The Soundtrack

Have you ever wondered how the reading experience would change if blogs came with soundtracks?

The late, great Mac Tonnies asked this once.  I find the question to be a most intriguing one.  How would I take my favorite music and apply it to the content on Strange Horizons?  Beyond that perhaps, what are songs in general that could be applied here?  This mental and artistic exercise is one I go through quite a bit.  Whenever I set off to write a book or short story, I almost always turn to my record collection for inspiration.  Here are a few songs from said catalog that I feel apply here:

Duran Duran, “Midnight Sun”
(there are numerous Duran songs I could have chosen, this one struck me for whatever reason)
Duran Duran, “Planet Earth”
U2, “Zoo Station”
R.E.M., “Supernatural Superserious”
David Bowie, “I’m Afraid of Americans”
David Bowie, “Space Oddity”
David Bowie, “Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars”
(you had to know there was going to be a great deal of Bowie)
The Pixies, “Motorway to Roswell”
Psychedelic Furs, “President Gas”
Lou Reed, “Satellite of Love”
Johnny Cash, “Unchained”
The Smiths, “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”
INXS, “The Stairs”
Radiohead, “Karma Police”
Radiohead, “Subterranean Homesick Alien”
The Cure, “Disintegration”
Jesus Jones, “Zeroes and Ones”
Portishead, “Mysterons”
William Shatner, “Rocket Man”
Talking Heads, “Heaven”
Iron Maiden, “2 Minutes To Midnight”
White Zombie, “More Human Than Human”

That’s directly from my collection.  Here are a few others that I think might fit the bill:

Rush, “Distant Early Warning”
Pink Floyd, “Set the Controls For the Heart Of the Sun”
Thomas Dolby, “She Blinded Me With Science”
Megadeth, “Hangar 18”
KLF, “3 AM Eternal”
Peter Schilling, “Major Tom (Coming Home)”
The Flaming Lips, “UFO Story”
The Ramones, “Zero Zero UFO”
John Lennon, “Nobody Told Me”
Voivod, “We’re Not Alone”
MC Chris, "Nerd Grrl"
Ookla the Mok, "Super Powers"
Honeydrippers, “Sea Of Love”  Just kidding


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More findings in space

There has been many a news story these past few days from the field of
astronomy.  Here are four of them.

We now have a complete (to the best of our knowledge) 3D model of the visible universe.  This includes 45,000 (!) neighboring galaxies.  The
model was constructed by the tried and true astronomical practice of
measuring “red shift.”  Stars obviously emit light that reaches Earth.
By measuring how much that light has shifted into the red region of
the spectrum during its travels to our eyes (or telescopes, really),
scientists can determine both how far away the star is and at what
velocity it is moving away from us.  Remember, the universe is in a
constant state of expansion.  I wish I could have something original
to add to this report, but I really must echo the sentiments of Karen
Masters of the University of Portsmouth, who was quoted in the article
linked above: “It’s nice to have a complete map of where we live.”

In related news, a distance record has been broken by NASA’s orbital
Swift observatory.  An image recorded in 2009 is now one of the most distant objects humanity has ever glimpsed.  The picture is of an
exploded star at the very edge of the observable universe, so distant
that the detonation might have occurred only 520 million years after
the Big Bang.  Given how long it takes light to cross space to our
tiny planet, that means that what we are seeing probably took place
over 13 billion years ago.  There is of course a rival claim to the
“most distant object” title right now, namely a galaxy discovered by
the Hubble space telescope.  Hubble enthusiasts are no doubt in high
dudgeon from these “record broken” headlines.  I say we let the two
telescopes duke it out like men.


Our Moon once held a body of water the size of the Caribbean Sea, says
a recent study of rocks brought back by the Apollo 17 mission.  This
is casting doubt on the theory that the Moon was formed when a
“Mars-sized object” collided with a primordial Earth and sent a chunk
of our planet into space that would eventually form our lonely
satellite.  While many astronomers are still sticking to this theory,
the vast amount of water now entered into the equation is cause for
both pause and puzzlement.  I would think that the age of the Moon
being older than that of the Earth would be enough to prompt that.

Mars is still in an “embryonic state.”  Latest estimates are that the
planet formed in just under three million years.  That whirlwind
composition period plus the fact that it has avoided sizeable
planetary collisions of any kind have left Mars as a “stranded
planetary embryo.”  I don’t know what this means for the “dead Martian
civilization” theory but somehow I expect Richard Hoagland to have
something to say on the subject.

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Enjoy the Silence

“Silence is only frightening to people who are compulsively verbalizing.”
—William S. Burroughs


This is going to be a hazardous post for me.  I could easily be
misunderstood, painting a false portrait of myself as someone snobby
and conceited.  Granted, I’ve been called those things a time or two
but I really don’t see myself as such.  Or at least I hope I’m not.
Anyway, here goes.

When I’m in a social setting with many people, I’m very quiet.  If I
have something to say that I believe to be of merit, I’ll say it.  If
I don’t, I’ll remain silent.  This does not seem the case with
everyone, hence why I may come off as “strange.”  Many others feel the
need to fill any and all voids in verbalization with questions or
commentary on or about anything.  And I do mean anything.  I guess
it’s true that “nature abhors a vacuum.”  In these kinds of
situations, I begin to wonder, “Is this really what is on people’s
minds?”  Really?  What they found on sale at the grocery store or new
furniture they want for their house?  I understand that oftentimes
people are looking for the most banal and therefore the safest
discussion topics just to avoid offense, but just as often I get the
sense that the prattle is genuine.  It all seems so pointless to me,
like talking to just hear yourself talk.

