From IO9 today: Forty minutes of the Good Doctor talking to the camera—the edited version of an unsuccessful TV pilot—is available to watch this weekend.

Slate published an article yesterday (which I didn’t see until this morning) in celebration of National Science Fiction Day. It’s tied in with Asimov’s birthday and even includes a classic photograph of Asimov from the 1950s—the one that often appeared in hardback editions of his books and is presumably the most public-domainy of the pictures of Asimov on the Web.

The article, called “Celebrate National Science Fiction Day by Learning To Live in the Future,” argues that we should be using the new technologies available to us to explore the universe more deeply. I certainly agree with the sentiment, but I don’t understand what this “Facebook” thing is the article mentions.

The Good Doctor would have turned 93 today. For reading purposes, that gives us:

Book #93: Asimov’s Guide to the Bible, Volume One

Book #186: The Hugo Winners, Volume Three

Book #279: Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories 10, 1948

Book #372: Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories 17, 1955

Book #465: How Did We Find Out About Pluto?

Of the five, How Did We Find Out About Pluto? is easily the least worth re-reading. There isn’t anything particularly bad with it, but it was published nearly a quarter-century ago, and that’s a long, long, long time in astronomy. Our understanding of Pluto has not unnaturally—well, let’s say changed in the interval.

The three anthologies are solid enough, but nothing spectacular. That leaves the Guide to the Bible as the book of choice. It’s perhaps a bit much for one day, but definitely worthwhile. (And forty-four years is not nearly as long in Bible studies as a quarter century is in astronomy.)

The best thing is that the Universe is joining in the celebration this time around. The Earth reached perihelion this morning at 4:38 a.m. (UT). This isn’t an uncommon occurrence, but a nice bit of lily-gilding nonetheless.