Goin’ ‘Round In Circles

As the last U.S. Space Shuttle mission EVA winds down, former astronauts and cosmonauts are clamoring to release the first “kiss and tell,” behind-the-scenes autobiography of what really took place during the 30-year span of Space Shuttle missions.

Meanwhile, I rarely lose bets and ever more rarely admit it.

Today is an exception.

A journalist friend of mine bet he could prove how banal most people’s lives are by finding an obscure murder trial where the defendant was obviously not guilty and turn the trial into a circus, causing thousands, if not millions, of people to expend emotional energy over the results of the trial.

I told him that people had important lives and would not let themselves be so easily manipulated.

I’m sorry to report I lost.

Now, back to writing the book of the Book of the Future.

We interrupt this book to bring you the following…

In shocking news today, the U.S. president reached a compromise with Congress, agreeing to a 100% tax on all speaking fees, book royalties and presidential reelection campaign funds in order to pull his country from the edge of the economic abyss.

Murdoch’s empire claims to have Blackberry audio in which the treasury secretary says that he’s willing to sell Alaska to Russia and give up market domination rights of the Philippines and Japan in exchange for China buying all U.S. treasuries from now on, thus turning the U.S. into a regional power and a foreign freetrade zone for the Communist country.

Members of Congress will meet the compromise and allow reporters to follow them on “vacations” with donors and lobbyists, submitting all travel-related expenses and graft as 100% taxable, subtracted, of course, from their Congressional compensation packages.

This, the budget office assures us, is sufficient to put the U.S. treasury back on the plus side.

Capcom, Lady In Blue

The dishwasher hums a mechanical tune,
Hanging out in the kitchen, neither gal nor dude.

Atlantis, suspended, stretching ISS’ CG,
Silent symbol of glories both hard and easy.

Ceiling tiles,
Heat tiles,
Ground wires,
Ground crews…

Shadows swirling in orbit,
Getting ready for slumber,
Looking busy on CCTV.

DPS, ACO, MMU,
Muxes and demuxes,
Banners and patches,
Lanyards and ties,
Earpieces, monitors,
Shuttle flight control team on full display.

Cleaning crew and sandwiches –
Cameos in support roles.

Tin cans in space,
Hardened modules in the hot sun.

Cats sleeping on sofa,
One snoring,
One dreaming of
Chasing mice rather than tracking solar arrays.

A study in blue.

Faces caught on camera –
Close the port or open the port?
You tell me.

Cap Indicates Colour: Chapter MMXVIII

In an unauthorised biography sold via instant thought download form in 2015, Timothy Geithner admitted he was a stool pigeon for the Chinese government.

Although old news, it matched with the data discovered after the U.S. and EU governments simultaneously changed their independence days to 1st May in the 2011/2012 fiscal year.

Khrushchev, long ago smiling in his grave over previous news (Huntsville companies helping Army get Afghan pilots flying new Russian helicopters), was quoted by the witch doctor during a séance, “Look who’s crushed now.” [“Смотрите, кто похоронен теперь, товарищи!”]

Further, Geithner expressed his confusion over why the new IMF chief changed its organisation’s name to P&C in 2012.  In later chapter notes, the biography revealed that Christine Lagarde chose P&C because it was her secret favourite hybrid corn variety, Peaches and Cream.

Speaking of P&C, after the IMF declared it was assuming or taking over all debts, public and private, in order to cement its position as de facto world government/lending institution, especially after the U.S. government could not stop increasing the debt limit and showed in all future plots that it was going to collapse, following in the footsteps of the EU, sending more people to invest in the new IMF global “currency” while dumping the dollar, euro, and renminbi because of their ties to unstable governments, Lagarde made P&C the official moniker for her revitalised bureaucracy.

Lagarde regards Earth as her “motherland, may it reign the solar system forever!” [“Patrie, la Terre Mère puisse régner le système solaire pour toujours!”]

It was during the last U.S. Space Shuttle flight to the ISS in 2011 that hints of these changes were taking place, first when the U.S. and Russian crews went off to drink celebratory vodka after Atlantis docked, leaving the Japanese crew member to clean up after them.

Satoshi Furukawa photographs last sober ISS crew member

From then on, international relationships changed shape dramatically, leading up to the climax of the New Revolution.

Archaeologists are still trying to decipher the meaning behind the guy who wore a vest and two jackets in Mission Control (see photo below).

