Apologies that real work (to the extent that what I do can be called “work”) has gotten in the way of substantive blogging. But I cannot resist sharing the amazing things I learned this weekend — amazing to me, anyway, although it’s possible I’m the only one here who wasn’t clued in.

Thing the first is that Morgan Freeman, many years before he went through the wormhole, was a regular on The Electric Company, along with performers like Rita Moreno and Bill Cosby. (Via Quantum Diaries, of all places.) This was public television’s show from the 70′s that was meant for kids who had moved on from Sesame Street — I was more of a Zoom kid myself, but I must have seen Electric Company episodes with Freeman playing hip dude Easy Reader.

Thing the second is that Easy Reader’s theme song, sung in the clip above, is a dead ringer for Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab.” Flip back and forth between playing them if you don’t believe me. So much so, I am told, that DJ’s in clubs will sometimes mix the two tunes together. Not at the clubs I go to, I guess.

Gil Scott-Heron has died at 62. I could mention how his spoken-word recordings were a noted precursor of hip-hop, but then the Onion would make fun of me.

Seventy years old. Wow.

I recognize the first questioner at this press conference. I’m pretty sure he’s been at some of my own talks.

I’m at a pretty intense workshop this week, spending my waking hours talking about causal diamonds, Boltzmann Brains, and the multiverse. My poor regular brain isn’t up to the task of blogging.

But John Entwistle has some thoughts he would like to share with you.

Caltech had its commencement ceremony last Friday, and I donned a cap and gown to march up on stage with the other faculty members. It’s always a great day, as years of work comes to fruition for several hundred students, ready to move on to the next stage of their careers.

Naturally, there was singing. The Glee Club sent spirits soaring with the Caltech alma mater, “Hail CIT.”

In southern California with grace and splendor bound,
Where the lofty mountain peaks look out to lands beyond,
Proudly stands our alma mater, glorious to see.
We raise our voices proudly, hailing, hailing thee.
Echos ringing while we’re singing, over land and sea.
The hall of fame resound thy name, noble CIT.

The one that got my attention, however, was the other song — Gaudeamus Igitur, apparently a “traditional college song.” How have I spent so many years in academia without coming across this one? It was sung in Latin, but a helpful translation into English was provided.

Therefore let us rejoice
While we are young
After pleasant youth,
After troublesome old age,
The earth will have us.

Where are they who before us
Were in the world?
You can cross the heavens,
You can go to hell,
If you wish to see them.

Our life is brief,
Shortly it will end.
Death comes quickly,
It snatches us cruelly,
No one is spared.

Long live the academy!
Long live the professors!
Long live each student!
Long live all students!
May they always flourish!

Cheerful, no? We’re all going to die, but at least the university will live on. Comforting.

And now Wikipedia informs me that a few verses were apparently left out of our version. To wit:

Long live all girls
Easy and beautiful!
Long live mature women also,
Tender and lovable
Good [and] productive,

Long live the state as well
And he who rules it!
Long live our city
[And] the charity of benefactors
Which protects us here!

Let sadness perish!
Let haters perish!
Let the devil perish!
Let whoever is anti-student
As well as the mockers!

So they left out the bits that were veering uncomfortably close to sexism, fascism, and serial killer-ism. I’m thinking they didn’t want the ceremony to drag on for too long.

It’s Friday! And my promised bloggy content-providing hasn’t really materialized. Someone has to write those letters of recommendation, and my students weren’t impressed by my pleas that there was blogging to be done.

But I gave a colloquium yesterday at Caltech, and afterwards one of the folks who came to dinner was Lloyd Knox, an old friend and a cosmologist at UC Davis. Talk naturally turned to his most well-known work: the Dark Energy Song, sung to his class and (inevitably) captured to video and posted to YouTube by a quick-thinking student. But to my surprise, it only has about 1,000 views! Surely we can help bring this masterpiece to a wider audience.

Note that musical/lyrical critiques by people who have not demonstrated bravery by putting their own performances on YouTube will be derided as acts of base cowardice.

This was originally relegated to a tweet, but it deserves to be elevated to a blog post. Bobby McFerrin, at the World Science Festival, demonstrating the pentatonic scale. A rare combination of joy, passion, and teaching. I dare you not to smile at the 0:42 mark.

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

Louis Armstrong and Johnny Cash. Forty years after Armstrong first recorded this song with Jimmie Rogers, the father of country music. Via Marginal Revolution.

This is a clip from the Johnny Cash show in 1970, less than a year before Armstrong died. It’s great to see these two performers together, but Armstrong’s playing is pretty restrained. Here he is with Dizzie Gillespie, doing “Umbrella Man.”

I presume there is no video recording of Armstrong back in the 1930′s with the Hot Fives or Hot Sevens?

As the year breaks, the internets are abuzz with deep thoughts!

What will change everything? is this year’s Edge Annual Question. Many interesting answers, as you might expect. Choose from Massive Technological Failure (David Bodanis), Breaking the Species Barrier (Richard Dawkins), Coordinated and Expanded Computational Power (Lisa Randall), Faster Evolution (Jonathan Haidt), Happiness (Betsy Devine), Synthetic Biology (Dimitar Sasselov), and more. The book of last year’s question is out soon.

The blog posts to be reprinted in the Open Lab 2008 anthology have been announced — only 50 selections from over 500 nominations, I’m glad I wasn’t responsible for making the tough choices. Also glad that they chose one of my posts, The First Quantum Cosmologist. You can also read about The Igneous Petrology of Ice Cream (Green Gabbro), Expect the Unexpected (A canna’ change the laws of physics), How do cave bats know when it is dark outside? (Pondering Pikaia), and perhaps the most courageous blog post of all time: Liveblogging the Vasectomy (Terra Sigillata). Some sort of new journalism” going on there.

Finally, if all those ideas are weighing you down, play with the David Lee Roth ‘Runnin’ With the Devil’ Soundboard (via Cynical-C). Deconstructed from this classic track.

The complete version is here, but it only detracts.

The start of a new year can bring optimism – a chance to wipe the slate and get a fresh start.  And 2009 is already looking better; if nothing else, the US will get a President that can pronounce the word nuclear.  Personally, I am bidding good riddance to my Annus Horribilis and refuse to set any New Year’s resolutions.  I am unapologetic in my plan to be hedonistic and live life to the fullest (including lots of good science!).

To put us all in the proper year’s end party mood, here is some music.  Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Fats Domino on stage simultaneously, with pianos. Ron Woods and Carl Perkins, amongst others, are on back-up.