Aliens: Klaatu barada nikto
Earth: [dick pic]Aliens: Why…why would you think that’s ok? [turning on disruptors] https://t.co/1ICxCSYtPW— FindACrimeHat (@Popehat) May 4, 2022
Yep, it’s variants on the same ol’ 1972 My wife & I saw you from across the room… Pioneer 10 pics:
… The pictures aren’t graphic photographs of naked humans but a drawing of a naked man and a woman next to a depiction of DNA.
The man and woman are waving in an attempt to look more inviting.
NASA scientists revealed the image in a study that’s part of a project called the “Beacon in the Galaxy” (BITG).
The main aim of the BITG project is to send a message to any alien civilizations that could be out there.
Scientists think the pixelated illustration of a naked man and woman waving hello could help us finally make contact with extraterrestrials…
At least in this version, *both* humans get to wave. Which is nice, because the original always made me think of a line from a Joanna Russ short story, “Useful Phrases for the Tourist“: That is my companion; it is not a tip.
ETA: I do believe this is the NSFW version…
War for Ukraine Update 70: As Of the Latest Reporting Mariupol’s Last Defenders Are Still Holding
Ten Bears
Come. Eat!
bjacques
DON’T TELL THEM WHERE WE ARE!
Seriously, the last thing we need is alien contact. If they turn up, they’re already technologically superior. If they’re morally equal, we’re screwed. If they’re morally superior, we’ll go extinct out of pure shame.
NotMax
“Ugly bags of mostly water.”
;)
smike
Well, I guess it’s complicated…
Any alien contact with humans will not likely be direct. Nobody is going to have faster-than-light travel speed, and since we would be “old news” (as a species) by the time anyone could reach us, why bother?
Brachiator
Not that alien civilizations would understand or care why this might be important to us.
This is not to deny the significance of the symbolism. For us.
I have just finished watching the premiere of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the new reboot or retread of Original Flavor Trek. Not too bad. The episode is about how a First Contact goes wrong because Star Fleet’s assumptions about how apparently advanced civilizations should be approached is not as fully thought out as they believed.
We are barely venturing beyond our own solar system, and yet we are hot to announce ourselves and extend invitations to whoever and whatever, and innocently believe that the universe loves to party.
I don’t advocate paranoia or fear. Maybe some self-reflection. And variations of how we announce ourselves.
And yeah I realize that the universe is vast and odds of any response to our little announcement, blah, blah, blah.
But you never know.
And there has got to be something better than pixelated dick pics.
Tony Jay
With last night’s hilarious last minute banana skin/multiple rake stomp crash-out from the Champion’s League by Abu Dhabi owned sportswashing soccerball franchise Manchester City at the hands (okay, feet) of a black-magic wielding Real Madrid, my own beloved Liverpool FC are on course to win an unprecedented quadruple of Cups and Titles by the end of this month. No team in top-flight football has (to my knowledge) ever won every single tournament they have entered, but with the League Cup already in the bag, FA Cup and Champion’s League Final places secured and four games left in the Premier League season to overhaul the 1 point lead held by Pep Guardiola’s tired and emotional Manchester City… it’s definitely possible.
Should we win all of our remaining Finals and pip Pep’s parvenus to the Title, that would give Liverpool a tally of 20 League Titles, 7 European/Champions League Cups, 8 FA Cups and 9 League Cups, which by my maths means 20 + 7 + 8 + 9 = 44, so to anticipate/celebrate I’m getting a big old BET ON RED 44 T-Shirt printed up to wear around the house and every single time I go anywhere near Manchester, which is quite a bit.
Then it occurred to me, if not for the huge injury crisis that bedevilled our League defence last season we’d probably be chasing League Title 21 now, which would have meant me wearing a BET ON RED 45 t-shirt, which would have made me think of the odious orange oddball that aims to be the Once and Future President of Red America, and thus ruined everything.
