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LQ

Sort of very OT - but not quite?

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[quote user="canary cherub "]

[quote user="LQ"]Seeing as you''re still up at 11.20, perhaps you''ll be awake at midnight. If you are tune in to BBC4 "Me and Neil Armstrong" - a documentary by Andrew Smith (a Norwich City fan, that''s the ''almost OT'' part), author of one of my fave books of all time, Moon Dust.

There''s that line from the first man on the moon, something about did he feel big when he held up his thumb and blocked out the Earth. "No," he said "I felt very, very small."

[/quote]

I remember the first moon landing very clearly.  It was a lovely summer Saturday night and me and my bloke had gone sea fishing at Waxham.  I don''t think we''d realised it was about to happen, but sitting on the beach with a transistor radio, a flask of coffee and a packet of custard creams, we listened to the commentary and looked up at the moon as it actually took place - unforgettable.

[/quote]

Sounds wonderful Cherub. I wish I had been the one sharing that moment with you.

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[quote user="LQ"]It''s a cracking read, EM. I highly recommend you

getting your hands on a copy, I''d lend you mine but you''re not local

[:P]One of the best books I''ve ever read actually. I even wrote

to the publishers about it and got a letter back from him! He only

lived around the corner to me - small world, especially if you''re

covering it up with your thumb!![/quote]

Funnily enough, I''m down to Norwich on this weekend for a wedding, but

I''ll be sure to get myself a copy as soon as I''ve got some spare cash!

Although I must admit reading anything other than subject books has

been difficult these past three years, so may have to wait til I

graduate next year! Its hard to concentrate on the stars when your

field of study is the ball of rock on which we stand, but this

anniversary has reminded me never to stop looking upwards and

outwards...[Y]

Canarycherub, that is truly a special memory and I''m always saddened

that I was born way too late for any of the moon landings, let alone

the first! As a child of the 80s I can''t really remember how my

interest in space began, but I can probably blame my Father.  I

have a photo he took framed, of Columbia launching on its ill-fated

final mission.  Its only a small streak of fire and metal, but

there''s something poignant for me that the photo my Dad took captures

them leaving Earth forever....

Hopefully Humanity can push on this century and achieve something just

as remarkable! I''d love to be sitting on a beach with my family looking

up as the first man lands on Mars.... you never know...[Y]

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[quote user="Evil Monkey"]I would have thought you''d be more into Space Greeks, LQ.... [;)][:P]

Avatar duly changed, though...

Incidentally, after catching the end of For All Mankind last night

(which I''m now downloading on iPlayer) I remembered how wonderful the

music is and downloaded An Ending (Ascent) by Brian Eno, which plays

out the credits... its atmospheric, haunting and lovely, and predates

the likes of Sigur Ros and Album Leaf by some 20 years or so.... check it out!

[/quote]A beautiful track EM! One of my favourites. Used to great effect in 28 Days Later and also at the end of Traffic, I believe! [Y]

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[quote user="LQ"]If any of you have ventured away from your laptops tonight you may have noticed a particularly wonderful moon. Low on the southern horizon, beautiful and glowing in its coldness...

Seeing as you''re still up at 11.20, perhaps you''ll be awake at midnight. If you are tune in to BBC4 "Me and Neil Armstrong" - a documentary by Andrew Smith (a Norwich City fan, that''s the ''almost OT'' part), author of one of my fave books of all time, Moon Dust.

There''s that line from the first man on the moon, something about did he feel big when he held up his thumb and blocked out the Earth. "No," he said "I felt very, very small."

There''s a whole universe out there. Lucky we''re a part of it.




[/quote]

 AREA 51 YOU FOOLS   [:#][:-*]

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"AREA 51 YOU FOOLS" says the "Voice of Reason" - ?!

Shurely shome mishtake?

;o)

Apollo is a great album Evil Monkey - I am with you on that, and the Bruce Willis fixation.

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Seeing as we''ve got round to music/soundtracks I thought I''d share this little nugget with you:The letter I had back from Andrew Smith (in 2005) that I''ve just found has a reference on the end about how I''d said in my original letter that I''d read the book listening to X&Y by Coldplay which he agreed made a good backdrop. He goes on to say he developed a "worrying obsession" with 60s psychedelia whilst writing it - Zappa; Grateful Dead; Strawberry Alarm Clock...That may make the whole thing make more sense!

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[quote user="LQ"]Seeing as we''ve got round to music/soundtracks I thought I''d share this little nugget with you:The letter I had back from Andrew Smith (in 2005) that I''ve just found has a reference on the end about how I''d said in my original letter that I''d read the book listening to X&Y by Coldplay which he agreed made a good backdrop. He goes on to say he developed a "worrying obsession" with 60s psychedelia whilst writing it - Zappa; Grateful Dead; Strawberry Alarm Clock...That may make the whole thing make more sense!

