#the dark planet 1989

[fullcolorfright]

The Dark Planet (1989, dir. Richard Corben & Christopher Wheate, American)

[idiosyncraticrednebula]

Ngl, I would love to see a Lego video game adaptation of all the Disney Princess movies, although I have zero idea how the devs at Lego could make that work properly. If not that, then at least an adaptation of the Renaissance movies or even some of the Post-Renaissance/Experimental and Revival ones. A combo of the three eras, perhaps? The possibilities are endless!

[batmandarkknightuniverse]

My Top 10 Favorite Tim Burton Films

[describingcolours]

"well youve had it 6 years that's a good amount of time for that kind of thing to work"

"you should be grateful you got 3 years of use out of that thing, I'm lucky if mine last a year haha"

listen, in 1977 nasa launched the voyager spacecrafts to take advantage of a planetary alignment that takes place every 175 years. These 2 crafts were planned to flyby the outer planets of our solar system and gather data on them to send back to us. Voyager 2 launched first on the 20th of August despite its name because it was planned to reach our gas giants after its counterpart voyager 1, which launched a little later on the 5th of September.

The voyager mission was planned to end 12 years later in 1989. In that time, voyager 1 and 2 passed by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. They discovered new moons, confirmed theories about Saturn's rings, found the first active volcanoes found outside the earth, and they take close-up images of planets only seen at that point from telescopes.

On the 25th of August 1989, voyager 2 encounters Neptune, the last planet in our solar system the voyagers will meet. And that was that. End of mission. Now obsolete.

~

Less than 1 year later on valentine's day in 1990 voyager 1 looked back on the planet that had built it and sent with it a world's worth of hopes and dreams and took a picture. We called it the solar system family portrait and in it, we see ourselves. The pale blue dot nestled in the darkness of space

And then commands were sent to shut down their cameras. Preserve fuel.

35 years after launch, in 2012 voyager 1 sent back to us data about interstellar space. The very first manmade object to enter it.

41 years after launch voyager 2 did the same. Still operational, still going. Still sending back to us invaluable data, teaching us about our own solar system and the suns influence in our local bubble of space.

They are expected to continue to operate until the year 2025 - almost 50 whole years after they were launched and 36 years after their mission was supposed to have ended.

48 years of harsh space travel, battered by solar winds, pulled by gravity but fast enough just to escape, pelted by who knows how much space dust and radiation.

And even after that, they still have a purpose. Each craft was given a golden record. A disc filled with human knowledge and knowledge of humans and the planet they live on. Greetings and well-wishes to any prospective extraterrestrial life that could potentially pick it up. Co-ordinates, an invite. Samples of our music, the things we love, sounds of the earth, a story of our world. The surf, the wind, birds and whales, images of a mother, our moon, a sunset. Long after the voyager spacecrafts go dark, probably long after we are gone, they will still be doing their job; educating a species about our very tiny corner of the galaxy.

They are nasa's longest-running operation.

And it was all done using 70s technology.

So excuse me if I want a phone that lasts more than 2 years or a vacuum cleaner that doesn't break down after 6, or god fucking forbid, a refrigerator that will keep my food cold my entire fucking lifetime.

[wonders-of-the-cosmos]

On the night 177 years ago on Sept. 23-24, 1846, astronomers discovered Neptune, the eighth planet orbiting our Sun. The discovery was made based on mathematical calculations of its predicted position due to observed perturbations in the orbit of the planet Uranus. The discovery was made using a telescope since Neptune is too faint to be visible to the naked eye, and astronomers soon discovered a moon orbiting the planet. More than a century later, a second moon was discovered orbiting the planet. Our knowledge of distant Neptune greatly increased from the scientific observations made during Voyager 2’s flyby in 1989, including the discovery of five additional moons and confirmation of dark rings orbiting the planet.

This image of Neptune was taken by Voyager 2 less than five days before the probe's closest approach of the planet on Aug. 25, 1989, and shows the "Great Dark Spot" — a storm in Neptune's atmosphere — and the bright, light-blue smudge of clouds that accompanies the storm.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

[beardedmrbean]

NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft is alone drifting through interstellar space after a communications breakdown left it unable to receive commands or transmit data back to Earth.

Communications with Voyager 2, which is currently around 12.4 billion miles (19.9 billion kilometers) from Earth, were severed as a result of planned commands. These commands rotated the spacecraft's antenna two degrees away from our planet, enough to cut its links to the ground antennas of NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN).

As a result, Voyager 2 is no longer sending data back to the DSN, and mission control on Earth can't send any commands back to the interstellar spacecraft.

Not all is lost, however. Voyager 2, launched in 1977, is programmed to reset its orientation several times a year to keep its antenna directed at Earth. Another reset is scheduled for Oct. 15 this year, and this should result in Voyager 2 resuming contact with its ground control. Until that time, operators  expect the spacecraft to stick to its planned trajectory. 

