Challenger: Twenty years ago today...

It was twenty years ago today, about this very moment, that I was sitting at the end of a long table at my old school. Two of my sixth-grade classmates joined me for lunch. And that's when Ashton told me...

"Hey Chris, the space shuttle blew up."

I thought he was kidding. Only thing I knew to reply with was "No it didn't." The only thing was, Ashton didn't really look like he was kidding at all. I don't know why I didn't take him at his word right then.

Now Shane spoke up: "Chris, yes it did! The space shuttle Challenger exploded after it launched!" And I was still in denial about it. This was all a joke... had to be. Maybe they wanted to see how I'd react to something like that. I remember silently thinking to myself "yeah sure", just sort of going along with them.

And then I happened to catch the table two rows away from where we were sitting, where the seventh graders were having lunch, and whatever the hell it was they were talking about they sure seemed pretty damned shaken up and upset about it. That's when I caught the words "shuttle" and "challenger" and "all dead".

Our teacher happened to walk past where we were sitting. "Miss Martin, I'm hearing that the shuttle blew up. Is that true?" She nodded and said "Yes".

Well, what else can I tell you about that day: the whole class was in shock after we got back from lunch and she confirmed everything to us. That's all we were talking about the rest of the day, there was no more real class. She was a pretty lousy teacher but I gotta give her credit for not trying to focus our attention on lessons when there was a helluva lot more on our minds. I remember a lot of people asking me questions about what I thought about it, me being sorta the resident "space geek" at our school, but I didn't mind being that. Not that I had much to tell them: so far all I knew was what our teacher had told us. Mom picked my sister and I up a little after 3 that afternoon and she told us more about it, said that she'd been watching it on TV all afternoon and that it was "terrible". The car's radio was tuned into a Christian station and one of the announcers was asking everyone to "keep the people at NASA and our astronauts in prayer". We had to pick up something in town for Dad, and it was a little before 4 when we got back home. The very first thing I saw when I came thorugh the front door was a picture of Christa McAuliffe - the "teacher in space" - being shown on television. Then Dan Rather. And a few minutes later CBS ran what was for me the very first time I saw what happened a few hours earlier that morning...

I think I actually said "Dear God in Heaven" after seeing that.

Dad came in a little later from the barn (he was still a dairy farmer at this point) and we all watched some of the coverage together: as he often said about things like this, "this is what you'll be reading about in the history books years from now." CBS played the footage of the disaster maybe a half-dozen more times, before later that afternoon President Reagan spoke live from the White House. I remember that very well: listening to what has since been considered to be the greatest speech of his presidential career. You can read it here if you like, but if you ever get the chance to someday you really owe it to yourself to listen to a recording of it, or watch a video of him doing this. That may have been the last time we had a President who made a speech that sounded seriously presidential. When I went to D.C. a year and a half ago to pay my respects to Reagan as his casket lay in state at the Capitol, it was his Challenger speech that I most kept thinking about.

That's what dominated the rest of the night, and the next day, and the next few weeks after that. At 11 years old I'd already heard that people old enough remembered exactly where they were when they heard that Pearl Harbor had been attacked, or that JFK had been shot. Now it was my generation's turn to have something forever burned so indelibly into our minds. Everyone who was old enough on January 28th, 1986 will be able to tell you where they were and who they were with, and everything else that happened right after that, when they heard about the Challenger. This has been my own tale to tell.

I don't know what else to say with this post. There's plenty enough information on the Internet about STS-51L, the final Challenger mission, for anyone who's interested. Anything more that I could do here would just be reiterating ground already well-covered. But I couldn't let this day go by without doing what I could to take off my hat in respect to the seven who died that day, and acknowledge that day for the impact it had in not just my life, but that of just about everyone who was around back then.

I don't really know how to close this out: nothing I could write would ever do justice to the memory of the Challenger Seven. So I'll just let the following images speak for themselves...

