40 years ago to the day, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins took part in the Apollo 11 mission which led to the first manned landing on the moon. It was a giant leap for mankind, yet looking back, it was an abrupt one.

What should have been the beginning of a new era in space exploration, ended as soon as it began, in 1972 with the Apollo 17 mission, the last landing on the moon.

40 years since that first step, and what do we have to show for it?

We haven't explored our solar system, or beyond. We've barely explored the moon for that matter, only one mission ever had a geologist on the team. Are we any closer to the stars than we were on July 16th 1969?

Exploration is part of who we are, it's one of the few common bonds we all share. So why have we stalled for 40 years?

The economy is in shambles, yes, and the US is actively seeking to create new industries and sectors to promote economic growth. Space, Science, Technology, this is what we should be investing ourselves and our money in.

What would happen if 787 Billion Dollars was invested in NASA? Where would that lead us? How many new technologies would be discovered? How many of those would trickle down and effect millions of things down here on earth? How many good paying jobs, highly skilled jobs would that create that could not be outsourced to Asia?

How many things are there to be learned 'out there' that could be applied to help improve our standard of living 'down here'? Learn how to provide for a flight crew for a year long journey to Mars, and maybe learn how to create better sustaining crops in other tough environment (e.g. Africa, the Desert). Learn how to keep the bone density of astronauts steady through their time in space, and maybe learn how to eliminate osteoporosis.

It's been 40 years since we first landed on the moon. Shame on us for not following through on that promise.

Wow... Check out this entry from June 12th, 2004:

Dream Raver (dreamraver) wrote,
@ 2004-06-12 12:52:00


sneak sneak sneak... oh, I'm so gonna get fired... but o well... i'm coming!!!

LOL

And then this one from June 16th, 2004:

Dream Raver (dreamraver) wrote,
@ 2004-06-16 09:07:00


WOW, what a weekend... Got to go to RedBone and Angeluv's party, where I heard some great DJs play, and met some new folks, and hung out with some old. Got to see flamingcherry and was very happy for that.

"It all started when Joe got out of the cab."

Lots of drama unfolded, but it's not for me to tell. lifeblisters and blackmorrighan, I wish the best of luck to both of you, regardless of what happens.

Gonna go see if I still have a job today.

B*B

5 years. 5 years ago yesterday, I took a bus and then a cab to some no-town gas station in BFE Mississippi and enjoyed the debut efforts of a little known (party) promotion company, Seal Audio. Since then I've been a roomie, a roadie, a flyer whore, a mooch, a middle-man, a driver, a rider, a door guy, a security/pat-down guy, the guy on the couch, and many others. For a time, I was even persona non grata. But, first and always, I've been a Seal Audio groupie.

On New Years 2003/2004, I met RedBone, Angeluv, Bunny, Pepsigyrl, and Nasser. A lot has changed in my life since then. Friends have come and gone, hurricanes, jobs, moves. These five people have always been at the very least a text message away, no matter what. I hope these 5 years are just the beginning.

stolen

With all the interesting things in the news of late, I've been having a hard time picking what to talk about today.

Initially, I had intended to write about the utter uselessness that is the United Nations, in response to their (in)actions to the North Korean situation. The league of nations failed to prevent world war II, so I suppose it seemed a good idea at the time to rename it The United Nations and hope for the best.

The next topic I was considering was Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme court. I don't know enough about her to make a call either way, but what is bothering me here is that every politician, every news anchor, every analyst and commentator is focusing on her ethnicity, rather than her qualifications.

This doesn't help ease racial issues and tensions, it only highlights them.

Over at CNN, Ruben Navarrette talks about what a step forward this is. For me, a step forward would have been had Sotomayor been nominated, and no one even remarked on the fact that she was Hispanic. That she got nominated because the President thought she was the best candidate for the job.

In the end, though, the thing that's predominantly on my mind is yesterday's decision in California to uphold proposition 8, which bans gay marriage in the state. This measure, passed by a close vote during the November elections, overturned a May 2008 ruling by the California Supreme court that had made it constitutional for same-sex couples to get hitched in the state.

I am a proponent for gay rights, but more importantly, I make no distinction between gay and civil rights.

A gay individual in California pays their state and federal taxes like anyone else, so why are they denied certain rights? The bible may define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, but isn't the bible based on a system of religious beliefs? Isn't there supposed to be a clean line that separates church and state?

What gives someone the right to impose their beliefs on someone else?

