Sensational!
What if we told you that the Government is in fact admittedly in possession of UFOs, there are thousands of people in Europe protesting mask mandates, a high profile astrophysicist briefed the The Pentagon on spaceships "not of this earth," element 115 might be able to produce forcefield technology and the CIA tested LSD on civilians? It sounds crazy. It sounds like either we're losing our minds because we've been in quarantine for too long or we're all in big trouble because the government is lying to us, doesn't it? The funny thing about all of this is: It's all true... and isn't that big of a big deal.
Wait... What?
We love conspiracy theories. Just look at our artwork for our full length albums (which you can listen to on Spotify HERE). So, anytime we hear a good one, we like to check it out, stay up late and talk about it. Part of the reason we started "Van Philosophy" last year wasn't just to keep ourselves awake on a long drive to the next city on tour but because we want to have a "sibling-like" understanding of the world around us.
The word philosophy comes from a pairing of two Greek words: φιλέω (phileo) and σοφία (sophia). Sophia, simply means wisdom or understanding. Phileo means love but it's not as broad of a word as it is in English. You may have heard that "Philadelphia," is "The City of Brotherly Love." Brotherly love defines "phileo" to a native English speaker very well. If you have siblings (or close friends you consider family) think about how you love them. It's a lot different from the way you "love" a good meal, a sports team or sex (which are all different words in Greek). Phileo is the kind of love you reserve for someone you care about even when it's not easy. It's more or a sense of honor and obligation than it is a feeling. Although, it's not something you have to tip-toe around. If you're brother does something stupid, you call him out on it and hopefully he understands why. This is the type of love we want to have for learning. We question it when it doesn't make sense but we also stick up for it when it needs it.
The Best Lies Are Slivers of Truth.
As artists we tell lies so hopefully people know the truth. We create something artificial, whether out of paint, words or spaces between musical notes, so hopefully the observer or listener can find something real. However, it seems every time we look down at our phone there is someone telling us the truth so hopefully we'll be deceived. Here's a few examples of true statements said over the last week, that may get you to believe a lie if you're not careful.
1. "The US Government is in possession of UFOs from the 60s."
It's totally true. If we dig into protocols of classified and declassified information in the United States government we generally find that classified information tends to have a shelf life of about 60 years given its sensitivity. It's 2020 now, so lots of information from the 1950-1960s is becoming declassified. During those times, the United States was going through a lot: Hot wars with Korea, The Philippines & Vietnam, Cold ones with Russia and Cuba, rising tensions with a growing amount communist countries, the Space Race, a Civil Rights movement and trying to round up Nazi's that escaped from justice and offer a means of redemption to their scientists under Operation Paperclip.
With all this going on it would be extremely unlikely that the US Navy DIDN'T discover flying objects it was unfamiliar with. One might argue, they weren't doing their job very well if they didn't, as the US Navy's main mission is to keep wars far away from US soil. One also might argue that CIA wouldn't have been doing it's job if they hadn't studied, tested and even attempted to replicate what was found. 60 years later, the public is just starting to be able to review government intelligence from the time period.
This doesn't mean that aliens don't exist. However, it's easy to think it's being suggested when someone asks, "Do you have UFOs," and the quick answer is, "Yes." Perhaps, the question, "Did you ever come across any technology you didn't immediately recognize during 3 wars, a conflict and a space race?" doesn't make good news stories or late night conversations. Connotation is everything.
2. "There are thousands of people protesting mask mandates in Germany."
This is totally true. However, the statement remains true if we find two thousand people that disagree with mask mandates out of Germany's population of almost 84 million people. When information is left out it creates a tunnel vision view of the world that can encourage irresponsibility. It creates false majority. Sensationalism distorts facts.
3. "An Astrophysicist briefed the Pentagon on 'Off world vehicles not made on this earth.'"
Totally True! If you want to look up more about it his name is Eric Davis and was formerly a defense consultant for the US government. What was said in this meeting remains classified and more than likely will for another 60 years or so. Does this mean that the Pentagon found an alien spacecraft and needed an astrophysicist to confirm it? That's totally possible and we'd hope that's what they'd do if that were the case. However, it's very likely that the briefing was about how to determine what materials are native to our home planet, which one's are not and how an analysis of physics and aeronautics from an expert can determine whether a craft (whether real or theoretical) is air-worthy, space-worthy or both. Sure hope it's aliens though!
4. Element 115 may be the answer to 'Force Field' technology."
If you haven't watched "Bob Lazar- Area 51 & Flying Saucers" on Netflix you TOTALLY NEED TO CHECK THAT OUT! You also should not read the next paragraph or two until you've watched it so we don't spoil anything for you. That is, if you're into that sort of thing.
The statement about element 115 is true but printing it in news papers is not responsible journalism. While a few people claim that element 115 was discovered in the 1980s the majority of the the international physics & chemistry communities agree that element 115 (Moscovium) was first observed in 2003 in Russia by Russian and American scientists. We're not going to explain the finer details of particle acceleration (because honestly, there's a lot we don't really get) but this is an oversimplified explanation of how scientists discover new elements on the periodic table.
