Friday, April 22, 2011

Happy Earth Day - Cool It!


Happy Earth Day! I think this is an appropriate thing to celebrate on a blog about Michael Crichton. (And I did so in 2010 and 2009.)

Crichton made it clear in his speeches, interviews, and the “Author’s Message” of State of Fear that he cared very much about the environment.

From Michael Crichton’s testimony in the Senate hearing on September 28, 2005:

“In closing, I want to state emphatically that nothing in my remarks should be taken to imply that we can ignore our environment, or that we should not take climate change seriously. On the contrary, we must dramatically improve our record on environmental management. That's why a focused effort on climate science, aimed at securing sound, independently verified answers to policy questions, is so important now.”


In November 2005 I was fortunate enough to participate in a Barnes & Noble online discussion with Michael Crichton on his novel State of Fear.

Crichton was asked: If you had a book club, what would it be reading -- and why?

His reply:
"Bjorn Lomborg's The Skeptical Environmentalist. It's one of the most important books of the last decade because it carefully details a new environmental agenda, which I think is vitally important."


In September 2007 Lomborg published Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming. Crichton reviewed the book for Amazon, saying:

"Bjørn Lomborg is the best-informed and most humane advocate for environmental change in the world today. In contrast to other figures that promote a single issue while ignoring others, Lomborg views the globe as a whole, studies all the problems we face, ranks them, and determines how best, and in what order, we should address them."


In 2010, a documentary Cool It, based on Lomborg’s book was released. The film is now available on DVD,



Friday, April 15, 2011

New Michael Crichton Novel Slated for November Release?


We may soon receive official word that a new novel by Michael Crichton will be published on November 22, 2011. (This would be the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, which was when Pirate Latitudes was released in 2009.)

Harper Collins, the publisher of Crichton’s novels Prey, State of Fear, Next, and Pirate Latitudes, has listed Untitled Crichton Novel in their catalog. These are also listings for audio, large print, and digital editions.

Very recently, an official Facebook page appeared for Michael Crichton. A friend notified me of it and said, “I wonder what's up. Gearing up for a new promotion?”

I’m wondering as well. And I’m also wondering if this is the novel Crichton left unfinished at his death, or is another work that, like Pirate Latitudes, was found on his computer.

More on this soon.

Related posts:

Newsflash--Two Crichton Novels to be Published

And Possibly More to Come...

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Michael Crichton on Facebook


There is now an Official Michael Crichton Page on Facebook. Prior to that, there was another Michael Crichton page that appeared to be the official page. It was created in April 2008. There used to be a discussion board but that has been removed.

In addition, there is a page that tracks Michael Crichton-related posts on Facebook. It seems to be associated with Wikipedia.

The new official page contains film clips, quotes, and a discussion board. Check it out!


Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Gene Patents Case Appealed


A US federal appeals court is hearing a case about the legality of gene patents. The case, Association for Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, concerns the right of Myriad Genetics Inc. to patent two genes associated with breast cancer.

Oral arguments can be heard on the Appeals Court website.

The ACLU, one of the plaintiffs in the case, has court documents for the case on their website.

On March 29, 2010, a district court judge ruled that seven patents held by Myriad Genetics were invalid.

Michael Crichton stated his opposition to gene patents in the Author's Note of his novel Next.

Thank you, John, for informing me of this.

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