Try this experiment.  When out in public, say the Starbucks or another
such vital institution, practice a bit of deep listening and pay
attention to what people are saying.  Especially those who are on
cellphones.  Unless the building is on fire, being held up, or being
overrun by giant ants, there usually isn’t a dire need for them to be
making the call.  Yes, I’m well aware that there are a great many
other circumstances apart from the ones I’ve mentioned where one would
need to make a call.  I’m just being smart alecky.  So often though,
the cell users aren’t calling anyone for those reasons or at least
that’s not how it sounds.  Trust me, you won’t have to strain your
ears to listen, either.  They’ll typically speak loud enough for
everyone to know what their discussion is covering.  Exceptionally
awkward when you’re listening to a couple break up via cell call while
you’re just waiting in line for your latte.  Sadly, that’s the one of
the more exciting scenarios I can envision.  Most of the time you’ll
be hearing about what color someone wants his or her bedroom painted.
Every bit as exciting as watching paint dry.

So next time there is one amongst you who is keeping silent, let them
be.  They probably have their reasons for it and it doesn’t mean that
they are anti-social or deranged.  They may simply have a disdain for
vacuous discussion for no reason.  They may be waiting to have
something valuable to say and will no doubt wow you when they say it.
I’m not arguing that every conversation need be a meditation on matters of
God and man and I’m not talking about casual, daily conversation
between two friends, spouses, bf/gf, or any of the numerous
permutations thereof.  I suppose what concerns me is the fact that if these things mentioned are indeed what preoccupies most Americans, what is of primary concern to us...we may be in trouble.


“All I ever wanted, all I ever needed
Is here in my arms.
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm.”
        --Depeche Mode, “Enjoy the Silence”


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Why not The Shogun Warriors?

It appears we have a third Transformers movie on the way this summer.
Fan-flippin’-tastic.

I don’t mean to sound too much like an old curmudgeon.  The
Transformers were fun…when I was in junior high.  That’s just a
statement of fact and not a snarky jab.  As someone who still reads
G.I. Joe to this day, I would need a shoehorn in order squeeze out
room in which to talk, so trust me that I'm not being condescending.
The first installment in the Transformers movie series really grabbed
my attention…for about the first twenty minutes.  Then it all looked
like a messy cartoon with really good animation.  I couldn’t tell
the difference between Megan Fox and the CGI robots.  Both had about
the same emotive capabilities as actors.  Didn’t see the sequel, so can't comment on that.
I consume more than my fair share of mainstream science fiction, i.e.
just about anything with “Star” in the title, especially Star Wars and
Star Trek.  But as I look through upcoming film releases and certainly
the science fiction section of bookstores, I see a lamentable glut of
“franchises” and corporate manufactured material.  How little room
there is it seems for creativity and fresh ideas.  Like any other
corporate entity, Hollywood and the publishing world want sure bets
and ready-made audiences and we may sadly have new concepts choked off
before they’re given even chance to draw first breath.

If that’s the case and Hollywood wants “pop trash movies” with giant
robots, then I submit to the industry a modest proposal: The Shogun Warriors.

Talk about ready-made audience, there are any number of old men like me out
there, sojourning and pining for their lost youth.  The Shogun
Warriors were no small part of that time for us.  They arrived in the
late 1970s as Japanese exports on the heels of Godzilla movies and
just before widespread anime and Hello Kitty.  Mattel sold them as 24” plastic
robots, truly giants over any other toy you happened to have at the
time.  There were four Shogun robots I remember from those days
(though Wikipedia claims there were more): Raydeen, Dragun, Gaiking,
and Mazinga (or “Mazinger.”)  There was even a Godzilla of the same
stature, complete with a fiery tongue it could stick out and a clawed
hand that could be launched away from the body…for reasons that pass
understanding.
Little six year-old Jonny got his Shogun Warrior on Christmas Eve,
1977.  It’s still at my parents’ house, relatively in one piece.  I
have yet to move it up to Chicago because I can’t find an adequately
protective car seat to strap the robot into for the ride.  I mean I
won’t trust my Mazinga to just anything.  Oh the afternoons I whiled
away playing with that toy.  Shogun Warriors bristled with weapons and
my Mazinga was no exception.  Its left hand was actually a rocket
launcher.  Press one of the red button tabs on the back of the “hand”
and one of three red rockets would shoot out from its spring-loaded
tube.  Yes, this was back in the day when toys had weapons that
actually fired.  Imagine hard plastic projectiles launched with force
towards your evil enemy, mom’s vase, the cat, your eye, or any other
bodily orifice.  In fact, it was child injuries that in part led to
the downfall of The Shogun Warriors toy line (“It’s all fun and games
until…”) 
Nevertheless, The Shogun Warriors cry out for the big screen
treatment.  There is a veritable plethora of Japanese anime series to
gank plots from, not that Hollywood’s ever really cared about that
aspect of Aristotle’s Poetics when it comes to this sort of thing.  If
the suits want a story more palatable to an American audience, Marvel
Comics had a Shogun Warriors comic book series that was insipid,
silly, and a helluva lot of fun.  Bada bing, script finished.  I can
see Robert Pattinson and Christina Aguilera in the lead roles.  There,
the MTV crowd is set.  And Natalie Portman because…well, just because.
The Lizard Queen can be the make-up artist.  Of course Duran Duran will do the soundtrack as I have a sneaking suspicion there was a Shogun Warrior or two in the toy store owned by
the parents of one Nick Bates.
Come on, Hollywood.  This idea is no dumber than anything else you have
planned for the summer.

