It was only a matter of time until some armchair archaeologist took it upon himself to "discover" bogus artificial structures in the celebrated Martian ice crater. Guys like this make my job really difficult . . .

Speaking of which, I'll be returning to Arizona in a few weeks for the filming of a Discovery Channel documentary. I'll be in Flagstaff, home of the Lowell Observatory. (I recently shaved my head, but I think my hair will have grown back to acceptable standards by then.)

Spitzer Finds Life Components in Young Universe

"Using Spitzer, scientists have detected organic molecules in galaxies when our universe was one-fourth of its current age of about 14 billion years. These large molecules, known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are comprised of carbon and hydrogen. The molecules are considered to be among the building blocks of life."

More Exeter sighting coverage:

'Odds are there’s intelligent life outside of Earth'

"David said the object was as large as two aircraft carriers. It was long and silver, with windows equally spaced around its center. After what felt like several minutes, he said the object started changing colors to an orange-ish red and similar-colored flames billowed from underneath. But there was no smoke or noise. The object eventually stretched to double its size and disappeared."

This time Paul Kimball's counting down his 10 favorite science fiction films. Here are mine, if you're interested.

Thank the gods of postmodernism: a blog devoted to J.G. Ballard!

Whitley Strieber has written his most expansive, bizarre online journal entry yet. As usual, it poses far more questions than it answers. And, for a metaphysical rallying cry, it's peculiarly insistent that readers who truly support his website send him money so they can access some superfluous "subscriber" material.

I like this paragraph:

"The implant also enables me to travel almost anywhere in space and time, or even outside of space time. It acts as a sort of accellerator [sic] of being, intensifying my ability to move out of my body and into many remarkable realms. It also causes me, at times, to hear the inner workings of the minds of other people, something that is so extremely different from what one might imagine that it is really hard to describe in words. It's not a common experience and has not entered language, which is why I can only talk about it indirectly."

Unfortunately, virtually all of Strieber's recollections and pronouncements are colored by this "indirect" quality. I'm not claiming Strieber is a fraud; I think he's experienced episodes of high strangeness. But I also think his mind tends to inflate the significance and meaning of his experiences, effectively "editing" them into a symbolic grammar amenable to intellectual analysis. In this sense, Strieber's bold declarations are probably about as valid as those of infamous "contactee" George Adamski, albeit rather more literary and in keeping with contemporary cosmological thought.

Strieber isn't the mild-mannered sage one might expect. I once emailed him to question an omission in a self-published book and was told to "quit nitpicking and absorb the philosophy." This is the kind of quip expected from an L. Ron Hubbard, not a man in touch with the universe's most elusive secrets. And as a writer with grand online pretensions, Strieber is curiously selective about the "news" items that grace his site's front-page. For example, I find it difficult to believe he's unaware of the very promising Roswell leads documented in Nick Redfern's powerfully argued new book "Body Snatchers In the Desert." Revealingly, Strieber has made a psychological investment in an alien explanation for Roswell -- a scenario that Redfern's research threatens to obliterate. Strieber's commitment to certain hoaxes is further evidenced in his new essay, which cites the late Col. Philip Corso, alleged government whistleblower whose book "The Day After Roswell" has been dismissed as make-believe by UFO researchers.

Strieber inhabits a universe of boundless subjectivity built upon a substrate of engaging memes. But his relevance to the disciplined UFO research he champions is increasingly tenuous. Which is too bad. For if he knows what he claims to know, his "subscribers only" approach to disseminating his revelations is at best manipulative and at worst harmful.

Just in case you missed it:

Astronomers claim discovery of 10th planet

"The planet -- the farthest-known object in the solar system -- is currently 9 billion miles away from the sun, or about three times Pluto's current distance from the sun."

Remember Sedna? I don't think this will be the last planet we find lurking beyond Neptune.