Voyager 2 was launched from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on August 20, 1977. It made history on Dec. 10, 2018, when it became the second spacecraft to leave the solar system and enter interstellar space. 

Six years prior to this, its sister craft Voyager 1 became the first man-made craft to journey beyond the influence of our star, the sun. Voyager 1 is currently around 15 billion miles (24 billion km) from Earth and remains in contact with our planet.

Both Voyager 1 and 2 were designed to find and study objects at the edge of the solar system, according to NASA. In the course of doing this, Voyager 2 has been responsible for a number of scientific firsts. It is the only spacecraft that has conducted close-up studies of all four giant planets of the solar system — the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn and the ice giants Neptune and Uranus.

In Jan. 1986, Voyager 2 became the first human-made object to fly past Uranus. During that trip, Voyager 2 discovered 10 new moons and two new rings around the ice giant. In Aug. 1989, it also became the first spacecraft to buzz past Neptune, and while there, it discovered five moons and four rings. While studying Neptune, Voyager 2 also discovered an 8,100-mile by 4,100-mile (13,036 km by 6,600 km) cyclonic storm with winds of up to 1,300 miles per hour (2,092 km/h) raging on the ice giant, which has been dubbed the Great Dark Spot.

In April 2023, NASA announced that Voyager 2 would postpone a planned instrument shutdown by at least three years, continuing to gather valuable deep space data until at least 2026. 

"We are definitely interested in keeping as many science instruments operating as long as possible," Voyager project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in southern California, Linda Spilker, said in a statement issued on Wednesday, April 26.

[goryhorroor]

What are some underrated horror films? I have watched all the popular ones and need more! Thanks!

mentally prepare yourself because im ready to give a gumbo list (this has been sitting in my inbox because i had to ask all my friends and this is the list we came up with):

curse of the demon (1957) the serpent and the rainbow (1988) paranoiac (1963) the old dark house (1932) countess dracula (1971) golem (1920) haxan (1968) island of lost souls (1932) mad love (1935) mill of the stone women (1960) the walking dead (1936) the ghoul (1933) tourist trap (1979) the seventh victim (1943) ganja & hess (1973) dead of night (1945) a bay of blood (1971) let's scare jessica to death (1971) alice sweet alice (1976) the deadly spawn (1983) the brain that wouldn't die (1962) all about evil (2010) black roses (1988) the baby (1973) parents (1989) a blade in the dark (1983) blood lake (1987) solo survivor (1984) lemora: a child's tale of supernatural (1973) eyes of fire (1983) epitaph (2007) nightmare city (1980) slugs (1988) death smiles on a murderer (1973) intruder (1989) short night of glass dolls (1971) the children (2008) alone in the dark (1982) end of the line (2007) the queen of spades (1949) the housemaid (1960) tormented (1960) captain clegg (1962) the long hair of death (1964) dark age (1987) the crawling eye (1958) the kindred (1987) the gorgon (1964) wicked city (1987) baba yaga (1973) 976-evil (1988) bliss (2019) decoder (1984) amer (2009) the visitor (1979) day of the animals (1977) leptirica (1973) planet of the vampires (1965) lips of blood (1975) berberian sound studio (2012) a wounded fawn (2022) matango (1963) the mansion of madness (1973) the killing kind (1973) symptoms (1974) morgiana (1972) whispering corridors (1998) dead end (2003) infested (2023) (this just came out but im adding it) triangle (2009) the premonition (1976) you'll like my mother (1972) the mafu cage (1978) white of the eye (1987) mister designer (1987) alison's birthday (1981) the suckling (1990) graveyard shift (1987) messiah of evil (1987) out of the dark (1988) seven footprints to satan (1929) burn witch burn (1962) the damned (1962) pin (1988) horrors of malformed men (1969) mr vampire (1985) the vampire doll (1970) contracted (2013) impetigore (2019) eyeball (1975) malatestas carnival of blood (1973) the witch who came from the sea (1976) i drink your blood (1970) nothing underneath (1985) sauna (2008) seance (2000) come true (2020) the last winter (2006) night tide (1961) the brain (1988) dementia (1955) don't go to sleep (1982) otogirisou (2001) reincarnation (2005) mutant (1984) spookies (1986) shock waves (1977) bloody hell (2020) the den (2013) wer (2013) olivia (1983) enigma (1987) graverobbers (1988) manhattan baby (1982) evil in the woods (1986) death bed: the bed that eats (1977) cathy's curse (1977) creatures from the abyss (1994) the dorm that dripped blood (1982) the witching (1993) madman (1981) vampire's embrace (1991) blood beat (1983) the alien factor (1978) savage weekend (1979) blood sisters (1987) deadly love (1987) playroom (1990) die screaming marianne (1971) pledge night (1990) night train to terror (1985) the devonsville terror (1983) ghostkeeper (1981) special effects (1984) blood feast (163) the child (1977) godmonster of indian flats (1973) blood rage (1980) the unborn (1991) screamtime (1983) the outing (1987) the being (1983) silent madness (1984) lurkers (1988) forver evil (1987) squirm (1976) death screams (1982) jack-o (1995) haunts (1976) a night to dismember (1983) creaturealm: demons wake (1998) the curse (1987) daddy's deadly darling (1973) nightwing (1979) the laughing dead (1989) the severed arm (1973) the orphan (1979) not like us (1995) prime evil (1988) the monstrosity (1987) dark ride (2006) antibirth (2016) iced (1988) the soultangler (1987) twisted nightmare (1987) puffball (2007) biohazard (1985) cameron's closet (1988) beast from haunted cave (1959) the she-creature (1956)

