En outre, déclara-t-il, ces poupées présentent l’avantage d’échapper à la pesanteur. Elles ignorent tout de l’inertie de la matière, cette propriété des plus antinomiques à la danse ; car la force qui les soulève est plus forte que celle qui les maintient à terre. Que ne donnerait pas notre bonne G. pour peser soixante livres de moins ou pour qu’un égal contrepoids lui viennent en aide lorsqu’elle exécute ses entrechats et ses pirouettes? Les poupées, comme les elfes, n’ont besoin du sol que pour l’effleurer, et ranimer l’élan de leurs membres sur cet obstacle provisoire ; nous-même en avons besoin pour nous reposer, et nous remettre des efforts de la danse ; moment qui, manifestement, n’est pas la danse et qu’il faut donc, autant que possible, éliminer.

– KLEIST, Heinrich von (1810). Sur le théâtre des marionnettes, [PDF] [English version]

Captain Ronald E. Evans (1933-1990) was a US Navy pilot and an Apollo astronaut. [...] Ronald Evans was command module pilot for the last manned mission to the moon, Apollo 17. He accompanied astronauts Harrison Schmidt and Gene Cernan, and piloted the command module America in lunar orbit while Schmidt and Cernan descended to the Taurus-Littrow Valley on the lunar surface below. There they set up and operated science experiments and collected geological samples. While in orbit, Evans completed a range of scientific tasks. He recorded geological observations and, using hand-held cameras, photographed key lunar features. Read more

See also: Astronaut Bio: Ronald E. Evans, NASA

The world’s first view of Earth taken by a spacecraft from the vicinity of the Moon. The photo was transmitted to Earth by the United States Lunar Orbiter I and received at the NASA tracking station at Robledo De Chavela near Madrid, Spain. This crescent of the Earth was photographed August 23, 1966 at 16:35 GMT when the spacecraft was on its 16th orbit and just about to pass behind the Moon.
—Source: NASA

[December 29, 1968] This view of the rising Earth greeted the Apollo 8 astronauts as they came from behind the Moon after the lunar orbit insertion burn. The photo is displayed here in its original orientation, though it is more commonly viewed with the lunar surface at the bottom of the photo. Earth is about five degrees left of the horizon in the photo. The unnamed surface features on the left are near the eastern limb of the Moon as viewed from Earth. The lunar horizon is approximately 780 kilometers from the spacecraft. Height of the photographed area at the lunar horizon is about 175 kilometers.
—Source: NASA

Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the Moon, entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968. That evening, the astronauts; Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders did a live television broadcast from lunar orbit, in which they showed pictures of the Earth and Moon seen from Apollo 8. Lovell said, “The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth.” They ended the broadcast with the crew taking turns reading from the book of Genesis.

[William Anders] “For all the people on Earth the crew of Apollo 8 has a message we would like to send you.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

[Jim Lovell]

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.”

[Frank Borman]

And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.”

—And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you –all of you on the good Earth.”

—Source: The Apollo 8 Christmas Eve Broadcast, NASA.

The Google Lunar X PRIZE is a $30 million competition for the first privately funded team to send a robot to the moon, travel 500 meters and transmit video, images and data back to the Earth.

» More works inspired by Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks

liweiart.com

– 2 avril 1968 : Première mondiale du film 2001: A Space Odyssey réalisé par Stanley Kubrick d’après un roman de Arthur C. Clarke. Le film était présenté au Uptown Theater (Washington, D.C.) dans sa version 70mm avec une trame sonore stéréo magnétique à six pistes.

– Voir aussi :
» Throwing bones in the air as 2001 turns 40
» 1968: A Roadshow Odyssey
» Kubrick: A Marketing Odyssey
» 2001 : A Space Odyssey (Shrine)
» Kubrick.com
» 2001: A Space Odyssey – Internet Ressource Archive

WASHINGTON – A powerful stellar explosion detected March 19 by NASA’s Swift satellite has shattered the record for the most distant object that could be seen with the naked eye. […] “Coincidentally, the passing of Arthur C. Clarke seems to have set the universe ablaze with gamma ray bursts”, said Swift science team member Judith Racusin of Penn State University in University Park, Pa. […] Read more…

February 29, 2008: NASA has obtained new high-resolution radar maps of the Moon’s south pole —a region the space agency is considering as a landing site when astronauts return to the Moon in the years ahead. […] read more…

Par Frédéric Vitoux — L’écrivain espagnol raconte, dans Le Vent de la lune, la vie d’un paisible village à l’heure de la conquête spatiale.