Challenger launches on mission STS 51-L, January 28 1986

The crew of Challenger
FRONT ROW L-R: pilot Mike Smith, commander Dick Scobee, mission specialist Ron McNair
BACK ROW L-R: mission specialist Ellison Onizuka, Teacher in Space Christa McAuliffe, payload specialist Gregory Jarvis, mission specialist Judith Resnik

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Most bizarre video I've seen in awhile

Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno sings Aretha Franklin's "Respect".

Somebody get this lady an Xbox and Karaoke Revolution, STAT!

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Greatest electronic games according to Vox Day

Vox Day has posted a list of what he considers the best "electronic games" of all time (but curiously they're all videogames: not a Simon or Electronic Stratego to be found in the bunch). I think it's a great list... for the most part. But I would have ranked TIE Fighter much higher. And did Vox ever play Pitfall II: Lost Caverns? That was easily the best game ever produced for the Atari 2600: it still holds up even today (and if you have a Gameboy Advance it's part of the Activision Anthology that was released a year or so ago for that system).

Vox also puts Wing Commander on the top ten list: if there's ever a videogame series that deserves a return, that one is it. I just wish I'd been able to play Wing Commander III when it came out... ahh well maybe someday :-)

So what do you think of his list? There's some good comments being left there. I may have to do my own "top ten best videogames" sometime.

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57% of those polled want to attack Iran

So says a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll. Which according to the story it's 57% of all Americans who want to go to war with Iran, when it was really only that percentage of those who happened to be polled.

Let me say this from the getgo: the guys running Iran are bad people. That does not mean that the Iranian people are bad. The population by and large must not be punished for whatever their whacko leadership is doing.

I do wonder if we are justified at all in trying to beat the wardrums for attacking Iran now though, three years after getting bogged down in the quagmire that is Iraq.

Yeah, there's no other word for what it is happening in Iraq right now. The moment we pull out our own soldiers, that place is going to collapse like a house of cards. Over two thousand of our best men and women are dead... and all that we've got to show for it is a rising Islamic fundamentalist government. Like we used to say on the basketball court: "Smooth move Ex-Lax".

So we're committed - oh yes, we are definitely committed now, with no easy way of leaving - to Iraq. And now those people from the "neo-conservative" mindset - the ones who believe that it is a virtue for government leaders to lie to their people - are gearing up the people of this country to want to go to war with Iran. A war that could only realistically be fought by large-scale strategic bombing, since our conventional forces are stretched so thin. Some here in America are even suggesting the use of tactical nuclear weapons.

Like, isn't this the very same thing we're claiming now that we are trying to prevent Iran from doing?

How is it that the United States is now doing the very same thing that the Soviet Union did: invading countries and setting up puppet governments?

Is this really our problem to deal with at all? Is America now and forevermore going to be the policeman over the rest of the world? Were we even right to assert that role to begin with?

George Washington was right: we should have avoided "foreign entanglements" completely. Over two hundred years later another George thinks he knows better, and mucks us into whatever strikes his fancy.

And the damned thing of it is, there will be lots of politicians and pundits and preachers and the like faithfully falling into line right behind the President as they tell us that yes, we must go to war, because our government knows what's best for us.

Well damn them. Damn them all.

Until Iran presents a legitimate threat to the United States, we should butt out. Let Israel handle this... it seems to be their fight they want anyway.

We should have stayed out of Iraq, and let the people of that land hash things out on their own.

Fortunately, I doubt that 57% of Americans really want to go to war with Iran. I really hope so anyway. Because if that many do want it, it will definitely damper my belief that the American people are still capable for the most part of thinking for themselves.

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Disturbed minds can rationalize anything

President Bush is defending warrantless snooping again:

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush again defended his program of warrantless surveillance Thursday, saying "there's no doubt in my mind it is legal." He suggested that he might resist congressional efforts to change or expressly endorse it...

