From the Earth to the Other One

By Iain Aschendale · Feb 8, 2019 · 615 · 2
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  1. I saw First Man today, and I'm kind of overwhelmed with thoughts.

    First, kudos to Ryan Phillipe Reynolds Gosling for successfully playing a block of wood.

    And that's not a criticism. I've read a bit about Neil Armstrong, and part of NASA's selection process was to find the most boring person they could to take the most important first step in human history.

    Fuck Columbus, it was already occupied.

    I love Buzz Aldrin, but NASA didn't want that. Armstrong (would he have had a shot if his family name had been Herpolsheimer or McAnally?) spent the rest of his life unhappy with the fact that people only saw him as the First Man on the Moon. Neil Armstrong was modeled on Keir Dullea, not the other way around.

    Second, I'm too terrified to click the "Historical Accuracy" button, whenever I get around to finding it. Some things I know are right, some things I know are wrong, but there's an ugly middle zone... Good thing Armstrong is dead.

    Finally, kudos to the director producer screenwriters for A) having humanized the first human being to set foot on an extraterrestrial body and B) made it fucking boring.

    Bedtime for Chop Chop Chang.
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    Malisky, Lifeline and Kinzvlle like this.

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  1. Lifeline
    Now I've got to read up who Keir Dullea was. And Armstrong. I confess, I never thought much about the landing, it having been before my time (and it doesn't crop up in my story, so!).

    I'm kind of familiar with selection for weird strange unusual duties jobs, but this is the first I've ever thought about 'boring' being a requirement for such a duty that's been sure to occupy media attention for decades. Makes some kind of sense.
    Lifeline, Feb 8, 2019
      Iain Aschendale likes this.
  2. Iain Aschendale
    I'll save you a bit of time, Keir Dullea played David Bowman in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Came out a year or so before Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. His character is quiet, competent, and...quiet.
    Iain Aschendale, Feb 8, 2019
      Malisky likes this.
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