Tales of the Final Frontier
Dean
Tonight I couldn't sleep (insomnia is a common problem for me) and I happened to catch the end of a classic movie I've seen many times but hadn't thought about in years: The Right Stuff.
You know, I've seen a lot of great astronaut movies, but I really think it's hard to top that one. Although HBO's entire From the Earth to the Moon was pretty close.
Speaking of which, here's a bit of astronaut trivia I'll bet you didn't know: Communion on the moon.
It's surprising how many of the original astronauts were deeply religious. (On second thought, maybe it isn't...)
So I really, really tried; but "The Right Stuff" just bored me to tears. Maybe I should try it again some day; but it just struck me as too much emphasis on the machismo, not enough on the science and engineering.
Alan Shepard: Dear Lord, please don't let me f*ck up.
Gordon Cooper: I didn't quite copy that. Say again, please.
Alan Shepard: I said everything's A-OK.
The first astronauts weren't macho or fearless, they were just afraid of other things
I didn't love the book, but the film was a work of art. Best special effect - the sound of locusts whenever reporters appeared.
Last year sometime, I saw part of a panel discussion on C-Span (or maybe one of the college channels) where they were quoting Stephen Hawking and were joking about declaring science "the church of atheism."
How far we've come.
Atheism has become the default faith of people in certain types of science (but not others, I note), yet I still meet scientists who are people of faith--and it's to the point where they feel they have to conceal that from their colleagues.
You gotta wonder what happened. The bureaucratizing of science that's happened since the 1970s may explain some of it, in a weird way...
I don't know, Dean. I think it was long enough ago that I don't think the series was made yet; but honestly, I can't remember.
Once in a while, I'll see it in the store and think, "Maybe I should give it another try." But then I'll think, "Man, that three hours of tedium again?" And yet the length itself isn't the issue. I'll watch 3 hours of NASA archival footage. I'll watch "From the Earth to the Moon" all in one sitting, and that's 12 hours. Heck, I've spent more than 3 hours writing a blog post about my trips to Huntsville or KSC.
But somehow, the film really just fell flat for me.
And I should love it. But I don't. So clearly, I'm the weird one here.
1: Can we do this?
4: 1968
5: Spider
10: Galileo was Right.
I have The Right Stuff, too. I only recently purchased the DVD and an illustrated version of the book, which I had never read. But I know the movie backwards and forwards. I was obsessed with space when I was child, through my teenage years.
The two have a very different focus. Right Stuff really is about manhood, and what makes a man be a test pilot or perform other feats of derring do.
But I'm watching Ep 1 right now. I have the series on DVD, and I have never gotten tired of it.
If you haven't figured out yet, Owen, nobody does hyperbole like I do hyperbole. "Bored to tears" is a bit of hyperbole.
For me, it's Spider all the way. The roof. The rubber balls. Never have I seen such a powerful metaphor for a seemingly endless engineering project.
And yes...
...when the Project Manager said goodbye to "his" LM, I about lost it. When the engineers tortured themselves over "The Fire", I was right there with them. When Alan Shepard was grounded, even knowing how it would turn out, I felt his loss.
I only have the series on VHS. I'm thinking it's time for DVD. I'll bet they'll be selling copies here. Seven more days!
Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.
Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.