wishicouldremember: thedailywhat: Promising The Moon of the Day: On Florida’s Space Coast today, GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich made perhaps the most grandiose promise of any candidate since JFK: A permanent American moon base by the end of his second term. “By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be American,” Gingrich told a rapt audience, which responded with a standing ovation. “We clearly have the capacity that Chinese and the Russians will never come anywhere close to us,” Gingrich said, adding that he also plans to push for the development of propulsion technology capable of getting a man to Mars. The initiatives would be a joint public-private endeavor, he noted. Gingrich immediately followed up his grandiose promises by saying that he believes Americans “are instinctively grandiose.” This, too, got a standing ovation. [politico / @alexNBCNews / photo: floridatoday.] Hey asshole. How about you fix the fucking economy first. Dip shit I never thought the day would come where I would have to defend Newt Gingrich, but I have to disagree with you.  I think the elimination of the space program last year was the worst mistake America has ever made. I want you to put in perspective all of the shit that America has done over it’s inception, both to it’s own citizens and to the world around. With that said, I will reiterate my position. Giving NASA the proverbial middle finger and deciding that the US no longer cares about the cosmos is the worst thing they have ever done. Newt may be an idiot and I can’t stand most of the things he stands for, but this is an exception. When all of that shit went down with NASA was the day that I gave up on the US. In that microcosm, it put everything this country stood for in perspective for me. As a side note, even when he is saying something I like I find something that I can’t stand about Newt. The whole “and it will be American” thing is so frustrating. It shows me that he has a childlike fascination with space and that he just can’t get past stupid fucking nationalistic pride to see the big picture.

wishicouldremember:

thedailywhat:

Promising The Moon of the Day: On Florida’s Space Coast today, GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich made perhaps the most grandiose promise of any candidate since JFK: A permanent American moon base by the end of his second term.

“By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be American,” Gingrich told a rapt audience, which responded with a standing ovation.

“We clearly have the capacity that Chinese and the Russians will never come anywhere close to us,” Gingrich said, adding that he also plans to push for the development of propulsion technology capable of getting a man to Mars.

The initiatives would be a joint public-private endeavor, he noted.

Gingrich immediately followed up his grandiose promises by saying that he believes Americans “are instinctively grandiose.” This, too, got a standing ovation.

[politico / @alexNBCNews / photo: floridatoday.]

Hey asshole. How about you fix the fucking economy first. Dip shit

I never thought the day would come where I would have to defend Newt Gingrich, but I have to disagree with you. 

I think the elimination of the space program last year was the worst mistake America has ever made. I want you to put in perspective all of the shit that America has done over it’s inception, both to it’s own citizens and to the world around. With that said, I will reiterate my position. Giving NASA the proverbial middle finger and deciding that the US no longer cares about the cosmos is the worst thing they have ever done.

Newt may be an idiot and I can’t stand most of the things he stands for, but this is an exception. When all of that shit went down with NASA was the day that I gave up on the US. In that microcosm, it put everything this country stood for in perspective for me.

As a side note, even when he is saying something I like I find something that I can’t stand about Newt. The whole “and it will be American” thing is so frustrating. It shows me that he has a childlike fascination with space and that he just can’t get past stupid fucking nationalistic pride to see the big picture.

XKCD.com # 893 “65 Years”

fuckyeahexistentialism:

‎”The universe is probably littered with the one-planet graves of cultures which made the sensible economic decision that there’s no good reason to go into space—each discovered, studied, and remembered by the ones who made the irrational decision.”

Carl Sagan’s inspired words in the context of the final space shuttle launch. Really beautiful video. The whole series of these is really excellent.

Personal Note:

If you ever want to be inspired, listen to Carl Sagan talk about anything. I like this video very much and urge everyone to watch it. It sums up so many of my feelings towards space travel and the cosmos.

(Source: twitter.com, via robsheridan)

The size and age of the Cosmos are beyond ordinary human understanding. Lost somewhere between immensity and eternity is our tiny planetary home. In a cosmic perspective, most human concerns seem insignificant, even petty. And yet our species is young and curious and brave and shows much promise. In the last few millennia we have made the most astonishing and unexpected discoveries about the Cosmos and our place within it, explorations that are exhilarating to consider. They remind us that humans have evolved to wonder, that understanding is a joy, that knowledge is prerequisite to survival. I believe our future depends on how well we know this Cosmos in which we float like a mote of dust in the morning sky.
Carl Sagan (via laplumeabelle)

(Source: entropy-entropy, via fuckyeahexistentialism)

How does space flight change people?

One hundred twenty-five astronaut autobiographies, interviews, and oral histories were content analyzed and scored for references to values (Schwartz, 1992). The current study extended methods tested in 2 pilot studies of space veterans from many nations, of both sexes, and with different experiences within the history of human spaceflight. Value references reflected a high degree of concern with individualism, with Achievement, Enjoyment, and Self-direction ranked highest. There were relatively few value differences across demographic categories, demonstrating the impact of the spaceflight experience. After returning, the astronauts showed increased concern with Universalism, Spirituality, and Power (social recognition), a broadened set of references to values oriented toward the collective good.

This totally validates my lifelong theory that the world would be a better place if we were all exposed to something as grand as the universe. That type of isolation, combined with something so infinite can really change someone.

(Source: crookedindifference)