Book Review: American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, and Technology by Diane Walsh Pasulka

Professor of Religious Studies Diane Walsh Pasulka spent six years researching the UFO phenomenon and the culture surrounding it. While the UFO craze no longer holds the place in pop culture it had in the late 20th century, many still devote their lives to the mystery. 

There's a lot to unpack in American Cosmic. The most significant revelation in the book is that the tin foil hat crowd are not alone chasing UFOs. There's a large number of scientists, engineers, writers, and "cultural elites" leading double lives as UFO researchers and seekers. Academics work in anonymity out of their colleagues will disassociate from them. They refer to themselves as the "invisible college."

Pasulka gained some access to this "invisible college" and becomes a character in her own book. She recounts her adventures with "Tyler D", a mystery man who's apparently a NASA scientist, MMA fighter, venture capitalist, and the guru behind cutting edge medical technology. Over the years Tyler came to believe "off world intelligence" guided him towards his discoveries through psychic communication. The opening chapter recounts Tyler taking Diane and a colleague to visit a purported UFO crash site in New Mexico. While there they discover an "artifact" that may or may not have been planted.

At the book's heart is the mystery of existence and consciousness. Pasulka approaches the subject matter as a religious scholar, in the tradition of Carl Jung who made connections between religion and UFOs. Insights are also gleaned from neuroscience, mass media studies, and quantum physics. Advances in these fields are contributing to understanding the paranormal. Comparisons are made between Tyler's experience and those of composers making music - neurology tells us we feel outside of ourselves when moments of intense creativity occur. Anyone can channel this part of their brain, not just the Mozarts among us.

We now live in a reality when most of our information comes from staring into screens. Pasulka's argument here gets a little cloudy, but the concept is that the reality of screen is starting to merge with actual reality. The simulation is more real than the real world - like The Matrix. While characters in a movie are fictional, they nevertheless exist in our minds. How many times have you heard someone compare a movie to a religious experience? An example is a new religion based on Star Wars. While Star Wars exists as fiction, the effect of these films on many is powerful and life changing - the logical next step is a religion based on the stories. All religions stem from narratives that in time become more real than real to its followers. 

The ubiquitous presence of media has also shaped the way we perceive the UFO phenomenon and everything else. Media shapes our memories to the point where they blend with the reality. American Cosmic is not proselytizing any "truth" about UFOs and other phenomena, but attempts to understand it. Media shapes our understanding and may be portals to understanding these mysterious phenomena people experience. Those who believe they've had contact with ET's express narratives that are similar to movies and TV shows, as if the idea of an encounter is already embedded in our brains.

Those who believe in alien contact are not sure of what it means either, but they are sure these beings are curious about us. Yet a voice in my head says these elites (mostly wealthy white men) are simply bored and have nothing better to do, what better fate than to be chosen by the visitors? Pasulka criticizes Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind as a simplistic movie, but I find it interesting that the protagonist of the film is an every man. Not some brilliant rich white guy. I come away from American Cosmic thinking the "invisible college" may be more of a diversion for those with tons of money and time on their hands.

Nevertheless, American Cosmic is a compelling mix of academic rigor and intellectual adventure, I would not be surprised if a movie or TV show will be developed from it. But  the book left me with more questions than answers. Skeptics get short thrift and that annoyed me. Carl Sagan is mentioned many times, and while he was intrigued with the concept of life elsewhere, he remained a skeptic about UFO encounters until the end of his life. We're left with the impression he was a believer in UFOs. Sagan's final book The Demon Haunted Earth lamented the rise of pseudoscience and conspiracy theory culture in America. 

Even more ominous is the idea of media becoming the new reality. We've seen the political ramifications of misinformation becoming fact in the minds of many. Some believe media saturation could ricochet into something else entirely, perhaps a spiritual awakening. If there really are intelligent beings meddling with us, the nature of their being would be so abstract it would make little sense to anyone is another takeaway from the book. Meanwhile life goes on.

Pasulka, D.W. American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, and Technology. New York: OUP, 2019.