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Checking into the Beat Hotel

While this may seem a more fitting post for my other blog, Why Did I
Write That?, I’ve blogged about William Burroughs on Strange Horizons
before so I thought it would fit.

I’ve decided to write an academic essay on the “cut-up” method of
composition.  What the thesis is and what new thought I can hope to
add has yet to be determined, but my interest in Burroughs and cut-ups
is enough to compel me to write on the subject.  That and I’ll get to
mention David Bowie in an academic paper, even if just in passing.
One of the main sources I plan to study is a book I’ve mentioned here
before, The Beat Hotel by Barry Miles.  It was at that eponymous
building in Paris that William Burroughs met writer Brion Gysin and
learned about the cut-up technique.  While The Beat Hotel doesn’t seem
to skimp on the psychedelic drugs and sexual experimentation (nor
should it as it is integral to the Beat story), I am nonetheless
hoping it has enough literary scholarship to help me prink this paper
to academic standards.  I'll let you know how it all works out, likely on the other blog.

Driving past the local post office yesterday, I saw an odd old man
erecting a cardboard display.  The sidewalk tradeshow booth of the
bizarre featured several posters of Barack Obama redone to make him
resemble Hitler.  “Dump Obama and Socialism” proclaimed one of the
signs.  It’s not unusual to call a president “Hitler.”  The Left
certainly did that with W.  The Right does it with Obama and any
dictator who runs afoul of us.  But let’s face it.  There was only one
Adolph Hitler…and one was enough.

My recent playlist:

“Drop Dead Gorgeous”—Republica
“Runway Runaway”—Duran Duran
“Not Even Jail”—Interpol
“White Love”—One Dove
“Die Without You”—P.M. Dawn
“Smile Like You Mean It”—The Killers
“Dig In”—Lenny Kravitz
“An Honest Mistake”—The Bravery
“Discotheque Francais”—Matinee Club
“Common People”—Pulp


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Once more in the depths of space...

In a move that is sure to earn the consternation of “fringe” science buffs everywhere, the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical society journal has announced it will publish two papers that “confirm the existence of dark energy.”

Dark energy is thought to comprise 74% of the universe.  It is also thought to explain why the cosmos is not only expanding but doing so at an accelerated rate.  These are strong claims and therefore the existence of dark energy was thought to be purely theoretical.  Not so, say these two studies. One study was performed by measuring patterns in how galaxies are formed in space, the other by measuring the rate at which these galactic clusters formed.  The results of these measurements seem to support the reality of an unseen, “dark energy.”
Think that sounds screwy?  Well get this.  The visible universe, meaning things like stars, planets, nebula, people, marshmallow fluff, et. al. only account for 4% of the total universe.  4%?!  As previously stated, dark energy is estimated to account for 74% of “all that is” so what is the other 22%?  That is said to be “dark matter,” matter that neither reflects nor emits detectable light.  In other words, it’s there…we just can’t see it.  For a few of us whose formal schooling in science took place…uhhh, a coupla years back, this is a revolutionary find and will require an entirely new way of viewing cosmology.  That will no doubt be doubly true for the crowd carrying the “there never was a Big Bang” banner, but something tells me they’re not fans of The Royal Academy anyway.

In other astronomical news, MSNBC had a bit today about new photos from the Hubble.  One shows the galaxy NGC 5775 and the fuzzy halo around its edges, thought to be expulsions of gas from exploded stars.  Another unique aspect of this galaxy is the band of hydrogen gas that connects it to its neighbor, galaxy NGC 5774.  Astronomers believe that these two galaxies may be in the early stages of merging.  The article spends a quarter of its length making forced tie-ins to the upcoming pirate movie, but there are spectacular photographs from the Hubble featured. 


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Thinking about the future

Normally, the iReporter feature on CNN.com fails to garner my interest, but how could I be expected to turn away from the phrase, "Next giant leap for mankind?"

In honor of the upcoming anniversary of John F. Kennedy issuing his Moon challenge, CNN asked iReporters to send in their visions of the future.  The number of entries now stands at five pages.  Here are a few that I enjoyed:

-Modular rovers for the surface of the Moon or Mars that can link together with one another and create habitats for colonists.

-Tissue and organ regeneration in a lab.  Bye bye transplant list.

-Nano-fabricators that can generate...anything.

-One million more organic farms.

-Land/water biodomes.

-Texas secedes from the U.S.  Oddly enough, I'm ok with that.

There were no restrictions on how feasible the proposition should be and of course there were a number of smart-ass entries, but by enlarge I find this project to a very good thing.  This is prompting people to give thought to the future, to consider where we are now and how things could go or should be different.  I was especially heartened to see a number of children's drawings among the entries.  Not only does it get them thinking about the world but we adults may even be able to learn from such unfettered imagination and consider ideas that we would otherwise toss out in seconds for being "unrealistic."  

We need to think about the future.  "For the future is where you and I will be spending a great deal of time."

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They were Russians. Russians, I tell you!

