CULTURE/SOCIETY: A History Of The 20th Century Using Science Fiction

This is from me, and NOT a reprinted piece. - OlderMusicGeek

I was just wondering what kind of view future historians would have of the 20th century if the only material they could find was a collection of science fiction. My guess is their timeline would look something like the following.

"early in the twentieth century" - Martians invade Earth, causing severe trouble for London and England before being killed by germs. (War Of The Worlds by H.G. Wells)

1908 - The Tunguska explosion in Russia. Which aliens are behind this is strongly disputed.

1938 - The Martians invade Earth again, but in the eastern United States, and germs still kill them. (War Of The Worlds by Orson Welles and The Mercury Theater On The Air)

1940 - The Second World War starts. ("Trends" by Isaac Asimov)

1940 to 1960s - Second World War (The Shape Of Things To Come by H.G. Wells and Things To Come)

1945 - A B-29 carrying an atomic bomb, with an escort of P-51 Mustangs have a run in with a "foo fighter" at 171E 42N. Everyone crashes and sinks. The Navy sends the submarine Zeus Faber to locate the crash site, which it does, although of the crew of 144, only 7 return alive. (X-Files)

1945-1978 - post-war society takes strong swing towards religion. ("Trends" by Isaac Asimov)

1947 - An alien vessel crashes near Roswell. Who's involved and what the vessel was exactly is strongly disputed.

1947 - Deep Throat claims the Roswell Crash was a "smokescreen". He also claims that it was the source of the first alien DNA ("Erlenmeyer Flask"). He also claims that the crash prompted five nations (US, USSR, UK, Germany, PRC) to reach a secret accord that any aliens found alive would be killed - [although he has been seen referring to this as "Security Council Resolution 1013]. (X-Files)

1949 - The Martians invade again still, this time in Ecuador! And are killed by germs. (Radio Quito's War Of The Worlds)

1950s - The Martian invade once again, but in southern California this time, and once again are killed by germs. (The War Of The Worlds film)

1963-1966 - An friendly Martian anthropologist lands on Earth, befriends an Earthman and hijinks ensue. (My Favorite Martian)

1964 - Santa Claus helps save some Martians. (Santa Claus Conquers The Martians)

1966 - The Strike of '66, where the people who work on the moving roads go on strike. ("The Roads Must Roll" by Robert Heinlein)

1968 - The Martians try once more, in eastern United States again, and are killed by germs once more. (WKBW's War Of The Worlds)

1970 - England survives the global war as individual cities. The Wandering Sickness, a virus dropped by planes, is wiped out by killing the infected. (Things To Come)

early 1970s - Over 75 percent of the people living on Earth are under 21 years of age. The population continues to climb — and with it the youth percentage. (Logan's Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson)

1970s and 1980s - hundreds of millions of people starve to death (The Population Bomb by Paul R. Ehrlich)

1970-1980 - a space lab, lunar landing, a nuclear rocket, translating machines, gravity waves (Profiles Of The Future by Arthur C Clarke)

1972 - Astronauts Taylor, Dodge, Stewart and Landon are launched on the first Interstellar Exploration flight. (Planet Of The Apes)

1973 - The capsule from the first Instellar Exploration reappears mysteriously, within nearby space. It lands off the California coast, slightly north of San Clemente, and is met by mobilized US Navy Spaceflight Recovery crew. Capsule is found to be piloted by intelligent apes. (Escape From The Planet Of The Apes)

1973 - Jul 15th Destruction of the Prometheus. 28 people killed and 73 wounded.

1973 - Passing of the Zittman antirocketry bill. ("Trends" by Isaac Asimov)

1973 - Samantha Mulder is abducted, seemingly by aliens. Actually, she was taken by agents of Cigarette Smoking Man. Although one version of facts surrounding her life suggest that she was placed in a foster home, it is more likely that she was abducted and experimented on to try and make her into a human-alien hybrid. (X-Files)

1973-1978 - neo-Victorian Age, begins with outlawing of all rocket research. ("Trends" by Isaac Asimov) (With the information the apes brought, who could blame them?)

