Last Of A Dying Breed.

[dodger_sister]

R.I.P. Neil Armstrong
August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012



"For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink." - Neil's Family

And in the words of Neil deGrasse Tyson‏, "And now, perhaps more than ever, I bid you godspeed."

Comments

[vikingprincess]

It feels like the end of an era (even though many NASA programs have been shelved over the last forty years).

I guess he's taking the biggest step now.

[dodger-sister.livejournal.com]

It feels like the end of an era

It really does. Someday there won't be any astronauts left. It makes me sad. I bet it made Neil sad too.

I guess he's taking the biggest step now.

Shit, woman, you made me cry with that. So very true.

[vikingprincess]

I always dreamed of being able to go to space... but I was born too late to be an all-out feminist pioneer (and wasn't excited enough by math) to go for a profession, and too early to get to soar the stars as a colonist or tourist.

It kinds sucks.

Oh, hon. Well, I'll admit it made me choke up, too. The dream of the stars and the urge to explore (thanks, ST TOS) has always been in me. Probably because I don't fit in so very well on THIS planet, but whatever the reason, space fascinates, compels, and sometimes terrifies me. I would like to go before I die.

Do you watch Doctor Who at all? There's a lovely Christmas special wherein one character "becomes stardust" and travels on forever.

Babblety me, tonight, I see. :)

[dodger-sister.livejournal.com]

I always dreamed of being able to go to space... but I was born too late to be an all-out feminist pioneer (and wasn't excited enough by math) to go for a profession, and too early to get to soar the stars as a colonist or tourist.

Sadly, even too be one of these 'pay for space' tourists you have to be in excellent physical condition just to make the trip plus you have to have some serious cash on you. I think it is a dream too many people will not get to realize.

I still remember a YA book I read as a kid about a girl whose parents make her move to a colony on the moon (standard teen trope of having to move to a new school only this one was on the moon) and I just remember thinking how freaking awesome that would be.

Do you watch Doctor Who at all?

I don't. If you can believe that. I watched a smattering of episodes with a friend who had the DVDs but it was something that was not accessible to me until just recently (via the Netflix streaming last year and we just got BBC America last month). I did watch Torchwood though via the Netflix, so it always surprises people that I didn't watch Dr. Who as well. It's in the queqe.

There's a lovely Christmas special wherein one character "becomes stardust" and travels on forever.

Oh. Lovely. I want to do that when I die. Can we come up with some sort of space-cremation where we get turned into star dust and then sprinkled out into space? /sigh/

[vikingprincess]

The excellent physical shape requirement reminds me of a Robert A. Heinlein Future History story about Delos Harriman (I think), "The Man Who Sold The Moon." He creates space hysteria, raises funds, campaigns obsessively, and manhandles space industry and ships through private industry. Then, he loses control of his board, and is denied the chance to go to the moon himself because he's too valuable of an asset to the company and it would be bad publicity. Dream murdering bastards. (Where some people say Everything I Need to Know About Life I Learned from Jesus, I say, Robert A. Heinlein, btw. Or sometimes Xena. :P )

Heinlein did a YA about growing up in the Moon, too. And also about traveling to Venus. You should give him a shot. Ignore that craptastic Starship Troopers movie series. The book was A BAJILLIONTY TIMES BETTER. (Yeah, he wrote from about 1945 to 1989, and he was kinda sexist, and his science sometimes is no longer believable, but the STORIES, Dodge! THE STORIES!!!!)

I think you would really enjoy Doctor Who. Like, buckets and tons and lots!

[dodger-sister.livejournal.com]

"The Man Who Sold The Moon." - Sounds excellent but also very depressing. My god, they are dream murdering bastards. Like, you work hard for the dream and then everybody else gets it except you.

(Where some people say Everything I Need to Know About Life I Learned from Jesus, I say, Robert A. Heinlein, btw. Or sometimes Xena. :P )

hahahaha Everything I Need To Know About Life, I Learned From Xena is the battle cry of so many fangirls and boys. lol I always thought the saying was 'everything I know about life, I learned at home' (my mom sewed it on a pillow for me as a kid and I still have it but every time I look at it I think, "Naw, everything I know about life, I learned from the internet" - which is so true and I don't even mean the dirty bits!)

Heinlein did a YA about growing up in the Moon, too. And also about traveling to Venus. You should give him a shot.

I've always meant to read some Heinlein. He is such an early forefather of so many of the sci-fi tropes we have nowadays - you can trace so many genre things back to his work. The Puppet Masters is something I have always meant to read after I watched the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers when I was younger.

Ignore that craptastic Starship Troopers movie series. The book was A BAJILLIONTY TIMES BETTER.

I didn't know he wrote the Starship Troopers book. I love the movie for it's craptastic-ness but I have heard (very expressively) from purists fans of the book that the movie was a load of camp and cheese that the book was not.

I think you would really enjoy Doctor Who. Like, buckets and tons and lots!

Oh, I know I would. There is just not enough time in the day. My sister had expressed interest in watching it, so at first I figured I would wait for her to be ready to watch it. Now I realize she has even less time than me and we will never get to it. I may have to choose it for my Summer Show next year (I did both Leverage and Teen Wolf this summer, catching up on those, but if I go for Dr. Who I better figure four straight months of nothing but that and SYTYCD next summer!)

[vikingprincess]

Heinlein has a follow-up story to it. Things could be worse.

I think it originally came from a book titled Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, by Robert Fulghum.

YES, GO READ ALL OF THE HEINLEIN NOW!

I love New Who most of the time. I never got into original Who.

[shirebound]

Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty

That's perfect. What a glorious picture you found.

[dodger-sister.livejournal.com]

It was sad news for us all, for sure.

What a glorious picture you found.

I knew I wanted a picture of his footprint and when I saw this, I started crying, so I knew it was the right one.

[wolfrider89.livejournal.com]

Still can't believe he's gone. I love the quote from his family.

[dodger-sister.livejournal.com]

Still can't believe he's gone.

I know. So sad. You know, I am not a big 'space-geek' (like say The BFF who watches Nova on PBS and reads astronomy books) but it felt like such a great piece of American history and pride was lost with Neil Armstrong, especially since no more NASA astronauts will be going into space.

I love the quote from his family.

Me too. And I plan on thinking of Neil when I look up at the moon.

[wolfrider89.livejournal.com]

I've always been fascinated with space and the moon and planets and stuff, and I actually wanted to be an astronaut for a while. And everyone knows who Neil Armstrong was, it's like he was a piece of history that was still alive.