“This is a present from a small, distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours.”That’s what President Carter articulated on behalf of all Earthlings as part of the Golden Record, a disc released into space to give aliens a taste of what Earth’s all about. It’s been 30 years since the thing’s been launched. Must have been a strange day in the White House when Carter did the voiceover. The record’s got all kinds of music on it, too, including a disproportionate amount of dead white men classics. These are the other sounds of Earth. This part of Carter’s speech is kinda beautiful:“We hope someday, having solved the problems we face, to join a community of galactic civilizations. This record represents our hope and our determination and our goodwill in a vast and awesome universe.” There’s also some music and an odd photo of humans eating, drinking and licking. Guess it’s better than, “Say, you guys got any oil?” or a copy of the latest episode of “American Idol.”
The Bottle In The Cosmic Ocean
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