[medra-gonbites]

Baldur's Gate 3 Companion Head Canon Disney Animation Edition

I think most people of my generation (I'm fairly old I suppose) and culture have a favourite disney animation film. Herego, of course I tried to guess which one it would be for our favourite weirdos.

My favourite is in there. Is yours too?

Lae’zel | Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Much like her, Stitch landed on a planet whose inhabitants won't let her murder and destroy stuff as she wishes. But she got attached and now you cannot get rid of her. Ohana means family and family means she’ll get you to that goddamn crèche.

Shadowheart | The Fox and the Hound (1981)

A story about adoption and friendship; what's not to like. Especially the friends to ennemies back to friends bit; weirdly relatable for her. Some scenes make her cry so much she needs to pause and cast restoration on herself. At least, there is a happy end.

Gale | Tangled (2010)

Yearning for something more while cloistered in a tower and being saved by a charming doofus. That's Gale right there: surrounded by sassy pets and singing by the window while brushing his luscious hair.

Astarion | Cinderella (1950)

He hates that he loves it. It’s practically his life, what with the terrible siblings and sadistic mother. Except he wouldn't need rats and mice to make a stunning dress… And he'd probably eat them… But safe from that, essentially the same.

Karlarch | Big Hero 6 (2014)

A tale of friendship, grieving and forgiveness. Being part of a little group of wannabe heroes for whom one would give everything; yeah that's what she's talking about. She might not be white and round but Baymax is her and she is it.

Wyll | The Little Mermaid (1989)

Save someone despite ones own safety? Check. Signing a very unbalanced contract that guarantees one would be screwed over? Check. Daddy issue. Check. Songs. Check, check, check! It's like he wrote the damn thing.

Halsin | Bambi (1942)

He's sad that there are no bears in this one, but other than that it's an accurate depiction of what he's seen in the forest while in wild shape (yes, even the ice skating bit! Rabbits do that).

Minthara | The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

It's gritty, dark and twisted. She loves the music and takes great pleasure watching Frollo tumble to his death in a lava pool. Good smiting is good smiting

Jaheira | 101 Dalmatians (1961)

In a sense, isn't she responsible for a bunch of puppies and trying to save them from being skinned alive? Yes. Yes, she is.

Minsc | Ratatouille (2007)

He almost sued when he watched it the first time because he felt plagiarized: That's how he cooks with boo (except boo uses the hair on his back).

Gortash | The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

There is engineering, scheming, and disguise. Although to him it's a drama because the villain, the suave and manipulative Rattigan, who's the hero in his eyes, dies tragically and prematurely without carrying out his masterplan.

Orin | Aladdin (1992)

I have no explanation but I just know it's Aladdin.

What do you think? Any other character and their favourite Disney you can think about ?

[book--brackets]

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (1937)

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. Written for J.R.R. Tolkien’s own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when it was first published in 1937. Now recognized as a timeless classic, this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan (2005-2009)

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. 

She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena - Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (1954-1955)

In a sleepy village in the Shire, a young hobbit is entrusted with an immense task. He must make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ruling Ring of Power - the only thing that prevents the Dark Lord's evil dominion.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis (1950-1956)

Four adventurous siblings—Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie— step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia, a land frozen in eternal winter and enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change . . . and a great sacrifice.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1943)

The Little Prince is a classic tale of equal appeal to children and adults. On one level it is the story of an airman's discovery, in the desert, of a small boy from another planet - the Little Prince of the title - and his stories of intergalactic travel, while on the other hand it is a thought-provoking allegory of the human condition.

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini (2002-2011, 2023)

When fifteen-year-old Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. 

Overnight his simple life is shattered, and, gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save--or destroy--the Empire.

Time Quintet by Madeleine L'Engle (1962-1989)

It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger. 

Wild nights are my glory, the unearthly stranger told them. I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I'll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract. 

Folk of the Air by Holly Black (2018-2020)

Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever. 

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe. 

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. 

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him--and face the consequences. 

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab (2020)

France, 1714: In a moment of desperation, a young woman named Adeline meets a dangerous stranger and makes a terrible mistake. 

As she realizes the limitations of her Faustian bargain-being able to live forever, without being able to be remembered by anyone she sees- Addie chooses to flee her small village, as everything she once held dear is torn away. 