The numbers on the Periodic Table of Elements correspond with the element's atomic weight, or mass. The lightest known element Hydrogen (H) has an atomic weight of 1.008 and is 1st on the table. The heaviest known element Oganesson (Og) has an atomic weight of [294]ix which means it has no known stable nuclides (number of protons and neutrons) and its value indicates the mass number of it's longest lived isotope (chemical variant where the number of neutrons have changed in an element). It takes slot 118 on the table.
How New Elements Are Observed.
While natural elements can just be observed with a really fancy microscope, synthetic elements need more of a process. New elements are typically discovered by adding the mass of two known elements together and seeing what happens. The problem with actually doing this is a principle called "electrostatic repulsion." Positively charged particles tend to not want to stick together just like two positive ends of magnets.
If you have two positively charged magnets and you're strong enough, you can hold them together for a brief moment. The same can be done with atoms but because we can't get our hands around them and hold them together we fire them at each other as fast as we can and take a picture of what happens when they "touch." This moment in time is usually only -10 to the 20th power of a second: a RIDICULOUSLY short period of time.
When this happens, scientists get a snapshot of the element's properties and can make fairly accurate assumptions and predictions like atomic weight, melting point, group, density and electronegativity. What we have to remember is that ALL of that data is a prediction. So saying it's possible for a new element to have a unknown isotope that can do a specific thing is a true statement. We'll only know for sure if someone proves it, though.
5. "Masks don't protect you very well from Covid-19"
It's very true. It's generally true for most viruses. If someone is sick and you are wearing a mask it doesn't do much to protect you. However, it helps tremendously if someone is sick and wears a mask to help keep moisture from their mouth contained and reduces the airstream directed at other people. It's why your dentist wears a mask, so she doesn't spit in your mouth. With Covid-19 being a highly communicable, water transfered virus, masks do help but only if the people that actually have it wear one.
The reason why so many responsible people are urging that we all wear a mask in public is because a lot of people are asymptomatic, meaning they don't show symptoms. "I'm not sick," isn't a convincing argument unless you get a test showing negative results and proceed to live in a vacuum.
You Don't Have To Buy Ours But Please Wear A Mask
Right now, for every pair of Roshambeaux cloth face masks sold, we'll donate one to an essential worker until we run out. These people still have to deal with the public every day and we are very grateful for them. Without them our economy would fail and we want to do what we can to support them. This offer is exclusively available at roshambeauxmusic.com/donate We'll even throw in our new single and new EP for free when you donate $25 for a pair.
Moving To Youtube!
If you've been following us for the past 14 weeks we've started a live Van Philosophy Vlogcast where we can interact with you once a week. It's totally unscripted and live. We really enjoy hearing your ideas, philosophies and what's going on with your week. This week we're moving the show over to Youtube. Don't forget to subscribe HERE so you don't miss it! We'll see you tonight Wednesday 8/5/20 at 8pm/est. Come hang out. When you do, leave a comment. We really like that!
Special Thanks To Our Patrons & Subscribers!
With no real timeline of when we'll be able to go back on tour due to the Covid 19 pandemic we rely on the generous contributions from people like you to ensure we can continue to create music, articles, vlogcasts and art. It's been a very tough year but we're able to keep our heads up thanks to these amazing people! We truly couldn't do this without you! Thank you SO much!
Nancy B, Renee T, Shelly R & Steve B
If you enjoy what we do and find even a little value in it, please consider becoming a patron at Patreon.com/Roshambeaux. Even just a $1 a month goes a really long way to ensure we can continue to create free content for you. There are multiple tiers with unique perks that aren't available anywhere else online starting at just $1 a month.
We'd Also Like To Thank Our Other Monthly Donors!
Jeff C & Grass Cutters
We're always trying to come out with new content, music and merchandise. Thanks to these people for ensuring that we're able to get new things out by with monthly pledges. If you'd like to join these folks in getting these new items automatically when they are available visit roshambeauxmusic.com/donate hit the donate button and make it a monthly donation.
All photos by Roshambeaux
Additional Photo Credits
Stock Static TV- motionaray.com
Plato- CS Online
UFOs- cia.gov
German Protesters- dw.com
Eric Davis- Astrophysicist- Research Gate
Moscovium- Encyclopedia Britannica
CERNs Collider of the Future- Sputnik News
Through the continued affects of pandemic life, we've found it really important to find ways to cut cost of living but still maintain a sense of normalcy. As musicians, we knew when we quit our "normal jobs," 10 years ago, we more than likely would have to find ways to make a lower income work for our lives and ensure our survival while we pursued our passion. Back then, we were able to make that decision and prepare our minds for that inevitability but we know a lot of people have been thrown into it with little or no choice because of Covid-19. Through these current trials we're reminded of what it's like to be a "starving artist" again. We imagine a lot of people outside of the entertainment industry do too. Back then, we quit smoking and learned how to make e-cig coils and vape juice from scratch (It easily saved us $200/month). We've kicked vaping as well and this time we're focusing on healthier ways to cut cost. Honestly, it's not just about saving a little more money during these hard times. We feel that crafting allows you to put a little bit of your soul into something useful. It's meaningful. It's good for you. We think if you can find a way to make art, you should, anyway you can.