Une phrase suffirait pour définir le dernier roman d’Antonio Munoz Molina. La voici. En juillet 1969, au cours de la mission Apollo 11 où Armstrong et Aldrin marchèrent pour la première fois sur la Lune, un adolescent, le fils d’un maraîcher dans un petit village d’Andalousie que le progrès effleurait à peine, s’exaltait seul à cette prodigieuse aventure… C’est du reste toujours comme ça avec les grandes œuvres de la littérature: elles reposent sur une idée de départ, ou un «pitch», comme on dit dans l’audiovisuel, qui s’exprime en quelques mots. Une jolie fille, par exemple, est enlevée à son mari par un étranger, et chacun se met en branle […] lire la suite…

The Great Moonbuggy Race course winds around rockets and other space vehicles including a Saturn Moon Rocket, an engineering test unit of the Space Shuttle with its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters and a model of the LEM (Lunar Excursion Module). The total length of the course is about 7/10 of one mile and is strewn with miscellaneous lunar-like obstacles distributed randomly over the course. One of the interesting terrains on the course is a lunar crater area in which the life-size replica of the LEM is located.

Attention: Moonbuggy registration for 2008 is now closed! 

She missed those nights with friends when you talk about everything. She hadn’t stayed in close touch and felt no guilt or need. There were hours of talk and laugher, bottles uncorked. She missed the comical midlife monologues of the clinically self-absorbed. The food ran out, the wine did not, and who was the little man in the red cravat who did sound effects from old submarine movies. She went out rarely now, went alone, did not stay late. She missed the autumn weekends at somebody’s country house, leaf-fall and touch football, kids tumbling down grassy slopes, leaders and followers, all watched by a pair of tall slender dogs poised on their haunches like figures in myth.

– DeLILLO, Don (2007). Falling Man, New York: Scribner, p. 190.  

Les héros sont les âmes des sages qui ont subsisté.

—Diogène Laërce, Vies & opinions des philosophes, 7.151. (trad. Bréhier)

– Kerry Skarbakka, Naked, 2002.

Philosopher Martin Heideggar described human existence as a process of perpetual falling, and it is the responsibility of each individual to catch ourselves from our own uncertainty.  [Lire la suite...] 

A man was dangling there, above the street, upside down. He wore a business suit, one leg bent up, arms at his sides. A safety harness was barely visible, emerging from his trousers at the straightened leg and fastened to the decorative rail of the viaduc.

She’s heard of him, a performance artist known as Falling Man. He’d appeared several times in the last week, unannounced, in various parts of the city, suspended from one or another structure, always upside down, wearing a suit, a tie and dress shoes. He brought it back, of course, those stark moments in the burning towers when people fell or were forced to jump. He’d been seen dandling from a balcony in a hotel atrium and police had escorted him out of a concert hall and two or three apartment buildings with terraces or accessible rooftops.

Traffic was barely moving now. There were people shouting up at him, outraged at the spectacle, the puppetry of human desperation, a body’s last fleet breath and what it held. It held the gaze of the world, she thought. There was the awful openness of it, something we’d not seen, the single falling figure that trails a collective dread, body come down among us all. And now, she thought, this little theater piece, disturbing enough to stop traffic and send her back into the terminal.

– DeLILLO, Don (2007). Falling Man, New York: Scribner, p. 33

» Voir aussi Man, Falling (infra)
» JUNOD, Tom (2003). «The Falling Man», Esquire, septembre.
» Photographies de Lyle Owerko
» «The Falling Man», article Wikipedia (anglais)

Then he spread the sheet of plastic on the ground and got the coats and blankets from the cart and he took off their damp and muddy shoes and they sat there in silence with their hands outheld to the flames. He tried to think of something  to say but he could not. He’d had this feeling before, beyond the numbness and the dull despair. The world shrinking down about a raw core of parsible entities. The names of things slowly following those things in oblivion. Colors. The name of birds. Things to eat. Finally the names of things one believed to be true. More fragile than he would have thought. How much was gone already? The sacred idiom shorn of its referents and so of its reality. Drawing down like something trying to preserve heat. In time to wink out forever. 

– McCARTHY, Cormac (2006). The Road, New York : Vintage, p. 88. 

