Poll | 07/29/2008 12:00 am

Happy 50th birthday, NASA! If given the chance, would you travel to outer space?

Read more about: Astronomy, History, NASA, Science

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Thanks to wOw reader Emcye for today’s poll suggestion. If you’d like to suggest a poll, please do so by clicking here.

By Joni Evans on 07/29/2008 12:00 am

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Man YES! I have had one impossible dream in my life from the time I read Willie Ley’s books on space and space travel in grade school at St Leo’s in Tacoma; to see earth rise from the moon—it won’t happen but one can dream, can’t one. If I was given a gift to travel in space I’d do it in a flash—no second thoughts whatsoever. Take the gift and run with it ;-) Oh my YES!

By Frank Peterson on 07/29/2008 12:06 am

Hi Frank I am on the same ship out. I would love to see the earth from outer space. Whenever I see those pictures I always wish I could fly just above the stratosphere and look down at all the beauty. I don’t care how much training or even if I threw up during training, I want to go. It would be miraculous

By Frannie Em on 07/29/2008 12:10 am

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Frannie! You’re back—How was your vacation? No don’t nswer I’ll e-mail you. ;-) Those color films from the Apollo missions of earth rise and the big blue marble we live on at the time were inspiring and still are to me. They could put me on the Vomit Comet, the weightless training jet and I’d have a ball even If I was upchucking the whole time :-) Miraculous indeed, Frannie—Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon time for Frannie and Frank lololol

By Frank Peterson on 07/29/2008 12:15 am

Where do I apply—oh yes Happy Space day NASA :-)

By Frank Peterson on 07/29/2008 12:16 am

Also an option: Virgin Galactic, check out the ride and accommodations on Eve: http://blip.tv/file/1121446 How adorably human; he named it after his mum.

By Emcye Edwards on 07/29/2008 1:53 am

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Yes, Emcye—read about that this week i think it was—thanks for the reminder—think the fare was 200k—not in my spare change cup just yet :-)

By Frank Peterson on 07/29/2008 2:11 am

Oh yeah, I’m a super science nerd. I would absolutely go into outer space.

By siasp surate on 07/29/2008 12:11 am

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No, I can’t go with Frank and Frannie Em. Heck, I can barely make it through a carnival ride. I can’t imagine being weightless; I have never gotten car sick or air sick, but the floating around thing isn’t possible for me. I’ll stay home and give encouraging words.

By Diana T on 07/29/2008 12:19 am

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Diana, how was the music, The Steiner and the Korngold—Korngold I simply adore :-) I listened to opera the entire afternoon— esp Cecilia Bartoli singing the songs that Maria Malibran, who literally changed the face of opera, sang two centuries ago, and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson whose passing last year from ovarian cancer saddened me immeasurably—she was such a performer her voice always moves me into another dimension where music is serenity and pure glory. If there is a heaven it must be like her voice.

By Frank Peterson on 07/29/2008 12:36 am

Frank, listening to the screen music of the 40’50’s was wonderful! They invaribly started out with a flourish. There is one by Max Steiner from the movie, Four Wives, which I’ve never heard of. It makes me want to get the movie from netflix. Korngold is a wonderful composer, no doubt about it. The CD has 10 of his movie scores, Seahawk, Anthony Adverse, Of Human Bondage to name a few. I especially love his violin concerto performed by Joshua Bell. And my favorite score of all is Shostakovich’s The Gadfly. It took me a long time to find the complete work; the romance from it will rip your heart out. I remember hearing Bartoli talking about her research into Maria Malibran on Performance Today. And, yes, her voice is superb; I have been following it from the very beginning of her career.

By Diana T on 07/29/2008 9:08 am

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Diana that is so wonderful—I’m happy for you—Four Wives—I think I’ve seen that a long long time ago; I’ve really liked Steiner’s music in film since I was just kid. Korngold’s violin concerto blows me away and yes I’ve heard it it with Joshua Bell —the romanticism of his music not only for film is so lovely and lush that I fell for it the first time I heard it, The Gadfly yes—you talked of it before—I have to order that as I don’t believe I have it on my other Shostakovich discs—the Bartoli CD Maria is simply marvellous—I received it earlier last week and the romanticism and the story of Malibran had been a source of intense anticipation for me since I first read of it—it’s a beautifully produced CD in small book format and Bartoli’s voice turns my knees to jelly :-) so I did research on Malibran—26 when she died—I have her painting on file; she was quite beautiful— here’s a link to Wiki on her—the painting is there by Froncois Bouchot —she was simplygorgeous: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Malibran

By Frank Peterson on 07/29/2008 10:39 am

Diana you ought some time try Lorraine Hunt Lieberson—a mezzo a voice that is like dark chocolate, very controlled but who send me on lovely journeys. She met her husband Peter and I guess it was nearly love at first sight—stories like that attract this old reprobate. She was a violist before turning to song. I thought she had died from ovarian cancer but I was mistook, breast cancer. Fifty-four I believe—I was immensely sadden by her death-my only wish is that I could have seen her perform in concert.

By Frank Peterson on 07/29/2008 11:21 am

Her she is from Theodora: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R60K3NWvlY

By Frank Peterson on 07/29/2008 11:47 am

Diana—I’ve found many Gadflys at Amazon—which CD do you have please? This info will help narrow the seach :-) Thanks in advance.

By Frank Peterson on 07/29/2008 1:21 pm