The post Cat Dogs: Cats for People Who Think They Don’t Like Cats by Dr. Lauren Demos DVM (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it‚ but all of these articles were assigned‚ contracted and paid for‚ so they aren't considered public domain. However‚ we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article‚ then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com. Hi‚ I’m Dr. Lauren&;#33; Read my introduction to learn more about me and my two adventurous cats‚ Pancake and Tiller. Cats are not small dogs‚ we often say in veterinary medicine. And we use this statement to discuss why feline medicine is just so inherently different from its canine counterpart. However‚ today‚ let’s take a diversion from science‚ and medicine‚ and delve into the more abstract world of human pet ownership. And pet personality theory. Ok‚ maybe we aren’t completely stepping away from science‚ but it’s a bit of an exploration‚ to be sure. In the process‚ we will attempt to answer the question of the mysterious cat dog. Why Do We Have Pets&;#63; So‚ pets. Why do we have them&;#63; Is it for the potential health benefits‚ as I discussed in a previous article&;#63; Or is there something else&;#63; Pets certainly offer comfort‚ and possible health benefits such as improved mental health‚ and lowered blood pressure. Conversely‚ pets also offer potential zoonotic diseases‚ and bite and scratch wounds. When deciding on a pet‚ you also decide whether you are a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty sort of person‚ based on these factors. In fact‚ if you’re a glass-half-empty sort of person‚ you might smartly decide to avoid the risks of a pet altogether. Cats can offer many benefits‚ including comfort and even improved mental health&;#33; Cats vs Dogs But for those of us who take the plunge‚ how do we select the pets we do&;#63; And are cats truly different from dogs&;#63; If so‚ why&;#63; Interestingly‚ people that own dogs tend to score higher on personality traits such as warmth‚ and rule consciousness‚ amongst others. Cat people‚ on the other hand‚ tend to score higher on traits such as general intelligence and self-reliance. This may reflect the general societal attitudes in the West that dogs are gregarious and man’s best friend‚ while cats are aloof‚ distant‚ and conniving. Even Rudyard Kipling himself elocuted on the tale of how cats became domesticated‚ but only after canines‚ and only to an extent of their choice. Cats‚ the literature therefore tells us‚ are apart‚ distant‚ judging. And sadly‚ our society has generally embraced this. In a similarly unhelpful way‚ most behavioral research in veterinary medicine has tended to focus on the behavioral problems of our pets‚ until recently‚ Thus‚ we know a fair amount about problematic personality issues such as anxiety‚ and aggression‚ but little about cat and dog personalities themselves. In fact‚ for a long time‚ it was argued that pets and animals didn’t have personalities‚ and the concept was dismissed. Personality Personality is defined as consistent individual behavior patterns‚ and only recently‚ has come to focus on pet cats. The implications of such research may have direct positive benefits‚ as management and welfare strategies may be better placed to target these specific personality traits based on such data. Therefore‚ a better understanding of our pets may lead to better lives‚ healthcare‚ and welfare for all. And research is now emerging‚ that does speak to feline personalities and measurable traits within. Dubbed the “feline five”‚ five personality traits were investigated from a cohort of almost 3‚000 pet cats in Australia and New Zealand. These factors included neuroticism‚ extraversion‚ dominance‚ impulsiveness‚ and agreeableness. Meanwhile‚ while our study of cat personality remains in its infancy‚ we are still apt to judge books‚ ahem cats‚ by their covers. One study found that people were more likely to attribute orange cats with being friendly‚ and tri-colored cats to having indifferent personalities; white cats were assessed as less bold and more calm than other coat colors. And this may be doing some cats a disservice. Especially those cats for whom research has not yet caught up with‚ and may never will: the elusive cat dog. Unlike Pancake‚ Tiller is definitely a cat cat. The Cat Dog The cat dog is a cat‚ that is more dog than cat. They fetch. They play. They love attention. They are intertwined in all family affairs‚ and love every minute. Call your cat dog‚ and they come running. Go to bed‚ and your cat dog is already snuggled in waiting for you. Get sick or sad‚ and your cat dog is there to comfort you. These aren’t myths‚ but comments I hear time and again from some of the wonderful cats and cat owners that I have met in practice throughout the years: cat dogs are the cats that people who say they don’t like cats‚ need to meet. They defy all feline expectations. They are gregarious‚ outgoing‚ funny‚ even. They chase dogs around the neighborhood‚ while still timing their afternoon to be waiting at the bus stop for the kids at 3 pm sharp. You might think I’m joking‚ but I’m not. These cats defy expectations. More well-known examples might include Casper or the Alaskan city mayor Mayor Stubbs (great cat‚ met him back in the day&;#33;). As a vet‚ I’ve worked with many a dog that has given me the side eye‚ an eagle I wouldn’t have trusted in a dark room‚ and one really wiley Chihuahua that hated post-it notes with a penchant and 99.9% of people. I can say‚ definitively‚ that personality has far more to do with anything than the particular species. Just as people all don’t like the same movies‚ foods‚ or forms of relaxation‚ so too‚ are animals individuals. In practice‚ the elusive cat dog is easy to spot. It is the confident‚ relaxed patient that comes to my clinic‚ happy to be anywhere‚ and rolling with the punches. They are adored by their owners‚ and fellow veterinarians. They are lovely cats — easy to get along with‚ happy to do what is needed‚ and always a boon to the family they live with. If you have been lucky enough to experience a cat dog‚ you will know exactly what I mean. In classic cat dog fashion‚ Pancake is always happy to be anywhere. Final Thoughts So‚ while‚ science may still be out‚ the jury is not. Dog cats and feline personalities are the next stop in our feline journey of knowledge‚ as we progress through the 21st century‚ and encounter new ways to look at and engage with our feline companions. Let’s celebrate these unique cats‚ the hearts they capture‚ and the joy they provide to our homes. Indeed‚ cats are not small dogs‚ and dog cats are a law unto themselves. The post Cat Dogs: Cats for People Who Think They Don’t Like Cats by Dr. Lauren Demos DVM (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it‚ but all of these articles were assigned‚ contracted and paid for‚ so they aren't considered public domain. However‚ we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article‚ then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

The post Here Comes the Sun: Is It Alright&;#63; Dangerous Things Cats Like by Dr. Lauren Demos DVM (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it‚ but all of these articles were assigned‚ contracted and paid for‚ so they aren't considered public domain. However‚ we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article‚ then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com. Hi‚ I’m Dr. Lauren&;#33; Read my introduction to learn more about me and my two adventurous cats‚ Pancake and Tiller. Cats get into all sorts of mischief. And that’s bad enough. But some of the seemingly normal things cats do‚ can also add complications to their lives. And‚ here comes the sun‚ so to speak. We all love a sunbathing feline. They look so happy‚ so content. Sleeping‚ rolling‚ they even seem to be able to change position while half asleep to remain in the perfect sunbathing position following the rays around the house. Pancake and Tiller both love a good sunbath. Because they spend little unsupervised time outdoors‚ they mostly do their sunbathing during the day‚ inside. And it doesn’t take them long to find the best spots to catch those seasonal rays…the bed‚ the hallway‚ and even sometimes (yes‚ I admit it) ever since the cats on counters photoshoot‚ Tiller finds a sunny spot on the kitchen table now and again. What’s the Problem with Sunlight&;#63; In many species‚ the sun has a physiological effect‚ to help bodily conversion of vitamin D. This vitamin is traditionally thought of as an important factor in bone health‚ but newer research shows that in multiple species‚ vitamin D receptors can be found in cells throughout the body‚ and that it may actually play important roles in regulating or preventing cancer‚ as well as decreasing the risks of cardiovascular disease‚ autoimmune issues‚ and infectious diseases. However‚ in cats‚ they acquire the majority of their vitamin D through dietary intake‚ considered an evolutionary adaptation as they ingest the vitamin D stored in the liver of their prey. So‚ while cats may not need the vitamin D-boosting effects of the sun‚ they may derive other benefits. As their basal body temperature is higher than humans (anywhere from around 38.1-39.1 degrees Centigrade)‚ they may simply benefit from the elevated levels of heat. And certainly‚ there may be multiple other factors that contribute to the feline love of a good sunbath. Pancake is especially fond of spending hours finding the best sunny spot on the bed. The Downsides of Sunbathing But with the pros‚ come the cons. Even indoor sunbathing can increase the risks to the sunbather. The sun can irritate the skin‚ causing redness‚ drying and even scabbing in a condition called actinic (solar) dermatitis. Left unchecked‚ this can potentially progress to full blown skin cancer. This is most commonly seen in cats that have little pigmentation or hair on their ears and noses‚ where the disease commonly occurs. Older cats‚ especially those on medications such as corticosteroids‚ that commonly sunbathe‚ can also experience haircoat bronzing—where darker shades of the coat become lighter‚ or bronzed. How to Mitigate the Risks Now‚ this doesn’t necessarily mean you need to stop your cats’ sunbathing altogether. However‚ some options can help mitigate the risks and are fairly straightforward: Consider a pet-safe sunscreen for your cat’s ears and nose‚ if they receive high levels of sun exposure. Shut the blinds‚ or get a UV film application for the windows‚ to reduce the UV entering the house‚ which does most of the sun damage to skin Limit the amount of time your cat can spend outside during the hours of most direct sunlight Ensure you have regular vet checks for your cat‚ as if actinic dermatitis is caught early‚ it is much easier to address. As those of us in the Northern Hemisphere approach the warmer months‚ it doesn’t mean that we have to curtail our cats’ sunbathing entirely. However‚ there is nothing wrong with playing it sun safe‚ and sun smart&;#33; Or‚ as the Aussies say: slip‚ slop‚ slap to prevent sun-induced cancer in their sun-loving human population. No reason not to take the same preventative measures with your own sun-loving feline‚ and find what works best for you. The post Here Comes the Sun: Is It Alright&;#63; Dangerous Things Cats Like by Dr. Lauren Demos DVM (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it‚ but all of these articles were assigned‚ contracted and paid for‚ so they aren't considered public domain. However‚ we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article‚ then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

