Alien Proof

We are an advanced species; we’ve learned how to blend.” — Ra, Stargate (1994)

Where are the aliens? UFOs, Area 51, aliens—oh my! It’s a swirling bucket of murky fun, brimming with conspiracies, starry-night tales, and probing delights. What’s real? What’s surreal? What counts as proof of life beyond Earth? There’s a flood of chatter out there—grainy videos, “as God is my witness” accounts—but sifting it for substance is like panning for gold in a litterbox.

Speculation about UFOs and Area 51 is a roaring mix of rumors, secrecy, and sci-fi vibes. Take the 1947 Roswell crash: the U.S. military first claimed they’d recovered a “flying disc,” only to pivot hours later, insisting it was just a weather balloon. The rancher who found it, Mac Brazel, described a sprawl of tinfoil, rubber, and sticks—hardly spaceship material. Yet alternate theories snowballed, spinning every extraterrestrial possibility into gospel. Alien wreckage, bodies, anti-gravity tech, even “element 115” (later synthesized by Russia as moscovium)—it’s all been tossed into the pot. Bob Lazar, since 1989, has been the loudest voice pushing these wild claims, though he’s got little beyond his word to prop them up.

More recently, posts on X have revived whispers of an egg-shaped craft allegedly hauled to Area 51 in the ‘80s. A supposed witness linked to EG&G—a firm founded by three MIT grads with deep ties to classified projects, including Area 51—claimed it was so advanced they couldn’t cut it open or X-ray it, hinting at extraterrestrial origins. This comes secondhand, under oath, but there’s no photos, no artifacts—just testimony.

What the government has declassified carries weight but lacks dazzle. The CIA’s 2013 Area 51 release confirmed it as a test site for spy planes like the U-2 and A-12 Oxcart, likely explaining many ‘50s and ‘60s UFO sightings. In 2017, the Pentagon’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) fessed up to studying UFOs—or UAPs, to dodge the tinfoil-hat vibe. Leaked Navy videos, like the 2004 Tic Tac encounter, show objects defying known tech: no visible propulsion, jaw-dropping acceleration. The 2021 UAP report to Congress didn’t shout “aliens” but didn’t slam the door either—144 cases, one pinned as a balloon, the rest labeled “we don’t know.”

So, where’s the slam-dunk proof of aliens? Not much holds up under a bright Tesla LED. Lazar’s stories are big on panache and spirit, short on bones. Government reports and videos tease the imagination, but never-ending psyops muddy the waters, and nothing crosses the finish line. We’re left with 90% noise—mental candy, heavy on sugar, light on meat. Until ET shakes your hand, it’s probably best to treat the evidence as entertainment.

Source and Graphic: Grok 3.

Don’t Stop Me Now

Venom: The Last Dance: Eddie (Tom Hardy) and Venom (Tom Hardy), together again, possibly for the last time, battle Symbiotes from Venom’s home planet of Klyntar. Supervillain Knull has sent the Symbiotes to collect Eddie and Venom’s Codex. The Codex will free Knull from his prison, originally created by the Symbiotes long ago. Now, they will help to release him. It’s complicated.

Tom Hardy and his symbiotic, parasitic alter-ego, Venom, make the movie worthwhile. Everything else feels like underemployed extras earning points for existing, about as entertaining as toothpaste attempting an exit from a spray bottle, except for Martin (Rhys Ifans). Martin was a fun diversion.

As with the first two movies, it is worthwhile sitting through the credits. Somewhere between the listing of Executive Producers, Producers, Producers of Second Worth, Producers of Wind, and the Second Gaffer from the Last Good Gaffer, there is a hint of what can be, unburdened by what has been—although Hardy has said maybe not never again, so what can be, may have to be burdened by what has been.

Trivia: “Don’t Stop Me Now”by Queen is played while Venom infests a horse and gallops, with Eddie riding on top, at incredible speed, to get to Area 51.

Genre: Action—Adventure–Comedy—Fantasy—Sci-Fi–Thriller

Directed by: Kelly Marcel

Screenplay by: Tom Hardy, Kelly Marcel

Music by: Dan Deacon

Cast: Tom Hardy, Rhys Ifans

Film Location: Cartagena, Spain

ElsBob: 6.0/10

IMDb: 6.0/10

Rotten Tomatoes Critics: 41%

Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter: 81%

Metacritic Metascore: 41%

Metacritic User Score: 5.9/10

Theaters: 21 October 2024

Runtime: 109 minutes

Budget: $120 million

Box Office: $476.4 million

Source: Screen Rant, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, Metacritic. Graphic: Venom: The Last Dance Trailer, copyright Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures.