The moon

Posted in Fuji, FujiX-T2, fujiXT1, moon, photography, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , ,

I keep catching bits on the news, about NASA’s artemis project, preparing the way for sending people back to the moon, with a view to colonising it, and as a set off point for then visiting Mars. It’s costing the American people $93 billion dollars.

I am reminded of this song by Gil Scott-Heron :-

A rat done bit my sister Nell.
(with Whitey on the moon)
Her face and arms began to swell.
(and Whitey’s on the moon)

I can’t pay no doctor bill.
(but Whitey’s on the moon)
Ten years from now I’ll be payin’ still.
(while Whitey’s on the moon)

The man jus’ upped my rent las’ night.
(’cause Whitey’s on the moon)
No hot water, no toilets, no lights.
(but Whitey’s on the moon)

I wonder why he’s uppi’ me?
(’cause Whitey’s on the moon?)
I was already payin’ ‘im fifty a week.
(with Whitey on the moon)
Taxes takin’ my whole damn check,
Junkies makin’ me a nervous wreck,
The price of food is goin’ up,
An’ as if all that shit wasn’t enough

A rat done bit my sister Nell.
(with Whitey on the moon)
Her face an’ arm began to swell.
(but Whitey’s on the moon)

Was all that money I made las’ year
(for Whitey on the moon?)
How come there ain’t no money here?
(Hm! Whitey’s on the moon)
Y’know I jus’ ’bout had my fill
(of Whitey on the moon)
I think I’ll sen’ these doctor bills,
Airmail special
(to Whitey on the moon)

written in 1970 just after the Apollo 11 expedition.

We are all like the bright Moon; we still have our darker side.
Khalil Gibran
The Moon is almost as obvious as the Sun. Clouds permitting, we can see it in the evening sky nearly half the time.
David A. Rothery
The Moon affects people in other ways, for a beautiful crescent suspended in a twilit sky can stir our hearts.
Ken Croswell
The full Moon – the mandala of the sky.
Tom Robbins
Aim for the Moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.
W. Clement Stone


The Moon puts on an elegant show, different every time in shape, color, and nuance.
Arthur Smith
There is something haunting in the light of the Moon. It has all the dispassionateness of a disembodied soul and something of its inconceivable mystery.
Joseph Conrad
If all fools could fly, the sun would be eclipsed forever.
Dutch Proverb

53 thoughts on “The moon”

  2. Just watched Moonfall this week. Apparently the moon is just a machine made by our ancestors billions of years ago. And it can crash into the Earth and then back up and return to its regular orbit and there’s no problem.

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      2. I watched it in the anonymous darkness of night, a bit ashamed to watching something where the characters would behave like me and not like heroes capable to save the world. Instead the world needed saving from them xD

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          1. I thought it would have worked better if they’d played it for laughs. Still, if you just want to see the end of the world then Emmerich’s your man. And it was better than Geostorm anyway.

            Liked by 1 person

  3. Yes, much as I am all for exploration and scientific discoveries, at the moment there seems to be matters which require dealing with rather more urgently, and 93 billion dollars could go a long way to solving them.

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  6. Great quotes to go with excellent photos, FR. (Especially Gil’s song)
    I consider the whole thing to be a monumental waste of money and talent. I saw a NASA man being interviewed, and asked why they were going again. He smiled and said, “We will not only have the first woman on the Moon, but also a Person of Colour”.
    Is is really all just for that? I think it is.
    I doubt that would have satisfied the wonderful Gil Scott-Heron.
    Best wishes, Pete.

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  9. I’m all for space exploration, IF the end goal is getting resources from the asteroid belt or some such. Even just water.
    But the idea of spending that much money just for research for researches sake is the height of folly.

    ps,
    in those pictures, you can’t see it, but there’s a duck hunter waiting for ET to go off screen so he can bag him 😀

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      1. Tell me about it.
        I’ve always viewed that era as a way that the US waged war against the dammed commies and totally demoralized their entire philosophy of being.
        Space is expensive and there needs to be a goal for it. Even if it’s a very long range goal….

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  15. TL;DR great!
    Luna, Luna, Luna! I think the perspective is different from a wealthy country. In a poor country like mine, specially when kid, dreams shine more than money, without making money less important. Dreams like people working and reaching the Moon or Mars, walk in space and reach the bottom of the ocean; which in the end helps us more as things like cellphones to get to the hospital or get weather forecasts for the countryside wouldn’t exist without space exploration. I recall we needed that too much, because life was hopeless curiously by people that said to grab weapons to fight for the poor; when police caught them all of them were living in the wealthiest district of Peru, surrounded by rich poets and college teachers. Meanwhile, the mention only their kindest actions, they ordered to bomb the distant highways and electricity as if that would harm the government and not us living there in the frontiers.. If I am not wrong in wealthiest countries the reality is inverted, I think people struggle there too, but in comparison that struggle can look less of it in comparison to non developed countries; like guilt maybe. I think help and joy can co-exist. I have a friend that dress as Robin or Cyborg from DC movies to visit children in hospitals, and that helps them too a lot, to feel cherished, while the taxes and international loans and national contributions to do the hospitals play their part too.

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  17. I am a big fan of the Moon. I remember watching the lunar landing back in 1969. It was amazing. It is also amazing the Moon is even coming up for conversation at this point. If we were going to colonize the Moon, shouldn’t have we done it by now? Hell, we should be living on Mars by now. Hard to believe this is now a “thing” again, and I’d like to make sure my taxpayer dollars don’t go that route. In other news, I am over the Moon with all the neat pictures and quotes here!🌙

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