Life would be so wonderful if we only knew what to do with it.
Greta Garbo
*******************
Why does it take decades fro most of us to really understand ourselves and know what we want to do with our lives. We may have a clear enough idea once, but then things come along to cloud it, jobs, making a living, raising a family. And when we get to our senior years maybe we rediscover what it was we wanted to live for, and maybe not. I sometimes query myself about some of the things I wanted during my childhood, trying to remember.
Some people never do discover themselves, but they probably don't know it since their lives have been occupied doing something, and maybe it was important and fulfilling to them in a way.
Then there are some lucky people who got started when they were young on exactly the right highway to take them to the lives they wanted. Listening to the astronauts being interviews I note that most of them were inspired to work somehow in the space industry when they were quite young. They were intrigued by such things as the flight of Yuri Gagarin, or John Glenn, and later by Neil Armstrong stepping on the moon. The activities of the astronauts and cosmonauts are still inspiring kids today.
I wanted to be an astronaut when I was 12. Only there were no such things in those days. No one had been to the moon, no one had even been into outer space, in fact nothing had been there. The sputnik hadn't been launched yet. That wasn't going to happen for another 6 years. But I knew we would travel into outer space and I wanted to do that.
I was soon completely talked out of any venture into space by those who thought they were authorities on the subject. So I did the next best thing, I went into show business.
Like Greta Garbo I retired from my acting career. That was about 10 years ago. I was never a star like Garbo, but as she I was peppered with questions about it. I don't know what she did with her life after her retirement, she was a solitary figure who could occasionally be seen out for a stroll in Manhattan, but rarely spoke to anyone.
I enjoy watching NASA TV, seeing the launches and the work being done on the space station. I no longer think about going into space (though wouldn't that be fun?) but my life's adventure now is into a different universe. It's a mental space I lift off into now. Just as vast and unexplored. And one of these days I hope to achieve orbit.
DB - The Vagabond
*************************
WINTER QUESTION
(This is not a contest)
What was the most significant event that happened in 2010?
dbdacoba@aol.com
Only 6 responses so far
I await your answer.
DB
******************************
Showing posts with label astronauts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label astronauts. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Heavy Hitting 8/26/09
Never bear more than one trouble at a time.
Edward Everett Hale
*********************************
Hurry and get your note book ready because September is coming and that means all....
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
LOOKING AT THE WORLD THROUGH MUD COLORED GLASSES
I sometimes mention my poor eyesight. Do I have trouble seeing distance or up close? Both. I have bifocals but there is virtually no difference between how I see whether they are on my nose or not. So why do I bother to wear them? Habit.
I think one of the worst things that can happen to any creature is to be stuck; in a trap, in an airplane, in a hateful job, in a destructive relationship. I believe in freedom, but freedom has it's edges. I don't want to be free to hate anyone, or to destroy anything good. For the past week I was stuck in a cave of forced inactivity simply because I was in trouble and didn't know what to do about it. Wrong steps could have taken me deeper into the cave. I was desperate and confused. I wouldn't want to wish that on my worst enemy. I don't know who my worst enemy is, but what I wish on him or her is the severe, painful punishment of enlightenment and freedom from the trap of wrong doing. Seriously. Read this:
"My people are brave and respected, even in the eyes of our enemy, because we as elders have taught them to be proud and to respect everyone and everything around them." Waanatan, 1865, Chief of the Dakota Nation.
Some people I know were scornful and insulting about the distress I was in the past week. It's hard to be respectful of those who scorn and belittle your pain, especially when you remember how you were there for them when their feet were in the stocks. If I had the money I would invite the lawyer who's suing me to lunch and during it I would give him, as respectfully and as gentlemanly as possible, an ethical lesson. And, who knows, if he enjoyed the lunch he might take the lesson to heart. And maybe he could give me a lesson in law.
I think one of the biggest mistakes this country made was to decide to set up NASA in Florida where the weather is volatile. I pity the astronauts who struggle into those bulbous space suits looking like orange Pillsbury dough boys and squirming into the small spacecraft to a cramped, uncomfortable position and then to lie there for three to four hours only to be told to come out again because there's a rain storm somewhere near and they won't be flying. But to dismantle the whole operation and move it to southern California would cost more money than the country has (if it still has any). So we're stuck with having our universe shattering, history making. world discovering space exploration dependant upon the local weather.