Podcast Review: Blockbuster

https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/uufew-8b9a6/Blockbuster-Podcast

Blockbuster is a podcast that dramatizes the friendship between George Lucas and Steven Spielberg during the 1970s. For some the rise of blockbusters heralded the demise of cinema (see Easy Riders, Raging Bulls), for others a paradigm shift on par with the Beatles (I'm in the latter camp).  

The podcast covers the making of their iconic films of the 1970s, showcasing Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Star Wars. Other figures from New Hollywood make appearances including Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, and Francis Ford Coppola. But the all star of the podcast is John Williams, a real mensch who not only believed in Lucas and Spielberg, but composed the brilliant scores for their movies. 

While the years covered in the podcast have all been well documented in books, there's never been a feature film about their friendship. They met in 1967 at a screening of Lucas's student film THX-1138 and stayed in contact, giving each other feedback. While they had much in common, their sensibilities differed in some ways. Lucas, along with Coppola, wanted to create an independent movie studio as an alternative to the Hollywood system. Spielberg worked within the system as a TV director for Universal and eventually broke into features. Yet both believed in technology and telling epic stories on the big screen made to appeal to a mass audience.

Lucas is played as introverted, but determined. Spielberg is more happy go lucky, always optimistic in the face of adversity during the making of Jaws and Close Encounters. The making of Star Wars pushed Lucas to the limit and one day ended up in the hospital with stress related chest pains after a special effects mishap. He swore he would never direct again.

A dramatization of the infamous screening of that rough cut version of Star Wars in for Lucas's peers. It was a disastrous evening, De Palma made sarcastic remarks throughout the screening, "what is this force shit?" Lucas's wife Marcia was certain the film would flop, while 20th Century Fox lost confidence and considered a limited release.

But Spielberg was a believer, predicting Star Wars would be a big hit, telling George "it will make millions." A reenactment of John Williams playing the Star Wars theme for Lucas is especially moving - as if you are hearing it for the first time. The recording of the soundtrack in London was one the few things that went right during the troubled production - those in the control room were moved to tears. 

The series runs six episodes, each one runs about 25 minutes so it's possible to listen to the entire series in a few hours. The voice actors did a great job and the production value is top notch. A nostalgic (and emotional) look into an exciting time in movie history. Highly recommended. 

Book Review: Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Foundation by Isaac Asimov
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Groundbreaking Sci-fi from the 1940s, Foundation imagines a powerful Galactic Empire in decline (a parallel to the Roman Empire as told by Gibbon). Hari Seldon is a psychohistorian who employs mathematics to predict the future and to create a new civilization. To prevent a 15,000 year dark age of barbarism, Seldon sets up a small society (the foundation) on a planet at the fringes of the galaxy.

Different sections deal with geopolitical issues like trade, balance of power, and empire building. While most of the novel consists of characters simply talking, I found the story imaginative and never dull. Complex questions are raised. How does a weak power become a great power? What role does technology and innovation play? What about religion? Seldon reminds me of a "lawgiver" figure out of the bible.

Foundation has had real world influence on the sciences, specifically the idea of applying mathematics to predicting different futures. A central theme in the novel is how a civilization plans for long term issues. Climate change, misuse of technology, and poverty come to mind for our own time. At the same time Foundation is a page turning intellectual adventure full of suspense and plot twists.

View all my reviews

Book Review: Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide by Cass Sunstein

Cass Sunstein's Impeachment: A Citizens Guide explains the concept of impeachment from a constitutional scholar's perspective that's written in plain English. 

A Citizen's Guide explains the origins of impeachment, a concept that goes back to the English legal system, laws designed to set up parameters for a judge or public official to be removed from their position if they engaged in criminal activity. Sunstein walks the reader through the debates at the 1787 constitutional convention on impeachment. In creating three branches of government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial) the framers realized there had to be a balance of power. Being well schooled in history, they realized the rise of a tyrant posed the greatest threat to a republic.

At one point the convention favored a committee to act as the Chief Executive, but determined such an arrangement would be too unwieldy. A lone President would allow for decisive leadership. What if a President engaged in illegal activity? What if a President openly broke the law? What if a President colluded with an enemy nation specifically to harm his own? What if a President used the position for financial gain? What if a President used their office to silence political enemies? What if a President was negligent to their assigned duties? Impeachment was placed into the constitution as a remedy.