Exactly how cold is it in Mission Control?

Off With ‘is ‘ead!

In mob news today, the English-speaking world tracked, followed, stalked and captured the head of a large media empire.

The media empire provided 24/7 news coverage of the downfall of their emperour.

At last report, the mob was deciding whether to spread the parts of the head to the ends of the earth, or…

…put the whole head on display and increase tourism to only one spot on the planet.

Meanwhile, the World Court declared that email/text messaging is a public utility and thus subject to no rights of privacy, opening the door for a complete transparent exposure of all transactions – business, personal or political – to every citizen of Earth.

Thanks to Kamil at DQ in Guntersville, Houlihan’s in ATL airport, Shatandra at ATL news stand, Kathy at Alabama welcome center, Lacey at VF Outlet in Boaz, Outlaw Steakhouse, and Charles at McDonald’s in Douglasville, GA.

I’m taking a break from blogging to concentrate on writing a book the rest of this summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

Y’all have a good one, y’hear?

Indelible Fruit Trees

Returning to “staying on message.”

In the delicate balance of managing seven billion prople, when people have individuality that shares traits of common culturres, happiness is social.

Over the weekend, my mother’s family told stories about events, selves and ideas.

We decompressed, getting out from under the shadow of self-protection that the bombardment of negative news reinforces.

Image/brand management gives way to tales and legends of family lore.

Trapping rabbits for spending money as a teenager.

Taking the family car out for a spin at age 14 to go “parking.”

Visiting relatives and reporting on hoarding behaviour.

Playing epic sessions of Rook.

Throwing footballs in the backyard.

Sending bottle rockets into the neighbours’ treetops.

Looking at old family photos from the 1920s.

Recalling words like ectomorph and endomorph.

Fixing broken/leaking objects at a cousin’s house.

“Cuz, what do you think of my yard? Great, huh?”

“Looks like your mowing deck is askew.”

“Yeah, I noticed that it started messing up a couple of mowings ago.”

Finding a cotter pin had slipped or broken off and rigging one from a paper binder to level the mower blade platform.

Spending days prepping food and cleaning the house in preparation for the family reunion.

Swimming in the clubhouse pool.

Saying goodbye.

Returning home.

Cleaning up.

Diving back in to our crosscultural lives, putting on our self-defense shields that consist of platitudes and gratitudes.

The message of seven billion working toward one goal continues…

Sports Accounting

There was a time, a long, long time ago…

Well, now that 10,000 is only 6 away…

Two kids outrushing my father for a Braves T-shirt, forever famous in a facebook photo.

A long list of thanks: Janet, Cindy, Sherri, Phil, Steve, Barry, Ashleigh, Taylor, Justin, Gordon, Elaine, Amy, Mason, Anne,, Bruce, Chestney&friend, Nicholas, Maggie, Anna, Brian, Abby, Braves management/players/fans/security/food/support staff, Tipsy Pig BBQ, Toledo Ticket Co., AmeriPark.

Swim meets at Georgia Tech, as seen on live Internet feeds.

Chocolate donuts from Publix.

Old Fulton County stadium wall.

Streets after streets of fracnchises streaking by, competing for disposable income.

0% chance of rain at 9 p.m.? I wanna be a TV weather forecaster.

Why do we say that time has a length?

GWTW @ 75.

Trivia games in-game.

During a heat wave.

Watermelon, salty pretzel, hot dog, ice cream, potato chips and Coke. Souvenir cup and baseball cap.

Individual demographic profile.

Local on the 8s.

Peace and quiet.

Truth and beauty.

Player of the game.

Fireworks.

Teffeteller vs. Jackson on Family Feud. Parcheesi and Oleo.

Anonymity.

Blurring of media.

Surgery, not snake bite.

Drawing circuits on flexible paper with a pen plotter using conductive ink. 3D plotting turning circuitry into artwork.

No Apologies

First of all, a thanks for the food and hospitality from Felicia during the family reunion.

Also, a thanks to Ashlyn and Shari at Wnedy’s.

More thoughts later…the Committee wants to convenr and confer. What you infer is yours to refer or defer.

How so we build hope in one group without reducing hope for another?

Belief in a shared dream.

1955 Dream Caes on the cover of Motor Trend. Winning Wimbledon. Seeing family. Pain-free sleep.

Time for negotiations.

I could get used to being pampered.