There is a new book currently on the market, one with a title that is as direct as it is captivating: Area 51.

Journalist Annie Jacobsen wrote the book, endeavoring it would seem to offer a definitive account of the worst, best-kept secret in the US military.  I'm only going by the New York Times review linked above, but the text of the book appears more historical in nature than others on the subject, a nuts and bolts chronicle of the Area 51 facility and its role in Cold War defense and espionage.  According to the verbatim words of reviewer, Janet Maslin, "science fiction" is eschewed for a "much more levelheaded" approach.  Sigh.  It's ok, folks.  Nothing I haven't heard before.

Indeed the subject of UFOs does come up in the book as it inevitably should, but only insofar as to argue that there never were any at Area 51.  Ditto for aliens, living or otherwise.  I really don't expect anything else from a "mainstream" text on the subject, even though I'm certain the research is for the most part solid.  But what Jacobsen has in her book is one of the most interesting theories I have heard to date on the nature of the Roswell crash.  It goes like this:

There was a crash of a saucer-shaped craft in Roswell, New Mexico in July of 1947.  There were humanoid occupants inside.  Where the Jacobsen thesis departs from the textbook UFO conspiracy is that the saucer was Soviet in origin.  Cue ominous music.

Apparently, Joseph Stalin became inspired by the 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast by Orson Welles that panicked portions of America.  Stalin believed that if he could replicate such pandemonium with another "alien invasion," it would weaken our national defenses and leave us therefore susceptible to attack.  Jacobsen contends to have evidence that the Soviets did have a saucer-shaped aircraft capable of hovering.  And the crew?  They were childlike in size and in terms of physiognomy, were bald and possessed of large, almost wraparound eyes...but they were human.  More ominous music, please.

The "aliens" were the result of hideous genetic experiments enacted by ex-Nazi Josef Mengele, a man infamous for playing with human guinea pigs.  Indeed Mengele did disappear right before the fall of Berlin in 1945 and many have conjectured that he threw in with the Soviets to save his own worthless hide.  So if we are to follow the breadcrumbs of this alternative Roswell theory, we are to surmise that Stalin said to Mengele, "hey, cook me up some aliens, you sick Nazi bastard," then placed the subjects inside what must have been at the time the most sophisticated aircraft in the Soviet inventory, then fly it into the United States and give us the willies.  Hard to say which theory is more in left field, the aliens or this one.  Still, I maintain that the Jacobsen theory is an innovative one and I give her all the credit in the world for it.  Maybe it is what happened at Roswell.  I have always ben open to the notion that the crash may have a terrestrial explanation, it's just that none of the ones provided by our Air Force have made any real sense.  So, it could be that Jacobsen is right.  Or it could be Mac Tonnies' "cryptoterrestrials," or aliens, or...who the heck knows.

I won't deny that I would be disappointed to learn that there were never any UFOs at Area 51, but I would yield to the facts if that turned out to be the case.  The book does have one bit of hope for us mystery-lovers, though.  Jacobsen repeatedly pressed an anonymous, former Area 51 employee about UFO matters at the base.  His reply?  "You don't want to know. You don't know the half of it."

In related news, it appears UFO tourism might become a cottage industry.

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"Not only stranger than we imagine..."

More mysteries in the news from the depths of space.

Round about a month ago, I blogged about a "superflare" detected in the Crab Nebula.  The magnitude of this eruption of gamma rays is a full six times greater than any other such burst ever before detected in space.  The link above takes you to an article with a bit more information on the matter.  Seems that the leading horse in the derby of explanations (don't ask me where my head gets these metaphors) is that particles such as electrons were accelerated to near light-speed as the magnetic field around a pulsar became somehow restructured.  There.  See?  Simple as that.

There apparently is such a thing as a "planet hurtling through space."  When several large planets occupy orbits in a solar system, their gravitational fields can interfere with each other.  Planets with the smaller mass get pushed out, sentenced to roam the unforgiving cosmos alone.  While astronomers believe that the majority of these rogue planets are mostly gaseous in form and therefore likely lifeless, imagine if they were home to a civilization?  What would happen?  How would they survive, if that is even possible?  I must admit, I wouldn't have thought such an astronomical occurrence as these "wandering planets" to be likely, thinking that a planet is in part dependent upon a gravitational field to hold it together.  Not so.  I did once read a scientific treatise on what would happen to our world if we somehow lost the light and the heat of the Sun but the star retained its mass.  Yeah, ok, it was DC's "Final Night" crossover, but they did consult with a few scientists.  In that highly unlikely scenario, humanity would have about seven days before life would become untenable.  I'd imagine the same set of conditions would apply to a rogue planet, along with other catastrophic affects.  Still, there's a story in there.  And as the linked article will describe in greater detail, this finding seems to bear out Einstein's postulation of "gravitational lensing."

Then I stumbled across this little tidbit from last year.  The extrasolar planet Upsilon Andromedae b has a "hot spot" on it, a bright spark with an extremely high temperature within the Jupiter-like world's composition.  One theory is that it is an alien city.  Methinks that would be difficult to verify, but just imagine it.


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Computer conundrums

Hey!  I'm back in your face like I never went away.

During my absence, I've had a great deal of time to think about a wide variety of things.  Many serious.  A few not as much.  One of the thoughts I had in the latter category is my odd relationship with computer technology.  