Book Recommendations mystery Five SFF Mysteries That I Couldn’t Put Down From murder investigations to the mysteries of the universe‚ these five genre-blending books will have you hooked… By Cole Rush | Published on April 24‚ 2024 Photo by Markus Winkler [via Unsplash] Comment 4 Share New Share Photo by Markus Winkler [via Unsplash] Don your best sleuthing cloaks‚ adjust your deerstalker hats‚ and prepare for adventure&;#33; Today‚ we’re investigating the nebulous space between genres. SFF and mysteries often share common threads: dastardly villains‚ fateful twists‚ and plucky problem-solvers. When the two genres combine‚ readers get to enjoy all manner of speculative twists on the mystery genre with sci-fi and fantasy threads woven throughout. If you love following breadcrumbs‚ uncovering clues‚ and discovering the culprit in the epic climax‚ these SFF mysteries should be right up your alley&;#33; The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett Robert Jackson Bennett has long been a must-read author for me‚ starting with his Divine Cities trilogy (my all-time favorite series) and carrying on to The Founders Trilogy‚ which I’d love to see adapted for TV. His latest endeavor is the Shadow of the Leviathan series‚ which begins with The Tainted Cup. Released in February 2024‚ The Tainted Cup combines Bennett’s lifelong love for mystery novels with the detailed character work and worldbuilding he is known for. The Tainted Cup followsDinios Kol‚ aka Din‚ and his quirky-but-brilliant mentor Ana Dolabra. Din is an engraver—a magically enhanced human who can perfectly recall memories and experiences. The magic system allows citizens of the world to be altered (“grafted”) in order to drastically improve certain skills or attributes. At the behest of Ana‚ Din applies his engraving talents to a particularly gruesome murder case‚ in which a high-ranking official exploded into a grotesque tree under suspicious circumstances. Din and Ana set out to unravel what happened to the victim and hopefully catch the person (or people) responsible. The core mystery and investigation of The Tainted Cup is a delight from beginning to end‚ and as revelations unfold toward the end of the novel‚ the reveals have a similar feel to Benjamin Blanc’s deductive monologues in the Knives Out films. But it’s the world that Bennett’s created that makes this story so special. Leviathans—massive sea beasts— constantly threaten the outer rims of the empire. During a specific season each year‚ Leviathans could come ashore and destroy wide swatches of the Empire. This results in a fully realized atmosphere and setting in which the denizens of the outer reaches of the Empire are under constant danger of destruction‚ while the richest of them remain safe and sound‚ miles away from the immediate Leviathan threat. Bennett explores what impact this has on the people who live in the heart of the danger‚ and this detailed worldbuilding threads nicely into the central mystery of the book. Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke Arthur C. Clarke is one of the undisputed masters of hard science fiction‚ rooting his plots in semi-feasible concepts and building the speculative elements from there. In Childhood’s End‚ alien ships appear over many of the world’s cities‚ and the beings initiate communication with humanity’s leaders. The mystery doesn’t necessarily lie in the aliens’ motives. They seem genuinely invested in preserving humanity‚ and their actions—carried out through human liaisons—appear benevolent and well-intentioned. The mystery‚ instead‚ comes from the aliens’ reticence to show themselves. The primary alien liaison to earth‚ the Overlord Karellen‚ only speaks to humans from behind a blackout screen‚ and nobody on Earth knows what Karellen looks like. Naturally‚ this worries humans‚ and it deepens the rifts between opposing factions. Some dislike Karellen and his species’ interference on earth while others wish to expedite the ongoing improvement of Earth and its inhabitants. Karellen’s hesitance to show himself is the heart of the Childhood’s End mystery‚ and its resolution is one of my single favorite reveals in all of sci-fi. It also plays well with the book’s other themes. Clarke explores humanity’s future in relation to its past and crafts a singular vision for our species’ fate. Storm Front by Jim Butcher We’ve reached the middle of this list‚ and clearly we need some Jim Butcher in the mix‚ so consider this entry more of a recommendation for The Dresden Files as a whole. Wizard Harry Dresden openly practices magic in Chicago (my hometown&;#33;). He assists the police with supernatural cases and occasionally works as a private investigator for people who have nowhere else to turn. The Dresden Files is an excellent blend of pulpy detective fiction and fantasy. The series takes place in our world‚ but magic exists behind the curtain‚ and those who dabble in it aren’t always benevolent. Dresden uses his magical talents to suss out the more nefarious of Chicago’s magical practitioners. His adventures in the series bring him to face to face with Fae Courts‚ vampire dens‚ and werewolf packs. Storm Front is an excellent entry point‚ not only because it’s the first book in the series. The mystery is small and well-contained‚ providing a solid intro to Dresden’s world. Fans of classic thriller and mystery novels will find a lot to enjoy‚ and the fantasy elements add flavor and excitement to the tried-and-true formula. Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger Here we are with another SFF mystery I’d love to see on screen. Darcie Little Badger’s Elatsoe injects our world with the magic of Lipan Apache folklore. Mythical creatures abound‚ and the protagonist—Ellie‚ short for Elatsoe—has a unique ability. She can speak with the spirits of dead animals. Humans are animals‚ sure‚ but human ghosts are remarkably dangerous‚ and Ellie avoids them at all costs. But when the spirit of her cousin appears to her and asks Ellie to find his killer‚ she finds herself mixed up in a murder case. It brings Ellie to the off-kilter town of Willowbee‚ Texas. Something fishy is going on in the little town‚ and Ellie starts to investigate with the help of Kirby (the spirit of her deceased dog) and other friends. As the mystery is revealed‚ we learn more about Ellie’s past‚ her powers‚ and the forces at work around her. Elatsoe is a fantastic mystery story that also embraces elements of self-discovery and a healthy dose of mysticism. The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu The Three-Body Problem features one of the biggest mysteries on this list‚ in terms of sheer scope. For some readers (myself included) it can take some effort to stick with the story until it gains momentum. But once it hits its stride‚ The Three-Body Problem offers layered and dense mysteries that unlock the wonders of the imagined cosmos within. There’s a reason Cixin Liu’s seminal work is so popular—popular enough to be adapted into a new Netflix series. The sweeping epic grapples with very real concepts laid over a fictional plot. It’s not so much a capital-M mystery of the sort you’d find in Agatha Christie or Arthur Conan Doyle’s work. Instead‚ The Three-Body Problem’s mysteries are deeply rooted in science and driven by massive‚ loaded “What if&;#63;” questions: What if an alien species discovered Earth&;#63; What if they fled their dying planet to pay us a visit&;#63; What if that visit wasn’t exactly friendly in nature&;#63; Those questions are the heart of The Three-Body Problem’s mystery‚ and the characters unravel the tangled clues and revelations at different rates until the big picture becomes clear. Cixin Liu and translator Ken Liu do a phenomenal job of letting the mysteries unwind while interlacing them with the key concepts necessary to make the story work. If you like hard sci-fi and don’t mind getting a crash course in physics and astronomy in service of the story‚ The Three-Body Problem is a perfect SFF mystery for you. And just in case you can’t get enough SFF mysteries‚ check out this list of sci-fi fantasy murder mysteries from Elisa Shoenberger&;#33; And if you’re interested in expanding the search to other media‚ here are just a few of my favorite speculative mysteries to watch and to play: True Detective: Night Country (limited series on MAX) The Case Of The Golden Idol (video game for PC‚ Mac‚ and Nintendo Switch) 1899 (limited series on Netflix) Severance (series on Apple TV) The Return of the Obra Dinn (video game for various platforms) Inscryption (video game for various platforms) Of course‚ this list only touches on a few highlights in a vast field of possibilities—please share your own recommendations for SFF mystery books (and stories‚ movies‚ TV shows‚ games‚ etc.) in the comments below&;#33;[end-mark] The post Five SFF Mysteries That I Couldn’t Put Down appeared first on Reactor.

Column Science Fiction Film Club Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Yearning for a Place in the Cosmos Friendly aliens‚ adorable moppets‚ and breathtaking special effects—what’s not to love about Spielberg’s first big-budget science fiction film&;#63; By Kali Wallace | Published on April 24‚ 2024 Credit: Columbia Pictures Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Columbia Pictures Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) Directed by Steven Spielberg. Starring Richard Dreyfuss‚ Teri Garr‚ Melinda Dillon‚ and Fran&;ccedil;ois Truffaut. Screenplay by Steven Spielberg. Everybody knows that the last few years of the 1970s were a pretty big deal in science fiction cinema. It started in May of 1977 with a little movie called—you may have heard of it—Star Wars‚ and Close Encounters of the Third Kind followed in December. The next couple of years brought in some more heavy-hitters‚ such as Superman and a wildly successful remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers in 1978‚ and films like Star Trek: The Motion Picture‚ Alien‚ and even an unexpected box office hit from Australia in the form of Mad Max in 1979. Sci fi movies had been popular for decades‚ but the one-two punch of George Lucas’ Star Wars followed by Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind was considered a watershed moment in Hollywood even while it was happening. Many contemporaneous reviews of Close Encounters reference Star Wars‚ always with the assumption that anybody watching Spielberg’s movie had watched Lucas’ film just a few months before. Something was changing in sci fi cinema‚ and people definitely noticed it while it was happening. American sci fi movies from before World War II tended to be about monsters and mad scientists‚ whereas the immediate postwar films were often about politics and paranoia‚ a trend that continued up until the ’70s. In her book Screening Space: The American Science Fiction Film‚ film scholar Vivian Sobchack identifies some genre staples in films released prior to 1977: the emphasis of ideas and deemphasis of characters‚ an obsession with and fear of technology‚ the many sociopolitical allegories about what is alien and what is familiar. There were always exceptions‚ of course‚ and non-American films had their own trends‚ but these traits will be familiar to anybody who has spent time watching and reading science fiction—or watching and reading criticism of science fiction‚ because generalizations like “all idea‚ no character” are very commonly directed at sci fi whether or not it’s warranted. But sci fi is always evolving past its own definitions. The breadth of films released in the late ’70s that are now revered as influential and iconic is an example of this‚ encompassing