But there are still dreams to be had, and a life to live, and she is determined to find excitement and satisfaction in the wide, beckoning world-even if she will be doomed to be alone forever. 

Or not quite alone-as every year, on her birth-day, the alluring Luc comes to visit, checking to see if she is ready to give up her soul. Their darkly thrilling game stretches through the ages, seeing Addie witness history and fight to regain herself as she crosses oceans and tries on various lives. 

It will be three hundred years before she stumbles into a hidden bookstore and discovers someone who can remember her name-and suddenly, everything changes again. 

Circe by Madeline Miller (2018)

 the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not obviously powerful like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur; Daedalus and his doomed son, Icarus; the murderous Medea; and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or the mortals she has come to love.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

With the addition of Saturn, the James Webb Space Telescope has finally captured all four of our Solar System's giant worlds.

JWST's observations of the ringed planet, taken on 25 June 2023, have been cleaned up and processed, giving us a spectacular view of Saturn's glorious rings, shining golden in the darkness.

By contrast, the disk of Saturn is quite dark in the new image, lacking its characteristic bands of cloud, appearing a relatively featureless dim brown.

This is because of the wavelengths in which JWST sees the Universe – near- and mid-infrared.

These wavelengths of light are usually invisible to the naked human eye, but they can reveal a lot.

For example, thermal emission – associated with heat – is dominated by infrared wavelengths.

When you're trying to learn about what's going on inside a planet wrapped in thick, opaque clouds, studying its temperature is a valuable way to go about it.

Some elements and chemical processes emit infrared light, too. Seeing the planets of the Solar System in wavelengths outside the narrow range admitted by our vision can tell us a lot more about what they have going on.

Saturn

As we saw last week, when we clapped eyes on the raw JWST Saturn images, the observations involved filters that dimmed the light of the planet, while allowing light from the rings and moons to shine brightly.

This is so a team led by planetary scientist Leigh Fletcher of the University of Leicester in the UK can study the rings and moons of Saturn in more detail.

They hope to identify new ring structures and, potentially, even new moons orbiting the gas giant.

The image above shows three of Saturn's moons, Dione, Enceladus and Tethys, to the left of the planet.

Although dim, the disk of the planet also reveals information about Saturn's seasonal changes.

The northern hemisphere is reaching the end of its 7-year summer, but the polar region is dark. An unknown aerosol process could be responsible.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere around the edges of the disk appears bright, which could be the result of methane fluorescence, or the glow of trihydrogen, or both. Further analysis could tell us which.

Jupiter

Jupiter was the first of the giant planets to get the JWST treatment, with images dropping in August of last year – and boy howdy were they stunning.

The spectacular detail seen in the planet's turbulent clouds and storms was perhaps not entirely surprising.

However, we also got treated to some rarely seen features: the permanent aurorae that shimmer at Jupiter's poles, invisible in optical wavelengths, and Jupiter's tenuous rings.

We also saw two of the planet's smaller, lesser-known moons, Amalthea and Adrastea, with fuzzy blobs of distant galaxies in the background.

"This one image sums up the science of our Jupiter system program, which studies the dynamics and chemistry of Jupiter itself, its rings, and its satellite system," said astronomer Thierry Fouchet of Paris Observatory in France, who co-led the observations.

Neptune

Observations of Neptune arrived in the latter half of September 2022.

Because Neptune is so very far away, it tends to get a little neglected; you're probably used to seeing, if anything, the images taken by Voyager 2 when it flew past in 1989.

JWST's observations gave us, for the first time in more than 30 years, a new look at the ice giant's dainty rings – and the first ever in infrared.

It also revealed seven of Neptune's 14 known moons, and bright spots in its atmosphere.

Most of those are storm activity, but if you look closely, you'll see a bright band circling the planet's equator.

This had never been seen before and could be, scientists say, a signature of Neptune's global atmospheric circulation.

Uranus

Uranus is also pretty far away, but it's also a huge weirdo. Although very similar to Neptune, the two planets are slightly different hues, which is something of a mystery.

Uranus is also tipped sideways, which is challenging to explain too.

JWST's observations, released in April 2023, aren't solving these conundrums.

However, they have revealed 11 of the 13 structures of the incredible Uranian ring system and an unexplained atmospheric brightening over the planet's polar cap.

JWST has a lot to say about the early Universe; but it's opening up space science close to home, too.

As its first year of operations comes to an end, we can't help but speculate what new wonders will be to come in the years ahead.