LunaGaia comes from combining the word for moon (luna) and the word for the earth as a goddess (Gaia). LunaGaia is a philosophy intended to help women get back in touch with their natural cycles that are mirrored and reflected in the cycles of the moon and mother nature. We can use the moon and the earth as guides to reconnect with our natural strength and beauty. By paying careful attention to what we let into our bodies in terms of food, drink, images, thoughts, etc. we can feel healthier, stronger and more in balance.  By accepting ourselves as we are today we can embrace our soft femininity and find power within ourselves. Yoga and life coaching are wonderful ways to start this process. Helping us become present in the moment and accept our body, mind, spirit and emotion today… Read more

International Space University — Summer Session Program 2006

Luna Gaia posits a pathway towards new technologies, philosophies, systems applications and infrastructure aimed at achieving a closed loop habitat model for human settlement on the Moon. This report makes recommendations pertaining to the systems architecture, engineering processes, and the research, development and orchestration of separate phased precursor missions which will be required to achieve this vision by the year 2030. The framework that we propose is designed to support an ideal profile of an optimum 11 (maximum 12) member human crew on the lunar surface for a period of 18 – 36 months.
The Luna Gaia design solutions focus on the coupling power for all regenerative processes of a network of closed loop life support. Using proven and innovative solutions that produce relatively independent and highly reliable cycles of oxygen, water, energy, food growth and waste processing, the modular, hybrid bioregenerative network of systems particular to the Luna Gaia design architecture is ambitious but feasible.
This report also details ethical and philosophical considerations of lunar settlement and the wider implications for international law, policy and future interplanetary social governance. The authors intend to evolve the current status of thought and practice on these issues to consider new and responsible configurations of resource assets – on Earth and the Moon – and to inspire the will and confidence necessary to propel humanity, and its technology, towards the
next frontier of lunar settlement. The management principles are sound, the Earth-based applications are considered and the legal frameworks have been clearly defined. Certain risks are apparent but there are significant opportunities
and benefits which will occur. More importantly, the project vision is consistent with the preservation of life and responsible evolution into the solar system. […] Read more (pdf)

– Brad Harris Photo

» Sorry Entertainer (Yip/Jump Music, 1983)

Where the wind blows
That’s where I go
Where the moon is
That’s where I am
And when I just
Have a problem
Always hoping the wind will blow me away again
I’m a loner
I’m a sorry entertainer [...]

1999, August 28: FIRST WOMAN ON THE MOON is realized in ten hours. During a short morning meeting with the crew, Aleksandra Mir draws a sketch of a crater in the sand. The 200×300 square-meter full-size landscape is thereafter completely improvised by the workers themselves. During the process of digging, tons of garbage and broken glass are revealed in the sand. It is collected and placed out on tables, making for an impromptu ‘Museum of Lunar Surface Findings’ to which the public contributes all day. By the afternoon, the water has unexpectedly risen to fill the craters, creating numerous little lakes for kids to play in. Everyone is taking pictures of everyone. And at sunset, the flag finally graces the highest hill, a champagne bottle is cracked open and the public is welcomed to join the astronauts on the moon. One person declares himself ‘The First Black Man on the Moon’, another, ‘The First German’. […] Read more

By Anthony Young, Monday, July 25, 2005

Women have tried to get into space ever since Project Mercury. That subject has been ably covered by Martha Ackmann in her book, The Mercury 13: The Untold Story of Thirteen American Women and the Dream of Space Flight published in 2003. The subject of women in space was expanded in Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space written by Yale historian Bettyann Kevles, also published in 2003. Of course, no American woman flew during Mercury, Gemini, or Apollo; only the Soviets flew a single female cosmonaut and then for political advantage—read propaganda. It was the Cold War. NASA wouldn’t accept women applicants to the astronaut corps until 1978. The first American woman to fly into space aboard the space shuttle was Sally Ride in 1983, and the glass stratosphere was finally shattered. However, the names of the many women who followed aboard the space shuttle can only be learned through a search on the web. Practically anyone can name the Mercury Seven, but the first seven American women in space is a question for a game show. Sadly, these female pioneers of space are an enigma and virtually unknown today. Nevertheless, they paved the way, and that way now points to the Moon and eventually Mars. […] Read more…

If you go beyond your limit, please don’t drive, phone home.
This message brought to you by your friends at Coors.

