Links are at the end.
It’s Earth Day. Try not to despoil it for 24 hours.
Today’s is an abbreviated edition.
“Hello there! I am Maisy the Fangtooth Fish.”
England’s National Marine Aquarium has a workbook for young’uns, featuring some of your kid’s favorite aliens.1
“PPP’s latest national poll finds the American public differing along party lines on many conspiracy theories involving issues like global warming and the Iraq War”
10 years ago almost to the day, Public Policy Polling released the results of their survey on what they described as “conspiracy theories,” which included several items which aren’t actually conspiracy theories, such as “do aliens exist?” and did the Bushies lie about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq so they could start a war. One can come down on either side of the first question without it being a conspiracy, and the answer to the second was never in doubt.2
Among the questions they asked was whether shape-shifting reptilian overlords control politics. Only 4% of respondents said yes, which at the time amounted to a bit more than 12 million people over the age of 18, which coincidentally (or not!) was exactly the same as the number of shape-shifting reptilians in positions of authority world-wide. Both numbers will have increased in absolute terms since then.
Another question which one would really have to parse to reduce it to a conspiracy theory was whether the government controls minds with television; I think we all know that if they don’t, they sure give it a good try. Lots of organizations, which of course includes ones with alien reptiles in management roles, try with varying degrees of success.
Only 15% responded yes to that one, though.
One in every 25 people you run across are hip to the lizards. The lizard conspiracy is a good one, but so many of its adherents are paranoid anti-Semites.
“It’s not hard to overlay a human interpretation of grief or remembrance onto it, and there’s no behaviourist here to tell me not to anthropomorphise”
Walking to Aldebaran is a fine novella from Arkady Tchaikovsky; the narrator here is watching some to-him aliens doing something to-him human. The book is available at many fine libraries and not very many independent booksellers. It deals with the nature of humanity and the importance of managing anger and appetites.
Music
Both these bands remind me a bit of Big Thief, one of my current favorites. illuminati hotties is still extant; not sure about Great Grandpa.
Doctor TK, you might like both.
illuminati hotties, “Let Me Do One More;”3 Great Grandpa, "Four of Arrows."4
That, Comrades, is all there is
Today conspires against writing, but if you like the little bit there is, please share it around and consider subscribing if you’ve not—it’s free unless you want to pay.
Take care, be well or get there.