Top: Jupiter - Neptune / Bottom: Uranus - Saturn

Credit: NASA

[apod]

2024 September 6

Ringed Ice Giant Neptune Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, NIRCam

Explanation: Ringed ice giant Neptune lies near the center of this sharp near-infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope. The dim and distant world is the farthest planet from the Sun, about 30 times farther away than planet Earth. But in the stunning Webb view, the planet's dark and ghostly appearance is due to atmospheric methane that absorbs infrared light. High altitude clouds that reach above most of Neptune's absorbing methane easily stand out in the image though. Coated with frozen nitrogen, Neptune's largest moon Triton is brighter than Neptune in reflected sunlight, seen at the upper left sporting the Webb telescope's characteristic diffraction spikes. Including Triton, seven of Neptune's 14 known moons can be identified in the field of view. Neptune's faint rings are striking in this space-based planetary portrait. Details of the complex ring system are seen here for the first time since Neptune was visited by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in August 1989.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240906.html

[livingforstars]

The Clouds of Neptune - May 7th, 1996.

"These Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images reveal glimpses of the dynamic atmosphere of Neptune, the Solar System's most distant gas giant planet. The first close-up of Neptune's clouds was provided by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft during its August 1989 flyby, giving a tantalisingly brief look. From its vantage point in Earth orbit, HST can patiently watch in detail as the planet's massive weather systems change over time. These three pictures, taken during October and November in 1994 when Neptune was only 2.8 billion miles distant, show the planet's characteristic aqua-blue coloured atmosphere highlighted by pink, high altitude clouds and streaked with dark bands. The aqua-blue colour is caused by gaseous methane, which absorbs red light. Here, the high altitude clouds were intentionally given a pink tint to indicate that they were imaged in near infrared light - in true colour images they would appear white."

[futa69]

Even though it has never really been directly mentioned or referenced, elements of the ancient astronaut theory have influenced our popular culture for a hundred years. Practically, everything from books, movies, television shows and video games. Since we will never be able to definitely prove it here on Earth and we're also on the verge of going back to the moon, establishing colonies on Mars, mining the asteroid belt and exploring deep space, we might actually find physical evidence of advanced civilizations that existed for over thousands of years ago out there in the galaxy. Whether we like it or not, all of this is going to happen eventually. So, we should definitely have this conversation right now. The future of the human race may very well depend on this discovery.

▪︎Edison's Conquest of Mars (1898)

▪︎The Call of Cthulhu (1926)

▪︎Analog Science Fiction and Fact (1930)

▪︎At the Mountains of Madness (1931)

▪︎Childhood's End (1953)

▪︎Forbidden Planet (1956)

▪︎Quartermass and the Pit (1958)

▪︎The Twilight Zone (1959)

▪︎The Sirens of Titan (1959)

▪︎The Flintstones (1960)

▪︎Doctor Who (1963)

▪︎Hercules Against the Moon Men (1964)

▪︎Known Space (1964)

▪︎Star Trek (1966)

▪︎2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

▪︎Chariots of the Gods (1968)

▪︎The Bible & Flying Saucers (1968)

▪︎Passport to Magonia (1969)

▪︎Horror Express (1972)

▪︎Rendezvous with Rama (1973)

▪︎Land of the Lost (1974)

▪︎The Spaceships of Ezekiel (1974)

▪︎The Outer Space Connection (1975)

▪︎Space: 1999 (1975)

▪︎The Sirius Mystery (1976)

▪︎The Earth Chronicles (1976)

▪︎Star Wars (1977)

▪︎Mysteries of the Gods (1977)

▪︎Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

▪︎The Manna Machine (1978)

▪︎Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

▪︎Battlestar Galactica (1978)

▪︎Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1978)

▪︎Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)

▪︎Alien (1979)

▪︎Hangar 18 (1980)

▪︎Valis (1981)

▪︎The Thing (1982)

▪︎Xevious (1982)

▪︎Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982)

▪︎The Transformers (1984)

▪︎Cocoon (1985)

▪︎Bio Booster Armor Guyver (1985)

▪︎The Legend of Zelda (1986)

▪︎Predator (1987)

▪︎Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)

▪︎Red Dwarf (1988)

▪︎The Gods of Eden (1989)

▪︎Moontrap (1989)

▪︎Spriggan (1989)

▪︎Total Recall (1990)

▪︎Babylon 5 (1993)

▪︎The X-Files (1993)

▪︎Stargate (1994)

▪︎Neon Genesis Evangelion (1994)

▪︎Fingerprints of the Gods (1995)

▪︎Encounter with Tiber (1996)

▪︎Final Fantasy (1997)

▪︎Earth: Final Conflict (1997)

▪︎The Fifth Element (1997)

▪︎Space Island One (1998)

▪︎Naked Pictures of Famous People (1998)

▪︎The Giza Power Plant (1998)

▪︎Heritage Trilogy (1998)

▪︎Dilbert (1999)

▪︎Futurama (1999)

▪︎Star Ancestors (2000)

▪︎Mission to Mars (2000)

▪︎Halo (2001)

▪︎Ice Age (2002)

▪︎Alien vs. Predator (2004)

▪︎The Cygnus Mystery (2006)

▪︎The Orion Zone (2007)

▪︎Mass Effect (2007)

▪︎Assassin's Creed (2007)

▪︎Outlander (2008)