1974 - Federal Scientific Research Investigatory Bureau established by the Stonely-Carter bill. ("Trends" by Isaac Asimov)

1975 - A joint American-British-Russian mission goes to the moon. (Venture To The Moon by Arthur C Clarke)

1976 - The Strike of '76. The workers of the moving roads go on strike again. ("The Roads Must Roll" by Robert H Heinlein)

1978 - government outlaws all independent scientific research. ("Trends" by Isaac Asimov)

1978 - first manned rocket flight ("Trends" by Isaac Asimov)

late 1970s/early 80s - "Columbus" is built to go to the moon as an alien force, called The Overlords, come to earth and take over. But they allow to continue as before - within certain guidelines. (Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke)

1978 - Businessman Delos David Harriman finanaces and builds the first rocket to go to the moon. ("The Man Who Sold The Moon" by Robert H Heinlein)

1980-2000 - planetary landings, personal radio (essentially a cellphone), fusion power, exobiology, cyborgs (Profiles Of The Future by Arthur C Clarke)

1980s - 79.7 percent of the people living on Earth were under 21 years of age. (Logan's Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson)

1982 - US Robots and Mechanical Men incorporated by Lawrence Robertson (I Robot by Isaac Asimov)

1984 - The world has divided into 3 superstates, Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. After WWII, England went through a civil war and Europe, North America and Russia have had an atomic war. People are constantly monitored by two-way tv's. (1984 by George Orwell)

1987 - Deep Throat says that school children are injected with cloned alien DNA in a "southern state" (although as we know they have been being injected for far longer in Delta Glen, Wisconsin). (X-Files)

late 1980s - nuclear war (V For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd)

1990 - The Great Depression of 1990 (The Great Depression of 1990 by Ravi Batra)

1990s - 82.4 percent of the people living on Earth are under 21 years of age. (Logan's Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson)

1990s - Britain is under control of a fascist government (V For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd)

1990s - A team of Russian geologists locates rock from the Tunguska meteorite. The rock contains an organism, probably extraterrestrial in origin, that invades human bodies. It comes to be called the "Black Cancer." Russians begin perfecting a vaccination. Eventually the Conspiracy learns of its existence and begins efforts to acquire samples of the rock and organism. (X-Files)

1990-2010 - colonizing planets, artificial intelligence (Profiles Of The Future by Arthur C Clarke)

1991 - Cats and dogs have died from The Plague. Primates became the most common household animal. They now serve as slaves for the humans. (Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes)

1993-2002 - Alien invasion using shape shifters and black goo is fought by 2 FBI agents. (The X-Files)

mid- to late-1990s - The Eugenics War where genetically enhanced supermen tried to take over the world and where 37 million may have died. (Star Trek)

1996 - Robbie, a robot, made and sold to the Westons. ("Robbie" by Isaac Asimov)

1996 - An alien object, polished and tetrahedral in shape, is found on the moon. When its force field is breached, it quits giving its signal. ("The Sentinel" by Arthur C Clarke)

1998 - NYC passes ordinance to keep robots off street between dusk and dawn. ("Robbie" by Isaac Asimov)

1998 - Lefebre-Yoshida expedition to Mars from Lunar Base. Not the first attempt. ("Robbie" by Isaac Asimov)

1998 - Anarchist, V, brings about the downfall of the British fascist government. (V For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd)

1999 - All nuclear weapons, including those on the moon, are disabled. ("The Long Watch" by Robert H Hienlien)

1999 - The world's population is 7 billion and New York City's is 35 million. Most do without much electricity or water. Eating dog is common. (Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison)

1999 - Earth sends 4 missions to Mars. The first 3 being failures. The fourth mission finds the Martians killed by viruses brought by the first 3 missions. (These Martians look different than the ones that attacked us repeatedly before.) (The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury)

A Planet Of The Apes timeline
A Heinlein Future History timeline
An X-Files timeline

CULTURE/SOCIETY: More Of "The World's Only Reliable Christmas News"

Here's some articles on Christmas by The World Weekly News that I miss last time. I edited the articles down. - OlderMusicGeek

BAT DUO CLIMBS ROCKEFELLER TREE
Posted on Friday, December 12th, 2008
By Gerry Dorsey

NEW YORK, NY – As a means of celebrating both Christmas and Britney’s recent success, the bat pair have done the unthinkable.

