Friday9: Alternate Histories, Short Stories and Religious First Contact

It's the weekend, finally. As with most posts I have something to mention about Star Wars. I read an article from someone who watched the entire series back to back and did an honest review. He, like I, grew up on the prequels and there is a soft spot in our hearts for them-even if they are terrible. He was kind to the prequels but is quick to point out how superior and well crafted the sequels are.

I also read a post that talked about the best Expanded Universe stories of Star Wars. Three of them were stories I am very familiar with including, Clone Wars (both versions) and The Knights of the Old Republic. Without boring you with the details, I recommend looking it up.

io9.com does a cool series of posts asking users to come up with 6 word sci-fi stories. They highlighted some of the best so far and they really are brilliant. Unfortunately, I can't remember any off the top of my head, but look it up, it's fun.

Another great, more thought-provoking post was about if humanity is ready to encounter alien life. Psychological studies say no. We are not mentally ready for first contact due to religious beliefs. Most people, when asked how they would analyze a situation with aliens fall first on their religious beliefs before looking to scientific standards or logic. I agree with the psychologist conclusions however I do believe that instead of thinking of religion as a bad, brain-washing or blinding thing, that it can be a frame to the scientific glasses of perception. If we see things through logic and science but put them in context of our own religious beliefs I believe we can confront difficult questions such as E.T. I also feel strongly that the two, namely science and religion can be paired in such a way that is not only functional but also progressive and beneficial.

Remixes of the internet can offer some fun, and interesting entertainment. For example, using the sound board from the new Godzilla trailer and cutting it with clips from Jaws. It really is quite awesome and makes Jaws seem 10x more terrifying.

Another great one is recutting Frozen to appear like a horror movie. Or Dumb and Dumber to look like a romantic drama. It's amazing what you can do with some editing knowledge and context.

Finally, the international news. Brazilian police are threatening to go on strike during the world cup unless they receive higher wages. This could be a very dangerous situation considering the current crime rates in Brazil but also the influx of tourists during that time. Hopefully everyone comes to their senses and things run smoothly for the games.

Have a great weekend!

Friday4: WWII, Aliens and Brainwashing

The end of the week is upon us, and so are the countless, mindless posts of the interweb.

One of the most thought provoking posts I read (here at the end of the day) was about 10 alternate scenarios to WWII. They weren't meant as sci-fi predictions are alternate history fictions, but they certainly could be taken to that extreme. The author briefly outlines events that if they had turned out differently, could have altered the course of the war. Such events like; Germany invading Great Britain. Germany succeeding in taking Moscow, Nazis developing an atomic bomb, Hitlers assassination becoming a success and so forth. Very fascinating article, and I even learned a little about real history.

In a recent interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Bill Clinton said that when he first got into the office he had his aids look into everything about aliens. Specifically, he looked into area 51. When asked if he would tell us (the viewers) if there were aliens there he said he would. There apparently isn't. He made an interesting observation as well; he hopes for an alien invasion. He says that an alien invasion may actually unite humanity. Unity is certainly something we could use right now, and I believe he's right, improbable, but right.

An ad agency (after hearing about a middle school kids idea to save money by switching fonts, see TGIF) created a font that truly does save ink. The name of the agency, which the font is named after, escapes me. But they have a cool little video that accompanies it. The font is legible and pretty cool looking, it uses a series of small lines to make up letters. It may catch on, it probably won't but there's always hope.

Maps are wildly popular these days and I saw one that showed the major international exports of each state. Utah's was gold, which I found interesting. Many, many states were airplanes, which I also thought was a little strange.

Brainwashing is real, and possible, but impossible to test due to humanitarian constraints. (thank goodness) But I did learn that the term "Stockholm Syndrome" originated form an actual incident (not a scientist like I had originally thought) in Sweden. There was a bank robbery that led to a hostage situation that lasted for 6 days. When the police came to rescue everyone the captors fought back and defended the criminals. After everything was done some of the captors even set up a fund to help pay for the robbers legal defense.

You learn something new every day. Every moment can be a learning opportunity. Have a great weekend!