▪︎Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

▪︎Marvel Cinematic Universe (2008)

▪︎Spore (2008)

▪︎Knowing (2009)

▪︎The Fourth Kind (2009)

▪︎Ancient Aliens (2009)

▪︎Borderlands (2009)

▪︎The Great Airship of 1897 (2010)

▪︎Dark Void (2010)

▪︎The Ancient Alien Question (2011)

▪︎Life And Death On Mars (2011)

▪︎Cowboys and Aliens (2011)

▪︎Battle: Los Angeles (2011)

▪︎Paul (2011)

▪︎John Carter (2012)

▪︎Prometheus (2012)

▪︎Iron Sky (2012)

▪︎Man of Steel (2013)

▪︎Jupiter Ascending (2015)

▪︎The Great Wall (2016)

▪︎Life (2017)

▪︎Beyond the Sky (2018)

▪︎Resident Alien (2021)

▪︎Moonfall (2022)

▪︎Prey (2022)

▪︎65 (2023)

[titusandronicusonice]

What I read in 2024

Non-Fiction

History and Class Consciousness (1923) by Georg Lukács – okay, I didn't finish this book. BUT, I'm still mentioning it because the 80-ish pages I did read were so terribly influential on me that I couldn't not include it. Considered one of the foundational texts of 'Western Marxism', the first three essays (especially the one on 'Class Consciousness') show just how dynamic historical materialism can be.

'Theses on the Philosophy of History' (1940), and 'The Author as Producer' (1934) by Walter Benjamin – I read in a John Berger piece that Benjamin wanted to compose a book made up entirely of quotations. I think about that a lot.

Marxism and Form (1971) by Fredric Jameson – Jameson's account of the aesthetic theories of Adorno, Benjamin, Marcuse, Bloch, Lukács, and Sartre, plus an extended account of what dialectical criticism is and can be. (That last chapter is an expansion of his excellent 'Metacommentary' essay which you should read right now.)

Marxist Modernism (2024) by Gillian Rose – A transcript of Rose's 1979 lectures on Frankfurt School critical theory from Lukács to Adorno by way of Benjamin, Bloch, and Brecht. The lecture format makes it far more approachable than Marxism and Form but necessarily more simplistic. Regardless, Rose does a phenomenal job contextualising every theory discussed, outlining the unifying threads that might not be evident when approaching each thinker individually.

The Transition from Feudalism to Capitalism by Rodney Hilton and others – Collecting the 1950s transition debate and complementary material. All your favourites are here: Sweezy, Dobb, Hilton, Hill, Lefebvre, Hobsbawm. I particularly loved the essay by Kohachiro Takahashi.

A Singular Modernity (2002) by Fredric Jameson – A rigorous theorisation of 'modernity' and 'modernism'. All your favourites are closet dialecticians. I devoured this in a week, so good.

Fiction

Guards! Guards! (1989) by Terry Pratchett – My second Discworld novel after having read The Colour of Magic 5 years ago. A joy to read.

Notebook of a Return to the Native Land (1939) by Aimé Césaire – A long poem tracing the coming-into-consciousness of an anti-colonial subject. Rich with history and anger. 'I would go to this land of mine and I would say to it: "Embrace me without fear ... And if all I can do is speak, it is for you I shall speak."'

Hard to Be a God (1964) by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky – Future communist spacemen observe a planet whose civilisation is stuck in its Middle Ages (or, more accurately, backsliding into quasi-fascist reaction). A favourite, feels like it was written specifically for me.

The Tombs of Atuan (1971), The Farthest Shore (1972) by Ursula K. Le Guin – The second and third books of Earthsea. Tombs was excellent, probably the high point of the trilogy, or at least the only novel I felt was truly subversive of contemporary fantasy. The Farthest Shore I very much liked, but the narrative was far more conventional, if not conservative.

Mother Courage and Her Children (1939) by Bertolt Brecht – No one does it like him. I would do anything to be able to see the 2006 Meryl Streep production.

The City and the City (2009) by China Miéville – My first Miéville. This scratched a very specific itch for me, looking forward to when I have the time to start his New Crobuzon series.

Shadow & Claw (1980, 1981) by Gene Wolfe – The first half of the Book of the New Sun. A favourite, if not the favourite.

Melville (1941) by Jean Giono – Something between an essay and novella: a fictionalised account of Melville's time in London in 1849 and his decision to write Moby-Dick. I had very high hopes coming into this but it was not very great. Too hetero.

Heart of Darkness (1899) by Joseph Conrad – I quite enjoyed reading this so I say in the most neutral way possible that this was the longest hundred pages I've ever read.

Gardens of the Moon (1999) by Steven Erikson – The first book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. I wanted a huge fantasy world to get invested in (googled 'books like Elden Ring') and this one stood out to me. Erikson's prose left a lot to be desired, but the worldbuilding and plot construction were great. I'll probably read one of these books a year; will provide a series overview in 2034.

Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) (2019) by Hazel Jane Plante – An elegy for a trans woman by a trans woman, told through encyclopaedia entries about her favourite (fictional) show. So much life packed into this short book.

To the Lighthouse (1927) by Virginia Woolf – A favourite. From this novel alone Woolf ranks among the best prose stylists I've read.

Bartleby, the Scrivener (1853) by Herman Melville – [edit, forgot to mention this one]

[electronickingdomfox]

"The Cry of the Onlies" review

Novel from 1989, by Judy Klass. A merely adequate entry, that touches upon the basics of your standard TOS episode: a complicated political situation which Kirk must resolve, a battle in space against a rogue ship, Klingons, a plot centered around Kirk with a bit of Spock and Bones, a hint of romance between Kirk and female guest character (here very subtle), etc. It's entertaining but doesn't offer a lot as a novel. Not bad, not great. The best part is probably the vivid description of the planet at hand, Boaco Six, and the details about its culture and history. The plot also serves as a sequel to episodes "Miri" (with a surprisingly dark outcome) and "Requiem for Methuselah" (with a happier resolution, and some fleshing out of the character of Flint). Contrary to what the title would suggest, I didn't find the "onlies" so central to the plot.

A pretty Kirk-centric story, Spock doesn't have a very big role in it, other than solving a problem with his customary mind-meld. McCoy, though, has some good scenes as he tells the Prime Directive to fuck off, while helping injured and sick natives with his more advanced medicine. He also tells to fuck off to some rich bitch who's visiting the planet as a "poverty tourist". Tamara Angel, the young leader of Boaco Six, serves as the "woman-of-the-week" for the story, but this time wearing guerrilla fatigues and showing a strong, idealistic personality.

Some spoilers under the cut:

The first half is slow-paced, but still interesting, as Kirk and his landing party visit the planet of Boaco Six, which has severed its ties with the Federation after a revolution against the corrupt older regime. There's a thinly veiled parallelism between Boaco Six and the developing countries in real world, which fell alternatively into the USA or USSR orbits (here, the Federation vs. the Klingon/Romulan empires). In particular, the young, rebellious leaders of Boaco Six remind a lot to figures like Che Guevara. In this case, the Federation's portrayal is less than flattering, as it turned a blind eye towards the corruption of previous dictators, for commercial benefits with the planet. And this is something that Kirk is trying to amend with his diplomatic mission to the planet. The story offers a nice examination of the Boacan culture and society through Kirk, Spock and McCoy's respective investigations. Including the horrors of the previous regime and the civil war. Nonetheless, the planet is showing encouraging signs of going into a good direction.

Problems begin in the second half, after a rogue ship (apparently of Federation design) destroys the ships of both a Boacan minister and the ambassador from the neighbouring planet. Suspecting foul play from the Federation, the leaders of Boaco Six decide to trust the Klingons and Romulans instead. And all of Kirk's efforts to smooth relations seem going to waste. As it turns out, the rogue ship is actually a Starfleet prototype, equipped with a revolutionary cloaking device, designed by none other than the immortal Flint (from "Requien for Methuselah"). I found a bit strange that the reclusive Flint would want to collaborate with Starfleet. And even stranger that this is apparently public knowledge. But okay...

This new ship has been stolen by a crazed Jahn (the weird boy from "Miri") and a couple other "onlies", while it was stationed in their planet. And there's more trauma for Kirk, as he discovers that his mission to Miri's planet was anything but successful. The Federation experts sent to take care of the onlies were abusive and manipulative with the children (even using a modified version of the chair from "Dagger of the Mind" on them), and this made Jahn highly unstable and dangerous. The onlies are now in a desperate escape, and destroying any ship that comes their way, afraid of everyone and everything.

Thus, it's up to Kirk to stop the carnage, clear the name of the Federation in the Boacan incident, and save the children if possible. Flint agrees to help, cracking his own impenetrable cloaking device, and in the process, his story and that of the onlies entwine in a moving resolution.

Spirk Meter: 5/10*. Though infrequent, there seems to be a lowkey K/S shipping from this author. Spock is said to be very on edge and worried whenever Kirk's in trouble, something that it's explained by his empathy with the Captain due to their mind-melds. A great deal is also made of Spock erasing Kirk's memories of Rayna. When McCoy asks him why he did so, Spock can't answer. And later, Spock confesses to Kirk in an awkward scene, with echoes of the biology talk in "Amok Time". Kirk takes the erasure surprisingly well, though, as "there was only one soul in the universe who Kirk trusted enough, from whom he could accept such news without anger or protest". It's also said that "what the stiff and clumsy instruments of language could not express was understood between them. What was not understood was felt."

Less obvious, there's a bit of McKirk as well. McCoy is pained by the reappearance of Flint in Kirk's life, and the damage this could do to the already troubled Captain. His outburst against Spock at the end of "Requiem" is explained by his frustration and worry, seeing Kirk so depressed and Spock so aloof about it. At the end, there's an intimate scene between Kirk and McCoy in the ship's observatory, where they drink together and discuss Kirk's loneliness as a starship captain, and how he must leave every girl behind... Perhaps McCoy is offering himself as an alternative?

