Fourth Time, Unlucky

With all due deference to Terry Bollea and John Osbourne, this month's version of "A Life Well Lived" goes to John Lovell. Born in Cleveland in 1928, his father, a salesman for a coal furnace company, died when he was still a child.  This forced a move to Milwaukee, where while attending high school, he and a friend built a model rocket using gunpowder. It actually got into the air, but then exploded. Hint, hint. He attended the U of W for two years, then entered the Naval Academy, graduating in 1952. He went straight into flight school, and as if flying on and off aircraft carriers in the 50s wasn't stressful enough, he went on to Patuxent River as a navy test pilot in 1958. Described by Tom Wolfe in The Right Stuff, it was statistically the most dangerous job in the world. For a long stretch, they were killing one pilot a week. In 1962, he joined the space program. His first space flight was in 1965 on Gemini 7.  A year later, he commanded Gemini 12 which did the first in-space rendezvous, which was a requirement for the moon landings. He became the first of two people to orbit the moon on Apollo 8 in 1968 and was to be the fifth person to walk on it during Apollo 13 in 1970. Remember that model rocket he built? Following a near-catastrophic explosion in space, he led his crew on a harrowing journey around the moon on a crippled bird. The entire world watched as they struggled back into Earth orbit and a safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Safely back on the ground, Nixon awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He retired from NASA in 1973 and started a towing company in Houston. In 1975, he launched (see how I did that) Lovell Communications, a Chicago-area consulting firm. A few years later, the family opened a restaurant that featured memorabilia from his space career.  Of course, in 1995, Tom Hanks played him in a blockbuster movie, and Clinton capped off that year with a Congressional Medal of Honor.  His wife died in 2023, and he followed her last week.  They had had four children, 11 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.  He was 97. 

My Optimum Week

I tried one of those banana leaf wrapped PC products, the shrimp I think. It was just OK. I see they have the tilapia variety on this week for $5. Worth a try if you like tilapia, but I would shy away. It was the normal late-month flyer. They do list all the new continuity points offers that run through September 24th. I listed them for you at the top of the chart. Remember, the corporate mind assumes that you have a short memory. Disappoint them. Sale prices and points offers are purposely kept apart; but they will match up before the month is out. That's when you hit a double by getting extra points and something on sale at the same time. Cut the bacon across the grain into thirds. They will slip into a medium Ziploc freezer bag. Here's your list:

What I'm Reading

A few weeks ago, I discussed the plan to downsize my library, reading all key sci-fi novels from 1957 onward. That process is now well underway. I have turned in about 60 books to Sunrise and received $173 back along with three books from my list. I used $130 of that to order seven additional titles from ThriftBooks. Shipping is expensive, but their selection is extraordinary.

Mitch Fountain’s review of Deepsix (The Academy, #2)

4/5: I wanted to give this book a five, but two things held me back. First, you could see what was coming from space (excuse the pun). The only shuttle, no backup, the planet is about to explode, but you have eight days. What could go wrong? What follows is a great tale of exploration & perseverance with some noble and not so noble characters. The density and interaction of these players as they wrestle with conflicting priorities is where the book really shines. The book ends with a riveting account of the attempt to rescue our intrepid travellers. The problem? Too many rivets. Like Frodo climb…

GoodreadsJack McDevitt

Mitch Fountain’s review of Moving Mars (Queen of Angels, #3)

5/5: Politicians doing the right thing is always fraught with danger. The right thing is seldom the popular thing, or an idea that the public will adopt at first glance. I think that might be the moral of the story, but it’s the story told through the reflections of our political warrior that drive this narrative. She is brilliant; there is no doubt. Her education and vocation place her at the center of world-building events. The two men in her life will each contribute to that vision for an independent colony in completely different and wonderful ways. The final decision, however, and the cost…

GoodreadsGreg Bear

What We're Watching

Alien: Earth on Hulu & FX - I so want this to be good. Unfortunately, it's off to a rocky start. They recreate the helmet opening ... please try to have a new thought? Then they recreate the hyper-sleep emergence ... been there, done that (except that this is a faster, cheesier version on a smaller set). The first ten minutes is filled with numerous "jump scares" (quick scene takes with a loud noise). I guess the director doesn't know how to use them? You are supposed to build some suspense first? Hulu is hoping that the special effects (which are great) will cover up any other shortcomings. Remember Fate of the Furious? Don't feel bad; nobody does. I am only half an episode in, so ... we will see.

The Americans on Amazon Prime - As you know, we are big fans of The Diplomat mostly because Keri Russell is amazing. I should have listened to MG twelve years ago and watched her in this show. Russian spies, living their best lives in American suburbia, raising two children, soccer practice, the whole shebang. The first season takes place during the Reagan years, so they set it in the context of known history and historical events. There are multiple seasons, so I will report back when and if the quality fades.

Jim Jeffries: Two Limb Policy on Netflix - Not for the kiddies and not his best work, but bits on LGBTQA inclusion and the minimum requirements for the disabled to visit him backstage after his shows are hilarious. Three stars.

Useless Information Alert

As I scurried down the rabbit hole researching the term jump scare, I discovered that the generally accepted first example of this actually has its own name. It is called The Lewton Bus. A woman is walking through dank, atmospheric London streets after dark. Constantly glancing back. The tension culminates when she stops at the curb and the bush behind her moves in the wind. Just then, with a roar and a hiss, a city bus screeches to a stop right in front of her. The driver announces the bus is headed to Lewton. In 1947, this was one of the new "terror films" released by RKO Radio Pictures. It was the original Cat People.

... and finally

The 2028 Olympics are being held in Los Angeles. The IOC announced this week that it is hawking the rights to rename nineteen temporary venues. Yep, the Pepsi Pool, the Koch Brothers Veledrome, the Mercury Outboard Motor Rowing Club. What could go wrong? Since 2002, when the French judge for the pairs figure skating admitted she took a bribe to guarantee Russian gold, I have not watched any Olympic coverage. I think I always had a problem with any country basing some sort of national pride on what some puberty-delayed fourteen-year-old girl does on the balance beam. 2002 was just the final nail in the coffin. Bread not circuses.

Mitch & Maddie