I may not agree with your beliefs, whether you're Christian, Muslim or Jewish, but I won't spend millions of dollars and countless hours to deny you a civil right that I enjoy.

That environment, California, is not where I would choose to live, or raise children, gay or not.

The year is 2009, and the fact that we're even having this conversation is absurd to me.

I'm unclear as to whether it's a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but I've been spending a great deal of time thinking about Susan Boyle.

If you've been living in a cave for the past few weeks and don't know who she is, Boyle is a contestant on Britain's Got Talent. At 47, She is not what a great deal of people would refer to as 'attractive', but the woman can sing, and surprised the judges, the live audience and the 100 million viewers who have seen her on Youtube since.

While I wish Boyle nothing but the best in her career, I suppose that our 'surprise' is what I'm having issue with.

Why were we so shocked? Why were our expectations for this woman so low? Because of how she looks? What does appearance have to do with talent? At what point did supermodels become the only people with a skill set?

Our mothers always told us never to judge a book by its cover. In truth, have we ever not done so?

I'm not certain what this Boyle Phenomenon says about us a society, but I'm pretty confident that it's not a positive indicator.

Stolen from my good friend cherie.

Reverend Billy wants you to stop shopping. Specifically, he and his troop of be-robed back-up singers are coming at you with a Christmas message straight from heaven. Your religious holiday has been turned into a secular spectacle. It’s up to you to take it back.

Christmas is supposed to be about the birth of a baby who will grow up and teach us about peace. It’s not about stuffing the tree’s underskirt until you’ve driven the family into bankruptcy.

Think twice before pulling out your purse. Only you can bring an end to the shopocalypse!

Thing is, I agree with this. Partially because I hate Christmas. It's a material holiday. It's all about gifts and money and crap.

Case in point: Chrys and I usually don't do big on Christmas. Mainly because we've never had money to do big on Christmas. So with both of us working, Chrys ecided we're gonna get a little more than usual for the kids. She got off work at 3pm and ran a few errands then went to Wal-Mart, where I met here after I got off work at 5. Made our purchases and went out to her car and my truck. The bulk of the gift purchases went into her trunk. However we got two new bicylces for the kids, which went into the back of my truck. We stood around for a minute smoking a cigarette and figuring who was going where and how to avoid children seeing said gifts. Well, Chrys drove on to the house, whilst I went back inside Wal-Mart to pick up Daemyen's meds. 15 minutes, 20 minutes tops and then I'm back outside again to find the bicycles had been stolen. That's right, stolen. Granted, I was the stupid idiot who left two brand new bicycles in the back of my truck with no method of security to ensure their safety.

I hate Christmas.

MDMA (ecstacy, e, x, xtc, adam, empathy, m)
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine puts forth a strong argument that if you can’t pronounce a drug’s chemical name, then you shouldn’t be doing it.
The odds of dying from an MDMA overdose are 1 in 3.6 million. So to prevent such a dangerous substance from proliferating, it has been made illegal in all countries in the world under a UN agreement.
The odds of dying in a rollar coaster accident are 1 in 3.2 million. The odds of dying by parachuting are 3 in 1000 per year. 1 in every 500,000 skiers are killed. Every year, soccer players run the risk of 1 in 25,000 of getting killed. And the odds of burning to death in your sleep are 1 in 10,000.1
Yet no one considers banning carnivals or skydiving. No one feels that our society would be much safer if we did away with ski resorts or soccer. And no one advocates for the elimination of houses because of fire risks

3 week old Marlyanne is in the hospital with pnuemonia...

225-387-7377 is direct to the room

pnuemonia

Happy Birthday To Me...........


Happy Turkey Day to the rest of you

have a good one

so.....

I'm sick. More so than normal... can't breathe, and the snot is burning as it drips down my throat (as i'm sure u wanted to know). My twice a day Clarinex is keeping a full nostril-blockage at bay, but just barely. Pretty sure i have a fever, but i took some tylonel for my tooth and so it's hard to tell.

Enjoying the new position at work. For those of you that don't know, I was delivering parts for a local car dealership, but I recently moved up to parts counterperson. As a driver I was making $8/hr, 40 to 45 hours per week, no weekends. I originally thought I was moving up to $1400/month, 7a-5p Mon thru Fri, working at least 2 saturdays a month 8a-3p (getting paid $30 for each sat i work), and the ability to earn commission after 60 days (the commission is based on the gross profit of the department and usually is about $100 a month). Found out yesterday that i will actually be making $1550/month and that if i work hard, a plan might be set in motion for me to have my boss's job in about 2 years, maybe less. I love my job.

