Blog Assignment #5: Contact

The 5th blog assignement was to read the book "Contact" by Carl Sagan.

Something that caught my interest was how the number pi was used as a "sign from God". Pi exists in everything that has something to do with geometry. In a message from outer space they receive plans on how to build an advanced space ship. They also find out that there can be hidden message in the number pi that will reveal more about the creater of the universe, or a God. This is the starting point for a journey and a search for aliens.

It's interesting how Sagan can mix religious messages with science. To use pi, which is a symbol fo science, as a "code" that will reveal if there is a God or not is an interesting aproach.

Seen Any Good Films Lately?

I’ve seen a lot of good movies recently and one of them is “Lord of War”.

The movie is about the Ukrainian immigrant dealer Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage). He is living a poor life in Little Odessa, USA, and one day he decides to change his economical situation. He becomes an arm dealer together with his little brother Vitaly (Jared Leto).

They start of with dealing arms to local mobsters, but this is not enough for Yuri. With the end of the Cold War he sees his chance to buy weapons cheap from a corrupted Russian officer. He supplies the illegal weapons to disturbed areas around the world. You follow his journey from a poor immigrant to a well-known arms dealer.

The movie has a good story with some really good actors. So if you are looking for a crime/drama movie this is one that I strongly recommend.