On the other hand, Spock and McCoy's relationship is very confrontational in this book. They don't seem to do anything but argue, though Spock confides in McCoy to keep his secret about Rayna's memories.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

[nico-esoterica]

..Who are you when no one’s watching?? Astrologically, that’s an element of Pluto ingressing through Aquarius worth pondering.

On one level, there’s that dualistic nature to it: Its association with the collective and being seen (perceived) in antithesis. Aquarius is the wayward journey from Saturn that decides its learned and seen enough and departs. Instead of laying a foundation of a new legacy to be followed (Capricorn), it rejects society’s template and goes its own way. It isn’t concerned with whether or not it’s followed.

Aquarius also dreams. Oh, it dreams. It imagines a world where it wouldn’t be othered for what it can’t perform and is embraced for who it simply is. Without compromises or conditions. Unpolished and raw; our sincerity is anything but smooth. Uneven, imperfect, mottled, and true. If you’ve ever loved an Aquarius---You know they love all of you. They anticipate your flaws and bad days and crack a smile when your mask falls. It’s unsettling and you scramble. Still, they see everything. There’s no one in the dark but you two.. and you’re fucked up and beautiful.

..We’re exposed. But there’s a sensuous thrill in the discomfort. When the layers are peeled back and our innocence is raw and pulsing. Bare and interested in just being rather than having approval. I think we’re at a point on a collective level that we want what’s shoved in our faces to feel unapologetically real and human. Not an Ai generated effect. It only hypothesizes; it can’t romanticize its own condition.

Around the eve of Pluto in Aquarius some centuries ago, artists sought to capture said condition in all of its folly, emotional volatility, and loss of reason and control through the rise of Romanticism. The European aristocracy’s demand for austerity and perfection through classist ideals bled into the disassociation of popular art depicting the rich as both mythical and necessary. The festering resentment among the poor calcified and blackened into violence. Gifted hands channeled the proletariat’s agony from centuries of abuse and its wish to purify itself by burning it all down.

We’re not interested in the elite and want to support people who bleed like the rest of us. It’s not just about sob stories—It’s about who hears you in the pitch black void of endless noise. It becomes something more. It hums, flowers, and reverberates because it touches. Different points connect and links are formed. Resonance.

The artists who rise to fame during this period won’t inherently be categorized by one particular aesthetic. But by how much of ourselves we see mirrored back to us. We also want to see them homegrown. Doechii’s and Victoria Monet’s Grammy wins didn’t come out of nowhere. They were artists who steadily grew their fan bases and perfected their sound over time. They weren’t overnight flyby successes who’s virality brought them into public awareness. Those who were there were. Doechii sat on Nissan-Altima for an entire year before she dropped it and has documented her life journey on Youtube for a decade. Clips from her struggle and growth have gone viral as if to say, “Hey wait—She earned this.”

It’s through line is, “She’s been through what I have.” She isn’t a nepo baby or an industry plant. When Black Queer legend Tracy Chapman won her Grammy in 1989 with Fast Car—a song which encapsulates the ambitious highs and abyssal lows felt within Capitalism, it skyrocketed her career trajectory forever. Her love stricken croon of loss cut into marrow and soul. It’s still covered to this day.

Chapman was born during a Uranus-Pluto conjunction in Virgo. These planets in aspect can represent a serious point in time when systemic tremors are felt. In Fast Car, Chapman was a check-out girl saving change to get out of Ohio. Doechii was self-funding her creative projects in her NYC bedroom on the dwindling benefits she still had from a job she hated and got fired from. Doechii has a Saturn-Uranus square. The cultural climate doesn’t only wail when you’re born with that—it shrieks. It’s carried and means that you won’t sit idly by and wait for things to shift. You move.

These are the stories that we want to see. Unpolished and sincere yet electric and thrumming with talent, motivation, charisma, and just having it without you being forced to feel that way. What’s popular in this day and age will be more intuited. It parallels proletariat art during the French Revolution decentering the bourgeoisie and its depictions of ease and comfort versus its human cost to both produce and be liberated from it. Because those who fund those lifestyles are people we know. They’re all of us. It’s what the axis of Leo and Aquarius is. To center the self.

And the self is a messy and complicated thing. Our brains are permanently rewired from pain and trauma. Resentment quietly disables us. For many, there’s a never ending cycle of fleeting relief followed by crushing disappointment or suffocating emptiness which proliferates everything. The faith and beauty we find within that in spite of everything isn’t just given to us. We have to carve it out.

In an exhausted world potentially on brink of something far sinister, it’s helpful for us to see each other as the water rises. ‘Maybe, I exist too.’ //

| Listen to how you can use this energy to honor what serves instead of what dehumanizes you [Patreon].