Trite

 

I know this has been said before, and often, but today I was thinking about a time in past when my behaviour was, regrettably, really awful.  It's fifty years later and I still cringe.  I wish I could go back and slap myself.  And I am, in all honesty, just so grateful that there was no internet, no social media, and no permanent record.  It's trite to point this out again, but young people today are stuck with this internet record of their entire lives.  I honestly feel for them.  Because when we're young it's so easy to do stupid things without really really thinking before we act.

Voyagers

 

Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched from earth in 1977.

The information I have been able to find lists their currents speeds as 38,000 mph for Voyager 1 and 34,500 mph for Voyager 2.  They are currently less than one light-day away from earth. 

Voyager 1 will be one light year away in 17,600 years.

Voyager 2 will be one light year away in 19,400 years.

(The nearest star from Earth is about 4 light years away. I find these figures a little helpful in trying to grasp just how huge the galaxy and universe are.)

The projections I can find expect they will not directly encounter any stars and the probability of any sort of collision with anything is very very low.

(These findings are from internet searches, I've have no direct knowledge to judge their accuracy.)

Right now I'm finding the world situation so very disturbing.  I don't know how bad it will get, will civilization survive, will Western civilization with its scientific knowledge survive, will the world descend into a dark age, will humans actually kill themselves off?

So for me there's something immensely comforting knowing that these bits of human ingenuity with their golden records of data about us, artifacts that were created and launched during my lifetime, will most probably continue moving through the galaxy for millions and even billions of years. They will probably never be seen again by intelligent life but they exist, no matter what happens to earth or humans, those little bits of us are out there flying through the void.

Thoughts on The World

 

I'm in my late seventies.  I've seen a lot happen in the world in the last half of the twentieth century and the first quarter of this one.

Many amazing things -- DNA, satellites, moon landings, space telescopes, microwaves, computers, cell phones, the internet, ebooks.

Also many terrible things - wars, assassinations, famines, terrorism, natural disasters, AIDS, SARS, Covid.

But right now the world seems very dangerous, as though it is poised for disaster.  I sometimes feel like humans somehow just have this cyclical need for some kind of horrible violent destructive event to happen.  As though they need to have this huge purge of feelings that have built up.

Movie: On the Beach (1959)

 

I read the book by Nevil Shute when I was quite young, probably in my early teens, and was quite affected  by it.   Nor frightened or disturbed really, just moved.

I'm not quite sure when I first saw the movie but thought it was wonderful.

I recently watched it again (thank you Tubi) and was just as impressed with it.  The cast of course is wonderful, the music is very well done, the script is good, the direction, everything just works.

I love the fact that it is in black and white.  I hope nobody EVER colourizes it.  

What I think is very special about the film is how, in spite of the subject matter, very gentle it is.  There's a loveliness to how the characters treat one another.

And the close up of Ava Gardner at the end, her hair blowing gently in the wind.  She is incredibly beautiful.