So, small mercies.
oatler
There was a very short story whose title I forget about a prospector who comes in from the desert leading a stick- figure on a mule and he announces the stick-figure is an alien who has invited the human race to join their amazing civilization if an ordinary schmuck can answer a few simple questions. If the schmuck fails the aliens will isolate us forever…
Kind of like that story already happened.
joel hanes
a Joanna Russ short story
Her story “When It Changed” in Harlan Ellison’s Again, Dangerous Visions anthology is beautiful and important. Highest possible recommendation.
on the Web in pdf
future-lives.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/When-It-Changed.pdf
NotMax
@Brachiator
Ever watched any of the Star Trek New Voyages. (a.k.a. Star Trek: Phase II)? Before CBS slammed the lid on all such fan-produced efforts the production team managed to crank out 10 complete episodes and a smattering of shorts, teasers and vignettes. Clearly labors of love (and technically proficient), they did show improvement with each outing. Many names familiar to fans of the original series were associated with or appeared in the project.
Extended clip from a later episode, one never completed due to the quashing.
Mimi Haha
How do we know waving isn’t a blatant insult in some alien culture?
Peale
@Mimi Haha: Maybe they should put sashes with medals pinned on them so they know it’s an ambassador. Sashes and medals being the symbols of ambassadors throughout the galaxy.
Brachiator
@NotMax:
Not too big on fan stuff. It’s often too hit or miss. But during the pandemic I ran into some fan productions that were quite enjoyable and well done.
ant
yeah. I think we should learn how to identify and change the course of asteroids that are a threat to our planet before we try to contact aliens.
Just, some basic competence in space. Might not be a bad idea.
But what do I know right?
Matt McIrvin
@Brachiator: I’ve watched some of these Star Trek fan productions and generally, the real weak point in them is the acting. They’ve often got at least as good-looking sets and costumes and better visual effects than the original series, they just avoid stories with a lot of stunts in them, and the writing and directing can even be pretty good. But it’s almost always glaring that some of the actors are not actors (and it’s even more glaring when they have a guest star who is a pro, acting against someone’s buddy). That’s the thing you really have to watch around.
Joey Maloney
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you: they’re made of meat.”
WereBear
@Matt McIrvin: It really shows how much talent it might take to be even an average actor :)
That was something that always impressed me about David Carradine, who often chose low budget movies over Hollywood extravaganzas.
So I’d be watching some pretty pathetic stuff… and he would show up, and suddenly amid the cardboard sets and doing-their-best cast members, the thing suddenly became A Movie.
I don’t know how he did it, but it must have been what kept him employed.
sab
@Matt McIrvin: Ande then there was Star Force 3 with James MacAvoy and crew. Real actors at home doing the pandemic with zoom production and kitchen utensils as props.
MisterDancer
As much as she has to own her actions, and doesn’t get off the hook for Trauma-induced shitty actions — I honestly feel horrible for Lana Logan.
What happened to her was brutal on multiple levels. And my gut says that where she is today, is the result of a lot of behind-the-scenes manipulation. Too many people telling her the right response was to hate, and fueling that hate at the expense of her empathy and self-care.
Just…sad.
Brachiator
@Matt McIrvin:
The issues vary. One fan adventure that I really enjoyed was short and built around an excellent story idea that could have been turned into a good official Trek episode. I could even imagine how some of it could be fleshed out into a standard length episode. The people who made it knew their strengths. It was a “bottle story” mainly set on the bridge of the Enterprise, so direction and editing was good, but perfunctory. The acting was adequate. But again, the cool thing was that the story was a very good Trek style story.
As an aside, I will note that I am amazed at how often teens and young adults turn out well crafted videos that they show on YouTube and other platforms. They have a good understanding of the basics of video production and editing. They are not necessarily masters, but they can deliver some seriously workmanlike material. When I was a teen, I was doing well if I could keep my shoes tied.
MisterDancer
Oh, that sounds good. If you had asked me a decade ago if I’d be interested in a “continuing Adventures of Captain Pike” TV show, I’d have laughed in your face! Yet they have really impressed me with both the actors who appeared on DISCOVERY, and how that show handled what is a lot of barely remembered backstory.