I pity the poor airline passengers who are forced to sit on the tarmac for 8 to 10 hours not knowing why or how long they're there. That's an inhuman way to treat people and yet it keeps happening. The muddy minded people who are responsible for doing that to passengers, for whatever legal, technical or administrative reasons they may have, should be re-educated or replaced. There must be provisions at every major airport for getting passengers off an aircraft after an hour of waiting if it isn't about to take off. I don't care how costly and inconvenient it is, these are people I'm talking about, not sacks of mail, fellow human beings. There is no excuse for treating people that way. Even the astronauts are let off the shuttle if it isn't going to fly.
To be stuck in some awful situation without being able to see your way out of it is a nightmare. You might as well be buried alive. I know what I'm saying.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
___________________________
Throw some happiness around.
***************************************
PS: Miss Alaina and pacifica62 please see the comment section of my previous entry. Thank you.
Edward Everett Hale
*********************************
Hurry and get your note book ready because September is coming and that means all....
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
LOOKING AT THE WORLD THROUGH MUD COLORED GLASSES
I sometimes mention my poor eyesight. Do I have trouble seeing distance or up close? Both. I have bifocals but there is virtually no difference between how I see whether they are on my nose or not. So why do I bother to wear them? Habit.
I think one of the worst things that can happen to any creature is to be stuck; in a trap, in an airplane, in a hateful job, in a destructive relationship. I believe in freedom, but freedom has it's edges. I don't want to be free to hate anyone, or to destroy anything good. For the past week I was stuck in a cave of forced inactivity simply because I was in trouble and didn't know what to do about it. Wrong steps could have taken me deeper into the cave. I was desperate and confused. I wouldn't want to wish that on my worst enemy. I don't know who my worst enemy is, but what I wish on him or her is the severe, painful punishment of enlightenment and freedom from the trap of wrong doing. Seriously. Read this:
"My people are brave and respected, even in the eyes of our enemy, because we as elders have taught them to be proud and to respect everyone and everything around them." Waanatan, 1865, Chief of the Dakota Nation.
Some people I know were scornful and insulting about the distress I was in the past week. It's hard to be respectful of those who scorn and belittle your pain, especially when you remember how you were there for them when their feet were in the stocks. If I had the money I would invite the lawyer who's suing me to lunch and during it I would give him, as respectfully and as gentlemanly as possible, an ethical lesson. And, who knows, if he enjoyed the lunch he might take the lesson to heart. And maybe he could give me a lesson in law.
I think one of the biggest mistakes this country made was to decide to set up NASA in Florida where the weather is volatile. I pity the astronauts who struggle into those bulbous space suits looking like orange Pillsbury dough boys and squirming into the small spacecraft to a cramped, uncomfortable position and then to lie there for three to four hours only to be told to come out again because there's a rain storm somewhere near and they won't be flying. But to dismantle the whole operation and move it to southern California would cost more money than the country has (if it still has any). So we're stuck with having our universe shattering, history making. world discovering space exploration dependant upon the local weather.
I pity the poor airline passengers who are forced to sit on the tarmac for 8 to 10 hours not knowing why or how long they're there. That's an inhuman way to treat people and yet it keeps happening. The muddy minded people who are responsible for doing that to passengers, for whatever legal, technical or administrative reasons they may have, should be re-educated or replaced. There must be provisions at every major airport for getting passengers off an aircraft after an hour of waiting if it isn't about to take off. I don't care how costly and inconvenient it is, these are people I'm talking about, not sacks of mail, fellow human beings. There is no excuse for treating people that way. Even the astronauts are let off the shuttle if it isn't going to fly.
To be stuck in some awful situation without being able to see your way out of it is a nightmare. You might as well be buried alive. I know what I'm saying.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
___________________________
Throw some happiness around.
***************************************
PS: Miss Alaina and pacifica62 please see the comment section of my previous entry. Thank you.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Universal Utterances 5/22/09
What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit.
John Updike
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello from here.
