Graphic novels ain't comics : did you know ?

In Brief : Yesterday I was reading an interview of Jeff Smith in Mumbai Mirror, the creator of graphic novel Bones, and it struck me how is it different from the comics. Here is the difference....

A graphic novel is a type of comic book, usually with a lengthy and complex storyline similar to those of novels, and often aimed at mature audiences.

It also means comic short story anthologies, and in some cases bound collections of previously published comic book series (commonly referred to as trade paperbacks).
Graphic novels are typically bound in longer and more durable formats than familiar comic magazines (using the same materials and methods as printed books).

They are generally sold in bookstores and specialty comic book shops rather than at news-stands.
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Leonid meteor shower : watch out for celestial fireworks till Nov. 21 !!

In Brief : It's the Leonid meteor shower time again...keep sky-gazing till Nov. 21...you might be lucky !!
The Leonids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Tempel-Tuttle.
The Leonids get their name from the location of their radiant in the constellation Leo: the
meteors appear to stream from that point in the sky.
The Leonids generally begin on November 13 and end on November 21, with maximum generally occurring during the night of Novemer 17/18.
Observers are generally treated to displays of about 10 meteors per hour on the night of
maximum.
About every 33 years, the Leonids enter a phase of enhanced activity that accompanies the
return of its parent comet. During these periods, rates can amount to hundreds and even
thousands of meteors per hour. The last such enhanced period occurred during the period of
1998-2002 and the Leonids have been winding down ever since.

Read More...
http://meteorshowersonline.com/leonids.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonids

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Fields Medal....Mathematician's Nobel Prize...ever heard this name !!

In Brief : The only two times I heard about it are ....

(1) when Grigori Perelman refused it in 2006 and
(2) while watching the movie "The Goodwill Hunting".
The Fields Medal is widely viewed as the top honor a mathematician can receive.
It comes with a monetary award, which in 2006 was C$15,000 (US$15,000 or €10,000).
Founded at the behest of Canadian mathematician John Charles Fields, the medal was first
awarded in 1936, to Finnish mathematician Lars Ahlfors and American mathematician Jesse
Douglas and has been regularly awarded since 1950.
Its purpose is to give recognition and support to younger mathematical researchers who have
made major contributions
The International Union has awarded its 2006 prizes on August 22, 2006 during the Opening
Ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians in Madrid, Spain.
The next prizes will be awarded during the opening ceremony of ICM 2010 in Hyderabad, India on August 19, 2010.
In 2006, Grigori Perelman, credited with proving the Poincaré conjecture, refused his Fields
Medal and did not attend the congress. More...
IMU Prizes are awarded every four years at the Opening Ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM).
The Fields Medal recognizes outstanding mathematical achievement.
The Rolf Nevanlinna Prize honors distinguished achievements in mathematical aspects of information science.
The Carl Friedrich Gauss Prize is awarded for outstanding mathematical contributions that have found significant applications outside of mathematics.


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Type rest of the post here
For more ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fields_Medal
Field's institute website :
http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/aboutus/jcfields/fields_medal.html or http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/aboutus/jcfields/.
http://www.mathunion.org/medals/

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Michael Crichton passes away.....

• Michael Crichton, the doctor-turned-author of bestselling thrillers such as "The Terminal Man" and "Jurassic Park" and a Hollywood writer and director whose credits include "Westworld" and "Coma," has died. He was 66.
  
  For nearly four decades, the 6-foot-9 writer was a towering presence in the worlds of publishing and filmmaking.
  
  Lynn Nesbit, Crichton's agent since the late '60s, told the Los Angeles Times,"There was no one like Crichton, because he could both entertain and educate. His brilliance was indisputable, and he had a grasp of so many subjects -- from art to science to technology. I respected him so much intellectually and as a writer. I loved him. It's like losing a very good friend as well as a client of so many years."
  
  Director Steven Spielberg in a statement Wednesday said, "Michael's talent out-scaled even his own dinosaurs of 'Jurassic Park.' He was the greatest at blending science with big theatrical concepts, which is what gave credibility to dinosaurs again walking the Earth."
  
  Spielberg, who was a new contract TV director at Universal in the early '70s when he met Crichton and was assigned to show the writer around the lot, described him as "a gentle soul who reserved his flamboyant side for his novels.
  
  
  Crichton's body of work....
  
  1966 "Odds On," novel. Written under the pen name John Lange, about a robbery planned by computer that goes terribly wrong.
  1969 "The Andromeda Strain," novel. (Movie, 1971; TV miniseries, 2008.) An alien micro-organism threatens to wipe out mankind.
  1970 "The Terminal Man," novel. (Movie, 1971.) Crichton tackles mind control.
  1970 "Five Patients,"non-fiction. Crichton's first of four non-fiction works, about his experience at a Boston hospital.
  1972 "Binary," novel, as John Lange. Crichton makes his directorial debut with a TV movie of the same story, renamed "Pursuit," the same year.
  1973 "Westworld," feature film. Crichton writes and directs, with Yul Brynner as a robot that turns homicidal in a role playing vacation spot.
  1975 "The Great Train Robbery," novel. He writes and directs movie adaptation, 1979, starring Donald Sutherland.
  1981 "Looker," movie. Writes and directs this techno-thriller, starring Albert Finney.
  1984 "Runaway," movie. Writes and directs story about murderous robots and heat-seeking bullets, starring Tom Selleck.
  1987 "Sphere," novel. (Movie, 1998.) Spaceships, black holes and time travel.
  1990 "Jurassic Park," novel. (Movie, co-writes screenplay, 1993.) Cloned dinosaurs squash man's hubris.
  1994 "ER," television show. Based on a script Crichton had written 20 years earlier. He serves as creator, writer and executive producer.
  1995 "The Lost World," novel. (Movie, 1997). More dinosaurs.
  1996 "Twister," movie. Crichton co-writes screenplay.
  2002 "Prey," novel. Beware of artificial intelligence.
  2004 "State of Fear," novel. Global warming isn't real, according to Crichton. Scientists attack.
  2006 "Next," novel. Beware of genetics.
  
  source- The Los Angeles Times

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