Batney and Bat Boy have been spending time in New York City this week, and the trip has culminated in a death-defying act of climbing the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree!

When Bat Boy finally reached up and touched the Swarovski crystal star, the crowd went wild, embracing each other and crying with relief over the duo’s safety.

Unfortunately, the tourists were too swept up in emotion to notice Bat Boy and Batney rolling the star down the side of the tree directly into a waiting pick-up truck. The rascals hopped in and high-fived before Batney sped off, leaving the crowd in stunned silence.

The star was later discovered hanging from the ceiling in the Times Square Toys ‘R Us.

The pointy-eared criminals are still at large.

A link to the complete article

PhD APE JR. ANALYZES SANTA
Posted on Wednesday, December 24th, 2008
By Samuel T. Westbrook

NEW YORK, NY – Holiday shoppers at Macy’s Department Store were surprised this week when PhD Ape brought his son and niece to meet Santa for the first time.

Junior was excited to sit in Santa’s lap and tell him what he wants for Christmas. PhD Ape’s niece Bobo managed to sit still long enough to take a photo with Santa before running off to eat the candy cane picket fence in front of Santa’s Workshop.

“Junior wouldn’t tell me what he asked for,” PhD Ape told reporters outside Macy’s. “But I’m pretty sure it involved bananas, a rope swing, and a Wii Fit.”

“If he’s a good boy, he’ll also have asked for new slippers and a box of Cubans for his father.” PhD Ape said with a wink.

During his lunch break, reporters asked Santa about meeting the young ape children.

“It was a little unnerving, to be honest. I thought they were adorable, sweet little things, but then Junior asked me if I have daddy issues and if that’s why I feel the need to provide children with love and presents.”

“He asked if I crave the approval of my peers. He is definitely his father’s son.”

A link to the original site

NORTH POLE REQUESTS BAILOUT
Posted on Thursday, December 18th, 2008
By Reginald Cunningham III

WASHINGTON, DC - Santa Claus has requested a $14 million federal bailout to avoid a crash which could cancel Christmas.

The struggling world economy and increased costs of reindeer feed are cited as reasons why the North Pole is facing its first ever budget crisis. Santa Claus spoke before Congress this week, requesting a portion of the $700 billion federal bailout fund to make sure Christmas can go ahead as usual.

Some representatives are highly critical of the request. Jim DeMint (R. S.C) said, “Their business model brings in no income, they just give everything away. I’m amazed they got this far.”

Elf Unions are believed to be the cause of a hold up on a final deal.

Critics say that the United Elvin Workers are responsible for the North Pole’s collapse, demanding lavish wages for its workers. However, research shows that the average elf gladly works 16 hours a day in exchange for food and shelter. The last formal complaint made by the union requested five-minute song breaks every hour, extra tinsel allowances and improved handicapped bathroom access.

When asked if he would be using confidential information from his “Naughty List” to sway his opponents, Mr. Claus said “Right now all options are on the table.” Senator Norm Coleman squirmed in his seat.

A link to the complete article

SANTA FROZEN
Posted on Wednesday, December 24th, 2008
By Reginald Cunningham III

NORTH POLE - Santa Claus has yet again been frozen in a block of ice.

Delaying critical Christmas preparation, the elf union is working overtime to thaw out the yule time celebrity.

After going on his traditional pre-holiday bender, Santa drunkenly fell asleep outside the reindeer stables and was quickly frozen in a solid block of ice.

Experts believe he may have been hitting the bottle harder than usual due to his difficulty in receiving a federal bailout. Unsubstantiated reports say that Mrs. Claus may have been one of the unlucky victims taken in by the Madoff financial scheme.

UPDATE: Through a miraculous combination of teamwork and ingenuity, Santa Claus was saved and Christmas proceeded as scheduled.