Yeah, but there wasn't any doubt in Charlie Manson's mind that what he was doing was okay either. Hitler was fond of noting that his activities were "legal" too. Didn't that lady who bothered David Letterman for years honestly believe that she was married to him? Wasn't John Hinkley totally convinced that he was impressing Jodie Foster when he shot Reagan?

Ya see, these kinds of disturbed individuals do believe something, beyond any self-questioning or doubt. Nothing can or ever could deviate them from that, or else their entire fragile little worlds would be at risk of coming crashing down on them. To one degree or another they did some pretty bad things and it never entered into their minds that what they were doing could in any way be bad. This is narcissism in its purest form...

...and that's not a good state of mind to have when one is anything, much less President of the United States.

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7 myths about what happened to Challenger

Tomorrow will be the twentieth anniversary of the first real event that burned itself permanently into the minds of my generation: the Challenger space shuttle disaster. Highly respected space historian James Oberg has a very good article at MSNBC about what really happened that day. Oberg brings up seven "myths" that have become rarely reconsidered in the two decades since. Among other things he discusses how the Challenger didn't "explode" in the actual sense, how long the crew survived after the event and the fact that very few people were even watching it happen live. It's a good article, and in my opinion addresses the most major misconceptions that I've seen come up over the past twenty years.

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Awright Brownshirts, you want more Firefly?

The Firefly Season 2 Project. The plan is to produce another season of the show and make it available for purchase. Here's the intro from the website...

The Firefly Season 2 Project:
Captain Mal and the crew of Serenity need your help to stay flying.

We are looking to push the envelope of episodic television by offering Season Two of Firefly in a groundbreaking new format. Each episode (or the entire season) would be made available for purchase in Standard or Hi-Definition.

It's possible that subscribers may choose one of three playback options; monthly DVD deliveries, TV On-Demand using your cable or satellite provider, or computer viewing via Streaming Download.

It's also possible that a box set of DVD's would be available at the end of the season.

In order for our plan to be successful, we need to take stock of the browncoat recruits that support our cause. It will only take a minute, is strictly confidential, and each profile will take us one step closer to victory!

What an awesome idea! Could it be that the Firefly fans are pioneering the future of entertainment with this? I wish them all the best with this project. And though I never got to see Firefly during its run I know enough good about the show that I gladly filled out a profile on their site... do that if you want more Firefly people!

Now, if only somebody would try and do this with a third season of Carnivale...

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Smallville owned everyone's sweet patootie tonight

Holy #&@* what an episode!!

This one had everything. And somebody does die, just as it was advertised... and they ain't coming back! No it's not some secondary character either. Somebody in the opening credits buys the farm in tonight's episode, and its permanent. The last shot we see is the casket going into the ground.

Wish I had a DVR, 'cuz this one merits some watching again.

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Rockingham County is going to Hollywood baby!

The place where I grew up is being represented by not one but two singers who got the nod from Simon, Randy and Paula to come to Hollywood for the next round of American Idol:To the best of my knowledge, Amy Ferrell is a student at my old high school too. I hope she and Halicia Thompson get to go far.

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Study says: Democrats and Republicans are equally ignorant

Here's scientific proof of something that I've known for a few years now: Republicans and Democrats both are largely incapable of thinking for themselves. Here's the story from LiveScience:

Democrats and Republicans Both Adept at Ignoring Facts, Study Finds
By LiveScience Staff

posted: 24 January 2006
10:03 am ET

Democrats and Republicans alike are adept at making decisions without letting the facts get in the way, a new study shows.

And they get quite a rush from ignoring information that's contrary to their point of view.

Researchers asked staunch party members from both sides to evaluate information that threatened their preferred candidate prior to the 2004 Presidential election. The subjects' brains were monitored while they pondered.

The results were announced today.

"We did not see any increased activation of the parts of the brain normally engaged during reasoning," said Drew Westen, director of clinical psychology at Emory University. "What we saw instead was a network of emotion circuits lighting up, including circuits hypothesized to be involved in regulating emotion, and circuits known to be involved in resolving conflicts."