What's playing:

1.) Green (R.E.M.)
2.) Chelsea Girl (Nico)
3.) Fear of Music (Talking Heads)
4.) Your Arsenal (Morrissey)
5.) Black Celebration (Depeche Mode)

UFO saga continues

"Yann Marchandin, the French 'Ufologist' who contacted the News-Letter via e-mail, said there was a similar UFO sighting in Poland in 1997 and another in 1999. In both incidents, witnesses claimed to have seen large 'military ship-sized' tubes, or cigar-shaped objects in the sky."

The Physics of Extra-Terrestrial Civilizations (by Michio Kaku)





"Soon, humanity may face an existential shock as the current list of a dozen Jupiter-sized extra-solar planets swells to hundreds of earth-sized planets, almost identical twins of our celestial homeland. This may usher in a new era in our relationship with the universe: we will never see the night sky in the same way ever again, realizing that scientists may eventually compile an encyclopedia identifying the precise co-ordinates of perhaps hundreds of earth-like planets."

Kaku goes on to casually juggle concepts that would send media-darling Seth Shostak packing to the nearest mental institution.

True story: I found this billiard ball pretty much where it is in this photo, tucked in the crotch of a tree. (I'm thinking there's got to be another one around here somewhere.)





That's my apartment in the upper left-hand corner, partially obscured by leaves.

Corporate garden with koi pond:

No cellphone? This senorita is definitely in the wrong century.

Ring of water ice on Mars raises hopes of finding life on red planet

"One image shows faint traces of water ice also visible along the rim and walls of the crater. ESA scientists know it cannot be frozen carbon dioxide because the images were taken during the late Martian summer by which time all CO2 ice has evaporated. The unnamed crater is 24 miles in diameter and 1.3 miles deep." (Via The Anomalist.)

Coral as 'genetically complex' as humans

And I always thought "brain coral" was just what we called it . . .

Today's dose of consumer-friendly sadism:

Anti-rape device must be banned, say women

"The device, which Sonette Ehlers, its inventor, has patented, is worn like a tampon but is hollow. In the event of a rape, she said that it would fold around the rapist's penis and attach itself with microscopic hooks. It is impossible to remove the clamped device without medical intervention."

Oh, and this knife rack is most illustrative.

Another interesting UFO sighting . . .

More people sight mysterious craft in the skies

"It didn't move at all. It just hovered there for ages and then it disappeared. It was just as if the lights went out." (Via The Anomalist.)

Night of the Crusher

"In the past 10 years, psychologist J. Allan Cheyne of the University of Waterloo in Canada has collected more than 28,000 tales of sleep paralysis. According to one of the chroniclers, 'The first time I experienced this, I saw a shadow of a moving figure, arms outstretched, and I was absolutely sure it was supernatural and evil.' Another person recalled awakening 'to find a half-snake/half-human thing shouting gibberish in my ear.' Yet another person reported periodically waking with a start just after falling asleep, sensing an ominous presence nearby. The tale continues: 'Then, something comes over me and smothers me, as if with a pillow. I fight but I can't move. I try to scream. I wake up gasping for air.'"





Having experienced sleep paralysis, there is no doubt in my mind that it constitutes a significant percentage of "abduction" accounts. The last time I experienced a "sense of presence" was late at night and I had the intuitive certainty that my bedroom had become a hive of unseen activity. I never suspected aliens or folkloric monsters, but it was distressing enough while it was happening.

As an episodic sleep paralysis "victim," I welcome scientific research into this bizarre phenomenon. I think dream-states have much to tell us. At the same time, I'm exasperated by the conventional debunking tactic that uses "sleep paralysis" to "explain" all alleged encounters with mysterious entities, many of which take place in full daylight and some in the presence of witnesses.

Sleep paralysis is undoubtedly part of the alien abduction puzzle. But the willful misidentification of the phenomenon at the hands of over-eager pseudoskeptics is a hindrance to both sleep psychology and close encounter research.

The Shock (and Horror) of Reality

"The shock of reality is that life is so unreal, resembling nothing ever learned in high school Civics class or from fictional bestsellers. Pulp fiction and children's fantasy books have no relation to real life but instead resemble a six pack, or double dose of Prozac: diversion to dull the pain. Happily swallow the fiction so you don't gag on the reality."

