Arrakis, Iraq

Yesterday I spent my morning finishing Dune. Today I'm doing a little investigation into the toponymy of Arrakis. It sounds like it was derrived from Iraq, but I can't be sure yet. If you're unfamiliar with Dune, here's a synopsis I stole from a New York Times piece:

“Dune,” published in 1965, remains a perfect, self-contained work of science
fiction: an enormous 500-page novel of feudalistic families clashing in a
futuristic world for control of its precious few natural resources, and an
exiled boy-king learning the traditions of a foreign land in order to fight his
way back onto his throne. So what if its characters also happen to eat a
narcotic, mind-expanding spice and ride on the backs of giant sandworms while
speaking in oddly elevated Shakespearean tones? ... fanciful settings disguise the work’s larger philosophical intentions ... a powerful ecological message and a reminder to its readers that their actions will have profound consequences for generations yet unborn.

Okay, so onto Arrakis and Iraq. Did Frank Herbert get his inspiration for Arrakis from the name Iraq? As far as the pronunciation, it seems like a no-brainer. Arrakis sounds like "Iraq-is" it's only a hairsbreadth off. I can't find any direct evidence of this, but many other names in Dune were taken from Arabic. Herbert apparently did say "The scarce water of Dune is an exact analog of oil scarcity. CHOAM is OPEC." but that doesn't necessarily mean that he adapted Arrakis from Iraq. Other than idle speculation such as, "The most obvious influence on Spice is oil, the wealth under the deserts of our world (it's probably not a coincidence that Arrakis is pronounced Iraq-iss)." there is no evidence that the name Arrakis draws its inspiration from Iraq.

Spyros Capralos [and so much more]

is about to become either synomous with a development catastrophe of world-scale proportions or coming a hairsbreadth away from said catastrophe. [link].

"Tackled by Face the Facts presenter John Waite, the general secretary for the Olympic Games, Spyros Capralos, admitted he had no idea how many workers have died constructing the games."

Now for today's news. [a whole lotta links from all over the place]

More from the B. Blogging the DNC is hot now [link]. Revenge of the Sith [link] has been chosen as the title for the next Star Wars film.

Silly Duke, giving iPods to freshman isn't going to make them better students. Oh, wait. Did you say iPods? Really! Well, where do I apply. [link]

I've been half-heartedly tracking the stories about the marshes in Iraq. Well, here's some news, apparently the UN is going to get involved [link].

"The wetlands were drained as punishment after the Marsh Arabs gave sanctuary to rebels fighting the Saddam regime. About 250,000 Marsh Arabs now live in refugee camps and Iraqi cities. It is estimated that during the Saddam period, around 95% of the marshes dried out, largely due to the deliberate diversion of water."

At a loss for words: [link]

"At least 46 children in Peru have died during one of the coldest spells in the Andes Mountains in 30 years."

I saw this on CBS this morning [link]. A little historic preservation, a little peacekeeping, a little religous tolerance. Voila.

How can you read this and not laugh. [link] below.

"INDIA'S railways minister has absolved himself of blame for accidents plaguing the world's largest train network, saying the fate of its 13 million daily passengers rested with the Hindu god of machines, Vishwakarma."

Holy Cow [no pun intended], India has over 100,000 kilometers of rail lines [nearly 60,000 miles based on the rough 100km/h = 60 mph conversion I do in Canada]. They better get on their knees cause apparently it's all in Vish's hands now.

On the topic of leadership: What President Bush is Not. [You can google search any of these quotes and find where they came from.] Here are my picks, but you really have to read the whole list [link]. via Harpers.

"The President of the United States is not a fact-checker... I’m not a very good novelist... I’m not an emailer... I’m not an Iraqi citizen."

It doesn't get any easier than this. Censorship doesn't always come from the government: List of songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel following the September 11, 2001 attacks [link].

Quite possibly the most interesting single post I've read from Defective Yeti. The Pioneer 10 Plaque [link].

Fuel Cell Breakthrough in Houston [link]. 60+mph jet powered go-kart for sale [link].