At the same time, the impeachment process was set up like a gauntlet. Otherwise, Congress could easily remove any President for frivolous reasons. The framers used the term "high crimes and misdemeanors," language that was intentionally ambiguous to warrant an impeachment proceeding. If the House of Representatives determines such criminal offenses have been committed by a President they can vote to impeach. Then the President must go on trial before the Senate, where 2/3 of the members must vote guilty to convict him. In such a case the President would be immediately removed. Knowing impeachment would cause political upheaval, it was made into a step by step process, but always an option on the table.

Only two Presidents in American history have faced an impeachment trial and both were acquitted (Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton). As Sunstein points out, both of those attempts were partisan and legally questionable. President Richard Nixon faced imminent impeachment and most certainly would've been convicted in the Senate (he was told so by his own Party) so he resigned from office.

Later in the book Sunstein takes the reader though some hypothetical situations. Some are open and shut cases such as a President openly acting in accordance with another country to harm America or offering bribes in return for political support. Other cases are not so clear cut and fall down to legal interpretations, such as a President misleading the American people during a war or an administration infested with corrupt officials.

No reference is made to the brewing constitutional crisis, there's no need. Instead, Sunstein encourages readers to do a thought experiment in neutrality. What if a President you loved and agreed with engaged in blatantly illegal activity? What if a President you despised on ideological grounds was being impeached on questionable legal grounds? Finally, put a blindfold on. You are simply presented with the facts. Then decide.

A worthwhile book, written in the tradition of Tom Paine, that also cuts through the media spin. Sunstein concedes impeachment is a serious matter, heightened in an era of fake news. Public officials must be held up to high standards - otherwise democracy will collapse. 

Book Review: Best. Movie. Year. Ever.: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen by Brian Raftery

There's no doubt the year 1999 marked a high point for American movies, each month brought out one challenging film after another. Brian Raftery's book revisits these movies and the people who made them.

Raftery takes the reader through a year marked by erratic mood shifts. The economy was booming and the international situation appeared stable. At the same time fears of Y2K and global terrorism had folks on edge. As the year unfolded the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal would end with an anti-climatic impeachment trial, while the Columbine Massacre would be a dark harbinger of the future (gun violence would play a big role in many films of the year). Meanwhile the omnipresence of technology and the internet would a foment a more existential sense of unease, an unease the movies would channel.

Mega-blockbusters of costumed heroes had yet to conquer the big screen. Adult themed dramas still had a place at the multi-plex. Robert Downey Jr. was still known as an eccentric character actor; Netflix was a start up company that offered DVD rentals through the mail.

Unbeknownst to many, television was about to give movies a serious run for their money. The Sopranos debuted in 1999, heralding the birth of long form story telling in the TV form. Prestige TV from Breaking Bad to Game of Thrones would hold a privileged place in the culture, a place movies held for decades.

What makes 1999 memorable were the sheer variety of movies that transfixed audiences. The Blair Witch Project, an ultra low budget horror movie, would terrify movie goers more than any other film. The "found footage" approach presaged reality TV, but also resorted to old school gimmicks in the tradition of William Caste. Alternately, The Sixth Sense from newcomer M. Night Shyamalan perfected the Hitchcock approach, proving a PG-13 movie could terrify.

The teen movie underwent a brief renaissance from post John Hughes movies like 10 Things I Hate About You to the raunchy humor of American Pie to the dead on satire of Election. 

Meanwhile adults took in American Beauty (the Oscar Winner for Best Picture), The Limey, and The Insider. Paul Thomas Anderson's epic drama Magnolia proved the appropriate last major American film of the 20th century - a soul bearing examination of mortality and broken lives in modern L.A.

Older directors also returned to the screen. George Lucas's Star Wars: The Phantom Menace divided fans. The posthumous Stanley Kubrick film Eyes Wide Shut perplexed many, leaving more questions than answers from the mysterious director. Terrence Malick, at one time known as the J.D. Salinger of American cinema, returned with the subdued and philosophical WWII film The Thin Red Line. 

