First off, I'm loving the show Enterprise--you know, the Star Trek show with the dude from Quantum Leap (Scott Bakula!) playing the captain? And the oh-so-hot-my-shorts-are-damp Connor Trinneer as the chief engineer? Ooh-la-la!But whoever picked that goddamn awful "theme" music, "Faith of the Heart" by Rod Stewart? You should be shot, quartered, tarred, feathered, hung, asphyxiated in deep space, and then fed to the infamous Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal--and that's just for starters. I mean, who the hell picks that type of awful easy listening for a science fiction show? It's disgusting.
But that's not what this post is about. Well, not really anyway...
After watching a few episodes, I realized the show was set in the year 2151. Only a mere 140 years from now. Which, if science fiction is to be an accurate precursor to real life, means we should meet a Vulcan in about forty years, give or take.
Then we have to wonder how accurate a precursor to real life science fiction actually is. After all, I'm doubting there are actual Vulcans. (Sorry Spock...)
Please realize, however, that if it wasn't for great imaginations and science fiction, we wouldn't have half the wonders we have today--like satellite radio, cell phones, elevators, Tang... (Honestly? Okay, we could have forgotten the Tang...) But you get my drift.
Oh, yum!Where was I? Oh, yeah...
Um...
(Could someone stop posting images of Connor Trinneer on my computer? It's highly distracting when I'm trying to type here... Thanks...)
So I'm on my back deck, taking in the lightning bugs, the gentle breeze, staring at the Big Dipper going, what if...?
You ever do that? Just stare up at space, taking in the Milky Way in all her brilliant glory? Not because there's supposed to be a meteor shower, not because you can't get your goddamn cell phone to get a signal, and not because you thought you heard a helicopter...
But just... Because...
Somewhere out there....
Shit. Now that fucking "Somewhere Out There" song that freaky little mouse Feivel sang is stuck in my head... Of course, that might have been a better theme song choice for Enterprise then that douche-bag Rod Stewart... But I digress... For now...
Somewhere out there, another form of intelligent life may be looking at a constellation that they've named, and our sun might be one of the stars fueling their imaginations. There they sit there on their patios, drinking their version of Tang (and thinking their parents are cheap as well for trying to pass it off as orange juice), staring up at a formation of stars from their end of their solar system, having just watched a sci-fi show with a totally hot male version of their species, and hoping. Waiting. Watching.
For us. Or another intelligent being. Another creature or species with the curiosity and drive to reach up to those stars and look. To see what's out there, to experience the vastness of our galaxy, and even maybe one day our universe!
In early 2004, a new type of rocket fuel was being invented that was speculated could make a trip to Mars from 1.5 to 3 years (with conventional Apollo-type technology) down to 6 months to a year. (See here.) Now, after 6 more years of developing this technology, scientists think we could get to Mars in just 39 days! (See here.)
Thirty-nine days. To Mars.
Of course, we should already be on Mars. But NASA lost sight of it's mission, granted. Instead of constantly developing new and better technology for getting men into space, they stuck with the space shuttle program for waaaaaaay too long. Now, irony of ironies, we're going to be piggy-backing with the Russians to get to and from the space station, as if we lost the space race in the late 1960s...
It's shameful and humbling.
But it's also the chance we may need.
Now that we have to work with other countries, now that we have to cooperate for shallow-space missions, what could the brilliant scientists of many countries come up with? What's just around the corner?Just how soon might we have planetary colonists on the red planet?
True, I'm probably gonna be six feet under by then. Worm food, if you will.
So until then, I'll just have to dream...
Of course, 39 days alone on a plasma-fueled rocket with Connor Trinneer couldn't hurt anything, could it? And honestly, it would only improve morale overall, especially when we discover that new intelligent life, and they find out how hot and sexy of a species we actually are, right?
Right...
Ooh-la-la!
3 comments:
The Dark One Returns...with slightly less paranoia about using his real name!!
I didn't know if you'd be interested, but I have been released from prison, and I have started my own blog again "Retired Supervillain", which is yet to have a post added. It will mostly be just minutia about my life, made extra boring by the fact that I am on probation and can't do anything cool. Anyway, I look forward to getting in touch with you again.
Also, thank your sainted mother for writing to me while I was locked up. The last I heard she had moved and I couldn't stay in touch with her because I was under disciplinary segregation. Long story, don't ask. But please send my regards and many thanks to her and even a few of those "God bless you"s that she likes alot. Until Next Time...Peace!
BEN!!!!!!! Welcome back buddy!! Welcome back to the real world without walls!! No worries, probation is only temporary (right?) and soon you will be able to pursue all your cool dreams and other parts of life! :) Mom will be thrilled to hear that your back--I'll call her tonight. They sold their house and were "homeless" for about 6 or 7 months while their new house was being built. She was quite upset about not being able to get in touch with you--you realize, of course, you are now an honorary Hughes, right? :)
Woo-hoo, BEN IS BACK!
hello jason! :) HELLO BEN!!!! :) :) so happy to hear you are still around. thought about how you were doing and ask God to keep you safe. i am glad you are out of that jailhouse! i hope your path goes a bit easier this time out in the free world. :) the move was a bit hard for me in that we had to build again and not just move in to a place but i can't complain since so many blessings happened while doing this whole project. life is not as busy since we are all moved in. it will be this sept. that will mark a year since we moved the furniture in. thanks to my God given talent of keeping things organized helped with this move. we lived with my wonderful cousin and her husband a few miles from here while our place was built. they had a inlaw suite added on to the house and it was very comfortable. michael, jasons brother, had a garage that he left us use for all our 'stuff'. i didn't realize how much i missed family until after we moved back down here. i miss the animals and the extreme weather up in those mountains but now i am in farm land and it has its own cool things going on. found your address the other day in some papers i had to go over. was thinking about writing but almost when i thought about it thats when jason called about you being out. :) don't ask me how some of these things got in the box i was looking at. i still have 2 more boxes i have to get at but otherwise i am caught up in all that move stuff. i did crochet the whole time i was doing this thing. it helped me relax. :) i am so glad to here your out! thanks for getting in touch. please try to live a more boring life this time around! :) boring isn't to bad. :) love and prayers ps sorry jason that i did not really say anything to you but maybe i will next time. maybe. :)
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