Numerous attempts to free Santa from inside a giant block of ice failed. Blowtorches refused to start as a surprise blizzard came roaring through. Hammers and chisels made hardly a dent in the solid ice.

Finally, a daring combination of fresh chocolate chip cookies and gamma radiation saved the day. Head of the North Pole research department Sprinkles Von Bohrstein came up with the holiday saving idea to combine Santa’s favorite treat with a gamma powered “Cheer Emitter.” Mrs. Claus made up a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies and placed them in front of the frozen Santa. Then Von Bohrstein aimed the experimental device at him, hoping the ice could be broken from the inside out.

Immediately results could be seen as Santa become hotter from the radiation and began to grow in size. With the thunderous crash of ice the mutated Santa Claus shattered his icy prison with a bellowing “Ho HO HOOOO!”

Other Holidays articles:
OBATMA CELEBRATES KWANZAA
MADOFF SPENDS HANNUKAH WITH ALIEN


A link to all my Christmas posts

Merry Christmas or whatever holiday you're celebrating!
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OlderMusicGeek's Christmas QuickMix
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SCIENCE: Gorillas Lovers Lock Eyes

This is form Time. I found it through my NetVibes home page. - OlderMusicGeek

Gorillas in a Tryst
Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008
By BRYAN WALSH

Leah was staring at George. A series of rapid, pulsating whimpers escaped her lips. She then drew near to George, who locked gazes with her, his face unreadable. His shoulders were relaxed, and when Leah was within his grasp he opened his right arm and embraced her. Leah lay on the ground and George looked into her eyes. He bent over to lie on her, while Leah wrapped her legs around George's waist...

Is this a missing letter from the Penthouse Forum? The steamy section of a well-thumbed romance novel? Try neither: The scene is actually taken from the April 2007 issue of the Gorilla Gazette, a primatology journal. Leah and George aren't star-crossed lovers caught in mid-tryst. They're western gorillas in Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo, observed by primatologists whose interest is far more scientific than it is prurient. There's reason to watch — Leah and George's moment in the Mbeli Bai forest clearing, captured on film by a team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute in Germany and the Wildlife Conservation Society, is one of the only times gorillas have been seen mating face-to-face, rather than face-to-back. "It's an extremely rare behavior," says Thomas Breuer, the primatologist who photographed the pair through a telelens. "We haven't seen this in 13 years of observation. If you look at the photos it's a very nice piece of action."

I have, and it is. But what does the act mean? Is it a one-off, or the start of a gorilla sexual revolution? Breuer is hesitant to draw any conclusions, noting that scientists observe just a sliver of the life of wild gorillas, but he speculates that face-to-face mating (also known as "ventro-ventral copulation," for the Latinists out there) might engender a deeper relationship between the silverback male, George, and Leah, the female. After the mating was finished (roughly 2 mins., about par for the course for your average silverback), Breuer even observed George holding Leah's hand. Apparently, even the world's largest primates like the occasional cuddle. "Maybe there's a way the act forms a kind of bond between the silverback and the female," he says. "But we just don't know."

That might be unlikely — male gorillas, after all, are happily polygynous, mating with multiple females in their group. (It's good to be the silverback.) But there might just be something special about Leah. Breuer had earlier observed Leah (named inexactly after Princess Leia of Star Wars) using a crude tool — another first — testing out the depth of a pond with a long stick, rather than simply diving in. The very humanness of her experimentation struck him. "That observation was so interesting," says Breuer. "Very often they find solutions to problems in the same way as you or I would."

Perhaps that's why we find such stories so fascinating. More than just our neighbors on the evolutionary tree, primates are our doubles in the animal world. We look into their eyes and we see ourselves, and even experienced scientists who've spent years observing them struggle to avoid falling into the trap of anthropomorphism. It would be nice to believe, on a Valentine's Day, that when George and Leah lock eyes, they know a little bit of what we might feel when we look upon our loved one. And perhaps they do. But they don't need to. The life of a wild gorilla, caught only in glimpses from a distance, has richness and mystery that is wholly sufficient to itself, and which we'll never fully know.



A link to the original article