Remember this... (from Carl Sagan)

[LynzM]

(I had posted this in the Lounge, and it was suggested I also post it in GD...)

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe:, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

I find that a little Perspective is a helpful thing for dealing with stress, sometimes...

[Cleita]

1. It's also a little bit scary, that a few assholes can destroy that dot because

of their greed and because they can.

[crikkett]

3. LOL well that inspiring moment of wonder is over.

I'm in a grumpy mood too.
:hi:

[Bobbie Jo]

7. LOL

:rofl:


made me chuckle....thanks.

[ferrous wheel]

2. He found a diplomatic way to say

Deteriorata

Go placidly amidst the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
Avoid quiet and passive persons, unless you are in need of sleep. Rotate your tires. Speak glowingly of those
greater than yourself; and heed well their advice, even though they be turkeys. Know what to kiss - and when.

Consider that two wrongs never make a right, but that three do.
Wherever possible, put people on hold.
Be comforted, that in the face of all irridity and disillusionment, and despite the changing fortunes of time, there is always a big future in computer maintenance.

You are a fluke of the universe. You have no right to be here. Whether you can hear it or not,The universe is laughing behind your back.)

Remember the Pueblo. Strive at all times to bend, fold, spindle, and mutilate.
Know yourself. If you need help, call the FBI.
Exercise caution in your daily affairs, especially with those persons closest to you... That lemon on your left, for instance.

Be assured that a walk through the seas of most souls would scarcely get your feet wet.
Fall not in love, therefore, it will stick to your face.

Gracefully surrender the things of youth: the birds, clean air, tuna, Taiwan - and let not the sands of time get in your lunch. Hire people with hooks. For a good time, call 606-4311, ask for Ken.

Take heart in the deepening gloom that your dog is finally getting enough cheese. And reflect that whatever misfortune
may be your lot, it could only be worse in Milwaukee.

Therefore, make peace with your god, whatever you perceive him to be: hairy thunderer or cosmic muffin. With all its hopes, dreams, promises, and urban renewal, the world continues to deteriorate. GIVE UP!

[Gabi Hayes]

12. dig:

http://cheezefactory.blogspot.com/2008/04/national-lampoon-radio-dinner.html

01 Deteriorata.mp3
02 Phono Phunnies, Teenyrap, it's Obvious.mp3
03 Catch It And You Keep It, Pigeons, Teenyrap, 'Quinas 'n' 'Rasmus,_Phono Phunnies, Teenyrap.mp3
04 Magical Misery Tour.mp3
05 Those Fabulous Sixties.mp3
06 Profiles In Chrome.mp3
07 Teenyrap, Phono Phunnies, Pigeons, Support Your Local Polece.mp3
08 Pull The Tregos, Teenyrap, ng Asi, Phono Phunnies.mp3
09 Concert In Bangladesh.mp3
10 The Voice Of The Future.mp3

[Gregorian]

17. Oh my god. My bong sits cold out in storage. But those memories...

We'd gather around the record player. Stoned. Lights all out. Rolling Drum cigarettes.

Catch it and keep it.

We used to say- Everything you know is bong.

[Magleetis]

4. Who took that picture?

and where were they?

[ulysses]

10. I did.

You should see my telephoto.

[IDemo]

14. Voyager 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot

[spanone]

5. ....and god spends all day worrying about 'us'

[Greyhound]

6. Now, to get a majority of "homo sapiens" to realize the truth of this,

that is the trick.
:kick: & R

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. All right! K&R!

Let's get this puppy onto the Greatest Page!

So superbly written, and so very appropriate for today...

Perspective.

It's so damn important...

We do get hung up on our little problems...

While we blithely endanger our only home.

Thank you for this very timely reminder!

[Blue_In_AK]

9. I miss Carl Sagan...

I always found his voice so soothing.

[Skittles]

24. he used to make me mad

way back then, I used to listen to talk radio (before it became conservative hell) to put me to sleep - but when Carl was a guest I would end up staring at the ceiling in wide-eyed amazement, trying to envision billions and billions and billions.........:o

[SalmonChantedEvening]

11. I take knowing Where We Are with me always.

Dr. Sagan is a Sage of mine.

:hi: LynzM :hug:

[LynzM]

18. Indeed...

Can you explain about your comment? Is it something he wrote, or...?

:hug: and :hi:!

[SalmonChantedEvening]

20. Cosmos.

As a 15-16 year old he expanded the stars for me. He saw that where we are may have been off a spiral exit ramp of an average galaxy, and from just an average solar system, we were obliged to shine nonetheless.

"We are Star Stuff."

And so we must shine.

[Canuckistanian]

22. The uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy

Is how our local star neighborhood is described in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe.

[cbc5g]

13. Carl Sagan was great

[IDemo]

15. Sagan was a big influence on me at an early age

After reading "Cosmic Connection" in junior high, I became obsessed with all things astronomy related. I was able to
purchase a small telescope and spent nights gazing at the Moon and the Orion Nebula. I was lucky enough to attend a
high school with a planetarium and took an astronomy course there, followed by a semester in college. I never became
an astronomer but have followed the topic all my life. And, of course, I have read all of Sagan's other excellent books,
most of them on other subjects.

[tom_paine]

16. I miss Carl Sagan, but in some ways I am glad he did not live to see Bushification.

And it seems to continue apace, regardless...

[glitch]

19. I love that dot. In fact that is my favorite dot.

Thanks for the reminder. :hi:

[Lochloosa]

21. I miss Carl. N/T

[omega minimo]

23. mmmmmmm sprinkles

:donut:

[4lbs]

25. Is that the view of Earth from one of the Voyager spacecraft?

n/t