Arthur C Clarke Dead At Age 90

Acclaimed sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke has died at age 90. Clarke is probably best known as the writer of Stanley Kubrick's landmark film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Clark is considered a scientific visionary, known as "the godfather of the telecommunications satellite". He also foretold future technological ideas such as space stations, the moon landing, cellular phones, and even the Internet. Clark wrote 80 fiction and nonfiction books and wrote more than 100 short stories (not including hundreds of articles and essays).

David Fincher has been trying for years to develop a big screen adaptation of Clarke's popular 1973 novel Rendezvous with Rama. Set in the 22nd century, a group of human explorers, who intercept a thirty-mile-long cylindrical alien starship that passes through Earth's solar system, and attempt to unlock its mysteries.

Clarke is also the third in a series of geek idols to die in the last two weeks, which fits into the theory that everything happens in 3's ("The Rule of Three's"). The first was Gary Gygax, best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). The second happened earlier today, Oscar-winning director and writer Anthony Minghella died at age 54.