[/quote]Wow. Strawberry Alarm Clock. Now there is a name I was glad I hadn''t heard for several decades! For those who want to hear the kind of stuff that gave sixties psychedelia a bad name:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za1e_PEofdE

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I spent my teenage years listening to Talking Heads and writing Science Fiction stories.... don''t think I''ve ever been the same since (and before anyone says, yes I am a geek, but I am not a nerd... there''s a world of difference and it usually involves the willingness to dress up as a Klingon....)

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Off topic, but saw a lovely meteor shower (or something to that likeness) or friday night. Amazing, anyone else see it? It would have been around midnight?

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I did see a fantastic shooting star on Friday night but not a shower.Neptune is fantastic at the moment if we get another clear night soon - very low on the SE horizon. It''s huge! 

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[quote user="LQ"]I did see a fantastic shooting star on Friday night but not a shower.

Neptune is fantastic at the moment if we get another clear night soon - very low on the SE horizon. It''s huge!

 
[/quote]

So''s Uranus....

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[quote user="Mello Yello"]

[quote user="LQ"]I did see a fantastic shooting star on Friday night but not a shower.

Neptune is fantastic at the moment if we get another clear night soon - very low on the SE horizon. It''s huge!

 
[/quote]

So''s Uranus....

[/quote]

Must be a remarkable sight on ten inch heels!

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[quote user="YankeeCanary"][quote user="Mello Yello"]

[quote user="LQ"]I did see a fantastic shooting star on Friday night but not a shower.

Neptune is fantastic at the moment if we get another clear night soon - very low on the SE horizon. It''s huge!

 
[/quote]

So''s Uranus....

[/quote]

Must be a remarkable sight on ten inch heels!

[/quote]

It''s still huge, when looking through the wrong end of a telescope (initially thought I had a cracked lens).....You can also see see the Doncastrinium Doomus Belt (aka Floundering Financium Black Hole) on a transparent and clear night....It''s Mars-vellous.  

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[quote user="YankeeCanary"][quote user="Mello Yello"]

[quote user="LQ"]I did see a fantastic shooting star on Friday night but not a shower.

Neptune is fantastic at the moment if we get another clear night soon - very low on the SE horizon. It''s huge!

 
[/quote]

So''s Uranus....

[/quote]

Must be a remarkable sight on ten inch heels!

[/quote]

You should know. Stop being so modest!

OTBC

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[quote user="LQ"]I did see a fantastic shooting star on Friday night but not a shower.Neptune is fantastic at the moment if we get another clear night soon - very low on the SE horizon. It''s huge! [/quote]Maybe it was just a singular shooting star then. I confess I only saw the one, but someone told me that there was supposed to be a shower.It was a fantastically beautiful and bright one though, on a completely clear night. It was stunning. Good times!

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[quote user="AJ"]Maybe it was just a singular shooting star then. I confess I only saw the one, but someone told me that there was supposed to be a shower.It was a fantastically beautiful and bright one though, on a completely clear night. It was stunning. Good times![/quote]I remember sitting out in a field with my mates, tins of beer in hand, watching a pretty spectacular meteor shower... must have been about 10 or 11 years ago now, maybe more... these days my telescope belongs to my nephew, although I don''t think my brother has yet managed to use it properly in the middle of Norwich....

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[quote user="AJ"][quote user="LQ"]I did see a fantastic shooting star on Friday night but not a shower.Neptune is fantastic at the moment if we get another clear night soon - very low on the SE horizon. It''s huge! [/quote]Maybe it was just a singular shooting star then. I confess I only saw the one, but someone told me that there was supposed to be a shower.It was a fantastically beautiful and bright one though, on a completely clear night. It was stunning. Good times![/quote]Probably the same one.Cool!

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Going back a while, but driving back from the night shift in London to probably the dullest county in England (definitely not Norfolk) I would stop at about 3.30am and look through binoculars at the Hale-Bopp comet. Not sure it put anything in perspective but it was some sight.

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Ah I remember Hale-Bop, what a sight that was... I was out there must nights with my binoculars too, unfortunately in an urban area so a little hazy.... still great stuff though...You know, all this chat has jogged my first space memory.  It was a lunar eclipse back in the early 80s, not sure how old I was but my parents were still together so I was under 5.  I remember being allowed to stay up late to look through my Dad''s telescope at the event... he then used some pieces of lego or meccano or something and a torch shining onto the floor to explain to my brother and I what was happening.  And I tell you, that has stuck with me to this day!  Its one of my earliest memories and its a splendid one.  I''m 27 now and I''m looking forward to the day I can do the same for my own children... [:)]

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You''re just an'' old softie, Monkey!My interest comes from probably about a decade before yours. My Dad was trying desperately to teach me Italian and would leap on every word I said for a while and correct it. I was about 4 when the Apollo stuff was in full flow in the 70s and we spent what seemed like hours in the garden looking at the sky with him getting me to describe what was happening on the moon in Italian.I just got tongue-tied and giggled all the time!Lovely memories though.

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