Actually, I disagree with the specific point made above; I think honest escapism is a necessary -- even commendable -- tool for living. What's truly disturbing is our supposedly impartial news media with its ceaseless lies and distortions: a deadly form of misdirected escapism that, for many, has become increasingly difficult to differentiate from reality.

Glacier National Park, Montana: 9th Stop on the March!

"Glaciers move slowly, but Global Warming is ambling right along: by 2030, all the glaciers in Glacier National Park will be gone! When President William Taft dedicated the park in 1910, 150 Glaciers graced the northern Montana mountainsides. Over the last century, rising temperatures have devastated the landscape. Today, just 37 glaciers remain, but they too are rapidly melting."

If you're into limp, bikini-clad mannequins falling from great heights (and who isn't?), this is definitely worth a go.

(Thanks to Blake Dinsdale.)

I turn 30 in August and it's kind of getting me down. I feel like I've been cheated out of at least 10 years of my life, propelled forward as if mounted on intangible rails. I've done a few things right, and things I'm proud of, but my overall perception is one of waste. On the cusp of my fourth decade, I feel automized, preoccupied with trivialities, burdened with fossil resentment and fear for the future. William Burroughs summed up similar anxieties with the term "stasis horror": the dark, underlying fear that nothing is changing, that the patterns of oneself and one's surroundings are thoroughly interlocked, like jammed clockwork.

Help Solve the Mystery of the Pioneer Anomaly

"Very soon, NASA will be dismantling and scrapping its only computer left which is able to access and process the data on its ancient 7- and 9-track magnetic tapes. 'Who cares', you say? Well, the Planetary Society for one and they're hoping you might care as well. The data held on these (few hundred) tapes is no ordinary forgettable data, it is the complete archive of the first 15 years of all the data returned to Earth by the Pioneer spacecraft which were sent into interstellar space."

If we're not pleading with NASA to fix things then we're begging them not to destroy things. First the Hubble; now this. If only the Pentagon had to put up with bullshit like this.

Physicists Entangle Photon and Atom in Atomic Cloud

"Photonic qubits are great carriers and can travel for long distances before being absorbed into the conduit, but they’re not so great at storing the information for a long time. Atomic qubits, on the other hand, can store information for much longer. So an entangled system of atoms and photons offers the best of both worlds. The trick is how to get them entangled in a simple way that requires the least amount of hardware."

UFO sighting in Exeter - again

"The object began changing colors from a bright silver to an orange-ish red. A strange cloud of red and orange flames began surrounding the object, and before he knew it the object stretched out like a rubber band. It grew to about twice its original size, and then it was gone.

"The entire incident lasted about 10 minutes, he recalled Monday morning, but he is unaware of the specific time because, 'it felt like time stopped.'" (Via The Anomalist.)

Classic "Oz Factor." The weird lengthening of the "craft," along with the shift from silver to orange-red, are suspiciously similar to Einstein's depictions of vehicles approaching the speed of light. Could this guy have witnessed an alien vessel making a light-speed "jump"?

They're lens flares, people! Lens flares!

Two hot items found at KurzweilAI.net:





Computer scientists to copy brain of a mammal

"Most theoretical neuroscientists have tried to simulate the brain using artificial neural networks. 'That is not our goal,' says Henry Markram, the professor leading the project. Markram wants to simulate the brain at every level of detail, even going down to molecular and gene expression levels of processing. At EPFL's Brain and Mind Institute, every facet of the brain is being examined and modelled."

Japan Plans World's Fastest Computer

"Japan wants to develop a supercomputer that can operate at 10 petaflops, or 10 quadrillion calculations per second, which is 73 times faster than the Blue Gene, an official of the ministry said on condition of anonymity."

Better computers mean better simulations. And better simulations increase the odds that we're inhabiting one.

North Atlantic right whale facing extinction

"'Recent increases in calving rates, an average of 23 annually over the last five years, are inadequate to overcome this level of mortality,' the paper states. 'Without changes in the management of shipping and fisheries, right whales face extinction within the next 100 years.'"