The test subjects on both sides of the political aisle reached totally biased conclusions by ignoring information that could not rationally be discounted, Westen and his colleagues say.

Then, with their minds made up, brain activity ceased in the areas that deal with negative emotions such as disgust. But activity spiked in the circuits involved in reward, a response similar to what addicts experience when they get a fix, Westen explained.

The study points to a total lack of reason in political decision-making.

"None of the circuits involved in conscious reasoning were particularly engaged," Westen said. "Essentially, it appears as if partisans twirl the cognitive kaleidoscope until they get the conclusions they want, and then they get massively reinforced for it, with the elimination of negative emotional states and activation of positive ones..."

More at the link above.

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I hope and pray...

...that this lady they keep showing as they go to commercial on American Idol tonight isn't from Reidsville.

This is one of the most bizarre installments of Idol that I've ever seen.

EDIT 9:53 PM EST:She wasn't from Reidsville (thank goodness), but Ronetta sure didn't do Charlotte any favors. That was genuinely painful to watch, but only because this was a symptom of one of the worst things about American character: our unhealthy obsession with the cult of the celebrity. People believe too much that they have to be famous before they have a real identity of their own. Contrast Ronetta's attitude with that of those that have gone far on American Idol: none of them come to mind that didn't have some degree of humbleness and proper perspective.

EDIT 10:11 PM EST: These posts at Free Republic probably say it best:

To: retrokitten

To all NC freepers....we'll pretend this never happened....

2,358 posted on 01/24/2006 6:59:56 PM PST by mystery-ak

---

To: mystery-ak

What happens in NC stays in NC. :)

2,363 posted on 01/24/2006 7:00:36 PM PST by beandog (Poor, poor Pinkos. Beat at your own little game)

EDIT 10:20 PM EST: May have had some serious differences with the operators of this site before, but the live thread for American Idol at Free Republic has been a hilarious commentary to read alongside these auditions. Well worth checking out.

EDIT 10:34 PM EST: Enter "Kellie Pickler" into Google and right now only 79 returns come up. But already she's got fan websites popping up (Kellie Pickler Fans and Kellie Pickler Online came up immediately). She had one of those bio videos too... meaning she's probably made it into the semifinalists round.

EDIT 10:44 PM EST: The girl from Eden who got through to Hollywood is named Halicia Thompson. And she sang really well. Hope she goes far.

EDIT 10:47 PM EST: Can't recall the guy's name off the top of my head, but the dude from Salter Path (it's a village on the Outer Banks near Morehead City) did very good.

EDIT 10:51 PM EST: Fox 8 WGHP is running footage they shot during the auditions, stuff they've been saving for now. Simon Cowell got to celebrate his birthday here in Greensboro (complete with a cake decorated with the Idol logo). One clip has Ryan Seacrest going into the Stamey's barbecue restaurant on High Point Road, across the street from the Coliseum. Turns out that Simon was eager to eat some real southern fried chicken and beans.

The sound I'm hearing outside my window is that of thousands of my fellow Greensborians running out to get sedatives. Randy said at one point tonight that this was the "weirdest show" they'd ever done. I remember last year's auditions in New Orleans and that was pretty nutty, but I'm hard-pressed to disagree with Randy's assessment. There were times tonight that me and Lisa's mouths was literally hanging wide-open in stunned disbelief... we were like "this can't be our town... can it?"

But all in all, I think tonight was a lot of fun to watch, and maybe poke some fun at ourselves in this neck of the woods. And there were some low points, but there was also some really brilliant talent that is representing us in this competition, and I'm going to really enjoy seeing how far they go.

And, THAT is all I think I'm going to post about tonight's edition of American Idol featuring auditions here in Greensboro. 'Twas great that this lil' burg was the most-watched town in the country, if only for two hours. Lord help us if this show ever rolls into town again though :-P

EDIT 11:18 PM EST: The guy from Salter Path, NC is named Jeffrey "Ryan" Baysden. And he had a really curious accent. He sounds almost English/Australian. But very strong singing voice.