Computers are something that most geeks share in common.  We work well with them, we see the acquisition of new technology as imperative, and more often than not, we would rather our social interactions take place between two linked PCs (or Macs for those of us so inclined) than face-to-face.  Additionally, many geeks make their living with computers.  I'm not talking about using basic office applications, I mean the actual hard-coding of the lifeblood that runs through the silicon veins.  All those pretty zeroes and ones.

I am not one of those geeks.  Never had a head for math, you see.  These days, I need a calculator to do simple double digit addition, let alone any real kind of division (digression: in a way, it's a shame that the demise of the pocket calculator is upon us.  After all, they were the source of much entertainment in junior high as we boys keyed in "80085" to look like "boobs."  A sad lament.)  Therefore, computer programming has always been difficult for me.  Frustrating, even.  As much as I wanted to learn it, I just couldn't make it work.  Computers.  Love to use them, would hate to program the code.  Trust me, it'd be fun to be one of those types that can crank out a web page with no sweat or hack a system like a prodigy, but I'm just not that type of geek.

And then there are laptops.  Certainly a fun toy to have.  The idea of computing on the go and from anywhere has really appealed to me in the last few years.  The price is no longer any real deterrent, but my phobias are...namely that I will ruin it.  A spilled latte, a drop into a puddle, a drunk on the Metra train, you name it and I'll find a way for the crazy mishap to ensue.  A quick search on "durable laptop" led me to a CNET review of Dell's "sorta indestructible" Latitude ATG.  Then there's this older model Dell, the Latitude E6400 Notebook.  It's covered in a "Ballistic Armor Protection System" and is said to be impervious to sand, dirt, or water.  In fact, the blurb features a pic of a guy soaking the laptop with a fire hose.  I'd love to be on the design team that gets to test these things out.

It also wouldn't be a bad idea to find an indestructible mobile device.  I've been lucky in that arena (knock on wood) despite the number of drops I've had.  Still, I don't want to press my luck.  I know there are military-grade cellphone casings out there.  Maybe I'll look into that.

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Taking a break for a while.  See you when I'm back.



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Almost only counts in horseshoes and nuclear war

So Kip Haggis wants us to reduce our nuclear stockpile "one by one" so to speak.

Sure.  Why not?  In fact, why push the President to do it as a matter of policy?  Just sit back and let it happen on its own, purely on accident.  Here are but a few close calls with armageddon we've had over the years just off the top of my head:

-In the 1960s, a B-52 bomber crashed in Greenland.  The plane exploded.  Had its nuclear payload likewise detonated, the resultant explosion would have knocked out our Distant Early Warning radar.  At that time, the only possible interpretation the US military could have made would have been a Soviet first strike, thus requiring our total release.  Oops.

-During the Suez Canal crisis, radar depicted a flight of over 100 Soviet warplanes headed towards Turkey.  For the US Air Force, that meant "go time."  Turns out the 100 planes were really just a flock of geese.  Oops.  

-In 1979, screens at NORAD indicated that a full-force missile strike was inbound to the US from the Soviet Union.  Our missiles went to ready, the President was whisked out of the White House, and our bombers sat on the runway with engines running with one of said planes actually taking off and heading towards a target in the Soviet Union.  Turns out the NORAD screens were showing a training simulation that had yet to be deleted from the computer.  Oops.  WarGames, anyone? 

-A nearly identical scenario played out during the following summer of 1980.  The culprit this time?  A burned-out computer chip.  Oops.

-Memorize the name Stanislov Petrov for he saved the world in 1983.  Soviet early-warning detection indicated that five ICBMs had been launched from the US towards Soviet territory.  The Kremlin's doctrine was...and still is by all accounts...launch on warning.  Petrov, watch commander at the time, should by all rights have signaled for a massive retaliation against America.  But something about the idea of the US just launching a paltry five missiles didn't make sense to him, so he defied protocol and stood down.  Good thing.  Like those from the US, Soviet warning satellites are set off by recognizing the heat blasts of a missile launch.  What was seen on that day in 1983 was the glint of the sun off of reflective surfaces on the ground, such as snowbanks.  Petrov was smart...and for his efforts he was stripped of command.

But Jon, you say, the Soviet Union has collapsed and communism is deader than Pokemon.  These things couldn't possibly happen again.

Yeah.  You'd think  But in December of 1995, Norwegian and American researchers launched a rocket for atmospheric studies.  This launch took place just off the coast of Norway.  Russian radar mistook this as a missile launch from a NATO submarine.  Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia at that time, thought that with our relations being positive, an attack was unlikely and by the grace of God did not order retaliation.  The biggest contributor to the fiasco?  We kinda forgot to let the Russians know about the launch.  Oops.  Just think if Yeltsin had been drunk.

Kip is correct about one thing.  The US does have enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world many times over. Even after all of the arms reduction efforts, we still have thousands and the Russians have thousands more than we do.  Many of these weapons still sit on standby, waiting on hairtrigger alert.  And don't forget the multiple other nations in the world that have their own, even if significantly smaller stockpiles, plus countries that may be nuclear unarmed but have their own agendas and know how to manipulate situations.  Yeah, the most destructive weapon in human history is a great thing to have floating around in this paranoid mix.