everything from space opera epics to dystopian miseries‚ alien invaders to space exploration‚ out-of-this-world superheroes to claustrophobic horrors. These days it’s hard to imagine Hollywood without Steven Spielberg’s influence‚ but in 1977 he was a hotshot newcomer‚ fresh off the record-breaking success of Jaws (1975). Spielberg had wanted to make a movie about UFOs since he was a kid—in fact‚ he did make a movie about UFOs when he was a kid. As a seventeen-year-old in Phoenix‚ Arizona‚ he made Firelight‚ a film about scientists investigating strange lights in the sky; the movie was funded by his father (it cost about $500)‚ starred Spielberg’s sister and other high school students‚ and had a score composed and played by Spielberg on his clarinet. Only a few minutes of Firelight survive‚ but just over a decade later he would get the chance to revisit the topic with a significantly larger budget. The wild success of Jaws meant Spielberg had near-complete creative control over Close Encounters‚ and it became a bit infamous in Hollywood for being a mess of a production. The film ran way over schedule and over budget‚ and included such wrinkles as the Writers Guild of America reportedly stepping in to arbitrate the writing credit (only Spielberg is credited‚ but at least five other writers are known to have worked on versions of the script)‚ rumors of the cast bad-mouthing the producers‚ and filming that ran so late the planned preview press junket had to be delayed because the movie wasn’t finished. Rushed as it was at the end‚ Close Encounters became a massive success upon release. But Spielberg wasn’t quite happy with the finished product. So he went back the next year to rework and rerelease it as the Special Edition of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Twenty years later he would have another go at it in the Director’s Cut‚ which reverts some changes from the Special Edition—including a change to the ending that had been demanded by the studio but which Spielberg had never liked. But we’ll get to that in a moment. Let’s start at the beginning. We begin in the Sonoran Desert in Mexico‚ where we meet Claude Lacombe (Fran&;ccedil;ois Truffaut‚ an icon of French New Wave cinema; we might watch his 1966 Fahrenheit 451 in the future). Lacombe is one of those nebulously scientific guys who travels around the world investigating unexplained phenomena. In this case‚ the five planes of Flight 19 have appeared in the desert decades after mysteriously vanishing in the Bermuda Triangle in 1945. Then we go to Indiana‚ where air traffic controllers hear about a plane’s near-collision with an unidentified aircraft‚ and locals begin to have a very weird evening. A toddler named Barry (Cary Guffey) wakes up to find his electrical toys going haywire and something ransacking the refrigerator; when he follows the unseen intruder outside‚ his mother‚ Jillian (Melinda Dillon) has to chase him through the fields and forests around their rural home. A power company lineman named Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss‚ who lobbied enthusiastically for the part while filming Jaws with Spielberg) is called to deal with outages across the region‚ and while he’s on the road he has a very close encounter with a UFO. Okay. Wait. Please excuse my sidebar‚ but I have to say this one thing. I don’t write these articles wanting to nitpick movies‚ because there really isn’t any fun in that. And I genuinely like this movie; I think it’s great fun to watch. But this one detail is driving me crazy. The lights in the sky‚ the sunburns‚ the music‚ the weird electrical and magnetic effects‚ all of that I can accept without the slightest threat to my suspension of disbelief. The disappearances and reappearances too—no problem. UFOs are UFOing. It’s all good. But for the life of me I do not have any idea why the aliens climb through Jillian’s dog door to go into her fridge and make a mess of her kitchen. What do they want with her fridge&;#63; What are they doing&;#63; Why do they climb through the dog door&;#63; They can travel between stars but they want to crawl around stealing food&;#63; I have so&;#33; many&;#33; questions&;#33; Don’t worry‚ I also have a theory: The aliens joyriding across Indiana that night brought an alien dog with them and it accidentally got loose and made a mess of Jillian’s kitchen and befriended Barry. Later the aliens went back later to grab Barry because the alien dog missed him so much. That’s my theory. Sidebar over. We can now return to the story. Following the weirdness in Indiana‚ we rejoin Lacombe and his ever-present interpreter‚ David (Bob Balaban‚ whom you recognize from Christopher Guest and Wes Anderson movies). This time they’re in the Gobi Desert‚ where the SS Cotopaxi has been found‚ even though it sunk off the coast of Florida in 1925. (Fun fact: In the real world‚ the shipwreck of the Cotopaxi was found by divers in the ’80s and officially identified in 2020.) They also travel to India‚ where crowds of people have heard a musical sequence of five tones from the sky. (Now those five tones are stuck in your head. Sorry.) Lacombe tells government officials that the aliens are trying to communicate‚ and the U.S. military begins broadcasting the tones from Goldstone to communicate right back. Meanwhile‚ in Indiana‚ things are going poorly. Jillian’s son Barry is abducted from their home following an absolutely terrifying sequence of events. Roy’s deteriorating mental health and obsession with UFOs is testing the patience of his wife‚ Ronnie (Teri Garr)‚ and frightening his children. It culminates in an awful fight—which Dreyfuss and Garr portray so effectively it is physically uncomfortable to watch—after which Ronnie takes the kids and leaves. Both Jillian and Roy are beset with visions of a strange mountain‚ but