------------------------
Does life mirror art, or does art mirror life? I forgot which it is, but I think it's probably both. I've been watching with great interest the repair of the Hubble telescope as shown on NASA TV. I've listened to what the various scientists and astronauts have said about the mission, and I'm now trying to process through my own mind what it means, I'm sure I won't be able to describe the great extent of meaning it has in one journal entry, so I will probably be returning to the topic from time to time, ad tedium.
The astronauts installed some new pieces of equipment and replaced some old ones, all to allow Hubble to see farther and more clearly. Each one of those items was designed and built by scientists and technicians on the earth.
It's true that Hubble looks into space, but it isn't space that interests us. It is the various objects in space, the stars, planets, moons, and other items that define themselves and hence help to define space.
Certain ideas present themselves. As the astronauts looked back to the earth it was obvious that the earth was one of those objects in space and that we live on one dot in the vast, uncountable trillions of dots that define space. And one of the possibilities Hubble may discover for us is if there is intelligent life out there somewhere on another planet. It is most likely that there is and if so no doubt there is more than one. That is a subject for a different journal entry.
The Hubble is a window on to the great scene, the starscape that we live in and thus also a window on to life. But it is also a mirror because as we look out at the vastness of which we are a part it defines our life as well.
Each of those systems designed and built by those here on earth to be a part of Hubble were items that defined life and the space around it. And each one has a function that is specific to the defining of life. They have there reality in their function.
A great painting or sculpture is a mirror of human life in the space that surrounds it. It sends back to us pictures about ourselves. It is also a window into the vastness of the imagination and mentality of human life. Each work of art has its specific function and defines itself as it defines the mental, spiritual space around it. Because of art we can grasp the knowable in the vast sea of the invisible and live comfortably within it.
(To be continued, someday)
Vagabond Journeys
_________________
Strike a new pose in the mirror
**********************
John Updike
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello from here.
------------------------
Does life mirror art, or does art mirror life? I forgot which it is, but I think it's probably both. I've been watching with great interest the repair of the Hubble telescope as shown on NASA TV. I've listened to what the various scientists and astronauts have said about the mission, and I'm now trying to process through my own mind what it means, I'm sure I won't be able to describe the great extent of meaning it has in one journal entry, so I will probably be returning to the topic from time to time, ad tedium.
The astronauts installed some new pieces of equipment and replaced some old ones, all to allow Hubble to see farther and more clearly. Each one of those items was designed and built by scientists and technicians on the earth.
It's true that Hubble looks into space, but it isn't space that interests us. It is the various objects in space, the stars, planets, moons, and other items that define themselves and hence help to define space.
Certain ideas present themselves. As the astronauts looked back to the earth it was obvious that the earth was one of those objects in space and that we live on one dot in the vast, uncountable trillions of dots that define space. And one of the possibilities Hubble may discover for us is if there is intelligent life out there somewhere on another planet. It is most likely that there is and if so no doubt there is more than one. That is a subject for a different journal entry.
The Hubble is a window on to the great scene, the starscape that we live in and thus also a window on to life. But it is also a mirror because as we look out at the vastness of which we are a part it defines our life as well.
Each of those systems designed and built by those here on earth to be a part of Hubble were items that defined life and the space around it. And each one has a function that is specific to the defining of life. They have there reality in their function.
A great painting or sculpture is a mirror of human life in the space that surrounds it. It sends back to us pictures about ourselves. It is also a window into the vastness of the imagination and mentality of human life. Each work of art has its specific function and defines itself as it defines the mental, spiritual space around it. Because of art we can grasp the knowable in the vast sea of the invisible and live comfortably within it.
(To be continued, someday)
Vagabond Journeys
_________________
Strike a new pose in the mirror
**********************
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Precocious Prophecy 5/17/09
We have it in our power to begin the world over again.
Thomas Paine
*****************
Come in, make yourself comfortable.
----------------------
A band leader once said "No matter what tune you play someone will come out to dance." Sometimes I wonder how people get set up as teachers. I have written about Mr. O'Conner, my elementary school science teacher, who, when in my 11 year old enthusiasm and interest in the solar system said that I would like to go to the moon, scornfully said "Don't be ridiculous. Man can never go to the moon." I bet if I hung out a sign offering instruction in something I don't know anything about, someone would come knocking at my door to sign up.