New voices also produced some gems. The Matrix from the Wachowski siblings blew everyone out of the water, stealing some of the thunder from The Phantom Menace. Fight Club from David Fincher perhaps best captured the mood of the year with its satire of repressed masculinity. Office Space from Mike Judge sent up workplace malaise and Being John Malkovich by Spike Jonze wreaked havoc with definitions of identity. 

Best Movie Year Ever proves through nostalgia and incisive analysis of why 1999 was a landmark year for movies. As Raftery point out, many of these films under performed at the Box Office and it was only as years went by when they were recognized, a sign many were ahead of their time. 

Concert Review: Jeff Tweedy At Cincinnati Music Hall

I was in attendance for Jeff Tweedy's penultimate show of his solo spring tour at Cincinnati Music Hall last night. The evening featured Tweedy playing a selection of old and new songs, some well known and others on the obscure side. Tweedy kept the tone of the show light and comical, playfully bantering with the audience throughout the evening.

Before performing his set Tweedy made light of the fact he felt like a wedding singer, due to the wedding reception type layout of the venue, "these will all be songs about the fragile nature of humanity - perfect songs for a first dance." And while many of his songs are about mortality and sadness, they can also be like a friend telling you things will be all right.

Tweedy's solo work is more stripped down than the Wilco records, lyrically direct and introspective. Early songs on the set included "Bombs Above", "Some Birds", and "I Know What It's Like" - all from his 2018 album Warm. These songs are deeply tied to his recent bestselling memoir Let's Go (So We Can Get Back). Three tracks were also performed from his 2019 Record Store Day release Warmer: "Evergreen," "Family Ghost," and "Guaranteed."

Songs from the Wilco catalog allowed Tweedy to showcase his guitar skills. "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" gets whittled down into a folky demo. "You and I" ,the song he performed with Feist on Wilco: The Album from 2009, got the McCartney treatment. Crowd favorites from the 2001 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot "Jesus Ect"; "I'm the Man Who Loves You"; and "Heavy Metal Drummer" allowed the audience to sing along. 

My personal favorites were some of the deep cuts. "Radio King" from the Golden Smog album Down by the Mainstream and "The Ruling Class from the Loose Fur album Born Again in the USA (both side projects from past decades). The big surprise of the night was "Plateau," a Meat Puppets cover made famous by Nirvana. He closed out the show with the surreal "A Shot in the Arm" from the 1999 Wilco album Summerteeth.

Tweedy appeared to enjoy the back and forth with the audience, and I suspect enjoyed even more the chance to remix his familiar tunes outside of the Wilco context. By going outside the Wilco box, Tweedy has continued to evolve as songwriter and author, while maintaining the Wilco machine, conscience of the Midwest since 1994. 

The Twilight Zone 2019 #3 "Replay"

In "Replay" Sanaa Lathan (Nina) and Damson Idris (Dorian) are a mother and son who are repeatedly harassed by a racist cop (Glenn Fleshler). Nina is driving Damson to college for freshman orientation and discovers her old camcorder can turn back time. "Replay" is in the tradition of Rod Serling who never shied away from controversial topics, in this case racial profiling and the abuse of power from law enforcement.

The episode begins in a typical American diner on a lonely highway. Nina feels apprehension about Dorian starting college so she's documenting every part of the trip. Alienated from her family for unspecified reasons, she passes up on an opportunity visit her estranged brother Neil (Steve Harris). In the diner an ominous cop appears to be eyeing them, reminiscent of the policeman tracking Janet Leigh in Psycho. 

On their first encounter the officer pulls them over and immediately gets belligerent and things don't end well. Nina accidentally hits the rewind button on the camcorder and she's back at the diner. What follows is a variation on the Groundhog Day situation of knowing what's coming and changing your actions to avoid negative outcomes.

Fleshler plays the stock villain of trump era to a tee: the aggrieved middle aged white man who feels emboldened to harass and even hurt groups he resents. You imagine him stocking on ammo and consuming a steady diet of Fox News and trump tweets. In one of the scenarios Nina attempts to make a human connection with him to absolutely no avail. As Nina tries to decipher way out of her deadly time loop, she must confront her own past.

An understated episode with some quiet and powerful moments, "Replay" taps into the more hopeful side of The Twilight Zone.