War of the Worlds

No, not red vs blue, think bigger! In 1898 HG Wells, one of the founding fathers of the Sci-Fi genre “gifted” us with some incredibly imaginative thinking about an alien invasion, bringing a whole new (ahem) alien concept into sharp focus and leaving us howling at whatever planet suited our fancy.

It took the genius of Orson Wells to turn that story into a radio drama in 1939, when his troop of players, the Mercury Theater, performed a live version of it on the air. This time, it was far more realistic. Using cutting edge tech – radio broadcast – and cutting edge techniques – sound effects, live orchestra, inspired performances – he simulated an invasion of Earth by wicked, up-to-no-good Martian invaders, whose advanced weaponry promptly flattened our puny defenses, dispatching with great swaths of humanity, as on-scene reporters, bystanders and military brass helplessly intoned the bad news in real time. 

One of the coolest concepts that gave the show a more believable bent was to use a small live orchestra, whose job was to play insipid dance music, simulating a normal evening radio broadcast, only to be repeatedly interrupted with breathless reports uttering “We interrupt this broadcast to bring you this special bulletin” or even more convincing: “We now return to our program of evening music…” at which point the (really awful) dance music midst would be cut back into.

The effect was electrifying, so much so that it caused actual panic in the streets, with people spilling out of their homes, armed with guns and pitchforks. Heady stuff.

Now comes the latest iteration of the show (which was redone as  2005 Spielberg feature with Tom Cruise), a War of the Worlds OPERA (!) staged by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, based on the Mercury Theater broadcast, based on the book. The company has gone so far as to schedule not only the premier performance at Disney Hall in downtown LA, but a simulcast at three additional yet-to-be-announced outdoor public spaces, where a live actor will take to a makeshift stage and perform along with the live show. This will be done via loudspeakers mounted on poles built to hold the original 50-year old air raid sirens that were installed back in the days of the Red Scare. Quaint!

Just bought tickets (including the $14 per ticket convenience charge) and can’t wait to go next week. Stay tuned for broadcast interruptions.

Read More

RIP, Cassini

We’ve now witnessed the passing of NASA’S greatest explorer, the Satellite Cassini, which flew nearly a billion stress-causing but mostly trouble-free miles to its destination, Saturn, sending spectacular photos and info every step of the way.

The heroes of this mission, the engineers and architects of the flight, sat at their consoles with tears in their eyes as they issued the command for Cassini’s final descent towards Saturn’s surface. There was no expectation of a landing. The satellite would be ripped to pieces as it entered Saturn’s gravitational force and encountered airborne debris. It was simply a miracle it lasted as long as it did, interweaving with bands of meteorites, orbit after orbit, just skirting the outer limit of those particles, per minutely calculated circles of concentricity.

In the end, we got evidence of 62 moons orbiting Saturn. Sixty-Two. Each with its own set of peculiar personalities, from oblong shapes to the presence of liquid substances on Titan, famous for its role in Arthur C Clarke’s 2001. Wait, I think it was his book “2010.” In which a message was received inviting Earth to come and explore, but to stay offa Titan.

So Arthur – he knew. Fascinating mind in that human. Which begs the question: What if he REALLY knew? That man, if you watch the videos of him espousing on space travel and life on other worlds, spoke with an air of intellectual engagement and… certainty… you didn’t hear from his contemporaries.

Wouldn’t it be fitting that the guy who helped inspire and invent modern scifi film-making, was actually revealed to be a Visitor someday? With all the evidence, all the logic that supports UFO theory, who better to be the chosen spokesman of the 20^th century? And who will be the next?

Read More