Five Bullets 10.6.23
Pulp fiction, The Creator, Aliens & more
Good morning and happy Friday everyone!
Welcome back to Circles in Space.
Books: The Golden Fleece chronicles Joe Kloc’s search for a missing rare first issue of a pulp magazine. Pulps, named for the inexpensive wood pulp paper they were printed on, were fiction magazines which included mystery, crime, sci-fi, horror, romance and more. Many authors got their start producing stories for pulps including Ray Bradbury, Raymond Chandler and H.P. Lovecraft. Pulps reached their zenith in the ‘30s but continued through the ‘50s until comics and mass-market paperbacks rose in popularity.
Movies: The Creator, directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Rogue One, Godzilla), is a sci-fi action thriller set in a future where humans are at war with advanced artificial intelligence. Joshua (John David Washington), an ex-special forces soldier, is recruited to find the AI’s secret weapon, rumored to be powerful enough to end the war and humanity. The film draws on Blade Runner, Apocalypse Now and Akira. Edwards seamlessly melds the beautiful natural landscapes of Southeast Asia with CGI, producing a realistic dystopian world.
NYC: The Long Island Motor Parkway bicycle path in Alley Pond Park follows the route of a parkway built by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1908. Along this path, atop a hill sandwiched between apartment buildings is the Johnson Burial Ground an unmarked cemetery with no headstones where Jacob Johnson was buried in 1870. Johnson, an African American man who owned the land and a nearby farm reserved the plot for his family burial site. I’ve walked the Motor Parkway path many times but never knew about this burial site! A sign now denotes the spot thanks to recent modifications to the bicycle path.
Podcasts: This American Life - The One Place I Can’t Go features a moving story from comedian Atsuko Okatsuka about being ‘kidnapped’ by her grandma to live in America; a song which seems to be a prelude for disaster in Emmanuel Dzotsi’s life; and Tamsyn Muir on why author’s can’t read fan fiction about their work.
Science: Why Haven’t We Found Aliens? Physicist Brian Cox covers a few scenarios which could explain why we haven’t found proof of alien life (recent US congressional hearings aside). Perhaps the reason is the Great Filter which prohibits civilizations from traveling among the stars, or perhaps aliens do not influence developing civilizations, similar to Star Trek’s prime directive. Another interesting theory is that maybe aliens just don’t want to broadcast that they’re out there for some unknown reason.
I recently watched my first episode of Star Trek. It was a bit silly but the idea of Prime Directive is a fascinating- and perhaps a model for how humans should proceed with future space exploration.
Atsuko Okatsuka’s story is so thoughtful and honest. It was beautiful the way she persisted in finding and healing the sadness of her whole family. A model of healthy communication. Thank you Keith.🌿