MisterDancer
I was a huge fan of the STAR TREK CONTINUES fan effort; I thought it had the best set work and acting by a long shot.
Pity the creator and lead turned out to have…well, let’s just say he took the way wrong lessons from his love of James T. Kirk. :(
Cameron
Yoyoyo, sweet amorphous entities! How ’bout dishin’ up some of that hot tentacle love?
Matt McIrvin
@WereBear: I’ve done some amateur stage acting myself and I’m pretty good at being a comical ham, but anything more subtle is beyond me. But a lot of ordinary Joes can’t even manage that–it’s not a universal human ability.
SFAW
@bjacques:
So you’re saying the RWMFs will all survive?
Just One More Canuck
@Tony Jay: As a Barca fan, I am loathe to admit that Real never, ever gives up in a game if they have even a sniff of coming back. Man City sat on the (aggregate) lead for the entire game and it bit them in the ass*
*Not in the same way as Madison Cawthorn
Matt McIrvin
@MisterDancer: The other big one was “Star Trek New Voyages/Phase II”, whose creator/Kirk I thought was good–he was an Elvis impersonator by trade. Their Spock was pretty terrible, though–that was the weakest point.
Ken
@oatler: Sounds like “Puppet Show” by Fredric Brown
EDIT: Available here.
Tony Jay
@Just One More Canuck:
At 89 minutes played and Man City 5-3 up over Real I turned the game off, glumly contemplating yet another ulcer-inducing opportunity for De Bruyne or Silva or (shudder) Sterling to produce a moment of spawny magic and claim bragging rights.
Then my friend texted me it had changed to 5-4, and by the time I changed the channel back it was all even and Pep’s boys were sporting the hollow, wide-eyed expressions of low-level MAGAts being sentenced for Insurrection. After that it was inevitable they’d lose and everyone (including Benzema) knew it.
Liverpool vs Real Madrid is the match-up every Red has wanted since the Ramos/Bale Final of 2018, and I cannot wait.
Mo Salad
@Tony Jay: twitter.com/LFC19673841/status/1522053798067421184?t=qrHawaPHVoXqsP-9H5D1CQ&s=19
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Exactly my thought. In Larry Niven’s “Known Space” universe, a number of attempted peaceful contacts to the Kzin went badly. The Kzin are decended from feline predators, and any baring of teeth (such as a friendly smile) is interpreted as a threat and a challenge to be met with claws.
Tony Jay
@Mo Salad:
Ooooh, nice.
Paul in KY
@Tony Jay: MC fan here. Fuckity fuck fuck fuck!!!! Hope we at least deny you the league. Also hope you whip the shit out of RM.
Paul in KY
@Tony Jay: Ramos is a cheap shotting SOB. I hate that dude!
Tony Jay
@Paul in KY:
All you have to do is win all of your remaining games and the Premier League title is yours. In fact, just match our results. You’ll forgive me, though, if I’m hoping for just a little stumble. A tiny one.
And whipping the shit out of Real Madrid is definitely on the To-Do list for this Liverpool team. Mo Salah has openly called for revenge, and I am so there for it.
@Paul in KY:
My only minor grumble is that Ramos won’t be on the pitch for a combination of Mad-Eye Robbo and James ‘Iron Man’ Milner to put in traction.
He should give the football a swerve and stick to playing the leprechaun in ‘American Gods‘. I liked him in that.
Paul in KY
@Tony Jay: The only good thing (for me) to come out of last night’s debacle is that Mo has his wish & I’m sure he will be zeroed in 111 %.
He does need to watch out for other cheapshotting defenders on that team.
Maybe another thing to come out of it is that Pep understands completely now that we must have a big time striker to win these kind of matches. Our non-striker-studs playing up front were so, so wasteful…
Anyway, I will root wholeheartedly for Liverpool! (in Champions League & FA Cup).