Yesterday I spent a few hours watching the astronauts repairing the Hubble telescope. It still amazes me how far we have come in space technology since Mr. O'Conner's faulty, authoritative pronouncement of "scientific fact."
Another thing I note with astonishment is, after all the comings and goings of earth life, the societies, the governments, the tribes and nations, wars and trade, the history books and artifacts collected and gathered into museums, we still know very little about this place we live on, this globe floating around in space for no apparent reason. We live on one tiny, insignificant speck on the nose of the universe and Hubble keeps giving us more and more information of the immeasurable vastness of it all. But there is still something else even more amazing.
When Mr. O'Conner gave forth with his "expert opinion" man had never been to the moon, yet. During the NASA program there was a lecture about the plans to put astronauts on Mars; 6 months to get there, 6 months to poke around, 6 months to get back. Considering the starscapes presented to us by Hubble, a trip to Mars seems like a baby step. And so it is.
There are those who think all this space exploration is a total waste of time, money and resources. Those are the same people who did not wish to precede Thomas Paine and his friends. But those who did, did begin the world over again: two new continents, a new story and a new way of life. As Margaret Thatcher said, America was built on philosophy.
Is there life on Mars? It's likely, in some form. Is there intelligent life in our solar system or in some distant galaxy? Most probably. And that means we are citizens of the universe. It means our world is now part of a larger society, a grander civilization than we have known. Our world is much larger than it has ever been. It's a new world, begun all over again.
In 1959 my girl friend and I went to a Dave Brubeck concert at the Revere Beach outdoor stadium outside of Boston. While listening to "Take Five" I leaned back and stared up at the clear night sky and saw a slowly moving star. It was Sputnik. orbiting overhead. Sputnik's successful journey began the world all over again with one small baby step.
Ii is in our power to begin the world over again, every day.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
_____________________
You have a happy Sunday now, your hear me?
*****************************
Thomas Paine
*****************
Come in, make yourself comfortable.
----------------------
A band leader once said "No matter what tune you play someone will come out to dance." Sometimes I wonder how people get set up as teachers. I have written about Mr. O'Conner, my elementary school science teacher, who, when in my 11 year old enthusiasm and interest in the solar system said that I would like to go to the moon, scornfully said "Don't be ridiculous. Man can never go to the moon." I bet if I hung out a sign offering instruction in something I don't know anything about, someone would come knocking at my door to sign up.
Yesterday I spent a few hours watching the astronauts repairing the Hubble telescope. It still amazes me how far we have come in space technology since Mr. O'Conner's faulty, authoritative pronouncement of "scientific fact."
Another thing I note with astonishment is, after all the comings and goings of earth life, the societies, the governments, the tribes and nations, wars and trade, the history books and artifacts collected and gathered into museums, we still know very little about this place we live on, this globe floating around in space for no apparent reason. We live on one tiny, insignificant speck on the nose of the universe and Hubble keeps giving us more and more information of the immeasurable vastness of it all. But there is still something else even more amazing.
When Mr. O'Conner gave forth with his "expert opinion" man had never been to the moon, yet. During the NASA program there was a lecture about the plans to put astronauts on Mars; 6 months to get there, 6 months to poke around, 6 months to get back. Considering the starscapes presented to us by Hubble, a trip to Mars seems like a baby step. And so it is.
There are those who think all this space exploration is a total waste of time, money and resources. Those are the same people who did not wish to precede Thomas Paine and his friends. But those who did, did begin the world over again: two new continents, a new story and a new way of life. As Margaret Thatcher said, America was built on philosophy.
Is there life on Mars? It's likely, in some form. Is there intelligent life in our solar system or in some distant galaxy? Most probably. And that means we are citizens of the universe. It means our world is now part of a larger society, a grander civilization than we have known. Our world is much larger than it has ever been. It's a new world, begun all over again.
In 1959 my girl friend and I went to a Dave Brubeck concert at the Revere Beach outdoor stadium outside of Boston. While listening to "Take Five" I leaned back and stared up at the clear night sky and saw a slowly moving star. It was Sputnik. orbiting overhead. Sputnik's successful journey began the world all over again with one small baby step.
Ii is in our power to begin the world over again, every day.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
_____________________
You have a happy Sunday now, your hear me?
*****************************
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)