Monday, June 25, 2012

Gone, But Not Forgotten

Hello again.

Yes, I'm still here. I'd like to say that I had spent the last month on the International Space Station observing the Earth below. Or maybe swimming the Amazon River. Or meeting with President Obama? Or bowling a perfect game. (Wait, bowling? No. How did that get in there?)

The truth is that none of those happened. I was distracted. The beginning of summer, the wedding of our nephew, just enjoying our grandson. I have been writing and have sent off a couple of stories. One I'm especially proud of and hope to have news soon.

But in the meantime, to hold you over until I get this thing up to speed again, I have a few curiosities for you to peruse.


Time lapsed photography from the ISS




Don Petit is an amazing astronaut. He has a blog that is simply put, wonderful. When he is not talking science in a straight forward fashion and in no way condescending. He writes simple, clear, and is always fascinating. But what makes Mr Petit so special is that at times he slips in some poetry he has written or experiments with photography. The above photo is part of a set of time lapse photos that are so beautiful they are literally breath taking.

The photos are here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/13/iss-long-exposure-time-lapse-photos_n_1594418.html?ref=topbar#s=1092522

His blog is here:
http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/newui/blog/viewpostlist.jsp?blogname=letters


The Amazon


Martin Strel is crazy. In 2007 he became the first person to swim the length of the Amazon River. He fought parasites, sickness, and even his own hallucinations. His journey is captured in the documentary Big River Man. I recommend it. It will scare you in ways you had not anticipated. And it's all true......

An interview with the man:
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1920907,00.html

The documentary:

President Obama

Vote for him. 'Nuff said there.

The Grandson

He's got the Right Stuff.



Til next, which will be much sooner, I promise.
And as always, thank you for reading me.