Tu as raison, il ne faut surtout pas faire comme Martyr et attendre la mort en chassant les taons qui sillent. Je vais fermer la porte derrière moi et monter dans la fusée qui m’attend au bout du champ. J’irai dans la lune pour voir qui des Russes ou des Américains aluniront les premiers; pour entendre le premier juron d’homme dans la mer des Sargasses. Je serai le premier ethnographe lunaire; j’ouvrirai un stand aussi, le Moon Snack Bar, pour les cosmonautes de passage et les lunautes amoureux qui viendront faire du parking derrière les rochers blancs. Je pourrai même inviter Martyr à monter à bord de la fusée. Noé croyait au couple, moi, je crois que nous sommes seuls; Martyr et moi sur la lune, la plus noble conquête de l’homme et vice-versa, quatre sabots dans la poussière lunaire. Et si un jour la lune devenait trop craoudée, si les gens s’y pressaient comme à la place Saint Pierre, on pourrait toujours revenir sur terre, les deux pieds sur terre. Je serai heureux. Transporté de joie comme une corneille dans un champ de maïs où le blé d’Inde jaunit en rangs serrés.

—Godbout, Jacques (1967). Salut Galarneau! Paris: Éditions du Seuil, pp. 60-61.

La conquête de l’espace est sur le point d’entrer dans une nouvelle phase où les nations vont coopérer en vue d’explorer le système solaire.
L’époque de la course à l’espace, qui a duré tout au long de la guerre froide, est bel et bien révolue. Aujourd’hui l’humanité entre dans une troisième phase où les nations vont travailler ensemble dans un esprit de découverte. […] Lire la suite

—Source: Nouvel Obs

Quand Myspace joue les faux amis: Un philosophe s’est découvert une page à son nom… et les ennuis qui vont avec.
par Judith Revel

C’est l’histoire d’un ami. Un dimanche matin paisible, après le café et la lecture des journaux, il fallait répondre à quelques mails. Dans l’un d’entre eux, une connaissance le félicitait de son blog sur MySpace, se montrait ébahie et admirative du soin avec lequel il répondait à chacun des « visiteurs », et disait sa très grande fascination pour le nombre conséquent des « amis » virtuels dont il pouvait se vanter. Mon ami tombe des nues : avec une coquetterie un peu affectée – mais à laquelle il tient beaucoup -, il refuse depuis des années de se servir seul d’Internet, et utilise au contraire toute une série d’intermédiaires (secrétaires, collègues, et – le dimanche matin – sa propre compagne) afin de conserver ce qu’il considère comme une sorte de « distance de sécurité » face à l’outil informatique. Il est donc hors de question qu’il ait pu créer puis gérer, sa propre page sur MySpace. […] Lire la suite

—Source: Écrans.fr

Bonjour
Lisez ce message et vous comprendrez plus. Je vous le demande s’il vous plait. Je me nomme Sarafiner Bamba agée de 21 ans de nationalité ivoirienne, la fille de Feu Bamba Estelle, un grand homme d’affaires et agriculteur de café et de cacao et je vis en Côte d’Ivoire. En effet, mon père est mort suite à un empoisonnement fait par ses associés qui pensaient avoir profit de son décès. Et malheureusement pour moi aussi, je suis orpheline de mère depuis l’adolescence et me voilà sans famille. Étant la fille unique de mes parents, je deviens normalement héritière de la somme totale de US$5,500,000.00 que mon père a déposé dans une banque ici en Côte d’Ivoire. Donc je vous demande pardon de bien vouloir lire attentivement l’histoire de ma vie et avoir un cœur de bonté afin de me venir en aide à faire transférer d’argent sur votre compte bancaire et voir après comment investir cette somme dans un domaine et aussi me permettre de venir chez vous pour suivre pour continuer mes études auprès de vous. S’il vous plait, je sais que vous êtes de bonne foi, aidez-moi car je suis sans famille et je vous promets une garantie de 20% de cet argent une fois le transfert sur votre compte c’est à dire 15% comme intérêts et 5% comme dépenses établies à mon égard. Et les 80% seront investis. Aidez une orpheline qui a besoin d’assistance, d’amour familial et surtout d’éducation. Pour plus d’informations sur mon argent et surtout sur ma vie, écrivez-moi car je suis disposée à vous renseigner pour que vous me veniez en aide sur cette affaire et voir aussi comment faire pour permettre le transfert de ce fonds en votre compte bancaire parce que pour le moment j’ai pas accès car il est sur compte bloqué de deux ans. Je suis prête à vous donner tous les renseignements concernant ma vie et aussi les informations sur cette affaire. S’il vous plait il faut que vous me veniez en aide pour que je puisse vous rejoindre avec cette somme que mon père a laisse en ce compte avant de mourir et dis-moi dans quel domaine on pourra investir cette somme je vous joindrai les photo de moi dès que je reçois une réponse de vous à mon émail afin que vous puissiez me connaître physiquement s’il vous plait aidez-moi car je souffre ici et ma vie n’est pas garantie ici.
Cordialement,
Sarafiner Bamba