because neither of them has ever studied geology or the history of the National Park System‚ they don’t know that what they’re seeing is Devil’s Tower in Wyoming—not until they see it on the nightly news‚ thanks to the government’s cover-up story. The gender politics of this film have not aged well: men get to contemplate the mysteries of the universe‚ women have to stay home and take care of the kids. I’m not sure how those dynamics were interpreted in 1977 and don’t want to make assumptions‚ so I’ll just mention it briefly. On the one hand‚ the Neary home is a noisy‚ stressful clutter; it’s a claustrophobic space and the scenes are filmed with deliberately overcrowded audio to intensify the discomfort. So one can hardly blame Roy for wanting to escape it into a wondrous cosmic mystery. On the other hand‚ even before he meets the UFO he’s acting like another child Ronnie has to manage; even his job conveys messages through her rather than speaking directly to him. The family dynamic is one that is common in American media of a certain age—it became inescapable in the ’80s and ’90s especially—and all the more tiresome for it: the playful man-child who desperately wants to escape his boring suburban existence‚ the humorless wife who keeps trying to make him grow up. Years later‚ Spielberg acknowledged the immaturity of Roy’s character. In 2005 he said of Close Encounters: “Now‚ that was before I had kids. That was 1977. So I wrote that blithely. Today‚ I would never have the guy leaving his family and going on the mother ship.” So even though that aspect of the story rubs me the wrong way‚ I have mostly come around to thinking that sometimes a storytelling choice happens when a guy in his late twenties is writing about escaping the suburbs in a UFO‚ because not that long ago he was a teenager in the suburbs dreaming about escape and UFOs‚ and he’s just not really thinking very deeply about how it impacts other characters in the story. Driven by desperation and compulsion‚ Roy and Jillian both travel to Wyoming‚ where they meet up again amidst the chaos of a military-enforced evacuation and government cover-up. I laughed out loud when the government agents say they are evacuating 50‚000 people from 200 square miles around Devil’s Tower. Fifty thousand&;#33; I love when screenwriters who live in Southern California try to estimate population density anywhere else in the country. But never mind that. The military intercepts Roy and Jillian before they can reach Devil’s Tower‚ but they get away and begin climbing the mountain. What they find hidden on the far side is a massive operation set up to greet the aliens‚ compete with a landing strip‚ a phalanx of white-coated scientists and uniformed soldiers‚ and a guy on a synthesizer to play the five tones. In the real world that guy was Phil Dodds‚ an audio engineer and the Vice President of Engineering for ARP Instruments‚ who was on set to install and program the synthesizer used in the scene. Spielberg liked the way he looked and cast him to play the same role in the film. This is where we have to acknowledge the work of our old friend Douglas Trumbull and his special effects crew. As the visual effects supervisor‚ Trumbull developed methods for motion-controlled photography to match the flight of the UFOs—those bright lights that zoom around through most of the film‚ somehow managing to be both geometric and shapeless—with the miniature photography of the settings and landscapes. Those stunning images of clouds roiling and whirling are the work of Trumbull’s assistant Scott Squires‚ who created them by devising a method of injecting white paint into tanks of layered fresh- and saltwater. Several parts of the film‚ including those striking scenes toward the end in which Roy and Jillian are climbing the mountain at dusk‚ feature matte paintings by Matthew Yuricich (whose work is in everything from Ben Hur to Ghostbusters). The special effects are great throughout the movie‚ but there is something about the way they are used that I really love. It’s all about the build-up. I wouldn’t call it restraint‚ exactly‚ because this is not a movie that is terribly interested in restraint‚ but there is a deliberate choice to limit our perspective to make the characters’ experiences more powerful and unsettling. Even though I still want to know what the aliens wanted in Jillian’s refrigerator‚ that scene is a great example of effectively withholding information. All we see is the mess and little Barry’s face‚ and he’s too young to convey the precise emotion that an adult character might convey. All we know is that he’s enthralled rather than scared. Spielberg has talked about how the malfunctioning mechanical sharks used in Jaws made him reduce how much he could show the creature‚ and he seems to have learned a valuable lesson from the experience: you can convince your audience of a lot if you refrain from showing them so much that it looks fake. So many scenes in Close Encounters work this way‚ with the same psychological effect: heightening the tension‚ unsettling the characters‚ telling us enough that we know what’s going on but not so much that we begin to deconstruct it while watching. Never quite adding up‚ that is‚ until the end. In a story that depends on generating a lot of mystery and expectation around an unseen element‚ there is always a choice about whether to reveal that element fully. We normally think of this in terms of horror movie monsters and the risk that comes with building up something terrifying‚ only to have all that terror dissipate when the monster doesn’t live up to the hype. But Close Encounters is doing the exact opposite. There has been tension‚ fear‚ and uncertainty building all through the movie; Roy and Jillian‚ especially‚ are confused and scared by what’s happening to them. The goal of the ending is to erase that fear entirely and let awe take its place. That’s a big cinematic challenge‚ so how do you do it&;#63; Well‚ for one thing‚ you get Ralph McQuarrie to design and Greg Jein to build a really cool spaceship‚ and you fill it with color and light and music. The mothership is massive‚ astonishing‚ and overwhelming—but it’s not threatening. It’s too bright‚ too beautiful for that‚ even before the aliens begin returning the abductees they’ve taken from Earth. They return little Barry into his mother’s arms. They even return a dog&;#33; They can’t be threatening aliens if they return a dog‚ right&;#63; The crowd of extraterrestrials that surround Ron before he steps aboard are played by little girls—fifty six-year-olds&;#33;—so they are small and cute and humanoid. Outer space has come down to Earth‚ and it’s friendly‚ it’s fantastic‚ and it wants to show a regular guy from Indiana the wonders of the cosmos. This is where different versions of the film diverge. When Spielberg proposed the 1978 Special Edition‚ it was Columbia Pictures that asked him to add scenes at the end showing the interior of the mothership. Spielberg preferred to maintain the air of mystery‚ but he wanted the studio’s money‚ so he complied. Many critics loved the changes‚ including Roger Ebert‚ who raved about the revised film. But I can see Spielberg’s point about the scenes being unnecessary. It’s enough that Roy is walking into something majestic and unknown; we don’t have to glimpse the entire alien city awaiting him. But I don’t really think those scene detract from the ending either. The interior scenes of the mothership are beautiful‚ providing a tremendous sense of scale and hinting at a vast society that travels the stars. Maybe it’s just me being wishy-washy‚ but in truth both endings work for me. Whether or not we peek inside the mothership‚ the wonder is still there‚ the cosmos are still waiting‚ and humanity is still being welcomed into the larger‚ grander universe. I want to mention just one more thing‚ mostly because it makes me laugh but also roll my eyes a little. Close Encounters is a film that has been assessed and reassessed many times over the years; there are a flurry of new reviews and articles at every major anniversary. And some of them (here’s one example) go out of their way to claim that Close Encounters isn’t really a sci fi movie‚ for all that it’s about UFOs and aliens and first contact. The reasoning is that it doesn’t count because it’s about the humans rather than the aliens. Now‚ we’re all familiar with the whole “it can’t be sci fi if I like it” brand of criticism‚ which is so tired it’s basically a parody of itself. But it’s especially silly in this case‚ I think‚ because it misses a rather significant point: every movie about aliens is about humanity. Alien stories are human stories‚ right down to their marrow. They are a way for humans to look at ourselves and at each other‚ a way to explore human hopes and human fears‚ a way to create allegories of human drudgery and human dreams. Sci fi movies about extraterrestrials are‚ in general‚ a genre of film completely obsessed with what it means to be human. That’s why we keeping making them and watching them and talking about them. What do you think about Close Encounters of the Third Kind&;#63; What do you think about showing the inside of the mothership: Yay or nay&;#63; I’m sure many of you have noticed that I didn’t mention John Williams’ score‚ but in my defense I have a really bad reason for that: I don’t actually like it very much (sorry&;#33;)‚ so I neglected to look into it. I spent all my time reading about the cool special effects instead. Feel free to share your thoughts on that and anything else below&;#33; This Is Your Mind in the Machine And now for something completely different&;#33; We’ve gone out to space‚ we’ve brought aliens down to Earth‚ so next month we’re going to journey into the weird and wild realms of virtual reality. Many thanks to the commenters who suggested a few of the films on this list. This is only a small sampling of what the virtual reality corner of the sci fi genre has to offer. May 1 – eXistenZ (1999)‚ directed by David CronenbergIt’s possible I had a little chuckle to myself when I decided to follow a Spielberg movie with a Cronenberg movie.Watch: Kanopy‚ Pluto‚ Google‚ YouTube‚ Vudu‚ Microsoft‚ Amazon.View the trailer here. May 8 – World on a Wire (German: Welt am Draht) (1973)‚ directed by Rainer Werner FassbinderOne of the earliest filmed portrayals of virtual reality comes from this German television miniseries. Plan for a couple of nights‚ because it’s 204 minutes long.Watch: The only official sources are DVD/Blu-ray or streaming on the Criterion Channel‚ but you’re clever people. Check YouTube and the Internet Archive—there are uploads available.View the trailer here. May 15 – Open Your Eyes (Spanish: Abre los ojos) (1997)‚ directed by Alejandro Amen&;aacute;barThis was remade by Cameron Crowe as Vanilla Sky a few years later‚ but we’re going to watch the original.Watch: Amazon‚ BFI (UK only).View the trailer here. May 22 – Tron (1982)‚ directed by Steven LisbergerAccording to the director‚ Tron was not considered for a visual effects Oscar because the Academy thought using a computer for special effects was cheating.Watch: Disney‚ Amazon‚ Apple‚ Google‚ YouTube‚ Vudu‚ Microsoft.View the trailer here. May 29 – The Matrix (1999)‚ directed by the WachowskisI’m not going to skip it just because we all know and love it. Confession: I saw it in theaters on opening weekend twenty-five years ago but have not watched it since.Watch: Netflix‚ Max‚ Apple‚ Amazon‚ Google‚ Vudu‚ YouTube‚ Microsoft.View the trailer here. The post &;lt;i&;gt;Close Encounters of the Third Kind&;lt;/i&;gt;: Yearning for a Place in the Cosmos appeared first on Reactor.

