SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Sheep counters find a monolith:
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/utah-monolith-what-is-it-trnd/index.html
Some geek on Reddit found it on Google Earth already:
https://www.reddit.com/r/geoguessr/comments/jzw628/help_me_find_this_obelisk_in_remote_utah/
That shining, eerily symmetrical silver monolith found in the Utah desert has everyone screaming "ET." The truth is likely far more terrestrial.
We still don't know who made the tall, metal rectangle or why they stuck it among the red rocks, where it was discovered this week in a helicopter flyover by Utah Department of Public Safety employees (they were counting bighorn sheep).
And though comparisons were quickly drawn to the fictional monoliths of film auteur Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey," we can safely say this real-life monolith was not the work of aliens.
Still, it's a fittingly mystifying symbol in a year that's often felt stranger than fiction. And while we may eventually learn more about the artwork's origin, any piece of Kubrick-inspired art should leave some questions unanswered, said I.Q. Hunter, a film scholar and De Montfort University professor.
Also at:
Mysterious metal monolith discovered in rural Utah
Utah monolith: Internet sleuths got there, but its origins are still a mystery
Thanks aristarchus_, Runaway1956
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 29 2020, @12:00AM (2 children)
You're PoV sounds great when it's just *one* metal sculpture. The problem is that if you don't have rules, then suddenly the "art projects" are rundown trailers where people burn all their waste in the open. There is a formal process to film and perhaps even leave permanent monuments on such land; but it's limited for very valid reasons, not just because some official is power-tripping. The vast majority wants these places to be unspoiled or very lightly used for some purposes. Even if you try to invoke some kind of fundamental right that supersedes majority rule, the "right to use" sometimes conflicts with the "right to enjoy as is". Some form of government is the best way to mediate such conflicts.
Want to special-case this? Fine. Lobby the authorities. That's actually part of the system. You might succeed in getting this one a pass. Many people would support that, but most would not support making the whole area a free-for-all to install whatever you want.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Sunday November 29 2020, @02:09AM
I'm not in favor of a free for all. I suspect the brutal conditions in the area aren't either. But that particular monument is already there and seems well done. We don't even know WHEN it was put up, was it even against the rules at the time?
The fact is, it *IS* just one metal sculpture. And it seems remarkable that someone managed it. I'm fine with it if they want to remind people that they can't just ride out there and put up whatever they want, and if someone tries, I approve of stopping them.
I also suspect the process of removal will do more damage than leaving it up.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 30 2020, @05:49AM
Classic mistake. You thought you were debating something but really it's all about mah freedoms.