You see, Kip, nuclear weapons are inherently messy things.  They are sledgehammers, not scalpels.  What people like you seem to forget is not only do they cause a nifty big bang, but they release considerable amounts of radiation that spread out far beyond the target area.  The rads combine with clouds and then waft and drift into places where people live, people who likely have nothing to do with whatever it is that you're so peeved about.  There's positive international image for you!  And here's the best part of all, the kicker of the gag: it would take hundreds of years for this radiation to go away!  That is to say, depending on the warhead's yield.  

I'll pick up tomorrow with an idea of the realities of nuclear destruction as viewed through the eyes of fiction.

"This is what you get, when you mess with us."

                                  --Radiohead, "Karma Police"



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Kip Haggis on US nuclear capability

Note: when we last left Kip, Rich was about to introduce him into the wild in order to facilitate further studies in anthropology and upper primates.  During these preparations, news broke of the demise of Osama bin Laden.  This event prompted Kip to post a long rant on Facebook.  Said rant follows.  I will be using it as a springboard for subsequent posts on the realities of nuclear war.

Hola amigos!  Been a while, huh?  Well I've shaved my head and got my knives packed.  Rich is gonna watch me go camping and I can't wait.  Gonna show him how a REAL man survives!  Gonna find my food, then KILL it, then GRILL it over an open fire. AWESOME!

So while we were getting ready go, we got the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed by our troops. DOUBLE AWESOME!   I haven't been this happy since the PACKERS won the Super Bowl!

But ya know what?  It got me thinkin'.  WHY did we even have to do that?  Seems to me it coulda been taken care of a long time ago.  But nobody wanted to do anything about it.  That's right.  Nobody had the BALLS to ACT.

I'm tired of hearing about what a massive nuclear power America is, about how we have so many nuclear weapons we could destroy the world hundreds of times over.  So what happens when we have to commit military action?  Send in troops?  Fly over in planes?  NO!  You do what Truman had the BALLS to do back in 1945 and you DROP THE FREAKIN' BOMB!  No American soldiers dead!  Only the enemy!

Too much?  Think I want to nuke other nations?  I DON'T.  But I'm tired of seeing our soldiers die for OIL when we have the power to get what we want without ONE SINGLE American being lost.

Use FACTS and LOGIC PEOPLE!!  There must be a reason that America has been able to stockpile all those suckers.  There must a purpose to having all of those around.  I'll tell you what the reason and purpose is: GOD!!  God WANTS us to be a nuclear power.  God WANTS us to be the strongest nation on earth because we're His favorites and He knows we will follow and do His will. 

Weapons unused are useless weapons.  And now Pakistan is pissed off at us?  For defending ourselves?  Saying they're gonna "HIT BACK" if we try something like that again?  Yeah.  They're our buddies.  I'm tired of these little pissant countries pushin' us around!  Not when we can send 'em back to the Stone Age and make 'em glow in the dark to boot!  And do it all without losing ONE SINGLE AMERICAN LIFE!  So TAKE A HINT, OBAMA!  Start SAVING lives instead of WASTING them!  PUSH THE FREAKIN' BUTTON!

Oh and another thing.  Why aren't you releasing the bin Laden photos, Obama?  Huh?  What do you have to hide?  Either show us the photos or it DIDN'T HAPPEN!  God!  I hope TRUMP RUNS!

That's all for now.  Nichols and Rich look like their ready to head out for the bush.

Heh-heh!  Bush!

Peace, Love, and Smoked BBQ,

Kip


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Green Slime: Earth War, Ep. 5: If I had a TARDIS...

 Without out a sound, the anti-grav pad carried the crate towards the apartment building.  Jack Rankin managed to get the crate to the doorway just as Lisa Benson was exiting the building...in the company of yet another young and burly SPACOM cadet.  Upon seeing Jack, the doctor seemed to whisper something to her companion, who then took off running across the quad.
“Jack!  I told you I didn’t want to speak to you!” Lisa complained.
“I got you something,” Jack said.
With the touch of a button, the cover to the crate slid back and a kangaroo popped out.  The marsupial made a hissing sound and made a kick in Lisa’s direction.  She jumped back.
“Do you like him?” Jack asked.  “One of only a handful left on Earth.  You can name him anything you want.”
“Jack!” Lisa exclaimed as she and the kangaroo circled one another like boxers in a ring.  “It is forbidden to have endangered animals on base!”
“Just shows you how sorry I am about Vince,” Jack explained.
The kangaroo whacked Lisa across the face with a swipe of its tail.  He then bounded away, across the expanse of SPACOM.
“Oh hey, it wasn’t supposed to do that,” Jack said as he rushed to help Lisa up from the ground.
She knocked his hands away and rose to stand.  A rattle grew from the distance.  Without warning, a convoy of military vehicles appeared.  Hovertanks, personnel carriers, and fifth generation Humvees all rolled through the complex while scores of attack helicopters flew in from overhead.
“What is this happy horsepucky?” Jack asked aloud.
“The creatures!” a soldier on a Segway said.  “They’ve broken in!”
An almost funeral air settled over the entire scene.  Jack felt his gut flinch as his head churned, churning out thoughts from what he called “the not-so-good” place of his brain.  It felt like the end.  The complete and utter end.
Resolving to at least have a good seat for the end, Jack gave Lisa a “come on,” and then urged her up and over a landscaped burm that skirted the edge of the grassy quad and looked over the southward expanse of the base/city.  From there they could see it; a fuzzy, green, knobby shag carpet that walked.  Hobbled, rather, as it plodded unimpeded for the center of SPACOM.  Closer still were the Japanese Defense Forces, dug into the ground with their searchlights stretching outward as if to place the things in a spotlight dance.
“Holy crap!” Jack exclaimed at the sight.
The tank cannons opened up first.  Advanced depleted uranium ordinance burst all over the coming tide in balls of orange flame.  The smell of cordite filled the air along with a scent that would be best described as “cooked spinach.”  Missiles from both APCs and shoulder units followed.  In straight lines they made contrail streaked paths to the targets and detonated.  Fragments of the green monsters erupted like a tossed salad.  Jack clamped his forearms over his ears and smothered himself around Lisa as the chopping, thudding, helicopters overhead joined in the pounding.  Ordinance disgorged from their stubby pylon wings and found their marks below.  A pair of ATF fighters swooped in low from the North and came in just above the rooftops of SPACOM.  Each one cleaned off their wings by launching their full complements of missiles.  A rolling mass of fire bloomed on the horizon.  Then the Toho HGX laser units opened up.  It was the most impressive display of military might that Jack Rankin had ever seen.
Too bad it didn’t work.  Though shredded, the creature army continued to march.  In their wake came newly regenerated one-eyed beings, rising up out of the ooze that was their predecessors and charged by the various energies employed in the barrage.  The tanks went fast, overrun by the surge of creatures.  The electrical jolts from their tentacles fried whatever systems they came in contact with.  Foot soldiers fought on with rifles, rocket launchers, and even hand-to-tentacle fighting in a few cases...all of it having the same outcome: dead, mangled troops and officers.
“Holy crap!” Rankin shouted once more.
People, both military and civilian alike, ran with terror for the imagined safety of the main building of SPACOM HQ.  It was Lisa who went into action that time, shoving Jack into motion to head for the aforementioned direction.  After stopping her so that he could pilfer a laser rifle and a water canteen from a dead soldier (who oddly enough insisted that he “was not quite dead” despite his blackened and burnt features), Jack accompanied the doctor. 

