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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsThe oligarch Space-niks didn't expect SHATNER's take
Last edited Mon Dec 26, 2022, 05:46 PM - Edit history (1)
What used to be quaintly called "jet-setters" are now known to be Oligarchs with battleship-sized (or should it be "carrier-sized", as in Doctor Evil's "millions - no, billions"?) yachts. And the Oligarchs have left the Greek isles behind in favor of Space, Mars, and such. Plus, they collect human knickknacks to adorn their vessels - a SHATNER here, a STRAHAN there. No run-of-the-mill Nobody to be worthy of their expeditions - *luster* of celebrity is needed for Page Six.
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https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/william-shatner-space-boldly-go-excerpt-1235395113/
.... I continued my self-guided tour and turned my head to face the other direction, to stare into space. I love the mystery of the universe. I love all the questions that have come to us over thousands of years of exploration and hypotheses. Stars exploding years ago, their light traveling to us years later; black holes absorbing energy; satellites showing us entire galaxies in areas thought to be devoid of matter entirely all of that has thrilled me for years but when I looked in the opposite direction, into space, there was no mystery, no majestic awe to behold . . . all I saw was death.
I saw a cold, dark, black emptiness. It was unlike any blackness you can see or feel on Earth. It was deep, enveloping, all-encompassing. I turned back toward the light of home. I could see the curvature of Earth, the beige of the desert, the white of the clouds and the blue of the sky. It was life. Nurturing, sustaining, life. Mother Earth. Gaia. And I was leaving her. ....
It was among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered. The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness. Every day, we are confronted with the knowledge of further destruction of Earth at our hands: the extinction of animal species, of flora and fauna . . . things that took five billion years to evolve, and suddenly we will never see them again because of the interference of mankind. It filled me with dread. My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration; instead, it felt like a funeral.
I learned later that I was not alone in this feeling. It is called the Overview Effect and is not uncommon among astronauts, including Yuri Gagarin, Michael Collins, Sally Ride, and many others. Essentially, when someone travels to space and views Earth from orbit, a sense of the planets fragility takes hold in an ineffable, instinctive manner. Author Frank White first coined the term in 1987: There are no borders or boundaries on our planet except those that we create in our minds or through human behaviors. All the ideas and concepts that divide us when we are on the surface begin to fade from orbit and the moon. The result is a shift in worldview, and in identity. ....
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Uncle Joe
(58,505 posts)Thanks for the thread UTUSN
UTUSN
(70,778 posts)Those might still be magnetically attracted.
GreenWave
(6,796 posts)That toyed with them like a cat and even had a cat-like face. I could not find it. Rats!
Volaris
(10,278 posts)GreenWave
(6,796 posts)TY!
kysrsoze
(6,025 posts)LastDemocratInSC
(3,656 posts)LymphocyteLover
(5,662 posts)jaxexpat
(6,865 posts)You didn't read the travelogue? The brochure plainly stated the "meek" don't get shit except shit on this trip.? Ticket's non-refundable, too. Better luck next time.
LymphocyteLover
(5,662 posts)patphil
(6,238 posts)He got to take off the blinders for a short while.
Only a few of us get that view...the "big blue marble" view.
Spaceship Earth is all we got folks. When it's gone, so are we.
Hekate
(90,962 posts)I didnt know grief was a common reaction I really didnt.
calimary
(81,562 posts)We SHOULD love and cherish and work relentlessly to protect this precious, delicate little orb thats the only home and haven we have in that impossibly vast darkness.
Let us NEVER become so arrogant, so full of ourselves, that we allow ourselves to forget that. If Im allowed only one prayer, this would be it.
AllaN01Bear
(18,669 posts)Joinfortmill
(14,492 posts)48656c6c6f20
(7,638 posts)I'm a big Tull fan and and I finally looked up who the song "For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me" was all about. That's when I put it together and learned about the loneliest man in history. I was 7 when the moon landing happened and it was all about Neil and Buzz. Who is Michael Collins?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/04/28/the-loneliest-man-in-history-dies-astronaut-michael-collins-was-the-sole-man-on-apollo-11-who-didnt-walk-on-the-moon/?sh=2fb5d4bb3efe
Can you imagine being the loneliest person in history?
DENVERPOPS
(8,883 posts)"A statesman is interested in future generations, a politician only in the next election"
FoxNewsSucks
(10,435 posts)He was on morning Joe, it was a really good interview.
dai13sy
(344 posts)While wonderful to look at I don't want to live there ever. I will make my final stand on my Home where there is warmth and light and where my people live
FoxNewsSucks
(10,435 posts)CTyankee
(63,926 posts)I was annoyed that this guy with all the money he made was able to shoot his white ass into space and then go on morning TV to go all humble about it.
Sorry, I just can't....