Death is everywhere
The more I look
The more I see
The more I feel
A sense of urgency

--Depeche Mode, "Fly on the Windscreen"

????

Missing dog and flowers:

This is the way the world ends . . .

Ice ages linked to galactic position





"Theorists have proposed that when our solar system passes through a spiral arm, the cosmic rays fall to Earth and knock electrons off atoms in the atmosphere, making them electrically charged, or ionized. Since opposite electrical charges attract each other, the positively charged ionized particles attract the negatively charged portion of water vapor, thus forming large droplets in the form of low-lying clouds."

Is there anyone out there . . .Yes, 15,000 times, yes





"The most common sightings included reports of orange-coloured discs, spheres, triangles and balls of fire which could change formation. An undisclosed but 'considerable' number were seen over RAF and US air force bases in England."

Trees... from the Moon

"Stuart Roosa's love of the outdoors prompted him to choose tree seeds as one ingredient of his Personal Preference Kit, the sock-sized pouch Apollo astronauts were allowed to fill with their prize possessions. The seeds were provided by the US Forestry Service - in particular, by its then Staff Director for Forest Genetics Research, Stan Krugman."

This scenario seems like the backstory for some arboreal holocaust a la "The Day of the Triffids."

Brutal Heat Stalks Planet

"Twenty-one people died in Arizona from the heat, and it reached 117 F in Las Vegas, tying a record set in 1942. Now the brutal heat has moved east, and triple digit temperatures are expected across the midwest, with heat advisories in most states east of the Mississippi."

Triple-Digit Temperatures Scorch Midwest

"Sunday was the 71st anniversary of the highest temperature ever recorded in Chicago. The mercury hit 105 at the University of Chicago on July 24, 1934, said Bob Somrek, a weather service meteorologist."

I consider it an educational foretaste of the all-too-near future.

NASA to Launch Even if Problem Recurs

My first reaction to this headline: "WTF!?"

"NASA said Sunday it will launch the first space shuttle flight in 2 1/2 years, even if the fuel gauge problem that halted the previous countdown two weeks ago resurfaces."

Yes, you read that correctly.

"Deputy shuttle program manager Wayne Hale said the fuel gauge problem has been a vexing one -- engineers still don't know exactly what caused it -- and he's asked himself, 'Are we taking care enough to do it right.'"

Well, Wayne, I'm not a rocket scientist, but it would certainly seem to me that you're clearly not "taking care to do it right" because the fuel gauge is still fucking broken.

Hale continues: "Based on the last 10 days' worth of effort, the huge number of people and the tremendous number of hours that have been spent in testing and analysis, I think that we're coming to the right place."

Ignoring a potentially catastrophic threat is "coming to the right place"? Wayne, could you elaborate on that one? Because I think I'm missing your point. It seems like you're proposing to launch a manned spacecraft knowing full well it's not up to launch standards. Surely I misheard.

Later in the article we learn that "NASA's own launch rule -- in place since the 1986 Challenger disaster -- requires that all four hydrogen fuel gauges in the external tank be working properly."

I suspect that rule is there for a reason.

Then we get this W-esque "explanation" from NASA Administrator Michael Griffin:

"These are rather arcane matters, I would admit. They're rather difficult and sometimes they don't always present well. But in the long run, I think if it's the right thing, we can explain it to you and you want us doing what's right, not what necessarily is obvious or popular."

And if you read the rest of the article it just gets worse. Someone, call off the launch.

Some perspective:

Nerves stretched to breaking point as Baghdad clings to normal life

"The people of Baghdad do not need statistics to tell them that they are living through terror unimaginable in the West.

"Every two days for the past two years more civilians have died in Iraq than in the July 7 London bombings." (Via American Samizdat.)

