Voyager 1. An update.

Voyager has reached Interstellar Space. What would be there besides nothing? A hint on Truth? A shadow of Eternity? Or just nothing because as long as you SEE things it means you're on this side of the story, the one where you know nothing, and at the right time, when this side expires and you must enter the OPPOSITE, that hint or shadow finally become visible. So then why sending Voyagers since they cannot find anything truly interesting? On one side because we're stubborn and think we will one day find the hint or shadow while we're still perfectly able to SEE. This is not to blame in any case; it's something not forbidden or against the hint or shadow. It may look like a waste of time but to do nothing it's even more of a waste of time, we must do something. We want Voyager to be a proof of a perfectly legal and accepted "trying". We don't wanna bother anyone, and if by any chance we see the "hint" or the "shadow" we'll pretend we saw nothing. In reality we all know what's that like, what's on the OPPOSITE. We kinda know it's an in&out thing; a come and return business. The Voyager will stay for some time even after its death when we won't be able to communicate with its antennas and radio transmitters. The future ones of us might even be able to reach it and bring it back, clean it and put it in some museum. Or maybe not, would kinda be disrespectful for the guys in the '70s who sent it. So they'll let it go and go deeper and deeper into nothing. PS: As of now, it takes more than 17 hours to hear from Voyager 1. In about 40,000 years, it will be closer to the star AC +79 3888 than our own sun. So be patient. PPS: and today, 11/9/2013, were 10 years since I left my own solar system (with a similar mission) where breakfasts like that awaited me in the morning.

the flute

a year after I was born

Buildings and Trees

In NY, at the beginning of May, something challenges the glass and steel...

Brutalism

In Washington DC, Brutalism is king. The buildings that major state departments call it home, have been put up in the '50s in what I guessed had been an endeavor to institute sobriety/puissance in the ongoing head to head feud with then USSR. Please ignore the lady in photo 6; the plan was buildings only. In May, the very beginning, 2012.

voting for commies

Wanna know some story from the past?

Let me tell you, Indomitable West, how voting was in Communism.

First, it was really, really simple, and I remembered this when my mom took me in the voting booth to be with her. I was little and far below the wooden counter, but she, my sweet date, showed me the pencil (take a wild guess why pencil) and piece of paper with only two names on it. 

(Did I mention this was in Eastern Romania somewhere in the mid 80’s with hints on the near collapse but doubts it could happen - they still looked strong, the commies, still gaining weight eating by western standards.)  

She even said to me it was going to be quick because it was truly useless to vote since the chosen one was in fact picked by the commie heads and the vote was purely symbolic. 

For the record, in 1948 when Russians took over the Eastern Europe, the communist party participated - for show only - in the election that followed along with the democratic parties to see who wins. It was revealed in 1989 that the Liberal Party won with 98%, so only 2% were commies, but the Russians switched the numbers and made the Communists win the show and change the history. 

Back to voting, and so being useless, people - on the risk of being beaten, jailed, which actually never happened in the lack of iphones and cameras to preserve every move - wrote or drew various things ranging from their wishes to their disgusts. A few I heard: We want blue jeans, Fuck you, Open the borders, Bring us Dallas (the TV series), Free porn etc. etc. 

In our booth mom said, not quite serious, to look around, meaning other than at her and at what she would write/draw. I was surrounded by thick ivory draperies that killed the views, so I tried to guess who she voted for, who in fact she crossed over with the pencil - that's how you had to vote. It looked to me that she did more than a straight line over some name, she did a circle, am sure now, possibly with three lines inside the circle, one cutting it in two and two little arms from the center pointed down. A drawn curse? Nah, she wasn't that vicious, she had class, she read Emile Zola and liked Gregory Peck and Errol Flynn, so take another wild guess about her vote. 

Back out, alone dad had beed quicker and waited with a grin on his face, then came closer to mom's ear and seconds later she became laughing copiously. I looked around and saw many other couples laughing and their little children puzzled like me. Do you think people are the same happy when they vote these days?

Women's day today.

Take your woman out, boy, treat her nice, let her have driving license, go to movie alone, have a job, dress with miniskirt, and trust me, when she'll be happy, you'll harvest that big time.

bygone armoires

Danube, the Delta and stuff

In Bucharest in August, '11

with the occasion of a monster rain

where you going, Voyager?

"On March 8th, 2011, Voyager 1 was commanded to change its position to detect which direction the solar wind was traveling in. The space craft rotated 70 degrees counter clockwise to earth to detect the solar wind. This was the first time the spacecraft had done any major manuevering since the family potrait of the planets was taken back in 1990. The spacecraft will be manuevered again in the coming months to do more date retrival of the solar wind. The spacecraft after the first roll had no problem in reorienting itself with Alpha Centauri, Voyager 1's guide star. The spacecraft reoriented itself to begin sending transmissions back to earth. This is a major milestone in the voyager interstellar program. Voyager 2 is still detecting outward flow of solar wind but it is estimated that in the coming months or years it will experience the same conditions as Voyager 1. Voyager 1 did not change course and is still heading in the same direction, and the spacecraft is still quite manuverable despite over 30 long years in the solar system traveling at great speeds."

Pieces of apartment

Ivo

My favorite cat is in Heaven...