Werner Herzog, Cormac McCarthy and Lawrence Krauss walk into a bar

I listened to an episode of Science Friday from April that featured a gloriously surreal round table of these three discussing science and art. I admired but didn't particularly like The Road but Cormac McCarthy's genial intelligence and modesty charmed the pants off me.

My favorite moment: Werner Herzog reading from All the Pretty Horses in his grave, teutonic accent (all I could think of was this. "Madeline...vass introduced in her undervehr as a nod to French sensibilities." I die.) Herzog love Cormac's work by the way which isn't so surprising. After he finished, McCarthy gaily asked if Herzog would do a reading from Krauss's book (about Richard Feynman) too.

Second favorite moment: Werner Herzog referencing his famous scene in Fitzcarraldo where he pulls a 300+ ton boat across the jungle and up a steep hill in defiance of every safety recommendation. Herzog says disdainfully that he proved to some pseudo-science types that it could be done when they were claiming alien astronauts did it. I have no idea what he is referring to. When the real rubber baron Fitzcarraldo did this? Then again, how many stories are there about big ass ships being dragged across the Peruvian jungle? (according to Wikipedia, this is a true story but the real vessel weighed closer to 30 tons and was brought over in pieces.) I have no idea what Werner was talking about but the hell with it. He's the world's coolest German-- although Udo Kier is a close second.

This great quote by Feyman, courtesy of Lawrence Krauss: "Science is imagination in a straight jacket."

Finally, how audibly tickled Ira Flatow was by the proceedings.

Herzog has a new film called "The Cave of Forgotten Dreams" about the oldest known cave paintings in the world in Chauvet, France. It was filmed in 3D and Werner (gravely, teutonically) suggested it be seen in 3D. Because the caves are likely to be forbidden to future human access (because we carry a damaging mold in our breath), this maybe your best and only chance to see them. McCarthy pointed out there must be a school for cave painters and only the successful students were allowed to paint as there are no botched or aborted cave paintings. The trailer does look fantastic.