Wifey is still pregnant (ain't she had that kid yet?). Marlyanne BellaRose Mekayleh is still due Dec 17th. She's getting more and more tired everyday, yet she complains very little. I <3 her to pieces. She puts up with my lazy ass and the two little shits (aka our two boys) AND carries a kicking bowling ball around in her stomach. I couldn't do it. She's doing really well at work, though the people at the hiring agency called her and said one of her bosses had made a complaint. But that particular boss won't even be her boss anymore in a few months.

Both boys would be on the honor roll if it wasn't for the fact that they've both been written up once. Which is really amazing cuz their conduct grades aren't always that great. But they are both straight A students academically. Picking our battles can be really difficult sometimes.

I miss you
I <3 you
I really wish I could come visit (or vice versa)
All of you
::hugglepounce::

LiveJournal <accounts@livejournal.com> to me
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dude... i love this icon!!!

Own a Wookie
Han Solo was the coolest guy in the Star Wars universe. Why? Because Darth Vader didn’t have a Wookie. Chewbacca could make Toby McGuire look like a real man. Alternatively; buy a big, mangy, hairy dog and dress him up with an ammo strap and blaster gun.

Save a hot chick from certain death
Every man needs a story like this to tell his grandkids. Of course, by the time they hear it the girl you pushed out of the way of that bus will have her breast size raised by at least two cups and two dirty bombs will be added to the mix, but lying to your offspring is just something men have been doing for centuries. As always, utility belts and capes are completely optional.

Destroy something beautiful
You don’t have to beat a blond guy within an inch of his life to accomplish this one. Rip a small tree out of the ground, pee on a flowerbed, hell, it doesn’t matter, just fuck something up. If you have never done this, simply pick a random piece of your girlfriend’s collection of pink things, break it quietly, hide it well, and then walk away a man.

Wake up not knowing where you are
When you wake up with no idea where in the hell you are or how you got there, you know last night must have kicked serious ass. Who gives a fuck if you lost your wallet and have “Balls” written across your forehead, it is a right of passage for Christ sakes. No man has ever been cool without at least one story involving a massive amount of liquor and 6 to 12 hours of lost time.

Kill your own dinner
Not with a gun, with your bare hands. It doesn’t need to be a full grown bear, hell, strangle a fucking bunny if you have to, just get it done.

Give a sexually frustrated woman multiple orgasms
There are more of these women out there than anyone would like to believe. This is because most guys that girls want to sleep with (i.e. cock munchers who drive $50,000 cars and spend all their time in gyms) do not know how to please a woman. Guys like us do, because we aren’t chumps, we’re fucking pirate ninjas. Pirates don’t go to the gym, we earn our muscles fighting at sea.

Try to fix something; totally break it in the process
Just because it is what we do best, and we do it well. Talking out of our asses I mean, not fixing stuff. A man just isn’t a man unless he screws the hell out of some piece of equipment beyond repair at least once in his life. For added effect, add a little grunt after the smoke settles, Toolman style.

Create fire from sticks
I don’t mean matches. I’m talking two twigs in the middle of the woods during a snowstorm with a woman screaming in your ear about how cold she is. Real men are made under pressure and there is no more stressful a scenario than the one I just described. Triumphing in such a situation means you have not only proven your primitive manhood, but you have also earned the right to sleep with said woman more than any other man she has been with before.

Outdrink your buddies
If you must spike beer with whiskey and cheat, do so. There is no better feeling in this world than to be the last man standing, staring down at your passed out friends through shit faced, glossed over eyes in triumph while talking mad shit and peeing in the nearest houseplant.

Get rocked by an older woman
I don’t mean grandma old, 35-40 should suffice. Until this happens to you, you do not really know anything about sex, no matter what you think. Do this while you are still young and it will prepare you for the rest of the sexual experiences in your entire life. The next drunk sorority chick you shag rotten will scream like a Japanese schoolgirl at a Yanni concert.

Beat up a movie star
Punch him right in his fucking face. I have caught your trail, you little bitch. You can only run for so long. Soon, Tom, soon

on sunday sep 17th 2006 at 1535 my wife says to me (after having the boys question everything she tells them to do): "I can't wait til I have the baby who doesn't do anything but cry and can't talk back."

just had to record this...