A Dossier of Civilian Casualties in Iraq 2003–2005

"Speaking today at the launch of the report in London, Professor John Sloboda, FBA, one of the report's authors said: 'The ever-mounting Iraqi death toll is the forgotten cost of the decision to go to war in Iraq. On average, 34 ordinary Iraqis have met violent deaths every day since the invasion of March 2003. Our data show that no sector of Iraqi society has escaped. We sincerely hope that this research will help to inform decision-makers around the world about the real needs of the Iraqi people as they struggle to rebuild their country. It remains a matter of the gravest concern that, nearly two and half years on, neither the US nor the UK governments have begun to systematically measure the impact of their actions in terms of human lives destroyed.'"

Butterfly unlocks evolution secret

"Now, researchers studying a family of butterflies think they have witnessed a subtle process, which could be forcing a wedge between newly formed species.

"The team, from Harvard University, US, discovered that closely related species living in the same geographical space displayed unusually distinct wing markings."

Anyone read Greg Egan's "Teranesia"?

Ashes and Snow: sublime, eco-utopian visions of intelligent species existing in transcendent union.

(Thanks to Chapel Perilous.)

BBC: "Is it worth sending a manned mission to Mars?"

Vote!

Poll: Americans Say World War III Likely

"Americans are far more likely than the Japanese to expect another world war in their lifetime, according to AP-Kyodo polling 60 years after World War II ended. Most people in both countries believe the first use of a nuclear weapon is never justified."

I think some of America's perception that a third world war is likely is due to the popular fascination with a Fundamentalist Armageddon -- an event that many have been trained not only to expect but, frighteningly, to hope for.

Heatwave in Kansas City; my car thermometer was reading 104 degrees. Damn, it's miserable . . .

Ruling upheld nixing redress over Unit 731 germ warfare

"In August 2002, the Tokyo District Court recognized for the first time that Imperial army units, including 731, engaged in germ warfare, and that the state was responsible. However, the court dismissed the compensation demands, ruling that individuals have no right to sue for war damages."

This is something of an atrocity in itself. I sincerely hope Unit 731 enters public discourse when its post-war role in the Roswell incident is finally brought to light.

I received a copy of "The Cydonia Codex" in the mail today. Profusely illustrated with "mirrored" images of the Martian surface, "Codex" is a lavish, near-coffee-table-quality tome -- and it boasts dual forewords by Richard Hoagland and Dr. Mark Carlotto (both of whom give the book a cautious nod of approval for sheer epistemological daring).

I have a blurb on the back cover:

"I applaud the authors' cross-cultural approach to investigating possible Martian archaeological sites. By suggesting that a prior technological civilization might have been driven by aesthetic agenda, 'The Cydonia Codex' offers a new arena for speculation -- which is precisely what's needed to further the investigative process."

--Mac Tonnies, author of "After the Martian Apocalypse: Extraterrestrial Artifacts and the Case for Mars Exploration"

If you only buy one book on extraterrestrial artifacts this year . . . buy mine. But feel free to buy "The Cydonia Codex" too.

New Mars Orbiter Will Sharpen Vision of Exploration

"The spacecraft carries six instruments for probing the atmosphere, surface and subsurface to characterize the planet and how it changed over time. One of the science payload's three cameras will be the largest-diameter telescopic camera ever sent to another planet. It will reveal rocks and layers as small as the width of an office desk."

What might this reveal about some of the anomalies in the Cydonia region . . . ? For years, I've considered it effectively impossible to test the Artificiality Hypothesis without actually sending humans to the sites in question, but resolution this exquisite presents some fascinating possibilities.

Autism, mercury, and politics (by Robert Kennedy, Jr.)

"Numerous animal, DNA, epidemiological, and other studies point to Thimerosal as a culprit in America's epidemic of neurological disorders. Autistic children have been shown to have higher mercury loads than nonautistics, and there have been reports of significant improvements in some brain-injured children by removing mercury from their brains. Most of the symptoms of autism are similar to the symptoms of mercury poisoning. Scientists have been able to induce autism-like symptoms in mice by exposing them to Thimerosal. A recent study by an FDA scientist, Dr. Jill James, found that many autistic children are genetically deficient in their capacity to produce glutathione, an antioxidant generated in the brain that helps remove mercury from the body."