the counterfeit time

The very first photo of the moon, taken by John William Draper in 1839.

“Moon Trees” are real, live trees whose seed went to the moon in 1976. There are about 425 living Moon Trees around the world. Here is a short list of locations. 

Packed in small containers in [Astronaut Stuart] Roosa’s personal kit were hundreds of tree seeds, part of a joint NASA/USFS project. Upon return to Earth, the seeds were germinated by the Forest Service.

Known as the “Moon Trees”, the resulting seedlings were planted throughout the United States (often as part of the nation’s bicentennial in 1976) and the world. They stand as a tribute to astronaut Roosa and the Apollo program. 

Via NASA

“The moon does not fight. It attacks no one. It does not worry. It does not try to crush others. It keeps to its course, but by its very nature, it gently influences. What other body could pull an entire ocean from shore to shore? The moon is faithful to its nature and its power is never diminished.”  

Oldest human footprint discovered, made 153,000 years ago in South Africa.

Oldest human footprint in North America, made 21,000 years ago in New Mexico, USA.

they perform as well as expensive HEPA air cleaners, and are comparatively VERY inexpensive. all you need is a box fan, 4 air filters, a piece of cardboard, and some duct tape!!!!

IT'S HERE IT'S OUT YOU CAN BUY IT!

this book is about what if you loved your friends so much you were willing to damn the world for them? what if you were so scared to lose them that you were willing to damn yourself?

what if you regretted it?

The new sergeant-at-arms picked up his badge with care and saluted yet again. ‘Oath, sir,’ he said.

‘Oh, er, that thing? Er, I believe I’ve got it written down somewh—’

Vimes took a deep breath. This probably wasn’t a good idea, but he was flying now.

The Watch swears to uphold the law, serve the public trust, and defend the subjects of the kingdom, without fear, favour (bias) or thought of personal safety, to protect the innocent and pursue evildoers, to the point of dying in the course of duty. 

(In reference to my recommendation that people who are forced to tolerate intolerable children’s programming can win some breathing space by insisting it’s only available in a different language.)

When my mother’s business vended at a mix of reenactments and conventions, she would order a stack of Asterix & Obelix comics to keep the family-member-dragged-along-and-bored-beyond-expression occupied while specific nerdery was enjoyed by the rest of the group. Without fail, this stack would attract every French Canadian within the marketplace. They’d excitedly bound up to it and look for the one they hadn’t read, but were immediately met with the fact “It’s in English?!?!” There would be mildly abashed eye contact, and a mutter of “We didn’t think anyone outside of French-speaking Canada knew about these. …they really make them in English though?” Without fail, another patron would come up behind them and remark “I actually read these in [Italian/German/Spanish/etc] when [my parents were stationed overseas/my grandparents brought them back from the old country/I was doing a research term at a foreign university/I went to a UN school/etc].” It was an experience to watch the French Canadians’ minds achieve galaxy state in real time.

Without fail, every Asterix & Obelix conversation would end with “AND THEY MADE ALL THE JOKES WORK IN EVERY TRANSLATION.” The contents of the stack would then be peaceably sorted through, gaps in personal libraries would be filled, a copy of a favorite would be obtained as a novelty *in English*.

tuesday's slimy, wednesday too

sunday can i change my fate