Strange Things

No!  Not The Television Show
Because that would be "Stranger Things", although if you were over-hasty in clicking on the title that's understandable. Conrad thoroughly enjoyed it, inc. the soundtrack.  The BBC programme "Horizon" appear to have enjoyed it, too, as they used the title design for their entry entitled "Strange Sounds From Outer Space".

See?  I speak the truth*.

     Traditionally, these sounds have been assumed to be "Take me to your leader", with the occasional addendum "puny human", thanks to a lot of hokey old Fifties sci-fi films and television series.
     The sounds Horizon refers to are more akin to signals than your interstellar neighbours loudly hailing you across the interstellar medium.  Puzzlingly, and without any explanation, the programme began with "The Robert Taylor Incident", which involved this very same RT claiming he'd been attacked by extraterrestrials on his way home from a forestry job in Scotland - although the programme didn't actually mention this, so your humble scribe had to look it up.
     Then we were on to the meat of the matter.  Art?

Frank Drake and his equation

     The Drake Equation is a model for estimating the number of civilisations present in the Milky Way galaxy**, although the variables are so - well, variable - that Frank admits it only puts you in the arena of "possible".  Mind you, the Equation was generated in 1962; it wasn't until over 30 years later that the first extra-solar planet was discovered, and with the hundreds found since, the "N" is moving more towards "Probable" and away from "Possible".
     More to come on this.  O Yes!

Explained

Conrad Is Agog!
Er - perhaps I should elucidate***.  "Agog" means "to be trembling, eyes a-rolling, sweaty-palmed, with nervous excitement", and is not a typo for "A Gog".  Because he was one of that pair Gog and Magog, who decorate the City of London.

The terrible two

     "Er - have you been drinking high-octane petrol again?" I hear you query.
     No!  Besides which, it was diesel.  Anyway, we've gotten off-topic.
     Take that comic 2000AD and see which character was the most popular.  Right behind that jackbooted thug Judge Dredd comes Johnny Alpha, who is a far more sympathetic character - a mutant estranged from his family (inc. war criminal dad), who ekes out a living as a Search/Destroy agent.  Art?

Johnny and Wulf Sternhammer

     The backstory for JA & WS is long and elaborate.  Suffice it to say that mutants like Johnny make up pretty much all of the Search/Destroy agency, as there is little other work for them to do.  The SD agents are, essentially, bounty hunters, who serve sentence on criminals across the galaxy.
     And someone's made a short film of them!

http://www.strontiumdogfanfilm.com/

     It's only 20 minutes long but captures the spirit and look of the comic exactly; that's not just me saying that, the writer and artist who wrote and drew the strips are equally enthusiastic.  Gibbering fanboy Conrad immediately identified Kid Knee, Durham Red, Middenface Mcnulty, the Doghouse <Mister Hand intervenes before drool gets on the keyboard).
     
https://www.facebook.com/strontiumdogfanfilm/

     There's the Facebook page.  Remember, like Conrad, these people entertain you for free.

"Comment or die"

A Clerihew Or Two
I think all of the following are dead, so your humble hack cannot be sued by them.  Which is a good thing, as there would mysteriously be a lot of lawyers suffering inexplicable demises.

Nevil Shute

Was quite the brute.

He wrote "On The Beach"

Whilst chewing on a pickled leech.

     Obviously that doesn't count towards one of his Five A Day - protein, not fruit or veg.  In case you are unaware, OTB is not a happy jolly novel about surfing or boxing kangaroos, despite NS having settled in Oz.  It's a post-apocalyptic account of the end of the world coming to Melbourne.  There are speeches, and no leeches.

How they used to while away  the time in Oz

Enid Blyton

Eloped to Brighton,

Where she lived in a squalid dive,

And romanced about the Famous Five.

     I doubt anything about lines two and three is true.  I could check on Wikipedia if you insist - wellllll well what the heck!  Quite the racy lady.  Nude tennis, eh?  But no eloping.

The dog is Number Five

*  Sometimes.
**  I know, I know, "galaxy" comes from the Greek for "milk".  Sue me.
***   Clear things up