With his hand clamped tight to Lisa’s forearm, Jack yanked her through the corridors of SPACOM HQ.  In his other hand he held the laser rifle.  The weapon was entirely counterproductive against the creatures.  He knew that firsthand.  Still he carried it, glancing down at the gun periodically and muttering a prayer to both it and Charlton Heston while running.
They rounded a corner and Jack’s feet hit a lump on the floor.  He tripped forward and Lisa screamed.
“I’m all right, baby,” he assured her as he pushed himself back up with his hands.
“Look...” she gasped.
That’s when Jack saw them: Thompson and Curtis, both lying dead on the floor.  Their clothes were ripped, cuts covered their face, and the charred black flesh of electrical burns filled the air.  Curtis’ coffee cup with its former contents spilled over the man’s face, lie next to him on the floor, shattered to pieces.  Jack lowered his head in respect and then nodded with a sullen acceptance...just as the all too familiar screeching of the slime creatures began to cascade down the hallway.
“Come on!” Jack grunted, taking hold of Lisa once more.  “We’ve got to move!”
Down the hall they went, jumping, clawing, and kicking their way through the strewn rubble of SPACOM HQ as mass confusion sounded behind them.  Screams.  Laser fire.  Screeches of swarming creatures.  Scattered troops were still fighting the war and Jack wanted more than anything to be back there, standing alongside the men.  He swallowed his guilt instead.  Vince had already been lost to the monsters.  He was not about to lose Lisa to them as well.
They made their way into the great hall that was the cafeteria and Jack slid the heavy doors shut behind them.  So far, the massive dining hall had been untouched by the carnage.  The room was formed of cold steel and white tile, sterile, almost like a futuristic doctor’s office.  Row upon row of obsidian tables reflected the intensity of the overhead lighting affixed to the vast ceiling...a ceiling disliked by Jack Rankin.
“Too big.  If it collapses we’ll be buried alive,” Jack told Lisa.  “We’ll hole up in the kitchen for now.”


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The value of science fiction

I caught a tweet a few days ago with a link to this YouTube video.

It's old.  It's grainy.  It's full of bad 70s fashion sense.  But it's a series of interviews with luminaries of science fiction...and what they have to say bears consideration.  Not only for science fiction writers like myself, but for any writer or for that matter, anyone who would like to see our world be a better place.

The line-up of interviews includes Isaac Asimov, Poul Anderson, Jack Williamson, Harlan Ellison, John Brunner, and a few others.  Here are my paraphrases of the choice tidbits (to my mind) that struck me:

Jack Williamson--The world is changing.  Literary fiction sees the world as it is now or as it has been.  Science fiction examines the nature of this constant change, making it vital for our understanding of possible futures.  This viewpoint is unique in all of literature.

Harlan Ellison--Speculative fiction opens our awareness to the universe.  It's not just us.  When we mess with our own ecology, we do so at the detriment of our future.

Poul Anderson--Science fiction shares the same objective as any other form of writing, whether it be fiction, nonfiction, or technical manuals.  That is to bring us a sense of newness and brightness, of seeing things that we never would have thought of.  Nice, Poul.

There are two other aspects that I would like to add.

Given that much science fiction takes place in the future, it has an inherently positive outlook.  True, many of these futures are dystopian, post-apocalytpic, or even more droning than what we have now, but there is a future.  Somehow we're still around.  Somehow we have not found the way (yet) or the will (yet) to entirely obliterate ourselves.  In one form or another, humanity survives.