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Last November‚ astronomers saw a quick gamma-ray explosion lasting one-tenth of a second. Then‚ 13 seconds later‚ they knew it came from galaxy M82‚ which is just 12 million light-years away. Basically next door‚ as galaxies go. This suggested they had witnessed something quite rare‚ a flare from a magnetar.A magnetar is a special type of neutron star with an incredible magnetic field. Neutron stars are the end product of certain supernovae. They are the extremely dense and degenerate core of dead massive stars. Short gamma-ray bursts are usually caused by neutron star collisions‚ which release a lot of energy and gravitational waves‚ but the team suspected an even rarer phenomenon involving a magnetar.Over the last 50 years‚ there have been only three other known flares from magnetars‚ all releasing short gamma-ray bursts. They were seen either from our own galaxy or the Large Magellanic Cloud‚ the largest and one of the closest galactic companions to the Milky Way. This is the fourth and most distant yet‚ but still so much closer than any other short gamma-ray burst.“We immediately realised that this was a special alert. Gamma-ray bursts come from far-away and anywhere in the sky‚ but this burst came from a bright nearby galaxy‚” lead author Dr Sandro Mereghetti of the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF–IASF) in Milan‚ said in a statement emailed to IFLScience.If that were the case‚ this would be the first detection of a magnetar in a galaxy beyond the sphere of influence of the Milky Way‚ and the team used many telescopes to confirm whether this was what they were seeing.M82 as seen by Hubble.Image Credit: NASA‚ ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA). Acknowledgment: J. Gallagher (University of Wisconsin)‚ M. Mountain (STScI) and P. Puxley (NSF)From the original alert from the Integral satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA)‚ they employed observatories in both X-rays‚ such as ESA’s XMM-Newton‚ and in the visible range to see the expected aftermath of neutron star collisions. The team also checked gravitational wave detectors. They didn’t see any telltale signs.  “XMM-Newton’s observations only showed the hot gas and stars in the galaxy. If this explosion had been a short gamma-ray burst‚ we would have seen a fading source of X-rays coming from its location‚ but this afterglow was not present‚” explained co-author Dr Michela Rigoselli‚ also from INAF.“Using ground-based optical telescopes‚ including the Italian Telescopio Nazionale Galileo and the French Observatoire de Haute-Provence‚ we looked for a signal in visible light‚ starting only a few hours after the explosion‚ but again we did not find anything. With no signal in X-rays and visible light‚ and no gravitational waves measured by detectors on Earth (LIGO/VIRGO/KAGRA)‚ we are certain the signal came from a magnetar‚” concluded Mereghetti.M82 is considered a starburst galaxy‚ a galaxy which is producing a lot of stars. Some of those stars live fast and die young‚ going supernova and leaving behind neutron stars – and‚ in some cases‚ magnetars. These objects have a magnetic field one trillion times more powerful than that of our planet. It might be possible that it is a temporary feature that only young neutron stars have.The discovery suggests that starburst galaxies such as M82 are great places to look for magnetars‚ and astronomers will keep an eye out for more flares from such a fascinating galaxy.The study is published in the journal Nature.

Exquisitely preserved fossils belonging to an extinct group of giant sharks have been discovered in Mexico‚ and may help solve some centuries-old mysteries surrounding what these enigmas looked like‚ what they hunted‚ and how they fit into the shark evolutionary tree.Ptychodus is a genus of extinct sharks from the Albian–Campanian stage of the Cretaceous period (around 105 to 75 million years ago). It contains at least 16 species‚ which have an estimated gigantic body size of up to 10 meters (33 feet) and have been found on all continents except Antarctica.First reported in 1729‚ the genus is still to this day one of the most perplexing fossil elasmobranchs – a group of fish that includes sharks‚ skates‚ and rays. Plenty of weird teeth have been found‚ but more detailed fossils‚ featuring cranial and post-cranial skeletal elements‚ are very rarely discovered and complete specimens had never been reported before now.But that’s all changed with a new study‚ in which complete articulated specimens from the early Late Cretaceous of Mexico are described‚ including a preserved body outline‚ which provide crucial information about Ptychodus and its mysterious lifestyle.Ptychodus tooth.Image credit: Vullo et al.‚ Proceedings B‚ 2024“The new complete skeletons described here help resolve the long-standing enigma of Ptychodus‚” the study’s authors write – helping to answer questions we’ve had for almost two centuries about its anatomy‚ relationships to other species‚ and predatory behavior.Phylogenetic and ecomorphological analyses confirmed that‚ as suspected‚ Ptychodus was a titan. The researchers propose a maximum body length of 9.7 meters (31.8 feet)‚ with a corresponding jaw length of 1.9 meters (6.2 feet). For reference‚ the largest living durophagous shark – sharks that eat hard-shelled organisms‚ such as corals‚ shelled mollusks‚ or crabs – is just 2.5 to 3.5 meters (8.2 to 11.5 feet) long. Overall‚ the researchers conclude that Ptychodus was “probably the largest durophagous shark that ever existed”.Fully articulated Ptychodus specimens from the early Late Cretaceous.Image credit: Vullo et al.‚ Proceedings B‚ 2024They also demonstrate that the elusive elasmobranch was a fast-swimming predator‚ belonging to the mackerel shark group (Lamniformes)‚ an order that also includes the great white shark. Ptychodus also “occupied a specialized predatory niche previously unknown in fossil and extant elasmobranchs”‚ the team explain.The recent discovery in Mexico “challenges the widely held view that [...] Ptychodus was a group of bottom-dwelling sharks feeding mainly on shelled benthic invertebrates”. Instead of snacking on organisms like clams and crustaceans that live at the bottom of the ocean‚ the study authors think that Ptychodus preferred hard-shelled prey items such as ammonites and sea turtles.They also have a theory for what might have brought about its extinction during the Campanian – 10 million years before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event that wiped out around three-quarters of Earth’s species.During this time‚ Ptychodus would have been in direct competition with emerging blunt-toothed mosasaurs in the clades Globidensini and Prognathodontini. With their crushing teeth‚ these predators likely targeted the same prey as Ptychodus‚ which may have been driven to extinction as a result.  The study is published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.