UFOs
Being a science fiction fan, one of the worst communication problems that I have ever faced is to explain to my friends that 1) I am not a nerd, plus: 2) I am indeed 37 years old, and 3) Points 1 and 2 does not prevent me from being (still) a science fiction fan. No matter the difficulty because today's press have so many UFO's around, that I might as well try to mention some of them and make my friends see why scifi is still a great thing to read about.
Let's start at england. I always thought that aliens stopped to visit england few years after they were done with stonehenge, since nothing remotely romantic or bizarre happens in those murky skies, and if it would, nobody would see it anyway. Actually, I seem to be right. Pushed by an activist (probably a scifi fan and politically active guy, just like me, wow) the Ministery of Defence is due to make public her own report on UFO's, carried on by years and years of research. And pounds. So yes, Tony could afford in the past to let his minister spend time in these sort of issues, probably to keep them sharp when the detection of weapons of mass destruction came later. Well, apparently the report did not find any real UFO sighting. Neither WMD were reported as real. And given the believe of Blair's in the big bombs inside Saddam's bunkers, probably he is looking (defiantly? scared?) to the londinense skies.
Now, the previous note I consider string enough to shake the foundations of all of you that thought the scifi was a boring and demode issue, full of saber lasers and green little men. As a matter of fact, as fundamental pieces of scifi such as the sagas of Dune or the Foundations show, scifi can be a excuse to present, in a bizarre set up, philosophical or sociological disquisitions. Not to mention political ones, with Farenheit 451 at the head of a long list. And talking about bizarre political scenarios, all of you willing or able to open El Pais in the past days will see another UFO hovering the streets of Madrid. The Thyssen baroness is in the streets, fighting for the trees of her museum. The point here is that a urban renewal plan coming from the city mayor office aims to clear up the street leading to the Thyssen museum from trees. Some of those trees are simply huge, so no surprise that citizens oppose the plan. What is a real case of an UFO for me is to imagine the baroness to fulfill her promise of chain herself to one of the green giants. Just imagine her impeccable ivory linen suits and her XX shoes associated to a plebeian chain. Now, if that is not science fiction, you tell me.
And to end up my report of european celebrities going scifi fans (or simply nuts) I go back to the preferred exportation product of multicultural nederlands, Hirsi Ali that is. Our most famous asilee (that become in due time the thorn in the side of the rest of the migrants) tackles a fundamental science fiction problem (energy sources), from the pages of several european newspapers. Perhaps a voice shouting in the dessert, Hirsi has discovered that indeed the oil is a big problem, and calls for the use of alternative energy sources. Interestingly enough, Hirsi rejects two of the most populars routes that scifi thinkers follows when focusing on energy. She does not talk about a future a la Mad Max, a dried future earth without oil, nor she goes for the bright future of technological advance in which we would use whatever alternative energy is there. Hirsi rather goes to her well known sources of concern, the islamic radicalism. And, as bright as usual, states that oil is all what supports those terrorists. With her natural flair when writing, her article close with a very original phrasing, that will be more than enough to close my own column. “It's the oil, stupid. If you want to defeat Al Qaeda, drive an hybrid auto”.
Let's start at england. I always thought that aliens stopped to visit england few years after they were done with stonehenge, since nothing remotely romantic or bizarre happens in those murky skies, and if it would, nobody would see it anyway. Actually, I seem to be right. Pushed by an activist (probably a scifi fan and politically active guy, just like me, wow) the Ministery of Defence is due to make public her own report on UFO's, carried on by years and years of research. And pounds. So yes, Tony could afford in the past to let his minister spend time in these sort of issues, probably to keep them sharp when the detection of weapons of mass destruction came later. Well, apparently the report did not find any real UFO sighting. Neither WMD were reported as real. And given the believe of Blair's in the big bombs inside Saddam's bunkers, probably he is looking (defiantly? scared?) to the londinense skies.
Now, the previous note I consider string enough to shake the foundations of all of you that thought the scifi was a boring and demode issue, full of saber lasers and green little men. As a matter of fact, as fundamental pieces of scifi such as the sagas of Dune or the Foundations show, scifi can be a excuse to present, in a bizarre set up, philosophical or sociological disquisitions. Not to mention political ones, with Farenheit 451 at the head of a long list. And talking about bizarre political scenarios, all of you willing or able to open El Pais in the past days will see another UFO hovering the streets of Madrid. The Thyssen baroness is in the streets, fighting for the trees of her museum. The point here is that a urban renewal plan coming from the city mayor office aims to clear up the street leading to the Thyssen museum from trees. Some of those trees are simply huge, so no surprise that citizens oppose the plan. What is a real case of an UFO for me is to imagine the baroness to fulfill her promise of chain herself to one of the green giants. Just imagine her impeccable ivory linen suits and her XX shoes associated to a plebeian chain. Now, if that is not science fiction, you tell me.
And to end up my report of european celebrities going scifi fans (or simply nuts) I go back to the preferred exportation product of multicultural nederlands, Hirsi Ali that is. Our most famous asilee (that become in due time the thorn in the side of the rest of the migrants) tackles a fundamental science fiction problem (energy sources), from the pages of several european newspapers. Perhaps a voice shouting in the dessert, Hirsi has discovered that indeed the oil is a big problem, and calls for the use of alternative energy sources. Interestingly enough, Hirsi rejects two of the most populars routes that scifi thinkers follows when focusing on energy. She does not talk about a future a la Mad Max, a dried future earth without oil, nor she goes for the bright future of technological advance in which we would use whatever alternative energy is there. Hirsi rather goes to her well known sources of concern, the islamic radicalism. And, as bright as usual, states that oil is all what supports those terrorists. With her natural flair when writing, her article close with a very original phrasing, that will be more than enough to close my own column. “It's the oil, stupid. If you want to defeat Al Qaeda, drive an hybrid auto”.
posted by Unknown at 9:33 PM
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