I also would not underplay the allure of escapism.  That word "escapism" has many negative connotations to it in literature, conjuring up SF images of garish outfits, large-breasted women, and laser guns.  What I mean is escapism in its purest sense, opening one up to the wonders of the universe and unseen possibilities, something beyond your job, your house, your family, and your car.  That alone is worth something.

The info on the video says it comes from the University of Kansas City where they have studies dedicated to Science Fiction.  Always wanted to take that curriculum.  That and the degree in Pop Culture at Bowling Green.  Come on, it's not like it would make me any more unemployable than I am now.  :/

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The Cybernetic Theory

In previous posts, I have looked at how alien races have likely already undergone their own Singularity, melding their given organic forms with cybernetics.  Nikki Olson wrote a very fine piece on this as well.

In other previous posts, I have looked at explanations for aerial and "visitation" phenomena that are alternative to what is known as "the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis."

I have now come across an article that deftly blends aspects of those two genres together into an entirely new hypothesis that I will call, for serious lack of a better phrase, "the Cybernetic Hypothesis."  

A writer named Al Pinto published an article called "Cybernetics and UFOs" on Phantasypublishing, a site I came across quite by accident.  It's a well-researched and well thought out piece that is done with a refreshing and healthy dose of humility.  Pinto stresses time and again that he is in merely the formative stages of his hypothesis and that what he is writing includes much speculation.  I'm fine with that.  That's how the thinking process for new ideas gets started.

So what is the theory here?  I suppose the upshot would be, "They're here, but they're not from outer space.  Other people are messing with us."

First, a bit of quick background on a few of the concepts.  If you've read my earlier Singularity posts, you know that the term "cybernetics" covers a wide field.  It can mean replacing parts of the human body with technological devices or augmenting the body to create an enhanced organism all the way up to total body prosthesis.  There is also the notion of ESB, Electronic Stimulation of the Brain, electrical implants that are designed to boost or otherwise enhance brain operation.

But Pinto points out that there are other potential capabilities for ESB, ones that are more nefarious.  Implants could be used to control an individual.  I've already blogged about "pacemakers for the brain," devices that help regulate serotonin and dopamine levels in the brains of depressives.  Your emotions could therefore be easily controlled if such a device could be operated via remote.  Pinto cites research at Yale University where lab animals were given brain implants (no doubt a grisly spectacle to witness) and had their behavior controlled.  It's not a far leap from there to think that physical actions themselves could be controlled.  People are already directing wheelchairs and other devices with mere thoughts.

Curious, as Pinto notes, that so many purported alien abductees claim to have had implants placed in various regions of their bodies.  Among these claimed locations is the brain.  With a cybernetic implant in place, the abductee's memory and perception could easily be changed to suggests aliens were the culprits and not ordinary humans.

Why oh why, then, would people be going around kidnapping others and implanting cybernetics into their heads?  Again, it comes back to control.  In theory, anyway.  These may be test subjects in an effort to see if cybernetic brain control works and if all people born from hear on out should have implants in their heads.  This would make for a docile, easily controlled populace.

While I'm very appreciative of Pinto's creative thinking with the theory, here's where I run into a bit of hesitation.  Things at this point begin to carry a bit of the bouquet of David Icke and NWO threats.  Plus, it also comes dangerously close to perpetuating unfounded fears about the Singularity and transhumanism.  But I really need to emphasize that Al Pinto maintains throughout his piece that he is only speculating and is still in the process of gathering research data.  

So no cause for alarm just yet, but I'm eager to see where Al takes this.



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Film Review--Falling Down

FALLING DOWN

starring Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Barbara Hershey, Tuesday Weld, Rachel Ticotin, and as Alan Thicke as The Beav.

An unemployed worker for a defense contractor (Douglas) has finally had enough of the modern world.  Leaving his car on a jammed Los Angeles freeway, he marches towards his daughter's birthday party...leaving mayhem in his wake.  A police officer (Duvall) on his last day before retirement (of course) must track him down.

When I first saw this back in 1993, I was unimpressed.  I now attribute that to having not lived enough.  I was barely, and I mean barely an adult at that time and had experienced nothing of the pressures of the real world.  Therefore, I did not see Douglas' character as all that sympathetic.  He still isn't entirely.  The writer and the director went out of their way to make certain we knew he was deranged on at least a few levels, thereby not glorifying any of the actions that he took.  A Neo-Nazi character was also included in the script as a token piece in order to avoid allegations of racism, in my opinion. 

I'm thinking that Franz Kafka would have had an appreciation for William Foster.  Foster is indeed an existential character, caught in an endlessly recursive maze, forced to endure mundane things that are highly valued by the rest of the world.  He is a quiet man who was ultimately obtruded by society, forced into taking action rather than be spit on again.  It is no coincidence that Foster's license plate reads "D-FENS." Not only is it where he once worked, it's who he is.  He spends the film reacting to injustices, operating only defensively...at least that's how he sees it.  As many today might relate to, he yearns to aver himself to the world, longing to find meaning in his existence as he no longer has a job.  While he is a man who is disquieting to say the least, one can't help but feel compassion for him.  Mainly because through the at times darkly comical and other times disturbing ways in which he mocks the world around us, we see a little bit of ourselves in him, wanting to cry to the heavens about a world that just doesn't make sense anymore.  This is well worth a viewing.

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