is nominated for Outstanding Narrator at the Primetime Emmys.  In the News and Documentary Emmys, the show is nominated for Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary along with four other nature shows, "David Attenborough's Light on Earth," "Desert Warriors: Lions of the Namib," "Forces of Nature," and "Nature: Super Hummingbirds."  I watched the last one at my mom's house in Utah immediately after I watched the Nova episode " Treasures of the Earth: Power."  It deserves its nomination.  As for "Wild New Zealand," its nominations prove it was well-narrated and well-photographed.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the science and nature shows being featured today.