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Steve Jobs now the most powerful man in the Mouse House

Disney is buying Pixar. Steve Jobs is now the majority shareholder of the Walt Disney Company.

In the negative column, this really does seem to be the death-knell for traditional animation at Disney, which had eliminated that division already. I was really hoping that they might "go back to their roots". But on the plus side of things, I trust someone like Steve Jobs to put Disney back on track after the two decades of micro-management hell that Michael Eisner ran the company through.

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Fanboys back on track

I first heard about Fanboys before Christmas in '98 (in fact, here's the original story at Ain't It Cool News). Ever since then I've wanted to see this movie. It's about four friends who undertake a quest in the fall of 1998 to break into Skywalker Ranch so that they can watch whatever print of The Phantom Menace exists, because one of them is terminally ill and won't live to see the movie premiere the following May. The last I heard anything about it, Fanboys was in production a few months after the initial report, but then word about it pretty much dried up... until now.

Yesterday Ain't It Cool News announced to the world that Fanboys was back! The guys behind this all those years ago never gave up on their dream, and now they're finally getting to see it come to fruition. Pretty inspiring that is, doncha think? Here's wishing them all the best as they work to bring this story to the screen. I just hope they still use the tagline (and that very cool 1979 Ford van) that they had in '99...

They've been waiting for fifteen years.
They're through waiting.

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One more example how public schools are messed up

This comes in from "Weird" Ed, and I agree with what he said about it: "Ok, what the HELL is wrong with our schools in the US when this can take place??" From SI.com...

Shirt tale
Broncos fan says he was humiliated by teacher

BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (AP) -- A 17-year-old high school student said he was humiliated when a teacher made him sit on the floor during a midterm exam in his ethnicity class -- for wearing a Denver Broncos jersey.

The teacher, John Kelly, forced Joshua Vannoy to sit on the floor and take the test Friday -- two days before the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Broncos 34-17 in the AFC championship game. Kelly also made other students throw crumpled up paper at Vannoy, whom he called a "stinking Denver fan," Vannoy told The Associated Press on Monday...

Hit the above link for more.

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The WB + UPN = CW

Got announced earlier today that CBS and Warner Bros. are merging The WB and UPN networks into a fifth network called CW. No word yet on how this is going to effect shows we like such as Smallville and, ummmm... what else is there?

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A king's ransom to he who boots Windows XP on an iMac

Okay, so it's not quite a "king's ransom" (and it doesn't necessarily have to be a "he" either), but currently there's $3338 in the pot for whoever is first to get Windows XP to boot up on one of the new iMacs: the Macs that are using Intel chips as their CPU. The winner must be able to demonstrate that their iMac can boot up the user's choice of either Mac OS X or Windows XP. So far all that's been produced to show for this endeavour are several "bricked" iMacs that have been irreversibly damaged from the effort and now rendered useless: basically a $1600 paperweight. Some are even trying to get the iMac to boot up Linux too. Can't wait to see if someone's able to pull this little trick off.

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Will this town rock or schlock on tonight's American Idol?

Lots of people here in Greensboro and the surrounding area will be tuned into American Idol this evening on Fox: tonight's two-hour broadcast is devoted to the auditions that took place at the Greensboro Coliseum a few months ago. On the Fox 8 Morning News earlier today they were able to show some footage of what went down this past October and we got a peek at some of the folks who made it through to Hollywood. There's one girl from Eden that we know passed muster, so at least one person from Rockingham County has a chance at stardom. Simon Cowell said in an interview this morning that the trip to Greensboro was why American Idol is worth doing... but Lord knows if he means our good talent or the bad ones that you keel over laughing at. Anyway, this is what we'll be watching tonight, and I might file a report on my impressions about the Greensboro installment afterward.

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